2023 Life Logs, Day 303: Another Do Nothing Rainy Day
Date: Monday, October 30, 2023
Weather: Overcast, Rain; High 61 Low 41 degrees F; Sunset 5:42 pm (-0)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

It was another rainy day, a good do-nothing day that I enjoyed immensely. But a few good things did happen in spite of my insistence on doing nothing. Karen Baranowski dropped by to say hello, Comcast came to check my signal, their idea, not mine, but in fact they found my signal to be quite compromised. They fixed what they could today, but will be back to work on the outside line in a week or two. In the afternoon, I worked a bit more on my Voyage of Windbird presentation and realized I really need to add some video. So now I need a quick lesson in how to edit. I picked Sam and Jonah up from their last soccer practice, actually a scrimmage with the incoming freshmen next year. Sam says he can help me with the video editing, so I hope to work with him after school on Wednesday. That was it except for the text where Heather sent a photo of Ollie with the finished, artistic jack-o-lantern he started carving last night. Spectacular.

2023 Life Logs, Day 302: Rainy Day
Date: Sunday, October 29, 2023
Weather: Overcast, Rain; High 63 Low 48 degrees F; Sunset 5:42 pm (-2)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Last night when I was attaching a couple of photos to my log, I noticed that the wedding photo I posted two days ago said it was from the 300th day of 1974. But my log from this year was labeled as the 301st day. This didn’t match up. This morning I checked, and indeed, the anniversary date this year was on the 300th day of the year, not the 301st as I labeled it. So, I went back through all my logs from 2023 and found that on Day 217, I had jumped a head a day. Not a big deal except that now I want to go back and fix every log since then to reflect the correct information. I have to change every log filed and then go to the website and change the information there. It will take a bit, but I can’t let myself be responsible for changing history. Today is the 302nd day of 2023, not the 303rd day. I will go back and make it all correct.

It didn’t start raining until late morning, but then it was a steady drizzle the rest of the day. The good thing was that it was not as cool as predicted. Instead of the high being in the 50’s today, it was in the 60’s. I’ll take it. I did some research for the Health and Wellness Group I am a part of, went to the grocery store and drug store, and then came home and fixed Halloween bars (Toll House Squares with mini M&M’s instead of mini chocolate chips) and made a salad to take to Heather and Jed’s for dinner. I used a salad recipe similar to the one Jane Woodin brought to our dining-in group dinner last week. That meant deseeding some yummy pomegranates and air-frying some butternut squash. It is a hearty fall salad and was delicious. I went over to Heather and Jed’s around 5:30 pm to watch Ollie start carving his jack-o-lantern for Halloween, and after dinner, Heather and gang come over here for dessert. That was it for the 302nd day of 2023!

2023 Life Logs, Day 301: Full Moon and Fall Fling
Date: Saturday, October 28, 2023
Weather: Beautiful, Unseasonably Warm Day; High 70 Low 53 degrees F; Sunset 5:44 pm (-3)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

It was a beautiful, warm day, unseasonably so, but tomorrow’s high temperature will be almost 20 degrees cooler than today. The warm weather party is over for now and I am surely going to miss it. Sam and Jonah had their last soccer games of the season. The games were away, and I stayed home to pick Sam and Jonah up at the high school when they returned. Heather, Jed, and Ollie went to the games in Mattapoisett and then went to the boat to get her ready to come out of the water later this week. Shadow and I took a walk along the ocean this afternoon, and then tonight I went to a Newcomers/Encore Fall Fling. I was a curmudgeon and did not dress in costume, but many did. We had pirates, can-can dancers, hippies, Barbie look-alikes, skeletons, and monks. We even had a great Bruce Springsteen look-alike and lots of dancing. Even though I didn’t really want to go, I had a good time. And when I went out to the car to leave, I was overwhelmed by the big, beautiful full moon. Another lovely ending to a lovely day.

2023 Life Logs, Day 300: 49 Years Ago Today
Date: Friday, October 27, 2023
Weather: Overcast Turning Partly Sunny; High 675 Low 59 degrees F; Sunset 5:44 pm (-3)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Forty-nine years ago today, Mark and I were married at Lovers Key, Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

Only Mark’s immediate family members were in attendance at the sunrise wedding presided over by Mark’s mother. We went back to their condo for a champagne toast and then we took Mark’s parents motorboat and headed to Caya Costa Island for a honeymoon in the open on the little boat. It was simple and it was beautiful. My wedding ring was a Mexican silver ring that was replaced a couple of years later with a ring I spotted in an antique shop window in Princeton, West Virginia. I fell in love with it and have worn it everyday of my life since then until about two weeks ago. It was so tight on my finger that it had rubbed a sore on the top of my ring finger and I had to take it off, except I couldn’t get it off. I went to the jewelry store and they used Windex to get it off my finger, but I left it there until I decided if I was going to spent the money to have the ring expanded by almost two sizes, a $200 job. Today I went to give the okay to have it done. I’m sure we paid less than $200 for the ring in 1976, but after wearing something for 47 years, I just have to have it back on my finger no matter the cost.

While I was out, I made a lot of stops, checking things off my to do list. I needed a full-length mirror from Walmart, and I needed to have a very large, quilted sofa cover washed and dried at the laundromat, too big for the washer at home. I needed to get gas, buy beer, deposit some checks at the bank, and have something laminated at Staples. All of this happened after Shadow’s annual exam and vaccinations. That was another $200.

Then around 4:30 pm, I picked Sam up from soccer practice and took him to Hyannis to a bonfire and dinner with his rowing buddies. I love getting the opportunity to drive him places as it gives us time to talk about what is happening in his life. Not sure how we got from the days of discussing the best way to build sandcastles to talking about careers, colleges, gap years, and buying a car, but that is where the conversation led this evening. When I dropped him off and looked in my rearview mirror, I saw a huge almost full moon rising in the sky. It was huge. A lovely way to end the day.

FYI–Today is the 300th day of 2023. Only 65 days left until 2024.

2023 Life Logs, Day 299: If Only I Had Known
Date: Thursday, October 26, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 67, Low 58 degrees F; Sunset 5:47 pm (-0)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

If only I had known that a cortisone shot directly in my hip and knee could take away so much pain, I certainly would have had it sooner. I had a cortisone injection in the back in August, but that did nothing, and the pain management doctor said there was nothing else he could do. Not so. I don’t know how long this will last, but I had an almost normal day today for the first time since late August. I walked only a half mile with Shadow, and I did get a little ‘stitch’ in my side, but no pain in my hip or knee. What a relief!

The weather this week has been just beautiful and warm, but I unfortunately have had to spend most of it indoors taking care of business. This morning I had a lovely talk with Justin on the phone and then launched into calls to Blue Cross Blue Shield to get an address change so my sister’s things get mailed directly to me. That meant scanning in the Healthcare POA and sending it and talking on the phone for what seemed like forever. But the woman helping me was wonderful and we got it done. I had to do the same thing with two other medical groups that send bills to my sister that don’t get paid because no one knows about them until months later. Then I launched into finding a new dentist for her that will take Medicare Advantage and then making an appointment and did the same with an eye doctor. I then made arrangements with Home Helpers to make sure she has a driver for those appointments. Whew! I was so glad when it was time to go pick up Sam and Jonah from soccer practice. Jed was out of town today and Heather had to take Ollie to a dentist appointment and then tennis lessons. I had only been out of the house for Shadow’s walk, so the second excursion was just what I needed. No more work tonight. I think I’ll go watch some depressing news.

2023 Life Logs, Day 299: Knee Surgeon Appt, Dining-In at the Baranowski’s
Date: Wednesday, October 25, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 64, Low 55 degrees F; Sunset 5:47 pm (-1)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

The appointment with my knee surgeon was a winner. I will hear from his scheduler and hopefully set the surgery for late February. But the really good news was that he listened to the issues I have been a experiencing and he made an unexpected (at least by me) diagnosis. He says the extreme pain I have been having in my hips is bursitis caused by the nerve pain from the herniated disks. He can’t fix any of that, but he recommended, and I agreed, to have cortisone shots in my right hip and knee (he can only do two in one visit), and then make an appointment for me for next week to get a cortisone shot in the left hip. It is possible that this won’t work, but it is certainly worth a try. My right hip is already somewhat better tonight, and I have been able to walk without the limp caused by the pain in my right knee ever since leaving his office. I asked him why my pain management doctor had not mentioned this and his only response was that doctors in this country are so narrowly focused on one aspect of treatment that they don’t recommend beyond that. If these shots get me through my trip to Puerto Rico for Thanksgiving, I will be most thankful to Dr. Kinkead for taking the time to explain why I have been having the pain.

This evening I went to Karen and Peter Baranowski’s for our monthly dining-in group. The food was fabulous as always and we had a great time visiting together.

2023 Life Logs, Day 298: Still Working on the Voyage of Windbird Presentation
Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 60, Low 55 degrees F; Sunset 5:48 pm (-5)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Today was spent finishing the revisions to the Voyage of Windbird presentation. This version includes more about what it is like living aboard a boat while traveling around the world. I now have to shorten it a bit, but at least I have added the photos needed to tell the story. I am spending my days trying to heal. So far my back issues are not responding, but I will continue taking it easy and hoping for the best. Tomorrow I meet with my knee surgeon about surgery to replace my right knee. Am I having fun yet?!!!

2023 Life Logs, Day 297: Visit with Tommy and Candi
Date: Monday, October 23, 2023
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 60, Low 44 degrees F; Sunset 5:53 pm (-2)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

My nephew Tommy and I started our day with a breakfast at home and a quick tour of Woods Hole. Tommy and his wife Marilou have been in Woods Hole a couple of times over the years since Mark and I returned from our sail around the world, but he wanted a little “refresher.” We then headed up to the Cape Cod Canal to meet my niece and his cousin Candi, who lives in Billerica north and west of Boston. We had lunch at Fisherman’s View on the canal and then drove over to the Coast Guard station for a walk out to the entrance of the canal. It was an absolutely beautiful day and I was so thrilled that I was able to make the short walk. Tommy then left for his conference in Chatham and Candi headed home. And I headed home, thrilled to have have spent a couple of hours with family.

2023 Life Logs, Day 296: My Nephew Tommy Visits
Date: Sunday, October 22, 2023
Weather: Sunny and Windy; High 59, Low 45 degrees F; Sunset 5:53 pm
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

My nephew Tommy lives just north of Charlotte, NC, but he flew in this evening as he has a conference on the Cape for the next couple of days. Heather, Jed, and the boys, plus myself, met him in Woods Hole for dinner at the Quahog Republic Leeside. I had not been there since it changed names and owners. It was different than I expected, more of what I call bar food than a real dinner menu, but it was perfect for tonight. We had a wonderful dinner together.

Happy birthday to my friend Lynne. She is back in Michigan with family and will leave for New Zealand on Wednesday.

Otherwise, Shadow and I had a quiet day with a tiny, little walk, some house cleaning, some grocery shopping. Just life.

2023 Life Logs, Day 295: Encore Mingle & Mix
Date: Saturday, October 21, 2023
Weather: Rain, Windy Late Day; High 61, Low 51 degrees F; Sunset 5:53 pm
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA

Today was overcast and rainy, but Jed and the boys came over to help me get the little window air conditioner out and put it, and other summer furniture, in the basement. I can now turn on the heat and not feel guilty about having the air conditioner in the window leaking the heat to the outside. Then late this afternoon I went to an Encore Mingle & Mix, the first in over three years. This is a casual event where people sign up to bring an appetizer and their own drinks to a member’s home who has volunteered to host for the month. I really wanted to get this social back up and running again, so I have been working with the coordinator to make it happen. This first one was small, only nine people. But that is fine. It is supposed to be an intimate setting so people can really get to know one another. Tomorrow evening, my nephew Tommy from North Carolina will arrive. He has a business conference on the Cape starting on Monday afternoon, but it will be great to have him here, even if it is for only one night. Heather comes home from Rhode Island tomorrow and she, Jed, and the boys will join Tommy and I for dinner.