2023 Life Logs, Day 152: Encore Work and Play
Date: Thursday, June 1, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 75, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

This day was dedicated to Encore work and play. Christina Brodie and I are the co-presidents elect and we have much work to do. I met with Christina for three hours this morning and into the afternoon reviewing the notes from our discussions with incoming Board members. Then we switched gears and headed to our welcome of Newcomers moving to Encore event. The venue was great and I think the welcome was enjoyed by all. Tomorrow, I have another meeting with Christina in the morning and then I will change gears to focus on planting a garden at 225 Lakeview where I will be living as of July 1.

2023 Life Logs, Day 151: Boat Launch Day
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 68, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

She’s in the water! I had to get the cottage ready for a showing this morning and then Shadow and I took off for Mashpee where I had to get blood tests done for an annual physical. Then we went to the boat. I just couldn’t stay away. The two big trucks from Brownell Boat Transport were in the process of loading the sailboat and dinghy on one truck and the mast on the other. Brownell has an excellent reputation, but still it was disconcerting for Heather to see her sailboat rocking a bit while they were placing the braces. I arrived just in time to watch the final loading and then Heather asked if I could drive into Falmouth to their house to pick up something important that they had forgotten. Shadow and I drove like crazy to get the items and get back to the boat before the Brownell trucks left. We made it with about 5 minutes to spare. Then the two big trucks and Heather and Jed in their car were off to Marion across Buzzards Bay. That is where the boat would be put in the water. I headed home to cut the grass, but I was very relieved to hear later in the afternoon that all had gone well. Once the boat was in the water, there was a lot of jockeying around in close quarters to get the boat on a dock and then out to a temporary mooring. When I asked Jed how that went, he said Heather is an excellent captain and she did her job well. I am so proud to have a daughter who captains her own sailboat. In sailing around the world, Mark and I probably met a few hundred boats, but I can’t think of even ten that were captained by women. Maybe seven or eight. I know Mark would be so proud. He trained her well and I like to think he was there today watching and guiding her.

After cutting the grass and having lunch, I headed into town to pick up Jonah from jazz band practice. He leaves his big bass at school all week but brings it home after practice on Thursdays. It is big and heavy and he appreciates getting a ride. I did some shopping for an Encore event tomorrow and went to Staples to buy a cable and an adaptor that I hope will speed up the upload of files from my new computer to the cloud. Heather and Jed think that might be the cause of the issues I am having, so I’ll try to fast upload by connecting the computer directly to my router. I sure hope that helps. Then I took Ollie to his saxophone lesson. When we got back home, Heather and Jed were home and Heather was on to the next project. This winter she moved the plant containers on the deck which required rerouting some of the irrigation hoses. But to do this, she needed more of a particular irrigation line. I went to where I will soon be living to take some of the line from my irrigation system that I moved from the cottage, but it wasn’t enough. Heather did a work around and made it work. So, she now has irrigation for the planters on the deck. This Friday I hope to get the drip irrigation system installed in the raised beds at the new house. Only two of the four raised beds have garden soil in them, so I need to do something about that as well.

Tomorrow is an Encore day. I will meet with Christina Brodie, who will be co-president with me, to do some planning. Then we will head to a 4 pm welcoming event for Newcomers moving to Encore that we are hosting. No rest for the wicked.

2023 Life Logs, Day 150: Potpourri
Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 62, Low 47 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Today was a potpourri of activities … boat, Encore meeting, Encore shopping, starting the moving process, doing laundry, dealing with the new computer that is having issues, and going to Ollie’s end-of-year band concert.

I started the day by going to the boat to put a second coat of anti-fouling paint on the dinghy. When I left, I took one more photo of the boat and the dinghy next to it which triggered a flood of then and now moments. Over the past two months, so much work has been done by me, Heather, Jed, and the Goldpebbles. On April 4, I started the removal of old varnish. On April 6, the bottom of the boat was soda blasted to remove the build-up of bottom paint.

The boat now has all of her teak cleared of old varnish, cleaned, and teak sealed. Her bottom has two new barrier coats and two coats of anti-fouling bottom paint. She has a shiny new green waterline stripe. Her top sides have been polished. Water and electrical systems have been improved. The booms, the mast, the bimini covering, and anything else that got in the sights of Ollie has been rid of dirt, mold, and mildew. The dinghy bottom has been painted with anti-fouling. I am sure I am leaving things out and I am sure there are more things that could have been done. But she looks great and is launched tomorrow. The name Eider has been removed from the back of the boat. After the renaming ceremony, she will be called Ardenna, a genus of seabirds that include shearwaters. Shearwaters, just like this sailboat, use a “shearing” flight technique of flying close to the water, seemingly cutting or “shearing” the tips of the waves. Go, Ardenna!

By 11:30 am, I was in an Encore planning meeting. I went home to walk Shadow and then took him with me to the laundromat, to shop for some items for an Encore event on Thursday, and to deliver four boxes of books to the library for their July book sale. This is part of the moving process that must accelerate over the next four weeks if I am to be moved by July 1. I dropped Shadow at home and went to meet with Art Gilbert who has been working with me on my issues with the new computer. He has exhausted what he can do. But tonight I talked with Heather and Jed and they think all of the problems stem from the fact that I am trying to upload everything on the computer to the cloud. They had some suggestions that I will try before taking the computer back to Best Buy.

Then came the best part of the day, Ollie’s end-of-the-year band concert. He loves playing the saxophone and I enjoy watching him. This was a combined 5th and 6th grade concert. I am constantly amazed at the quality of music instruction in this school district. It is very impressive.

2023 Life Logs, Day 149: Memorial Day Observance and Boat Work
Date: Monday, May 29, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 67, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I really was going to skip the Falmouth Memorial Day Observance this morning and head straight to the boat. BUT I am addicted to those grandkids and anytime they are a part of something, I just have to go see them. This morning Jonah was a flag bearer for the Boy Scouts, and Ollie and Jed were marching with the Scouts. They all marched up Main Street to the library lawn and the instant they were there, Ollie took off running to go behind the crowds to join the Falmouth Combined School Band to America the Beautiful with them.

I did slip away early, went to West Marine to buy anti-fouling paint for the dinghy, drove home to check on Shadow, and then back to town to pick up Ollie and head to the boat. Together, we painted the dinghy bottom, I sprayed the bimini cover with Fabric Guard to help it be more water resistant, and then Ollie and I worked together on to get the stainless structure that supports the bimini off the deck and back in place. We started cleaning the stainless on the boat, but we ran out of time. I will put a second coat of bottom paint on the dinghy in the morning and clean some stainless, but I have an 11:30 meeting. When I leave for that, it will be the end of my boat work for spring 2023!!! Well, not really. I still have the drop boards and drink holder from the cockpit here at the cottage and I have to remove the varnish and get those coated with teak sealer. Then I think I will be done.

2023 Life Logs, Day 148: Still All About Boat Work
Date: Sunday, May 28, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 70, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

My morning started at the boat around 10 am and it ended at the boat around 7 pm. I did get two coats of teak sealer applied, and after Ollie and Jed arrived in the early afternoon, Ollie and Jed got the other half of the winter cover folded and ready to put away until next winter. Ollie got the booms cleaned, and Ollie and I got the bimini cover cleaned. While we did this, Jed worked on waxing the hull. By 2:30 pm, I was ready for a lunch break and Ollie went home with me. I took Shadow for a walk, we ate, and we returned to the boat. Jed wasn’t there, so I called to find out where he had disappeared to. He had also gone home. He checked in with Jonah and Sam and was at the hardware store when I called. For the remainder of the day, once Jed returned, he continued on with the waxing while Ollie and cleaned the dinghy bottom. I brought vinegar from home, covered the bottom with towels, then soaked the towels with white vinegar to help dissolve the barnacle remains that were stuck to the bottom like they had been cemented there. They had been . . . with natural glue. The vinegar did help, but it took a lot of scraping to get the bottom cleaned. Ollie and I decided we need to apply anti-fouling paint on the bottom tomorrow, so that has been added to the list. Jed got the inside of the boat vacuumed and ready to receive the sail bags tomorrow. He also has to finish waxing the hull. Jed also got a new zinc put on the prop and Ollie did a fantastic job of wire brushing the prop. If I sound like I am rambling, I am. I am too tired to organize my thoughts. But the bottom line is that the boat is ready for launch. There are more things we want to get done tomorrow, but if they do not get done, the show will go on. The work can be done once the boat is in the water.

Jed, Jonah, and Ollie will be in the Memorial Day Parade tomorrow morning. Sam will be in his second day of driver’s ed class. I think I am going to skip the parade in order to clean the stainless on the boat. But I might change my mind and go the Memorial Day observance. I have to go into town to West Marine, so maybe I’ll see the parade and slip away before the program begins and then get myself to the boat.

2023 Life Logs, Day 147: Boat
Date: Saturday, May 27, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 69, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The weather is cooperating, my old body is hanging in there, and everything is going along smoothly with the boat. BUT, boat work just takes an enormous amount of time and it almost always goes even slower than expected. AND you always find just one more than that needs to be done. That being the case, we are still making progress. Putting on the second coat of teak sealer is still not done, but late this afternoon I was able to get Ollie and Sam to come to the boat with me and we got a ton done in just one hour. Ollie volunteered to wash down the mast. It was not only dirty, there were parts that were green with mold. On our way to the boat, we stopped at Eastman Hardware downtown and bought Jomax. It works magic on mold and mildew and it did just that on the mast. You just spray it on with a garden sprayer and rinse it off. Ollie had so much fun doing it, he volunteered to come tomorrow to clean the booms. Sam brought his drill and put the hardware back on in the cockpit. Unfortunately, he was not feeling great today. The pollen count is through the roof and he seems to be having the allergy attack I had last week. I spent my time going up the ladder to check on Sam’s progress and down the ladder to check in with Ollie. Ollie also helped me lay out the front half of the canvas winter cover and get it folded and in the back of my car.

Tomorrow will be more of the same, depending on who is taking Jonah to his noon soccer game in Harwich. Jed took him today and was gone from 12:30 pm to 7 pm. Jed was going to try to find a ride for him tomorrow, but I haven’t heard if that is the case. Sam went to his soccer game today, riding with a friend, as he discovered his driver’s ed class is tomorrow and Monday, not today and tomorrow. The Boy Scouts were having a car wash today and Ollie worked there from 10:30 am to 12:45 pm when I picked him up. He was then with me for the remainder of the day. We picked up pulled pork from Wicked and Wood and corn on the cob for dinner for the Goldstones. I didn’t stay for dinner as I needed to get home to Shadow. I had the biggest artichoke I think I have ever eaten and an ear of corn. And now I need to take Shadow out for his last pit stop of the day and get this tired body to bed!

2023 Life Logs, Day 146: Encore, Boat, Grandkid
Date: Friday, May 26, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 66, Low 47 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

My day started with a Zoom meeting to discuss an Encore issue. By the time that ended and I took Shadow for a walk, it was 11 am before I got to the boat. That gave me only two hours to apply teak sealer. Not enough time to do I all I needed to do, but at least every bit of wood on the boat has at least one coat of sealer. I will continue that job tomorrow morning.

From the boat, I headed home to pick up Shadow. I have been leaving him so much that I decided to take him with me this afternoon. We picked Sam up at the end of the school day at 2 pm and headed for the Registry of Motor Vehicles in Yarmouth so Sam could present the paperwork to get his Learner’s Permit. I still can’t believe he is old enough to drive, but the RMV says he is. That process was fairly painless, but he still has to pass an online test to get his official Learner’s Permit. Then in order to get his Driver’s License, he has to take a Driver’s Ed course and pass the written test, the driver test, and drive with an adult with him in the car for six months. But at least the process has begun. After the visit at the RMV, I drove Sam to Harwich and dropped him off for rowing practice. While he was rowing, I drove back to Hyannis to get an item we need for the boat that was not available at the Falmouth West Marine. While in Hyannis, I made a quick stop at Whole Foods for two items I desperately needed and can’t get in Falmouth. Then it was back to Harwich to pick up Sam and then home.

That was it for today. Tomorrow, Jed is going to do the traveling to take Jonah to two afternoon soccer games. After I work on the boat in the morning, Ollie and I are going to hang out for part of the afternoon and then pick Sam up from his first day of Driver’s Ed class and head to the boat to do a couple of specific jobs that the boys can help with. Then we’ll fix dinner and have it ready when Jed and Jonah get home around 7 pm. I think Sunday is more of the same. Stay tuned.

2023 Life Logs, Day 145: Teak Sealing Day
Date: Thursday, May 25, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 64, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was another jam-packed day … of to the boat in the morning to continue applying teak sealer, mid-day break for a Zoom call concerning Encore planning, home for a quick lunch, back to the boat to apply more teak sealer. Then at 5 pm, I went to pick Sam up to take him to a local soccer practice. I returned to the boat to do more teak sealing while he was at practice, but it became apparent to me that there was no way get all of the teak done today. I have two coats a few things and one coat on all but the starboard toe rail. But since there is no forecast of rain, Jed and I removed the winter cover just before I left to go pick up Sam. Jed had to leave to pick up Ollie who was also at soccer practice. Since there were just the two of us today, without Heather, Jonah skipped his bass lesson this afternoon and he was at home. I took Sam by the boat on the way home and I wish I had been able to capture his expression when we drove down the driveway to the boat. Sam is NOT easily impressed, but he was truly amazed at the amount of work that has been done and how much better the boat looks than it did last fall. So progress is being made.

I have a Zoom meeting first thing tomorrow and then I will go to the boat and try to finish the teak sealing. I only have until 1 pm, so I might not be able to get it done. But I will be close and will find time on Saturday. At 1 pm, I will go home to walk the dog and eat lunch before picking Sam up at 2:00 to take him to Yarmouth to get his Learner’s Permit and then on to rowing practice.

Heather left home at 3 am and checked into her hotel in Telluride at 4 pm our time. At 9:05 pm, 18 hours after leaving home, she sent a photo of her at work outside and “still standing.” Hopefully she can get enough sleep tonight to make up for such a long day today.

2023 Life Logs, Day 144: Boat Painting Done
Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 59, Low 49 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Heather was determined to get the boat painting done today before she leaves for Colorado at 3 am in the morning. And she did it. She finished the second coat of bottom paint this afternoon, took the tape off, and then taped off the top of the waterline stripe. She couldn’t tape off the bottom of the waterline stripe over the newly painted bottom paint, so she just used a paint guide and did it free hand. It was almost dark when she was finished, but we could see enough to know that it looks good. Maybe not Heather’s normal perfect, but certainly good.

After my morning Encore meetings, I assisted Heather with the bottom paint and then turned my attention to applying teak sealer to the teak on deck. We are not varnishing anything because Jed would not be able to be on the boat for two or three weeks due to his allergies. The teak sealer is not a problem for him. The teak won’t be shiny varnish, but it all looks the same now, not a mottled mess of old varnish and gray spots where the varnish wore off years ago. I got one coat on half the teak by the end of the evening and will finish the first coat on all teak tomorrow and maybe even get the second coat on. The can says to put on only two coats as more can make the teak look too dark. But as it wears, we can add more during the summer.

So, WOW. After weeks of work, as dark took over this 24th day of May, we began to see the light. Once the teak is sealed, we can take off the winter cover, polish the top sides, and then do all the normal maintenance things that need to be done prior to launch each year. Hopefully when Heather comes to check on the boat when she returns next Tuesday, Jed and I will have it ready to launch the next morning!!!

2023 Life Logs, Day 143: Church of the Transfiguration Field Trip
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 60, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I consider myself to be a spiritual person, not a religious one. But I certainly admire true dedication to doing good in this world, and I enjoy beautiful art and architecture. That made today’s Newcomers/Encore field trip to the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans on the Outer Cape a very positive experience for me. The Sister that served as our guide conveyed a feeling of love and admiration for the art and architecture that was absolutely contagious. You walk on art and are surrounded by art. The floor of the sanctuary is mosaic after mosaic. I especially enjoyed the one showing Jonah’s legs sticking out of the whale’s mouth. The Sister explained that the name, Church of the Transfiguration, reflects the hopeful message “that in Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, it is possible for our lives to be transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ.” She explained that it is a Christian church, a nunnery and a monastery of both Protestants and Catholics, as well as a modern day art and architectural delight. There are mosaics and frescos, sculpted bronze, stone, wood, and glass. “Drawing on scripture, church tradition, and the local setting of Cape Cod” the Church of the Transfiguration attempts to “visually proclaim that all earthly life has heavenly meaning …” I could go on and on, but better than that would be to encourage you to visit this very special place here on the shores of Cape Cod.

I left the field trip early to head back to Falmouth so that I could drive Sam to his rowing practice in Harwich. Because of my early departure, I missed hearing the organ being played. At some point, I will return to attend an organ concert and just enjoy sitting in such a beautiful space.