2022 Life Logs, Day 258: Lunch with Friends, Rowing, and Flosses
Date: Thursday, September 15, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Cooler; High 71, Low 49 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth, MA

The women in my dining-in group try to meet for lunch to celebrate birthdays. Olivia had her 85th birthday in late July and each attempt to meet for her birthday lunch was cancelled due to changes in plans and illness. Jane’s 75+ birthday (she stopped counting at 75) birthday is in early October, but she will be gone on a cruise and Midge (a member of the group but not with a current birthday) leaves next week for a month in Paris. So, in desperation, we set today as a celebration for Olivia and Jane. It was now or never, and we had a lovely lunch at the Chart Room in their outside tented area. It was a bit on the cool side today, but the sun was shining brightly, and we thoroughly enjoyed lunch and conversation. A great birthday celebration for Olivia and Jane.

I came home to do a couple of things and then it was time to take Shadow with me to pick up Sam and drive him to Harwich for rowing. While Sam was rowing, Shadow and I walked and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Sam rowed 5K on the erg on land and then went out with his foursome and rowed from one end of the lake to the other. When he got in the car to drive home, he actually looked a little pale. He was totally exhausted, so instead of doing his math homework on his computer, I told him to rest. He rowed 2K on the erg yesterday and that was tiring, but today was over the top. He’ll be fine, but we’ll do homework on the way to rowing in the future.

When we got back to Heather and Jed’s, Heather came outside to greet us with some good news. Jed no longer has a fever and is feeling much better. All of us are still testing negative, so we are hopeful no one else gets Covid this round. If Jed continues to improve, he can go to the boat show with us on Saturday. He will be masked, of course, but since it is mostly outside, it should be fine. And Heather sent me home with enough Tuscan Stew for my dinner and lunch tomorrow. That was much appreciated as I have had no time to cook this week. I have had beet, feta, and arugula salads for the past two nights, so the Tuscan Stew was a welcome change. Thank you, Heather.

Then later in the evening I got a message from Heather that was the highlight of my day. To appreciate this, you need some background information. When Heather was little, she called all flowers ‘flosses’. The whole family loved the word, so all of us started calling flowers ‘flosses’ and have continued that to this day. I can remember this year in June when the purple Irises in my gardens were in full bloom saying to Ollie and Jonah that the purple ‘flosses’ were so beautiful. So, tonight Heather was working the NYT mini-crossword with Jonah and Ollie. The crossword clue was “a flamboyant purple flower” to which Jonah tried to use the word ‘flos’. Heather had to correct Jonah and told him the word was Iris. Then Heather wrote to me, “Apparently, Jonah and Oliver both thought flosses were a real type of flower. I just disillusioned them. They’ve taken it fairly well, but there were some truly appalled looks!” I literally choked on my beer when I read that and replied, “Oh, but I am sure flosses are a real classification of flower, Flosses americanus. I have some in my gardens!” And then I had to break it to Heather that pumkmans (Justin’s name for pumpkins) are real, too.

2022 Life Logs, Day 257: Happy 45th Birthday to Justin
Date: Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 79, Low 63 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth, MA

Happy birthday to Justin! Today was his 45th birthday. Because he was my baby boy, it is almost impossible for me to think of him as middled aged. Besides, I think the terms middle aged and old aged should be banned. I’d rather just say that both of my children are in their fourth decade. Ziggy made Justin an amazing chocolate birthday cake and tonight they went out for a sushi dinner. And this morning, I made the decision to visit Justin and family in Puerto Rico the week leading up to Thanksgiving. In order to get the best price for my flights, I will fly home on Thanksgiving Day. But that is okay as the point of the visit is not to celebrate Thanksgiving. It is to just spend special time with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco which I haven’t done in Puerto Rico since 2018. This April we had a whole family week in Puerto Rico, and it was wonderful to have the whole family together. But it is way past time for Oma to have special time with just Ziggy and Coco at Finca Maravilla.

In the early afternoon, I attended a Newcomers Field Trip Group organizational meeting. Christina Brodie leads that group and has asked me to assist her. She is amazingly organized, so she made planning field trips for the next year seem easy. As soon as that meeting was over, I rushed home to pick up Shadow and then drove back into town to pick up Sam and take him to rowing. Today it was Jed’s turn to do that, but this morning he tested positive for Covid. He has had symptoms since Monday morning, but we all thought it was just a reaction to the booster shot he got on Sunday evening. Now he is living in the bonus room above the garage, Heather is working at home so as not to expose her colleagues, and the boys are attending school wearing a mask. Hopefully none of the rest of us get it and Jed bounces back quickly. I was in the same room with Jed last night for a few minutes, so I was exposed. But for now, I am continuing normal activities wearing a KN95 mask and testing every morning.

I also want to wish Kevin and Mark’s brother Steve a happy birthday as they share this special day with Justin. And I can’t forget Mark’s sister Jeanie. Her birthday is tomorrow.

2022 Life Logs, Day 256: Book Club, Rowing, and Life Stuff
Date: Monday, September 13, 2022
Weather: Another Rainy Day; High 74, Low 63 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth, MA

My 11 am book club meeting lasted much longer than usual as we were choosing books for the next four months. We have some great books on the agenda for the next year, but we decided to alternate shorter versus longer books for the next four months. One member suggested a book named ‘My Sister the Serial Killer’—certainly, if the title is any indication of the substance of the book, not a book we would normally choose. But it is short and we were intrigued by the title. So that is October’s book. A book that I have already read, ‘A Long of the Sea’, a wonderful book by Isabel Allende won the honors for November. Then another shorter book, ‘Love and Saffron’ made the list for December. In January our book will be ‘Lessons in Chemistry’. It was the number one suggestion made by three of the seven of us in attendance today. I read it recently and highly recommend it. My reading agenda is set for the next few months.

By the time I got home, had lunch, and did a little ‘life stuff’, it was time to head to Heather and Jed’s to pick up Sam and take him to Harwich to row. The pouring rain and thunderstorms had ended, so rowing was on for this evening. I take Shadow with me, and we spend part of the two hours that Sam is rowing, walking, and playing ball. I got home after 8 pm and picked up where I left off doing a little ‘life stuff’. In this case, ‘life stuff’ references dealing with my sister’s affairs. Right now, I am spending an hour or two every day dealing with various issues. Tonight, it was talking to William, the owner of Home Helpers in Mooresville, North Carolina, to discuss how things went for my sister during her first week of having a companion four hours every day. It was a week in review via phone. We had a few hiccups during the first week, but overall, things are going along just fine. Hopefully, if we do things right, at some point in the near future, I will not have to spend so much time each day dealing with this.

Tomorrow looks like more of the same. I have to deal with my sister’s physicians tomorrow, help lead a Newcomers Field Trip Group annual planning meeting, and possibly be on duty to take Sam to Harwich for rowing again. Tomorrow night should be Jed’s night, but he is out of commission right now. He had some sniffles on Sunday but went ahead and had his Covid booster on Sunday evening. He woke up on Monday with a fever and severe body aches and pains that have continued. He tests negative for Covid, so it is either a respiratory infection or a strong response to the booster. Everyone else in the family had the booster on Sunday evening and thankfully they are all fine. Hopefully he will be better tomorrow.

2022 Life Logs, Day 255: Moving from Summer Life to Normal Life
Date: Monday, September 12, 2022
Weather: Rainy Day; High 72, Low 67 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth, MA

Today was spent slowly making the move from summer life to normal (the rest of the year) life. But what is normal? Today it included a trip to the chiropractor, time spent processing paperwork to get my sister a new primary care physician, hosting lunch for a friend, and the five-hour stint taking Sam to and from rowing. I did a little exploring while Sam was rowing and found that there is a little general store a mile from where he rows and where the Cape Cod Rail Trail (bike trail) crosses the road. While Sam rows, I’m excited to walk the trail with Shadow and to also do some biking. Tonight, I spent some time looking into the possibility of a fall trip to Puerto Rico to spend a few days with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. So, I guess all of this is ‘normal’ life!

2022 Life Logs, Day 254: Celebration of Mark’s Life, Year 6
Date: Sunday, September 11, 2022
Weather: Cloudy; High 78, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth, MA

“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

This was Mark’s favorite quote . . . as messing about in boats was his very favorite thing to do. Every year on the anniversary of his death, Heather and family do something with me that brings us all together near the water to celebrate Mark’s life. Today was a very special celebration because it was my first sail on the Goldstone’s new sailboat. What a delight to sail 4, 5, 6+ knots in only 5 to 7 knots of wind. Eider glides seamlessly through the water with all three Goldpebbles as crew members. Today, Heather was at the helm for most of the sail, but Sam and Jed both took turns as well. Jonah and Ollie helped with sail trim and dinghy driving and Ollie assisted Jed with dropping the mooring line and picking it up. How proud Mark would have been to see Sam, Jonah, and Ollie taking on these responsibilities and to see his daughter in command of her own family sailboat.

Jonah had a mid-afternoon soccer game north and west of Providence, Rhode Island, so we had to head in just after 1 pm. Jonah, Jed, and Ollie hopped in the dinghy as soon as we picked up the mooring with Jonah driving in and Ollie bringing the dinghy back to pick up Sam, Heather, and myself. The four of us then went to Fisherman’s View restaurant on the Canal for lunch. Heather’s salmon poke bowl looked spectacular, and we all had a spider crab ‘toast’ in honor of granddad’s love of soft-shelled crab. We then ended our day with a shopping spree in Hyannis. Sam wanted to go to West Marine and Home Depot. Heather wanted to go to West Marine and Whole Foods. And we all wanted to go to Trader Joe’s for specific items. WE shopped and then the Goldstones headed home to regroup and go to a 7 pm group appointment at CVS for Covid boosters. Ollie is not eligible age-wise for the new booster, but everyone else was. I was not aware that the new booster was out already. I’ll have to get online tomorrow to make an appointment.

2022 Life Logs, Day 253: There’s a Moon Out Tonight
Date: Saturday, September 10, 2022
Weather: Sunny; High 84, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The full moon is just coming into sight here at 23 Debbie Lane. So spectacular, just like the weather today. It was sunny and hot–the way I like it. I spent time outside getting the raised beds ready for a fall planting of kale and Swiss chard. It might be a little late, but I am going to give it a go. My back is preventing me from taking long walks with Shadow, so we went for three shorter walks today. I did not go to Ollie’s first soccer game of the season this afternoon as it was an away game more than an hour away. But I talked to Heather during the game and found that the score was 1-0 with Ollie making the only goal. Go, Ollie!

Inside, I cleaned out my closets and got a huge bag of clothes ready to donate. I also worked on filling out medical forms for my sister to take to her new primary care. That was about it for today . . . just a day in the life.

2022 Life Logs, Day 252: Taking Care of Business
Date: Friday, September 9, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 76, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Once the Goldpebbles go back to school in the fall and Camp Oma has ended, I always have a huge list of things that I have ignored during the summer. Today was first of many days that I will need to take care of business, but I did make some progress today. Plus, I am getting back into my routine with Shadow, spending more time walking and playing ball with him. That is still being hindered by my back issues, but I am making progress in that area as well, albeit slower than I would like. I took time to enjoy the beautiful weather today and tonight I am watching the men’s semi-finals in the US Open. I can’t believe Lynne got me hooked on tennis. Well, that is a bit of an exaggeration. I am just more interested in watching Frances Tiafoe. The men’s semi-final started at 7 pm and is still going. I might not ever watch tennis again, but I can’t stop watching tonight!

2022 Life Logs, Day 251: Queen Elizabeth, the End of an Era
Date: Thursday, September 8, 2022
Weather: Cloudy, Clearing Late Day; High 72, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

When I heard this afternoon that Queen Elizabeth had died, I suddenly realized that I thought of her as more than a Queen. She had somehow managed, at least in my view, to become a dignified mother figure for the entire world. With her death, an era has ended. But what a run she had.

My day was filled with the first Newcomers general meeting of the year, canning tomato sauce, and taking Sam to rowing which is almost a five-hour affair. I left my house just after 3 pm to go pick him up and it was almost 8 pm by the time I got home. The drive alone is about an hour each way and then Sam rows for two hours. But I made good use of the time. I took Shadow with me so we could walk. Plus, I took my computer and was able to get a lot of work done. But the real treat in doing this is the time I get to spend talking with Sam. I get to experience a very happy teenager at the end of the two hours of rowing. That alone makes the drive worth it.

I canned 17 pints of marinara sauce today and that brings me to the end of an era as well . . . no more tomato processing until next summer!

2022 Life Logs, Day 250: Dining In at the White’s
Date: Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Weather: Overcast with Misty Rain; High 69, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

My dining-in group met at Olivia and Terry White’s this evening. It was a cool, misty day, so getting together with friends was definitely the highlight of my day. Dinner was great, but we were all oohs and aahs over the appetizer Midge Frieswyk brought. It was a fresh heirloom tomato pie with a ricotta and parmesan cheese base in a homemade ‘melt in your mouth’ tart topped with fresh basil. So yummy. On the other end of dinner, I brought dessert and it was a total flop. I made a peach crisp, something I have never made before, and it was almost too sweet to eat. Way, way, way too much sugar which totally smothered the taste of the wonderful peaches. Live and learn.

2022 Life Logs, Day 249: Happy 19th Anniversary to Heather and Jed
Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Weather: Cool and Rainy All Day; High 67, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Today was a rainy, first day of the school year. Despite getting to bed late after their three day sail from Kittery, Maine to Buzzards Bay, the boys looked happy this morning. Sam is a sophomore in high school, Jonah is in eighth grade, and Ollie is in fifth grade.

Now let’s back up a few years, prior to the Goldpebbles. Nineteen years ago today, it was a beautiful sunny day in Boothbay, Maine where Heather and Jed were married by the ocean. Even the cake had a nautical theme and Windbird was in the background watching the event. It was such a fabulous day. Happy anniversary, Heather and Jed.

I had a bit of trouble focusing today. There were so many things to do, and I couldn’t figure out where to start. But it was the first day that my sister was going to have a companion with her, so I focused on my new role as my sister’s health care proxy. I am changing her primary care physician and needed to fill out paperwork to get records transferred and fill out forms about her health for the initial appointment with the new physician. I can do a lot from here, but it is becoming evident that I am going to have to make another trip to North Carolina in the next few weeks. For now, however, I am putting that on the back burner.

Speaking of the back burner, marinara sauce is on the stove burbling away tonight. And this afternoon, Shadow and I took our first walk together in a week. Last week, Lynne took him on all but one of his walks to give my back a rest. My herniated discs in my lower back are not healing as quickly this time as they did when I initially ruptured them in the spring of 2020. But I am not going to give up. In the meantime, there is a lot of low-level pain and walking long distances is challenging. But as today proved, if I can push through the first 15 to twenty minutes, the last half of the walk is not so painful. Right now, it is time to end this writing to get on my exercise bike and pedal away while icing my back. That feels so good.