2022 Life Logs, Day 248: The Goldstones and Eider Made It Home
Date: Monday, September 5, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 70, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Heather and Jed have been through the Cape Cod Canal before, but late this afternoon they came through aboard Eider (soon to be Ardenna) with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. I was so excited for them that I had to drive up to get photos as they approached and went under the Bourne Bridge. I then drove to Marion to meet them when they arrived there. They are using the mooring of a work colleague of Heather’s and about 40 minutes after I got to the location they arrived. They were glad to be home, finally, with Eider, and they had a wonderful long weekend as a family getting her here. We picked up Cambodian take-out on the way home and by the time we finished dinner, it was well after 9 pm. Tomorrow is the first day of school, so it was definitely time for the boys to get to bed. But what a wonderful adventure they all had. I think they will all have sweet dreams tonight.

2022 Life Logs, Day 247: Empty Nest
Date: Sunday, September 4, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 80, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

After five days of having guests, this morning Kevin and Claire left for New Jersey and Lynne left for New York. With the Goldstones away, that left just me and my Shadow. The next was empty. I went to Heather and Jed’s to do a laundry and feed their cats and guinea pig and then ran a couple of errands. Somehow, I managed to be gone for more than two hours and returned home with another 30 pounds of tomatoes to process. Then I spent the next two hours on Skype with Justin, Ziggy, and Coco. I talked with the kids about their school year and then Justin and I tried to solve all the world’s problems. It was wonderful to see Ziggy and Coco and spend the time discussing life with Justin. The rest of the day was spent making another trip into town to do some food shopping and then home to start the tomato process. I heard from Heather that they made their destination for tonight. They had to motor most of the way, but they did get to sail the last two hours. When she sent the text, they were moored in Scituate and headed to shore for ice cream. Tomorrow they head through the Cape Cod Canal and on to their mooring in Marion. And now I am going to sign off and go straight to bed because all of sudden I can hardly keep my eyes open. Goodnight world.

2022 Life Logs, Day 246: Love at First Sight
Date: Saturday, September 3, 2022
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High 74, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Early this morning, I drove with the Goldstones to Kittery, Maine to meet the newest member of our family—their sailboat named Eider (although I hear she might soon be renamed Ardenna). After we arrived and got down on the dinghy dock, I asked Jed which boat in the mooring field was theirs. He pointed her out and it was love at first sight for me. She looked so beautiful at anchor. Then when I got out on the boat to take a closer look, I was even more impressed. I got a bit emotional when I stepped aboard and walked to the bow. Eider reminded me of a combination of our 35-foot Dickerson, Skybreaker, and our 42-foot Tayana, Windbird. It felt so incredibly good to have a boat in the family again and Heather looked so happy. Eider is a 39-year-old boat that needs a few cosmetic upgrades, but otherwise is really in good shape. Ollie has spent time sailing on Eider, so he has favorite things to do like hanging from the jib boom like a koala. They all had a nice sail for one day in Maine, but this is the first time they will be spending nights aboard. Eider (Ardenna) sleeps six so I can’t wait to spend the night. But until that happens, I am super excited about our plans for next Sunday, September 11. It is the day we celebrate Mark’s life each year, and this year I have been invited to sail across Buzzards Bay on Eider for the first time. We will sail to Kingman Marine to have lunch at the Chart Room and then sail back to the mooring in Marion. Mark will definitely be with us in spirit.

Heather and family made it to Rockport, Massachusetts tonight and are headed for Scituate tomorrow. Today was a beautiful day, but the winds were against them. They finally gave up and turned on the motor as an assist. It looks like the same might happen tomorrow and then on Monday when they go through the Cape Cod Canal, the winds with be with them, but it is supposed to rain. Not perfect weather for their first three-day passage together as a family, but here’s hoping they find a way to enjoy it. I loved the photo Heather sent me of Sam today. He sure looked like he was enjoying life.

2022 Life Logs, Day 245: Great Day on the Water
Date: Friday, September 2, 2022
Weather: Gorgeous Day; High 73, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

At 10:15 this morning, Lynne, Kevin, Claire, Jonah, Ollie, and I piled into the Dearman’s motorboat and were off for 25 mile run through the Woods Hole Cut into Buzzards Bay with not much wind, making it was a fairly smooth ride. Lunch was great, it was generally just a wonderful day to be out on the water, and the kids had a fun time together. A great big thank you to Lara and Andrew. They return to their home in Larchmont, New York tomorrow as their three delightful kids start school on Tuesday as do the Goldpebbles. I love it when they are here in their summer home and will miss them until they return.

Tomorrow morning, I leave here at 5:45 am to go to Heather and Jed’s. I am headed to Kittery, Maine with the Goldstones to deliver them to their boat. They have a tough three-day trip from Kittery to Buzzards Bay, but if all goes as planned, they will have Eider at a mooring in Marion on Monday evening. Here’s wishing them three wonderful sailing days.

I will return home as soon as I drop them off, hopefully in time to have late lunch or early dinner with Kevin and Claire. They leave for New Jersey on Sunday and Lynne leaves for Nyack, New York on Monday. I pick the Goldstones up in Marion on Sunday night and the kids start school on Tuesday. All of a sudden, I think it will feel very lonely around here. Just me and my Shadow.

2022 Life Logs, Day 244: Holding On To Summer
Date: Thursday, September 1, 2022
Weather: Another Sunny Day; High 81, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The weather has been spectacular making it very hard to think about the fact that summer is coming to an end. I know fall equinox is not until later in September, but for me, the beginning of the school year has always been the end of summer. And I think Jonah, Ollie, and Sam feel the same way. So, we have been scurrying about trying to fit it the very last of the summer activities. Today when I arrived to pick up Jonah and Ollie, I discovered that Heather was working at home and Jonah and Ollie wanted to stay home and work on building a monumental pillow fort before going to the beach later in the afternoon. That was fine with me as it gave me the opportunity to go home and have a fabulous lunch with Kevin, Claire, and Lynne. Kevin and Claire eat their main meal early in the day, so after their morning walk or run, they begin the food prep. Kevin has been preparing the meals outside on the new to me glass topped table that Bruce and Jane Woodin were giving away. I took it and I love it. Thank you, Bruce and Jane. Kevin uses his electric induction plate to do the cooking on that table outside. Today’s gourmet fare was Chicken Tikka Masala, without the chicken, which we ate outside on that table. Kevin uses marinated soy curls instead of chicken and I could not tell that it was not chicken. It was delicious.

After lunch and conversation, I headed back to the Goldstones to take Jonah and Ollie to the beach. The fort had just been completed and they wanted a little more time to play. While I was waiting, I got a call from Lynne telling me that Andrew’s son Charlie had come over to see if he could borrow a chain saw for his dad. Jed has a chain saw, so I offered to drop it off on our way to the beach. One thing led to another. Lena and Charlie ended up going to the beach with us and then Heather, Jed, and Sam came to the beach for a late afternoon swim and to take Jonah and Ollie home. But they wanted more time to play with Charlie and Lena. So, everyone came to my house. Heather and Jed ordered take out pizza and stayed the evening to talk with Kevin, Claire, and Lynne while the boys continued to play and play.

Andrew and Lara have invited Jonah, Ollie, Kevin, Claire, Lynn, and I to go boating with them tomorrow. We are going to the Chart Room at Kingman Marina for lunch. Then at 6 am on Saturday morning, I will drive the Goldstones to Kittery, Maine so they can start the last leg of getting their new sailboat, Eider, home to Buzzards Bay. I’m hoping to be back home in time for Kevin’s Saturday lunch special. We are all trying hard to pack in as many summer activities as possible before school starts on Tuesday!

2022 Life Logs, Day 243: Lynne Kirwin Arrived
Date: Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Weather: Beautiful Day After Early AM Rain; High 82, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The gang’s all here. Kevin and Claire arrived yesterday, and Lynne arrived today. Camp Oma is still in full swing, so things are hopping here. Lynne is a tennis fan, so we watched Serena in the US Open tonight while talking and catching up on life. I hope to have time to write more detail tomorrow night.

My thoughts tonight are with my sister-in-law, Sue Cook. In 1964 she lost her first husband, my brother Bennie. Today she lost her second husband, Brad. After my brother died, leaving behind a wife with three young children, Brad entered the picture and became of wonderful and loving father to my nieces and nephew. Brad loved life and spread joy to all around him. This world needs more good people like Brad Cook.

2022 Life Logs, Day 242: Kevin and Claire Arrived Late Afternoon
Date: Tuesday, August 30, 2022
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 82, Low 72 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Today was a bit of a ‘do nothing’ day. At least that was the goal of the boys. I did take Ollie shopping for his school supplies, and we then came home and I made sure both Jonah and Ollie had everything needed in their backpacks. Then we came to my house and fulfilled their wish to do nothing. I did a little house cleaning and they actually pitched in and helped. I also took Shadow to the groomer early this morning and picked him up just before Kevin and Claire arrived.

Tomorrow Lynne Kirwin arrives. The last time Kevin, Claire, Lynne, and I were together was in the fall of 2019 when Kevin and Claire were living aboard their sailboat Merganser in Philadelphia. A lot has changed since then. Lynne now lives in New Zealand but is spending this summer in the US with family in Michigan. Kevin and Claire have a new boat, White Raven. They now live aboard in Mexico (Sea of Cortez) and visit with family in Canada and the US during the summer months when it is just too hot south of the border.

Kevin and Claire turned in early tonight as they both have early morning online meetings. I am canning the pizza sauce, so I won’t get in bed early. But then I don’t have to get up early. Life is good.

2022 Life Logs, Day 241: Heather and Jed Return Home
Date: Monday, August 29, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 81, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Heather and Jed returned from their weekend sail from Boothbay to Kittery, Maine. The adventure continues this coming weekend when they will attempt to the boat home to Buzzards Bay, or at least as close as they can get.

After an afternoon at the beach, I delivered Jonah and Ollie home to see their mom and dad. I am all alone tonight, but not for long. On Wednesday friends Kevin and Claire arrive, as does Lynne Kirwin. I will attempt to combine the final days of Camp Oma Summer ’22 with visiting with friends. But one day at a time. Tomorrow I will spend time with Jonah and Ollie making sure they are ready for the school year. Ollie needs to shop for school supplies and both boys need to make sure their back to school wardrobe in ready to go. Once I take the whole family to Kittery to get aboard Eider and begin the last leg of the sail home, there’s no way to know if they will get here on Sunday or Monday. But if it is Monday, school definitely starts the next day. We need to be ready!

The highlight of the day for me was a phone call to Home Helpers in Mooresville, North Carolina. I was able to arrange for a companion for my sister without having to interview prospects. They are going to assign a woman that I met while I was in North Carolina. She does a couple of shifts for my niece Jennifer each week but is otherwise available to be with my sister. This woman was like a miracle worker. I happened to be at my nieces home the first morning she arrived. In just minutes, she had Jennifer smiling and was organizing the entire household. It is such a relief to know that she is available to work her magic with my sister.

2022 Life Logs, Day 240: Two Goldstones and a Keefe
Date: Sunday, August 28, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 77, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Before Heather and Jed moved in 2020 from East Falmouth to downtown Falmouth, the Keefe’s were their neighbors. The Keefe’s have two children, Molly and Joey. Molly is Jonah’s age and Joey is a year younger. So, the three Goldstones and the two Keefe’s were like brothers and sister. Today was totally unplanned, but Jonah was talking on the phone to Joey this morning and Joey invited Jonah and Ollie over to play. I drove them over and then when I went to pick Jonah up to go to a Boy Scout patrol leaders planning meeting, Ollie was invited to stay awhile longer. When I went to pick up Ollie after Jonah’s meeting, Joey came home with us to play on the Maui mat. Then we added dinner. Then we added an overnight. So tonight, I have two Goldstones and one Keefe. I delivered pizza to Sam for dinner as he decided to stay home alone again tonight. Jonah, Ollie, Joey, and I had our pizza dinner on the dock and made a mandatory trip to Smitty’s later in the evening.

Heather and Jed made it to Kittery, Maine, but it was late in the day when they arrived and they decided to drive back to Boothbay to pick up their second car and then drive home tomorrow morning. I got a text message from Heather with a photo showing a speed of 7.4 knots . . . faster than Eider is supposed to be able to sail. Then Jed sent a photo of Heather at the helm. She looked so happy and I know her dad would be so proud.

Somehow in between the activities today, I did get the pizza sauce made. Tomorrow it will simmer. Then hopefully canning will happen tomorrow night and Tuesday.

2022 Life Logs, Day 239: Kayaking, Legos, Tomatoes, and S’mores
Date: Saturday, August 27, 2022
Weather: Partly Cloudy Early, Turning Partly Sunny; High 77, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Tonight, Jonah and Ollie are with me, and Sam is staying at home. That way he can get himself up and to work in the morning without waking up his brothers. Plus, he enjoys the independence of staying alone. But we did go into town to pick up sushi and have dinner with him. When we came home, we had a little down time before the boys were invited to my neighbors, the Dearman’s, for S’mores and a late evening game of hide and seek. It was the perfect ending to a fun day for Ollie and Jonah.

Earlier in the afternoon, they both kayaked more than a mile from here to Washburn Island to meet up with the Dearman’s who were coming home on their boat from Martha’s Vineyard. I drove down to the Menauhant Yacht Club where I could look across to make sure they arrived safely. Then Andrew towed the kayaks home. That was not without complication, but they made it home safely. And even earlier in the day, Ollie spent time playing with Legos. That led to a trip to Walmart to buy more Legos. In between all of this, I worked on processing more tomatoes. I got 30 pounds yesterday and hope to make and can another batch of pizza sauce by Monday.

Today Heather and Jed made it from Boothbay to Seal Cove at the tip of Cape Elizabeth just outside of Portland, Maine. Tomorrow, they hope to make it to Kittery, Maine. They drove two cars north on Friday. They left one in Boothbay and one in Kittery so they can drive home. The highlight of their day was a mola mola sighting. A mola mola is a big ocean sunfish and is one of he two heaviest known bony fish in the world. An adult can way about 250 pounds and they are so much fun to watch as they wobble about on the surface of the ocean. Jonah, Ollie, and I had a wildlife sighting of our own today, not nearly so big, but still exciting. Driving into my neighborhood we came across a turtle crossing the road. Jonah got out to make sure the little fellow made it. I think it must have been a common box turtle (Terrapene carolina), but the head and neck were a much brighter yellowish orange than I have ever seen. Here’s hoping the turtle made its destination without harm and that Heather and Jed have a wonderful sail to their destination tomorrow!