After almost 6 years of traveling, we sailed into Woods Hole on Cape Cod. We continued living aboard for the next five years and I wrote about that, adding ‘and Beyond’ to the title of the blog. Then shortly before Mark’s death in 2016, we sold our beloved Windbird and my travel logs became land logs. At this point, I had written a daily account for each and every day for 11 years. I fully intended to end the blog at that point, but when I wrote that news in a log, I got many responses saying that I really needed to keep posting. At the same time, I realized that I couldn’t stop writing. Summarizing each day had become a permanent part of my life and I will probably continue writing until I can no longer. These postings reflect the ordinary, and sometimes the extraordinary, days in my life and I would like to invite you to join me on my journey.
2022 Life Logs, Day 18: Taking a Deep Breath
2022 Life Logs, Day 18: Taking a Deep Breath
Date: Tuesday, January 18, 2022
Weather: Sunny and Windy; High Temp 47, Low Temp 28 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I wanted to name this log cross-eyed and frustrated, but a took a deep breath and decided to let that frustration just roll away. I have hoped for days that I would be finished with my photo project. But no. I am still plugging away, and it really is making me feel cross-eyed staring at my computer for so many hours. The work is tedious, and I just want to be done. I am going to finish, one way or another, in the morning. Before the end of the day tomorrow, I am going to be writing. But the temperature tomorrow is going to be in the 50’s, so I am also going to want to take Shadow for a good, long walk. We might not see the 50’s for quite some time, so it seems a shame not to enjoy it. There are just so many hours in one day, so we shall see what I have to say about my declarations tomorrow night.
2022 Life Logs, Day 17: Heather and Family Return from Maine
2022 Life Logs, Day 17: Heather and Family Return from Maine
Date: Monday, January 17, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy, Some Rain; High Temp 47, Low Temp 26 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Heather, Jed, and the boys returned from their snowboarding/skiing weekend in Maine this afternoon. I got to hear all about their adventures when I had them over for dinner tonight. We feasted on some exceptionally good artichokes, four-cheese French bread compliments of a new recipe from the New York Times, and individual chocolate lava cakes from Trader Joe’s. The boys head back to school tomorrow after a three-day weekend and the rest of us get back to ‘normal’ life, whatever ‘normal’ is these days.
My landlord, neighbor, and friend, Shirley, came home today for a few weeks. Since her sister Doris had a stroke last summer, the two of them have been living at Doris’s home in Scituate. Shirley wants to be with Doris to keep her company, but she really wanted to come home for a short stint. It is great to have her next door and I really hope she enjoys her time here. After her husband died, I think in 2015, she and Doris have been living together. So being alone next door will be something she hasn’t experienced for a few years. Hopefully things will go well.
2022 Life Logs, Day 16: Still Plugging Away at Photos
2022 Life Logs, Day 16: Still Plugging Away at Photos
Date: Sunday, January 16, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny, Not as Cold; High Temp 35, Low Temp 25 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Friday was such productive day that I had hopes that I would be completed with my photo editing and organization project yesterday. But then I ran into a little road block. I found quite a few videos from the past couple of years that had not been downloaded to my computer from Google Photos. So, I am still plugging away at the project. I’m hoping to wrap it up on Tuesday and get on to writing on Wednesday. At least that’s the plan.
2022 Life Logs, Day 15: COLD
2022 Life Logs, Day 15: COLD
Date: Saturday, January 15, 2022
Weather: Sunny, Windy, COLD; High Temp 23, Low Temp 8 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Let me be clear. It was cold here today. But not nearly as cold as in was in Bethel, Maine, where Heather and family are spending the weekend. I heard from Heather at 8 am this morning. She sent a screenshot of the up-to-the minute weather reported by WeatherUnderground. It was minus 8 degrees F there with 20 mph winds, making it feel like minus 28. Now, that really is COLD. Regardless, the gang got to the slopes, but it was too cold to run the lift. No problem. The boys hiked up the mountain! Heather sent a video of Ollie’s arrival back at the bottom. It looked cold, but it warmed my heart to see him enjoying the ‘flight’ down the slope.
Tomorrow is forecast to be significantly warmer in Bethel with a high of 21 degrees F. It is supposed to be sunny with almost no wind. Hopefully they will have a great day. Here it will be partly sunny with 30 degrees for a high. That will make my walks with Shadow much more pleasant. We did walk today, but when we were walking into the wind, it was not comfortable. Just doable.
Today I found out that my son Justin is starting a new position as Director of Audio Engineering at Monroe Institute. Except for a stint after college as part of Double Edge Theater in western Massachusetts, Justin has always worked for himself. So why the change? Basically, he has found the job of his dreams where he can combine his and Jo’s creative music talents with his computer skills. The Monroe Institute (TMI) is a nonprofit education and research organization devoted to the exploration of human consciousness. It is located in Virginia, not far from Charlottesville. But taking the job does not require Justin to relocate. He can do the job of his dreams from his home office at Finca Maravilla in Puerto Rico. I am so very happy for him and for Jo. Today Justin posted on his Facebook page a comprehensive summary of how his life has led him to this position. If you are interested in reading that you can contact me, and I’ll send you what he wrote in an email attachment. Or you can look him up on Facebook. He is the Justin Handley listed as “Chief Executive Officer at Self-Employed.” I guess he’ll have to change that.
2022 Life Logs, Day 14: Nasty Weather, Productive Day
2022 Life Logs, Day 14: Nasty Weather, Productive Day
Date: Friday, January 14, 2022
Weather: Rainy All Day, High Winds PM; High Temp 43, Low Temp 10 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The vacation is over. The nasty weather today pushed me back to ‘normal’. For two years now, I have been trying to get the photos on my computer in order. I don’t know what happened this morning, but I started in on the task and will finish tomorrow if I have another day like today. That will make me a very happy person and will allow me to begin writing again. I am very much looking forward to that. It was January 28th last year when I started writing, with a nudge from my son, and I didn’t stop until summer. We shall see how this winter and spring go.
Last night I watched the Netflix movie, Don’t Look Up. My son Justin sent me a text a couple of weeks ago telling me I must watch it. Now I am saying to you, if you haven’t seen it, you must. Ten years ago, I would have thought the plot line absurd, but in today’s world, not so much. It tells it like it is, absurd as that may be. Was it meant to be a comedy or a tragedy? Probably a little of both. Is it a good satire? That, I am sure, depends on your set of beliefs going into the movie. I would say the central question brought forth is whether or not you believe we should listen to scientists or not. There is star-studded cast and the acting is great. It is a little long and a little dark. But people, whatever they think of it, can’t stop talking about it. Greed, politics, misinformation. You get the idea. Here’s part of a review I found online: “Don’t Look Up is . . . about a planet-killing comet headed to Earth and humanity’s reaction to the impending doom. The comet is a metaphor for climate change, and the characters all play their part from the scientists screaming into the void to the tech billionaire who wants to mine it for minerals using unproven technology.”
It is quite windy out and has rained all day. Shadow and I went for our daily walk, but I can’t say it was fun. We were both soaked when we got home. And believe me, there is nothing as ‘sweet’ smelling as cuddling up to a wet dog! This wind is bringing us cold weather for tomorrow. It is forecast to be windy with a high of 20 F and a low of 9 degrees F. Cold, but better than tomorrow’s forecast in Bethel, Maine, where Heather and family are headed tonight for a weekend of skiing and snowboarding. It is forecast to be -9 F there tonight with a high tomorrow of 4 degrees F with 15 mph winds. Yikes! Wind chill. At least there will be sunshine. As Heather said, they will go to the slopes for a couple of hours in the morning and see how it goes. They can return to their rental home for lunch and warmth and then head back if they dare. Sunday looks great, however. Sunny, a high of 21 and almost no wind. So, if tomorrow is a bust, they can make up for it on Sunday. This weekend trip is Sam’s 15th birthday present and his second Covid dominated birthday. His good friend Robert and Robert’s family were supposed to go with them, but in the flurry of Covid testing they all went through for the trip, Robert turned out to be positive. He is asymptomatic, thankfully, but that family will not be going. One of Sam’s other good friends, Sebastian, is still going. I am sure Sam is bummed that Robert and his older brother won’t be with them, but I know that Sam, Sebastian, Jonah, and Ollie, along with Heather and Jed, will have a great time. 
Heather sent a photo of her five guys when they stopped at Five Guys for dinner on the way up tonight. I texted back that they looked like the Five Bandits with their masks on. She texted back that at least she didn’t have to fight with them to get them to smile for the photo. Okay, one positive for Covid?
2022 Life Logs, Day 13: Still on Vacation
2022 Life Logs, Day 13: Still on Vacation
Date: Thursday, January 13, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny, Not Windy; High Temp 44, Low Temp 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I’m trying to get back in gear, but I’m still pretending that I am on a holiday vacation. Last night I completed another of the puzzles from my Dining-in Group exchange and today I spent three hours working on the puzzle of family photos I received for Christmas. I still can’t believe I spent three hours on that puzzle this morning. It seemed like just a short time. I kept saying to myself, “Just one more piece.” Then, all of a sudden it was afternoon. There was nothing I had to do, just lots of things I should have been doing. But I enjoyed my morning. I will really try to limit my puzzle time henceforth.
The puzzle I completed last night was another Dowdle puzzle. These puzzles are made from paintings, and the specific ones my Dining-in Group are working on are various places around the world. The one I completed last night was a scene from Reinefjorden in northern Norway with craggy Olstinden Peak at 2,215 feet looming over it.
I love the information sheets that come with each puzzle teaching the puzzler just a little more about a beautiful spot in the world.
2022 Life Logs, Day 12: New Specs
2022 Life Logs, Day 12: New Specs
Date: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and Windy; High Temp 41, Low Temp 31 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
In the late spring of 2019, I had a routine eye examination and got a new pair of glasses. For years, I had been wearing only titanium frames, but that spring I decided to get a fancier pair of glasses with a bit of plastic design on the frames which were a mix of titanium and nickel. I also got non-glare lenses. And after a few days, it became evident that I was allergic to something. I experimented, not wearing the new glasses for two weeks. My eyes were no longer itchy and swollen. I put the new glasses back on, and after just a day or two, the problem returned. I returned the glasses and went back to my very plain pair of titanium rims and skipped the non-glare lenses. Everything was fine. Fast forward to the present. I had an eye appointment a couple of weeks ago, got a new prescription, and ordered a new pair of glasses. This time I got exactly what I have been wearing for the past couple of years, except I decided to add back the non-glare lenses. I picked up a new specs today and hope that all goes well this time. The optician assures me that they never have people with an allergy to non-glare lenses. Sure hope that is the case!
Other than a trip to Hyannis to pick up the new specs and do a little food shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, today was more of the same. More walking and playing outside with Shadow and more puzzling. Since I am not under a deadline for completing a book, reading will go back to an “only before bedtime” activity. So now it is bedtime, so I will go read.
2022 Life Logs, Day 11: Brrrrrrrr
2022 Life Logs, Day 11: Brrrrrrrr
Date: Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Weather: Some Sun, Some Clouds, Windy; High Temp 23, Low Temp 9 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
When I started writing this log, it was 11 degrees F outside and WeatherUnderground said it felt like 2 degrees. Brrrrrr. It also says the temperature rose to 23 degrees today, but that was at midnight. It only got up to 16 degrees during the daylight hours. And at midnight tonight, the temperature will start rising, getting into the 40’s by tomorrow afternoon. This day was a cold one and I, for one, am glad the deep cold is short-lived. At least for now.
My book club met on Zoom this morning to discuss our latest book, The Immortal Irishman. As I have mentioned in prior logs, this is a biography that tells about more than the life of Thomas Frances Meagher. It tells much of the history of the people of Ireland in the 1800’s and the history of the Irish immigrants who fought for the Union in the Civil War. What struck me most about the book was the obvious parallels between what is happening in this country right now and what was happening just before, during, and right after the Civil War. History does repeat itself. If you have not read the work of Robert Pape at the University of Chicago regarding those who participated in the insurrection on January 6, you should. I think we are going to be hearing more about the profile of those arrested and what prompted them to get involved. Replacement Theory was an issue in the 1800’s and it is still alive and gaining ground today.
Immediately following my book club Zoom meeting, I headed downtown to pick Ollie up as the elementary schools were having an early release day. I brought him home with me and we had a delightful afternoon together. Ollie had eaten what he called brunch but was ready for a real lunch. So, we ate Oma’s homemade chili. Then we worked on his homework.
This required him to do some writing, so he got out his Chromebook. I was sitting across the table from him and was looking at the sticker on the lid of his computer. It was a sticker declaring Ollie Goldstone to be a US National Park Junior Ranger. Ollie must have read the question on my face as he stopped writing and said, “You must be wondering about the sticker on my computer.” I said I was as I did not know when he had recently visited a National Park. He then explained that receiving the status of Junior Ranger it is part of a class activity. Every student had to choose a National Park to learn about. He explained that he chose the American Samoa National Park since Granddad and I had been there, and Granddad had lived in American Samoa. I didn’t even know he knew that. But we had a wonderful conversation about the Samoan islands, both American Samoa and its next door neighbor, the island country of Samoa. I showed him photos of Granddad and I visiting one of the villages in American Samoa that borders on the National Park
and photos Granddad had taken of the mountains in the park.
Then I showed him my photos from the island of Savai’i in Samoa. He knew that was the island depicted in Disney’s Moana. Then we changed gears and he insisted that I watch the first two episodes for The Book of Bobo Fett. I had no idea what that was. He explained that it is a Star Wars television series and that he had already watched the first two episodes. But he was super excited that Episode 3 will be out tomorrow morning at 7 am. He wanted to make sure his Oma was up-to-date on this Star Wars series as it is so good. As we watched the first two episodes, I got a complete scene by scene education! And I was given marching orders to make sure I watch Episode 3 tomorrow. I don’t know if we have such a good time together because Ollie is more an adult than he should be or if I am more of kid than I should be. Probably a little of both.
2022 Life Logs, Day 10: Finished Reading My Book Club Book
2022 Life Logs, Day 10: Finished Reading My Book Club Book
Date: Monday, January 10, 2022
Weather: Blue Sky, Partly Sunny AM; Partly Cloudy PM; High Temp 41, Low Temp 13 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Yay! I did finish The Immortal Irishman by Timothy Egan for my Book Club Zoom meeting tomorrow morning. I was not sure I was going to get this one read, not for lack of interest. It just took longer than I expected.
The morning was sunny and felt warm, so I walked with Shadow knowing colder temps were coming later in the day. Then I read and did a little bit of work on my puzzles. I also did some laundry by hand and hung it outside to freeze dry. It did freeze to be stiff as a board, but then when I brought it in to finish drying on a rack, at least it didn’t drip. This evening I picked Sam up from his music lesson and I got to hear all his snowboarding trip to Waterville Valley in New Hampshire on Sunday. His birthday is coming up at the end of next week and his present from Heather and Jed is taking him and two of his friends for a ski weekend at Sunday River in Maine this coming weekend. He is really looking forward to that.
That’s about it from my world. Tomorrow’s temp is supposed to be in the teens with strong winds. Brrrrr. I’ll have to bundle up to walk with Shadow tomorrow. Stay warm.
2022 Life Logs, Day 09: Warm Wind Melts the Snow
2022 Life Logs, Day 09: Warm Wind Melts the Snow
Date: Sunday, January 9, 2022
Weather: Overcast, Windy, Rain Late; High Temp 47, Low Temp 26 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
A warm wind (warm is a relative term) blew through today and melted most of the snow and ice on the ground. Since it is going to get very cold on Tuesday, it is best to be rid of the snow as it would turn truly icy and make walking about difficult. Now I don’t need to worry as the road is totally clear and Shadow and I will be able to safely continue our walks.
My day was spent reading and I am getting close to meeting my goal of finishing my book by Tuesday morning’s meeting. Last night when I wrote this log, I thought that impossible. But I stayed up and read and today find myself much closer to finishing.
Otherwise, life is just moving along. Sam did get to go on his high school ski trip today. Tomorrow evening I pick him up from his music lesson and hope to hear all about snowboarding in New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley. I saw of photo on Jo’s Facebook page of Coco skating through the house, headed right toward a soccer ball.
Jo labeled the photo, “Coco is into multi-sport fusions!” My doll loving, pink loving, tutu loving granddaughter is now into soccer and skating and riding horses. Go, Coco!