2021 Life Logs, Day 333: A Day Together with JJZ&C
Date: Monday, November 29, 2021
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High Temp 41, Low Temp 27 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Justin, Jo, Ziggy, Coco, Shadow, and I had a great day today just being together. Ziggy and Coco played outside with Shadow and then we decorated the Christmas tree. Justin hung a wreath on the front of the cottage and then we went to Mashpee Commons to get a few things we were going to need for our nachos dinner and Jo snuck in a little Christmas shopping for the kids. When we returned home, we launched into a cooking project that Ziggy wanted to do together. Since he arrived, he has been talking about making cat-shaped ice cream sandwiches. It turned out to be a longer project that we anticipated, but Justin pitched in and saved the day. We didn’t get home from Mashpee until after 2:30 and we were meeting Ollie and Jonah on the Mullen Hall playground afterschool at 3:30 pm. We got the cookie dough made as fast as we could, put it in the refrigerator to chill, and then we headed into town. Jed met us at the playground and said he would stay with the kids and take Ziggy and Coco home with him while Justin and I headed home so he and Jo could make the nachos and he and Ziggy could roll out the cookie dough and make the cat face cut outs. We had to juggle the oven time, so as soon as the Heather, Jed, and the kids arrived, the nachos went into the oven. Then while we were eating dinner, the cat cookies baked. The nacho dinner was wonderful, and the cat cookies came out great. After dinner, the ice cream was sliced and cut out with the same cookie cutter as the cookies. It was a bit of a process, the ice cream sandwiches were adorable.

Parting is always difficult, but with a great big group hug the Puerto Rico Handley-Hunts said farewell to the Cape Cod Handley-Goldstones. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, Coco, and I head north to Boston tomorrow. We will stop in Plymouth so Justin can pick up his repaired violin. Then we plan to drive the van to the airport and leave it for the afternoon while we take public transportation into downtown Boston. We are thinking that we will do a little historic Boston walking tour and then have an early dinner in Chinatown before returning to the airport. Their flight doesn’t leave until 7:30 pm, getting them to San Juan after midnight. I will have to say my farewells when I drop them at Logan and make the lonely drive home while visions of April vacation in Puerto Rico dance in my head.

2021 Life Logs, Day 332: Happy Hanukkah
Date: Sunday, November 28, 2021
Weather: Overcast, Snow Sprinkles; High Temp 38, Low Temp 33 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

This is the fifth day that Justin and family have been here and today was set aside for a walk to downtown Falmouth and then a celebration of the first night of Hanukkah. We lit the first night candle at sundown and then the kids started playing the dreidel game. They had a sizable ‘pot’ of gelt (gold and silver wrapped chocolate coins) with which to play the game and eat a few along the way. Heather started frying the latkes and as soon as she had a full tray, we served them while she fried more. They were gobbled up so fast that we decided to bring in the reinforcements to keep frying. Jed and Sam helped out and then Sam braised the steak. We grazed our way through dinner, eating the latkes while they were warm and adding prosciutto wrapped asparagus, a salad, and braised sirloin steak slices. The food was all delicious and everyone really enjoyed playing the dreidel game. I gave each of the grandchildren a book. Jonah and Ziggy got a book called RESIST that tells the story of people throughout history that rose us to resist tyranny and injustice. Sam got STAMPED: A Book About Racism, Antiracism, and You. And Ollie and Coco got a book called A BOOK ABOUT WHITENESS: Not My Idea. “An honest explanation about how power and privilege factor into the lives of white children, at the expense of other groups, and how they can help seek justice. —THE NEW YORK TIMES Each of the kids immediately began reading their books and the evening took a more serious turn with some indepth discussions on the many issues we are facing in lives today.

Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco came home with me tonight and will stay here tomorrow night as well. They fly home on late on Tuesday, so we have two more days together. As soon as we arrived at my house tonight, the first thing Justin did was put up my Christmas tree that I bought this morning. We went from Hanukkah to Christmas in short time, but Ziggy had really expressed an interest in decorating my tree while they are here. That will be one of tomorrow’s activities.

JJZ&C have really enjoyed their stay at Heather and Jed’s, but it is great to have them here now. We have invited Heather and family here for dinner tomorrow when they will have to say their farewells. But we are planning a family trip to Puerto Rico during the April school vacation which we are already looking forward to.

2021 Life Logs, Day 331: Trip to the Outer Cape
Date: Saturday, November 27, 2021
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds, WINDY; High Temp 41, Low Temp 29 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

A trip to the Outer Cape today felt like a polar exploration. Well, it was not quite that cold, but with the wind chill it felt like it was below freezing all day. The wind was blowing a good 20 mph from the west, strong enough to keep the sand swirling around our feet. Despite the cold, our trip to High Head Beach to see the seals was well worth it.

Our first destination was High Head Beach in North Truro. We parked and then hiked the half mile to the beach. We were somewhat protected from the wind by the dunes and the sun shining, so all was well. We made the ascent up the dune and when the view of the turbulent ocean came into sight, it was really breathtakingly beautiful. When we got down to the beach, however, the wind was wicked. We walked down the beach to see the grey seals and despite the cold, we just kept walking. We let Shadow off his leash and frolicked and ran for more than hour. We observed the seals, but he totally ignored them. That was a good thing. As we walked, we found the remains of one very lobster and large clam and crab shells. The remains of seal dinner? At one point, Sam picked up a black plastic lid for a 5-gallon bucket. When he went to put it down, he decided to give it a spin to watch it roll on its edge. It did, but it didn’t stop. The wind was blowing so hard that as fast as Sam could run, the lid could spin down the beach faster. When he did catch it to lay it flat, it would take off again with Sam and Shadow running after it. It was quite a show. When we turned around to walk back, however, it was a show of a different kind. The wind was blowing so hard into our faces, that some put on their Covid masks for protection. Others turned around and walked backwards. Despite the wicked wind, I think most everyone really enjoyed the adventure. Near the end, Coco was unhappy with the cold, but she kept her complaints low-key. Despite the cold, I think she still enjoyed it, but when Auntie Heather mentioned driving into Provincetown to get hot chocolate, her eyes lit up.

We drove to P-town and got coffee, tea, and hot chocolate at The Wired Puppy. Great name. We walked through town, some us still with our cups in hand for the warmth. As we were walking through Provincetown, Justin noted that I had left out one kind of beach when describing the types of beaches found in the various areas of Cape Cod. I had listed the rocky and pebbly beaches of the Upper Cape, the beaches adjacent to the marshy areas of the Mid-Cape, and the dunes of the Outer Cape. I had left out tropical beaches!

As we left Provincetown, we drove to ‘lands end’ to see the Pilgrims’ First Landing Park before heading home to have our favorite family dinner—sushi. It was a great way to end a great day.

2021 Life Logs, Day 330: Fabulous Fun Friday Family Feast
Date: Friday, November 26, 2021
Weather: Overcast, Rainy, Windy; High Temp 47, Low Temp 30 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

This afternoon my family had what the grandkids called a fabulous, fun, Friday family feast in lieu of having a Thanksgiving meal yesterday. For us, this was our day of giving thanks and feasting. All ten of us made contributions to the dinner and all ten of us enjoyed it. Of course, we all ate too much, but that is the definition of a feast. Right? Heather and Jed provided the turkey and Jed was in charge of the bird. I stayed home until mid-afternoon preparing the mashed potatoes, stuffing, a green bean and mushroom casserole, and pumpkin pies. I made Mark’s traditional cranberry salad earlier this week. Ziggy helped Jo make a pecan and an apple pie, while Heather prepared Brussels sprouts hash, mashed squash, gravy, and chocolate pudding for the kids who are not pie eaters. Justin helped the kids use my juicer to make apple cranberry juice and helped Jo with the grain free stuffing. Jonah was in charge of making ‘acorns’ from chocolate kisses and mini-Nilla Wafers with the help of his cousins. And Sam sharpened the knife for carving the turkey. Despite the fact that we absolutely had too much food, we enjoyed every bit of it. One of the very special things about the dinner happened as an impromptu event. Just as we all sat down, there was impromptu symphony of sounds coming from everyone running their index finger around the rim of their wine glasses filled with the cranapple juice the kids had made earlier in the afternoon. It was a beautiful moment.

There was only one little disaster. For months, Ollie has been anxiously waiting to enjoy a turkey leg. He had barely started eating it when Shadow stole it off his plate. Ollie was devastated and I felt terrible. All those frustrations I have had over the past few months with myself for not being able to train this dog properly came rushing down on me. He is certainly not ready for prime time, so I carted him home after dinner and then returned for dessert. But other than that incident, it was a fabulous feast.

It was rainy, windy, and cold today and tomorrow will be even colder. But we are going to brave the cold and head to the Outer Cape to see the seals and walk in the white cedar swamp. When we return, we are having sushi from Homeport Sushi for dinner. No cooking. Hurray!

2021 Life Logs, Day 329: A Day of Mourning
Date: Thursday, November 25, 2021
Weather: Beautiful Day, Warmer Than Yesterday; High Temp 54, Low Temp 43 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Instead of observing the traditional Thanksgiving Day, the Goldstones, the Handley-Hunts, and I spent our day in Plymouth standing in solidarity with the indigenous people of Massachusetts who hold a Day of Mourning on this day. This Day of Mourning was first declared in 1970. I read one account where a modern day Wampanoag man said, “Thanksgiving is the one day where everyone in America bows their head and gives thanks for everything they took from us.” It is hard to argue with that statement. When you start by acknowledging that the Pilgrims settled, certainly uninvited, on the land that had been inhabited the Wampanoag Tribe for more than 12,000 years, it is easy to understand why they have declared this a National Day of Mourning.
My family will have a ‘feast’ tomorrow and reflect on those things for which we are grateful. But I doubt that any of us will ever again celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving feast on Thanksgiving Day. There is a lot to process from today’s experience, but it certainly set us all on a new path of investigation into the true history of this country.

2021 Life Logs, Day 328: A Fun Family Walk
Date: Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High Temp 42, Low Temp 31 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

What a delightful day. First thing this morning, Justin and I headed to Plymouth to visit Plimoth Violin. Justin’s violin of many years was in dire need of repairs, so he brought it with him, and I found Hollis, the owner of Plimoth Violin who said he could repair it while Justin is here. Hollis makes and repairs violins and Justin had a good time trying out different violins. In the end, he decided he wanted his old one repaired, so we left it and will pick it up on Tuesday on our way to the airport in Boston. Being in Plymouth gave Justin and I chance to check out the venue for the Day of Mourning for the indigenous people of Massachusetts that we will be attending tomorrow. No turkey for us until Friday. But if you are observing ‘Turkey’ Day, I hope you enjoy friends, family, and food.

By the time we returned to Family Central, that would be Heather and Jed’s, it was time for a lunch of soup and salad and quesadillas for kids. Coco and I then went to pick up Shadow for a late afternoon family walk. We met the rest of the gang at Peterson Farm and walked the ridge, successfully found a geocache which was a little journal in which Ollie and Coco wrote notes. We returned to our cars just as the sun was going down. We then did a hurry up drive through Woods Hole and out to Nobska Lighthouse where we crossed the road and climbed down the rocks to the water’s edge. The sunset was nice, not spectacular, but still beautiful and we enjoyed every minute of light as we walked on the boulders along the shoreline to finally climb back up a steep incline taking us back to the lighthouse. I had Sam assisting me from the front and Justin from the back in order to climb that steep hill, but I made it. The walk though Beebee Woods and views on the walk along the water gave us all a renewed appreciation of the beauty of Cape Cod.

I just tucked Coco into bed and Shadow is keeping watch over her. She decided she wanted to do an overnight at Oma’s. When we got to the cottage, we went down to the basement and played table shuffleboard and got a doll and a couple of stuffed friends to bring upstairs with us. Then we started a new puzzle and read together until lights out. It is so special to spend some quiet time with my only granddaughter. There’s not a lot of quiet time with the four grandsons, but they seem to be having a wonderful, wild time together.

2021 Life Logs, Day 327: They’re Here
Date: Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy, Cold; High Temp 39, Low Temp 26 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Right now it is 29 degrees outside, but WeatherUnderground says it feels like 18 degrees F. That is because of the wind. And it is freezing out there. Not the best weather for Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco’s arrival. But the important thing is that they are here. Their flight was about an hour late and there was a medical emergency aboard that was a little unsettling. However, considering the delays and issues some people are having, this seemed like an easy flight. When I saw them walking toward the van, I couldn’t believe the wash of emotion that came over me. I had meant to get an arrival photo, but I completely forgot about that when I saw them. I just jumped out of the van and started hugging. I hope we never have to be apart this long ever again.

When we got to Heather and Jed’s, the kids took off to do their thing. Before long, Ziggy, Jonah, and Ollie had bonded as a group.

2021 Life Logs, Day 326: Under the 24-Hour Mark
Date: Monday, November 22, 2021
Weather: Rainy Day, Getting Colder; High Temp 57, Low Temp 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The low last night was 55. Tonight, it is forecast to be 32. And just in time for Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco’s arrival, the low tomorrow night is supposed to be the coldest night we have had this fall at 27 degrees F. That is freezing for sure, and it is going to be quite a shock coming from the warmth of Puerto Rico. But cold or not and ready or not, I can’t wait to have my whole family together. At this point, the Jet Blue flight from San Juan should arrive in Boston at 6:08 pm. But that has changed a few times recently, so I will wait until take-off to be sure. In any case, I’m leaving here around 2 pm as I have to make a stop on the way and fight rush hour traffic. I’d rather be early than late. In less than 24 hours I am looking forward to a great big group hug.

2021 Life Logs, Day 325: Two Days to Go
Date: Sunday, November 21, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Much Warmer; High Temp 57, Low Temp 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

In less than 48 hours I will be picking Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco up from the airport in Boston. I spent today continuing to get ready for their visit. More cooking, more food shopping, more delivering food to Heather’s since we will all be eating our meals there. I wish I could say I am done. But I am not. I know I’ll be working right up to the last minute.

First thing this morning, I went to Heather’s to get a haircut. Heather is our family barber of choice because she does such a great job. Thank you, Heather. They were working on getting the big room over the garage that we call the Red Room ready for Justin and family. It is called the Red Room because of the rust red carpeting, so I guess I can say Heather and family are rolling out the red carpet for JJZ&C. Heather has arranged to borrow bikes for Ziggy and Coco and we have winter coats for everyone. I made more trips to the grocery store. On one of those trips, I had to stop to fill up the car. I get points each dollar spent at Stop and Shop. Usually I get 10 or 20 cents off on every gallon. Today I got 70 off each gallon. Proof that I have been spending plenty on groceries.

2021 Life Logs, Day 324: Gratitude Graffiti Wall
Date: Friday, November 20, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High Temp 46, Low Temp 37 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Food prep for the upcoming week continued today. The experiment today was making a grain free pie crust from scratch. It is made of almond and cassava flour. Making the crust was a little tricky as the dough doesn’t hold together like one made with wheat flour, but now I know it is possible. It won’t get a taste test until tomorrow. I got the crust in the pie pan and then put it in the freezer. Tomorrow I will thaw it and make a pie. If the frozen and then thawed crust passes the taste test, I will make and freeze the other crusts needed for later in the week. The pies I made as a taste test a week or so ago were made with store bought frozen gluten free crusts. They were just okay. I’m hoping the homemade grain free crust will be better.

In the early afternoon, Heather, Ollie, and I headed downtown to Main Street to write on the Gratitude Graffiti Wall being sponsored by the Waquoit Congregational Church and a number of other Falmouth organizations. It is a big piece of canvas on which you can write or draw your gratitude statement. Ollie drew a peace symbol, Heather expressed gratitude for this community, and I wrote that I am thankful for my five grandchildren who brighten my life every day. I love watching them grow into responsible earth citizens. I also share Heather’s thankfulness for the Falmouth community and Ollie’s wish for peace in our world.

We really couldn’t leave downtown without visiting Eight Cousins bookstore. While Heather and I were perusing the book displays, Ollie noticed a Christmas tree in the store with paper ornaments, each with a child’s first name, age, and a specific interest. He asked Heather what this was about. She didn’t know, but we inquired and found out that each ornament represents one child in this community who could use a few extra Christmas presents this year. Ollie wanted to choose a younger child and he picked a seven-year-old girl who is interested in princesses. He found a princess book and bought it for her. Another show of gratitude for the afternoon.

Tonight, I talked to my friend Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand. It is spring there, soon to be summer, but like here, they are still dealing with Covid. While we were talking, she sent me a photo of the brown Labradoodle that lives where she is currently house sitting for a friend. As soon as we got off the phone, I sent her a photo of Shadow. He is still a wild one, but I am so grateful that we share a life together. I might have to go back downtown and add a note of gratitude for my best buddy. I have had him for exactly 2 years and 3 days, so it was time to for a then and now photo comparison.