2021 Life Logs, Day 283: Soccer; Dinner with Neighbors and Goldstones
Date: Sunday, October 10, 2021.
Weather: Cloudy, Windy, Rain in the PM; High Temp 64, Low Temp 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The day began with another soccer game. I ended up driving with Heather and Jonah to Weymouth for the game instead of driving separately. It was a good game despite the fact that Jonah’s team lost. Next weekend, he and Sam will be camping with Scouts, so I won’t get to see him play again until Sunday the 24th in Rhode Island. Then there is more camping the weekend after that and no opportunity to see him play. So I’m glad I went today. It is so fascinating to watch the interaction of the boys as they play. This fall Jonah is playing with a number of boys that are new to his team. When I reviewed the photos I took today, a teammate named Tristin was in almost every photo with Jonah as they both play forward positions. I chucked, as Tristin is now the one with long hair in a ponytail and wild-haired Jonah now has short hair. But more importantly, the photos showed that they are developing an on-the-field relationship to try and get that ball in the goal.

On the way home we stopped at a Halloween Spirit store to see if they might happen to have a specific Marvel character costume for Jonah. They didn’t have what he was looking for, but Heather did find a banana costume for Jed. Ollie will be a gorilla and Jed will walk alongside him as his Big Banana. I visited for a few minutes with Marti as she was leaving momentarily. Then it was home to get ready for the late afternoon barbecue at the Dearman’s, my almost next door neighbors. Heather, Jed, and boys were also invited. We divvied up the food and my contribution was salads, appetizers, and trimmings for the burgers. We had hoped the rain would hold off, but it started just before we got back to Heather and Jed’s and it has stayed with us, off and on, since then. Thankfully it was a light rain, and we didn’t let it spoil our outside barbecue. Andrew and Lara’s three children are the same ages as Heather and Jed’s three and they had a great time playing outside until almost 10 pm. They did stop early on to watch a movie and dry off a bit, but then after dinner they were back outside in the dark having a fun time.

Shadow and I have been invited to join Heather and family for a long walk in the woods tomorrow. The other thing on my ‘to do’ list is to make granola. I was not home with Shadow much today, but tomorrow will make up for it as I should be with him all day.

2021 Life Logs, Day 282: Soccer, Laundry, Reading, Cooking
Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021.
Weather: Cloudy and Windy; High Temp 63, Low Temp 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Not a normal Saturday, but a productive day. Ollie’s soccer game was at 10:30 am. Heather and I were there from the start, then near half-time we were joined by Jed, Marti, Jonah, and Sam. Heather left with Jonah and Sam at half-time and headed to Weymouth for Jonah’s afternoon games. Then after the game, everyone but me headed north to the games. Ollie’s team won their game handily. They continue to improve with every game. I decided to stay home today and go to Jonah’s game in Weymouth tomorrow morning. If I had gone today and stayed for both games, I wouldn’t have gotten home until after 7 pm and that was just too long to leave Shadow.

I headed home after Ollie’s game to walk and play with Shadow. My almost next-door-summer neighbors, Lara and Andrew and kids, are here this weekend and I spent some time visiting with them and finalizing plans for a barbeque at their house tomorrow afternoon. They have invited Heather and family as the kids love playing together. Then Shadow and I headed to town to do the grocery shopping for what I agreed to bring to the barbeque. Shadow enjoys the ride and doesn’t seem to mind staying in the car while I shop. I also took my laundry and spent time at Heather’s doing that. I did the grocery shopping while the clothes washed and read the handouts for my Wednesday Public Policy discussion group while the clothes dried. The rest of the evening was spent at home making applesauce for a Dining-in Group dinner on Tuesday and preparing a couple of things for tomorrow. Another day in the life.

2021 Life Logs, Day 281: Day Off
Date: Friday, October 8, 2021.
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High Temp 70, Low Temp 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I took the day off today and did a little of this and a little of that–certainly nothing earth shattering. I did visit with a member of my book club and her husband to look at their gardens and to see how they built mini-greenhouse covers for their raised beds. I came home and changed out 50 percent of the water in my aquarium for the third time this week to try to get rid of the cloudiness. It is better, but still cloudy. The problem started when I put in a piece of wood that I purchased as safe for aquariums. The directions said to soak it for two or three days to get rid of the tannins. I soaked it for a month, changing the water every day, but the instant I put it the aquarium the water turned yellow and then cloudy. So, when the water change today didn’t work, I drove into town to buy something to aid the clearing. That doesn’t seem to be working either. Frustrating. Later in the afternoon, I went to a Falmouth High School JV soccer game. Sam has not been able to play basically since school started due to an ankle injury. It is better now, so hopefully he will get in some play time in the next few weeks.

This week I finished reading The Guernsey Literacy and Potato Peel Pie Society. What a delightful book. I heard about the book from my summer neighbors from New York who both grew up in England. When I met Lara she mentioned that she is from the island of Guernsey, I had to admit that I really didn’t know where it was. Now I know it is one of the Chanel Islands, closer to France than to England. The novel takes place during World War II when the island was occupied by the Germans and the years immediately following. Lara, Andrew, and kids are here for the long weekend and came over this morning to say hello. I mentioned that I had just finished the book and hoped to get together this weekend to learn more about Guernsey. They suggested I watch the movie, so I did that tonight. Unfortunately, the movie was not filmed on Guernsey, but Lara assured me that it still puts forth an accurate vision of the island. I’m so anxious to learn more.

2021 Life Logs, Day 280: Rail Trail Newcomers Field Trip
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021.
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 73, Low Temp 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The weather today was spectacular. The sky was that beautiful Cape Cod blue and it was the same in Rhode Island. It was up early and off on another Newcomers adventure. This time it was a field trip to Portsmouth, Rhode Island to ride the Rail Trail. You ride in two or four person flatbed rail cars that you pedal to move along. I was grouped with friend Karen Baranowski and another couple I had never met, Joan and Walter Zwible. Today we did what is called the southern route that generally follows the coastline from Portsmouth down toward Newport. We peddled for three miles, got off at a delightful rest stop with bright red Adirondack chairs overlooking the water, and then pedaled the three miles back to home base. It was just delightful.

I drove separately and did not stay to have lunch with everyone as I wanted to hurry home to spend some time with Shadow. After leaving him all day and evening yesterday, I felt too guilty to do it again. I came home and took him for a long walk. Then we sat in the sun and shade, me in the sun, Shadow in the shade, for a bit before leaving to pick up Jonah and take him to his soccer practice up near Hyannis. I took Shadow with me this time.

Today was another fun day in the sun—the second one in a row. Today I received a couple of photos from yesterday’s wine group gathering from other members that reminded me just what a wonderful time we had on our boat outing. I’m holding onto summer as long as possible, even if I do have to put on a sweater.

2021 Life Logs, Day 279: Wonderful Day with Friends and Family
Date: Wednesday, October 6, 2021.
Weather: Partly Sunny, Then Full Sun; High Temp 69, Low Temp 50 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was a jammed packed day with friends and family. Karen, Olivia, Midge, and I joined Jane Woodin to celebrate her birthday. We had a wonderful lunch on the Cape Cod Canal at Fisherman’s View. Then it was on to Kingman Marine on Buzzards Bay for a gathering of my wine group aboard Don Mroz and Susan Lapine’s boat. Thanks to the Captain and Admiral. The food and wine were superb, as was the sunset.

Finally, I headed to Heather and Jed’s to have dinner with them, Jed’s mother Marti, and Jed’s brother Tobey and his partner Stephanie. We had oysters from Wellfleet, Eel River, and Boothbay, Maine as well as salmon, potatoes, zucchini, and salad. It was great to see Jed’s family. Tobey and Stephanie head on tomorrow, but Marti will be with us for a few days. I look forward to having more time to visit with her.

Must end this and get to bed. I leave at 8 am tomorrow for a rail trip adventure in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Stay tuned to hear about that.

2021 Life Logs, Day 278: Another Dreary Day
Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2021.
Weather: Overcast and Misty; High Temp 60, Low Temp 52 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was another dreary day and I’m actually not sure where the time went. I did some cooking which takes time, I walked in the mist with Shadow, I caught up on email communication, I cleaned the inside of my car, I went to the grocery store, and at 3:30 pm I headed to Heather and Jed’s to take Jonah to his evening soccer practice. I got home from soccer practice by 7:30 pm and that was my day.

Tomorrow will be another story. I leave home at 11:30 am to go to a birthday luncheon for friend Jane Woodin. The women members of our Dining-in Group try to do something special for each female member’s birthday and tomorrow is Jane’s day. We are hoping to eat at a place called Fisherman’s View up on the canal. If it is too crowded, we have back-ups in that area. After lunch, I will hurry back home to walk with Shadow and pick up food and wine for a 4 pm gathering of my wine group, back up near the canal. And from there I will head to Heather and Jed’s for dinner. Jed’s mother, Marti, and Jed’s brother Tobey and his partner Stephanie, are headed home from a summer in Boothbay, Maine and will stop here tomorrow. Tobey and Stephanie will leave for home in Oregon on Thursday, but Jed’s mom will stay through the weekend before going home to Washington, DC. Two hours of my day tomorrow will be spent driving from here to Sandwich, Sandwich to home, home to Cataumet, Cataumet to Falmouth, and finally Falmouth to home. Then on Thursday morning I head to Rhode Island on a Newcomers field trip. Whew! I think Friday will be a day of rest.

2021 Life Logs, Day 277: Dreary, Rainy Day
Date: Monday, October 4, 2021.
Weather: Rain All Day; High Temp 63, Low Temp 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

What better to do on a dreary, rainy day than go shopping? Nothing, I say. So off to Costco I went late this morning. I took Shadow with me so he wouldn’t be at home alone all day, but of course, he stayed in the car while I was in Costco. It wasn’t the most successful trip I’ve made there as a few of the items I was after were not in stock. But it was still worth the trip.

When I got home, it was no longer raining, but was still misty. So, Shadow and I did our long walk of the day without getting too wet. That was it for today.

2021 Life Logs, Day 276: Garden and Yard Work, Pumpkins, and Football
Date: Sunday, October 3, 2021.
Weather: Cloudy; High Temp 73, Low Temp 60 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Yes. Fall is here. While Sam gave my neighbors’ yards their last grass cutting before the leaves come tumbling down, I planted the kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and arugula seedlings I bought yesterday. Now I just hope they get enough sun to grow. Sam, with me assisting, also cut up some scrap lumber that has been sitting in my backyard since June. I am hoping to now get rid of it, little by little, by putting it in bags with the weekly trash pick-up. We both worked constantly for three and a half hours, a little longer than we had anticipated, and then we hopped in the car to take him home.

We got a call just as we were approaching the entrance to Grasmere. It was Heather telling us they were on their way to the Tony Andrews Farm to get pumpkins. They had texted and called us for the past hour, but neither Sam nor I had our phones outside with us. As we turned into Grasmere, the van was just pulling out. So, they turned back in to see if Sam wanted to get in with them or if I wanted to go and bring Sam. We opted for the latter and we met at the farm. We only had an hour until they closed, but that was plenty of time to choose our pumpkins and have some fun in the corn field maze. It was a cloudy day, but the pumpkins sitting in the field looked a deeper color of orange than usual. The pumpkins were beautiful, and it was hard making our choices. Once we did have our pumpkins, we left them in the wagons and headed into the corn field maze. Sam kept us entertained by running through the corn and jumping out at us with great gusto as we passed by. Jonah and Ollie simply slipped up quietly behind us to give us a scare. It was a great call by Heather to head to the pumpkin patch this afternoon. We all had a great time. Plus, we got the annual Goldstone pumpkin patch photo and Heather got a great selfie of all of us, even Sam the Scarecrow as Sam added a little straw to this hair.

I came home and had a nice long walk with Shadow and now we are watching the Patriots play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I used to watch a Patriots game here and there, but once Tom Brady left, I really haven’t tuned it except for the Super Bowl. But tonight, I just couldn’t resist watching Tom Brady return to Gillette Stadium as quarterback for the visiting team. It must be difficult for both Brady and Belichick. I can’t help but cheer on Brady, but the young quarterback for the Patriots is really impressive.

2021 Life Logs, Day 275: Soccer, Fall Plant Bonanza, Women’s Rally, Tea with a Friend
Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Warmer; High Temp 70, Low Temp 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Ollie’s soccer game started at 9 am, so I was up and out the door walking Shadow early on this Saturday. Then it was on to Ollie’s game. Each week Ollie’s team really improves. Like everything else in our world, soccer practice and games have not been the same during Covid. Heather noted at Ollie’s first game that the skill level on all of the fourth grade teams this year seemed far behind fourth grade teams in the past. By fourth grade, both Sam and Jonah had added travel team experiences to their Falmouth recreational soccer. There has been no opportunity like that for kids Ollie’s age. I think today was game number three for Ollie’s team this fall, and already they look like a completely different team. At this level, the coach rotates the kids from offense to defense during each game but only the kids that volunteer have to be goalie. Ollie keeps volunteering to be goalie, but he seems to enjoy playing all positions.

As I drove home from Ollie’s game, I decided to go out of my way to make a stop at Soares which is a small garden center. I thought maybe they would have a few fall veggie seedlings. I was looking for kale, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts. And boy, did I ever walk into a fall plant bonanza. They had all three on sale for just a $1 for four plants. I texted Heather to see if she wanted any for her deck planters and the answer was a resounding YES. She had tried unsuccessfully to start seedlings and I simply never got that far. I had just thought about it. Soares did the work for us and I bought more than half of what they had left. Tomorrow will be planting day.

In the afternoon I headed downtown to be a part of the Falmouth rally supporting today’s much larger Women’s March in Washington, DC. The purpose of the march was to demand continued access to abortion. The Falmouth rally was well organized and well attended by an enthusiastic group of women and a few men. My friend Olivia White wore the collar she crocheted in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and held a sign that said, “Do It For Ruth.”

After the rally, I met up with friend Midge Frieswyk. We went to the French bakery to get tea and a “goodie” that we enjoyed at a picnic table on the library lawn. I think we talked for almost two hours. I got so into our visit that I totally forgot that I had planned to attend Jonah’s 4 pm soccer game. I got there when the game was almost over, but it was still a great ending to a fun afternoon. Then it was home for a walk with Shadow. The weather was beautiful today and I did get a few plants in the ground, but not many. Hopefully I will spend tomorrow in the gardens.

2021 Life Logs, Day 274: October 1st
Date: Friday, October 1, 2021
Weather: Sunny, Still Cool, but Warming; High Temp 66, Low Temp 51 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

What does October 1st mean to you? For me, it means that I have acknowledge that fall is really here. I include all of September as a summer month, but come October, it finally dawns on me that summer is over. I must let go until the next year . . . something that is always very hard for me. But the signs are here. Maybe it is the pumpkins and chrysanthemums that are everywhere; maybe it is the cooler nights; maybe it is the fact that tonight was the high school homecoming game and dance at Falmouth High School; maybe it is that I got the annual fall flu shot today. Whatever, I finally realize that it is fall. But only acorns are falling here on the Cape. Most of the tree leaves are hanging on tight. And the tree leaves are not turning colors. This year they appear to be holding on to summer, just like me. I like that.
It has been a while since I made a big batch of my Chicken Magic Mineral Broth and I am running low. So, today I put on a big pot of water, chicken bones, and veggies to burble first thing in the morning. As it burbled away, I spent time on my computer updating the monthly Bill Pay amounts that are sent out from my bank. It was just one of those taking care of business days punctuated by beautiful walks with Shadow. Welcome Autumn! I think I said that on the first day of fall, but this time I mean it.