2020 Life Logs, Day 188: Happy Birthday Tribute to Captain Greybeard
Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Weather: Sunny and Windy; High 71, Low 65 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

38 Captain Graybeard with His Best Crew Members–Jonah, Ziggy, and Sam

20 Digging for Treasure

03 Jonah and Sam Give Their Best Pirate Look

If Mark were still with us, today would have been his 78th birthday. In 2013 our whole family was together for his birthday and we went on a pirate voyage in search of hidden treasures. As we sailed out of Woods Hole headed for Tarpaulin Cove, Windbird was flying a pirate flag and we had a buried treasure map. We were all dressed in pirate gear and we gave Mark the name of Captain Greybeard. Sam, Jonah, and Ziggy were old enough to really get into pirate mode. Ollie was a year old and Coco was three weeks shy of one year. She actually slept most of the afternoon, but Ollie followed Greybeard around with his pirate sword. We spent a wonderful day making lots of lasting memories and on each succeeding July 7th, we have found ways to remember Greybeard’s birthday in pirate fashion. Despite the windy weather making it feel cooler than it was, the Goldpebbles and I spent a couple of hours at this beach this afternoon. Heather and Jed joined us at the end of the day at Menauhant Beach. They brought pirate hats for each of us and we took a photo to mark this year’s pirate celebration. Happy Birthday, Granddad.

2020 Life Logs, Day 187: Dealing with Fickle Weather
Date: Monday, July 6, 2020
Weather: Overcast AM, Turning Partly Cloudy, Sunshine Late; High 73, Low 60 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

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Today was the start of the second week of Camp Oma afternoons and it was another skate park and beach afternoon. Normally at this time of year, we have overcast mornings every few days, but not every day. Last week we had rain and thunderstorms on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, a beautiful Thursday, and then the beginning of overcast conditions that go into the afternoon everyday. The sun doesn’t seem to want to come out until late afternoon. But the Goldpebbles and I are going with the flow. We have a tentative plan for our day, but then adjust according to the weather. Today it was still overcast at noon when I picked up the boys, so we headed to the skate park. Jonah and Ollie are working on perfecting skills on their scooters and Sam has been concentrating on learning to use the skateboard. That has resulted in a few cuts and scrapes as the result of learning tumbles, but he is hanging in there. In just a few skate park visits, the skill level of each of the boys has really increased. Today we ate lunch at the skate park and in my car on the way to my house where we changed into our beach clothes. It was almost 3 pm when we got to the beach and finally it was mostly sunny. Not until after 4 pm, however, did the sun come out fully. We needed to leave the beach by 4:45 pm, but none of us wanted to go as we were just getting warmed up. Ollie has a Scout Zoom meeting on Monday evenings at 6:30 pm, so we really did have to go so the boys could get showers and have dinner before the meeting. Today was the fifth day in a row with this overcast, then sunny weather pattern. Hopefully the sun will come out earlier tomorrow. But sun or no sun, the Goldpebbles had a great time at the beach this afternoon, using the skim board plus their boogie boards to slide, surf, and glide, resulting in many squeals of delight.

Shadow and I are still working on adjusting our summer schedule. I spend time every morning taking him on a long walk and trying to get him to eat something before I leave at 11:45. He is a super picky eater, so this is no easy task. I pick up the Goldpebbles at 12 noon and don’t get back home until after 6 pm when I spend more time either walking or playing ball outside with Shadow before coming in to fix dinner. I need to do a better job of cooking things ahead on the weekend, as right now I am not eating until 8 or 9 pm. And cleaning house seems to have gone by the wayside for now. Good thing having indoor visitors is a ‘no-no’ in these coronavirus days!

2020 Life Logs, Day 186:  Family Day
Date:  Sunday, July 5, 2020
Weather:  Overcast AM, Partly Cloudy PM; High 74, Low 67 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Shadow and I spent our morning together and after lunch I went to Heather and Jed’s to plant tomatoes in the ‘upside down’ containers we prepared yesterday by drilling a large hole in the bottom of each one.  Today the boys helped me plant the tomatoes in the containers and hang them on the deck.  You hang the container upright and the plant coming out of the hole in the bottom.  For years, Heather and Jed have had Matt’s Wild Cherry tomatoes in their garden and they reseeded themselves every year.  But they lost these favorites when they moved.  When I found seeds in the local hardware store, I just had to buy them and try to grow them.  It has taken longer than expected, but they were finally big enough to transplant.

After that project, I took Ollie and Jonah to the Skate Park for an hour and then it was time to run home to walk and feed Shadow and return to the Goldstones for dinner. 
Jed marinated and grilled ribs, Heather made coleslaw, and I provided a red, white, and blue dessert—a strawberry and blueberry fruit tart.

2020 Life Logs, Day 185: 4th of July Coronavirus Style
Date: Saturday, July 4, 2020
Weather: Sunny, Overcast, Partly Sunny; High 73, Low 62 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Happy Independence Day to all. It was definitely a different kind of 4th of July in Falmouth. No huge American flag flying from a crane on the library lawn, no bike parade through downtown, no annual book sale on the library lawn, no fireworks tonight. Unfortunately, the number of people on the Falmouth Heights beach this afternoon seemed to be a bit out of touch. It looked like a typically crowded beach on the 4th of July with masks nowhere in sight. Thankfully, the rest of Falmouth that I saw today was much more in touch with coronavirus guidelines outlined by the Governor.

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As a family, we stretched our normal family only rule to include Sam and Dawn Weigel of Windbird in our cookout this afternoon. No one but the Goldpebbles have been in my car since March, but I drove to Quissett Harbor at noon to pick up Sam, Dawn, and their dog, Piper. We drove to my house and soon after we arrived, the Goldstones arrived. We all wore masks and sat at separate tables that were space far apart. But even being physically distanced, we had a great afternoon. arugula, feta cheese, and beet salad. And Dawn brought a delicious rum cake for dessert. After lunch, Sam (Goldstone) decided that he wanted to put up the new dog run I bought at Lowe’s on Friday. That ended up to be a project ‘needing’ Sam Weigel and Jed to oversee. The location we chose in the backyard required that we move my clothesline, but I think we chose the just right location. The Goldpebbles then spent time doing some training with Shadow and Piper. Dawn demonstrated different ways she uses treats to get Piper to respond and the Goldpebbles tried those techniques with Shadow. While that was happening, my clothesline was moved. Then we launched into the last project of the afternoon . . . drilling 1 ¼ inch holes in the bottom of planters for Heather to grow upside-down tomatoes on her deck. None of the work was planned, but it was a nice mix of work and play that kept the boys involved.

Sam and Dawn stayed on after Heather and family left and then I dropped them off in Woods Hole. The walked back to Quissett Harbor from there and tomorrow they will sail to Nantucket.
I didn’t go out to see Windbird today, but Sam sent a photo to me this evening of Windbird dressed for the 4th with the courtesy flags of the countries they have visited. It was great to have time to visit with them. They plan to spend two days in Nantucket and three in Martha’s Vineyard before heading back to their new summer home-base on City Island in New York City.

I have to make a correction to last night’s log. I somehow thought that Jed had never met Dawn, but they did meet at Mark’s New Hampshire Public Radio Memorial. I thought Jed had stayed home with the boys, but both Jed and Dawn knew they had met there. I checked my log from that day and they were absolutely correct. That’s why I write this daily log. It keeps me straight.

2020 Life Logs, Day 184: Visiting Windbird in Quissett Harbor
Date: Friday, July 3, 2020
Weather: Sunny Early, Then Overcast with a North Wind; High 75, Low 63 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Windbird arrived in Quissett Harbor this morning at 7:30 am. Sam sent me a text to let me know they had arrived and sent a photo of Windbird while the day was still sunny. By the time I got to Quissett for a visit, it was totally overcast. But even without the sunshine, Windbird looked great. Sam, Dawn, and I all wore masks and visited for about an hour and then Sam took me back to shore so I could go get the Goldpebbles. All three boys expressed an interest in going to Quissett today to see Windbird.

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It wasn’t exactly perfect beach weather, but once we got there, we hardly noticed the lack of sunshine. Sam (I will refer to him as Captain Sam to differentiate from Sam Goldstone) and Dawn offered to stay on shore and let us take the dinghy out and visit without them, but we decided that if we wore our masks and kept proper distancing, it would be more fun with all of us on the boat. Captain Sam let Sam Goldstone drive the dinghy on the way out to the boat and then Captain Sam went back to shore to get Dawn and Piper, Windbird’s six-year-old doggy mascot. While we waited for their return, Sam and Jonah started jumping into the water from the boat. Sam (Goldstone) expressed an interest in swinging the boom out over the water and jumping from the boom, so Captain Sam helped arrange that. And he took Ollie out in the dingy to let him have a driving turn. Then, one at a time, I took the boys downstairs for a memory tour of Windbird. They each had special memories, many which involved things they did with Granddad. Playing chess on the v-berth, catching their first fish in Tarpaulin Cove, sleeping on the settees, sitting on the settees and watching me cook in the little galley—all made me smile. Thank you, Sam and Dawn, for letting the Goldpebbles take over Windbird for the afternoon. We made more memories that we shall all cherish.

It is unusual to form a relationship with the people that buy your boat, but I have sailed to Puerto Rico with Sam and Dawn where they met Justin and family. And now they have sailed here and met the Goldpebbles. Tomorrow I have invited Sam and Dawn over for an early afternoon cookout and all the Goldstones will join us. They met Heather when they attended the New Hampshire Public Radio Memorial for Mark. In fact, that is when I first met them. But they have not met Jed. So, tomorrow afternoon will make the family introductions complete.

2020 Life Logs, Day 183:  Halfway Through 2020
Date:  Thursday, July 2, 2020
Weather:  Sunny, Warm, and Windy; High 79, Low 67 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

This year is turning out to be more than any of us bargained for, so being halfway through it is a good thing.  On New Year’s Day when I was loving the magic of the lights on my Christmas tree I wrote, “I think we all know that 2020 is going to be tumultuous year with all the political chaos.  I will look forward to December when I can once again have the peace and calm those Christmas lights bring to me.  If things get too chaotic, I might just have to put up my Christmas tree in July.  But for now, I’ll just hope for a happy, peaceful, and prosperous 2020 for all.”

Political Chaos we have.  But on New Year’s Day, I had no idea we were going to be living through the additional chaos of a pandemic and an economic crisis in 2020.  Since mid-March, we have all been doing the best we can to survive in the days of coronavirus.  It is not going to go away magically at the end of 2020, but I was happy to realize that at midnight tonight we will be half-way through this year.  2020 is a leap year, so it has 366 days.  Today is Day 183 and at midnight we go over the hump.  I think this is one year that all of us will be happy to see come to an end, so going over the hump is a good thing.

Halfway Day was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, and it was warm.  Definitely a beach day.  I delivered Shadow to his 9 am appointment with the dog groomer and headed across the bridge to go to Lowe’s to buy some things needed for various projects.  Going off Cape just before the July 4^th weekend means you are going to have to wait in a line of traffic to get back across the bridge and onto the Cape.  I finished my shopping as quickly as possible and did have a little traffic getting back home, but it wasn’t too bad.  I got home, quickly packed a lunch for myself and the Goldpebbles, and headed to pick them up and get to the beach.  We went to Menauhant Beach on the Nantucket Sound side of Falmouth.  Shortly after we arrived, we discovered the Keefe’s, the Goldstone’s nextdoor neighbors from Vidal Avenue, were there.

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Molly and Joey are like family and all the boys were so excited to see them.  Joey, Jonah, and Ollie played together for the entire afternoon.  The water is warming, but it is still on the chilly side.  Sam did not wear his wet suit and with the wind, he quickly got cold and had to get out of the water.  But Jonah and Ollie did wear their wet suits and they were in and out for five hours without one complaint of being cold.  I had planned to leave the beach at 3:30 with the boys and go pick up Shadow.  But there was no way I was going to pry Jonah away from Joey.  So, Joey’s mom, Melissa, offered to watch Ollie and Jonah while Sam and I went to pick up Shadow.  Sam was so cold that he was sitting in the car anyway, so a drive to pick up the puppy was fine with him.  The groomer did a great job and sent Shadow home with a festive red, white, and blue bandanna around his neck.

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Sam and I dropped Shadow at my house and headed back to the beach where Sam braved the water one more time.  It was after 5:30 when we headed home.  By the time I dropped the boys off and ran a few errands in town, it was almost 7 o’clock when I got home.  I don’t know about the Goldpebbles, but I know I am going sleep soundly tonight.  Just sitting in that wind for five hours exhausted me.

Windbird sailed into Cuttyhunk on a broad reach today and will arrive in Falmouth very early in the morning, arriving before the wind switches to the north.  The tentative plan is to meet Sam and Dawn on the beach in Quissett Harbor to visit.  There is just not enough room on a sailboat for all of us to visit with appropriate physical distancing.  So, we’ll just have to look at Windbird as we visit on land.

2020 Life Logs, Day 182: Record Breaking First Day of July
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2020
Weather: Overcast with Rain in the Afternoon; High 73, Low 63 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The US broke a new record on this first day of July, but it is not record-breaking event to be proud of. Today there were 50,000 new cases of coronavirus in our country. There are approximately 331 million people in the US. The European Union is larger, having 445 million people, and today they had only 3, 500+ new cases. They had only 28,000 new cases per day at the height of the coronavirus there in May. What is it that they are doing and we are not? I don’t think I need to answer that question. It is obvious. But despite our lack of national leadership, we have got to do more to turn this around. It is particularly hard with this holiday weekend ahead of us. The 4th of July is always a time of getting together to celebrate the independence of our nation. I hope each and everyone of us finds a way to celebrate without being together. It is so hard. Sam and Dawn Weigel, the young couple that are the now owners of Windbird, are going to be sailing Windbird into Falmouth in the next day or two. They have invited me and all of the Goldstones to go for a sail. There is nothing I would rather do, but there is no way that is the responsible thing to do. Hopefully we will be able to get together on land with appropriate physical distancing. But so sad that we can’t sail together.

This morning Ollie and Jed traveled to Hyannis where Ollie had a dentist appointment. He had to get a crown on one tooth and came home not feeling so great. So, Sam, Jonah, and I headed out, promising to return in an hour or so to see if Ollie would be ready to join us. We drove downtown to deliver our shellfish license applications to the drop box at City Hall. While downtown, I went into Blast from the Past to see if they had any rockets the boys might like to build for a 4th of July weekend celebration. They did not, but I did pick up a few balsa wood airplane kits as a possible afternoon activity. Then we went to the Skate Park. The weather was fickle—cloudy one minute, sunny the next—but good weather for skate boarding and scootering. It was iffy weather for the beach, but still we thought about going to the beach later in the afternoon. When we returned to pick up Ollie, we headed to my house for a mid-afternoon snack and lunch for Ollie. A decision was made to skip the beach today and spend the rest of the afternoon building and flying the planes. But first, we headed to Smitty’s for a mid-afternoon ice cream treat.

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When we got back to my house, Sam immediately flew his first plane up high and it landed on the roof. It is still there, but we have a plan for getting it down tomorrow. Then I gave all three boys identical kits that they immediately adapted to their own design and they did trial runs to see whose design was most successful. I loved it when Ollie said, “This is the most fun I have had for weeks.” I’m sure he has had much more fun in the past few weeks, but I was glad that he enjoyed the airplane activity. On the way home, we stopped once more at the Skate Park. Ollie and Jonah were on their scooter and Sam was on the skate board. He attempted a jump, had a tumble, and ended up with skinned up knee and what he said felt like a sprained wrist. I used, for the first time, the First Aid kit that I have had with me every summer day for the past three years. We patched up his knee and wrapped his wrist. By the time this was done, it was time to head home. I went to tell Jonah and Ollie it was time to go and got my chair and the skate board. I also had my keys and my phone in my hand and when I went to unlock the trunk of the car, I dropped my phone. It fell, facedown, and one little pebble shattered my screen. Ouch. That will be an expensive fix, but for now, the phone is still usable.

Tomorrow morning I take Shadow to the dog groomer. This is the long-awaited appointment I made in May. Then the plan for the afternoon is to go to beach with the Goldpebbles.

2020 Life Logs, Day 181: Another Rainy Afternoon
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Weather: Overcast with Rain in the Afternoon; High 73, Low 63 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Camp Oma Afternoons are getting off to a slow start this summer as Day 1 and Day 2 have been rainy. Yesterday we watched a movie and this afternoon Sam decided to do the same. But Jonah and Ollie were interested in doing something creative. I had Jonah Google “what to do on a rainy afternoon with kids” and he came up with an idea to play with bubble wrap. Well, I have lots of bubble wrap in the basement, so we headed down to explore. We got distracted however, with the pile of insulation pads that line my boxes of vegetables that come from Misfits each week. Some of the pads are sealed in paper and others in plastic. Some are 2 feet by 3 feet and others are 1 foot by 3 feet. And all are about an inch thick. Both Ollie and Jonah immediately turned those pads into multiple layers of body armor so they could spar with pads also made out of the insulation pads. A little Duct tape, clear packing tape, and a pair of scissors helped us make the transformation and both boys were ecstatic with the results. You would have thought we had just won the lottery. Jonah then turned an old life jacket into a punching bag. It is amazing what you can do with two energetic boys and some recycled materials.

2020 Life Logs, Day 180: First Day of Camp Oma Afternoons
Date: Monday, June 29, 2020
Weather: Mixed Sun and Clouds AM, Thunderstorm PM; High 76, Low 63 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Today was the first official day of Camp Oma with a new twist. Since the summer of 2013, Camp Oma has been an all-day summer camp affair five days a week. This summer the plan is for it to be only in the afternoons. The boys are older now and can entertain themselves in the morning. And there are no swim lessons every morning in this coronavirus era, so this gives the boys a chance to ease into their day and it gives me the chance to do my morning routine with Shadow. This could change as we move forward, but that is the plan for now.

Rain was forecast for this afternoon, so we didn’t plan on a beach afternoon. The only plan we had when I picked the boys up at noon was to go to my house for lunch and to then go to the Skate Park, weather permitting. We had a favorite summer lunch where I put out all the toppings for pizza and the boys build their individual little pizzas on half an English muffin. We pop them in the toaster oven and 4 minutes later the little pizzas are ready. After lunch the boys resumed reading for a bit, and just as we were thinking about heading to the Skate Park, the rain started. We changed gears and made an instantaneous decision to watch a movie. Everyone wanted to see Star Wars, Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back (1980). We all enjoyed the movie and popcorn and ignored the thunderstorm outside. It was a delightful first afternoon of Camp Oma.

2020 Life Logs, Day 179: Just Sunday
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 79, Low 67 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was just a Sunday, but in these days of coronavirus life, you never know what the day might bring. It seems like one day just rolls into another and making plans no longer works. So, you just go with the flow. In addition to walking with Shadow, I worked in the yard this morning, talked with Helaine Kanegsberg on the phone and learned of the totally unexpected death of a daughter-in-law, took an orchid next door to Shirley for her 95th birthday and sat and visited with her on her deck, came home and had a late lunch, and then got a call from Jonah wondering if I could come take the Goldpebbles to the Skate Park for an hour or so of scooter practice. Heather and Jed were both deep into house projects today and I was glad to come take the boys to the Skate Park. When I got home, I got a message from fellow Newcomer, Art Gilbert, who gives free computer advice to members. I contacted him earlier in the week as I have not been able to access my email on my computer. We spent two full hours on the phone and finally we were able to give him remote access to my computer so he could track down the problem. Then it was time for a late dinner and my Sunday night Masterpiece Theater programs. It was a lovely, sunny day and I enjoyed every aspect of it. I was so saddened to learn of the death of Alan and Helaine’s daughter-in-law. It brought to mind the quote that is attached to a friend Lynda Kaufman’s email signature: “Live like every day is your last.”