2019 Life Logs, Day 244: First Day of September
Date: Sunday, September 1, 2019
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 78, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Growing up, September was my favorite month of the year. I loved the cooler weather, the changing colors of the leaves, and the football season. Both of my children were born in September, so that added to my love of the month. But as I grew older and lived in colder climates, I began to resent September as it represented the end of summer. And anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE summer and am always reluctant to let go. Now I feel like I am entering the mellow years where resentment has no place. So, I embrace September, not as the end of summer, but as the bridge month to Cape Cod’s lovely (and hopefully long) autumn. So, welcome September.

I was kind to myself today and didn’t worry about getting anything accomplished. I got up and went to Heather and Jed’s to feed the guinea pigs and finish up one last organizational task in the basement. Then I drove to Hyannis to do some food shopping. Shortly after I returned, friend Karen Baranowski came by and we managed to talk away the afternoon. After she left, I put my bike rack back together and went next door to visit with Shirley and Doris. In between activities, I watched a lot of coverage of Hurricane Dorian. When I sailed in the Bahamas with Sam and Dawn aboard Windbird in 2017, we visited a few of the islands in the Abacos that were hit so hard today. Elbow Cay, where Dorian first made landfall, is the home of Hope Town. It is one of the most beautiful little communities in all of the Bahamas and it is where the iconic candy-striped lighthouse, first opened in 1864, stands proud. Sure hope it is still standing after Dorian. It made me very sad this afternoon to think about the devastation there. It brought back memories of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in September of 2017 . . . dark memories that will live with me forever. I can’t even imagine how the people going through this feel. The Abacos have not been spared, but let’s hope the storm does take the turn northward and only grazes the coast of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Especially thinking of sister-in-law Sue and Brad in Boynton Beach.

2019 Life Logs, Day 243: Sailing, Sailing . . . Motoring
Date: Saturday, August 31, 2019
Weather: Another Beautiful Day BUT No Wind; High 84, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

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It was a beautiful day for a sail, but unfortunately there was no wind. That does not, however, preclude having a delightful time out on the water. I met Jane Woodin at her house, as did her good friends Ellen and Bob, and we drove together to the West Falmouth Boat Club where Bruce and Sam Patterson had L’Escargot waiting for us at the dock. Bruce and Jane bought the sailboat this spring from a long time Woods Hole friend, Ellen Bailey. And this morning Ellen and her husband were also at the dock to see us off. We had hoped to make it to Kingman Marina for lunch at the Chart Room, but the winds and current just didn’t cooperate. We tacked back and forth in the little wind we did have and joked that we might make in time for dinner. Finally, we gave it up, turned on the engine, and headed back to West Falmouth Harbor. We then chose a different location for lunch at Sopranos on Falmouth Heights Beach. So not a lot of sailing, but a lot of fun.

I then managed to spend the rest of my day and evening on the phone. I had a long conversation with Lynne Kirwin. Neither of us loves talking on the phone, but when you live far apart, the phone is what you’ve got. And thankfully so. While I was talking to Lynne, I saw that another friend, Susie Klein, was calling me. So, after Lynne and I solved all of the world’s problems, I listened to the voice mail message from Susie. She and her husband Jim were anchored in Tarpaulin Cove south of Woods Hole and were thinking of me, so she called. I last saw Susie and Jim when I made a presentation to their sailing association in Wayland (west of Boston) last November. At that time, they were preparing for a sabbatical in France. They returned in early August, just in time to launch their sailboat, Reveille, for some late summer sailing. After that phone conversation, it was time to fix dinner and shortly after dinner, Justin called and asked if I would like to Skype with the kids. They are just getting settled in after returning from their month in England in time to turn around and head to New Mexico next week. They have been invited to be in a couple of fall music festivals and they will take advantage of their time there to catch up with good friends and check on their converted Greyhound bus that is still in storage in Albuquerque. Both Ziggy and Coco were born in New Mexico, but neither has very clear memories of their time there. Justin and Jo, on the other hand, have very good friends there and are very anxious to visit with them. It was great to see the kids on Skype and hear about their current interests. Ziggy has plans to build a robot that can navigate by latitude and longitude directions and Coco is perfecting her acrobatic skills using Jo’s yoga swing and flying through the house on the roller skates I got her for her birthday. They light up when in motion and glow in the dark and she loves performing in them. I also got the full report of their visit with their cousins in England. I am still amazed with and thankful for the technology that allows me to see and talk with my grandchildren on my cell phone. We take it for granted, but it really is amazing.

2019 Life Logs, Day 242: Another Day ‘Down Under’
Date: Friday, August 30, 2019
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 82, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

More beautiful weather here, but I chose to spend my day ‘down under’ in Heather and Jed’s basement. Today I attacked the corner of the basement where boat ‘stuff’ has been stored. I found the red and white candy-striped boat cover we bought in Malaysia to cover Windbird when we were returning to the US for the births of Ziggy and Jonah in 2009. There were various sails—not sure what boat they belonged to. And the list goes on and on. I know some of the things were stored there by Mark and I and others were stored by Heather and Jed. But that corner of the basement is now cleared out and when Heather and Jed return, I’ll check with them to see if there is anything they want to keep. If not, I’ll get rid of it. Progress is being made. Hurray!

Today’s dealing with things nautical was the perfect readiness for tomorrow. I have been invited to go for a sail with Bruce and Jane Woodin aboard L’Escargot and I am really looking forward to that. Otherwise, not much is going on here. I am still watching the progress of Hurricane Dorian. It has intensified, but there is now a chance that it will not have a direct hit in Florida. If the Bermuda high weakens, as currently projected, that could allow the hurricane to curve up the coast and eventually go out to sea. The only thing that looks certain at this point is that it will hit the Abacos in the Bahamas on Sunday night and into Monday. Then we’ll know more certainly how it will impact Florida. I’m sure everyone on the southeast coast of the US will spend this Labor Day Weekend preparing.

2019 Life Logs, Day 241: A Visit with Friends
Date: Thursday, August 29, 2019
Weather: Beautiful Day after Overnight Rain; High 86, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Just before 1 am, the heavens opened and the rains poured down in torrents. There was even a little thunder to punctuate the sound of the pouring rain. We haven’t had a soaking rain for quite some time, so it was welcomed. It rained off and on throughout the night and then this morning, the sun came out and dried up all the rain. It was an absolutely beautiful day and it looks like the next few days will be the same. I’m so happy for Heather and family who headed to the Outer Cape to camp for the weekend as it looks like they are going to have perfect weather.

I headed north to Dedham (close to Boston) this morning to visit with good friends Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg. Alan had a knee replacement two weeks ago and I went to see how he is doing. He is moving about and doing great, but as ‘nurse’ Helaine pointed out, he is a bit resistant to doing those daily exercises prescribed by the in-home physical therapist. Believe me, I know how hard it is to discipline yourself to do them, but I am a believer. Alan is scheduled to have his other knee replaced in November, so he needs to be aggressive with the rehab of this knee so he will be ready for the next surgery. He starts out-patient physical therapy next week, so hopefully that will go as well as the in-home therapy and he’ll become a believer in daily exercises. So important.

After visiting, we had a delightful lunch and then a little later in the afternoon Helaine took me to Voltante Farms in Needham, the town next door to Dedham. I love these names. Both towns were settled in the 1600’s and named for towns in England. Dedham or Dedam, Deddum, or Dowdam is a town in Essex in England. Needham comes from Derbyshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk in England with Irish origins, and is so named from Old English ned ‘need’ or ‘hardship’ plus ham ‘homestead’ or a place that provided poor living. Needham, Massachusetts is certainly not a place of poor living today. It is just the opposite and Volante Farms is a fantastic place selling locally grown produce grown, plus bakery items, a deli, and a greenhouse with beautiful plants. When we got back home, Alan did launch into his exercises. Go, Alan! But by this time it was mid-afternoon and time for me to head home. When I am in that part of the world, I shop my way home with stops at Whole Foods, Costco, and Home Depot. It was a beautiful day spent with good friends and ended with successful shopping ventures. Life is good.

2019 Life Logs, Day 240: Thank You to the Weather Gods
Date: Wednesday, August 28, 2019
Weather: Cloudy Morning, Rainy Afternoon; High 80, Low 69 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I have a very personal thank you tonight to the ‘weather gods’ for sparing Puerto Rico from the Hurricane Dorian. Last night the reports were fairly certain that Dorian was going to remain a tropical storm that would hit southeast Puerto Rico this afternoon. This afternoon, however, things had changed. The tropical storm became a Category 1 hurricane and its path moved north and east of Puerto Rico. Thank you, thank you. I texted back and forth with Jo tonight and she confirmed that all is well at Finca Maravilla. They hadn’t even had any rain, but that could still come. And thank you to those of you who sent emails of concern.

I spent most of my day just hanging out at the Goldstones. I ran errands in town early and then stopped by Heather and Jed’s on my way home. They wanted a piece of furniture from my basement for the bathroom they are remodeling and I needed Sam’s help loading it in my car. He came with me and we successfully got the antique chest of drawers in my car and made the delivery. I then stayed to be on ‘duty’ while Heather took Sam to his new school for a tour and Jed went to work for a few hours. Ollie and Jonah were at home, but honestly I barely saw them all afternoon as they were playing next door with Joey. I busied myself with making zucchini bread and fried green tomatoes for Heather. I love that the recipe she uses for zucchini bread is the one I got from a neighbor in Minnesota when Heather was just one year-old. I used to take her on walks and we met this woman that we called the Goat Lady because her backyard was filled with goats. I had more zucchini than I knew what to do with that summer, and she shared her zucchini bread recipe with me. And Heather had a few green tomatoes that begged to be picked and turned into Fried Green Tomatoes, so I did that as well. They leave tomorrow morning for a four-day camping trip on the Outer Cape in North Truro which is almost to Provincetown. We actually got rain this afternoon, not just sprinkles. The rain should end tomorrow morning and it looks like they will have wonderful weather for their camping trip. I have no plans for the weekend other than continuing my cleanout of the basement at the Goldstones. This afternoon I found two huge plastic bins of Christmas lights that they inherited when Mark and I cleaned out our storage unit. I brought those home to go through to determine what still works and what doesn’t, and I’ll return to clear out some sailing paraphernalia. I will continue my quest to get my drip irrigation system up and running. And I plan to do a lot of reading which is a Labor Day tradition of mine. When the kids were little and I was teaching full-time, I didn’t have much time to read. So, I declared Labor Day Weekend my reading weekend and Mark would take care of the kids and make sure we all had something to eat. I wish I had kept track of which book I read each year, but I didn’t. I do remember that the first year I did this, my choice was a massive historical fiction novel (over 1300 pages) about the life of Sacajawea, a Shoshone Indian travel guide for Lewis and Clark. I think it was September of 1980 when I read that entire book in one weekend. Hmmm. What book should I tackle this weekend?

2019 Life Logs, Day 239: Focus on Family
Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2019
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 77, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Heather and family returned home from their vacation in Maine today and a tropical storm is headed for Puerto Rico, so the focus of my day was on family. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco returned to Puerto Rico at the end of last week after more than a month’s absence. They were here for a week in July and then flew to England to be with Jo’s family for a month. Now, only a few days after their return to home, they are getting ready for the first named tropical storm to hit Puerto Rico this year. Two years ago they withstood two September hurricanes. As we all know, Hurricane Maria devastated the entire island. They are still recovering from that and thankfully last year there were no major storms. So, this is the first big threat since Maria. When I talked to Justin today, he said many people there are very worried, but he is hopeful that there will be minimal damage. NOAA announced tonight that Puerto Rico is under a Hurricane Watch, but hopefully Tropical Storm Dorian will not be a hurricane when it hits southeast Puerto Rico tomorrow morning. By Thursday morning it should be moving on to the Dominican Republic and the model I am watching shows that the area on the west coast where Justin and family live should be spared the worst winds. Justin promised to contact me as soon as he can after the storm to let me know how things are there and I’ll certainly pass that information along. Naturally I am worried, but I agree with Justin that if the storm continues as predicted, the damages should be nothing like the devastation of two years ago. The difference between 50 mile an hour winds and 150 to 200 mile an hour winds is HUGE. What we don’t know is just how fragile the Puerto Rican infrastructure is at this point. Let us all hope for the best.

Heather called when they returned this afternoon and invited me over for a Taco Tuesday dinner. There were lots of thank you for the basement organizational work I did while they were gone. There’s way more to do, but I did get a start. It was great to see Heather, Jed, and boys. I miss them so much when they are away. They had a great time in Maine despite their colds, but all are on the mend. Their grand finale yesterday was quite dramatic. They went to the Monkey C Monkey Do zip line and ropes course in Wiscasset which is near Boothbay. All had a great time, but Ollie amazed them. As Jonah explained it to me, the course is in four levels, the height being that of a five-story building. He and Sam made it to level three and said that was good enough. They came back down to level two to do the zip line from there. Ollie continued on up to the top level with Jed following along behind him. Jed said the amazing thing was Ollie’s frank discussion about the fear of going on, but not wanting to go back. He said he knew he would be sorrow if he didn’t complete the course, so he figured he just had to fight the fear and go on. Sometimes that little one amazes us all with his mature thinking and his language. With Jed and one of the ropes course coaches there to support him, Ollie was successful in completing the top level of the course. For a couple of years now he has watched his big brothers negotiating adventure courses, so on his first try, he persisted until he was successful. All were cheering him on and very proud of his accomplishment. There were other wonderful stories from their time in Maine and we also spent time talking about home renovations that they are planning. The boys are getting older and bigger, but the size of the house stays the same. Figuring out how to change things to accommodate a growing family is challenging, but lots of wonderful ideas were discussed tonight. The Goldstones have tomorrow at home and then they head to the Outer Cape for a four-day camping trip. Heather, Jed, and Sam all have commitments at various times tomorrow, so I volunteered to come over to be at home for Ollie and Jonah for part of the afternoon as the others scurry about. So that will be my tomorrow.

2019 Life Logs, Day 238: Barnstable Harbor Ecotour
Date: Monday, August 26, 2019
Weather: Sunny with Puffy White Clouds; High 77, Low 53 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was a beautiful day to be out on the water . . . a little windy but we were somewhat protected in the harbor. We couldn’t go out into the Cape Cod Bay, but the harbor is huge and there was plenty to explore. There were fourteen Newcomers Teacher Group members and we boarded The Horseshoe Crab, a pontoon boat, just before 11 am. The boat was reserved for us, but we had a grandmother and her grandson from Baltimore join us. He was probably five years old and a delightful addition to our exploration. When we exited the marina and entered the harbor, Sandy Neck was across the water from us. To the west was the 3,500 acre great marsh and to the east at the end of The Neck was the outlet to the sea. In front of us was the seven-mile length of The Neck with a colony of summer cottages and the iconic light house near the end of the spit of land. If I understood correctly, there is no electricity or running water in the colony, but there is a fresh-water plume that runs the length of The Neck that can be accessed by summer residents. Access to the colony is by boat or by 4-wheel drive through the Sandy Neck Park. There are dramatic sand dunes, lots of birds and other wildlife, and marsh grass in every color of green imaginable. The naturalist aboard the boat obviously loves her job and presented information to us with an enthusiasm that expressed her love and respect for this very special environment. When we neared one little cottage that sits all alone in the dunes, she distributed a copy of the book entitled The Little House at Sandy Neck by Edward Otis Handy Jr. He is the owner of that little cottage and the book describes life on The Neck. Delightful day!

2019 Life Logs, Day 237: Success
Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 76, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It took twice as long as I anticipated, but I did get the basic drip irrigation system up and running at Heather’s today. I need Jed’s help to permanently install the automatic timer for the system, but after a trial run, I know it works. I was nervous about turning it on, and on the first try, nothing happened. Then I realized I hadn’t attached the ½ inch tubing that is the artery for the system to the timer. Duh! Once I did that, it ran just fine. I set it for two hours and then left. I went back two hours later and it had shut off. Success. There is one little section that has to be replaced as I somehow punctured the main line in a place that is hard to plug. I tried, but it only half-way worked, so I will replace that tomorrow or Tuesday. I am going on a Barnstable Harbor Tour tomorrow with the Newcomers Teacher Group and that will take most of the day. But I think I can finish installing the system at my house tomorrow when I return from the harbor tour. It is definitely late in the gardening season, but the drip irrigation systems at Heather’s and here will be ready for next spring. I’ve never attempted anything like this before, but those YouTube how-to videos have been very helpful. I’m excited about the harbor tour tomorrow. The harbor is on the north side of the Cape on the Cape Cod Bay. A naturalist will be aboard the boat and we will learn about how Cape Cod was formed, some history of Native American life and colonial life in the area, and an overview of the Great Marsh and Sandy Neck area. I am looking forward to the time out on the water.

2019 Life Logs, Day 236: Getting Stuff Done . . . Slowly
Date: Saturday, August 24, 2019
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 80, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The weather today was a repeat of yesterday with a cool morning turning into a delightful afternoon. I will say that either I am a wuss, or the mornings and evenings the past couple of days have been truly chilly. And for me that means wearing long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Maybe it is the cooler weather that has put me into turtle mode. Or maybe I just enjoy working slowly. So not a ton is getting done, but slowly I am chipping away at that To Do list while enjoying my days. I spent my morning cooking and turning the tomatoes I processed yesterday into marinara sauce. Then I took the sauce to Heather’s to burble and pressure can. I keep my canner in her basement and the jars are also there, so it is easier to just go there. While the sauce burbled for a couple of hours, I launched into some organizational projects in the basement. And knowing I would be there for the afternoon, I took my fall and winter jackets with me to launder. I used Heather and Jed’s laundry facilities and paid them back by doing a little basement organization. Seems like a win-win situation. I still haven’t finished my drip irrigation installation, so that is on the top of the list for tomorrow. No excuses. It will be done!

2019 Life Logs, Day 235: Weather Flip Flop
Date: Friday, August 23, 2019
Weather: Overcast; High 80, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It has been hot and humid for the past few days, but yesterday afternoon those southerly winds switched to come from the north and almost instantly the humidity went away. By the time I woke up this morning, I was actually cold. What a weather flip flop! This morning was overcast and cool, but it warmed up in the afternoon. The forecast is for more days in the 70’s, but somehow those 70 degree days seem to end up in the 80’s. That’s fine with me as long as the humidly doesn’t rise.

I didn’t meet my goals for today, but I’m fine with that. I am into my “don’t worry, be happy” mode. When I set my goal of completing my drip irrigation system projects, I forgot that I had bought the first batch of tomatoes to make marinara sauce to can for the winter when I went to the Farmers Market yesterday. So, processing those tomatoes took my time. So glad is there is always tomorrow to finish those jobs on the To Do list.