2018 Life Logs, Day 310—Mid-Term Election Day
Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Weather: Overcast with a Little Drizzle; High 64, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I am giving myself a pass tonight on doing anything but sitting and watching/listening to the election returns. I do not remember being this interested in a mid-term election ever. But since I feel like what we stand for as Americans is on the ballot, high interest doesn’t quite express what I am feeling. I have the television on and I have WCAI Live on my computer. Tiny WCAI, owned and operated by huge WGBH in Boston, is the public radio station where Heather works. Everyone that works there is on election duty tonight. Heather is in Hyannis reporting on local returns, so I watch the TV and then run over to the computer at the times Heather gave me when the local reporters will be on the air. It is going to be a long night as there are so many races that are so close. But at the very least, I am hoping to wake up in the morning to find that the Democrats have taken back the House. That should, at the very least, restore some checks and balances in Washington. And I am really hoping that Beto O’Rourke wins over Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race. Beto’s fresh, honest, civil approach to politics gives me hope. And, as I see it, what we need in this country right now is hope, honesty, and civility.

I had an appointment with my orthopedic doctor’s assistant and didn’t find out anything new. He is pleased with the progress and thinks that in a week I can resume exercise classes at the gym. For now, he just recommended normal activity and riding a bike when possible. Since I will be traveling from Thursday to Sunday, I don’t think bike riding is going to happen, so normal activity is going to have to do. I talked to Justin and he is still on hold. He will not be released from the hospital until the results of the biopsy come in, hopefully tomorrow. He is really anxious to get home, so hopefully that will happen tomorrow or Thursday at the latest.

I’m headed back to election coverage. Sure hope I don’t have to end my day crying in my beer!

2018 Life Logs, Day 309—Fall Weather Flip-Flop
Date: Monday, November 5, 2018
Weather: Overcast, Mid-afternoon Sprinkles; High 58, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The big news these days seems to be the fall weather flip-flop. It is sunny one day, overcast the next. Temperatures in the 30’s one night, then in the 50’s the next night. You really have to check the weather report to figure out which jacket to wear. I have a rain jacket, a light winter jacket, a polar fleece, and a wind breaker all hanging by the front door. We were supposed to have rain today, but we got very little. Unfortunately, the rain is supposed to continue tomorrow on Election Day, but the highest chance is late in the day. Hopefully everyone can get out to vote before the evening rain. I voted early, but if you did not, I sure hope you will get out to vote tomorrow. Every American needs to have his or her voice heard. I’m hoping that the results of this mid-term election start correcting our direction as a country in a kinder and gentler direction. In my opinion, we need a return of civility and cooperation in our government. One election might not get us there, but maybe we can get a little closer. But whatever you believe, make your voice heard. VOTE!

I didn’t get a lot accomplished today. I spent much too much time being apprehensive about the procedure Justin was having this afternoon to drain the abscess on his arm. Justin is my baby boy, and no matter how old he gets, as his mother I will always be concerned when he has a health issue. Of course, I am just as concerned about his older sister and now all of the grandchildren. I think it is just what mothers and grandmothers do. Justin let me know at 1 pm that he was going in for the procedure. Then at 2:15 Jo sent a text saying he had finally gone in. By 4:15, I was getting worried as I had heard nothing and that catatonic state that mother’s get when they are worried about a child’s health set in. Jo sent a text saying she had heard nothing either but that she was fixing food to take to him and would soon be leaving to drive to the hospital in Mayaguez. Since children are not allowed in the hospital, she was going to have to leave them in the van. Okay, now there was more to worry about. Then about 5:30 Jo called to say that she had gotten through to Justin. He was still groggy, and his arm hurt, but that’s about all she knew. Then I got a text from Justin saying he felt ‘blah’ due to residual sedation. By 6:40, I got a text from Jo with a photo. She was able to sneak Coco and Ziggy up to Justin’s room and had been successful in delivering a home cooked meal. It was so wonderful to see everyone smiling, so I think the family visit and the food was just what the doctor ordered. Way to go, Jo! Justin has no idea what the surgeon actually did this afternoon. He just knows his arm is wrapped in a lot of bandages and it hurts. Hopefully he will get a good night’s sleep and things will be better in the morning. And hopefully he will get to talk to the doctor and find out the details. Let’s all hope for a positive report so Justin can go home.

In between all of this, I did a little cooking, worked on a new 1,000-piece puzzle (Lynne—This one is hard. I need you here to help me.), ran a few errands, and finally got the lemon grass cut and ready to store, some to be dried and some to be frozen. I also made some changes to the presentation for Saturday night and did a run through of that. And I spent way too much time on the phone talking to Google trying to get my two accounts straightened out. My cloud storage was cancelled by mistake and they can’t figure out a way to get it back up and running. Very frustrating as technology issues can be. Tomorrow early afternoon I have an appointment with an orthopedic assistant to check out my knee and since it is Tuesday, it is my day to pick Ollie and Jonah up from school. Then I’ll come home and start watching election results. It could be a very long night and beyond. This is definitely going to be an interesting one.

2018 Life Logs, Day 308—Gorgeous Fall Day
Date: Sunday, November 4, 2018
Weather: Sunny, but Cooler; High 56, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The temperature dipped into the 30’s overnight, but today was a gorgeous, but somewhat cool, fall day. The overnight living room camp out was a success with Ollie and the weekend Scout camp out was a success for Sam and Jonah. It was a Cape-wide camp out called Turkey Shoot Weekend. The Scouts get a chance to practice archery and shooting skills with adult supervision. The most accurate shooters win a turkey and Jonah and Sam both brought home certificates for a free turkey for Thanksgiving. Sam was third in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade division and Jonah was fifth in his division. I admit that the shooting makes me apprehensive, but at least they are in a very controlled environment and are learning that the purpose is to bring home a turkey! We were planning on having stuffed salmon for Thanksgiving, but we’ll see if the Sam and Jonah insist on having their turkeys. Since neither of them likes turkey, I think they will be happy to donate their prizes to the Falmouth Service Center to be given to families in need.

I came home at noon and spent my afternoon practicing my presentation for next Saturday evening using the projector and going into town to do a little shopping. I was decanting a new batch of kombucha when I realized I didn’t have enough bottles. Since I needed some other items from the hardware store and a couple of things from the grocery store, I made the run into town. Tomorrow and Tuesday look like rainy days, for at least part of each day, but Wednesday looks sunny. I’m hoping that on Tuesday when I have an appointment with the orthopedic doctor that he gives me permission to get back to regular activity. My knee continues to improve daily and I am very thankful for that. Justin has surgery to drain the abscess on his arm tomorrow. Sure hoping that goes smoothly. If it does, he is hopeful that he will get released from the hospital on Wednesday. Please send him your most positive healing thoughts.

2018 Life Logs, Day 307—Yard Work and Dia de los Muertos
Date: Saturday, November 3, 2018
Weather: Rain Early, Then Windy and Clearing; High 67, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Weatherwise, today was a typical fall day. It started with rain. When the rain stopped, the wind started blowing, and eventually the sun came out and it was a delightful afternoon. During the rainy morning, Heather, Ollie, and I ran errands in town. We came back to my house for lunch and then Heather and Ollie decided to become landscapers and rearrange some of the brush piled out on the water side of the cottage. Actually, the landscapers that do Shirley’s yard had at some point recently dumped a lot of branches right in the path I use to walk down to the water. Ollie started clearing that for me and then Heather pitched in and expanded the project. Ollie found some pieces of flat concrete that look like steps, so they installed those on the downhill part of the path. It looks great and makes getting down the hill much easier.

Tonight we were all invited to a Dia de los Muertos celebration. This is a Mexican holiday that occurs at the end of October and beginning of November each year. It translates as Day of the Dead and is a time to honor special people in your life that have passed on. The party was at the home of friends of Ollie, twins named Roland and Meadow. Their dad is also Jonah’s electric guitar teacher, so I have been to their home a few times delivering kids. It was a fun and thoughtful affair. Traditional Mexican food was served and then there was dancing in a conga line for the children followed by a lighting of candles for loved ones. Ollie lit candles for his Granddad, his Papa (Jed’s father), and Ben (Jed’s brother). And then there was Dia de los Muertes cake for all.

As we started the drive home, Heather said something about spending the night at my house. This morning this is what Ollie had said he wanted to do. Previously, however, he had wanted to pitch a tent in his living room and camp-out with Momma and Oma. So, as we were driving home, he was distraught to find out that wasn’t the plan. I love the ‘selective’ memory of six year olds! We quickly changed plans, so I am at Heather’s and will sleep on the sofa next to the tent. That is as far as I can take the camping thing right now with this knee. But the knee is much better and continues to improve. The latest health issue, however, is not me, but Justin. His rooster bit him on the arm about a month ago and he has been on antibiotics for an infection due to the bite. Last night he called to tell me he was on the way to the Emergency Room as there is now an abscess. Today he talked with a surgeon and was admitted into the hospital. They need to keep him until they can figure out what is really going on. Naturally, “me worry.” The surgeon was talking about a possible infection in the bone and I have no idea what that means. I just know it sounds scary. I will do some research in the morning to see what I can find out and surely hope that there is better news tomorrow.

2018 Life Logs, Day 306—Knee So Much Better
Date: Friday, November 2, 2018
Weather: Windy with Rain; High 69, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

My knee was so much better today. I am now able to put my full weight on my left foot, just not quite straightening the knee completely. But that allows me to walk without the crutches if I am just going short distances. I am very pleased with the progress and hope it continues. I didn’t move around a lot today as I mostly sat at my computer and finished the PowerPoint presentation for the Wayland Sailing Association. It has been fun to relive the two sailing trips I have made on Windbird with Sam and Dawn. The first was a three-week sail in the Bahamas in April of 2017 and the other was the sail from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico in early March of this year. Those trips are now documented in a PowerPoint presentation that I think I might turn into Shutterfly book so I can send one to Sam and Dawn.

Jed, Sam, and Jonah are at a Scout camp out this weekend, so Heather and Ollie stopped by on their way home from dropping Sam off. Heather had sent a text telling me that she was going to pick up Thai take-out and come by for dinner. But when she arrived, they had their bags for spending the night, but there was no food. Ollie had decided that he really wanted it to be a special date night with Oma and mommy and he wanted to go to the Chinese restaurant downtown. However, when we got there, he announced that it was not the right restaurant. Good thing, because it is closed. He said the restaurant was on the same side of Main Street as the Chinese restaurant, so I asked if it was Aného, the Mexican restaurant a little further down the street. He thought so, so we drove on. When we got there, he agreed that it was the restaurant he was thinking of, but he really didn’t want Mexican food. Heather and I think he had memories of the two restaurants confused, so I suggested we go to Homeport Sushi. He agreed, so we finally found a place to eat! We had a great dinner and then came home to watch a Nova episode. Also, his choice. He chose one about the development of the Concorde, the French and British supersonic airliner. But halfway through, he found it not very interesting. So, we watched a couple of episodes of Shaun the Sheep and then he and Heather went to bed. That’s a special date night for a six-year old with his mother and grandmother!

2018 Life Logs, Day 305—On Crutches
Date: Thursday, November 1, 2018
Weather: Sunny and Even Warmer; High 66, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

As I reported in yesterday’s log, I fell coming up the steps to my front door last night and did something to my left knee that doesn’t allow me to straighten my leg. That means I can’t put my full weight on it and that means I can’t walk. I used an umbrella as a cane last night and this morning, and actually just crawled to bathroom in the middle of the night instead of taking the chance of falling. Since things were no better this morning, I spent my day in doctors’ offices. I can’t get an appointment with my orthopedic doctor until Tuesday, so I went to my chiropractor who assessed the situation and recommended I go to an Urgent Care Center to get x-rays. I was very impressed with the efficiency at the Urgent Care Center. They took x-rays and determined that nothing is broken or fractured, so that was wonderful news. I have most likely pulled a muscle or cartilage or a ligament, but neither the chiropractor nor the Urgent Care physician think I have torn anything. That can only be determined with an ultrasound or MRI, but that has to be ordered by the orthopedic doctor on Tuesday. If things are better by Tuesday, then that probably won’t be necessary. In the meantime, I was given crutches to use until I can easily walk without support. I feel like things are getting better already. I hope I still feel that way in the morning.

On a happier note, Jo sent Halloween photos of Ziggy and Coco from last night. Coco was a vampire and Ziggy was an invisible man wearing his granddad’s vest. Mark was wearing that vest when I met him 45 years ago and Ziggy has been wearing it since Mark died. And it is still going strong. Ziggy and Coco went Trick or Treating and then headed downtown to a restaurant on the plaza for a spooky puppet show and playing on the plaza with friends. Sounds like it was a Happy Halloween in Rincon, Puerto Rico.

2018 Life Logs, Day 304—Happy Halloween
Date: Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Weather: Sunny and a Little Warmer; High 58, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Sometime between 1986 and 1988, Mark ‘inherited’ some costumes that the Salisbury State College (now University) Drama Department was giving away. One of those costumes was a wizard’s robe and Mark wore that every Halloween thereafter until we moved aboard Windbird in 2003. There was no room for costumes on a boat, so it was put in storage. Then at some point, Heather and Jed got it out of storage and for every Halloween since then, Jed has been a wizard. That wizard’s robe has certainly been well used, and Jed wore it again tonight. He looked great standing in front of the fog and light machine in the front yard. Sam decided to be a 1920’s paperboy and put his costume together with a bit of advice from Heather. He even rolled up newspapers to carry in his bag and he gave out newspapers when he was given a treat. I don’t know where this idea came from, but it was easy to put together and he looked the role perfectly. Jonah decided to be a soccer player, his very favorite thing, and was dressed in the uniform of Lionel Messi. Ollie pulled an astronaut costume out of the costume drawer and added what he calls his flight jacket. Heather and I stayed home to pass out treats and keep that fog and light machine going in the front yard. All of the trick or treaters loved the foggy effect, but a couple of little guys were in total awe. Ollie was the first one home and he immediately started sorting his treats. Fun evening!

I didn’t get to go to the East Falmouth Elementary Halloween Parade this afternoon as I had a physical therapy appointment for my knee. But Heather took pictures and sent me one of Ollie and one of Jonah. The physical therapy appointment went well. I was given exercises that I need to do daily and had me make an appointment in two weeks to see how things are going. The therapist’s name is Tom and he spent a lot of time discussing the pros and cons of having knee replacement surgery. Like the surgeon, he understands my reluctance, but thinks the February appointment I have made is perfect timing. If I do decide against it, he thinks I might be able to make it another year to two, but I am going to have to have this surgery. And he did caution me that a fall or injury might speed up that process. Well, it happened tonight. When I got home from Heather and Jed’s, I realized that I didn’t have the book I am currently reading with me. I thought maybe I left it in the car, so I went back outside to check. It wasn’t in the car, so I must have left it at Heather and Jed’s. I’ll survive with that until tomorrow. But in hurrying back into the house, the toe of my shoe got caught on one of the front steps and I fell, twisting my knee in the process. I can only walk by holding on to pieces of furniture or by leaning on the wall and putting weight on the front of the foot on that leg. I literally can’t straighten my leg. I am hoping that icing it and doing some stretching exercises at bedtime might help things a bit. What a bummer! When Tom talked about a fall today, I just thought that won’t happen to me. Ha! I seem to be accident prone these days. My ear and jaw are fine today after yesterday’s hit with the soccer ball. Let’s hope this knee injury bounces back as quickly.

2018 Life Logs, Day 303—Work a Day
Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Weather: Sunny and Cool; High 50, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was just a work a day. I spent the morning battling with Google on the phone. In dealing with a computer issue, Justin discovered that I am not receiving email from one of my accounts because I don’t have storage space. I have been paying Google Play for a terabyte of storage for two years now, or so I thought. In researching this, I found that my subscription ended in June. I won’t bore you with details, but dealing with this online and on the phone took more than two hours of my day. And the problem is not yet solved. That story is to be continued. I moved on to working on the PowerPoint presentation for the Wayland Sailing Association. I thought I would finish that today, but time was cut short by the Google issue. Maybe tomorrow for completion on that. And then it was time to pick Jonah and Ollie up from school. In playing a game with them which is cross between soccer and baseball, I was the ‘pitcher’ and was hit in the ear and lower jaw by a fast flying soccer ball. I am still not sure that all is well. After the hit, I started having a pain in my throat/inner ear when I swallow. Not sure what that is about. But, whatever, it was fun to play with the boys. That’s about it for today. It was sunny. No surprise storms. But it felt particularly chilly. It should be warmer tomorrow and Thursday, so I look forward to that.

2018 Life Logs, Day 302—Wild Weather
Date: Monday, October 29, 2018
Weather: Surprise AM Storm, Then Sunshine; High 59, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I checked the weather last night and saw that today should be partly sunny with a slight chance of rain in the early afternoon. So, I headed to my pilates class at the gym this morning without my raincoat. As we were exercising, I looked out the windows and saw that it was literally pouring rain torrential style. We kept exercising and the rain subsided a bit. Whew! I might be able to get home without getting drenched. Then the gym manager came in to tell us that there was a tornado watch in effect. What? Where did that come from? She said Woods Hole had reported a water spout and winds of 65 miles per hour and that Falmouth was under the watch. But the radar showed that the cyclonic winds were further to the west following the Buzzards Bay coastline from Quissett Harbor to North Falmouth. She told us she would keep us posted. Nervously, we continued exercising, especially since the room we were in was all glass on one side. But the young woman returned, saying that downtown Falmouth had been cleared and was no longer in danger. We finished our class and afterwards I went into a different room to use the exercise bike while I watched the minute by minute weather coverage. When I was sure it was safe for me to head home, I did. And when I got to the car and checked my phone, I saw that Heather had texted to say she had been in her basement for the past hour. She was driving to Boston today, returning tomorrow evening, but she wasn’t going anywhere until the all clear was sounded. She had heard from the schools and found out that Ollie and Jonah and all of the East Falmouth students had been in the school basement for the past hour and Sam’s school, evidently not having a basement, had all been gathered in a lower floor hallway. Wild weather!

I spent the rest of my day doing a little house cleaning, working to clear dead plants from my raised garden beds, and mostly sitting at the dining room table catching up on correspondence, completing a template for a December field trip to the Rhode Island School of Design for the Newcomers Teacher Group, and completing the writing of my presentation for the Wayland Sailing Association. I will finish adding the photos to the Power Point presentation tomorrow and hopefully have that project completed. While sitting at the dining table today, I kept watching the aquarium for signs of the baby fish the Goldpebbles discovered last night. Ollie and I bought two Platys three weeks ago and evidently one them had babies. Platys have live babies and at least one baby has survived because we saw it last night. So tiny and so cute. I doubt that it will make it, but it has certainly given survival a run for its money to date. My friend Karen Baranowski was visiting two weeks ago and said she saw a baby fish. I didn’t see it then and I didn’t see it today, but I did see it last night. I’m hoping it is still there, just hiding until it gets big enough to fend for itself.

2018 Life Logs, Day 301—64 Days Left in 2018
Date: Sunday, October 28, 2018
Weather: Sunshine; High 57, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

After I wrote yesterday’s log, I realized it was Day 300 of 2018. That means that we now have only 64 days left in this year. The days are growing shorter and next Sunday our clocks fall back an hour making the darkness come an hour earlier in the evenings. This is the time of year I like least, but in less than 64 days, the days will start getting longer again. That’s the good news. Thankfully we have Thanksgiving and Christmas activities to keep us busy during this dark time.

After yesterday’s stormy day, this was a sunny one. But I spent my day inside doing more computer work and then getting dinner ready for the Goldstones. I love having them over on Sunday evenings. I fixed cranberry quinoa stuffed acorn squash, salad, and pork tenderloin with a big Halloween decorated chocolate chip cookie cake for dessert. It was great to be together. Earlier in the afternoon, I had a Skype video call with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. The kids are excited about Halloween. Coco is going to be a Vampire and Ziggy an Invisible Man. I think I am going to be myself. Now that’s a scary thought!