2023 Life Logs, Day 61: Another Cold
Date: Thursday, March 2, 2023
Weather: Rain Early, Overcast; High 47, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Yesterday morning I woke up thinking I was finally over my two week-long cold. I felt great. But by mid-day, I wasn’t so sure as I felt extremely tired. During the night I woke up with a runny nose and by the time I got up this morning, I was back where I was two weeks ago. I have another full-fledged old-fashioned cold . . . again. I tested for Covid and that came out negative, called the doctor’s office and gave the nurse my symptoms, and her recommendation was to wait a couple of days to see if I get better. It sounded to her like I simply have another cold. That alone was bad enough, but I was to give a presentation to the Upper Cape Ski Club tonight. If I backed out, it would be too late for them to get another speaker. What to do? I took Sudafed to dry things up and took a nap. I couldn’t really sleep, but I did rest for two hours, got up and was worse than when I laid down. I took more Sudafed and napped again. This time I was a bit better. So, I did this one more time. By 5:30 I was good enough to go and I made it through the dinner and presentation. The Voyage of Windbird presentation was well received and I really enjoyed doing it. I always love ‘sailing around the world again’ each time I give the presentation. I left feeling good, but then on the way home, the drippiness returned. I will now just put up with it and try to drink water and sleep my way through this. I have nothing on my calendar for the next two days and hope that by Sunday, my birthday, I will be back on the road to health.

2023 Life Logs, Day 60: Not Really
Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 43, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Yesterday I thought I had turned the corner to becoming healthy once again. As it turns out . . . not really. I am better, but I can see that this is a slow road, not the fast lane. Maybe it is just because I haven’t had a cold for a few years and don’t know how long it takes to recover. But I just don’t remember feeling this tired as a result of a cold. I literally still have to take a midday nap to get through the day. It must have been pure adrenaline that got me through last week, but that adrenaline is not here this week. The good news is that I don’t feel bad, just tired. But the bad news is that today I coughed a few times after having a few cough-free days. So, I am just going to proceed very slowly and hope that each day is better than the one before.

I did go to a Newcomers Nominating Committee meeting this morning and I took Ollie to saxophone lessons this afternoon. Otherwise, I had a quiet day with Shadow. Tomorrow, I have an early chiropractor appointment and tomorrow evening I make a Voyage of Windbird presentation. And speaking of the Voyage of Windbird, my good friend Claire just finished editing my first book. Six other people had read the book and made corrections, but still Claire found 3,688 items to be addressed. She is a pro and cautioned me not to be overwhelmed with the number of corrections. She really believes I should pursue getting it published. I had almost given up the idea, but I will take a second look. I literally just got her email and can’t wait to see what she found!

2023 Life Logs, Day 59: Turning the Corner Back to Healthy (I hope)
Date: Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Weather: Snow Overnight, Rainy Mix All Day; High 37, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

For the first morning in two weeks, I woke up feeling almost human. I think I have turned the corner with this cold, although after a couple of hours, I felt like I needed a nap. I still don’t have my energy level back and I have some congestion, but I think I can get back to life as usual.

When Shadow and I went out early this morning, the world was white with snow . . . but a wintry mix of was raining down and continued all day. Before this dreary day’s end, most of the snow was gone. School starting was delayed which delighted the grandkids, but otherwise it was an uneventful day. I took Shadow to his every six-week grooming appointment, came home and took a nap, went back to get Shadow, prepared for my Voyage of Windbird presentation to the Upper Cape Ski Club on Thursday night, and then went to dinner at Heather and Jed’s. Jed’s mother, Marti, is in town and this gave me an opportunity to say hello. She came in yesterday evening and leaves tomorrow morning, so this was my only chance. Then I came home and watched another couple of episodes of White Lotus. That was it for my day.

2023 Life Logs, Day 58: More Recovery Time
Date: Monday, February 27, 2023
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Waiting for Snow; High 35, Low 28 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I spent another day doing mostly nothing, resting to recover from this persistent cold that I have had for two weeks. I woke up this morning feeling achy, so once again tested to make sure I don’t have Covid. Again, I tested negative. This really is just an old fashioned, stubborn cold. I certainly feel better tonight than I did this morning. I talked to another friend who is normally as healthy as a horse, and she, too, is in the second week of a similar cold. Hopefully all of this rest will result in a healthy me. We shall see.

The weather forecast is for snow overnight, maybe as much as 3 inches. It should start anytime now, but I was just outside with Shadow and there was no snow in sight. It is another one of those ‘wait and see’ situations.

2023 Life Logs, Day 57: End of Winter Vacation
Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023
Weather: Sunny to Overcast to Partly Sunny; High 38, Low 27 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset in East Falmouth: 6:22 am – 5:30 pm (+2 minutes)
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco are on their way home to Puerto Rico. Heather, Jed, Sam, Jonah, and Oliver drove home today from West Dover in Vermont. And Shadow and I had another recovery day here at the cottage. Yesterday’s fluffy snow has all melted. Winter vacation is over and today sunset was at 5:30 pm. Woohoo! I will stop tracking sunrise and sunset as 5:30 sunset was my goal. I love the days from the end of February to the summer solstice as each day gets just a little longer. It is too early to think ‘spring’ as we seem to have never-ending winter-spring until almost July, but I think I will get the shelves out of the basement this week to start planting a few seeds anyway.

2023 Life Logs, Day 56: Total Crash
Date: Saturday, February 25, 2023
Weather: Fluffy Snow; High 22, Low 17 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset in East Falmouth: 6:23 am – 5:29 pm (+2 minutes)
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Last Saturday I left home with a cold that was getting better. I spent a week not feeling great, but I was able to do everything I wanted. The cold did not get worse, but it certainly didn’t go away. I had a great night’s sleep in my own bed, but I woke up this morning feeling just awful. I took Shadow out and when he came in, he went right back to bed. So, I did the same. It was after noon when I got up the second time, still feeling awful. It was if I had a total crash after a great week. However, as the afternoon proceeded, I started feeling just a tad more like a human. I took Shadow for a walk, played fetch in the new fallen fluffy snow, and when I came inside after that, I did feel better. Hopefully this upward trend continues.

I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening catching up on getting my logs from the past week posted with photos attached. I did not have internet connection on my computer while in Vermont which made downloading photos difficult. I had to turn on a hotspot to do it and everything took longer than it should have. I did that for a few days but then decided to just put my energy into having a great time with my family and post logs and photos when I got home. Now, that is done.

Heather sent a photo of Jed with his new skis. He had been renting different pairs each day this past week to try them out and finally decided on a pair. Jo sent a message saying they were freezing in New York City. They head home to Puerto Rico tomorrow.

2023 Life Logs, Day 55: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Date: Friday, February 24, 2023
Weather: Icy Mist Overnight, Sunny, Cold, Windy; High 34, Low 7 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset in East Falmouth: 6:23 am – 5:27 pm (+2 minutes)
Location: Back Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Heather and family are staying in Vermont until Sunday, but today Justin and family left for Brooklyn, New York, and I drove home to Falmouth. Justin and Jo didn’t get home from Plainfield until 2:00 in the morning. The roads were icy as we got an icy mist overnight, so they had a treacherous, slow ride home. But they made it safely. But all of us had a bit of a late night, so we all slept in. Coco and Jo got in some last minute sledding and Ziggy and Jonah went out to build a snowman. It was windy and cold and they didn’t last long. Then the packing to leave began. While we packed, Heather went out to clear off the van and my car. They were once again encased in ice. Evidently, the icy mist stopped by he time Justin and Jo got home, because their car had not a trace of ice. The driveway was a bit icy, but Jed bought enough sand yesterday to spread at the top of the uphill driveway. The kids were all up the driveway, so Heather got photos of them for me while Justin and I drove our cars up the hill. We both made it with no problem, and we were on our way.

But parting is such sweet sorrow. We had a wonderful week together and will all look forward to our next gathering. I had not looked at Google Maps ahead of time, so when I got to the end of our little road, it told me to take a right. I thought I was to take a left, so I did that. But as a drove on, Maps told me to take a different left to Brattleboro. I thought maybe this was because of road conditions, so I made that left. About five miles down the road, it got really icy and the pavement ended. I turned around, went back to the main road, and headed home the way I had planned. It was a bit of a rocky start, but I eventually got to Brattleboro via Wilmington. The drive between Wilmington and Brattleboro was absolutely breath taking. The trees were covered in ice and were glistening in the sunshine. Then the deciduous trees gave way to evergreens and picturesque farms. At one overlook, the view of the valley below was spectacular.

It felt good to be home, but I already miss being with my whole family . . . the sorrow of leaving family is mixed with the sweet memories of our week together. It took Justin and family six hours to get to Brooklyn due to the weather. Justin and Jo had a performance at 8 pm, so they barely had time to get take-out delivered and equipment set up before the show. But they did it.

2023 Life Logs, Day 54: More Snow Fun
Date: Thursday, February 23, 2023
Weather: Snow; High 30, Low 19 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset in East Falmouth: 6:26 am – 5:25 pm (+2 minutes)
Location: At Home at Cinnamon Sticks, West Dover, VT

Jed took off early with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie to head to Mt. Snow to snowboard on the new fallen snow. We didn’t get as much as predicted, but we did have about 6-8 inches of new snow this morning. We were still getting snow flurries during the morning and Ziggy and Coco were out sledding while Heather and Justin were clearing the snow from the cars. Jed returned mid-day with the Goldpebbles as all of the Mt. Snow lifts had been closed due to icy conditions. Up on the mountain they were getting an icy mist that covered everything. There was more playing in the snow and late afternoon and a lot of driveway shoveling. The snow plow did not come as promised and Justin and Jo had to leave to drive an hour or so south to Plainfield to do a Silvermouse performance. Silvermouse is the the name of Justin and Jo’s electronic music duo. It is a long, long driveway, but Heather persisted and got the whole driveway cleared as best she could while Jed went to get more sand. They parked the van at the top of the driveway so at least one car could get in and out. The shoveling and sanding was good enough for Justin and Jo to get out. While they were gone, Heather started a new puzzle and the kids played pool and darts and continued their Marvel movie watching. At the end of the evening, we all watched an old James Bond movie together. Cinnamon Sticks, the house we are renting, has the perfect layout for two families and an Oma. There is a living room upstairs as well as three bedrooms. That living room is the moving watching room. Downstairs there is the pool table and dart room, a living and dining room and a kitchen. So, visiting and game playing is done on the first floor and moving watching is done upstairs. It makes for a perfect combination.

2023 Life Logs, Day 53: Snowboarding and Skiing at Okemo
Date: Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Weather: Sunny Turning Cloudy, Waiting for More Snow; High 34, Low 22 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset in East Falmouth: 6:27 am – 5:24 pm (+4 minutes)
Location: At Home at Cinnamon Sticks, West Dover, VT

Shadow and I enjoyed a lovely day at home just reading, puzzling, walking, and making one trip out to the grocery store. Late in the afternoon, I started prepping dinner for the gang that would be arriving home from a full day of snowboarding and skiing at Okemo which is a little more than an hour north of here. They had a great day as well. Jo has become a snowboard convert and LOVES it. Ziggy and Coco have also decided they like snowboarding.
Share They forced themselves to do one last run and it was the best one yet. But in the end, they were all exhausted. Jed got a great photo of all of them collapsed on the snow at the end of the day. We spent the evening finishing the puzzle we had been working on all week. A successful day all around.

2023 Life Logs, Day 52: Snow Fun
Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Weather: Overcast, Snow Early Evening; High 31, Low 22 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset in East Falmouth: 6:29 am – 5:24 pm (+3 minutes)
Location: At Home at Cinnamon Sticks, West Dover, VT

Today ended up being a ‘recovery’ day—no snowboarding—but our day did end with some snow fun. Mid-afternoon we took a break from just enjoying the day . . . reading, puzzling, playing games, just lounging. We drove a little south to the town of Wilmington to do the river walk. It is a just a half mile loop through town, across the river, and back to where we started. We stopped in a little shop with all things Vermont, a great little book store, and the grocery store to resupply. It started snowing on our way home and continued snowing throughout the evening. Not a heavy snow, but a few inches that made for a great nighttime snowball fight. There were lots of sneak attacks. Anyone under 75 got bombarded when coming out of the house, but the age limit spared me! Of course, this meant that all of the nice, dry snow gear ready for tomorrow’s trip to Okemo had to dried . . . again. But what fun! The other hilarious event of the evening was playing a memory game called Find My Behind. We had to match an animal’s head to its tail. It started quietly, but when the first person made a match, we were all yelling at the top of our lungs to cheer the person on. Thankfully there are no houses near us, so we could be as loud as we wanted and evidently we wanted to be really loud. By the end of the game, which Heather won, we were all hoarse and almost in tears with laughter. I guess it doesn’t take much to entertain the Handley-Hunt-Goldstone family