2018 Life Logs, Day 109—Cleaning, Packing, and Grandkid Care
Date: Thursday, April 19, 2018
Weather: Rainy Day; High Temp 42, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

A great deal of today was spent cleaning the cottage and packing for the move. Jed kept the boys until 1:15 when I picked up Ollie. He was playing on the public library lawn, observing our town turkeys that were hanging out there. Ollie and I stayed and watched the turkeys and then headed to my place so I could get some lunch while Jed took Jonah and Sam to the dentist to have their teeth cleaned. Then Ollie and I headed to Woods Hole to pick up S & J. But we only came home with Sam. Jed invited Jonah to stay and have some ‘lab time’ with daddy. Ollie and Sam played while I prepped dinner, and then Heather arrived and the packing frenzy began. Once Jed arrived, he took over getting dinner ready while Heather and I continued to pack. I now have lots of plastic bins that I can deliver to the cottage, but before doing that, I need to complete the cleaning. So, the race is on.

Tomorrow morning I meet the boys in Woods Hole for another Woods Hole Oceanograpic sponsored film. In the morning we watch ‘Saving Sea Turtles: Preventing Extinction’. Last summer we adopted a Rachel Carseal and got to see her successful release back into the sea. So I am really looking forward to seeing this film and learning more about our turtle friends. After the film, I will then take the boys home with me. We’ll have lunch and then at some point in the afternoon, Jed will come home to take over child care and I’ll head back to the cottage to continue cleaning. Heather has offered to come help with the cleaning on Saturday and that will be so helpful. Thank you, Heather. Jonah has a soccer game mid-day, so we might have to take a break to see the game. Then on Sunday I head to the Boston area to celebrate my niece’s 60th and my sister-in-law’s 84th. Plenty to keep me busy

2018 Life Logs, Day 108—Ten-Day Countdown
Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Still Windy; High Temp 47, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Jed stayed home with the boys this morning while I contacted movers and looked more seriously at new flooring for the cottage. I was successful on the first count. I will be moving on Sunday, April 29. So tomorrow starts the ten-day count down. On the issue of new flooring, it was just too ambitious on my part to think I could get this done before moving in. So, the move will be made and changes in flooring will require moving furniture around. I am disappointed, but maybe I can learn to live with an ugly army green tile floor . . . or find creative ways of covering it up. I am not a fan of carpeting, but I will search for area rugs for now.

I spent the afternoon with the Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. It was a sunny day which convinced them it was warm. I thought otherwise, but they played outside all afternoon in shorts and barefeet. Well, Sam and Jonah did that. Because Ollie seems to be getting a cold, Jed asked him to leave on his long pants and shoes. The boys had an outdoor picnic and played baseball. Sure signs of spring. Then at 4 pm, we got ready to head to the soccer field. Sam’s team that Jed coaches had a visiting coach this afternoon and Jonah joined in. Ollie rode his bicycle at the field, racing back and forth, up a hill and back down again, for 30 straight minutes, and then he wanted to come to my house and ride in the long parking lot next door. He convinced me that I needed to get my bike and ride with him, which I did, but the wind on the harbor was fierce. We did that for another 30 minutes and then headed home to get dinner. Ollie was exhausted and as soon as dinner was over, he went to the sofa and fell fast asleep. I only regretted that I couldn’t curl up with him. I was exhausted from fighting the wind all day.

Tomorrow I will head to the cottage early and do some cleaning and then meet Jed and boys in Woods Hole in the early afternoon. Sam and Jonah have another dentist appointment, this time for cleaning. Then I’ll head home with the boys while Jed goes to work. Unfortunately, tomorrow looks like another rainy day, so afternoon play will probably be inside.

2018 Life Logs, Day 107—Moving Sooner Rather Than Later
Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds Plus Wind; High Temp 47, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Ouch! I finally heard back from my current landlord saying that moving out by May 1st would be “perfect” but that if that is hardship, I have until May 15. I will spend tomorrow morning contacting movers to see if a May 1 move is possible, but one way or another, I need to get moving!

I spent today with Jonah and Ollie. Sam went to work with his dad to work on his science project. The question Sam has been exploring is whether microwaves affect the growth of E. coli bacteria and he needed the equipment in his dad’s lab to do this. So while Sam and Jed were in Woods Hole conducting experiments, Jonah, Ollie, and I stayed at home and played. Then in the afternoon, we packed up our bicycles and drove to the bike path. We hopped on our bikes and rode against the chilly wind to Woods Hole. Sam and Jonah had mid-afternoon dental check-ups. Our bike ride was only a couple of miles, but all three of us had ‘rubber’ legs when we arrived. We rode fast and being our first bike ride of any length since the fall, we felt it. After the dental appointments, we all went to Coffee O and had a sweet treat just to celebrate the afternoon. Then Sam and Jed went back to the lab and Ollie, Jonah, and I did our return bike trip. When we got back to the car, parked at Trunk River, the boys had to do the requisite walking on rocks that line the river. It is super shallow, so even if they fell in, they would have been fine. But they were successful, and very happy about it, and then we headed home.
Tomorrow morning Jed will stay with the boys while I make calls to moving companies and s research on flooring options for the cottage. Then I will have the boys for the afternoon and early evening. Heather will end two very long work days tomorrow evening and I think Thursday and Friday she will be back to normal hours.

I was very saddened tonight to learn of the death of Barbara Bush. I didn’t fully appreciate her being until I read her memoir a few years ago. It is one of my all-time favorite books. Being a 1970’s liberated woman, I had always looked at her as a not so independent woman. She never had a career and spent her whole life as a wife and mother. But in reading her book, I learned that her life choices had been just as liberated as mine, just in a different way. We had way more in common than not, and I learned so much from reading about her life. She was a rock, a pillar of strength—an amazing woman. And if you haven’t read her memoir, I highly recommend that you do.

2018 Life Logs, Day 106—Patriots’ Day
Date: Monday, April 16, 2018
Weather: Overcast with Buckets of Rain; High Temp 53, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

The third Monday of April is Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts. This is an official state holiday commemorating the first battles of the American Revolution in Lexington and Concord. The observance of this holiday began in the 1960’s, but the Boston Marathon which is run on the same day, began in 1897. This day is also the beginning of the spring school vacation week here in Falmouth. So today was a big day. Jonah, Ollie, and I began our day attending a Woods Hole Oceanographic sponsored film, “The March of the Penguins.” This was shown in the auditorium in Redfield, the building in which Jed works. He and Sam were in Jed’s lab working on a school science project while we watched the film. A block away, Heather was at work in her office. The film was about Emperor penguins and their annual march inland, away from the sea, to where they mate and raise their young. It was beautifully presented, and who doesn’t love penguins? After the film, a penguin scientist shared his research with us and answered questions. Great way to start the week. Then we all converged on the Captain Kidd for lunch. After lunch, we all headed to the cottage, the little house that I will soon occupy. I wanted to get Heather and Jed’s opinion on just how hard it would be to lay wood laminate flooring. They have done this and their input was very helpful. Unfortunately, it will be harder and more time consuming that I had hoped. So, I am going to look into other alternatives. Stay tuned on that one.

It was a rainy, rainy day here, but that doesn’t stop little boys. While Heather, Jed, and I were in the cottage discussing flooring, the boys were exploring. They tromped through the woods next to the cottage and down to the water where they found a little peninsula that is dry at high tide. And, of course, they insisted on taking all of us on a tour. We all went to the dock where I can keep a small boat and kayaks. I wanted Jed to check the integrity of the dock, but boys are also very useful in that department. They jump, leap, and shake everything making sure it is secure. But we had a visitor today . . . a swan who watched every move we made. Later when we walked out on the peninsula, I saw the reason why the swan was so ‘watchful’. I saw a second swan sitting on what looked like a nest just across from the dock. I think our visitor was a male watching over things. It will be interesting to watch this couple in the next few weeks.

Jonah and Ollie then went home with me for the rest of the afternoon. As we walked from the parking area to my apartment, it was pouring rain and Jonah was singing, “Singin’ in the Rain.” He loves watching snipits from old musicals on YouTube and this is one of his favorites. So, he insisted that we get an umbrella. We did and then he assigned roles to Ollie and I and he staged a full production in the yard. By this time, it was really pouring rain, but I played my role as the policeman from the movie scene. A guy who lives here walked by us and asked me what in the world we were doing. I simply replied, “Singing in the Rain.” And he replied, “Good day for that.”

2018 Life Logs, Day 105—Fun Evening with the Goldstones
Date: Sunday, April 15, 2018
Weather: Overcast and Chilly; High Temp 41, Low 36 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

I think I am still in the ‘deer in the headlights’ stage of my upcoming move. I got up and did some organizing here and then headed to the cottage. I didn’t get a lot done, but I came up with a plan for cleaning the place from floor to ceiling. I cleaned one window and found I didn’t have everything with me that I needed. So not much physical progress, but I do have a better idea of how to approach things.

On my way home, I went food shopping for dinner. Earlier in the day I had invited Heather and gang over for dinner and the boys requested artichokes. I added corn on the cob, scallops wrapped in bacon, and strawberry shortcake to their request. I know it is not summer, but it brightens my days to pretend it is! We had a nice dinner together and since tomorrow is a vacation day, we let the kids play after dinner while we sat at the table and talked. Then we watched a Ninja challenge on TV. Tomorrow morning, even though it is a vacation day, both Heather and Jed need to go into work for a couple of hours, so Heather will take the boys to work with her and then I will come get Jonah and Ollie and walk down the street to watch the Woods Hole Oceanographic sponsored film, March of the Penguins. Sam will go with his dad to work on his science project in Jed’s lab. Not sure what we will do in the afternoon, but we need to do something to brighten what promises to be a rainy, rainy day.

2018 Life Logs, Day 104—The Joy of Warmth and Sunshine
Date: Saturday, April 14, 2018
Weather: One Day of Spring; High Temp 56, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today was a beautiful day, in many ways, but the joy of warmth and sunshine certainly topped the list. We have had some sunny days recently, but as soon as you step out the door, you realize the sunshine is deceptive and that, yes, you really need to keep wearing your winter jacket. This morning the temperature was not much different than other sunny days, but when I stepped out the door with my winter jacket on, I had to step right back inside and take it off. It actually felt like spring outside. Hurray! The joy is short-lived as tomorrow we plunge back into winter, but today was wonderful.

I spent a great deal of today at the cottage that will soon be my new home . . . measuring, thinking, reflecting, measuring some more. I’m still reeling from the unbelievable luck of the offer to rent the cottage. I mention to a group of friends that I would love to continue to live near the water but not pay as much for rent. One of those friends realizes that her aunt has an empty cottage that might work for me and contacts the aunt to see if she is willing to sell or buy. I am invited to meet the aunt and she decides she would be willing to rent the cottage to me that has basically been sitting empty for twenty years. Then yesterday I am offered a dream rental deal. The whole thing still seems a little unreal, but sitting in the cottage today and figuring out where to place furniture put reality in to perspective. Now I just have to figure out just what I am willing to live with and what things simply have to be updated sooner rather than later. I haven’t heard back from my current landlord, but for now I am going to assume I have until June 1 to move out of here, little by little. This morning my friends Karen and Peter Baranowski met me at the cottage hand over the keys and go over some details. Shirley, Karen’s aunt and the owner of the property, lives next door every other month. But right now she is living at her sister’s home near Boston. The first of May, Shirley and her sister will both return here for a month. So, although Shirley will be my landlord, Karen and Peter, serve as her caretaker when she is here. So, for most things I will turn to Shirley, but for others, I will deal with Peter and Karen. Today’s job was to make decisions on what furniture is in the cottage that I will not need. That is most of it, so now we will have to check with Shirley to see if we can give it away or store it in the basement. Peter is also the unofficial handyman for the properties, so today he did some cutting back of encroaching bushes. There is a concrete slab with a storage building on it that I will be able to use. The view of the river from there is spectacular and this morning we got to watch the biggest Great Blue Heron I have ever seen look at us and then use those powerful wings to fly away. Beautiful. After Peter’s ‘clearing of the bushes’, the view from that spot is even better.

While I was at the cottage this morning I got a call from Heather. She was in gardening mode and was hoping to get more seeds started in planting trays today. The problem was that the seeds were at my house. It was almost lunch time anyway, so I went home to get lunch and the seeds and then headed back to Heather’s. I brought my lunch with me, so we had lunch, I made a run to the city dump to take some recycling, and then I went back to the cottage to do the serious measuring. Then ‘magically’ it was time to head home to prepare food for an event I was attending tonight. It was a Mix and Mingle Newcomers affair at the home of a fellow sailor. The fellow sailor, Lisa, lives in a condominium village and her home is lovely and perfect for entertaining. She even has a fireplace and sitting area in the kitchen. I loved that and it was wonderful spending the evening talking with friends about all manner of things. Life is good.

2018 Life Logs, Day 103—Moving On
Date: Friday, April 13, 2018
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Morning Sprinkles; High Temp 53, Low 44 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

I’m a superstitious person, so Friday the 13th is not my favorite day of the year to get good news. But I got very good news today, so maybe I’ll change my opinion of Friday the 13th. I heard from the owner of the cottage that I have been contemplating renting and the rental offer was one that I couldn’t refuse. I will save a considerable amount of money each month on rent which is a very good thing. I will miss the harbor views from this lovely apartment, but now I will have a new view of a different waterway. And I will live in my own little house and can do some gardening. I have contacted the owner here to let him know I will be moving, but I haven’t heard back from him yet whether he wants me out immediately, by May 1, or whether he will want me to stay until June 1. But either way, I will start mobilizing tomorrow. There are some things that I want to have done inside the cottage before I move in, so I will proceed to work on that. And I will be establishing deep beds in the front yard there which will be my new garden. I can also start packing up things here that I don’t need for day to day living. So, let the move begin.

I picked Jonah and Ollie up from school this afternoon and Jonah announced that he and Ollie had presented Ziggy’s thank you book to the East Falmouth Elementary School community at this morning’s all-school meeting. Ziggy wrote a book about Finca Maravilla and dedicated it to the third and fourth graders at East Falmouth for donating the funds they raised at their annual Christmas craft fair to the farm. Jonah spoke to the whole school via microphone this morning with Ollie at this side . . . brothers supporting their cousins in Puerto Rico. I am so proud of all of them.

2018 Life Logs, Day 102—Costco Trip and Newcomers Meeting
Date: Thursday, April 12, 2018
Weather: Partly Sunny; High Temp 50, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

My day involved a trip to Costco which a full hour north of here. So between driving and shopping, that took most of the day. I needed certain vitamin supplements that I buy there, and the price at which I can buy them there justifies the trip. So off I went. And since Home Depot is right next to Costco, I also did a little shopping there. Then this evening I went to a Newcomers monthly meeting. The speaker tonight was an entomologist, Larry Dapsis, from the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension office. The topic was tick-borne diseases and how best to prevent them. The presentation was excellent. The presenter was knowledgeable and presented the facts with humor which made a grim topic most enjoyable. The number of tick-borne illnesses in New England is extremely high and the consequences can be devastating. The most common tick-borne diseases in Massachusetts are Lyme disease, Babesiosis, and Anaplasmosis. And then there are others that are rare, but still occur. Prevention seems to require the use of an insecticide called Permethrin. I’m not a big fan of using insecticides, but in this case, it seems like the only sensible course of action. Lots to think about and research, but while I’m doing that, I want to send a big thank to the Newcomers Programming Vice-Presidents, Jane Murphy and Jane Woodin, for bringing such an important topic before the group.

2018 Life Logs, Day 101—A Day of Sunshine
Date: Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Weather: Sunny and a Teency Bit Warmer; High Temp 43, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today was a sunny day from start to finish, but it was only a teency, weency bit warmer. Tomorrow should be a little bit warmer and Friday even better, but then we start going back down again. But little by little, it will feel like spring at some point.

I spent time today planting garden seeds in indoor seed trays. The hope is to get a headstart by planting small plants, not seeds, in the garden once the weather is warmer. Then I picked Jonah and Ollie up from school and we all went to soccer practice. Sam and Jonah had practice and Ollie took his bike, as well as his soccer gear, to play on his own. He rode his bike on the half-mile track around the soccer fields with Heather running along with him. Then he switched to kicking around a soccer ball. After Sam and Jonah’s practice sessions were over, we all headed Seafood Sam’s. This is a Falmouth restaurant that was doing a fund-raiser for Sam’s school tonight. The food was standard ‘fish and chips’ with a few healthier options. But it was interesting that Sam noticed that the food was served on Styrofoam plates that he knows are not good for people or for the environment. I suggested he write a proposal to the state legislature to have them write a law banning Styrofoam. Jed had an even better suggestion. He told Sam he could take his proposal to the local government as part of a Scout badge project. There are towns in Massachusetts that have banned the use of Styrofoam products and Sam could bring this forward in Falmouth. I’m all in for that project. Go, Sam!

2018 Life Logs, Day 100—Gardening Amid Snow Flurries
Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Weather: Partly Cloudy with Snow Flurries; High Temp 40, Low 30 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

I’ve done a lot of things, but I don’t think I have ever planted seeds in a garden with snow flurries in the air. But I did that today. After Tai Chi, I went to Heather’s to do some planting and did it with snow flurries falling. Then I came home and prepared seed trays to do more planting indoors. We are moving forward, despite the cool spring. I got a text this afternoon from friend Jane Woodin inviting me to go to a movie with her tonight. So, I finished up my seed tray prep, went to the gym for a Kick Boxing class, and then headed to Mashpee to meet Jane at the movie theater. It was fun to have a night out with Jane.