2017 Life Logs, Day 264: No Word from Justin and Family
Date: Thursday, September 21, 2017
Weather: Overcast and Rainy, Windy; High 67, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

We have still heard no word from Justin and family in Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria ravaged the entire island, leaving it without power and without cell and wi-fi. So, I assume we haven’t heard from them because they have no way of communicating. But thinking that doesn’t make this any easier to live with. There’s no way to know how long this communication void might go on. I have checked-in with the Red Cross site that people can register with to let family members know they are okay. Justin and Jo haven’t registered with them, but there could be no Red Cross involved in western Puerto Rico. I have checked my HAM radio email account—nothing there. I have found two different phone hot lines, but both are continually busy. I will keep trying. I have checked in with the Puerto Rico Maria Updates page on Facebook, but nothing there either. Jo’s mom and dad in England are keeping in close contact with me, but all we can do is hope and wait. If you are reading this log, I know you are familiar with the beautiful, smiling faces of Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. Thank you for keeping them in your thoughts. It helps to know that so many people are sending their positive thoughts to Justin and Jo and all of the people of Puerto Rico.

Long before Maria was spawned, I had made plans to go on a bus trip today to Salem, Massachusetts, to the Peabody Essex Museum. I was going with Olivia White, and I decided to go. Otherwise, I would just sit here and worry and that does no one any good. Salem is north and east of Boston and it took two and half hours to get there and more than three hours to get home. But it was worth it. The museum is fabulous. We had an hour-long guided tour through Maritime Art, American Art, Native American Art, Asian Art, and a section called Ocean Liners. We saw a large model of the Friendship of Salem ship. The original ship was built in Salem in the late 1700’s and the model was at least five feet long and tall, was built aboard the ship as it sailed to the Pacific Northwest. A replica of the ship usually sits on Derby Wharf in Salem, but it was hauled out in July of 2016 for routine maintenance. Not sure when it will return, but I would love to go see it when it is returned to its homeport. I learned that Salem was a hub for merchant ships in the 1800’s. I never knew that. The ships sailed to the Mediterranean and to the Pacific to the Pacific Northwest and to China. The museum highlights those areas and the trade items that were exchanged. Salem has a rich history, including the Salem witch trials. But that will be the focus of another trip. After the guided tour, I toured the Yin Yu Tang, a Chinese house that was dismantled in China, shipped to Salem, and rebuilt onsite at the museum. The house was originally built by the Huang family around 1800 in the mountainous Anhui Province in southeastern China. This was a definite highlight of today’s tour. Then it was off to Pickering Wharf for lunch. Olivia and I finished up in time to visit the adjacent historic district. The Customs House was a highlight of that quick tour before we had to head back to the bus.

Tomorrow we go from summer to fall. The autumnal equinox occurs here at 4:02 pm EDT. I will spend my day preparing for a Saturday evening dinner party I am hosting. But at the same time, I will continue trying searching to find out about Justin and Jo’s situation. I know they, along with the other 3.5 million Puerto Ricans, are without power and water and any means of communicating with the outside world. That must be a very frightening realization. It is one thing to anticipate it. It must be quite another to live through it. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco—please know that friends and family from around the world are waiting to hear from you and hope that you are safe. Oma, Grandma and Grandpa in England, your aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends of all of us love you so much! And at the same time, we are thinking about the other hurricane victims of Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and the people of Mexico City dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake. And as I write this, the winds of Jose are still whipping through the Falmouth Harbor. Almost too much to bear.

2017 Life Logs, Day 263: All Eyes on Puerto Rico
Date: Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Weather: Overcast and Rainy, Winds Increasing; High 69, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

It is 8 pm here and all I can do watch the Weather Channel as Hurricane Maria is pulling away from the island, but still very much in play. So, all eyes (and hearts) on Puerto Rico. I have heard nothing from Justin and Jo. I know they are still being pelleted by the wind and rain from the hurricane that is still only about 25 miles offshore, but I think if they had cell service I would have had a text from them by now. I was in email contact with Jo’s parents in England around noon, and we will certainly let each other know if we hear from them. I can only assume the there is no cell or wi-fi service, plus no electricity, and now I am hearing this could be the case for weeks. I thought I had grasp of the damage this hurricane could do, but I did not. After Irma, there was no electricity, but there was still cell service. Now the three and half million people that live on the island of Puerto Rico are in the dark tonight because there is no power, no way to communicate, and the devastation of flooding is just beginning. Puerto Rico is a beautiful, mountainous island with everything from gorgeous beaches to rain forests. Justin and Jo live on the west coast in the mountains just above the surfing capitol of Rincon. This is about 15 miles north of a much larger city, Mayaguez. Since the last Category 4 hurricane to hit the island was in 1932, most people living there really didn’t know what to expect from Maria. I heard tonight that the airport in San Juan might open on Saturday. If I haven’t heard from Justin and Jo by then, part of me wants to get on a plane and go there to find them. The other part of me says I should wait until I hear from Justin. Again, I ask you to hope with me that all is well.

Thankfully I have a couple of busy days coming up that will be a distraction. Tomorrow I am going to the Peabody Essex Museum north of Boston and on Saturday I am hosting a dinner party for nine of us. At least this will keep me from just sitting and watching the Weather Channel!

Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco. So many people contacted me today asking about your safety. You have people all around the world hoping that you come through this unscathed. We all love you and hope to hear from you soon. Be safe.

2017 Life Logs, Day 262: Holy, Hurricanes!
Date: Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Weather: Overcast with Rain Here and There; High 69, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Holy, Hurricanes! This weather is going to drive me over the edge. Two weeks ago tomorrow, Irma bore down on Puerto Rico. Tomorrow, exactly two weeks later, Maria will do the same. We were lucky with Irma as she made a northward turn at the last minute and spared Puerto Rico her full rath. And still there was a billion dollars in damages. There doesn’t seem to be any way out for Maria. She is going to go right across Puerto Rico. But for Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, tonight it looks like there is some hope that the hurricane will hit the east coast and then veer northward toward San Juan or just a little west of the city. If this happens, Maria will spare her full force on the west coast where Justin and Jo live. I learned on the Weather Channel today that Puerto Rico is the most densely populated area of the United States and much of that population is centered in the area around San Juan. So, there are no happy scenarios, but I can only hope against hope that Justin and Joe’s Finca Maravilla will be spared the worst.

I am so very, very proud of both Justin and Jo. They have met the adversity of these hurricanes with hard work and grace. I know they are scared, but they try not to transfer that fear to Coco and Ziggy. Justin sent a text late this morning asking if I would like to Skype video with Ziggy and Coco. I got to converse with Justin and Jo for a bit before they headed back to their prep work. I could see the exhaustion and apprehension in their eyes, but I could tell that Ziggy and Coco saw none of this. Z and C walked me through all of the preparation and explained how things would go during the storm. They had obviously been well prepared by their parents. I also got to talk to them about their new school year. Both Ziggy and Coco described their school days in detail and shared with me their current favorite books. They took me on a video tour of the house and the preparations underway outside. What a special interactive video contact this was. Now I just look forward to getting the “all clear” text on Thursday. In the meantime, those of us on the northeast coast of the US have to negotiate the wind and rain sent our way by Hurricane Jose. It looks like we will get winds and rain like a boisterous nor’easter with 25-35 mph winds and gusts to 50 mph. We might lose power which is not a big deal this time of year, but that will mean that I will not be able to watch the weather channel non-stop to keep track of Maria. Hopefully I’ll still have cell service, however, so I can receive texts from Justin and Jo. It is going to be a tense 36+ hours.

After talking to Justin and family, I needed to get out and about to distract myself. I busied myself making sure all of the furniture was off my deck and then I went to Heather and Jed’s and stored all of their outdoor furniture and soccer goals. I looked a mess when I was done as it was rainy and muddy, so I came home to clean up and then went back out to do some shopping and to deliver something to Bruce and Jane. They offered me late afternoon tea and it was helpful for me to vent some of my weather frustrations with them. We also reviewed the day’s political news, but that was just too depressing. Trump’s speech at the UN today was just not our ‘cup of tea’. Once I got home, I think I was on the phone for almost two hours. Mark’s sister Mary Ellen called and brought me up-to-date on their Hurricane Irma experiences. Then I talked to my friend Detta Porat from New Hampshire. Her sister has a retirement home in St. Croix which is going to get hit with Maria tonight. So, we commiserated about family with homes in the Caribbean. Then I talked to my sister Patsy who wanted to check on everybody’s safety in the wake of these storms. And now I am going to go to bed so I can be rested for another day of tense weather-watching.

2017 Life Logs, Day 261: Galapagos, Pooh, Jose, Maria
Date: Monday, September 18, 2017
Weather: Another Foggy Start, Mostly Cloudy; High 77, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Galapagos, Pooh, Jose, Maria—What do these names have in common? Nothing, except that I was connected to all four today. I invited friends, Karen and Peter Baranowski, over for lunch to talk about the Galapagos. They are interested in going there and wanted to hear about my experiences. Since the Galapagos is one of my favorite places on earth, I’m sure they heard more than they bargained for! Mid-afternoon I met Bruce Woodin and we headed to Pooh for a sail and to then to batten her down for the approaching tropical storm. Enter Jose. Yes, that hurricane that I naively thought went away is coming back for a visit. It has been so very unpredictable, but at this point it looks like we are going to have tropical storm conditions over the next couple of days. Unfortunately, Bruce and I could not get Pooh motor started, so we never made it out for a sail this afternoon. Bruce worked for a very long time trying to start the engine. He would pull a few times and rest, pull a few times and rest, try something different to no avail, and on and on. Finally, he did it started, but by this time we had decided that if we managed to get the motor started, we wouldn’t go out. We agreed that we would just sit on the boat and enjoy the view while waiting for the motor to cool down and then try to start it again. That worked! So maybe after the stormy weather from Jose passes, we can give it a go again. We did get things buttoned up and left Pooh to ride out the storm. And this brings us to Maria. Maria is now a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 miles per hour. She is currently battering the beautiful island of Dominica in the Leewards and by Wednesday noon she will arrive in Puerto Rico. I cannot believe that so soon after Irma, the islands of the Caribbean are having to deal with another Cat 5 hurricane. It looks like this one is going to give Puerto Rico a direct hit. Justin and Jo are doing everything possible to prepare, but naturally they are very apprehensive. Please join me in sending your most positive thoughts their way.

2017 Life Logs, Day 260: Change of Plans
Date: Sunday, September 17, 2017
Weather: Another Foggy Start, Mostly Cloudy; High 77, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

The harbor was totally fogged in when I got up this morning, and it just didn’t look like biking weather. So, I decided not to do the 9 am Newcomers Club bike ride. Instead, I got a text from Justin telling me that they are bracing for another hurricane, so I got on my computer and watched the weather channel to try and see what is happening. I had no idea that Jose is still hanging around, now heading slowly up the East Coast. Looks like it will sit offshore between New Jersey and Long Island this week, just churning and churning and sending rainy, windy weather our way, and then it looks like it will back track to the south. Hopefully it will dissipate, before the US East Coast starts to feel the effects of Maria, the hurricane that will hit Puerto Rico mid-week. So once again Justin and Jo are preparing. Justin feels like their house is secure and can withstand the storm, but it is the power and wi-fi situation that has him worried. Business is good right now, with new jobs, but they are all time sensitive. No power or no wi-fi will definitely slow things down. They need a new inverter for their solar system, but there is nothing to be found in PR. He did an overnight order with Amazon, but even that might not get there until Tuesday. Hopefully the storm will hold off that long. But for now, we are back to watch and wait. If you are a mother, you know how impending danger for one of your children affects you. It makes me unable to focus on anything else. I’m bracing for another weather-watching week and hoping that Maria decides to go somewhere else!

About the time I got over the shock of another hurricane, I got a text from Bruce about our planned sail this afternoon. Jane woke up with crick in her neck, so there was no sailing for her today. As a result, we changed plans and will sail tomorrow afternoon. The stormy weather doesn’t move in until tomorrow night, so even if Jane can’t go, Bruce and I will go for a sail and then batten down Pooh’s hatches to get ready for the windy weather headed our way.

The only thing I had planned for today that didn’t change was joining Heather and family for dinner with a colleague of Jed’s from Norway. Anders is here with his wife Anne. Heather and family spent their last night in Bergen, Norway, at Anders and Anne’s home. Now Anders is here on a sabbatical visit and he and Anne will be traveling across the United States visiting other colleagues and giving guest lectures along the way. They are a really lovely couple and it was a most enjoyable evening. Thank you, Heather and Jed, for including me and for the wonderful dinner.

2017 Life Logs, Day 258: First Goldpebble Overnight of the School Year
Date: Friday, September 15, 2017
Weather: Back to Beautiful; High 80, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today was the end of the first full week of school and the Goldpebbles decided to celebrate with an overnight with Oma. But when I went to pick them up, they were already celebrating by climbing the street sign out front that says, “Caution. Children.” When I saw Jonah, and then Sam, at the top of the sign, I thought that I should exercise caution in them bringing them home with me! But I didn’t let a little sign climbing scare me. I brought them here for dinner giving Heather and Jed a rare chance to go out to dinner together. Heather has been so incredibly busy recently, so hopefully she got to relax a bit tonight. Tomorrow morning, the Goldpebbles and I will walk to the near-by soccer field for Ollie’s first soccer practice of the season and Heather will meet us there. Jed has a one-day conference in Gloucester and Heather has an afternoon work engagement, so she will take Jonah to meet with friends that will drive him to his mid-day soccer game that is off-Cape. After Ollie’s morning soccer, Ollie, Sam, and I will head across the street from the soccer field to enjoy a little beach time. And then later in the afternoon, Ollie and I will take Sam to his soccer game. Friends will drop Jonah at Sam’s game and then we’ll all get back together with Heather at some point. This is what soccer grandmoms do!

Today I saw a photo that Jo posted on Facebook of Justin heading out to surf to celebrate his 40th birthday yesterday morning. So glad he got to do that. And I also saw photos of Ziggy finger knitting bracelets to sell at the Thursday night Art Walk to raise money for the island hurricane relief fund. Jo wrote “Off his own back, own idea, grafting away to get it done before bedtime.” When I talked to Justin and family yesterday afternoon via Skype video, Ziggy showed me the bracelets he had made. I am so very proud of him. What a thoughtful child!

2017 Life Logs, Day 257: Happy 40th Birthday to Justin
Date: Thursday, September 14, 2017
Weather: Warm but Foggy All Day; High 77, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

It was a Wednesday night in 1977 when Justin entered this world in the tiny town of Jenkins, Minnesota. At the time, the total population of Jenkins was somewhere around 220 people and when you drove into Jenkins and saw the welcome sign, you could look just a few hundred feet in front of you on the other side of the road and see the “Thanks for Visiting” Jenkins sign. In between those signs was the town bar, owned and operated by the town officials. If you were an elected member of the town council, you actually had to work in the bar as it was the only source of income for the little town. So that is where Justin was born, in our home, 40 years ago. One of my favorite photos in the entire world, is of Mark, Heather, and Justin out in the cornfield on Justin’s first day in this world with Musu, one of our sled dog pups. I, of course, was taking the picture. It was a special beginning for a very special little person who is now a very special 40 year-old. Happy Birthday, Justin. I love you so much.

The first general meeting of the Newcomers Club of Falmouth was held this morning. I joined a couple of months ago, but since there are no summer meetings, this was my first. The club is very large, but the beauty of it is that there are many smaller interest groups. I am already a member of the photography group called Shutterbugs, a member of the biking group, and the Dine In group. Today I signed up for the Teacher group plus a couple of others. This could keep a person busy full-time! In fact, I had a great bike ride to Woods Hole late this afternoon with the biking group. Actually, I was the only person who showed up today, so we weren’t much of a group. But the group leader, Linda, and I rode to Woods Hole and stopped at The Landfall waterside restaurant for a drink and $1 appetizers. We sat on the dock at the back of the restaurant and enjoyed our view across the water before heading back home. Great way to end the day.

Today to is also the birthday for two other special men in my life—Mark’s brother Steve and Kevin of Kevin and Claire, young friends we met when we both lived aboard our boats in Boston in 2003. I want to wish them a Happy Birthday and also Mark’s youngest sister, Jeanie. Her birthday is tomorrow, so I’ll get all the birthday wishes out at one time.

2017 Life Logs, Day 256: Playing the Game of Slow Catch-up
Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Weather: Gorgeous Weather; High 78, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

This gorgeous weather is causing some disruptions in my plan to get back to computer and photo fixes that are the result of a year of neglect. But it was such a beautiful morning that I just had to go for a bike ride. When I got home, I started the game of slow catch-up. Last fall after Mark died, I had a rash of computer issues that caused me to have to abandon my computer and start using his. And in that transfer, there were photo files that never got copied. So today I booted the old computer and started the transfer. But then I got interrupted again as I thought the weather required a walk to the beach. I had a lovely day, didn’t get a lot accomplished, but I did get started. Tomorrow is the first meeting of Newcomers. This is the group where I gave my Voyage of Windbird presentation last January and have now decided to join. I’m not new to Falmouth, but it is the first year that I have lived on land in Falmouth. So that got me the invitation to join. Tomorrow is also my baby boy’s 40th birthday!!! How can this be?

2017 Life Logs, Day 255: The Devastation Left Behind by Irma
Date: Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 83, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

The gorgeous weather we are experiencing here is wonderful, but somehow it seems unfair that we are enjoying such beautiful weather when so many people are struggling so hard to start the recovery efforts from the devastation left behind by Irma. It is heartbreaking to see what happened in the Caribbean from Barbuda to St. Martin/St. Maarten to the US and British Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico to the Dominican Republic to the Turks and Caicos and Southern Bahamas and on to Cuba. All of that, and then the massive destruction in Florida affecting every part of that state. I know we need to be thankful that the destruction was not as bad as it could have been, but is hard when the fact is that millions of people are still without electricity and water and some are without food. I have now heard from all of Mark’s family in Florida and all are safe and all still have a home. Even Mark’s brother Steve’s boat was safe. But many, especially those in the Caribbean and in the Keys, were not that lucky. It is overwhelming and I think each of needs to think deeply about what we might do to help.

This afternoon I got a call from Linda and Mike Stuart, my crazy, adventurous, bike touring friends. They are in Argentina, gearing up for the 1500-mile trip through Patagonia to the tip of South America. It boggles my mind that they are undertaking this trip. This is one case where I am happy to be an armchair adventurer as it is not something I can even fathom doing myself. But I’ll enjoy following their travels and I wish them nothing but the best. After our conversation, I headed to Heather’s to spend my evening with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. Heather had a work-related social activity and Jed joined her. As always, I enjoyed being with the boys.