2017 Life Logs, Day 244: Last Day of Camp Oma 2017
Date: Friday, September 1, 2017
Weather: Beautiful Day with a Chill in the Air; High 69, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today was the last official day of Camp Oma 2017. It has been a wonderful summer and we celebrated with a quiet morning in the neighborhood and then one last trip to the Wood Neck marsh with friends. Jonah’s friend Luke came with his summer nanny, Kailee.

And Cole and Leo and their mom Jeanne Harper also joined us. It was a sunny day with bright blue skies, but there was a lot of wind and it really was chilly as summer days go. As I drove to the Goldstones this morning, people that were out walking were wearing polar fleece jackets and winter hats. I was in my bathing suit with shorts and shirt. At that point, I should have questioned my sanity, But I persisted, in Goldpebble form, to declare that it was warm enough to go to the beach. Those boys never think it is cold, so that attitude must be rubbing off on me. Regardless, we enjoyed our afternoon at the beach. Jonah and Luke even worked in a little soccer practice. All summer long, the boys have been begging to buy a treat from the ice cream truck that travels all day long from beach to beach playing its merry tune selling nothing that is really fit for human consumption. But when the truck arrived right at the end of our afternoon at Wood Neck, I finally gave in and ended up with happy boys, even if the ice cream did turn their tongues blue!

Tonight I got a text from Sam on Windbird. Sam and Dawn, and Dawn’s mother from South Dakota, sailed out of Annapolis yesterday headed this way. Their plan was to exit the Delaware Bay this afternoon and arrive in New York City by tomorrow night. But as they headed out of the Delaware Bay into the Atlantic, they experienced transmission difficulties. Deja vu. It was in 2005 that Windbird was headed toward the Delaware Bay that Mark and I encountered transmission problems. Sam was able to get Windbird into Cape May and will start the trouble shooting process in the morning. Because of their limited time, this probably means they won’t make it to Cape Cod next week, as right now they are just hoping to be able to limp back to some place where they can get work done on the transmission. Cape May is not really the place for that. When Mark and I had this problem in 2005, we met a fisherman named Dwayne on the town dock in Lewes, Delaware, who gave us the phone number for the person that became our engine guru. As we sailed around the world, I often thought of David Laux as our guardian angel. He fixed the old transmission, but advised us to sell the engine and install a new one. Best advice we ever got. Plus, we learned so much from him and he was always there via email to give us advice when needed. I sent him an email tonight in the hopes that he might be available to once again come to the aid of Windbird. Stay tuned for the continuing saga.

2017 Life Logs, Day 243: Happy Little Fishermen
Date: Thursday, August 31, 2017
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 80, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Little Boys + Fishing Rods + Rocks to Climb On = Perfect Day

The Goldpebbles decided they wanted to go fishing today. I’m certainly not a fisherman, but off we went. We needed some gear, so we had to make a couple of stops before heading to Quissett Harbor. Jonah decided the location—the rocky shore on the Buzzards Bay side of the Knob.A strong onshore wind made casting almost impossible, but the boys didn’t care. They were much more interested in climbing on the rocks than fishing. I suggested that we eat our picnic lunch which was a bit of a Mediterranean smorgasbord–salami, olives, cheese, crackers, carrots and celery, and watermelon—and then head across to the Quissett Bay side and fish off the rocks. Sam spent a lot of time sitting on a big rock rigging his new fishing pole. Ollie found a rock his size and was content with just dangling his new lure in the water. And Jonah found the biggest rock and practiced casting until his new lure got caught in the rocks well off shore. He pulled a little too hard and broke the line—sad to lose his new lure, but feeling good about fishing from the top of his big rock. There were no fish for us today, but we learned a lot and had a wonderful time doing it. We ended the day with a walk through the woods, some tree climbing along the way, and then jumping in the water before heading home. Oh, I should mention that we also spent a good deal of time untangling fishing line. When Jonah’s line broke, it got really tangled. I tried to help but he just looked at me and said, “Oma, I wish Granddad was here. I know he could get this untangled.” And all I could say is that I agreed with him. But we persisted and fixed the problem. Granddad would have been proud of us. And once we got home, I got the last 10 pounds of tomatoes processed. Successful day!

2017 Life Logs, Day 242: School Shopping and Processing Tomatoes
Date: Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Weather: Rainy Morning, Turning Sunny in Afternoon; High 68, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today I feel a bit like a squirrel getting ready for winter. After Sam and Jonah had early morning dentist appointments, we went shopping for new soccer cleats and school supplies. Jed joined us at Olympia Sports to help with soccer cleat choices. Then the boys and I went to Staples for the school supplies. There were lots of other kids shopping for school supplies and some items are already sold out. But the boys took everything in stride and were incredibly helpful in making all the choices. They seemed so very grown up. After Staples, we went to Peach Tree Farm to pick up 30 pounds of organic tomatoes and enough garlic to get me through the next few months. After we got home and had lunch, the boys played away their afternoon while I started processing tomatoes. To make marinara sauce to can for the winter months, you first have to blanch the tomatoes and remove the skin and seeds. I was only able to get through 20 pounds today, but I will hopefully have time to do the other 10 pounds tomorrow. When I got home this evening, I cut and sautéed the other veggies that go into the sauce—onions, garlic, carrots, and celery. When all is done, everything is put through the blender at high speed to make a smooth sauce—no tomato chunks for the Goldpebbles! Then we will simmer and pressure can to preserve the taste of summer. But tomorrow and Friday during the day, the boys and I will work in a little beach time. School starts on Tuesday, so we will do our best to continue making summer memories right up to the last minute.

2017 Life Logs, Day 241: Inside a Whale and Mud Flat Mania
Date: Tuesday, August 29, 2017
Weather: Overcast, Still Cool; High 69, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

We spent this overcast day at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. And we took some of the neighborhood with us. Cole and Leo, and their mom Jeanne, met us there and the five boys had a great time exploring. We went in the butterfly house to see Monarchs and Red Admirals up close. We solved puzzles, found the queen bee with the blue dot in the bee hive display, saw the underside of a skate that looks like a cartoon happy face, turned ourselves in an octopus in the Museum shop, sat inside an life-sized inflatable humpback whale, had a picnic lunch, and then walked out to the mud flats where the boys ran wild in true ‘mud flat mania’ style in a setting on the Cape Cod Bay that is as beautiful as they get. Lucky us to live where sea shore beauty abounds.

There are only six more days until the first day of school, so we are trying to pack in as much fun with friends as we can. Tomorrow is totally unplanned except for early morning dentist appointments for Sam and Jonah. It will be interesting to see where the day leads us.

2017 Life Logs, Day 240: The Joy of Watching Kids at Play
Date: Monday, August 28, 2017
Weather: Sunny with N Winds Cooling Us Down; High 73, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today was a day to just let Sam, Jonah, and Ollie play at home. After being gone for two weeks, they just wanted to hang out with the neighborhood kids. And it was a joy to watch them. Unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate that I would need my bike in order to keep up with them. But I used Heather’s bike and that worked out just fine. By lunch time, we had Cole and Leo and Zack playing at the Goldstones, so I fed everyone lunch. There next plan was to ride bikes down to the cranberry bogs to slide on the huge sand bank. They all ride their bikes through the bogs with abandon, looking much like wild ponies. Sam and Jonah can go there without an adult tagging along, but Ollie is by far the youngest in the group and he can’t go with adult supervision. So, I sat on the bank above the bog and just watched them play. We were there for over an hour before that got boring and then the decided to head to Cole and Leo’s to have a water gun fight. I stayed there with Ollie so he could be a part of the water battle, but when it was time for the big boys to have a treat at the Hennon’s, Ollie and I went next door to Smitty’s for our treat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a little one enjoy an ice cream cone as much as Ollie did this afternoon. And then the group decided to move on to Zach’s house. I went along with Ollie to make sure he was going to be included in the group, and once I was comfortable that the big boys would look after him, I left them and went around the corner to Heather’s. She was home by now and checking on her bees. Another delight to watch. My only job today was to revel in the joy of watching children, big and little, play. Lucky me!

All of us are feeling like summer went by too fast. I thought maybe it was just me that felt that way, but Cole Hennon shared with me at lunch time that he just doesn’t know where this summer went. He said that he looked forward to it for so long and that it doesn’t feel quite fair that it went by so quickly. I agree. The fact that the kids didn’t get out of school until the last week of June and then the weather was cooler than usual didn’t help. But we are going to make sure we enjoy this last week of summer 2017. The wind from the north is making the days cool and the nights chilly. But with sunshine, we’ll do just fine, especially since warmer weather is forecast to arrive early next week. School might be starting next week, but summer’s not over yet.

2017 Life Logs, Day 239: Welcome Home Goldstones
Date: Sunday, August 27, 2017
Weather: Sunny with NE Winds; High 73, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Welcome Home, Goldstones! They are home from their vacation in Norway and Sweden. After a day jam-packed with outdoor activities, I drove to Providence, RI, to pick them up at 6:30 pm. They all looked great and rested after a wonderful two weeks and I was so excited to see them. Ollie fell asleep on the plane and slept through Customs, but as we made our way to a close-by restaurant to get some dinner, we started to see eyes. During dinner, all three boys were so animated in relating their adventures and I’m sure I’ll hear even more stories tomorrow. Some of the highlights of their trip can be seen on Heather’s Facebook page—heather m. handley goldstone.

I spent my morning out on Buzzards Bay sailing on Pooh with Bruce Woodin. Jane had to work, so it was just Bruce and me today. Once we got on the boat, we realized that there was enough wind to make it worth the trip out into Buzzards Bay and we had a great sail with ENE/NE winds in the 5 to 10 range. The prediction had been 3 to 5, so we were delighted with enough wind to sail. Bruce’s goal today was to have me do everything on Pooh so I will feel confident in going out on my own. But I’m not ready for a solo experience! I am used to sailing a bigger boat with a wheel. Pooh has a tiller. I learned to sail on a bigger boat with instruments that told me where to go and an auto pilot to keep me on course. Pooh has none of these. It is like the difference between playing the piano by ear and playing it by reading music. Mark and I never really claimed to be sailors. We were cruisers using the sailboat to take us to beautiful places. Bruce sails by ‘ear’, whereas I need the sheet music. But each time I go out with him, I learn a little more while truly enjoying being out on the water. After a couple of hours, we returned so that Jane could go kayaking and somehow I ended up deciding to go out with her. Jane is an experienced kayaker. I am not. But the only way to learn is to get out there and do it. So I did. We kayaked in the West Falmouth inner harbor and its by-ways . . . so beautiful and peaceful. Thank you to Bruce and Jane for including me in their water adventures. It was a great day.

2017 Life Logs, Day 238: Gone Sailin’
Date: Saturday, August 26, 2017
Weather: Sunny; High 75, Low 55 degrees F—Gorgeous Weather
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Sailing today and sailing tomorrow aboard Pooh with Bruce and Jane Woodin, thus the need for a sign for my door that says, Gone Sailin’. There was no wind today, so we did more bobbing around on the water than we did sailing, but it was still great to be out there. I got home in time for a late lunch and then I went to Heather and Jed’s to clean the guinea pig cage and do a few other chores around the house. Late tomorrow afternoon I will head to Providence, Rhode Island, to pick them up. Can’t wait to see them and hear all about their adventures in Norway and Sweden. Then Monday morning, it is back to Camp Oma!

2017 Life Logs, Day 237: Checking-in on the Goldstone ‘Homestead’
Date: Friday, August 25, 2017
Weather: Sunny; High 71, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

My morning chore was to go to the Goldstone ‘Homestead’ to feed the guinea pigs and check on the mail. I use the term ‘homestead’ loosely, but since Heather has bees, a garden, some berry plants, and a peach tree with almost ripe peaches, I think it qualifies. After picking the bounty from the garden, I decided that I should cut the grass. Sam showed me how to use the battery-powered lawnmower before to Sweden, but I obviously wasn’t a very good student. I could start the mower, but it wouldn’t cut. The mower is an Ego Power+ run by a lithium-ion battery. No gasoline, no electric cords, just a compact battery that once I got it going, ran for about an hour and half before needing to be recharged. Once I figured it out, I think it is the easiest lawn mower I have ever used. Love it. Jed and I exchanged a few text messages but I still couldn’t get it to cut, so I decided to go home for lunch, check out ‘how to’ videos on youTube, and then return and try one last time to get the mower going. I found just want I needed on the internet and got most of the yard cut before the battery ran out of juice. I’ll return tomorrow to finish the yard after I go sailing on Pooh with Bruce Woodin. This is supposed to be a sail where I do everything from start to finish. I watched Bruce last time, but this time is all mine. Hope my memory for what to do on a boat is better than how to start a lawn mower!

The Goldstones return from Sweden on Sunday. They had a bit of a rocky start to the vacation with some challenges from the boys, but if Heather’s posts on Facebook this week are any indication, they have had an absolutely fabulous week. Yesterday and today were Viking days, and today the boys got to dress in full battle attire. I know they loved that!

2017 Life Logs, Day 236: Back Home on the Cape
Date: Thursday, August 24, 2017
Weather: Sunny; High 78, Low 59 degrees F
Location: Back Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

After a wonderful visit with Ed and Lynne, I started my trek back to the Cape this morning. I made a stop in Warwick, RI, at a dive shop to get new snorkel gear, but even with the stop, I made it home just in time for a 4 pm bike ride the Newcomers biking group. Well, I didn’t actually get home in time to do the whole ride, but picked up my bike and drove in the car to intercept the group at Trunk River and rode with the group from there to Woods Hole. Today’s ride included a stop at a ‘watering hole’ in Woods Hole to enjoy $1 appetizers and a couple of beers. Then it was back to Trunk River where I left the group as they rode back to downtown Falmouth. The Trunk River section of the bike path is right along the water and in the past week, people have built rock cairns all along the shore. Beautiful sight! I stopped to take photos there before heading home. I was only away for two nights, and even though I REALLY enjoyed the time with Ed and Lynne, it is always good to be home.

2017 Life Logs, Day 235: A Lovely Day in the Life
Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 85, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home with Ed and Lynne Kirwin in Nyack, NY

We had a lovely relaxed day in the life here at the Kirwin’s. Lynne and I started the day with a 15-minute exercise routine she does each morning following a video on Dr. Mercola’s website. It was a quick version of what I do when I go to my 20/20/20 class at the gym, but great to find out about this video that I can use on days when there is no class. We had breakfast out on the roof-top deck overlooking the Hudson River and a little later we went down to the pool. We had planned to read in the sunshine, but we ended up spending most of the time talking to Ed’s grandson, Frankie. Lunch was a soup and zucchini flat bread (gluten-free) that was delicious. Lynne worked at the soup kitchen for a couple of hours in the late afternoon while Ed and I stayed home and read and I watched a couple of episodes of two different internet-based programs, one called GMOs Revealed (quite eye-opening) and the called Interpreting Your Genetics and using that information to live a healthier life style. Then it was time to get dinner ready and just enjoy each other’s company. After dinner, we watched the Nova program about Monday’s solar eclipse and then watched a special on Voyager. Lovely day on the wonderful planet on which we are privileged to live.