2017 Life Logs, Days 152: Surprise Weather Day
Date: Thursday, June 1, 2017
Weather: Foggy in the Harbor, Sunny Inland; High in the low 70’s, Low 50’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today’s weather was not what was forecast. There was no rain, no clouds, and it was warmer than predicted. What a delightful surprise! There was fog here on the harbor, both in the morning and in the late afternoon, but it was bright and sunny just a quarter of a mile away. I went to the gym for my exercise class and then went to the local bike shop to seriously try-out a couple of bikes. A friend from the gym who heads a biking group in town went with me and her opinions were very helpful in my decision-making process. I didn’t buy today, but I think I am ready to return tomorrow to purchase.

It was almost noon by the time I got home. I launched into making a strawberry-rhubarb crumble for Heather and Jed that I have been promising to make for days. I then had a late lunch and got a text from Heather asking me to pick-up Jonah and take him to soccer practice as she had a last minute request to be on-air to respond to Trump’s climate accord announcement. I didn’t get any family history work done today, so I will launch into that early tomorrow morning.

I have to say that the mid-afternoon announcement by our fearless leader stating that he is withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Accords was a definite low point for me. It was not an unexpected decision, but his “America First” speech was nothing less than shameful. “At what point do they (the rest of the world) start laughing at us as a country?” When Trump asked that question, I immediately knew the answer. The rest of the world starts laughing right now because our President presents himself as such a fool. Our President has removed himself as the leader of the free world. I loved the statement by France’s new President Emmanuel Macron, “Make our planet great again.” That is the way we all need to be thinking.

2017 Life Logs, Days 151: Same, Same
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Weather: Overcast with Rain, Foggy Evening; High in the low 60’s, Low 50’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Today was just same, same—same yucky weather and same focus on my family history project. The only difference was that I went to an exercise class and had coffee with a friend afterwards. I met the woman who attends the same exercise classes as myself at the Newcomer’s meeting where I made my Voyage of Windbird presentation in January. She heads up the Newcomer’s cycling group and I wanted to pick her brain about what type of bicycle I should buy. She was very helpful, but her advice was basically the same as my daughter’s—spring for the big bucks and buy a good bike at Corner Cycle in Falmouth. The reasons are very convincing, so that is what I am going to do. The rest of my day was spent on the computer adding family members to my family tree on Ancestry.com while watching the torrents of rain come day in the afternoon. Entering the names and basic information in Ancestry is painstakingly, slow, slow work, but I am making a bit of progress. The work will continue tomorrow . . . as will the rain. I got a real kick out of an email from friend Olivia today. She sent monsoon greetings, likening this weather to the monsoon season in her native India.

2017 Life Logs, Days 150: Unexpected Beginning
Date: Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 60’s, Low 50’s degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

The day had a bit of an unexpected, but very special beginning. I got up and headed out for a morning walk to the beach. I followed the Falmouth Road Race final mile course and in twenty minutes I made it to the finish line. There are some benches there and I decided to take a break, have a seat, and just enjoy the view. But as I approached the benches, I very clearly felt Mark’s presence. On the Tuesday before he died in September, we drove to this spot with my sister and brother-in-law and sat on those benches enjoying the view of Vineyard Sound. Mark must have decided to return there this morning to be with me. It was such a strong feeling it almost took my breath away. It was a very special moment that I’ll call it my belated Memorial Day experience. Mark, I miss you more than any words can express and cherish our moment together this morning. I’ll commemorate that moment by posting a photo of Mark hugging my sister on that spot last September. It is one of my very favorites.

Once I got home, I settled in for a long day of sorting through my plastic bin filled with genealogy files. After working on the family history project yesterday, I decided that I needed to go back and sort through the files to remind myself of what I already know. That escalated into a full organization project, but it was very helpful. I have been working on this project off and on for almost 25 years and throughout those years, I collected information and just piled it in a plastic bin. Now it is neatly filed in notebooks—one for Mark’s mother’s family, the Bryants and the Gramms; one for Mark’s father’s family, the Handleys and the Sullivans; one for my mother’s family, the Biggs and the Millers; and one for my father’s family, the Martins and the Goodwins. I have three weeks to get my mother and father’s story written to share with the family at our West Virginia gathering. I think there will be many more days between now and the family gathering when I find myself sitting here at my computer surrounded by those files.

2017 Life Logs, Days 149: Cold and Rainy Memorial Day
Date: Monday, May 29, 2017
Weather: Overcast and Rainy; High 53, Low 49 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

I let the cold, rainy weather keep me away from the Memorial Day observance this morning and now I am very sorry that I didn’t go. Heather, Jed, and boys stopped by afterwards for hot chocolate (that turned into lunch) and Heather shared the picture of our little fire chief Ollie helping the ‘big boy’ firemen roll up the BIG flag at the end of the Memorial Day observance. Since it was raining, Ollie had on his fire chief rain coat. The firemen saw him and immediately asked him to join them. Precious moments.

This entire weekend was cool and rainy. And I know we often have cool and rainy Memorial Day weekends, but this one seems cooler and rainier than most. I read through my logs for the past five years and found that to be the case. Last year Mark and I had moved in with Heather and Jed while we were waiting to move into our apartment. Memorial Day was rainy, but the temp was in the 60’s and the days just prior were in the 70’s. It was warm enough for a walk in the cranberry bogs to see the new crop of baby swans.

05 Poppa Swan Brings Up the Rear (photo by Sam Goldstone)

04 Ollie Plants His Flag

00 Goldpebble Crazies on the Beach

01 Lamb’s Quarter (left), Poke Greens (right)

2017 Life Logs, Days 148: Work and Play
Date: Sunday, May 28, 2017
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and Windy; High 72, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

It is the end of a long and exhausting day, but it was a good one. I got up early and headed to Heather’s. I thought I was going to be taking their van to Home Depot to get the missing lumber needed for the foundation of the shed they are building, but I ended up staying with Sam, Jonah, and Ollie while Jed went to get the lumber and Heather did a 4-mile run. When she got home, I left Sam home with Heather and Jed to help with the shed construction and gardening, and I took off with Ollie and Jonah to Miskovsky Landscaping and Jenny’s Edibles. They were hosting a free fun day for kids today which included planting a ‘three sisters garden’ in a pot and a touch-a-truck experience exploring the big landscaping equipment. A ‘three sisters garden’ includes corn, pole beans, and squash. The three are planted together to complement each other. The corn grows tall and the beans grow up the stalk. The squash covers the ground and keeps the weeds down. The woman leading this activity was great with the kids and both Jonah and Ollie were very proud of their little gardens. The corn and squash were seedlings and the beans were planted as seeds. They were told to wait until the beans are seedlings before transplanting the whole pot into the garden. We then explored the big equipment and both boys loved this activity. Ollie immediately fell into the role of a big equipment operator and decided this is what he would like to be when he grows up. While there, I bought a few more plants for Heather’s garden and some parsley seedlings for myself. We took the plants home and checked on Jed’s progress in getting the shed put together and Heather’s gardening and then headed to Walmart. The boys were going to help me look for a bicycle to buy, but the Schwinn I was interested in was not on display. They have it in a box for assembly, but I really want to try it out before purchasing. So the bicycle hunt continues. While at Walmart, Sam called to put in a request for Subway subs for lunch as there happens to be a Subway in the Walmart. The boys each purchased a Lego set with money they brought with them and we got the subs and headed home again. After lunch, Sam and Jonah went to play with neighbors and I took Ollie on a triathlon adventure. In the space of an hour he went from wanting to be a big equipment operator to wanting to be a triathlete. A triathlete competes for the fasting time in three arenas—biking, swimming, and running. Ollie put on a shortie dive skin that was way too small for him, but he was convinced he it made him look like a bike racer, and off we went. He biked a mile around the school track, flirted with the cold water at Falmouth Heights Beach and finally did one little polar bear dip in the cold water, and then he ran the distance of the waterfront park on the west side of Falmouth Harbor. Then we both did a marathon shopping trip at two different grocery stores to get everything Heather and Jed needed for dinner. Guests were arriving at 5 pm, and Ollie and I got home with the food at 4:58. Whew! To combat the cool weather, a summer meal was served. We had grilled hamburgers and sausages, corn on the cob, kale salad provided by one of the friends, and watermelon for dessert. Another couple brought pre-dinner snacks for the kids and Heather, Jed, and I threw things together quickly. It was a nice, relaxed evening with friends and great food. But despite the food, it didn’t feel like summer. The thermometer says it was 72 degrees F today, but it felt much, much cooler. It was most cloudy and windy and there was a definite chill to that wind. I don’t see things improving in the next week, so I guess we just have to realize that this is one of those northeast springs that doesn’t end until July. We’ve lived through them before, so I suppose we’ll survive this one.

2017 Life Logs, Days 147: Memorial Day Weekend on Cape Cod
Date: Saturday, May 27, 2017
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 67, Low 49 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Although it didn’t really feel like summer today, it was obvious that Memorial Day Weekend marks the beginning of the summer season on Cape Cod as the hordes from the north have arrived. The first indication was that the Island Queen is once again making her trips from the Falmouth Harbor to Martha’s Vineyard. The next sure sign of the summer season was that when I tried to get out of the driveway to go to Zumba class, I had to wait for traffic coming from both directions. During the winter I hardly ever have to wait for even one car, but this morning the was so much traffic I thought I was going to be late for class. As I turned onto Falmouth Heights Road, there were tons of people heading to the ferry. Yep, with or without sunshine and warmth, the summer season is here.

I went to Zumba class and after lunch I headed to Woods Hole for May Fair. The Woods Hole Daycare Coop always sells strawberry shortcake at the fair as a fundraiser, so I didn’t want to miss my yearly treat. Jed was the only Goldstone there when I arrived as Heather and the three boys went to Jonah’s friend Luke’s birthday party. But soon Heather arrived with Jonah and Ollie. Sam had gone home from the party with a friend. I stayed around to watch the boys play some games and jump in the Bouncy House. Then I headed back to town. I had invited Heather, Jed, and boys to dinner tonight, so I left the fair and went to the grocery store for a few missing items. I then went home to get dinner prepped. I was having grilled chicken shish kabobs with corn on the cob and I needed to get the chicken in the marinade. And I also needed to make Toll House squares for the Pebbles. I had already made the strawberry rhubarb pie for the adults, but good as it is, it’s not something any of the boys will eat. Before I knew it, it was 6:30 and the Goldstones arrived. We had a delightful dinner. It was finally sunny but as the sun got lower in the sky, the temperature started dropping quickly. Despite a bit of chill, the boys really wanted to have dinner on the deck. We set them up for that, but Heather, Jed, and I stayed inside to enjoy the warmth. Despite the cold, the boys played outside after dinner while we sat inside and watched the sunset. At this time of year, the sun sets directly across the harbor behind some buildings. The sunset is not usually spectacular, but the colors that fill in after sunset are a delight from this vantage point.

2017 Life Logs, Days 146: Another Rainy Day
Date: Friday, May 26, 2017
Weather: Overcast with Rain; High and Low Temp in the mid-50’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

This weather is a bit depressing. I know we have had some sunny spots here and there, but my overall memory from the past few days is that has been cool and cloudy and rainy. Tomorrow and Sunday look a little better, but then it is back to rain on Monday. But we shall persevere.

I looked at a condo for sale down the street this morning. It is smaller than this apartment, but is a ground floor unit and it has a nice view of the harbor. It has a huge storage area in the basement that seemed damp, but I suppose a dehumidifier could take care of that problem. But nothing screamed out to me that this is the place I should buy. So I think I am just going to stay put for another year and enjoy the lovely place that I currently inhabit. I told the realtor that I would start looking again late winter/early spring next year. But I told her if she sees something in the interim that has my name written all over it, to please let me know.

After I went to see the condo, I went bike shopping. I visited the bike specialty shop in town called Cycle Corner. I told the young man I was looking for an old lady bike and he had two immediate suggestions. They both looked promising, but the problem is that both were over $500. I came home and did a little internet searching. I found a Schwinn that should be at the local Walmart that costs only $150 and looked very much like one of the bikes at the specialty shop. I’ll follow up tomorrow by going to Walmart and checking this out in person. Since I only want a bike to keep up with the grandkids on the bike path, I’m hoping the cheaper Schwinn will do the job.

In the late afternoon, I made a strawberry rhubarb pie and then headed to the gym for an exercise class. It was almost 6:30 pm when I got home, and it was time to fix dinner. So went another day.

2017 Life Logs, Days 145: Past and Present
Date: Thursday, May 25, 2017
Weather: Overcast with Rain; High and Low Temp in the mid-50’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

I lived today partly in the past and partly in the present. The past consisted of doing more family history research. That was culminated tonight when I had a great phone conversation with a first cousin, Harry Biggs. He is the son of one of my mother’s brothers and has returned to Monroe County in West Virginia in retirement. Monroe County is the ‘motherland’ for my family and that is where we are having our family gathering in late June. It was great to talk to Harry after so many years. It was great to just talk with him and he helped me put together some more pieces of the family history puzzle. I can’t wait to visit with him and his wife Louise in less than a month.

The ‘present’ part of today consisted of a visit by my friend Olivia to bring me some more khichdi (the equivalent of Indian chicken soup), a foray to the first summer Farmer’s Market of the season with Olivia, and then a full immersion into the present when I picked Sam, Jonah, and a friend up from school and brought them home to play.

The weather today was cold and rainy. It was not cold like winter, the a damp cold that chills you to the bone. I think we are in for more rain tomorrow. Sure hope there is some sunshine for the weekend.

2017 Life Logs, Days 144: A Day of Living in the Past
Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Weather: Cloudy AM, Partly Sunny PM; High Temp in the 60’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

My plan for today worked. I got up, sat down at my computer, and spent a day of living in the past by trying to piece my mother’s life together through transcribed interviews I did with her in the early 1980’s. I also spent some time on the phone talking with people who were able to provide some answers to questions that has arisen. At 6 pm, I got up and went out on the deck to plant some herb seeds in pots, and then I came back in to fix dinner and continue my work. That was it for me today. Tomorrow I will get up and go to the gym and then come back to do more genealogy research. It is slow, tedious work, but I am making progress.

2017 Life Logs, Days 143: Lunch with Jane and Olivia
Date: Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Weather: Partly Cloudy and Much Warmer; High Temp in the 70’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

I spent my morning working on family genealogy. It is so easy to get lost in the details, and I’m afraid that’s what happened to me this morning. It makes me crazy to find official records that don’t match. My parents’ second child was born on April 30, 1926, but different West Virginia state records have him dying three years later on September 13 and on September 18 but being buried on September 14. He could have died on September 13 and been buried the next day, but he couldn’t have been born on the 18th and buried on the 14th. We have no official family record of this, so I’ll go with death on the 13th and burial on the 14th. But the real issue is that I shouldn’t have gotten sucked into that level of detail. I’m trying to put something together a story for the younger members of the family about their history. They could care less about a specific date. So from now on, I have to keep thinking of the big picture.

I met good friends Olivia and Jane at a close-by restaurant for lunch. Somehow the three of us find ways to keep ourselves too busy to visit with each other very often, so we’ll just have to make sure we have lunch together at least once a week this summer. After lunch, it took me about two minutes to drive home and do a few things before heading to East Falmouth to pick Jonah up from school. One of the great things about living in the middle of town is that I am never far from ‘home base’, so it is easy to head home, do a couple of things, and head out again. I needed to pick Jonah up today because Jed had picked Sam up a bit earlier to take him to the dentist and Heather was picking Ollie up in Woods Hole to bring him to East Falmouth Elementary for his kindergarten orientation. Can’t believe that little one is going to be in kindergarten next year. I hope he will be as happy at the end of the school day as Jonah is this year. Anytime I have picked Jonah up this spring, he is just as happy as can be. How wonderful!

Jonah and I headed home and I stayed to get dinner. Jed wasn’t sure what time he would be home with Sam and Heather had to head out as soon as she and Ollie returned from kindergarten orientation. Tonight was the school district VIP Recognition Dinner for those who volunteer their time, so it is an event Heather has attended for all of the years since Sam entered kindergarten. Busy as she is, she always finds time to volunteer in some capacity in the schools her children attend. In her absence, Jed, the boys, and myself had a great taco dinner.

Tomorrow is a full day of focusing on the family genealogy project—no details. I just have to keep thinking BIG picture thoughts.