2017 Life Logs, Days 142: Focus
Date: Monday, May 22, 2017
Weather: Overcast with Rain; High and Low Temp in the 50’s F—Feels Freezing!
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

The problem with a person who has many different interests is focus. And I am struggling with that right now. I have been focusing on searching for a house a buy. I have been focusing on my family gathering in West Virginia in late June which includes a focus on family genealogy. I have been focusing on writing a book, but most of that work is just going to have to wait until the fall. And I have been starting the spring cleaning process and gardening at Heather and Jed’s. And now I need to focus on getting that new dinghy relocated and ready for summer fun. And I haven’t even mentioned that Heather and Jed have talked to friends Bruce and Jane about jointly doing work on and sailing Bruce and Jane’s sailboat this summer. I know I can help with the work, so I need to fit that into the schedule. I find myself pulled in too many directions. But there is hope. I have just about exhausted efforts in looking for a home for now. I have one more possibility and if that doesn’t work out, I will just put this project on hold for a another few months. The gardening and spring cleaning won’t go away, but they don’t require focus, just time. And the same is true of the gardening, dinghy, and sailboat work. So, I am going to put all my focus into getting ready for the family gathering in West Virginia in June. I just about have the housing and food for the 40 of us all set, but I still need to work on the activities. That requires contacting folks in West Virginia that I haven’t talked to for years, and also contacting people I don’t yet know. And it requires a great deal of writing in getting together some succinct summaries of family history for presentation to the younger members of the family. This is passion of mine, so I will enjoy doing the work. I just need to focus on it.

2017 Life Logs, Days 141: Gardening, Soccer, Dinghy Purchase, and Great Dinner
Date: Sunday, May 21, 2017
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High Temp of 66, Low 48 F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

This was a day filled with all sorts of fun. I went to Heather and Jed’s this morning to help plant their garden. I love gardening and we made progress, but there is more to do this week. Planting had to halt in the afternoon as we all headed to Sam’s soccer game. And after the game, Jed and I went to look at a dinghy that he saw the ad for on Friday. Heather thinks we are crazy because we don’t ‘need’ a dinghy, but the boys and myself miss messing about in boats. This is an Achilles dinghy in good shape and it comes with a trailer and a 7.5 Honda 4-stroke engine. We bought it and I’m looking forward to dinghy rides this summer with those Goldpebbles! When we all got home, it was almost time for dinner. Jed had picked up some salmon on the way home from the dinghy purchase and invited me to stay for dinner. With salmon and fresh asparagus from the garden, how could I refuse. Dinner was great. Thank you, Goldstones.

2017 Life Logs, Days 140: Fun with Ollie
Date: Saturday, May 20, 2017
Weather: Still Sunny, but Much Cooler; High Temp of 66, Low 45 F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

My day started at the gym with a Zumba class, but immediately after I headed to Heather and Jed’s to see if any of the boys wanted to come to my place to plant seeds for the Mother’s Day hummingbird feeders. Ollie had said yesterday that he wanted to do this, but I thought I would extend the invitation to all. Sam and Jonah had other plans, so Ollie and I took off on our Saturday adventure. We had lunch at my house, planted the seeds, and then got a call from the realtor to come see another house just down the street from the one I have been looking at next to the fire department. Ollie wanted to come with me, so off we went. This house is just far enough away from the fire department that I don’t think the noise would be a problem, but it is the exact same house without many of the additions and the price is much higher. Decisions, decisions. But Ollie and I didn’t let those decisions keep us from our planned agenda. We left the house showing and went straight to the beach. It was only in the 60’s today, and windy, but it was sunny, and we lucked out. It was delightful and we really enjoyed our beach time. After that, I took Ollie home, but we didn’t stay long. Mollie and Joey from next door were going bike riding at the elementary school and Ollie wanted to join them. So we were off once again for a biking adventure. I didn’t get home until after 6 pm, but since the sun sets directly in front of my deck, it was warm and sunny and I decided to sit on the deck and enjoy a glass of wine. I hate spending the money to rent, but I love living here. And I continued to indulge myself this evening by watching a movie, The Martian. I saw the movie last summer with Mark and just recently finished reading the book. That made me want to see the movie again, and I’m glad I did. The movie is great, but the book is better. If you haven’t read The Martian, I highly recommend it. But now I am back from Mars and need to make some ‘earthly’ decisions about housing. In the end, I think I am just going to end up staying here for another year while the housing market settles down. Right now it is definitely a seller’s market, so I think I’ll just wait and see what happens.

2017 Life Logs, Days 139: Busy, Busy
Date: Friday, May 19, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny with a High Temp of 74, Low 52 F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Even when I don’t feel like I’m getting much done, my life seems to be busy, busy. I spent my morning finalizing details for the Martin family gathering in West Virginia in June. I did get it finalized on paper, but there are still many phone calls and lots of arranging yet to do. But I did make great progress on that front. I then changed gears and cleaned and filled planting boxes with compost and organic potting soil. I didn’t plant the seeds as I want to let the Goldpebbles do that, as these planting boxes are for starting seeds for hummingbird gardens that were a Mother’s Day present. Then I had to change gears again and head out to meet my realtor at the house I have been seriously considering. I invited friends Jane and Bruce Woodin to come, as well as Heather, Jed, and boys. I wanted to input from all of them and I really appreciate that they took the time to come. At the end of the day, I’m less inclined to buy this place after this second visit because of its proximity to the local fire department and the noise that comes with that. Other than that one negative, I love the place. So I have more thinking to do on this. Then it was back to the Goldstones to spend time with Ollie while Heather was off with Jonah for a soccer game about an hour from here and Jed and Sam were off for a soccer game in town. Ollie wanted to go bike riding to get more practice without his training wheels. We first rode on a nearby street and then we went to the elementary school so he could ride on the track. He rode more than two miles by circling the track 10 times—each circle being a quarter of a mile. We didn’t get home until 6:30 and then I had to quickly get dinner ready for us. Ollie helped and by 7:15 pm we had eaten. That’s an hour later than usual, but everything tonight was just a little late. Jed and Sam got home at 7:30 pm to invite us to go to Smitty’s for ice cream with Sam’s soccer team. They lost the game tonight and needed a little ‘pick-me-up’. So we did. Thankfully tomorrow is Saturday and there is no school because the Smitty’s gang didn’t head home until after 8 pm and Heather and Jonah were still on the road, headed home, but not there yet. I headed home and found myself exhausted. Since I did nothing today that was physically challenging, I’m not sure why I am so tired. But I am, so it is off to bed for me.

2017 Life Logs, Days 138: Lunch with Jane
Date: Thursday, May 18, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny with a High Temp in the 80’s, Low in the 50’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

The earlier part of my day was spent getting for and having lunch with good friend, Jane Woodin. She arrived in a short sleeve shirt and shorts while I had on jeans and long-sleeved shirt. The high temp here today was in the 80’s, but here on the water, it was too cool for us to sit on out on the deck. Away from the water, however, it felt much warmer. The wind that seems to constantly barrel down the harbor here makes it feel much cooler than it really is. Later in the summer when the water warms up a bit, it is much more comfortable, but not right now. Anyway, Jane and I ate and talked and talked and talked. It was a great visit. When Jane left, I spent some time reading directions for planting seeds in the hummingbird garden bags that will hang over the deck railing that I got for Mother’s Day from Heather, Jed, and gang, and the windowsill herb garden bags I got from Justin, Jo, and kids for Christmas. Both were a little more complicated than I had anticipated. Once I read the details, I found that I need to start the seeds in flats and then transplant into the hummingbird garden bags and burlap herb garden bags. So, I decided to head to Heather and Jed’s to gather up some planting boxes. Just before I got there, I received a call from Heather telling me to come directly to Patricia (the street where the boys ride their bikes) where Ollie had a special surprise for me. When I got there I found Ollie on his bicycle with no training wheels!

When I got home, I had a long phone conversation with my friend Lynne in Nyack, New York. She brought me up-to-date on how Ed is progressing with his therapy as follow-up to his broken hip. He is moving forward, but having a little more pain than anticipated. And later tonight I talked to my sister to check up on my brother-in-law Joe who had a recent knee replacement. Joe is also making progress, moving from a walker to a cane. So it sounds like both Ed and Joe are on the road to recovery. I also got a text from Heather with a photo of Ollie with a new big boy haircut. I wasn’t prepared for that, but then she wrote that Sam and Jonah also got haircuts tonight to match the warmer weather. Jonah has an unbelievable head of curly hair that I love. Evidently most of that is gone. I haven’t even seen them, but it makes me sad. I love their long, curly locks. But, as Heather reminded me, hair grows back. So I’ll survive the temporary change. Just wish I had taken “before” photos.

2017 Life Logs, Days 137: Making Decisions
Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny with a High Temp in the 70’s, Low in the 50’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

I spent my day talking to people who can help me in making decisions about my life. Am I going to buy a house or am I going to continue renting? Am I going to get serious about writing a book? Those were the big questions for today. At the suggestion of my friend, Jane Woodin, weeks ago I made an appointment to meet with an elder law specialist and that appointment was today. Once a month, various lawyers donate their time to the Senior Center to meet with people free of charge. I was not here to meet in April, so today was my day. The woman I met with was very knowledgeable about the law, but was also acting in a role as a counselor. I almost felt like she was reading my mind, and I very much appreciated her advice on finances, real estate prospects, and life in general. Fantastic service for seniors! After that meeting, I rushed home for a phone call with my son to talk about the nuts and bolts of writing a book. He and Jo have given this a lot of thought and they had great recommendations, and Justin is willing to give me technical support throughout the process. Ziggy and Coco were home from school today and I also got to do a Skype video call with them. They tried to teach me to sing the ABC song in Spanish, but I’m afraid I am language-challenged. But it was so much fun to see and talk with them.

By the time I got off the phone/computer with Justin, it was time for lunch and after that I spent time sending emails to people in my family about our gathering in West Virginia in June. I’m organizing that and it is a bigger job than I anticipated. Then it was time to head to the grocery store to get a few items for dinner for the Goldpebbles. I delivered the food to Heather and Jed’s and then took off for Woods Hole to pick up Ollie. The Goldstone schedule this afternoon was unbelievably complicated and it took the three adults in three different cars to deliver everyone to the right destination. But by 6:00 pm, I was at Heather and Jed’s with the three boys and Heather and Jed were at an MIT Club of Cape Cod dinner where Heather was the speaker. The boys played while I got dinner ready and we had a great evening together.

So that was today. Tomorrow Jane Woodin is coming over for lunch and I’m just looking forward to some laid back time with a good friend.

2017 Life Logs, Days 136: Finally . . . More Like Spring Than Winter
Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2017
Weather: Mostly Sunny with a High Temp in the 70’s F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Finally . . . we had a bright, sunny, warm day that was more like spring than winter. Tomorrow is forecast to be 10 degrees cooler, but still sunny. So, I can live with that. I spent a lot of my day editing and naming photos from the Bahamas. I attended a meeting with Heather and Jed with their/my lawyer to get some legal advice regarding joint expenditures on housing. Now we just have to decide if I am buying a home just for me OR whether at some point we might buy a home together OR whether I am just going to continue to rent. The jury is still out, but I’ll keep you posted on any decisions. I went to vote in Falmouth’s town election, and otherwise, it was an unremarkable day. And that’s a good thing.

2017 Life Logs, Days 135: House Hunting
Date: Monday, May 15, 2017
Weather: Partly Cloudy with Some Sprinkles and Lots of Wind
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

After going to the gym this morning, I had appointment to see two homes. One was on the same street where Heather and Jed live and one was in a neighborhood across the highway from Heather and Jed’s, but not even a mile away. The house on their street was very tiny, needs some work, but has a very inviting price tag. The home a little further away was immaculate, has great landscaping, is reasonably priced, but backs onto the fire department. I’m sure that could be quite noisy at times, but it has great potential. The realtor assures me this place will sell quickly, so if I want it, I need to move fast. But at this point, I’m just not sure what I will do.

When I talked to Justin yesterday, he told me I would be getting my Mother’s Day present today, and indeed I did. Justin has set up a Pressword account for me online to make book writing easier. What a wonderful gift! I have a lot to learn about using it, but I really appreciate that I now have a ‘helper’ for book writer. But before I get to writing, I have a few other projects that need to be tackled. I started this afternoon by continuing to edit and name photos and by working on the details for the Martin family gathering in June. I made great progress on both, but have much more to do. Bu then, that’s why there is a tomorrow.

2017 Life Logs, Days 134: Happy Mother’s Day
Date: Sunday, May 14, 2017
Weather: Overcast and Rainy; High 52 degrees F, Low 46
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

Happy Mother’s Day to all of my favorite mothers, especially to Heather and Jo, the mothers of my precious grandchildren. This Mother’s Day was lovely inside, but outside it could only be characterized as foul. It was overcast and rainy all day, and even though the high temperature was 52 degrees F, it felt much colder. It was the kind of day that gives foul weather gear its name. We can only hope that the forecast for warmer weather as the week progresses proves to be true. I’m definitely looking forward to that. But enough negativity about the weather and on to the brighter parts of the day. I was invited to Heather and Jed’s for breakfast. When I arrived Jed was putting the new kitchen stove to test. He was baking homemade English muffins on the griddle in the middle of the stove, steaming asparagus straight from the garden on one burner, boiling water for poaching eggs on another, and Sam was warming the “holiday” sauce he had made earlier on yet another burner. Actually, it was Hollandaise sauce, but Ollie is convinced that it is “holiday” sauce and we like that name much better! Jonah was washing fresh organic strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, and Ollie was cutting off the strawberry leaves. All three boys and Heather had made a huge Happy Mother’s Day card for me which served as a runner down the length of the dining table. Before I got a photo of it, Sam took it off the table and rolled it up for me, because he didn’t want it to get breakfast food on it. But when I got home, I rolled it out and pinned it to the wall so I could enjoy it for a few more days . . . and I got a photo of it. Breakfast was as delicious as it looked, so thank you Goldstones for a beautiful start to the day. After breakfast, Heather launched into a ‘clean up the playroom’ frenzy, so I helped with that while Jed reorganized under-the-sink areas in the kitchen and bathroom. Around lunchtime, Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco called from sunny Puerto Rico to wish me a Happy Mother’s Day and we got on Skype video so I could see Ziggy and Coco riding their bikes in the bright sunshine. It was so hot there that they had closed the house up and turned on air conditioning. So not fair! We need some of that heat up this way. But it was great talking to them even if I was just a tad jealous of their weather. Heather had plans for planting deck hummingbird flower gardens, but the weather here was just not conducive. We’ll have to wait until some of the that heat from Puerto Rico filters up this way to do that job. I came home mid-afternoon and had a quiet evening alone. I spent a couple of hours editing and naming photos from the Bahamas. I was working backwards and only made it to the Abacos, so hopefully I can finish that job tomorrow.

2017 Life Logs, Days 133: Spring Cleaning with the Grandkids
Date: Saturday, May 13, 2017
Weather: Overcast; High 57 degrees F, Low 46
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA

This morning we got an early start around here. Sam gets up around 6 am and plays quietly until Jonah and Ollie get up around 7 am. By that time, we were all up and the boys played with Legos while I got breakfast ready. Then Jonah had to leave to go to a soccer game. Ollie has been leaving his little John Deere tractor here, and I went out with him while he rode it around the boatyard next door. Sam continued to play with Legos. But when we got home, Ollie decided he wanted to give his tractor a scrub down. Sam decided to join in and somehow that led to me taking things out on the deck that needed to be cleaned. The next thing I knew they were washing down the sliding glass doors. Those glass sliders really needed to cleaned, so I let them wash them down with soapy water and then I took them buckets of rinse water with a little white vinegar in them and let them throw the buckets of water on the sliders. They loved that. Then I gave them the squeegees to wipe down the glass sliders. By the end of the morning, I had clean windows, a clean deck, and a number of items scrubbed down. Fantastic! By this time I had heard from Heather that she was already exhausted trying to remove layers of plywood sub-flooring in the their upstairs bathroom. We headed there and helped with that demolition project. So we got lots of good work done today before the Goldstones headed out to an afternoon party. I came home and watched all six episodes of a PBS mini-series called Wolf Hall. This is about the reign of Henry the VIII. And since I am reading a historical novel about the same time period, I really enjoyed watching it. But because of that, it is later than it should be and I need to close down for the night.