Life After Windbird, Day 91: Veterans Day in Falmouth
Date: Friday, November 11, 2016
Weather: Beautiful Day with Heavy Winds in the PM; High 64, Low 32 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

The speakers at today’s Veterans Day observance in downtown Falmouth were giving thanks to our veterans, but also for the gorgeous weather. It was Cape Cod perfect with no need for a jacket—as good as it gets this time of year. Heather and Jed are both scout leaders, so they were in the parade with Sam and Jonah leading from the village green to the library lawn. As I was walking down Main Street toward the green, I realized how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful place. Down town Falmouth has one main street dominated by a gorgeous library and huge library lawn that takes up a full city block. Front and center on the library lawn is a white marble WWI memorial with the sidewalk that leads to the front door of the library flanked on each side with plaques commemorating fallen soldiers. This is named Memorial Lane and on Veterans Day the parade of scouts, boys and girls of all ages, marches from the village green up to the front of the library by way of Memorial Lane led by military honor guard, all walking to the beat of the Brian Boru Scottish bagpipe band. The city firemen always have a huge American flag flying high above at the top of the tallest ladder on their main fire engine. And a statue of Katherine Lee Bates, a Falmouth resident that wrote America the Beautiful, presides over all of this. The scene couldn’t be more patriotic. As the parade of scouts walked down Main Street, I spotted Jed, then Heather, Jonah, and Ollie. And before I knew it, Ollie was by my side and he stayed with me for the rest of the observance. He helped me find Sam amidst the sea of scouts and then we walked to the library lawn to see them all walk down Memorial Lane. The ceremony was a little long, but Ollie entertained himself by watching the line of firemen dressed in all their gear who were there to listen to the speeches. He was fascinated with them. And once he decided he had stared at them long enough, he picked up colorful fall leaves to press. The Greater Falmouth Community chorus as well as the Falmouth High School chorus were there to sing the Star-spangled Banner, the Navy hymn, and a medley of songs representing the various branches of our armed services. Ollie loved the music. The ceremony ends each year by having all veterans present gather at the WWI memorial and walk down Memorial Lane with the scouts saluting the entire time and everyone else clapping. I’m sure some version of this is observed in small towns all around the country, but this one is quintessential New England. When all of the veterans were walking down Memorial Lane, Ollie looked at me and said, “If Granddad was here, he could be walking with them. He was a veteran.” Not exactly, but I didn’t correct Ollie. Mark was in the Army Reserve and Ollie has seen pictures of him in uniform. Mark joined the National Guard while in high school and then went in for basic training right after graduation in 1960. He did this to help pay for his college education, which it did, but when you are in the Reserves, they make sure you are released from active duty on day 180 so that you can’t receive other benefits intended for those who serve longer.

Tonight Sam, Jonah, and Ollie are spending the night with me. I was going to their house to babysit tonight, but Ollie suggested that they come have dinner and spend the night with me. Sam and Jonah went along with that suggestion and we had a delightful evening together. But they will be up at the crack of dawn, so I had better get myself to bed so I can get up with them in the morning. Tomorrow is the last day of soccer for this season, so we’ll be heading to the field early.

Life After Windbird, Day 90: Moving Forward
Date: Thursday, November 10, 2016
Weather: More Sun Than Clouds, High 50, Low 44 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

This morning I went to the Falmouth Newcomers Club meeting to hear my daughter speak about climate change. She is an impressive speaker and the audience was completely engaged. But I was shocked at how many people were there. For some reason, I thought this was a small group of 50 people or so. But actually there are more than 400 members and I would estimate that maybe 150 were there today. It was very heartening to see so many people asking questions about what they can personally do to slow down climate change. And there were also a number of questions about what is going to happen to some of our climate change initiatives under a President Trump. Very worrisome.

Unfortunately, my afternoon was not as engaging as my morning. After the Newcomers meeting I had to make a visit to the local Social Security office to sign forms (for the second time) to get Mark’s September SS check. The bank had to return it after his death, but he was owed that money as it was the payment for August. Getting this done meant taking a number and waiting my turn in line and it took a lot longer than I expected. I had so hoped to get photo editing today, but when I got home, I had to call the utility company that provides the heat for this apartment. I have been putting this off, but decided that I’d rather not have the heat cut off. I was successful in getting the account transferred to my name. Both Heather and I would swear that we did this in September, but the utility company had no record of that. Slowly, very slowly, I am getting things transferred to my name, but it has taken two months of lengthy phone calls. Ugh!

I extended a last minute invitation to Heather, Jed, and boys to come over for dinner tonight and we got a chance to talk about weekend plans. While we talked, the boys invented a new game with very old marbles in the hallway. It was very clever and they had a great time. Tomorrow is a holiday for the boys, but not for Heather and Jed. So they are taking the day so they can attend the Veteran’s Day Parade that Sam and Jonah are in with their Scout troops. I had hoped that we would be able to start assembling the storage shed tomorrow, but Jed is still fighting a persistent cold and yesterday morning he threw his back out. So no building projects this weekend. I will be babysitting the Goldpebbles tomorrow night so Heather and Jed can go out to dinner.

Now to the “moving forward” part of this log. I’m specifically referring to moving forward after the election of Donald Trump. Mark was quite a fan of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and as a result of his involvement, I get periodic emails from her. She has become a leader in the Democratic Party and she has a way of assessing and talking about situations that is like no other. I think her vision in the email copied below is a brilliant blueprint for action for those people who did not vote for Donald Trump. It is long missive and I know many of you might not be interested in reading it. But I copy it here for those of you who are.

Hello,

This wasn’t a pretty election. In fact, it was ugly, and we should not sugarcoat the reason why. Donald Trump ran a campaign that started with racial attacks and then rode the escalator down. He encouraged a toxic stew of hatred and fear. He attacked millions of Americans. And he regularly made statements that undermined core values of our democracy.

And he won. He won – and now Latino and Muslim-American children are worried about what will happen to their families. LGBT couples are worried that their marriages could be dissolved by a Trump-Pence Supreme Court. Women are worried that their access to desperately needed health services will disappear. Millions of people in this country are worried, deeply worried. And they are right to be worried.

Today, as President-Elect, Donald Trump has an opportunity to chart a different course: to govern for all Americans and to respect our institutions. In his victory speech, he pledged that he would be “President for all” of the American people. And when he takes the oath of office as the leader of our democracy and the leader of all Americans, I sincerely hope that he will fulfill that pledge with respect and concern for every single human being in this country, no matter who they are, no matter where they come from, no matter what they believe, no matter whom they love.

And that marks Democrats’ first job in this new era: We will stand up to bigotry. There is no compromise here. In all its forms, we will fight back against attacks on Latinos, African Americans, women, Muslims, immigrants, disabled Americans – on anyone. Whether Donald Trump sits in a glass tower or sits in the White House, we will not give an inch on this, not now, not ever.

But there are many millions of people who did not vote for Donald Trump because of the bigotry and hate that fueled his campaign rallies. They voted for him despite the hate. They voted for him out of frustration and anger – and also out of hope that he would bring change.

If we have learned nothing else from the past two years of electioneering, we should hear the message loud and clear that the American people want Washington to change. It was clear in the Democratic Primaries. It was clear in the Republican Primaries. It was clear in the campaign and it was clear on Election Day. The final results may have divided us – but the entire electorate embraced deep, fundamental reform of our economic system and our political system.

Working families across this country are deeply frustrated about an economy and a government that doesn’t work for them. Exit polling on Tuesday found that 72 percent of voters believe that “the American economy is rigged to advantage the rich and powerful.” 72 percent of ALL voters – Democrats and Republicans. The polls were also made clear that the economy was the top issue on voters’ minds. Americans are angry about a federal government that works for the rich and powerful and that leaves everyone else in the dirt.

Lobbyists and Washington insiders have spent years trying to convince themselves and each other that Americans don’t actually believe this. Now that the returns are in and the people have spoken, they’re already trying to wave their hands and dismiss these views as some sort of mass delusion. They are wrong – very wrong.

The truth is that people are right to be angry. Angry that wages have been stagnant for a generation, while basic costs like housing, health care, and child care have skyrocketed. Angry that our political system is awash in barely legalized campaign bribery. Angry that Washington eagerly protects tax breaks for billionaires while it refuses to raise the minimum wage, or help the millions of Americans struggling with student loans, or enforce the law when the millionaire CEOs who fund our political campaigns break it. Angry that Washington pushes big corporate interests in trade deals, but won’t make the investments in infrastructure to create good jobs right here in America. Angry that Washington tilts the playing field for giant corporations – giving them special privileges, letting them amass enormous economic and political power.

Angry that while Washington dithers and spins and does the backstroke in an ocean of money, while the American Dream moves further and further out of reach for too many families. Angry that working people are in debt. Angry that seniors can’t stretch a Social Security check to cover the basics.

President-Elect Trump spoke to these issues. Republican elites hated him for it. But he didn’t care. He criticized Wall Street and big money’s dominance in Washington – straight up. He supported a new Glass-Steagall. He spoke of the need to reform our trade deals so they aren’t raw deals for the American people. He said he will not cut Social Security benefits. He talked about the need to address the rising cost of college and about helping working parents struggling with the high cost of child care. He spoke of the urgency of rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and putting people back to work. He spoke to the very real sense of millions of Americans that their government and their economy has abandoned them. And he promised to rebuild our economy for working people.

The deep worry that people feel over an America that does not work for them is not liberal or conservative worry. It is not Democratic or Republican worry. It is the deep worry that led even Americans with very deep reservations about Donald Trump’s temperament and fitness to vote for him anyway.

So let me be 100% clear about this. When President-Elect Trump wants to take on these issues, when his goal is to increase the economic security of middle class families, then count me in. I will put aside our differences and I will work with him to accomplish that goal. I offer to work as hard as I can and to pull as many people as I can into this effort. If Trump is ready to go on rebuilding economic security for millions of Americans, so am I and so are a lot of other people—Democrats and Republicans.

But let’s also be clear about what rebuilding our economy does not mean.
• It does not mean handing the keys to our economy over to Wall Street so they can run it for themselves. Americans want to hold the big banks accountable. That will not happen if we gut Dodd-Frank and fire the cops responsible for watching over those banks, like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If Trump and the Republican Party try to turn loose the big banks and financial institutions so they can once again gamble with our economy and bring it all crashing down, then we will fight them every step of the way.

• It does not mean crippling our economy and ripping working families apart by rounding up and deporting millions of our coworkers, our friends and neighbors, our mothers and fathers, our sons and daughters. And if Republicans choose that path, we will fight them every single step of the way.

• Americans want reform to Obamacare – Democrats included. We must bring down the costs of health insurance and the cost of health care. But if the Republicans want to strip away health insurance from 20 million Americans, if they want to let cancer survivors get kicked to the curb, if they want to throw 24-year-olds off their parents’ health insurance, then we will fight them every step of the way.

• Americans want to close tax loopholes that benefit the very rich, and Donald Trump claimed to support closing the carried interest loophole and other loopholes. We need a fairer tax system, but if Republicans want to force through massive tax breaks that blow a hole in our deficit and tilt the playing field even further toward the wealthy and big corporations, then we will fight them every step of the way.
The American people – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – have been clear about what economic policies they want Washington to pursue. Two-thirds of people support raising the federal minimum wage. Three-quarters of Americans want the federal government to increase its infrastructure investments. Over 70 percent of people believe students should have a chance at a debt-free education. Nearly three-quarters support expanding Social Security. These are the kinds of policies that will help level the playing field for working families and address the frustrations felt by millions of people across the country.

The American people sent one more message as well. Economic reform requires political reform. Why has the federal government worked so long only for those at the top? The answer is money – and they want this system changed. The American people are sick of politicians wallowing in the campaign contributions and dark money. They are revolted by influence peddling by wealthy people and giant corporations. When Bernie Sanders proved his independence by running a campaign based on small dollar contributions and when Donald Trump promised to spend his own money, both were sending an important message that they could not be bought. And once again, if Donald Trump is ready to make good on his promise to get corruption out of politics, to end dark money and pay-to-play, count me in. I will work as hard as I can and to pull as many people as I can to end the influence of big money and return democracy to the people.

Donald Trump won the Presidency under a Republican flag. But Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan and the Republicans in Congress – and their way of doing business – were rejected – rejected by their own primary voters, rejected during the campaign, and rejected in Tuesday’s election. Regardless of political party, working families are disgusted by a Washington that works for the rich and powerful and leaves everyone else behind.

The American people have called out loudly for economic and political reform. For years, too many Republicans and too many Democrats have refused to hear their demands.

The majority of Americans voted against Donald Trump. Democrats picked up seats in both the House and the Senate. And yet, here we are. Republicans are in control of both houses of Congress and the White House. And that makes our job clear. As the loyal opposition we will fight harder, we will fight longer and we will fight more passionately than ever for the rights of every human being in this country to be treated with respect and dignity. We will fight for economic opportunity, not just for some of our children, but for all of our children. We do not control the tools of government, but make no mistake, we know what we stand for, the sun will keep rising, and we will keep fighting – each day, every day, we will fight for the people of this country.

The time for ignoring the American people is over. It’s time for us to come together to work on America’s agenda. Democracy demands that we do so, and we are ready.

?Thank you for being a part of this,??

Elizabeth

Life After Windbird, Day 89: Election Hangover
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, High 57, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

In last night’s log I said I could not wait until this election was over. Well, I got my wish. The election is over and we know the results, like it or not. I stayed up until 3 am to hear the President Elect’s acceptance speech and therefore had an election night hangover today. But I was glad I stayed up to listen. At least Trump was conciliatory in his early morning comments. And he was right on when he said, “So, it’s been what they call a historic event, but to be really historic, we have to do a great job.” He’s got that right. And I found it quite interesting that he said “we” not “I”. When I got up this morning, I got a phone call from Helaine Kanegsberg bemoaning the outcome of the election. When we went to the Hillary-Elizabeth Warren rally, Helaine signed up to do some volunteer work around election day which she did. And she was really shocked to wake up this morning and find that Donald Trump, not Hillary, is our President Elect. I also talked to my niece Lynn this evening who also went to the rally with us. She had been driving up to New Hampshire from Massachusetts to do volunteer work for the Hillary campaign. And she continued that volunteer work right up until the polls closed yesterday. She was also very disappointed in the outcome, but felt like she had done her bit to try and get Hillary elected. Talking to Helaine and Lynn made me feel a bit guilty about not volunteering, but I am very proud of both of them. Democracy is not a spectator sport. You do have to get involved.

After my phone call with Helaine, it was out the door for a check-in visit with my chiropractor. I’m weaning myself away but will check-in again in December just to make sure everything stays aligned. I then headed back home to eat breakfast. I overslept and didn’t have time to eat before I left. And I also wanted to get home to watch Hillary’s concession speech and Obama’s speech. Both spoke eloquently about the peaceful transfer of power. I then spent time watching a video that Lynne Kirwin recommended last night. It is a National Geographic documentary about climate change and is narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. It is very informative. If you have a ‘smart’ TV you can just search for ‘Before the Flood’ to watch. And I recommend you do. At the end of the afternoon, I headed out to do a little clothes shopping. Talbot’s, my favorite place to buy clothes, was having a great sale that ended today and I wanted to take advantage of it. Besides, I had a gift certificate that was burning a hole in my pocket. Then it was home to watch the political coverage on last night’s election. It was the perfect day for someone who was not thinking very straight after being up half the night.

Bruce and Jane Woodin invited me to come to tomorrow morning’s Falmouth Newcomers Club meeting to hear my daughter speak about climate change. Then its home to get back to editing and posting photos from the summer that never got processed. I’d love to finish that job tomorrow. So getting to bed early tonight sounds like a really good idea.

Life After Windbird, Day 88: Election Day 2016
Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Weather: High 62, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA
I really cannot wait until this election is over. I’m not hopeful that we will know the results tonight, but hopefully we will know by tomorrow morning. And who knows what will happen after that no matter who is elected? But at least we will know what we are dealing with.
There was no school today, so I spent my morning and early afternoon at Heather and Jed’s watching kids while Heather and Jed were involved in various activities. Heather was in charge of a 7 am to 10 am school bake sale at their polling place and Jed had to drive to New Bedford to catch fish for research after he took the boys with him to vote. Then Heather had to leave again at 12:30 pm to take Jonah’s Scout troop on a hike. The weather was just gorgeous for a walk in the woods. And the fall colors, even in the front yard, were just beautiful. While Heather and Jonah were gone, Sam and Ollie were in and out, playing at various neighbor’s homes. But I was there just in case there was a problem. I busied myself with laundry and kitchen clean-up in between kid activities. And at one point, Ollie and Joey from next door appeared with totally painted faces. Ollie said he was a lion and he enjoyed roaring his mighty roar. By 3 pm, both Heather and Jed got home and I headed to my voting location to cast my vote and I proudly wore my “I Voted” sticker out of the polling place. I got home and prepped dinner and then headed to the gym for a yoga class. I went to a yoga class in Woods Hole this summer and then I went to one at the gym last Thursday. Each of those classes were totally different. Last Thursday’s class was led by a young man named Alan and the class was a mix of men and women, both old and young. Alan’s class moves calmly from one yoga pose to another while the Woods Hole class and tonight’s class were very slow paced focusing on total relaxation. Near the end of tonight’s class the young woman led us into our relaxation pose, with lights turned down, and said, “Relax. Imagine you have nowhere to go and nothing to do.” I wanted to scream out, “Are you freakin’ kidding me? I don’t want to do that. I have all sorts of places to go and lots of things to do.” I obviously have a loooooong way to go to get this yoga thing. I think Alan’s Thursday class is much more my cup of tea for now. But just as I have managed to get into the habit of going to the various classes at the gym, there will be no classes for the next two or three weeks. They are enlarging the studio area for classes and that construction starts on Thursday. There is one class in the morning that I have not attended. It is called Body Sculpt and I have no idea what that means. I can’t attend the whole class because I have routine check-in with my chiropractor at 9:45 am. So I can go to the class for about 15 minutes to find out what it is and then head on to the chiropractor. And then I’ll just have to go to the gym to use the machines until the construction is completed in a couple of weeks.
I’ve talked to my sister tonight and just ended a long conversation with Lynne Kirwin. We are all waiting to see the results of this election. I’m going to sign-off here and just watch for a bit. It doesn’t look hopeful at this point, but I’m still hanging in there for a Hillary win.

Life After Windbird, Day 87: Election Eve
Date: Monday, November 7, 2016
Weather: High 50, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

No matter your political preference, I think all of us will be really glad when this election is over. But being the political junkie that I am, I am watching the events right up until the end. That is how I spent my evening. My day was a mix of exercise at the gym, a call to Social Security with very long wait, and working on getting photos from the past four months edited and named. I have decided to tackle just one online account problem per day and today that was Social Security. I thought I had an online account, but actually it was Mark’s account. So I had to set up a new one. And in doing that, I found out that paperwork I signed and handed in at the local Social Security office in September was never processed. They evidently lost it. So I need to do that all over again tomorrow. But at least I found out.

Tomorrow morning I will vote in a polling place for the first time since moving aboard Windbird in 2003. Since then I have had to vote via absentee ballot as a ‘transient’ in New Hampshire. This will be my first time to vote in Massachusetts. After that, I will head to Heather’s to be with the boys for a bit. There is no school tomorrow, but it is not a holiday, so parents have to work. Heather is taking the day off, but has to run a school fundraiser from 7 to 10 am and then she will do a five-mile run before returning home. Once she gets home, I will then run a few errands and head home to spend my afternoon bracing myself for tomorrow night’s election returns. Can’t wait for this to be over.

Life After Windbird, Day 86: Cold Weather and Kicky Fashion Models
Date: Sunday, November 6, 2016
Weather: High 51, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

The 51degree high temperature today does not reflect how it felt. It was WINDY and it felt downright COLD. The move overnight from Eastern Daylight Time back to Eastern Standard Time seemed to signal an immediate change from fall to winter. There was even a little sleet here and there today. But fall will return and hopefully that winter chill in the air will stay at bay for a few more weeks.

I spent another frustrating day dealing with online account issues. I am very, very tempted to go back to paper bills and sending paper checks to pay them. I really thought I had all of the accounts changed into my name and now I am finding that Mark’s name is still embedded into the inner workings of the accounts, keeping me from making online payments. Heather and Justin thought they had these accounts all switched over back in September, but not so. I’m going to work on this again tomorrow, and very honestly if I can’t get everything settled I feel like cancelling all the accounts and starting from scratch. Of course, that would mean going without electricity, heat, phone, or internet for a day or two, so I’m probably not going to get that extreme. But this is one case where technology has not been helpful. Thankfully, Heather had invited me over for an artichoke dinner this evening and that gave me the sanity break I needed. Before dinner, Sam, Jonah, Ollie, and Joey and Molly from next door put on a fashion show. Sam was the producer and director, in charge of music, lightening, and floor directing, and the others dressed for two different presentations and an encore. Jonah was a lacrosse player and a baseball catcher, Ollie was a fireman and an astronaut, Joey was a knight and an astronaut, and Molly was a dog owner and a rock star. They performed with flare and brought forth a much needed bright spot in my day.

The fashion show was followed by a wonderful dinner. Heather found artichokes at the grocery story yesterday that looked really good and immediately called me to invite me over for dinner tonight. She knows just how much I love artichokes. They were “perfect” in Sam’s words and accompanied by a squash risotto. Both were delicious. Thank you, Heather.
I’m not sure how this week will go. I have a long list of projects that could keep me busy for weeks, but Tuesday is Election Day and there is no school here. And then Friday is a national holiday, Veteran’s Day, with no school. So I have offered to help with childcare if needed and on Friday will attend a Veteran’s Day observance that the Scouts are part of. Jed and I had talked earlier about working on Friday to start assembling the new storage shed that was delivered back in early September. But he has a grant due tomorrow and another one that he is a contributor to that is due early next week. Plus, he came home from the Scout outing this weekend with a cold. Actually, I think he went with a cold and it just got worse. As a result, he might have to wait on storage shed assembly until he is feeling better. We’ll just wait and see how the week goes.

Life After Windbird, Day 85: Fun Saturday for Grandkids
Date: Saturday, November 5, 2016
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 55, Low 43 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

Zumba! That is how I started my day at the gym. At one time in my life I was a dancer, but it has been decades since I have done any dancing, let alone Zumba-type movement. Just glad there are no cameras to capture the action. After Zumba class, I came home and got ready for Jonah’s soccer game. He is such a delight to watch. He is so enthusiastic and encourages his teammates when they make good plays. He is sometimes goalie and sometimes forward, but always full of energy. Ollie and I played a little soccer game of our own and Ollie had two little girls from the preschool that he played with as well. Jed and Sam were not at soccer this morning because they are at a weekend-long Scout outing. The Scout Pack has a Facebook page and many photos were posted from today’s activities. Sam loved his introduction to archery as well as just hanging out with friends. After the soccer game, I invited Heather, Jonah, and Ollie over for lunch and Heather ended up helping me with my online banking mess. Even though I have all new accounts, even for utilities, the ebills are being sent to Mark with old account numbers. Hopefully I will eventually understand all of this and get it straightened out. But without Heather and Justin’s help, I would be totally lost. Thank you, H and J. Jonah and Ollie also wanted some of momma’s time, so after helping me she spent time building a new Lego construction with Ollie and then went outside to play a little soccer with Jonah. Ollie joined in that game and the three of them had a fun time on the front lawn. After Heather and boys left and I had a Skype call with Ziggy and Coco. That call and the gorgeous red sails on the sunset over the harbor ended a beautiful day.

Life After Windbird, Day 84: Dinner with Good Friends
Date: Friday, November 4, 2016
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 57, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

Bruce and Jane Woodin just returned from a three-week vacation in Hawaii. Olivia and Terry White returned recently from a Viking River Cruise in Europe. And tonight we all convened here for a reunion. We had a wonderful evening together. After dinner, we got to see a few photos from each trip. I am so bummed that I didn’t take a photo of all of us together again. You’ll just have to use your imagine see us once again enjoying each other’s company.

Life After Windbird, Day 83: Never Give Up
Date: Thursday, November 3, 2016
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 64, Low 47 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

What a game! Game 7 of the 2016 World Series was just unbelievable. I’ve watched very few baseball games in my entire life, but last night was a must see. The performance of both teams just screamed, “Never give up.” I admit that I was thrilled with the outcome, but even more importantly, those two teams, because of their tenacity, gave us the best baseball game any of us has ever seen. But because of their tenacity, it was very late when most of us went to sleep last night. I don’t know about your day, but mine got off to a bit of a slow start. I did my daily battle with computer issues, did a little bit of photo editing, and in the afternoon I headed to East Falmouth Elementary to pick up Sam and Jonah. They love to hang out on the playground after school, playing soccer, and digging holes in the sand. I don’t quite get the hole digging, but the kids love it. So no need to question. After our stint on the playground, we headed home. I brought my computer so I could let Sam and Jonah watch some of the highlights from last night’s game. That spurred Jonah to put on his catcher’s gear and the boys did a little pitch and catch in the front yard. Heather got home from her conference on Nantucket about the same time Jed got home with Ollie. I then took off to go to a yoga class at the gym. I went to one yoga class in Woods Hole this summer, but that is the extent of my knowledge of yoga. The young man leading the class tonight was very good. Some of the poses challenge my bad knee, but I will work on ways to adapt those poses. I now have two exercise classes and this yoga class that I will incorporate into my weekly schedule.

And speaking of schedules, I have been working on a scheduling a little road trip to Nashville to visit with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece Janet. I will do that during the first and second weeks of December, getting back here by December 18 to go to Revels with the Goldpebbles. Revels is a musical celebration of winter solstice. Mark and I have gone many times with the Goldstones and have always enjoyed it as the perfect way to usher in the holiday spirit. The Goldstones have decided to stay home for Christmas for the very first time since Sam was born, so I will be here to spend Christmas with them. After Christmas, they will head to Maine. I am not quite sure yet what I will do then. I’m planning a trip to Puerto Rico at some point to visit with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, and will return to Nashville to spend a longer period of time with my sister. But I’ll try to space out those visits to help me get through the cold winter here.

Note: If my father were still living, he would have turned 113 years-old today. He was five years-old when the Cubs won their last World Series. He was not a sports fan, but he would have approved of the “never give up” attitude. Happy birthday, Hayes Winfred Martin.

Life After Windbird, Day 82: Shopping and Grandkids
Date: Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds, Warmer; High 64, Low 53 degrees F
Location: At Home at the Studio, Falmouth, MA

As part of getting ready for the coming cold weather, last week I ordered a new comforter for my bed. I have duvet covers for standard/queen-sized comforters we used on Windbird, but a queen-sized bed really needs a king-sized comforter. So today I made a quick trip north to IKEA to buy a duvet cover for the comforter. And as long as I was in the neighborhood, I bought a few items at Costco before heading back to the Cape to pick Sam and Jonah up after school. Tonight I’m doing what many of you are doing . . . watching the last game of the 2016 World Series. I’m a traitor to the Martin family as they are all Indians fans. But Mark was from Illinois and the Handley Clan are solidly Cubs fans forever. I’m hoping for a Cubs win. The last time they won the World Series was in 1908. This afternoon when I told Jonah that 1908 is the year my mother was born, his eyes got as big as saucers. He then restated saying, “My great grandmother Ollie was born in 1908. That was a long time ago.” Go Cubbies.