Day 226, Year 11: To Hear or Not to Hear
Date: Saturday, June 4, 2016
Weather: Fog Early, Then Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 76 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

Today was a decision making day. Is Mark to hear or not to hear? When I first met him, he already had lost all high pitch hearing in his left ear. Over the years, he tried hearing aids, but every time we bought a set, he would wear them once or twice and that was the end of that. But over those same years, his hearing has gotten worse and worse. So a couple of weeks ago when Mark’s oncologist suggested that he might want to invest in hearing aids, we took a new look at the situation. My brother-in-law Joe has tried various types of hearing aids over the years and recently he went to Costco and got a new high-tech pair that he really likes. So we decided to go the same route. We made an appointment for June 25th, but Costco called yesterday with an opening today. So we took it. We were very impressed with the testing process and it was no surprise that the results showed that Mark has profound hearing loss in both ears, just a little worse on the left side. We decided that Mark should hear, so in two weeks we’ll return to pick up the new hearing aids. If he is not satisfied with them, they can be returned anytime in the first six months for a full refund. We’ll keep you posted on the results.

When we got home, Sam and I cleaned the inside of our car and the two Goldstone vehicles. We didn’t have time to wash the outside of the cars, but hopefully we’ll get that done soon. Jed worked on installing a hitch to their van that will haul 3500 pounds. This is not just a ball that you install on the back of the car. It is a complete system and proved to be harder to install than advertised. So he still needs to work on that. Heather completed planning the garden and she turned the entire compost pile which started as the dump for grass and leaves. Over the years the pile has grown to be almost 15 feet in length and is at least 3-4 feet wide and deep. She is running in a race tomorrow morning and I think moving all of that mass was her way of getting ready for race day. We ended the day with dinner on the deck and then a fire in the fire pit for melting marshmallows for S’mores.

160604 Day 226 Cape Cod, USA–S'mores

It definitely felt like summer today, but tomorrow will be much cooler again. And that’s probably good for the race tomorrow morning. This race is a fundraiser for the elementary school that Sam and Jonah attend and Heather decided to do the race for fun. But then she set a goal for herself and was actually a bit nervous about it tonight. It is a four mile race and she wants to do it in certain amount of time. I hope she meets her goal, but I’d be happy to be able to run four miles even if it took me all day!

Congratulations to our good friends Lee and Lynda Kaufman on becoming grandparents for the very first time today. Lynda and Lee are in Hawaii celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, but will soon be flying to Portland to meet the new arrival in person. We are so happy for the grandparents and for the parents, Seth and Lisa. Welcome, Vivian!

Day 225, Year 11: All Wired Up
Date: Friday, June 3, 2016
Weather: Back to Sunshine; High 65 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

We are missing Heather and Jonah tonight. They are at the hospital getting settled in for a sleep study. Here’s a photo Heather sent of Jonah settling in.

160603 Day 225a Cape Cod, USA–Jonah at the Hospital

Jonah has always had issues with sleeping through night, so the pediatrician suggested a sleep study. He’s being a trooper, but I can’t imagine that a six year-old will be able to sleep with all those wires attached that are necessary for gathering data. Here’s a photo of Jonah all wired up.

160603 Day 225b Cape Cod, USA–All Wired Up

It certainly looks like he is being a trooper. Heather just sent an email saying they were just about to snuggle-in for the night. Hopefully getting to snuggle momma will help him forget about all the wires. Goodnight, Jonah Bear. We love you!

Things were quiet around here today. I spent most of my time canning magic mineral broth while Mark read. When Heather got home, she headed to the garden to do more planting. The garden is looking great. Now we just have to hope that the birds and squirrels haven’t eaten all the seeds Heather has planted. In another week we should see little plants emerging. If not, we’ll have to assume our little friends got to them and we’ll have to replant. After all Heather’s hard work, I sure hope that is not the case.

160603 Day 225c Cape Cod,USA–Heather Gardening

Tomorrow morning Jonah has a 9 am baseball game which we will go to and then we head north to Costco where Mark will have a hearing assessment done. We were originally schedule for a June 25th assessment, but they called today with an opening for tomorrow. The sooner the better for hearing aids for Mark.

Day 224, Year 11: Facing the Storage Unit Nightmare
Date: Thursday, June 2, 2016
Weather: Overcast and Cooler; High 62 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

In 2003 we put all of our ‘precious’ belongings in storage and moved aboard Windbird. I insisted on moving aboard so I could determine whether or not I could really be happy living on a sailboat as we sailed around the world. The beginning of that adventure was still two years off, but I wanted lots of time to adjust. I was a reluctant sailor and I really wasn’t sure the plan was going to work for me. Those of you who know me know that that transition was successful and that in just a few months I became a true lover of living aboard a sailboat. But I still insisted on keeping things in the storage unit. I just couldn’t let go of all that ‘stuff’.

Now, almost thirteen years later, we still have that storage unit, and currently we have two smaller units just to hold our personal belongings from Windbird. Fortunately for us as live-aboards, Windbird had enormous storage for a sailboat. But now we have to fit all of those things, plus everything in the original storage unit into the apartment we will move into in mid-June. I don’t think it is all going to fit, so today I decided that we had to face the storage unit nightmare. We’ve tried this many, many times before and have gotten rid of an enormous amount of things. But more needs to go and we now have a two week deadline. So this afternoon we went to the unit and just looked at what is there. The first question that came to mind was, “Why in the world did I think we needed to keep this stuff in the first place?” It has cost us a small fortune and now I’m thinking that many of the things in that unit just need to be thrown away. We just don’t have the energy, the time, or the inclination to try and sell things on Craig’s List. Besides, who really wants a long-handled scythe for cutting hay? And do we really need an almost new Honda generator? Or how about crates of old record albums? Or plastic bins of memorabilia from my teaching days? Or plaques and awards from Mark’s days in public radio? And I know we don’t need the framing for the winter cover for Windbird. Much of this stuff just needs to be thrown away, but some of it needs to find a new home. What we realized today is that we need to spend time next week weeding through things and hauling away those things that we and no one else really needs. Stay tuned on how that goes.

Day 223, Year 11: Can’t Believe June Has Arrived
Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 73 degrees F in Boston, 77 in Falmouth
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

I’m having a hard time believing June has arrived. Since we did the super quick turn around and headed north from West Palm Beach in February, I have been in a bit of a time warp. I feel like not having my own things and not living in my ‘home’ gives the sense of being on vacation and time just doesn’t register. I got tickled at dinner tonight when Ollie looked at me and said, “Oma, you need to change your earrings. You can’t wear the same pair all the time.” The problem is that most of my earrings were left on the boat and the ones I brought with me are somewhere—just not sure where! I’ll try to find the ones I do have with me tomorrow so I can make Ollie happy by wearing a different pair. And hopefully when we unpack boxes from the boat, the rest of the earrings will reappear. But the earrings are just one example of how I have lost track of my things with all of these moves, and leave it to a four year-old to notice. However, now that it is June, we can start the count-down to moving into our own space and rediscovering our ‘things’. The actual move in is going to take place over several days, but it will start in 14 days on June 15th. That is an infusion day, so we will be in Boston until late afternoon. We stopped at IKEA today on the way home and picked out the bed we are going to buy. We will stop again on the 15th and bring the bed home with us, so that will be the first thing to go into the apartment. Then on the following day while I am moving things from storage into the apartment, Mark can put the new bed and the one we brought from Lynn’s condo together (if I can get it moved from storage to the apartment without help). Once the weekend comes, we are hoping to have reinforcements to help move the larger items and if all goes well, we might be able to make Saturday night, June 18th, our first night in our own little place. Then I can start keeping track of time and belongings once again!

Today Mark saw the research nurse, one of Dr. Kwak’s nurse practitioners, and the infusion nurse. All of them are very pleased with Mark’s current program. The research nurse commented that it is so wonderful that the hospital team had come up with a regimen that works for Mark. All I could think was, “Ha!” It is true that the hospital team prescribed a multiplicity of drugs for Mark to try, but Mark and I were the ones trying the different combinations and keeping track of what worked and what didn’t and then making decisions on what to take. And then it was Dr. Kwak that suggested adding the steroid to our regimen that finally did the trick and got rid of the nausea. So it has been a team effort. It is just too bad that the nurses don’t include the patient as an equal part of the team. Dr. Kwak does, and that is what makes her so special.

Tomorrow I am going to spend some time in our ‘original’ storage unit (not the new one with things from the boat and furniture from my niece’s condo) to start getting things ready for the move. There is no way we can fit everything in that storage unit, plus all of the things in the two new storage units we have recently acquired, into our apartment. It does have two bedrooms, but no extra storage space. So I’m going to try very hard to get rid of some things before the 15th. I know that is easier said than done. But I will get started tomorrow and see where that leads me.

Day 222, Year 11: Days Flying By
Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Weather: Overcast with Rain Early, Then Clearing; High 70 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

The days are flying by. We have been here at Heather and Jed’s for ten days now, and will probably be here about twice that many days before we are ready to move into our apartment. We will start moving things to the apartment on June 15, which is a Wednesday and unfortunately it is also infusion day, but heavy items will have to wait until the weekend when we have help. As anyone would be, we are anxious to get settled in our own space. But if the next 20 days go as fast as the last ten, the time will be here before we know it. Life is always busy here in the Goldstone household, but it is especially busy as end of the school year nears. There are concerts and picnics and special field trips, and on and on. So it is a good time for us to be here to pitch in with meal preparations and household chores while Heather and Jed are so very busy.

Early tomorrow morning Mark and I are off to Boston. For now, Mark’s infusion days will be every Wednesday with a few exceptions. My nephew Rex and his wife Diana are flying into Boston on Thursday, June 30, so we requested a Thursday infusion day that week so we can combine the trip to Mass General with a trip to Logan Airport to pick them up. But normally, Wednesdays from here on out will be reserved for trips to Mass General. Mark is now into his second round of the trial. Every eight weeks there will be an assessment to see if the treatment is effective. As long as it is, and as long as Mark’s body can withstand the side effects, the treatments will continue. We are now on track until the middle of July when there will be another CT scan to once again determine treatment effectiveness.

Day 221, Year 11: Rainy Memorial Day
Date: Monday, May 30, 2016
Weather: Mostly Overcast with Rain, High 67 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

It was a rainy Memorial Day here—good for the garden seeds Heather planted yesterday, but not good for outdoor activities. Sam and Jonah marched in the Falmouth Memorial Day parade this morning with their scout troop, but most of the rest of the day was spent indoors. We did take a family walk down to the bogs late this afternoon and found the swans waiting there to greet us. In just a few days, the babies have grown so much. The momma, poppa, and babies were all gathered by a culvert leading from one bog to another. Momma and babies went through the culvert and we watched them emerge from the other side. Poppa, however, decided to hop up on the bank and go across the land bridge. Then they floated along beside us as we walked. I gave Sam my camera and he got a couple of great shots of the swans and two really good photos of red-winged blackbirds. I have tried on two different days to get good shots of the red-winged blackbirds without success. Sam really is a good photographer with a great eye for composition. He told me he’d like to try to paint a picture from his photography of the swans. I can’t wait to see his painting.

160530 Day 221 Cape Cod, USA–Family Walk to the Bogs

When we got back from the walk, Heather fixed a great dinner and then the boys were off to bed. I think we are all exhausted from having too much fun this weekend, so we’ll all probably turn in a little early.

Day 220, Year 11: Work Day on the Goldstone ‘Homestead’
Date: Sunday, May 29, 2016
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds, High 77 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

Today was a work day on the Goldstone ‘homestead.’ This little Cape sits on a small city lot, and slowly the lot is being developed into a little homestead. There is the bee garden in the front of the house, the fenced vegetable garden out back, the composting area that is being readied for a chicken coop, and an area around the side of the house that is being developed as an herb garden. Today Jed worked on cutting grass and trimming about the edges while Heather worked on planting the herb and vegetable garden. It was warm enough to inflate the pool for the kids to play in and they had a ball. Mark and I were gophers, going out to buy a few plants, some seeds, and groceries needed for an impromptu neighborhood party tonight. This is one busy place and Heather commented today next weekend is even busier than this one. It is for sure that no one will ever be bored around here! But the yard looks good, the gardens look great, and everyone enjoyed the time to visit together at tonight’s backyard party. Jed grilled beer can chickens and when he opened the grill to get them out, Heather looked out the window and bent over with laughter. The two chickens sitting upright on the grill were quite a sight.

160529 Day 220 Cape Cod, USA–Chickens on the Grill

At the end of the evening, Jed built a fire in the fire pit and everyone enjoyed roasting marshmallows for S’mores. Mark and I stayed inside during the party as Mark was not feeling all that great. But right now he is having second dinner and seems much better. Jonah, who eats almost nothing, looked at me today and said, “Oma, do you know Granddad eats six BIG meals every day.” I confessed that I was aware of this and he just shook his head in amazement.

Rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, but rain or shine, Sam and Jonah are marching in the Memorial Day Parade with their scout troops.

Day 219, Year 11: Baseball and Gardening
Date: Saturday, May 28, 2016
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds, High 77 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

Our day started by watching Jonah’s baseball team play a game. He’s in a league for six year-olds, so some are just ending kindergarten, while others like Jonah are ending first grade. Even though Jonah is a bit of an imp, he is one of the taller kids on the team. And he is a good hitter. It takes 10-12 balls before some of the kids get a hit, but it doesn’t seem to bother them. Everyone, including the coaches, seemed to have a really good time. After the game, the Goldstones headed to Woods Hole for May Fair and Mark and I headed home. I dropped Mark off and went on to the farm store to pick up the first load of compost for the day. We bought compost by the 1 cubic foot bag, so we needed LOTS of bags. I bought and distributed 12 bags the other day and today we added another 26 bags. The bags are so heavy that I could only haul 12 bags at a time in our car, so I had to make multiple trips. When Heather and Jed got home from May Fair, Jed went to pick up the rental rototiller and tilled in all of the compost. Heather planted tomatoes she bought at May Fair, but all other planting will happen tomorrow.

160528 Day 219 Cape Cod, USA–Baseball and Gardening

Heather, Jed, and boys went to a picnic tonight and Mark and I stayed home and watched a movie, The Martian. Mark had read the book and loved it, and we both really enjoyed the movie. The Goldstones are now home and the boys are having a ‘camp out’ on the living room floor. My old bones are achy from manhandling all of those bags of compost, so I am looking forward to a good night’s sleep. Hopefully I’ll recover by morning and can help with the planting of the garden tomorrow.

Day 218, Year 11: Summer Preview
Date: Friday, May 27, 2016
Weather: Partly Cloudy, High 78 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

Mark and I took a walk down to the cranberry bogs this afternoon and spent time enjoying the wildlife. A pair of swans was there with their six fluffy gray cygnets and they were a delight to watch. The daddy swan is quite protective and puffed up his chest and extended his long neck toward us when we got too close. The other highlight was watching the red-winged blackbirds flitting here and there and everywhere in the bogs. So our little pond in Lowell with lots of turtles and beaver has been replaced by bogs with lots of birds. But the real summer preview happened this evening. First, Heather put her newly arrived bees in the hive—a sure sign that summer is on the way. Then we ate dinner on the deck for the second night in a row. After dinner Brian Keefe, who lives next door, took Ollie and Jonah on a tractor ride with his gang to the neighborhood ice cream shop, Smitty’s. Sam went to spend the night with a friend and Heather and Jed were going to an outing with friends, so Mark and I followed Brian and his tractor toting a wagon load of kids down the street to Smitty’s. Jonah and Ollie were so excited to ride in the wagon for the first time this spring. It is a sure sign that summer is right around the corner.

160527 Day 218 Cape Cod, USA–Swans, Bees, and a Tractor Ride

Day 217, Year 11: Thinking of Windbird
Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016
Weather: Sunny and Hot, High 84 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones, East Falmouth, MA

This morning when Heather and Jed were driving to Woods Hole to work (and taking Ollie to school in Woods Hole), Ollie saw some boats out on the water. He got very excited and said to this mom and dad that he just can’t wait until summer when he can drive the dinghy again. They reminded him that Windbird will not be here this summer, so there won’t be a dinghy. He immediately welled up and the alligator tears started flowing. And I know exactly how he feels. I spent my day writing up a brief summary of Windbird’s history with an accounting of all of her storage capacity. A man who looked at Windbird a couple of weeks ago is returning this weekend with his wife. They are flying into North Carolina, renting a car, and working their way south to Little River looking at two other boats on the way. I have no way of knowing if Windbird is the right boat for this couple, but I want them to have as much information as possible. It would be wonderful to find a new couple that will love Windbird as much as we do. But, like Ollie, it makes us very sad to think about it.

Mark is still feeling good. He had a little nausea during the night, but he recovered from that today. He wishes he had more energy, but I am just elated that he is not nauseous and is eating voraciously, gaining weight, and looking healthier than he has in weeks. Go, Mark!