US Land Logs 9, Year 4: Notes from a Granny Nanny
Date: Sunday, August 16, 2009
Weather: Finally Summer on Cape Cod
Location: East Falmouth, Massachusetts
The weather here has not been typical for a Cape Cod summer. We have had rain, rain, and more rain, and very cool temperatures. We had one reprieve over the 4th of July weekend, but not until this week has it really felt like summer. Of course, it is now very hot and VERY humid. But at least it is good beach weather for a change.
I’ve spent the last three months here on Cape Cod doing the greatest job on earth, being a Granny Nanny. Before Jonah’s birth, I spent a great deal of my time playing with Sam. After Jonah’s birth, the time had to be divided and I now spend half my time playing with Sam and the other half cuddling with Jonah. It’s a great life, but certainly nothing like the cruising life. Laundry here is done in a washing machine and dryer instead of in a five gallon bucket with clothes drying on the life lines of the boat. Here the ingredients for dinner are largely picked from the garden instead of being bought at a local market or pulled from the stores onboard the boat. Just the fact that we do have a garden is so vastly different from the cruising life. Since I have known Mark, we had always had a huge garden and stored food for the winter until we started cruising. When we decided to sail around the world, the one thing I was sure I would long for the most, other than family, was gardening. But actually, that has not been the case. I certainly long for family, but I never give gardening a thought. I am enjoying immensely the chance to garden here this summer, but I’ll be ready to get back to Windbird and buy food at the local markets when we return to Malaysia.
Today while cuddling with Jonah during one of his nap periods, I was also reading an old Cruising World magazine. I first read an article by Tom Neale’s daughter which was interesting but a little confusing to read. Then I read an article by Webb Chiles. When we were in Opua, New Zealand, we were anchored just behind Webb’s Hawke of Tuonela. Webb has circumnavigated five times and is obviously a veteran sailor. I really enjoyed his article about sailing from Opua, New Zealand to Cairns, Australia, but as I read it I thought of many details that I might have included. Then I read an article written by Fatty Goodlander in Thailand and I found myself amused by the difference between our experience in the Phangnga Bay and Fatty’s. But at least we both agree on one thing. The Phangnga Bay is one of the most beautiful places in the world to sail. Reading the articles made me realize how much I would like to have the time to write and publish about our voyage and our destinations. I know people will have the same differences with my writing that I have with theirs, but I would just like to give it a go. Being a Granny Nanny doesn’t allow for such luxuries, but once we return to Windbird, my hope is to make a concerted effort to do more writing. For now, I’ll just have to be content with dreaming of the stories that I have to tell.
Tomorrow Justin, Jo, and Ziggy return from England and visit with us here on the Cape for a few days. They were here for one day in July on their way to England, so we just can’t wait to have them here for a longer stay. Along with garden photos, I’m posting the photos from the one-day Justin-Jo-Ziggy visit with this log.
 |
| 090816 Granny Nanny Summer on Cape Cod |
