Day 40, Year 7: First Snow
Date: Sunday, December 18, 2011
Weather: Chilly Overnight with Snow Flurries, High Temp 30’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
There was no accumulation, but we did get snow flurries overnight and periodically during the day. It was enough to convince our four year-old grandson Sam that he should get himself dressed with no help, get his coat on, and get outside first thing this morning. Jonah had a different reaction. He got himself dressed, well, really undressed, and added back a hat, mittens, and soccer ankle shields-no shirt, no pants, no socks, no shoes. Unlike Sam, he was not the least bit interested in going outside. He just wanted to run around the house with no clothes on. I guess there is more than one way to celebrate the first snow of the year!
Mark worked at West Marine today and I worked on getting us packed for our trip to New Mexico. This includes getting all the presents that will be going to Maine with Heather and Jed ready to go with them and it includes doing a little holiday baking to give to friends here before we leave. For thirty-some years, I have baked cranberry bread using a recipe from the Deaf Smith Cookbook. It has the consistency of a fruit cake but tastes much better in my opinion. Baking today was like a walk down memory lane. It was an international experience. I used the last of my coarsely ground whole wheat flour from Australia that adds a nutty texture to whatever you are baking. I add multi-grain flour from South Africa. The powdered milk was from Madagascar, the baking powder from Thailand, the salt from India. Each ingredient conjured up visions of experiences we had in each country. But the cranberries were absolutely local. I went to the West Falmouth Market to buy cranberries this afternoon and I couldn’t find them in the produce section. Admittedly, this is a small market, but I was surprised that they didn’t have them. The market seems to have a little of everything, including balsam fir Christmas trees that smell so good you just want to hug one. But back to the cranberries . . . I asked if they had any and the young woman took me to a well-worn wooden crate filled with local cranberries. They were so fresh they didn’t need to be refrigerated. So I was definitely able to add authentic Cape Cod, USA to my international cranberry bread.
Tomorrow I will go with Mark for his appointment with the surgeon at Mass General. I had planned on staying here to take care of Sam and Jonah in the afternoon, but both Heather and Jed assured me that they will be fine without childcare. They knew I would want to be with Mark when he gets the report from the doctor. But I must say that I don’t think I have ever dreaded anything so much in my life. I do want to be there, and hope against hope the news will be on the positive end. Tonight we are doing a Colon Cancer 101 crash course to figure out the various stages and what they mean so we can know what questions to ask once we are confronted with the results of the recent tests. I’ve always been a good student, but this is one course I could live without.
