2026 Life Logs, Day 225: Little Successes
Date: Thursday, August 13, 2026
Weather: Mix of a Little Rain, Clouds, Sunshine; High Temp 80, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

I don’t keep track of the humidity, but it has been hot and humid recently. This morning was a bit of a reprieve. It rained a little before I got up, a nice breeze blew in, and Shadow and I had a lovely walk in the coolness of the morning. Then I got to work.

My first job this morning was going to Bridges to replace Patsy’s Dexcom sensor which is ‘applied’ to her upper arm. This has to be replaced every 15 days and today was the 4th sensor application since she arrived here. It is through that sensor which sends a signal to her phone that has to be near to her 24 hours a day that I receive her constant blood sugar numbers on my phone. Plus, she has a back-up monitor that stays in her room and only reads her numbers only when she is close to it. I’ve mentioned before that the one thing I never, ever wanted to be in life was a nurse. So, taking over this duty of replacing the sensor from the diabetic nurse we hired when she arrived was my first real ‘nursing’ duty. I got the job done with the help of YouTube video and then I had to wait for it to ‘warm up’ to her body temperature which takes about an hour. I had paired the two phones with the new sensor information, and they both kept saying “warming up”, but the little monitor said the sensor had failed. I called Dexcom, the company that manufactures the sensor, and they were able to lead me through the process to get the monitor paired. Success. The whole process worked and I now know that I can do this. Also, her new diabetic shoes that I ordered from Amazon arrived and I was able to try those on her and come up with the right size. She is definitely a size 7, not a 6 ½. Another job done successfully.

My afternoon at home was a mix of Board of Library Trustee treasurer work and Patsy ‘treasurer’ work. For Patsy ‘treasurer’ work, I had to compile all of the receipts for Patsy ‘things’ I have paid for this month—everything from new lipstick to paying for her supplemental healthcare insurance. I had just thrown all of the receipts/invoices in a pile and needed to go through them to figure out which ones I paid for with her credit card and which ones I paid for with my credit cards. This took me until 8 pm tonight and I still don’t have it put into a spreadsheet to send to her Power of Attorney who controls the money. Since Patsy did not have a credit card until a week or so ago, and since I can’t write checks for her, I had charged things to my credit cards, and then to hers once it arrived, while other things came straight out of her bank account. It was a mess because I have bought so many things, switched her medical insurance to Massachusetts, etc., etc. But at least I am now ready to enter everything into a spreadsheet and figure out how much money her Power of Attorney owes me. Last month it was almost $7,000. I think this month will be half of that. And going forward, I think it will be very little as long as I don’t have to write big weekly checks for diabetic nursing care. Right now I am able to deal with that. Going forward, all I will need to do is compile all of the receipts for tax purposes. I am going to count the progress made on this today as another success even though it took way too many hours.

2026 Life Logs, Day 224: The Little Things in Life
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Hot; High Temp 84, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

I literally cannot believe it is almost mid-August. For me, this is just the summer that wasn’t. But it is not over yet, so maybe I can still have some ‘normal’ summer days. Today was a baby step back toward normal, but I still had to spend a huge chunk of time dealing with issues for my sister. I did call my friend Karen Baranowski whom I haven’t talked to for a couple of weeks. So that was one little normal thing. Then mid-afternoon, I took time to go outside and play with Shadow and decided to take him with me to the hardware store. I just had to run in and get a garden hose, so I knew he would be fine in the car for that little bit of time, especially since I would leave the windows partially down. I used to take him with me when I was running errands, but this summer that just hasn’t happened. As soon as he realized what was happening, he was like a little kid in a candy shop. He hopped up and down with joy as we walked to the car. But when I opened the back door, he sat down and looked to me to give him the okay to get in, even though I didn’t prompt him to do it. That was a first! When we got to the hardware store, he moved from the back seat to the front like he always does, but on the way home, he didn’t go to the back seat. He just inched closer to me and looked at me all the way home as if to say, “Mommy, why don’t we do this more often.” The whole trip was such a little thing, but it felt so normal. Not much that I have done for weeks has seemed normal, so our little trip made me very happy.

When we got home, I spent the next little while using the new hose to wash down the picnic table and chairs and spayed down the entry way. Then I got the cushions for the outside chairs out of the basement. My neighbor Billy is have a few friends from work over Friday evening for a barbeque and I told him he could use the picnic table. I’ve only used it once this whole summer. Next week, my good friend Kevin Russell is coming to visit and I know we will sit at the outside table as well. So back to normal, one little step at a time.

2026 Life Logs, Day 223: Puerto Rico Lo Hace Mejor
Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Hot, Nice Breeze; High Temp 87, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

“Puerto Rico lo hace mejor” translates as “Puerto Rico does it better.” And that is what my daughter-in-law, Jo, thought this morning on the first day of Ziggy’s senior year. When she took Ziggy and Coco to school this morning, there was a huge celebration. Evidently in Puerto Rico they celebrate the beginning of the senior year with as much enthusiasm as they do at the end for graduation. There was music, dancing, cheering, a parade. What a wonderful way to start off the school year!

After doing a little work on my computer this morning, I actually went out and weeded in the garden. When I was done, there was almost nothing left. A few straggly tomatoes, some unhealthy-looking kale, and a couple of pepper plants. The weeds had so totally taken over that nothing I planted in May could grow. And since I haven’t stepped foot in the garden since late May, I was surprised to see that anything had survived. I will simply have to try again next year.

It was well after 1 pm when I got back inside, and just as I was starting to make lunch, the phone rang. It was a visiting nurse that was on her way to see my sister. Late last Monday when I was told by a CNA at Bridges that my sister had what looked like diabetic ulcers on her feet, I immediately went home and sent an email to the Wellness Director at Bridges asking her to FAX a request to Patsy’s primary care to refer her for skilled nursing. Sthe director had already left Bridges for the day, thus the email. I got an email back the next morning saying the referral had been sent. But I followed up with a text to the primary care stating the urgency. I was leaving town for Maine on Wednesday, but I felt sure a nurse would come by Thursday or Friday. On Saturday when I visited Patsy, I asked the nursing staff if anyone had come to see Patsy and they said they saw nothing about this in her records. So Monday morning, I called the primary care asking when a nurse would be coming. I had to leave a message and got a text back saying the nurse would be coming on Tuesday. But I found out from the nurse today that no referral was sent last week. Yesterday, a different visiting nurse was at Bridges and one of the nurses asked if she was there to see Patsy. She said she was not, but she got the message back to the home office that ‘a family member’ was very concerned. Evidently, after my call in the morning, the primary care did send in the order yesterday afternoon—one full week after the initial request. But this is just totally unacceptable. The same thing happened with the referral for physical therapy for Patsy. I will spend tomorrow morning dealing with this, but back to today, the visiting nurse asked me if I would like to meet her at Bridges for Patsy’s examination. She said she would be there in 20 minutes. The answer was yes, so no lunch for me today. I got out of my gardening clothes and into something presentable and headed straight to Bridges. The complete examination took over two hours as it was more than just looking at Patsy’s feet and documenting and bandaging them. The ulcer on one foot has not broken through the skin, but on the other foot, it has. The nurse ordered visits twice a week for three weeks for now and once a week after that, plus she met with staff to explain that the bandages cannot get wet. It will be sponge baths for now until I can order plastic sleeves to keep her legs and feet dry during showers. And I need to get a real wheelchair for Patsy, a special pillow to put on the footrests to cushion her feet for now, and we ordered new diabetic shoes right on the spot. The nurse was very thorough and very helpful. It was a productive afternoon, but just not how I planned to spend it. The story of my life these days. I hurried home to eat lunch/dinner and got to the library just in time for the Trustees meeting. Thankfully I had printed the financial reports this morning, so all I had to do was get there on time.

2026 Life Logs, Day 222: Back to Work
Date: Monday, August 10, 2026
Weather: Still Sunny, Not Quite as Humid; High Temp 84, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

I stayed home all day today slowly chipping away at a long list of things I need to do regarding my sister. With her August change of insurance from Medicare Advantage to Medicare, all of a sudden, I am getting notices of things not covered by the old insurance from back in June and July and I am being sent forms to fill out to appeal the denials. And I still need to find a new glaucoma doctor for her and a new dentist, and on and on. Also, this morning I had to track down why a visiting nurse has not been to see her about the ulcers on her feet. The short of it is that they say they are coming tomorrow. We shall see.

It was another beautiful day that I spent inside on the phone, on my computer, and sitting at the dining room table reading through insurance forms. Tomorrow, after I visit my sister in the morning, I have promised myself at least an hour or two either going to the beach or working in the yard. I cannot spend this entire summer inside!

2026 Life Logs, Day 221: The Having of Good Friends
Date: Sunday, August 9, 2026
Weather: Still Sunny, Still Hot; High Temp 85, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Instead of going to see The Odyssey this morning, I decided to just have a relaxed morning with Shadow walking in the sunshine. And so I did. Then when we got home from our walk, he cuddled beside me on the sofa while I ate breakfast. Not having to be anywhere by a particular time was just so delightful. And Shadow enjoyed our quiet time together.

I then got on my computer and did the work to prepare the annual financial report to the town for the Board of Library Trustees, and I completed the spreadsheet for the proposed budget for next year. I sent those out to the other two members of the Resource Committee and will hope there are no changes as they both have to be presented Tuesday evening.

Mid-afternoon I went to visit with my sister. When I left on Wednesday, I was hopeful that the skilled nursing request that was sent to her primary care on Monday of last week was going to result in a visit as soon as possible. But yesterday when I visited, I saw no evidence that anyone had done anything. Jane Woodin texted me to ask what the visiting nurse had to say and I had to tell her that the nurse had not yet come. So, she insisted on coming to check on things. She arrived with her little medical kit and went right to work. After she had covered the ulcer on each foot with a bandage, she stayed and she and Patsy and I had a delightful conversation about Patsy’s life when she was in high school up until she got married. Patsy couldn’t remember specific details, but she seemed to understand what we were talking about and joined in. The “having of good friends” is a wonderful thing. Adding nurse Jane and friend Jane to our conversation made our time together so much more fun. Thank you, Jane!

From Bridges I headed to the Cape Cod Winery for an event for Senator Markey. He has been our Senator since 2012 but involved in Massachusetts politics for 50 years. He is running for re-election and his opponent in the primary is US Representative Seth Moulton. Moulton is running on one issue—age. Markey just turned 80, but he has been and still is a very productive member of Congress. I am all for getting younger people into politics, but when you can list multiple pieces of legislation that Markey has written or sponsored in the past couple of years with the only accomplishment you can list for Moulton is that he has youth on his side, in my opinion, it becomes clear who we need to support for re-election.

Once I got home, Shadow and both had dinner and watched another episode of Grantchester on PBS. Shadow is loving this cuddle time on the sofa! I didn’t even get on my exercise bike tonight. I just sat with Shadow on my lap.

2026 Life Logs, Day 220: New Balance
Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Hot, with a Wonderful Breeze; High Temp 83, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

I do wear New Balance sneakers, but my ‘new balance’ is trying to mesh my life with my sister’s life in memory care. How much time should I spend there? Every day? Once or twice a week? And how do I balance this with my already too busy life? These are questions that are going to take me a very long time to come to grips with. But right now, I just need to keep dealing with dealing with all of my sister’s different health issues while still trying to live my life. Not easy.

Today I divided the day into thirds. I spent my morning visiting my sister and then driving to Centerville to the Masonic Lodge there that has free medical equipment. I had emailed them to see if they have what is called a high-low hospital bed with a scoop mattress. At least that is what I am told to look for. Since I did not hear back from them in the 24-hour period promised, I drove there this morning and met the gentleman in charge. I found out that the beds are kept in Mashpee and that you can’t really see them. You just tell them what you need and they deliver it with a minimum donation of $100 expected. Once I figure out how to get Patsy’s present bed disassembled and out of her room, I will call and the Masonic Lodge will deliver.

By the time I got back to Falmouth, it was almost 12:30 pm, so I went directly to the Green to check in with Jim Newman on things we need to do this coming week. I then went home to spend 30 minutes with Shadow before heading out to do door knocking for local candidates. I have volunteered to do this for about 6 hours each week and today was my first 2-hour shift. A lot of people are not home on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, but you leave literature and do catch a few people.

So , my morning was dedicated to my sister, my afternoon was dedicated to civic responsibilities, and tonight was dedicated to me. I watched three episodes of Grantchester on public television. I am feeling incredibly guilty for spending almost 3 hours watching television, but it was what I needed to do. And I am considering doing a similar thing tomorrow morning by going to the local theater to see The Odyssey at 10 am. Then I will head to Bridges to visit with my sister in the afternoon and spend tomorrow night preparing for Tuesday night’s Board of Library Trustees meeting. As treasurer, I have to generate the annual report to the town and present the proposed budget for 2026-2027 for Tuesday night’s meeting. And in between, I will spend as much time with Shadow as I can. He seems to be doing fine, but he has been left alone a lot in the past two weeks.

2026 Life Logs, Day 219: Hot Drive Home from Boothbay to Cape Cod
Date: Friday, August 7, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Hot and Humid; High Temp 86, Low 71 degrees F (Falmouth)
Location: Back Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

The power was still off when I went to bed last night, but it was back on this morning. Heather, Jed, and boys got home from the gathering at The Rock at 11:30ish last night, and Heather said the power came on around midnight. I tucked in just after they arrived and I must have been in deep sleep by midnight as I had no idea it was back on until this morning. I left the farm around 10:30, stopped in the first town on the way home, Wiscasset, to fil up the gas tank and get an iced tea, and I was on my way. There was a fair bit of traffic, not really too bad, and with only one other drive-thru stop for another iced tea, I come over the bridge just a little over 5 hours later just in time to pick Shadow up from his grooming appointment at Pampered Paws, just on the Cape side of the bridge. They texted he was ready while I was waiting in the traffic to cross the bridge, so the timing was perfect.

But after hours in my very hot car (the temperature in Boston was 92 while I was driving through), and without stopping to get out to walk around, it has taken me all evening to feel somewhat normal. I do not have air conditioning in my car, and even with the window wide open, it was really hot today. I felt ‘baked’ when I got home. I even worried I had some sort of heat exhaustion. But I am fine now. It was hotter in Boothbay yesterday and today than it was here, and this morning there was absolutely no breeze there. I didn’t feel a difference in the temperature until I was about 5 miles from the bridge. It was still hot, but there was a marked difference in how it felt.

I think Shadow and I will sleep on the couch in the living room tonight, closer to the window air conditioner. The coolness does not reach my bedroom on the other end of the house, and after being so hot today, I do not want to spend the night in a hot bedroom.

2026 Life Logs, Day 218: Celebration of Life for Sue Welsh Reed
Date: Thursday, August 6, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High Temp 90, Low 69 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Goldstones in Boothbay, ME

After a lovely breakfast with my friends Detta and Tom Porat on their back deck overlooking Great Bay in New Hampshire, I headed to Boothbay in Maine. I arrived at Marti’s ( Jed’s mother) summer home where all the Goldstones were staying at about 10:15 am. At 11 am, we all drove to the southern tip of Southport Island to the Newagon Seaside Inn for Sue Welsh Reed’s Celebration of Life.

Sue was Jed’s aunt, Marti’s sister. Mark and I knew Sue and her husband, John Reed, and spent many nights in their home in Cambridge when Mark was undergoing chemotherapy at Mass General in Boston. I knew some of her life history, but I learned so much more today. Sue was born in 1936, attended Smith College and then went on to get a graduate degree in Fine Arts at Harvard. She worked at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, becoming the Curator of Prints and Drawings. When she retired in 2005, she was named Curator Ermita of Prints and Drawings and was most proud was the award of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture in 2006. As part of her work, she traveled to France and Italy and was a treasured mentor to others in the world of prints and drawings. Today, many of those people were there to celebrate her life. Some spoke, but others just quietly shared their wonderful memories of Sue. After the formal tribute to her life, we had a lovely buffet lunch and many of us spent some time walking the outside paths at the lovely seaside resort.

Then this evening, family members gathered at The Rock on Southport. I have heard about The Rock for years but had never been there. I knew it was a summer cottage where Sue and John spent their summers. John’s family was from Southport. ‘Auntie’ owned the cottage known as The Rock because it literally sits on a huge rock overlooking the water.

‘Auntie’ was an artist known for her hand drawn maps of the area. What I didn’t know until tonight is that the cottage is filled with family history with written descriptions on all of the wooden trim pieces around the windows and doors in the cottage. I loved it when tonight someone pointed out the written description of the main events from the day of Heather and Jed’s wedding in Boothbay, September 6, 2003.
I left the younger crowd at The Rock and returned to Marti’s just as the last light of the day was fading. But when I drove up the driveway to Marti’s, there was no light anywhere. It was pitch black. Sue’s best friend from childhood, who remained close with Sue for her entire life, is staying at Marti’s and the two of them did not go to The Rock tonight. I just couldn’t figure out why they would be sitting in a dark house. It was too early for them to be in bed. I had to use my phone flashlight to find my way up the stairs to the front door and when I entered, I found them upstairs scrambling to find flashlights and a lantern as there was no electricity. Marti got a notice that 4,000 customers were without power and about that time I heard from Heather that there was also no electricity at The Rock. The group there didn’t care as they were outside sitting around a fire. But the three of us talked for bit and then decided to turn in.

2026 Life Logs, Day 217: From Cape Cod to Greenland, NH
Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High Temp 82 Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home with Friends, Tom and Detta Porat, Greenland, NH

After a busy morning, I left Falmouth headed for Greenland, New Hampshire. This is near Portsmouth and it is where my good friends, Tom and Detta Porat, live. Their beautiful home sits right on the edge of Great Bay and it is always a delight to visit with them and enjoy their beautiful surroundings together. Tonight, we had dinner on the back deck and watched a gorgeous sunset.

Unfortunately, I have to move on tomorrow morning, and they are headed to Connecticut. But I was very excited to hear that they might be coming to Cape Cod in their small trawler on a weekend trip That will give us another chance to visit!

2026 Life Logs, Day 216: A Full Day
Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 80, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Shadow and I were up early to take our walk before I left to take neighbor Andy to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston for a scheduled heart ablation. We left at 7:45 am, and when we got to Route 24, Andy wanted to stop at the service area to get one last ‘liquid fill-up’ before the surgery. I waited in the car and immediately I saw a message from Bridges pop up on my phone. It just said to call the nurse on duty as soon as possible. Patsy was found on the floor beside her bed again this morning for the third time in seven weeks. That got my heart pounding. When I called, I found out that Patsy was fine, but it is time to investigate renting a hospital bed with a special scoop mattress that is supposed to keep people from falling out. A job for next week.

Andy returned to the car, Patsy was fine, so on we went. The trip took two hours door to door, but that is about par for the course at rush hour. On my way home, I drove a little out of the way to stop at the Wrentham Outlets. I really needed a pair of shoes other than sneakers. One pair was $80, but if you bought a second pair, it was half price. So now I have new summer casual shoes. The ones I have are about 8 years old, so it was time.

I stopped at Bridges on my way home, but Patsy was getting her hair done and I couldn’t visit with her. I wanted to check out the ulcers on her feet that were reported to me last night, but I traveled on home as I had to be back there at 4 pm for a support group meeting. I could check out the ulcers then. Shadow and I had some nice playtime outside in the sunshine and then it was time to go back. But just before I left, I saw another message pop up on my phone. This time it was a Bridges Facebook post featuring the artwork of my sister Patsy from the morning. Someone was working with her one-on-one and she painted a fruit tree in bloom on a green hillside. I was amazed. Her hair looked awful, but I was impressed with the artwork.

I am so pleased to see that they have her doing things like this. But the hair … this week her hair set lasted 6 days instead of the 4 days the week prior. That was an improvement and maybe I am just going to have to get used to a couple of bad hair days for her each week. The only alternative would be for me to transport her out to hairdresser every Friday as the Bridges hairdresser only comes on Tuesdays. In the scheme of things, this is not the priority right now. But Patsy has always been meticulous about her appearance, so I want to help her continue that tradition.

After the support group at Bridges, I visited with Patsy and took off her compression stockings to take photos of the two ulcers to send to my friend Jane Woodin, a retired visiting nurse. Patsy’s primary care is coming to check on these sores tomorrow and an order has been initiated to get a visiting nurse to visit to do wound care. Neither spot is terrible, the one on her left heel better than the one on the right. But when you have diabetes, ulcers like this can easily get out of control. I am so thankful that the CNA’s at Bridges noticed these places and reported them right away. But Jane wanted me to document what they look like now and so she could give me advice on what needs to happen. Thank you, Jane, for your sage advice.

Tomorrow morning after an Indivisible Steering Committee meeting and an oil change, I drive to New Hampshire to have dinner with Detta and Tom Porat, and maybe their son Matthew. I was Matthew’s first grade teacher and it would be wonderful to catch on his adult life. Then on Thursday morning, I drive on to Boothbay for the Celebration of Life of Jed’s Aunt Sue. And then I will head home on Friday.