Broadband Access

I'm happy to report that I'm posting this entry from my bedroom. This in itself isn't remarkable, but the fact that the bedroom is the farthest room in the cottage from the landlord and landlady's wi-fi and that I actually have internet access is remarkable! My Verizon broadband connection works like a charm.

Today I received several packages. I've ordered a few things to prepare for the trip Laurie and I are taking in January to visit her daughter Shayla in Ghana, Africa. At 21, Shayla has already seen and done more than either her mom or I have done up to this point. She is majoring in journalism and I have no question that she'll be a success.

Constant rain all day today. I was only out 45 minutes to run some errands, but I was so happy to get back into my warm, dry home. There's nothing that makes you appreciate comfort more than misery. My heart goes out to all those who aren't as fortunate as I.

Stormy South Beach

I made it down to South Beach this morning for about 2 hours. The wind was fierce but the temperature was comfortable. The beach was deserted, the waves restless.

Morning Epiphany

The origin of the word knot to measure wind speed is thought to have come from the original technique of measuring the speed of a ship in "nautical" miles and then expanded to include the speed of any vessel relative to the substance in which it travels (such as a plane in the case of air speed or wind).

This morning while washing my hair in the shower it occurred to me that wind speed is definitely measured in knots because of the correlation between wind speed and the number of knots it puts in your hair!

All the Leaves are Brown, and the Sky is Grey

Today is one of those days. It's all my doing (which is true of most people's "one of those days")...it's about how we perceive our surroundings. Though I'm not sure how else I could perceive the washing machine making me get up twice to rearrange the lopsided load other than just a nuisance. You have to understand, when I say "get up," I mean, take the laptop off my lap and balance it on the back couch cushions, throw the pillow that was under the laptop to the foot of the couch, uncover myself from the throw, and THEN get up. And when I return, I reverse the procedure so when it happens twice in a few minutes, it gets annoying. Anyway, then my printer kept jamming (that really was my fault because I was pushing the paper in further than it should have been). At least my experiment with using the toaster to cook a veggie burger went pretty well (I don't have a toaster oven and I don't like it soggy from the microwave). By pretty well, I mean I remembered to unplug the toaster when I had to gingerly lift the patty out with a knife and fork. And I suppose it really is my fault that I feel all sugared out right now because I bought some donuts from the grocery store bakery that said, "Best if eaten before 12/11" - no one can accuse me of not giving a donut the best chance it has to be eaten while still fresh and tasty.

Although it was very cold last night (9 degrees was the forecast), I stayed plenty warm. The cottage isn't drafty at all, and I was under a big heavy quilt. The temperature today feels tropical compared to the cold wind yesterday. We were supposed to hit 50, but I'd say it was more like 40. I thought about taking the bus down to South Beach, but it was about 12:30 and I couldn't get to the beach and back before it was dark, so decided to defer that to a later date. I did walk the Vineyard Haven Harbor and docks, but even the ferry whistle (which echoed off the hillside) seemed forlorn. Just one of those days.

Random photo: Ivy on Stone Wall

First Snow

Tiny snow flakes have been falling on and off this morning. It is the first snow of the season. No matter how cold it makes things and how tired we get of it in February or March, the first snow is always exciting.

I'm settling back into my routine here on the island. I've been rather lazy the last two mornings, however, and haven't been up before 10am. Yesterday I did some shopping at Midnight Farm (co-owned by Carly Simon who lives on the Vineyard). It has mostly natural products - beauty, some little food items, clothing. On Main Street I heard the jingle of bells and the clomping of hooves which will all my life remind me of Dad. The merchants in Vineyard Haven apparently sponsor free rides up and down Main St. during the Christmas season. Here's a photo of the horses and the girl who was leading the wagonful of passengers.

I spent 20 minutes on the phone this morning with Verizon. Even with the wireless internet booster I bought in Phoenix, I've had so much trouble with stable connectivity to my landlord's wi-fi that I decided to buy a USB modem and monthly access plan. By mid-week, I should see if it does the trick. I did my research and every rating sight I've read recommends Verizon as the most reliable wi-fi service. Thankfully I already have my cell phone plan through Verizon, so adding a line was easy and not terribly expesive.

I'm writing each day and am relatively happy with my progress on the book. A small excerpt from the draft of Chapter 15 (the first chapter about my dad vs. earlier relatives) is below. I've finished my first draft of Chapter 1, and have skipped forward past Chapters 2-14 to work on Dad's life for a bit. I'll go back and pick up the earlier chapters later. I'm doing my best not to think too hard about the fact that two of my 11 months off have already passed.

It was early in April 1924, and by now brother John was almost seven and brother Larry was five. Both were in school and it fell to Jim to help his mom with many of the chores at a younger age than either of his brothers had. Mrs. Hogan took Jim with her to the hay barrack in the barn. He climbed the ladder from the dirt floor up to the loft some 12 feet above the ground. Jim threw down some hay for the black cow to eat while she was being milked. He wondered why his mom didn’t throw the hay down herself, but he didn’t mind. Being that far up in the barn was exciting. Jim loved the smell of the hay and the way things looked from above. The black cow was wide in the middle and narrow at the head and tail. The straw scattered around the floor of the barn made a pretty pattern, and Jim noticed that when his mom straightened up from milking the cow, she looked like she had swallowed a big, round ball. Not long afterwards, Jim’s little brother Charles was born.

Random photos: caterpillar that crawled out from under my couch yesterday morning...note the dust all over his back!

Ancestry.com

As part of the research for the book I'm writing, I've been using the genealogy website Ancestry.com. This is the premiere site for research, and although I try to avoid the obvious and seek out information in all the obscure nooks and crannies of the internet, last night I spent a few hours building my family tree. What's nice about the site is that it gives you "hints" about documents or other family trees already on the site that might contain the person(s) you're looking for. I now have 176 people in the tree and that's only on my father's side of the family!

This screen shot doesn't show it very well, but the generations keep going to the right...I have 10 generations back all the way to an ancestor who was born in 1670 in Germany. It's addictive.

(Totally unrelated photo I took today of my Shell Dish / Coin Bank!)

Home Again, Home Again...Jiggedy, Jig

Above: Rural Rhode Island from the train.


Home again on the Vineyard. I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving break, but I am happy to be back in my little nest in Vineyard Haven. Yesterday's journey from Aunt Glady's house to my door took 14 1/2 hours, so I was happy to crawl into bed last night. I left at 7am and still only caught the last ferry from Woods Hole to Vineyard Haven at 8:30pm. A saving grace was that my cousin Karen gave me an upgrade coupon for Amtrak so I was able to travel in business class instead of coach. More leg room and I had the row to myself. I wrote and slept and ate and slept and wrote and slept some more.

My foot has been remarkably cured! I went to Dr. Martin Flaum in Rockville, MD and he x-rayed and examined my left foot. He determined that there was no bone spur but that it was plantar faciitis. familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/physical/injuries/140.html
He injected cortisone into my heel as close as he could get to the inflamed area without me jumping off of the exam table, gave me a prescription for anti-inflammatory drugs, recommended orthotics for my shoes (which I bought right away), and sent me on my way since I was to be in Maryland for fewer than 24 hours. Within a few moments, I was able to place a little weight on that foot, and by today you wouldn't ever know I was even suffering!

One quick note about our entertainment on Tuesday night. Aunt Glady, Rob and I took the Metro down to DC to see a performance of A Christmas Carol. It was so much fun, and it really did put me in the holiday spirit. I should see more plays. In fact, today I picked up a flyer for The Vineyard Haven Playhouse's next production - It's A Wonderful Life - which will begin on 12/12.

It was very balmy day today - 50 degrees and sunny. My landlord hired a couple of guys to help him and the three of them blew all the leaves into piles to be raked up and hauled away. Autumn has ended and winter is here.