by Judy Handley | Sep 18, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 261: Sound, Sister, Soccer
Date: Friday, September 18, 2026
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Warm; High Temp 78, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
It was an ‘SSS’ day. It started with a ‘S’ound check at the Museums on the Green for upcoming events around Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday, October 12. Because I have learned to deal with sound systems through Encore and Indivisible Falmouth, I was asked to come for the sound check this morning to make sure everything is all set. It is pretty straight forward, so I think it is all set, but with tech issues, I always hold my breath.
The next ‘S’ had to do with my sister. I got an email this morning saying that her incontinence supplies were running low and needed to be replenished today. I have been trying to figure out just how many Depends briefs are needed in a month, but it obviously more than I estimated. I’ll get better at this and can hopefully start having things delivered each month. The problem for me is that it is Amazon that delivers and I have stopped supporting Amazon. In this case, I just might have to cave because the list of supplies needed each month is long—liquid body soap, special kinds of skins moisturizing lotions, Depends, all different kinds of washable and disposable pads, wipes, disposable washcloths, sensors for monitoring her blood sugar, and on and on. This is not my area of expertise, but I guess it will become so out of necessity. A woman named Brenda who was a privately paid companion for Patsy did this for her in North Carolina. I now have a much deeper appreciation of everything she did for Patsy during the past three years.
And finally there was a fun ‘S’ activity. At 4 pm, I went to see the first half of Jonah’s soccer game. I left at half=time to pick Ollie up from the golf course so that Heather and Jed could stay to watch Jonah. This was the 3rd game this week and they won all three. I am so hopeful that the team continues to have a good season for Jonah’s senior year as it means so very much to him.
by Judy Handley | Sep 17, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 260: Meetings … from Field Trips to Fascism
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026
Weather: Mostly Suny and Warmer; High Temp 77, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
The first meeting of the day was the one meeting a year that I really look forward to attending. It is the meeting where our Newcomers/Encore Field Trip Group plan our trips for the next 12 twelve months. This year we will be doing everything from touring the lighthouses on the Narragansett Bay to walking the Freedom Trail in Boston to role playing being a Senator in the Edward M. Kennedy Center’s full-size replica of the U.S. Senate chamber—the only one in the world. I was scheduled to volunteer at the Falmouth Dems headquarters this afternoon. I substitute there when a volunteer can’t make their shift. But extra people showed up so I was off the hook this afternoon. But then I had to be at the library early for our 6 pm Indivisible Falmouth meeting so I could set up. Tonight we were watching a film on how to deal with the move toward fascism that the Trump administration has tossed in our laps. Basically, it is just us, the people, who have to stand up against this and the film celebrated those who are doing so. Once the meeting was over, I rushed home to another 8 pm Zoom meeting on election protection. No grass is going to grow under my feet|!
by Judy Handley | Sep 16, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 259: NO KINGS 4 and Encore Welcome Back Luncheon
Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Weather: More Gorgeous Weather; High Temp 72, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Cape Cod blue skies and moderate temperatures have been dominating most days recently. It has been a glorious transition from summer to fall which comes officially next Tuesday. Starting on Saturday, it looks like it will get just a notch cooler. But I could take weather like today every day of the year.
I spent my morning and evening focused on the upcoming NO KINGS 4 happening across the country on October 17. It is not going to be a day of national protest as happened with NO KINGS 1, 2, and 3. Every Indivisible chapter across the country will be doing what makes sense for their area to promote early voting. The hope is that by voting early we avoid issues at the polls on November 3. We get our votes ‘in the bank’ early giving the message: no thrones, no crowns, no kings! But Indivisible Falmouth needs to decide what we will be doing, so we met on Zoom this morning to discuss that. Then I headed to the Encore Welcome Back Luncheon. I am no longer in charge of programs, but I was still in charge of the sound system today, so I had to be there early. It was a really lovely affair in a restaurant overlooking the Falmouth Harbor, and I was so happy to be an attendee instead of the organizer.
I went to visit my sister Patsy after the luncheon and tonight I attended a training Zoom meeting for No Kings. Tomorrow I split my day between an organizational meeting for the Newcomers/Encore Field Trip group that I co-lead, and then I head to the Falmouth Dems headquarters to man the office for the afternoon before heading to the library for our month Indivisible Falmouth meeting in the evening. It will be another busy day.
by Judy Handley | Sep 15, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 258: Exploring Public Policy and Dinner with Friends
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Weather: Sunny but Cooler; High Temp 70, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
It was a full day, but there’s not a lot to write about. This morning and early afternoon I did a 4-hour volunteer shift at the Falmouth Dems campaign headquarters, hurried home to let Shadow out and to have a little lunch on the run on my way to the first Exploring Public Policy meeting of the year. We always spend this first meeting of the year brainstorming topics of interest and coming up with a tentative meeting plan for the year. And we usually get a good number of people who attend this meeting. Today there were only six of us, but we forged ahead and came up with a tentative schedule. Afterwards, Peter and Karen Baranowski were headed to Taco Blanco for dinner as they were returning to the same room in an hour for a game-playing night of Scrabble. Bruce Woodin was also at the meeting, so the four of us had dinner together. Nothing better than impromptu fun with friends.
by Judy Handley | Sep 14, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 257: Happy 49th Birthday to Justin
Date: Monday, September 14, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Breezy; High Temp 77, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Happy 49th birthday to Justin! As he told me on the phone yesterday, he had no special plans for today, but I hope he did something to have fun. When I visit in Puerto Rico, I always take Justin and family out for a nice dinner. This year when I go for Thanksgiving, I think we will turn that special night out as a birthday celebration for all of us since we are never together on our actual birthdays. We’ll go out to dinner and come home to a big birthday cake we will have baked earlier in the day and sit around and tell stories of special things we have done during the past year. Today is also Mark’s brother Steve’s birthday. He is 82 today. And it is my ‘second’ son, Kevin’s birthday. He and Claire are in California with Kevin’s family today, but they are headed back to Mexico tomorrow. Happy birthday Justin, Steve, and Kevin!
This was not an exciting day, but a busy one with meetings and family affairs. I spent the morning on a Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition Steering Committee Meeting and spent part of my afternoon visiting with my sister and ended my day going to the Goldstones to fix dinner for Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. Twice a month on Monday evenings, Jed has a Board of Health Meeting and Heather has Select Board. On those nights, I volunteer to fix dinner for the boys. I did not have to pick Ollie up after golf practice as he did not go to school today. He has come down with a bad cold. We ate late as Jonah had an away soccer game against Barnstable. Falmouth won 2-0. Go Clippers!
