by Judy Handley | Aug 27, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 240: Eleanor Roosevelt
Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 76, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
When I was in 7th grade, the school newspaper interviewed me asking me who was the most influential person in my life. My answer was Eleanor Roosevelt. In my house, FDR was right up there with God. Because of that, I had read a biography of his wife sometime in grade school and thought she was an amazing woman. So, this afternoon, when Jane Woodin contacted me to see if I wanted to go see Sheryl Faye’s one-woman Eleanor Roosevelt show tonight, I said yes. Sheryl Faye does these one-hour shows depicting historical women. I had heard that she is really good and now I know it, firsthand. Her depiction of Eleanor Roosevelt from birth to death in just 60 minutes was spectacular. Plus, Jane invited me for dinner and drink afterwards. Thank you, Jane!
by Judy Handley | Aug 26, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 239: Trip to the Wrentham Outlet Mall
Date: Monday, August 26, 2024
Weather: Sunny AM, Stormy PM; High Temp 75, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
The morning was quiet. Even though Heather and Jed were both at home working, I hung out to take care of any needs the kids might have. As I arrived, Sam was heading out the door to work for a couple of hours, but Jonah and Ollie were on the X-box and reading. I knew Ollie was going to bike to Trotting Park with his friend Simon and that I should be ready for the call to come pick them up. That happened and after we ate lunch, Sam and Jonah left to go get on the school bus at the high school to go to a soccer scrimmage in Plymouth and Ollie and I decided to drive to Wrentham to go buy a pair of school shoes. He wanted Vans and there is a Vans outlet in Wrentham. We knew it was supposed to rain, so this seemed like a good rainy day activity. But before we got off the Cape, the expected rain came in the form of a whopper of a storm with thunder, lightning, and driving rain. The raindrops were so large and coming down so hard, I could hardly see the road. Many cars were pulled over, but the bumper-to-bumper traffic was almost at a standstill, so I persisted. It took us almost 30 minutes to go the last mile and a half to the bridge, but once we crossed the bridge the traffic thinned out and the rain stopped. Our shopping trip was short and successful, and we were home by 5 pm. Because of the rain, Sam and Jonah had returned home soon after they left. They got on the school bus, but before it left Falmouth High School, the rain started and the scrimmage was cancelled. Jed had a Health Board meeting tonight and Heather had Select Board, so I offered to get dinner for the boys. We ate around 7 pm. I stayed around for another hour and then came home to feed Shadow. Ollie has a birthday party to go to tomorrow, so I have the morning and early afternoon off. I am not sure what the plan is for late afternoon. I’ll check on that in the morning.
by Judy Handley | Aug 25, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 238: Goldstones Over for Dinner
Date: Sunday, August 25, 2024
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 76, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
It was another low key day. I knew Heather and Jed were going sailing today, so I offered to have dinner for them this evening . Heather had an all day Select Board strategic planning meeting yesterday, so I wanted to give her a day off dinner planning. Plus, I think they have had me over for dinner countless times recently. We all see each other almost daily, but it is often just in passing. Being able to sit down at the dinner table together gives us all a chance to catch up.
This coming week is the last week before school starts. I guess we need to cram in all of those things we meant to do this summer. Or maybe we just need to enjoy each minute. Not that life ends when school starts, but it does change things!
by Judy Handley | Aug 24, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 237: Enjoying a Beautiful Summer Day
Date: Saturday, August 24, 2024
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 75, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
Shadow and I started today with a longer walk than usual. On the way home, we found ourselves downtown on the back side of the Congregational Church when I heard a bagpipe player. I saw a sign saying there was a performance at 10 this morning. What a nice surprise. I found a bench and sat for a bit listening to the music. I love bagpipe music.
I worked in the yard, sat in the sun for the first time this summer and read, and even took a little nap sitting in the sun. That’s the beauty of a summer day when there is nothing pressing that needs to be done. I did do a little yard work, but basically, I just enjoyed a beautiful summer day.
by Judy Handley | Aug 23, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 236: More About Whales, the DNC, My Sister, and Fall Weather
Date: Friday, August 23, 2024
Weather: Sunny, A Tad Warmer; High Temp 76, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
Starting with the weather, it has felt like fall this week. And I am not ready for it to feel like fall. Today was a tad warmer, and the forecast indicates it is going to stay in the 70’s during the day, and 60’s during the night for the next week. That is much better than highs in the 60’s and with nights in the 50’s. There is just one more week before school starts, and if it is going to warm up significantly, it will probably be on the first day of school. That’s what happened last year.
About my sister. This has been a crazy week. But as soon as she finally met with her orthopedic surgeon and he declared four more weeks of non-weight bearing on the one leg, I anticipated a struggle with her Medicare Advantage. Yesterday morning, I got the call that tomorrow, Saturday, would be the last day the insurance company would pay for her stay at Autumn Care where she is being rehabilitated. But I was also given very specific directions for filing an appeal. The appeal was with an independent agency, and it took no more than 5 minutes on the phone to do it. I did this yesterday before leaving for the whale watch. When I hung up, I was sure that something that easy was not going to end up benefiting us. I was given instructions on how to check on the progress of the appeal on their website, so I did that this morning. There was a big banner saying they had been offline for hours yesterday and delays in decisions should be expected. But when I checked late this afternoon, I was very pleasantly surprised. An independent physician had reviewed Patsy’s case at 12:55 pm this afternoon and declared that a disagreement with the notice that her insurance benefits would end tomorrow. It said, “Continuation of skilled services is appropriate.” Then I got a phone call stating that her coverage would continue until the next review date. I was told that if services are denied then, I can file another appeal. Thank goodness filing an appeal is easy. And thank goodness my sister, and everyone else at Autumn Care exposed to Covid, are still testing negative. I sure hope they stay that way.
The Democratic National Convention is next on my list. Last night when I watched Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech as nominee of the Democratic Party for President, I couldn’t have been prouder. She looked presidential and she sounded presidential. After all, she is Vice-President of the United States. Plus, she sounded hopeful and that seemed to be contagious. I know defeating Donald Trump is going to be an uphill battle, but if she and Tim Walz can keep the hope and the joy in this campaign while offering serious and commonsense solutions to issues, I have hope that they can prevail.
Now for more about whales. I checked the Hyannis Whale Watcher Cruises Facebook page and read the following about yesterday afternoon’s whale watch trip. “8/22/24: It’s trips like these that totally skew the answer to the question “What is the average number of whales you see?”. So far, we are up to 30 individuals, and that doesn’t include the whales in the distance that we never had close looks at! The fall is shaping up to be spectacular… whales yesterday include: Dusky and calf, Abrasion and calf, Fern, Rapier, Arroyo, Infinity, Leukos, Pleats, Draco, Jabiru, Azrael, Sprinkles, Woodwind, Samara, Nile, Pitcher, Milkweed, Wifi, Combat, Tangle, Snare, Lamp, Shatter, Snap, Putter, Bandit, Grackle, and Mostaza.” I felt like we were seeing something very special yesterday and this statement supports that feeling.
Finally, I get to today when I was just on kid watch at the Goldstones. Ollie and his friend Simon did more biking and this afternoon Ollie and I went to Staples to buy school supplies. This evening, Heather and Jed sailed Ardenna from Woods Hole to Quissett. A diver is going to replace the chain on their mooring tomorrow, so the boat needed to be moved temporarily. Sam was at a farewell party for his friend Sebastian who is leaving to attend his senior year at a school in Belgium. Ollie and Jonah stayed at home, and I came home to play with Shadow. I then went to Quissett to pick up Heather and Jed and take them to their car in Woods Hole. And now I am looking forward to a quiet Saturday.
