by Judy Handley | Aug 18, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 230: Engaged With My Life
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Back to Hot and Humid; High Temp 80, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
A man named Peter Coyote was an actor, but for the past 34 years he has been a practicing Buddhist priest. He is engaged in political and social causes as well as being a passionate advocate for wildlife and wild nature. But this afternoon, I saw him in the documentary, “Lightworkers”, and he said something that really struck me. “I’m not an activist. I’m engaged with my life.” For those people who are working hard to save our democracy, but have trouble labeling themselves as an activist, I think this is the perfect description. I was watching “Lightkeepers” to see if I want to recommend that the Indivisible Falmouth Steering Committee sponsor a screening of this documentary locally. And after watching it, I definitely do. Another quote from the film that I loved was, “You can’t do it all, but you can do one thing—a lot of one thing.” So many people are so very frustrated by the current political place we find ourselves in, but they say they don’t have time to get involved. If they chose just one thing to do, and did a lot of it, it would be great for the cause and it I think they would no longer be quite so frustrated.
When I got up this morning, I looked at the calendar I share with the Goldstones, and I saw that Heather had to take her aging Honda Civic to Hyannis Honda for a 9 am appointment and leave it for the day. I texted to see if she needed a ride back home from Hyannis because I knew she wasn’t going to stay there all day and wait for the work to be done. I had to go Mashpee anyway to try and solve the ‘disconnection’ issue between my sister’s phone and mine. It takes 20 minutes to get to Mashpee from here, and only another 15 minutes to Hyannis, so after some convincing, Heather agreed to let me come get her instead of her riding the bus home. On our way home, we stopped at Bridges in Mashpee and solved the disconnection problem and then headed home. She was going to work, and I was going home to clean house to get ready for Kevin’s arrival. Sorry, Kevin. Instead of house cleaning, I chose to watch “Lightworkers” so that I could make my recommendation at tomorrow morning’s Indivisible Falmouth Steering Committee meeting. And I am so glad that I did. It is the perfect film to help those who already working hard to save our democracy to feel really good about what they are doing, while at the same time nudging those not yet involved closer to doing so.
I did go food shopping for the first time in ages this evening. My refrigerator was so empty that on Sunday it prompted me to take the shelves out to clean them. But now they are filled. I might not have a perfectly clean house when Kevin arrives, but I will have food! Plus, I still have part of the day tomorrow to tidy up the house a bit before his arrival on Thursday.
The last activity of the day was a Board of Library Trustee Resource Committee meeting. And just before heading to that, I got a text from my sister’s granddaughter announcing the arrival of Patsy’s first great grandchild. We will arrange a Face Time ‘meeting’ with Patsy and Jack Ryan Miller (9 lbs 1 oz) later this week. Congratulations to the parents, Jessica and Josh, Grandpa Bill, and welcome to Jack!
by Judy Handley | Aug 17, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 229: Disconnected
Date: Monday, August 17, 2026
Weather: Rainy Off and On; High Temp 71, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
At 7:45 am this morning, my phone let me know that I was no longer following by sister’s glucose sensor readings on my phone. We were somehow disconnected. This has happened a few times in the past 7 weeks since we set up the system. But all of the other times, all I had to do was reboot my phone and things were fine. One time they had forgotten to charge her phone overnight and once her phone was low on power, we lost connection. I had a 9 am meeting and another one at 11 am, so I was not able to go to Bridges until early afternoon to check things out. I called company that supports the sensor she wears and he app, and they told me the first thing to do was reboot my phone. Been there, done that. But suddenly while I was on the phone with customer support, we got reconnected. I hung up and Patsy went to an afternoon concert, and as soon as she left the room, I lost connection again. Long story short, I called customer support again and they think we have an interest issue at Bridges. I gave up and came home and will return tomorrow morning to continue working on this. If I reboot her phone, disconnect and recommend with the app, and we will have the problem, I will need help in figuring this out. I love technology when it works, but I find it baffling when it doesn’t. The good thing is that although Patsy’s sugar levels have been a little high, they have been consistent for days now. So, I am not going to panic if we are disconnected for a day or two. But beyond that, I have to get the problem solved.
I ate breakfast/lunch in the early afternoon, ran a few errands, and then decided to go to Lobster on the Lawn at Saint Barnabas’s Episcopal Church with friends. On Mondays during the summer, they serve a lobster roll dinner on the lawn and today they had live music. I don’t believe I have ever done this in the 15 summers that I have lived here. The lobster roll was really delicious and there was a great band playing. It was fun and I will certainly plan to do this couple of times next summer.
I ended my day doing what I love most … being on Oma duty. I mentioned in yesterday’s log that Jed and Ollie are in Maine and that Heather had Select Board tonight. She thought both Sam and Jonah were going to be home tonight, so I was off duty as the two of them could easily fix dinner. But Sam ended up working this evening and Jonah wasn’t going to get home from soccer until 8 pm. So, I went over and fixed a simple spaghetti and meatball dinner for Jonah and his friend Kaiden. When I left, they were sitting at a table full of food and contentedly eating away.
And speaking of food, I also mentioned in yesterday’s log that Kevin is arriving on Thursday. So, tomorrow’s job is to figure out what we will eat while he is here. My refrigerator is bare. Kevin and Claire strictly adhere to a diet that avoids all animal products and any processed foods. So not meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy of any sort. They eat whole grains, but no flour. And no oil. For those of us not used to cooking like that, it can be challenging. Kevin always does the cooking when he is here, but I do need to have something ready for dinner when he arrives late on Thursday afternoon. Claire has written a cookbook, so tomorrow I will check that for ideas.
by Judy Handley | Aug 16, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 228: Sunday on My Terms
Date: Sunday, August 16, 2026
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Warmer; High Temp 80, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
It was a little warmer today than yesterday, making it a good thing that the Falmouth Road Race was started an hour earlier than usual. As our summers heat up, adjustments like this are going to have to be made to a lot of activities to protect people from the heat. For the second year in a row, I decided to stay home and not fight the crowds watch the race. I had a lot of things that needed to be done here at home, so I stayed put and proceeded through the day on my terms. Instead of getting uptight because of having so many things that needed to be done, I just took my time and did what I could. I decided to live this Sunday on my terms. I did get a slower start than usual, however, because as soon as I got home from my walk with Shadow, I got a phone call from my friend Linda Stuart from my days in Concord, NH, who now lives just outside Denver, Colorado. Linda’s birthday was on Thursday, and I sent a message to her via Face Book. I hadn’t talked to her for ages and decided it was time to say happy birthday and to ask her to call when she had a chance. And that was this morning. She was out for a morning walk. She sent a photo of the area where she was walking right after the call, and I admit I felt a pang of jealousy. My morning walks are lovely, but her terrain is gorgeous.
We talked for over an hour and it was wonderful to catch us. Her two grandchildren are now 5 and 4. Again, I asked myself, “How did that happen?” After the call, I did some necessary housework, took a break to go outside and sit in the sun with Shadow (he chose to stay in the sun today instead of hiding in the shade), and then I was off to see my sister. On my way home from Bridges, I stopped to visit with Peter and Karen Baranowski. And then tonight I was invited to have dinner at the Goldstones. Ollie and Jed leave tomorrow morning to go to Rockland, Maine, to get aboard Ryan Mann’s sailboat and serve as crew for the trip home to the Cape. Fun, fun.
It was nice to have a day of mixed work and play, with lots of visiting with family and friends.
by Judy Handley | Aug 15, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 227: Busy Saturday
Date: Saturday, August 15, 2026
Weather: Beautiful Weather; High Temp 77, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today was a busy one. I attended the Rally for Democracy on the Falmouth Green and then canvassed door to door for the next three hours for Senator Ed Markey. We were only canvass registered Democrats, but there is a primary challenger, US Representative Seth Moulton. Moulton is considerably younger than Markey, which is a plus for many people. But Markey has been a staunch defender of the environment, of immigrants, of commonsense regulation of AI, and so much more. And he has written and sponsored the legislation in these areas. In my opinion, Moulton’s only positive is his age, and that alone, is not enough to get my vote. Certainly not while Markey still has the energy and dedication to continue to be a tried and true fighter for the people. Of those I canvassed today, only the men who answered the door said they were voting for Seth Moulton solely because of his age. Some of the women had thought seriously about voting for Moulton because of the age factor, but in the end, they had decided to stick with Markey. The result of this primary will be very interesting.
With only enough time to run home and take Shadow out for a quick walk and then feed him dinner, I was then off to my old neighborhood in East Falmouth. While living there, I became good friends with the Dearman’s who have a summer home close to the cottage I rented. Their children are the same age as Sam, Jonah, and Ollie, and through the kids playing together, the two families became good friends. Tonight, all of the Goldstone’s, myself, and all of the Dearman’s except for the oldest, Lily, had a great evening together. Lily will be a junior at Tufts this fall but is currently in California working on a marine biology ‘adventure’.
by Judy Handley | Aug 14, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 226: The Human Experience
Date: Friday, August 14, 2026
Weather: Beautiful Weather; High Temp 82, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I got brave this morning and turned off the window AC that can’t possible keep this whole house cool. It is in the living room and that room is cool, but the temperature in the kitchen was 80 degrees this morning. When I opened the windows, the breeze blew through and suddenly it was 74 in the kitchen. The high humidity of the past couple of weeks has moved on for now, and we have a lovely breeze making it enjoyable to be outside again. The temperature is still in the 80’s, but it feels entirely different.
I finished the financial spreadsheet I was working on yesterday, and it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. Then a decision was made to cancel next week’s Indivisible meeting, also removing a responsibility that was weighing heavily since I bear the responsibility of planning the meeting activities. Everyone is so busy working for their candidates of choice in our September 1 primary that we decided to give people a gift of time and regroup again in September. My good friend and ‘adopted’ son, Kevin Russell, arrives on Thursday evening, the time of the meeting, so now I can be sure to home when he arrives.
This afternoon, I was going to visit my sister. I saw on our shared calendar that Ollie was going to play golf with his friend Simon at 2:45 pm. Since I pass right by the Falmouth Country Club on my way to and from Bridges in Mashpee, I texted Heather to see if I could give Ollie a ride. She replied with a yes, and I was delighted to have an excuse to be with Ollie. For now, Ollie has made the decision to not play high school soccer. He is going to try out for the golf team, but there is a lot of competition so he is practicing as much as he can.
After dropping Ollie off, I headed to Bridges to visit with Patsy. It was so nice outside that I decided we would spend our time together outside. She had an unopened card from her sister-in-law, Judy Alyestock, so I took that outside with us and we sat in the sun, and she read the card to me. She knew who the card was from, but when Judy wrote that Jennifer and Scott are now living in the farmhouse in Ripley, West Virginia, Patsy put the card down and looked very puzzled. I reminded her that Jennifer is Judy’s daughter, Patsy’s niece. She let that sink in and then asked, “They live in the farmhouse?” I was trying to figure out how to best help her understand, so I said that she probably remembers that Jennifer and Scott have always lived in Africa as medical missionaries, but they are now retired and back in this country. Again, there was a long silence while she tried to process the information. She finally just said she was surprised they were living in the farmhouse, but I have no idea if she had any idea where in the world the farmhouse was located. When I mentioned Ripley, West Virginia (the town her husband was from), she just looked at me with a blank stare. I tried to give her some context for where she is in Massachusetts and reminded her that she lived in West Virgina growing up. That got into a conversation about what country we live in. I asked her if she knew who the president of the United States is right now and again I got the blank stare. I told her the current President is Donald Trump and she immediately said, “Well, that can’t be good.” I got a chuckle out of that. Then it was time to go pick up Ollie, so I told her I was going to pick up my grandson Ollie. She looked and me and said, “Who gave him a name like that?” I launched into an explanation by asking her if she remembers the name of our mother. Nothing—blank stare. I reminded her that our mother’s name was Ollie and the my daughter Heather named him Oliver, Ollie for short, in honor of her grandmother. Patsy recognizes photos of my our mother Ollie, but she can’t recall names. My visits with her are a true emersion into the human experience. The human mind amazes me and memory loss is just so hard to understand. Today I wished I had a recorder to document what Patsy’s responses were to my questions. I certainly don’t need another project, but it fascinates me that she can make some connections and then she goes off into an alternate world and connects to something there. For instance, when we were talking about the farmhouse this afternoon, she looked at the tall white fence surrounding the garden and said that ‘this farmhouse’ has to have to wooden fence. It is not allowed to have stone fence. Where did that come from? Fascinating.
Tonight, I am having a different human experience. My 23-year-old neighbor, Billy, is having a party tonight. I told him he could use my grill and picnic table and at 6:30 pm about 15-20 twenty somethings arrived. They all looked like teenagers to me, but I saw the table was filled with big bottles of Tanqueray gin and other hard liquors. This is obviously not the beer and wine crowd. And the cars in the drive way are all at least 10 years newer than my car. The first to arrive was a good friend from college, Amherst in western Massachusetts. They are the only ones I really met as I was going out to pick up Jonah at the high school. By the time I got back, the others arrived, all friends Billy has met in his job as a lab assistant at the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole. When I got back, I had to walk through the crowd to get inside and since then I have been hiding out in my living room. At about 8:30 they moved from the table by my front door to the fire pit. It is now 10:30 and that Tanqueray gin is definitely talking. I just hope the neighbors don’t complain because they are very loud. But it warms my heart to hear young people talking and laughing and obviously having such a good time together. Another human experience, not perplexing or hard to understand like my sister’s memory. This experience is just a wonderful reminder of how our interactions with other people ‘mature’ over the years. But how wonderful to be young, and seemingly carefree, on a Friday summer night.
