by Judy Handley | Jul 6, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs, Cape Cod, USA |
2023 Life Logs, Day 187: Completing Stage 1 of the Move … Almost
Date: Thursday, July 6, 2023
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 81, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
I had the day off Camp Oma today. Ollie and Jonah decided to have a laid back day at home and exploring downtown Falmouth on their own. That gave me the time to go to the cottage and load everything from the cottage (minus the basement) into my car and to deliver it here. Not all is unpacked, but hopefully that will happen tomorrow. I also made two trips to the Swap Shop with items from the cottage and from Heather and Jed’s. It was hot today and I had to move slowly, but I got it done. There is a bulletin board, one framed picture, and a few clothes to be donated that are still in the cottage. But the main thing is that there are a number of pieces of small furniture that I need to give away. I’ll deal with that tomorrow, but I feel good about what I got done today.
Tonight, Bruce and Jane Woodin invited me over for dinner. What a wonderful treat. I have struggled with eating properly during the past three weeks while moving and their invitation tonight was just what the doctor ordered. They are dogsitting for their grand dog, Fern. She is a ginormous Bernese Mountain Dog. They invited me to bring Shadow to meet Fern, which did not go well at first. Fern is as gentle as she can be, but Shadow was afraid and did his crazy yelping. Finally, however, he settled down and the two dogs tolerated each other for the remainder of the evening. The meal was delicious, and I got to admire all of Jane’s beautiful flowers
and Bruce’s Earth Box gardens. Impressive. Thank you, thank you, to Bruce and Jane for a lovely evening.
by Judy Handley | Jul 5, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 186: Afternoon at the Beach
Date: Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Weather: Beautiful Day, Foggy Evening; High 79, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
It was a beautiful day, but I had to spend my morning on the phone with various health care providers for my sister. As her medical POA, I have to deal with all aspects of her health care and today was one of those days that I had to sit on hold waiting for people to talk to and then finding that they need more paperwork to talk to me. Frustrating. But it had to be done.
Sam doesn’t work on Wednesdays, so this afternoon, I took all three Goldpebbles to the beach. It was wonderful, but it was a wake-up call for me. I know Sam and Jonah are teenagers, but it didn’t dawn on me until today how that impacts Ollie. Sam and Jonah no longer dig in the sand and play,. They just like to get in the water and then lay in the sun. That is certainly not what Ollie wants to do, so I sat in the sand with Ollie and we built a sea wall. I think I will be doing a lot of this this summer. On the way home, we stopped for ice cream at Smitty’s which is another thing we will probably be doing a lot of this summer.
As Sam noted this afternoon, Cape Cod ice cream never disappoints, and Smitty’s is one of the best.
Tonight I met Heather and boys at the beach for the delayed 4th of July fireworks . . . that were once again delayed.
This time the delay was a late evening fog that rolled in. The fireworks should have begun at 9 pm, but at 9:10 all we could see were boats heading back into the harbor. Then we saw people beginning to leave. They had heard on the radio that the fireworks were delayed once again. But it was a great evening to be on the beach.
by Judy Handley | Jul 4, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 185: Rainy 4th of July
Date: Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Weather: Rainy Day; High 78, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
We had a rainy 4th of July. It rained overnight and in the early morning. Then the rain held off for a few hours—long enough for Heather’s neighborhood to have their 4th of July mid-day pool party. Then the rain returned. In the early evening we had thunderstorms causing the 4th of July fireworks to be cancelled for tonight and rescheduled for tomorrow night. So, our 4th celebrations will continue tomorrow. But I did watch the Boston Pops Fireworks on TV and Shadow and I are hearing lots of fireworks going off in town.
I had my own little Independence Day celebration. I got the remainder of the boxes unpacked and put away. Hurray! And I went back to the cottage and got everything left in the house packed up. That does not include the basement, but hopefully I can get the boys to help me get the packed boxes moved here and then pack my car with things that need to go to the Swap Shop. When that is done, I have to find a home for the pieces of furniture I am leaving behind. It is just small pieces, but I need to get them out of the cottage. Then I’ll start on the basement. But the immediate need is to get things out of the house. The never-ending move continues.
I think the new house looks great. Bruce and Jane Woodin stopped by for a few minutes this afternoon to see the progress and they loved what they saw . . . a living room with books on the shelves instead of in boxes,
a dining room with a table and chairs and built-in shelving full of books and memorabilia,
my little ‘office’ on the top of my old treadle Singer Sewing machine in the hallway,
a bedroom with all boxes unpacked,
a panty filled with food,
and a fully working kitchen.
It has taken 10 days to get to this point and it feels so good to be settled in.
by Judy Handley | Jul 3, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 184: A Wild Goose Chase of a Day
Date: Monday, July 3, 2023
Weather: Party Sunny, Morning Fog, Rain Overnight; High 78, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
It was one of those days when things just don’t work out. Heather had to work today, so I had the boys. We had not gone to the boat to pump all of the rainwater out of the dinghy due to July 4th weekend traffic. But traffic was lighter today, so we decided to do that. And as long as we were going that far, I decided to drive on up to IKEA to get the half-high book shelf I need to complete the living room. I have the television sitting on the top of one half high, but the base is a little longer than the shelf top and needs another shelf for support. Jonah was tired from his overnight and I needed a break from lifting and unpacking boxes, so off we went. Sitting in the car sounded like a good thing. But, unfortunately, IKEA did not have the book shelf I needed. Bummer to drive all that way and not get it. I should have checked the website before I went, but I didn’t. Then we went back to the boat and there was very little water in it. The friends of Heather’s who are letting her use their mooring had pumped it out for us because it was looking ‘precarious’. Good to have friends who will do that for you. So, the trip to IKEA and to pump out the dinghy were the day’s wild goose chase. Then, just now, I got a text from Heather. Jed got home from Denmark tonight and he has Covid. As Heather said, that complicates things a bit. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!
by Judy Handley | Jul 2, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 183: For the Love of Fish
Date: Sunday, July 2, 2023
Weather: Sunny; High 76, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Yesterday I wrote about the love of turtles because I believe I have turned into one. At least, I am working at the rate of a turtle. Today was all about the love of fish. I found out this morning that Ollie has talked his mom into letting him take my aquarium. Lynda, the friend and woman I rent from, is hesitant about having an aquarium in the house. She has just had all the floors redone and doesn’t want to take the chance of ruining them with an aquarium that might leak at some point. So, I have just left my aquarium at the cottage until I figured out what to do with it. The number of fish left had dwindled to only one as I have not been replacing any since I knew I was going to move. But I didn’t want to flush the one survivor! It was great news to hear that Ollie wants it, so we all went out to pack up a few things and to transfer the aquarium to 43 Grasmere. Ollie has named the lone Tetra Filmore. If Filmore survives the move, he will be getting some new friends.
Sam worked today, but Heather and the boys had an afternoon and evening of parties. Their next door neighbor from their previous house on Vidal was having a 50th birthday party. Happy Birthday, Melissa. Then Ollie has a friend named Reese who was having a party. And at 4 pm, they picked up Sam early from work to go to Sam’s friend Sebastian’s Sweet Sixteen party. Heather left Sam at that party long enough to take Jonah to an overnighter with a friend and bring Ollie here. He was bored with the teenagers. Heather returned to the party and Ollie and I accomplished so much. He helped me put hardware cloth around the small back deck to keep Shadow from escaping. In the evenings, I like to sit out there and not worry that Shadow might wander off. Well, while we were putting up the fencing, my fears materialized. All of sudden, Shadow was gone. We called and called, but he didn’t return. It was still light out, so I got in the car. As I reached the end of the driveway, I saw a couple walking down the sidewalk with a dog that looked like Shadow. It was. They live three houses away and found him in their backyard. He had gotten there by going through the woods behind our houses. The problem is that they live only one house away from a very street in town. My country dog is going to have to learn how to be a city dog and not stray away from home.
Ollie and I finished the deck surround and then went inside and put books on shelves. He was able to put things on the very top shelf in the dining room and it looks great. Later Heather returned to pick up Ollie, but she was going to have to go back and pick up Sam later. Instead of going home, the three of us ended up talking away the rest of the evening. A friend brought Sam home, so at almost 11, Heather and Ollie headed home. Ollie was really tired, but we had a great evening.
and Bruce’s Earth Box gardens. Impressive. Thank you, thank you, to Bruce and Jane for a lovely evening.
