by Judy Handley | Jul 3, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 164: Viva Cabo Verde
Date: Friday, July 3, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Hot, again; High Temp 87, Low 73 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I didn’t get home until late this evening and then before I even get out of the car, I got a call from Xfinity trying to help me figure out how to get the cable working on the new television I bought for my sister. Then I had to spend some time outside with Shadow. He was alone all day and I only got home once to let him out. While doing this, I missed the last half of the Cape Verde – Argentia World Cup game. Here’s what Heather posted about the game: “Cabo Verde just showed us what the World Cup — and all of sports, for that matter — is really all about. They laid down a HUGE performance, kept us all on the edges of our seats for over two hours, and came so close to knocking the reigning World Cup champion out of the tournament. Cabo Verde won in spirit if not in score.” I will watch the game highlights, but it sounds like I missed the best game of the World Cup so far. But post game, I loved watching the Cabo Verde team stay on the field basking in the glory of their accomplishment. Winning is not everything and they are the perfect example of that. The important thing is how you play the game.
Today was sunny and hot, again, and I was on the run, again, and didn’t eat dinner until 9:30 pm, again. I sound like a broken record. But at least part of the running around today was for me. I needed a new grill and there was not a grill in Falmouth I can afford. The cheapest were across the bridge, but there was no way I was going across the bridge on July 3. After spending 2 hours of my life at the Xfinity store to sign up for cable television for my sister, I headed to Bridges to set up the tv and cable box. But I had no luck getting it to work. I talked with Xfinity on the phone, but they gave up as well. So, I made sure Patsy ate her lunch, and then I drove backroads to Hyannis to avoid the traffic to buy a grill at Home Depot. I spent last evening trying to drill out screws to replace the burners in my old grill, but even after I got the screws out, I couldn’t get the new burners installed. I decided I had to have a new one and now I do. I had to have them take the side tables off to fit it in my car, and I still have to get them back on before I can use it. Or at least one side had to go back on because the ignition button goes through it. I’m hoping Jed can help me get the side tables back on. It looks like it is going to be a hot summer making cooking dinner outside very desirable.
Tomorrow, I turn my attention to celebrating the 250th anniversary of this country I love. I wish I had the energy to write here all of the things going through mind, but I do not. So I will enjoy tomorrow and hope to get back to doing all I can to assure that we have a democracy going forward. The one thing I will say is that accomplishing this is going to take each and every one of us doing what we can, something, anything, to make it happen. Democracy is not a spectator sport. You can’t keep by just watching from the sidelines.
by Judy Handley | Jul 2, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 163: On the Run
Date: Thursday, July 2, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High Temp 86, Low 72 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I have no air conditioning in my car and this was definitely the wrong day to spend much of my time running around in my car. But that was basically my day. By 8:30 am I had driven the 15 miles north, just shy of the Bourne Bridge, to drop Shadow off at Pampered Paws. I did this on Friday, almost two weeks ago, but when I got home with him, it became obvious that he had not been groomed the same as all of the other times since I have taken him there every 7 weeks since late 2020. But I literally didn’t even have time to call and tell them. When I called a week later, they insisted I bring him in to make things right and today was the day. I then drove home to the things for my sister that I had forgotten to take with me. I then drove the 10 miles to Mashpee, made sure Patsy ate her lunch, and drove the 10 miles home. I picked Ollie up and drove him to the Falmouth Country Club to play golf, and then back to Bourne to pick up Shadow. I got a text from Heather when I got home that she was finally arriving at the Falmouth bus depot, so I was delighted to drive the half mile to pick her up. She got off the bus carrying a 60-pound duffle bag and her backpack. She really enjoyed her time in the Arctic but was certainly ready to be back home. So, the day was a lot of running to and fro, but at least I got to see Ollie and my daughter! Jonah gets home tomorrow from Hawaii and Ollie leaves early Sunday morning for a week at Camp Yawgoog in Rhode Island with his Scout troop. Today was a lot of being on the run, but for the first time in two weeks, I got to see my family. That made me very happy.
by Judy Handley | Jul 1, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 162: USA
Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2026
Weather: Foggy Early, Then Partly Sunny and Hot; High Temp 79, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Although I saw only parts of the last half of the USA vs Bosnia-Herzegovina World Cup game tonight, it was definitely the highlight of my day. And I was thrilled to hear the San Francisco crowd belting out “Take me Home, Country Roads” after the game. Since I am a West Virginian, I loved it, but I had to text Jed to ask why they were singing that song. I didn’t realize it has become the official victory anthem for the US Men’s National Team. It evidently has no real meaning to the team other than being an iconic American song that everyone around the world seems to know the words to sing along. This mountain mama appreciates their choice.
As life goes, none of the things that I had planned to get done for my sister today happened. By trying to order a smart phone for her Dexcom glucose monitoring system last night, I managed to get her credit card cancelled. They put a stop on the card two weeks ago for another purchase I attempted, but last night’s attempt must have convinced them her card has been compromised. I spent the morning with her and talked with the PA who will be visiting Bridges every Wednesday and will see Patsy as needed. And I also talked with the podiatrist who saw her yesterday. I got home in time to have lunch and then began an afternoon of talking with her Power of Attorney about the credit card and about how to reimburse me for the thousands of dollars I have had to spend on her behalf. Then I was off again to spend some after dinner time with Patsy. We spent a lovely hour out in the garden enjoying a beautiful summer evening.
by Judy Handley | Jun 30, 2026 | Cape Cod, USA |
2026 Life Logs, Day 161: No End in Sight
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Weather: Foggy Early, Then Partly Sunny and Hot; High Temp 79, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
There seems to be no end to the issues that I have to deal with for my sister. Today it was health insurance and getting a new Dexcom glucose monitor up and running or not and buying a smart phone for her so that the monitor can work. The monitor was ordered for her by her doctor in NC but no one ever got it going. Now I know why. And I had to coordinate with Habitat of Charlotte for them to pick up all of the furniture left in her apartment there. And I had to get an emergency FOB shipped back to Terra Bella that was brought with her by mistake. It had to be done today as they are going to charge me $250 if it is not in their hands asap. And I had to cancel her cable and phone in NC. And I had to get online and pay TSA ConfirmID so that my sister’s caretaker who drove up here with her and then went to visit family in Pennsylvania can fly home on Friday. She has no RealID and the only way I convinced her to make the trip was to promise to find a way to get her back home. And there was more, but I think you get the idea.
Tomorrow is all about meeting her new healthcare provider and deciding how to move forward with her diabetes treatment and figure out why she is not walking. I have to be at Bridges at 8 am. And after that, I have to get back to dealing with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and North Carolina and then other financial issues. I have had to pay for everything out of pocket and it has literally been a $1,000 here and another $1,000 there. I am up to at least $5,000 and the diabetes nurse needs a check for her first week of work tomorrow. Guess what? That is another $1,050. So, I have to communicate with Patsy’s Power of Attorney to find a way that he can pay for these things directly. But he is not paid to do this job. He is just a friend who Patsy trusted to help her. This job is not something he signed on for. He got ‘appointed’. The bottom line is that I cannot continue to live like this. Hope with me that tomorrow will not be as intense as today and that I have time to try and figure out a way forward.
by Judy Handley | Jun 29, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 160: Illusions and a Philadelphia-Inspired Dinner
Date: Monday, June 29, 2026
Weather: Partly Sunny; High Temp 82, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
First thing this morning, I attended the first Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition Zoom meeting in weeks. But I realized halfway through that right now, I just don’t have the energy to put into this very important organization. I will continue to do what I can, but I am going to have to step down from being on the Steering Committee. Literally all of my time and energy right now is going into getting my sister settled, so some things are going to have to go by the wayside. I will stick with Indivisible Falmouth because that is where my heart is. We must do all we can to stop the current attack on our democracy. And that is a full time job!
I took some time to sit in the sun in the early afternoon and then I regrouped and got ready to go visit my sister and then go to Midge Frieswyk’s for our dining-in group gathering. I sat with Patsy while she ate dinner, helping her as I could. Without prompting, she just sits and looks at her food. Then I headed across the street to Midge’s new condo in neighboring Southport. On one side of the street you have a lovely senior living neighborhood and on the other side you have a ‘neighborhood’ for those dealing with memory issues. So, I guess you can live the good life until you can’t and then check yourself in across the street!
In honor of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, tonight’s theme was food from Philadelphia. Midge served Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. A Philly cheesesteak is made with thinly sliced steak and melted Cheez Whiz on a long hoagie roll. Not the healthiest dinner choice, but really good. I decided to do Midge one better by brining a dessert snack that originated in Philadelphia in 1914. I made a tower of Tastykake individually wrapped-in-plastic cakes. The slogan for these high fructose sugar infused treats was “The Cake That Made Mother Stop Baking.” On the first day of sales in February of 1914 they sold $28 worth of cakes at ten cents a piece and by the end of the first week of sales they had made $222. By the end of the year, they grossed $300,000 in sales, and they are still going strong.
Heather is still in the Arctic, preparing for the two day trek home that begins tomorrow. Jonah is still in Hawaii, but will arrive home on Friday. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco are in England visiting with Jo’s family. I got a photo from Justin mid-afternoon showing him hanging by one hand on the side of a building at the Museum of Illusions with Ziggy and Coco standing and sitting on the top ledge of the front door and Jo hanging from the front. When I asked Justin if he was really hanging by one hand, he admitted that he was not. They were on the floor. Interesting illusion. But the full Strawberry moon tonight was not illusiion. It was beautiful.
