by Judy Handley | Nov 10, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 314: Dancing Leaves
Date: Thursday, November 10, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Windy; High 63, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today’s highlight was watching the piles of oak leaves swirling in the wind. They looked like they were dancing. At one point when Shadow and I headed down Debbie Lane to begin our walk, we were following the dancing leaves. Otherwise, it was just a day . . . early morning dental cleaning, running errands, playing with Shadow down by the water while being watched by our resident great blue heron,
picking up Jonah and his big bass guitar after school, getting a muffler issue checked out, food shopping, and finally home. Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day and tomorrow night we are expecting gale force winds and rain from once Hurricane Nicole as she rolls northward as a storm. But by noon on Saturday, the rain and wind should have moved on leaving us with good weather for the remainder of the weekend.
by Judy Handley | Nov 9, 2022 | Cape Cod, USA |
2022 Life Logs, Day 313: Feeling Proud
Date: Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Weather: Sunny and Cool; High 51, Low 44 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
My day started on a high note. I watched a live stream of Heather moderating a panel at the climate conference in Egypt. I am always in awe of her abilities, but it was a very proud moment for this mom. I watched and kept taking photos of my computer screen to preserve the moment. Tonight, I told the Goldpebbles about their mom leading the panel discussion, explaining that it was just one of probably hundreds of side panel presentations at COP27, but still quite an accomplishment.
Jed mentioned that his mom had watched as well and said she had noted that you could always see Heather, no matter how far back the camera zoomed, as she had on her power red jacket.
Sam got a laugh out of that as he pointed out it is the same jacket Jonah wore on Halloween as The Joker. I love teenagers!
I also felt so relieved over the election results and felt so proud to be an American. For the most part, so far it seems that most candidates are giving acceptance or concession speeches as in a normal US election prior to 2016. That feeling of normalcy feels so good. We don’t know the final outcome, and some of my favorite candidates from around the country did not win, but it felt to me that democracy won the day. This afternoon I watched Biden’s press conference and felt proud again. I thought he set just the right tone for moving forward.
Monday night of this week I drove Jonah to soccer practice, last night I went on a full moon walk to a beach, and tonight I again drove Jonah to soccer practice. I think I get to stay home tomorrow night. Then on Friday morning, I will head downtown for the Veteran’s Day parade and program as the Goldpebbles will be in the parade. Then I am going to focus on getting ready for my visit to Puerto Rico. I will arrive there next Wednesday, and spend eight days with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, before returning home in the wee hours of day after Thanksgiving. I am really looking forward to spending time with Ziggy and Coco, and of course, Justin and Jo.
by Judy Handley | Nov 8, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 312: Climate Hell
Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Weather: Sunny, Windy, and Cool; High 57, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at the opening of COP27, the climate talks in Egypt, “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.” The words to the AC/DC 1979 song, ‘Highway to Hell’, need to be rewritten.
The full moon was bright last night, so bright that the first time I got up during the night and looked I, I thought it had snowed. The moonlight shining on the pebble driveway definitely looked like snow! But by 4:30 am when I got to see the eclipse underway, the moon was behind the trees and out of my sight. But never fear. My son Justin, along with Ziggy and Coco, got up early this morning and drove down to the ocean to capture the eclipse. Justin got a great photo just before the full eclipse,
but when the eclipse was complete, the sun had come up and the moon entirely disappeared. Despite that, he relayed that it was a nice way to start the day.
And I made a decision to end my day once again focused on the moon. It was full yesterday, but still spectacular tonight. I went on an organized walk from Chapaquoit Beach to Black Beach with the 300 Committee. Olga Mitchell invited me to go along, and I am so glad I did. It was magical, especially viewing the full moon through the phragmites along the way and then viewing her from the beach with the sound of the waves washing ashore.
Nice way to end the day.
Watching the election returns. No comment . . . yet.
by Judy Handley | Nov 7, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 311: Newcomers Field Trip to the MFA
Date: Monday, November 7, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny, Cooling Down; High 68, Low 41 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Early this morning, I was off to Boston with a few Newcomers on a field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston. When we arrived, Jane Woodin wanted to find the ruby and amethyst starfish brooch once owned by actress Claudette Colbert.
It is about four inches across and very red, much like the sea stars I admired so much in Madagascar. Our next stop was a quick run through a favorite for both of us, the Impressionism galleries. I had to see my favorite, Monet’s Water Lilies (1907),
and today I was fascinated with a much earlier painting, Flower Beds at Vétheuil (1881).
As with the sea star brooch, it was the bold red blossoms that caught my eye. I left Jane in the Art of the Americas galleries as she toured Art and Jazz as I had a timed entry to a LIFE Magazine exhibit.
The LIFE Magazine and the Power of Photography special exhibit was a display of the work and thinking of former LIFE contributors, subjects of photo-essays, and contemporary artists that addressed LIFE’s collaborative editorial process. I was especially impressed with the work of Alfredo Jaar, a Chilean-born and New York City based artist, whose work is a deep criticism of the media in questioning the ethics of representation and the politics of images—role of the photographer as witness. I loved the quote on the wall above Jaar in a video presentation. “Never be afraid of the enormity of the possible.” Then there was the display of Alexandra Bell, whose work challenges how the news is reported, giving a critical view in this era of fake news. Alfredo Jaar and Alexandra Bell offer, through their work, a new way of thinking about contemporary media today. Needless to say, the exhibit was thought provoking.
There were two car loads of us visiting the museum, and after lunch, my group met outside the museum and asked someone to take a photo of us before we headed home.
I made a pledge to return to the MFA more often. A quote from a book I read this summer sums up the feelings I had as we left. “Beautiful art opens our eyes to the beauty of the world. It repositions our sight and judgement.”
by Judy Handley | Nov 6, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 310: The Return of the Swans
Date: Sunday, November 6, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and Warm; High 73, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
My winter entertainment has arrived. Today as I sat at my dining table, I heard a familiar sound. I looked out the back door down toward the water, and there they were. The swans have returned for the winter. I only saw two today, but more will come. All winter long, they glide up the canal that I can see through the windows in the back door. And when they reach the end of the waterway, they fly back, always catching my attention. I welcome them, but I don’t welcome the geese that are also returning. I hate the mess they make in the backyards down by the water where Shadow and I love to play fetch. I know I have to share my little slice of paradise, but couldn’t the geese find somewhere else to hang out?
Again, it was unseasonably warm today. I haven’t replaced the screen in the back door with storm glass just yet, so tonight I am sitting here with the back door open to try and cool down. This morning, I went out to do some leaf blowing. I was wearing a cotton long sleeved shirt and to complain about heat. I love it. But it was hot today and still is this evening. By Tuesday, the temp is going to go back down a bit for a couple of days, but then it will be back in the 60’s.
The climate conference in Egypt starts tomorrow. It is going to be interesting to see what happens this week. I don’t hold much hope, but I can’t stop hoping.
picking up Jonah and his big bass guitar after school, getting a muffler issue checked out, food shopping, and finally home. Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day and tomorrow night we are expecting gale force winds and rain from once Hurricane Nicole as she rolls northward as a storm. But by noon on Saturday, the rain and wind should have moved on leaving us with good weather for the remainder of the weekend.
