by Judy Handley | Oct 22, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 295: A Lot of Reading
Date: Saturday, October 22, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 64, Low 45 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth,
I spent much of today reading. It was another beautiful day, so I also spent time outside walking and playing fetch with Shadow. Later in the afternoon, I took Sam to a party hosted by his rowing coach. Jed and Ollie are on a Scouting camp out this weekend and Heather and Jonah were on an all-day geology field trip for a Scout merit badge. Sam’s party was in Hyannis, so I did a bit of shopping at Whole Foods. That was my day. Unfortunately, it looks like we have a couple of rainy days starting tomorrow. I will miss the glorious sunshine.
by Judy Handley | Oct 21, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 294: Ten Years Ago Today
Date: Friday, October 21, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny, Warmer; High 63, Low 47 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth,
This morning when I checked my phone, the first thing that popped up was a photo from ten years ago today, October 21, 2012. The photo was from an album labeled, “Grandparent Heaven.” It was the day that all five grandchildren were together for the very first time. Ollie was born in March of 2012 and Coco the end of July. We had not gone to New Mexico for Coco’s birth since Mark was in the midst of chemotherapy. So, Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco came to see us. That first day together was wonderful.
08 Ziggy in Heaven Holding His Cousin’s Hand
22 Oliver and Coco Late in the Day
00 The Music Makers
After school today, we had a burial ceremony for Ollie’s guinea pig, Zuzu. The burial plot is right beside the trampoline and when we turned to leave Heather realized that the brand name of the trampoline was most fitting for the occasion. It is a Zupapa. And Ollie was definitely Zuzu’s papa. So, the boys hoped on the trampoline in celebration of Zuzu’s life.
Then before Sam and I took off for Harwich for rowing practice, Ollie showed off his little John Deere tractor that has a new engine.
It was a beautiful day and once Shadow and I delivered Sam to Long Pond, we took a nice walk to enjoy the warm weather.
by Judy Handley | Oct 20, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 293: Nada
Date: Thursday, October 20, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy, Cool; High 57, Low 45 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth, MA
I had nothing, nada, on my calendar for today. What a wonderful feeling. I had my whole day and evening to do just what I wanted and that was almost nothing! I spent a chunk of time outside with Shadow on walks and playing fetch. I did a bit of house cleaning. I made granola to take to Puerto Rico with me in November. I made lasagna for Jed and the boys to have on Sunday when Heather is off to Martha’s Vineyard on a work related overnight. And I had a little time to read between activities. It was a feel good day.
Justin called late in the day with some sad news. Justin and Jo’s horse, Hopi, had a baby boy they named Barnaby in the spring of 2020. I loved seeing the photos of the two of them together just after Barnaby’s birth.
Yesterday Barnaby slid down a hill in the mud, broke his neck, and had to be put down. He was such a good-natured horse that everyone loved. Sadness doth prevail.
by Judy Handley | Oct 19, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 292: Nice and Easy Fall Day
Date: Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy, Cooler; High 56, Low 44 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth, MA
Today was delightful—a strong breeze that made it feel cooler than it was, but not cold; a few puffy white clouds, but enough sunshine to make you forget about the slight chill. The morning was beautiful, just begging you to get out and walk.
And so, Shadow and I went for a long walk. However, when I came inside to have lunch, the clouds took over and the sunshine went away for an hour or so. But by the time I went outside to play ball with Shadow, the sunshine was back, and we frolicked in the yard side which has a beautiful covering of red and yellow leaves.
It was a picture-perfect New England fall day. But I now know that I am not a true New Englander. The other day I read something that brought me to that conclusion. Basically, if you have turned your heat on at this point in the fall, you cannot call yourself a true New Englander. Oops! I turned the heat on the first time the day after the first official day of fall on September 24. The temperature dipped into the 40’s overnight and I had Covid. The cool morning just didn’t feel good, so I turned on the heat. Then on subsequent days when it has been cool and rainy with no sunshine, I have succumbed and turned it on for a few hours. I resisted this morning even though it was cool inside because I knew the sunshine would warm things up quickly. Are you a true New Englander or have you cheated a few times in the past month?
This afternoon a attended a meeting of my Newcomers Public Policy group. The topic was: Unequal Opportunity – Race in Education. We had a speaker, Dr. Seyana Mawusi. She is life-time educator “with an extensive background in leadership development, curriculum design, mindfulness, trauma, neuroscience education, racial equity, restorative and social justice. Dr. Mawusi founded and is currently CEO of Intuitive Integrative Consultants. She coaches, consults, and intuitively guides leaders locally and internationally to reinvent, rethink and reframe their next steps to enhance their lives personally and professionally. Her clients include school districts, human resource departments, and city agencies.” Our group is small, so after her introduction, we had an intimate ‘conversation’ with Dr. Mawusi. My take-away from the conversation was to get involved in local politics, attend school board meetings and town meetings, and always ask, “Why?”
by Judy Handley | Oct 18, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 291: In Tribute to Zuzu
Date: Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Weather: Mix of Clouds, Sun, and Little Rain; High 66, Low 42 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, Falmouth, MA
I was playing Mah Jong this afternoon when I saw a text message from Heather saying Ollie’s beloved guinea pig, Zuzu, was dying. Heather was supposed to drive Sam to rowing practice this afternoon, but naturally, she didn’t want to leave Ollie and Zuzu. I immediately left the Mah Jong game and headed to the Goldstones. Ollie and Heather were sitting with Zuzu on the back deck. It was heartbreaking to see Zuzu listlessly lying there but looking toward Ollie every time Ollie petted him. Zuzu held on until 7 pm tonight. Ollie is such a compassionate kid. He is sad but knows it was Zuzu’s time to go.
