by Judy Handley | Jun 24, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 175: The Un-United States of America
Date: Friday, June 24, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny, STILL Feels Cool; High 73, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
After today’s Supreme Court decision, I no longer feel like I live in the United States of America. We are anything but united. After the announcement of the reversal of Roe V Wade this afternoon, I have felt like I am floating around in a world I don’t recognize. We all knew this was coming, but that didn’t soften the blow. Guns, abortion, losing our democracy . . . we are having to face all of these things at once and it is overwhelming. I tried to get outside and garden, but I was unfocused and even found that difficult. Tomorrow I will attend the rally on the Falmouth Green. Maybe talking to others will help. But tonight, I will go to bed feeling like I do not live in the country where I was born, a country that was always striving to move forward. Over my 75 years, we have made strides forward, but we are now in a downward spiral to which I see no end.
by Judy Handley | Jun 23, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 174: From Greenland, NH to Dedham, MA and Home
Date: Thursday, June 23, 2022
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds, Clear Late Afternoon; High 68, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Shadow and I woke up at Tom and Detta Porat’s in Greenland, New Hampshire, drove to Dedham, Massachusetts to visit with Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg, and shopped our way back to the Cape. Then at 4 pm, I headed to the Cape Cod Winery to attend the second, now annual, Wear White Summer Celebration hosted by Billy and Eileen Sullivan.
Billy and Eileen are in my wine group, and most members of the that group were at this delightful event.
Then I spent this evening catching up on what happened in the January 6th Congressional Hearings this afternoon. What a whirlwind of events.
I really enjoyed my visit with Alan and Helaine this morning. They just returned from Reno, Nevada, where they attended the high school graduation of their only grandchild, Torston. I enjoyed hearing about the graduation and Torston’s plans for the future. Helaine, Shadow, and I took a long walk and I got to see Helaine’s gardens.
Alan shared with me that he had called Heather last night to share his opinions on the Cape Dory 36 she and Jed have been in the process of purchasing. If they do decide to go through with the purchase, Alan has generously offered his services to help with the the electrical and other miscellaneous work that needs to be done. When I got home, I talked to Heather and found out that both the survey and the return of the owner of Eider from vacation in Ireland have been delayed by a day. Hopefully sometime this weekend, Heather and Jed will have the surveyor’s recommendations and can get a response from the owner as to what he is willing to negotiate. A deal is looking a little more positive, but we just have to wait and see.
by Judy Handley | Jun 22, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 173: Afternoon with Detta and Leslie, Evening at NHPR
Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2022
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High 67, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with Tom and Detta Porat, Greenland, NH
What a wonderful afternoon I had in Rye, New Hampshire having lunch with my good friends Leslie Kole and Detta Porat.
Then later in the afternoon I drove to Concord, New Hampshire to for a celebration of New Hampshire Public Radio’s 40th anniversary.
Mark would be so proud of how his visions have been fulfilled. Then I drove back to the coast to Greenland, New Hampshire to spend the night with Tom and Detta. Shadow stayed with them while I went to Concord, and by the time I returned, he had bonded with their dog, Attie.
Tom and Detta are in the middle of a major renovation of their home. Right now it just looks like a major construction site, but the replacement of what was called the cottage attached to the main house is going to be a gorgeous addition. The basic structure is completed so I was able to get an idea of what it will be like. The huge windows looking out on the Great Bay will provide priceless views. It should be completed in the fall, and I can’t wait to return and see it completed.
by Judy Handley | Jun 21, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 172: Happy Birthday to Jo
Date: Tuesday, June 21, 2022
Weather: Beautiful Day, Still Coolish; High 67, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
On this first day of summer, my daughter-in-law Jo celebrated her 45th birthday. Justin is still in Virginia, but I am certain that Ziggy and Coco helped her celebrate in style.
Happy birthday, Jo!
In April, I bought new tires for my little Honda Fit. In May, I had to have one of the new tires replaced as I had picked up a nail. On Saturday when I was downtown, a gentleman noticed that my right front tire looked almost flat. On my way home, I stopped by Sullivan Tire and, sure, the tire was almost flat, and I had driven on it enough to damage it. It had to be replaced. That happened this morning. So that was first step in getting ready for my road trip tomorrow to New Hampshire.
Tomorrow evening, I am going to the 40th anniversary party for New Hampshire Public Radio in Concord, New Hampshire. Mark led the way for 15 of those years and I know he would be so proud of the progress that has been made since 2005 when he retired so we could sail around the world. I am attending tomorrow night to celebrate for him. And as long as I am traveling to New Hampshire, I decided to go early and have an afternoon with good friends, Detta and Leslie. Shadow will go with me so he can visit with Leslie’s Quinn and Detta’s Addie. That means driving to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for the afternoon, and then driving the hour to Concord for the evening and then back to Portsmouth. Detta will dog sit while I attend the celebration. On the way home on Thursday, I plan to stop to see Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg in Dedham and then shop my way home from there. There is a lot of driving, but it will be worth it to spend time with friends. Then, at 4:00 pm on Thursday, I will meet with my wine group at the local winery for what has become an annual summer celebration. I think I’ll sleep in on Friday morning!
by Judy Handley | Jun 20, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 171: Dining-in at the Goldstones on Juneteenth
Date: Monday, June 20, 2022
Weather: Sunny, Still on the Cool Side; High 69, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I had hoped to sneak out of the house at 8:30 am to drive to Yarmouth to pick up Sam, Jonah, and Jeremy, a fellow Scout who lives in their neighborhood. While I was still in bed, however, I heard Ollie start coughing, and soon after he was up. He was feeling okay but had decided that he would stay home alone for the couple of hours that I would be gone getting his brothers. I got him settled in and then off I went. I arrived at the camp at the appointed time of 9:30, but it was well after 10 am before they had finished cleaning up the camp. Then we packed up, got the three bikes on the bike rack, and took off for home. We went straight to my house to check on Ollie and Shadow. They were fine. And I left Sam there so he could cut my neighbor Andrew’s grass for Ollie. It was obvious that Ollie shouldn’t be doing that.
I took Jonah, Jeremy, and all the gear home, made a stop at the grocery store, and then returned to my house to pick up Sam and Ollie. We knew Heather and Jed would not be home until almost midnight and since it was a school night, the boys needed to be home. I knew all of this ahead of time, so I had arranged for my dining-in group to come to Heather and Jed’s for dinner. It was my turn to host and rather than cancel or change the date, I figured we could pull it off. We did it, but it did take all three boys and me. Ollie and Sam unpacked the van which had deck chairs, a table, and half my kitchen. Later Sam helped set up things on the deck. Since Ollie had a cold, he stayed out of the kitchen, but he could read recipes to me, step by step, from the living room. It was decided that I would be in charge of the salmon and Sam would be in charge of the grilled potatoes. People started arriving at 4 pm. I had not even had time to braid my hair in the morning and had planned to at least comb my hair and get on nicer clothes before everyone arrived. That didn’t happen. But I excused myself to get dressed and just twisted and banded yesterday’s braid, added a scrunchie, and I was ready.
The dinner was wonderful. We had prepared to eat outside, but as the sun sunk lower in the sky, the wind kicked up, and we decided to move inside. Bruce and Jane provided the appetizers–leek pizzas with mushrooms, artichokes, and pine nuts. Delicious. Alaskan Coho salmon was the entree and Sam’s marinated and grilled potatoes were a real hit. Midge added a tray of colorful roasted veggies, Terry and Olivia brought the salad, and Peter and Karen topped off the evening with Karen’s crunchy ice cream cake—vanilla ice cream mixed with chocolate coated Rice Krispies. Yummy and a special treat for the Goldpebbles as well as the grown-up kids in attendance!
It was almost 8:30 pm by the time everyone left and time for the boys to get ready for bed. Lights out for Jonah and Ollie is 9 pm and Sam stays up and reads for another hour or so. The boys talked to Heather and Jed before bedtime, and we found out their ETA was 11:15 pm. It took most of the that time for me to clean up the kitchen and finish the laundry loads I had started earlier. Then when Heather and Jed did get home, Jed drove me home in the van with all my gear. He brought me up-to-date on the results of the survey and sea trial and the news was not good. There are issues that need to be addressed, so there will not be a closing on Monday. The owner is in Ireland and will be home on Thursday. Heather and Jed will get the written survey by then and the negotiations will begin. Depending, Eider might or might not be the boat for Heather and Jed. We just must wait and see if the owner is willing to fix the issues or reduce the price of the boat enough to make it worth while for Heather and Jed to take on the fixes. Heather was very disappointed. But things might still work out. Fingers crossed.
