by Judy Handley | May 31, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 151: Gardening and a Visit with Marti and Toby
Date: Sunday, May 31, 2026
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Rain Late; High Temp 64, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
The time to plant your garden here on the Cape is traditionally Memorial Day. I didn’t get that done this year. But since it will be June 1 tomorrow, I made a last-ditch attempt to at least get things planted in the month of May. I was mostly successful, but there are a few plants that I still need to get in the ground. I will continue to work on those this week.
Jed is in Canada at a conference all week, so he missed the visit of his mother Marti and his brother Toby this evening. Toby flew from Portland, Oregon, to Marti’s in Washington, DC, on Friday evening so he could drive her to her summer home in Maine. They drove from DC to Falmouth today and will leave in the morning for Boothbay. So, it was a short visit over dinner at Heather’s, but it is always great to see ‘the other grandmother’ and catch up on happenings. The big event for Jed’s family in Boothbay this summer will be the Celebration of Life of Marti’s sister Sue. Mark and I stayed with Sue and John in Cambridge many times while Mark was going through cancer treatment at Mass General. I was very fond of Sue and hope to be able to go to the celebration in August.
by Judy Handley | May 30, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 150: MassDems Convention
Date: Saturday, May 30, 2026
Weather: Rainy Day, Windy and Cool; High Temp 59, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Right now, it is 46 degrees F outside, but it feels like 41 degrees according WeatherUnderground. The swing in the temperature from day to day at this time of year is hard to keep up with. On my coat rack still hangs my winter coat, my spring rain jacket, and puffy vests for the in-between days. It is spring on the Cape, but as I always say at this time of year, I am really ready for some warmer weather.
Today I drove out of the driveway at 5:45 am and I was in Worcester by 7:30 am to be a delegate at the Massachusetts State Democratic Convention. Once I arrived, I still had to park, walk across to the convention center, wait for the doors to open, go through security, and make my way to the part of the Convention Center where Senator Ed Markey was hosting a breakfast. And I was early enough to get a seat!
For those of you not from Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey currently serve as our two senators, both progressive Democrats. Like myself, both are on the older end of the spectrum, but both are still going strong. Only Markey is up for re-election. Seth Moulton, a U.S. Representative, is challenging Markey for his seat, and Moulton is a youngster compared to Markey. He is 47 and Markey is 79. And I am absolutely for getting younger people with fresher ideas who are non-establishment into office, but Moulton does not fit that description. He has been in the House for 11 years and certainly his record shows that he has not had nearly the impact that Ed Markey has had in those same 11 years. No truly fresh ideas. Markey’s entire career has been as a Massachusetts State legislator, a U.S. Representative, and since 2013 a U.S. Senator, so naturally he has accomplished more. But in my opinion, Markey’s only negative is his age. However, like Bernie Sanders at 84 and Elizabeth Warren at 76, Markey is principled, a fighter for the people, and unlike Seth Moulton, Markey, Sanders, and Warren do not rely on traditional corporate Political Action Committee (PACs) for funding. That is the big hang up for me with Moulton. So, I was very happy when Ed Markey won the vote today to receive the backing of the Democratic Party.
And I was very happy that this evening when Heather delivered dinner to me. When I arrived home at 5 pm this afternoon, I was greeted by a very wet pet. My neighbor across the street, Andy, took care of Shadow today and he had just played ball with Shadow in his backyard for 40 minutes in the misty rain. So Shadow was wet, but he was happy. I was cold, so I changed into something warmer and went in and sat on the sofa with Shadow. Of course, he got on my lap and that prompted me to get a blanket out to protect me from the wet pet. He immediately climbed onto the blanket on my lap and promptly fell asleep. Andy texted that he had worn him out, but I didn’t think that was possible. But there he was, sleeping like a baby. About that time, I got a text from Heather inviting me over for dinner at 6:30. Wonderful. That gave me an hour to sit and read, without disturbing Shadow. Then the next thing I knew, Heather was knocking on my door with dinner in hand. I had fallen asleep with Shadow and missed the 6:30 dinner. I guess I was exhausted as well. Thank you, Heather, for feeding me!
by Judy Handley | May 29, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 149: Disappointment
Date: Friday, May 29, 2026
Weather: Some Sun, Some Clouds; High Temp 70, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
After weeks of dealing with my sister’s healthcare situation and then working almost full time for the past week trying to find an assisted living situation for her here, I got up this morning assuring myself that I had found the perfect place. I arranged for Heritage at Falmouth to do a face time assessment call with my sister at 3:30 this afternoon and spent the day in anticipation of the result of that meeting. I attended class, met a book club friend in Mashpee Commons for lunch, and then headed home. I got the call from Heritage at 4:30 pm, and it was not what I had hoped for. Heritage is assisted living, not memory care, and in the fact time interview they determined that Patsy’s memory is just too far gone for her to be able to acclimate in a new living situation other than in a dedicated memory care unit. Their recommendation was to do whatever necessary to keep her where she is , and as a second choice to move her here to a dedicated memory care unit. Leaving her where she is certainly does not solve my problem of having to deal, almost daily, with some new issue with the care we are playing for her to receive, but that is just not happening.
I am so sad for my sister and am deeply disappointed. But I will regroup and continue the search on Monday. Heritage made a recommendation for a memory care facility in Mashpee, about 20 minutes away. So, no resolution for now. Just on to the next chapter in this saga.
by Judy Handley | May 28, 2026 | Cape Cod, USA |
2026 Life Logs, Day 148: Lunch with Birthday Group and Trip to the Farmers’ Market
Date: Thursday, May 28, 2026
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds plus Sprinkles; High Temp 70, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Actually, the title of this log is deceiving. I did have lunch with my birthday friends, and I did go to the Farmers’ Market, but I spent the entire rest of my day continuing to work on assistant living placement issues for my sister. I woke up to an email requesting I come sign some medical release papers, followed by a call from Patsy’s Power of Attorney. Then a walk with Shadow, a trip to Heritage to sign papers and answer more medical questions, then off to lunch.
Lunch was a nice change of pace. We met at The Flying Bridge and, at first, sat out on the deck in the sunshine. Then we had to go under cover when it rained for a bit. After lunch, a few of us walked over to the Friday Farmers’ Market. This was my first visit to the summer market, and I bought a few more plants for the garden. Not sure when I am going to have time to plant, maybe tomorrow afternoon, maybe Sunday. Jed is in Canada until next Friday, so I am pitching in to help when Heather has evening meetings. Tomorrow she is in Boston all day, so I offered to fix dinner for the boys. Then, before the crack of down on Saturday, I head to Worcester to the Massachusetts Democratic State Convention. I am an elected delegate and will do my duty there all day Saturday. Most Falmouth delegates are going tomorrow for the Friday party night, but that just did not sound like fun to me.
by Judy Handley | May 27, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 147: More Deliberations About Moving My Sister to MA
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Weather: Sunny with Some Cloudy Periods; High Temp 68, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today I revisited the two assisted living possibilities here in Falmouth for my sister Patsy. Since I visited Atria on Thursday, the room I looked at has already been taken. The room now available is even smaller than the first one. After the visit, I spent more time gathering feedback on this move. In the afternoon I had an Encore Programs meeting and then visited the second assisted living possibility, this time with my daughter Heather. I really needed another set of eyes and it was very helpful to have Heather along. My sister is not capable of making this decision for herself, so as her legal Healthcare POA, the decision falls to me. And I have to say, I am finding the whole process a bit overwhelming. Deciding which place is best for her, reading through the disclosure of rights and services of both places, figuring out the timing on when and how to make the move, and then finding a new primary care and a glaucoma doctor for her, transferring her health insurance, buying all new furniture, and on and on and on. I’ll get through this, but right now it is all consuming.
I did do one thing for myself today. I went to a Woodwell Climate Conversation on “Healing the Earth from the ground up: How farms can fight climate change.” Two scientists from Woodwell, Ludmila Rattis and José Lucas Safanelli, who both grew up on farms in Brazil, talked about the “hidden power of croplands and how regenerative farming practices that restore soil health can store carbon, strengthen resilience, and protect our planet.” The June conversation will be with a farmer from Martha’s Vineyard, and I hope to attend that one as well. I have always been interested in how we grow our food, and this evening’s conversation helped grow my knowledge.
One last note about food. Yesterday Heather gave me aa batch of lamb’s quarter that she weeded out of her raised beds on the deck. Lamb’s quarter is known as a weed to most people, but it is edible, much like spinach, but with ten times the vitamins and minerals. My mom taught me that in the springtime, fixing a mix of lamb’s quarter and pokeweed leaves gives your body what she called a ‘jumpstart’. So, I went on an excursion through my yard to find some pokeweed. It is just beginning to come up, but I found enough to compliment the lamb’s quarter. Pokeweed leaves have to be double boiled in water to get rid of the toxins, but I have prepared these common weeds to eat for many years. And I will share this spring delicacy with Heather tomorrow.
Lamb’s Quarter Young Pokeweed
