by Judy Handley | Mar 21, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 80: Happy Birthday to Ollie (his actual birth date)
Date: Monday, March 21, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Windy PM; High 54, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Ollie’s birthday celebration went on all weekend, but today was the actual day. When I went to pick up Ollie and Jonah to take them to music lessons this afternoon, they were out in the middle of the road with the remote-controlled truck which was my main present to Ollie. He loves it because it is all-terrain and fast. As I approached the driveway, I could hear him yelling, “Oma, it goes as fast as a real car!” He was one happy little boy. Happy Birthday, Ollie.
Tomorrow morning, I lead a small group on a field trip to Boston. We are visited the State House and the Museum of African American History and then having lunch at a French restaurant, Ma Maison. But a day trip to Boston means an early start. So, I need to wrap up this day and get to bed. Hopefully I’ll have a great report tomorrow night on the field trip.
by Judy Handley | Mar 20, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 79: First Day of Spring Brings More Birthday Fun
Date: Sunday, March 20, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 58, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The weather today was warm enough, but it was mostly cloudy and didn’t look so much like spring. But there are signs that spring is here. The daffodils just outside my front door look like they will burst open any minute.
The chives are two inches tall and the vinca forest cover is beginning to bloom.
I did some outside work today, but somehow everything seems to be taking way more time than it should. Slowly but surely, I will get there.
This evening we celebrated Marti’s birthday (Jed’s mother) which was today and Ollie’s a day early. 
We started with a few moments of silence on the back deck just to breathe in spring and toast the birthdays. Then we moved inside for dinner. Ollie requested duck breast and smashed potatoes with salad for dinner and all was delicious.
Then the birthday cakes were brought out. Heather and Ollie constructed a replica of a Ninja warriors warped wall. I had seen a warped wall before yesterday’s Ninja birthday party, but I didn’t know the name. It is just a curved ramp to run up, similar to a half-pipe. But it is high and very difficult to get to the top. Of course, the cake was small compared to the real thing, but it was probably 18 inches high, chocolate inside, with black chocolate icing. Heather, with Ollie’s help, did an amazing job.
Marti’s cake was from Whole Foods at my suggestion. Through my dining-in group, I have been introduced to the Whole Foods Berry Chantilly cake. With mascarpone icing and fresh berries on top as well as inside, it is both beautiful and delicious. Then from dessert, we moved to opening presents. 
It looked more like Christmas than a birthday, but then it was two birthdays. Ollie has shown a real interest in art this year, so many of his presents were arts supplies. But he was very impressed with the 100-year-old silver dollar from Marti.
Impressive. Happy Birthday to Ollie and Marti!
by Judy Handley | Mar 19, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 78: Ollie’s Ninja Warrior Birthday Party
Date: Saturday, March 19, 2022
Weather: Overcast with Rain; High 55, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Monday is Ollie’s official birthday, but today was his birthday party with friends. Actually, it was Ollie and Simon’s ‘Ninja Warrior Birthday Party’. The two boys were born on the same day just eight hours apart in adjacent hospital rooms at the Falmouth Hospital. They both attended the Woods Hole Daycare Cooperative for preschool and always celebrated their birthdays together there. Then they went to different elementary schools and only saw each other at soccer games until Heather and Jed moved into the same neighborhood where Simon lives. Now the two boys go to the same elementary school, have the same set of friends, and celebrated their 10th birthdays together today.
The venue for the party was the Forte Fitness Center in Hyannis. The center has a Ninja warrior set up and the ten boys had a real Ninja workout trying to run up the warped wall,
swinging from one apparatus to another, scaling a climbing wall, and attempting to walk on a large cable drum as it rolled forward.
When it was time for pizza and birthday cupcakes, there were 10 boys with very red faces.
Simon and Ollie had great fun recreating a photo from their 5th birthday celebration at preschool, stuffing themselves with pizza, and blowing out their birthday candles.
The birthday fun continues tomorrow as it is Marti, Jed’s mother’s birthday. Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone but she is not going to be 10! And since Ollie has music lessons and Scouts on his real birthday on Monday, we will celebrate the two birthdays together tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Mar 18, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 77: Skylark in Concert
Date: Friday, March 18, 2022
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 57, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Tonight, I was invited to attend a Skylark concert as the guest of a friend whose husband could not attend. What a wonderful gift that was for me. Skylark is a professional vocal ensemble who performs in Falmouth two or three times a year. Tonight’s program was named Emerald Isles, a program of Irish and Irish-inspired music. Some of the performers are from families long connected to the folk music of the Celtic nations and added their instrumental expertise to their incredible vocal talents. It was fabulous.
Great day for being outdoors. I did a little winter clean-up of branches and a lot of looking and planning for gardening. Jed’s mother is visiting at Heather and Jed’s this weekend, so I stopped by on my way to the concert to say hello. Tomorrow is Ollie’s Ninja warrior birthday party in Hyannis and Sunday is Marti’s birthday. So it will be a celebratory weekend.
by Judy Handley | Mar 17, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 76: Happy Irish Day
Date: Thursday, March 17, 2022
Weather: Overcast with Some Rain; High 53, Low 43 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I thought a lot about gardening today, so that was my contribution to green for St. Patrick’s Day. I went outside in the afternoon to do some garden clean-up, but just as I went out it started sprinkling and then raining harder. I persisted until my coat was soaked and then went inside and planted a flat of seeds to start.
I spent most of my day dealing with trip details—field trip to Boston on Tuesday of next week, trip to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday of next week, and trip to Puerto Rico in April. I am leading a field trip to the State House and the Museum of African American History on Tuesday, but I had not been able to register our group. I made a few last minute phone calls and sent emails, and finally got the Museum to update their website to let us register. I also have had cancellations and had to update the State House tour and lunch reservations to reflect the correct number of participants. Then I got an email from Taino Divers in Puerto Rico letting me know that the date of our chartered trip to Desecheo Island either has to be changed or cancelled, and the change will mean no one can dive, only snorkel. Bummer. I wasn’t feeling so lucky on this St. Patrick’s Day until I got a call from my niece in Charlotte letting me know she has room for me to stay at her home during my visit next week as her husband is going to be out of town. I can now cancel hotel reservations and save a lot of money. That was a turn of good Irish luck.
