by Judy Handley | May 21, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 141: Explorations
Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026
Weather: Overcast, A Few Sprinkles; High Temp 63, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
My day was spent exploring knowledge—interesting, but not exciting. I spent the morning exploring possibilities for bringing my sister from an assisted living facility in North Carolina to one here. It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to oversee her medical care from afar, so I decided it was time to explore local possibilities. It is going to be a difficult decision to make. The one place I visited today gave me mixed feelings. I am not sure it is the right place for her. There is one other possibility, so next week I will visit there, compare the two places, and then make the decision.
The other exploration was for Indivisible Falmouth. I did a crash course on door-to-door canvassing for a presentation at tonight’s meeting. I learned a lot this afternoon, but I learned even more from the members who attended tonight’s meeting which was focused on getting out the vote.
Tomorrow morning, I have a 9 am meeting and then a 10:30 am class for which I have done only half the reading. So, I will sign off here and go do some speed readin
by Judy Handley | May 20, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 140: Big Girls Don’t Cry
Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Rain Late; High Temp 69, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
When I was 16, my first love broke up with me. He was two years older, and we had been going steady for more than two years. I was heart broken and crying uncontrollably. My oldest sister and her husband were visiting, and my brother-in-law had a heart-to-heart talk with me. He told me that this wasn’t really the end of the world and that I should take a deep breath and wait until tomorrow to cry if I still thought it was worth it. Wait until tomorrow? I thought it was such a strange thing to say to me, but it did stop the crying. And the next day, I was moving on. No more tears. But my brother-in-law’s words stayed with me through the years, and I never cried until I waited until tomorrow. That is, until tonight. As I ate dinner, I was watching the recorded Colbert show from last night. As I am sure you are aware, tomorrow night will be the last Late Show ever. The end of an era. I have been an avid Cobert fan for years, only watching the recorded monologues the next day when I sat down to eat lunch. But today, I watched last night’s program while eating dinner today. Jon Stewart was the first guest. (I also equally love Jon Stewart.) And watching Stewart’s farewell tribute to Colbert was one time I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to cry. I was crying like a baby. And rightly so. What is happening in our country is just plain despicable and deserves tears. Colbert’s program being taken off the air is just one of a loooooooooog string of horrible things happening. So, I enjoyed a good cry and came out of it more determined than ever to do whatever I can to continue to fight this madness.
I spent yesterday getting ready for today’s Encore program, and I spent this morning making that happen. When I became Program VP for Encore last spring, there were two things I really wanted to do—had wanted to do for years, but was now in a position where I could make them happen. I wanted to have a program focused on our Wampanoag neighbors and another focused on our Cape Verdean neighbors. So, last month we hosted a Wampanoag program and today was the Cape Verdean program. I think everyone enjoyed the Cape Verdean/Portuguese food as well as the wonderful presentation by Barbara Burgo about Cape Verdean history and culture.
My role as Programs VP will end in June and I will be off the Encore Board after three years of service. Not being on the Board will give back a huge chunk of time to my life and I am looking forward to that. But I am so glad I got to fulfil my wish of bringing programs to Encore that highlighted our wonderful Wampanoag and Cape Verdean neighbors.
by Judy Handley | May 19, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 139: Getting Ready for Tomorrow
Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Weather: Sunny but Hazy/Windy PM; High Temp 67, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
This was one of those days spent just getting ready for tomorrow’s Encore program meeting. As VP of Programs, it is up to me to set the program, arrange for the speaker, and in the case of tomorrow, prepare food to go with the program. After the Cape Verdean islands became colonized by the Portugues, many people from the Cape Verdean islands emigrated to Cape Cod. It was when whaling was at its height that Cape Verdeans came by boat. When the whaling era ended, many settled on the Cape and became berry pickers, and then farmers. They picked cranberries, blueberries, and during World War II, some became strawberry farmers. During tomorrow’s social half hour before the program, we will have a taste of Cape Verdean food. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Karen Baranowski for pitching in and making cranberry bread and Cape Verdean pudding. I purchased some items from a local bakery that makes malasada. This is Cape Verdean style fried dough. And I bought some Portuguese items from a Brazilian-Portuguese Restaurant in East Falmouth. Coordinating the whole affair became more than I expected and that is when Karen stepped in to do the cooking for me. Thank you, Karen!
It was local election day here and the results were as expected. Two ballot measures passed, one incumbent and one new super star were elected to the Select Board, and three people who bring a wealth of experience were elected to the School Committee. Only about 20 percent of eligible voters made their voices heard, but that percentage is actually better than many other towns on the Cape. We have to find a way to get more people to the polls by November. After tomorrow’s Encore meeting, I will start preparing for Thursday night’s Indivisible Falmouth monthly meeting that is on that exact topic—Get Out the Vote!
by Judy Handley | May 18, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 138: Field Trip to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Date: Monday, May 18, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 72, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today I led a field trip to the Massachusetts maritime Academy, and it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. There were 28 of us and we had a great time.
The weather was gorgeous and the cadets who led us on a tour of the Patriot State, a 525-foot-long training ship that arrived there in October of 2024, were very impressive. As was the ship.
After the ship tour, we had lovely lunch in the student cafeteria, toured the engineering building, and ended our day in the simulator where anyone who wanted got a chance to be at the wheel taking us through the Cape Cod Canal. It was great fun!
When I got home, I switched gears to fix dinner for the Goldpebbles while Heather and Jed attended other events. I love my evenings with the Goldpebbles.
by Judy Handley | May 17, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 137: Lovely Free and Easy Sunday
Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 72, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
A little gardening, which included getting the drip irrigation system going for the season, a little tree trimming, a little reading for my Friday class, a little research for a Thursday presentation on door-to-door canvassing (which I have never done before in my life), last minute adjustments to the planning for a field trip I am leading tomorrow, and a quick visit to check in on the Goldstones to see what they have been up to this weekend. That was the total of my day. It was a lot to cram into one day, but since there was nothing pressing other than the field trip prep, I worked at a slow pace. It was one of those days that I call ‘free and easy.’ And the weather was spectacular!
