by Judy Handley | Jul 9, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 190: Stormy Day, Lovely Evening
Date: Friday, July 9, 2021
Weather: Tropical Storm Elsa, Rain & Wind; High Temp 75, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The remnants of Tropical Storm Elsa passed through today bringing rain and lots of wind. But by mid-afternoon the sun decided to try to peak through the clouds and we had a lovely evening. Jed’s mother, Marti, arrived at the Goldstones this morning just before the high winds hit. I was invited over for a sushi dinner and evening of the visiting. Because of Covid, Marti did not visit last summer, so this was her first time to see Heather and Jed’s new home. We had a wonderful evening of catching up and the whole gang will come here tomorrow afternoon for some boating fun followed by a cook-out.
by Judy Handley | Jul 8, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 189: Cloudy Day Fun
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2021
Weather: Cloudy with Misty Rain; High Temp 75, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Arcade games, bumper boats, mini golf, lunch on a new-to-us-beach, ice cream at Somerset Creamery, and a new-to-us table shuffleboard in my basement. What a day!
In anticipation of tomorrow’s arrival of tropical storm Elsa, and weather permitting, the arrival of Grammy Goldstone, we went a little crazy and did all of our favorite cloudy day activities all in one day. Sam, Jonah, and I picked Ollie up from his pottery camp which just happens to be right next door to Cataumet Mini Golf. And Cataumet Mini Golf happens to have a little arcade and bumper boats. We picked up Ollie, moved from one parking lot to another, and ended up in the arcade because it was totally empty. So, the boys played a couple of games and then it was on the bumper boats that they enjoy so much. We had agreed to do this much and then take a break for lunch before coming back for a game of mini golf. I was supposed to pack a picnic lunch, but I didn’t get that done. So, we went to a market to get lunch and headed a further north to a little beach on Buzzards Bay that Karen Baranowski introduced me to a couple of summers ago. The boys loved it and Sam decided he wanted to bring the Opti here to sail. 
Then it was back to play mini golf and to have a second bumper boat ride before going to the nearby Somerset Creamery for ice cream. The boys LOVE our local Smitty’s ice cream, but Somerset was a definite hit with all of them, possibly rating higher than Smitty’s—really creamy. Then to top off our afternoon, we headed to Karen and Peter Baranowski’s where Jed met us to pick up a table shuffleboard game that Peter wanted out of his basement. The Goldpebbles wanted it but their basement is just too full right now. So, I said I would take to my newly cleaned out basement for fun on rainy days. The table is 9 feet long by almost 3 feet wide and weighs over 300 pounds. Peter had taken the legs off and had everything packed and ready to move. Thankfully, he helped us get it in the van and followed us to my house to carry it into the basement and reassemble it. Thank you, Peter! I immediately decided that I liked the game as you really have to practice restraint to get the pucks to go just where you want them. Games that teach restraint seem like a good thing for all of us.
by Judy Handley | Jul 7, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 188: Eight Years Ago Today
Date: Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Weather: Sunny; High 84, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Mark Daniel Handley was born on July 7, 1942. I met Mark in his 31st year on this earth, and within hours of meeting, we both knew we had met our true soulmate for life. And what a wonderful life we had together.
01 Captain Graybeard Sails to Treasure Island
02 Three Little Pirates Playing the Role to the Hilt
05 Justin and Coco
13 Justin Gets into the Act
20 Digging for Treasure
Since losing Mark to cancer in 2016, I spend every July 7th reflecting on my life with him. The one memory that always stands out as the greatest was his birthday celebration in 2013. It was the only birthday he spent with all five of his grandchildren. Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco were visiting from Puerto Rico and the adult ‘children’ planned a pirate birthday for Captain Graybeard. We decorated Windbird in pirate flags and left Woods Hole for Tarpaulin Cove in the Elizabeth Islands. Jo planned a pirate treasure hunt on Naushon Island with official looking pirate maps. Ollie and Coco were only a year old, but the three oldest grandchildren really got into their pirate roles.
38 Captain Graybeard with His Best Crew Members–Jonah, Ziggy, and Sam
They even made a pirate map birthday cake. After Mark’s death, all of us returned his ashes to the waters of Tarpaulin Cove. All of us will be forever linked to that physical location and all of us will forever be Captain Graybeard’s pirates on July 7th. Happy Birthday, Mark!
by Judy Handley | Jul 6, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 187: Trampoline Fun
Date: Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Weather: Partly Sunny, Windy; High 77, Low 69 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was supposed to be a beach day with the Goldpebbles, but they decided they wanted to spend the afternoon on the trampoline trying out the new trampoline sprinkler that arrived late yesterday. All three boys seem to be really enjoying the trampoline and on warm days adding the water sprinkler makes it even more fun. Tomorrow, after Ollie’s pottery class, we will head to the beach for a picnic lunch. It was in the 70’s today and should have felt warm, but the wind was blowing hard enough that when the sun went behind the clouds, I certainly didn’t feel warm!
by Judy Handley | Jul 5, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 186: Free and Easy Monday
Date: Monday, July 5, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Snippets of Sunshine; High 72, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It warmed up just a bit today and is supposed to be 80 degrees F tomorrow. Heather likened our recent weather to whiplash–hot one day, cold the next, then back to hot. But if the forecast is correct for the next seven days the high will be between 75 and 82 with nighttime temps in the mid-60’s. Now that sounds more like summer to me.
The clouds were still with us for most of today and the Goldpebbles were just not interested in heading to the beach, so I spent a quiet Monday. I did a little weeding and transplanting in the gardens, but that was my only burst of energy. Ollie is in a pottery-making camp in the mornings this week, but Camp Oma will kick into gear in the afternoons. If the current weather forecast holds, we’ll probably go to the beach tomorrow and Wednesday, play mini-golf and ride the water bumper cars on Thursday (a favorite Goldpebble summer activity), and settle into rainy day activities on Friday. And everyone is super excited that Grammy Goldstone will be coming to visit for the weekend!
In anticipation of tomorrow’s arrival of tropical storm Elsa, and weather permitting, the arrival of Grammy Goldstone, we went a little crazy and did all of our favorite cloudy day activities all in one day. Sam, Jonah, and I picked Ollie up from his pottery camp which just happens to be right next door to Cataumet Mini Golf. And Cataumet Mini Golf happens to have a little arcade and bumper boats. We picked up Ollie, moved from one parking lot to another, and ended up in the arcade because it was totally empty. So, the boys played a couple of games and then it was on the bumper boats that they enjoy so much. We had agreed to do this much and then take a break for lunch before coming back for a game of mini golf. I was supposed to pack a picnic lunch, but I didn’t get that done. So, we went to a market to get lunch and headed a further north to a little beach on Buzzards Bay that Karen Baranowski introduced me to a couple of summers ago. The boys loved it and Sam decided he wanted to bring the Opti here to sail. 
