by Judy Handley | Aug 8, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 220: More Fun at Menauhant Beach and Bourne’s Pond
Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019
Weather: Windy Beach Day; High 85, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Menauhant Beach is on the Vineyard Sound. It is on one side of the road. A narrow channel connects the beach side of Menauhant to Bourne’s Pond on the other side of the road. While Ollie was having his last swim lesson of summer 2019 at the beach, good friend Peter Baranowski was heading across Bourne’s Pond with Bruce and Jane Woodin and their twin grandchildren, Aurora and Jasper, on a clamming expedition. Ollie and I were invited to join, but since it was the last swim lesson, we decided to decline the offer. Ollie was really torn as he LOVES clams and would love to learn about clamming from Peter, known affectionately as Poseidon to my grandchildren. Maybe another time. After the swim lesson, we did walk across the road to greet the expedition on its return. Bruce and the twins led the way with Jane and Peter behind. Peter was transporting a full basket of clams that was graciously shared with us. And I documented the occasion by getting a photo of the ‘clammers’ that Bruce labeled as American Gothic . . . Cape Cod style.
I headed home with the clams while Joey and Molly’s grandmother watched Ollie. When I returned, the wind had ramped up even more than earlier and the kids decided to ride the waves on body boards. The boards are light weight and kept flying into the air, but the sister of Jacqueline, the swim teacher, became a hero by staying with Ollie, Joey, and Molly and keeping those boards in control. The waves were as rowdy as the kids, so I stayed at the ready to go out quickly if needed. Thankfully no help was needed. I just got to sit back and watch joyous kids enjoying summer fun.
by Judy Handley | Aug 7, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 219: Day Filled with Fun
Date: Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Weather: Perfect Summer Day; High 87, Low 71 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was a perfect summer day in every way. The weather was beautiful—sunny and hot with just enough wind to keep you cool—and it was filled with fun activities. Ollie and I started our day at Menauhant with swim lessons. After lessons, Ollie played and enjoyed the surf with Jude, grandson of my next door neighbors, and Joey who lives next door to the Goldstones. Ollie is 7, Joey is 9, and Jude is 10. But the difference in age makes no difference at the beach. Kids manage to have a great time despite age differences. We only stayed until noon today as Ollie and I were headed to Woods Hole for the afternoon. We were meeting Jed and Jonah at the WHOI tennis courts at 3:30 pm, but in the hours in between, Ollie and I had lunch at Marina Park on the Woods Hole waterfront and then we visited the WHOI Exhibit Center where we bought a book about “flying deep” in Alvin. Ollie played in the full-sized model of the inner sphere, living out the adventures outlined in the book. Alvin is a 3-person research submarine that takes scientists deep into the ocean on explorations that was first launched in 1964. As we left the center, Ollie spotted a strange looking insect and persisted until he got a great photo. Then we headed to the tennis courts to meet Jed and Jonah. Ollie had requested a tennis date and I left with the three of them playing their first match.
This perfect summer day is in such complete contrast to what is happening in our country this week. As I watched coverage tonight of our President’s trip to Dayton and El Paso today, my heart ached for the people of those two communities. I am totally with the people of Dayton who started the ‘Do Something’ chant earlier in the week. I don’t know about you, but I certainly do not believe that assault weapons belong in the hands of anyone other than the military. Gun violence in this country is simply out of control and we do need to do something, anything as a starting point, to remedy this situation. If nothing happens before Congress reconvenes in September, I think we should all go to Washington to demand that our legislators DO SOMETHING NOW.
by Judy Handley | Aug 6, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 218: Wine Explorers
Date: Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Weather: Overcast with Periods of Rain; High 80, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was an overcast day here with periods of rain. Heather brought Ollie over early this morning as I needed to be here. During a storm last week, old Verizon wires that once brought home phone service into the cottage were blown down and were hanging midair in my side yard. This morning Verizon was coming to remove the wires, but I needed to be home when they arrived. Verizon and Ollie arrived early. The wires were removed and Ollie and I had a relaxed morning. We decided not to go to swim lessons due to the threatening weather. And rightly so, as just about the time for Ollie’s lessons, the heavens let loose and we had the heaviest rain of the day. A little later, Ollie and I headed to Walmart to buy some Lego kits for a Lego challenge during his afternoon playdate with friends Raylan and Grayson. Once his friends arrived, I had an easy afternoon as the boys played without the need of any adult intervention. Heather and Jed picked Jonah up from soccer camp at 3 pm and once they got home, I headed home to get ready for the my evening out.
Last September I signed up for a Newcomers Wine Explorer group. I couldn’t attend the first event last October and then there was an email problem and I didn’t receive notices for a couple of months. So, first one thing and then another kept me from attending a gathering until tonight. My reason for joining this group was to learn more about wine and my education began tonight. The other members of the group are pretty serious about their wine choices, so I look forward to learning from them.
by Judy Handley | Aug 5, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 217: Busy Goldpebbles
Date: Monday, August 5, 2019
Weather: Still Sunny, but Cooler; High 78, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
There is only one Goldpebble in Camp Oma this week. Sam is away at Scout camp. Jonah is attending an all-day soccer camp at Falmouth Academy each day this week. And that leaves me with Ollie. We went to swim lessons this morning and spent the rest of the day at the beach. I left around 2 pm to run some errands and pick Jonah up after soccer camp and Heather came to the beach to be with Ollie. It takes a village. 
Ollie loves playing with Joey at the beach after lessons and today he got to play with Jude, the grandson of my next door neighbors. Jude and his little brother are here for the week and are in swim lessons. Thunderstorms are in the forecast for tomorrow, so we shall see if there are swim lessons. But rain or not, in the afternoon, Ollie has invited his good friends Raylan and Grayson over for a playdate. Then tomorrow night I have a wine group date. Last September I signed up to be a member of a wine group, but this will be the very first time I that I have not had a conflict and can attend. Not sure a wine tasting group is my cup of tea, but I’m willing to give it a go.
by Judy Handley | Aug 4, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 216: Sunday Brunch
Date: Sunday, August 4, 2019
Weather: Another Sunny Day; High 82, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I couldn’t write and post this log last night. When I turned on my computer, there was a message saying I needed to click a button to do security updates for Windows 10. I assumed this would take no more than an hour, but three hours later it was still going and I went to bed.
The big event of yesterday was a trip to the Boston area to meet my sister-in-law and her husband who are visiting from Florida. My brother died at the age of 33 when I was in my senior year of high school, but my family continued to be close to my sister-in-law and their three children. Sue was from Woburn, Massachusetts, and returned to Massachusetts with he children after my brother’s death. She remarried Brad Cook and he became full-fledged member of our family. Brad and Sue now live in Florida but come north to visit a few times each year as three of their children, two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren live here. We met at the Brickhouse Café in Dedham. It got good online reviews and is close to a Costco and a Whole Foods so I could do shopping after brunch. The Café lived up to the reviews and we had a delightful time catching up on happenings in our lives. My niece Lynn joined us, but the other niece, Candi, had a prior commitment. Her husband Char was biking in the Pan-Mass Challenge, something he does every year, and Candi was working as a volunteer for the event. If you are not familiar with the Pan-Mass Challenge, it is an annual bike-a-thon that raises money for life-saving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. So proud of Char for doing this every year. Hopefully I’ll get to see them soon.
