by Judy Handley | Jan 21, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 21: Happy 19th Birthday to Sam
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Weather: Temperature Rising; High Temp 40, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today started out in the teens and slowly, slowly, the temperature kept rising. Right now at 11 o’clock at night it is 40 degrees out and will stay that way until morning. Tomorrow we will have a sunny, warm day in the 40’s. On Friday, we’ll be back in the 30’s. And on Saturday we will be in the teens. Then we stay in the teens and 20’s for a few days with a foot of snow forecast for Sunday going into Monday. My goal tomorrow is to put sand on the driveway which is a sheet of ice right now. I’m hoping the warmer temps and the sunshine tomorrow will melt the ice. I had dinner with Heather and family tonight, and when I got home, I discovered that Jed had put a tube of sand in my trunk. Thank you, Jed!
I spent my day working on Encore business. I am on the Nominating Committee seeking out new members for next year’s Board. But in the late afternoon, I took a break to have lunch and catch up on the news. Bad idea. I spent the rest of the day completely dumb founded after hearing what our dictator president said in front of the world in Davos. It is enough to make a sane person honestly think they are crazy. The misrepresentation of history, the disrespect for our allies, the confusion of not knowing the difference between Greenland and Iceland, the distortion of truth on every front. Ugly, ugly, ugly. It is almost more than a sane person can believe is actually happening. In what kind of world do we accept such behavior from a world leader? Sorry. I try to keep my rants to myself. But today was just too much.
On a much brighter note, nineteen years ago, on a cold and snowy Sunday, Samuel Ellery Goldstone came into this world. Sam is in the middle of finals, but he and two other friends with birthdays this week are planning a birthday celebration this weekend. Happy birthday, Sam!
by Judy Handley | Jan 18, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 18: It’s Snowing
Date: Sunday, January 18, 2026
Weather: Overcast with Rain, Turning to Snow; High Temp 47, Low 32 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Shadow and I slept in this morning and then I spent nine straight hours NOT focused on things I had to do, but just on what I wanted to do. It is the first time since early in December that I can remember having a day without time sensitive things I needed to do hanging over my head. Of course, I still have a badly neglected personal ‘to do’ list, but the ‘have to get it done in the next two hours’ list is non-existent today. It felt wonderful to just sit and do nothing for a change. But as evening approached, I did get on my computer to write some emails that needed to be sent out on Friday past. At least I am only a couple of days behind!
The morning was overcast and rainy today, but sometime in the afternoon, I looked outside and the ground was turning white.
It is still snowing and is supposed to snow all night, but the accumulation is only forecast to be between 2 and 5 inches. Shadow and I will have to get up early tomorrow to shovel our way out to play in the snow. I am attending a breakfast in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. at 9 am. It is less than a half mile away, so it will probably be easier to walk than to get the car shoveled off. I am looking forward to spending the morning honoring MLK. So much of my time in the past few months was focused on the Nonviolence in Action film series and tomorrow morning’s event will give me the time to reflect on what I learned and give thanks to Dr. King and all of the people, past and present, who believe in the power of nonviolence.
by Judy Handley | Jan 17, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 17: Mishap at Sunday River
Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026
Weather: Sunny AM, Turning Cloudy; High Temp 47, Low 32 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
My activities today started by taking my car in for an oil change and tire rotation. But the rotation didn’t happen as there was not enough tread on the front tires to bother. So, I ended up with four new tires. The B-O-A-T acronym came to mind—Break Out Another Thousand. This time it was a car, not a boat, but same, same.
Then it was on to the Green for the Saturday rally. The weather was mild today. We had about 150 people attend and a few dogs tagged along as well. Dogs for peaceful resistance!
I had planned to go home afterwards and just relax, but when I looked at the weather report, I changed my mind. I was going to drive to Costco tomorrow to return the huge bag of cold weather gear I bought for Justin and family but ended up not needing. Tomorrow’s weather starts out with rain here and snow further north, and then we get snow later in the day and overnight. I decided that I would rather drive up late this afternoon, so I did.
On my way home I got a message from Heather. I decided to pull over to read the message, and it was not news I wanted to hear. Heather, Jed, Jonah, and Ollie were skiing/snowboarding at Sunday River in Maine today. On the final run of the day, Ollie’s board went out from under him. He landed on his right arm which resulted in a break just above his wrist. Luckily Jonah was with him, and they were able to call ski patrol. They X-rayed and splinted the forearm right on the spot. It was an unfortunate mishap, but Heather said things went as smoothly as this sort of thing can. Jonah was super helpful and Ollie was in pretty good spirits. But that will end Ollie’s snowboarding for now.
by Judy Handley | Jan 16, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 16: Slowing Down a Bit
Date: Friday, January 16, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Windy and Cold; High 32, Low Temp 29 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I survived another week of meetings and obligations that has kept me very busy. Today I had an Indivisible meeting and an Encore meeting, a trip to the library to deliver checks, and I ran a few personal errands. It was a busy day, but not too busy, which is a delightful change. I looked at my calendar just now, and from tonight through the next two weeks, my calendar looks much more normal. A meeting here and there, social activities here and there, but nothing like the last couple of months. So, I am celebrating tonight and am going to actually get to bed before midnight. Life is good.
by Judy Handley | Jan 14, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 14: Promises, Promises
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Weather: Partly Sunny, Warmer; High 47, Low Temp 42 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I promised myself to get the last of the Christmas decorations down today, and I kept that promise. It was warm (upper 40’s) and dry, so the perfect day to unwind the more than 2.000 feet of garland wrapped around the rail fence out front and store it away until next Christmas. Each garland is 18 ft long and it takes 10 to do the front fence. I can now say that, for me, Christmas is officially over.
I also have promised myself to always put family and friends above the crazy busy volunteer schedule I maintain these days. I was out running errands this morning and saw Bruce Woodin. He invited me to come have lunch with him and Jane at the Senior Center. I immediately started by responding that I didn’t have time, but I stopped myself mid-sentence and said I’d love to come. I saw a number of people I know while at lunch. The food was good and the camaraderie even better. One little step toward keeping that promise.
So. two promises kept today. But the promise to slow down my schedule a bit is going to take a little longer to accomplish. I ended the day with a two-hour meeting and have more of the same tomorrow and Friday. Then, this weekend, I am going to take a close look at my calendar and see if I can’t find a way to slow things down a bit going forward.
I had a wonderful conversation with my friends Kevin and Claire this afternoon. We had made an ‘appointment’ to talk at 2 pm today, and talk we did! After a break visiting with family over Christmas, they are back in Guaymas, Mexico, working on their boat. The projects to get it ready to sail go on and on, but I think they are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, they are beginning to see some backlash against Americans due to what we have done in Venezuela. Guaymas, and close by San Carlos, have a lot of Americans and Canadians that winter there. If we can’t get things under control in this country, I fear there is going to be backlash against Americans all around the world.
Last night and tonight, I took time to get on my exercise bike for the first time since Christmas and watch a little MS Now. What I saw happening in Minnesota last night and tonight was so hard to watch. The cruelty of ICE being unleased on the people of Minnesota is beyond inhumane. We have got to push our senators and representatives to do what they can to stop this madness. But that is only going to happen if public pressure increases. And that means each of us has to do our part.. And that means I need to do more. So, so much for the promises of slowing down. It probably isn’t going to happen.
