by Judy Handley | Sep 22, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 265—Soccer Saturday and Dinner with Friends
Date: Saturday, September 22, 2018
Weather: Lovely Last Day of Summer; High 73, Low 50 degrees F
Location: Back Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was a lovely last day of summer on the Cape. I always hate to let go of summer, but at 9:54 pm, summer 2018 officially came to an end. But today’s sunshine and deep blue sky filled with wispy wind clouds made for a perfect end to a fun-filled summer.
Today was all about soccer times three. Ollie’s practice and very first scrimmage was at 1:30 pm in downtown Falmouth. Jonah’s game was at 2:00 pm in North Falmouth. And Sam’s game was at 3:30 pm in a totally different part of town. But since they were all in Falmouth, so I got to see half of each game. Jed is no longer the coach for Sam’s team. He is now Ollie’s coach and it was delightful to watch him work with the little ones.
He was so patient with them, made sure to give each child positive encouragement, and they all seemed to have a great time. Today was their first scrimmage and Ollie put his whole heart and soul into it.
He won the toss to be goalie in the second half of the scrimmage and he attacked that position with the same energy.
He’s a good little player and I really enjoyed watching his team. But I had to tear myself away so I could see the last half of Jonah’s game. By the time I got there, it was into the second half and Jonah was the goalie. Those skinny little legs of his look even skinnier when he wears the oversized goalie shirt, but those little legs are super fast.
When Jonah’s game ended, I went home to get ready for my evening dinner at the Woodins and then headed to see the second half of Sam’s game. Sam was playing a great game
until he fell and hurt his foot or ankle. He had to leave the field and I had to leave before the game was over, so I haven’t gotten an update on his injury. He was only limping slightly, so I sure hope he is just fine. From the soccer field, I headed directly to Bruce and Jane Woodins. They hosted our Newcomers Dining-in Club dinner this evening and wanted to take advantage of the warmth and sunlight by having us arrive a little earlier than usual. As always, the food was wonderful and the conversations interesting.
I feel very lucky to be included in this group and always enjoy our time together.
by Judy Handley | Sep 21, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 264—Back Home on the Cape
Date: Friday, September 21, 2018
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Windy; High 69, Low 65 degrees F
Location: Back Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The trip to New Hampshire was short, but it was wonderful to attend the NHPR event and visit with friends Detta Porat and Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg. Alan and Helaine were headed to Maine this afternoon where they keep Atlantis, their sailboat. Tomorrow morning they will take Atlantis up the river to be taken out of the water for this season. We visited a bit this morning and then I headed home so they could get ready to go. Costco is on the way home, so I couldn’t resist a stop. But I still arrived home by late afternoon and had a quiet evening at home.
Yesterday Justin sent a photo of Coco who just lost her first tooth. I sent a message back that Ollie lost his first tooth last week and it is the same one that Coco lost. So being the doting grandmother that I am, I just must share photos of the two showing off their new snaggle tooth smiles!
by Judy Handley | Sep 20, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 263—Celebration, Reflection
Date: Thursday, September 20, 2018
Weather: Mostly Cloudy with Drizzle; High 65, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home with Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg, Bow, NH
Today I drove from Cape Cod to New Hampshire to attend a New Hampshire Public Radio celebration of their successful Campaign for Innovation. The drive gave me a chance to reflect on the fifteen years that Mark and I spent in New Hampshire. When Mark took the job of managing a public radio station in Concord, NH, it was exactly that—one radio station serving Concord and the immediate vicinity. The call letters were WEVO. But it didn’t stay that way long. Mark’s vision for the station was to expand by setting up repeater stations that would provide coverage to all areas of the state. With the help of a supportive Board of Directors, an extremely talented and dedicated staff, and the financial support of listeners, a network of stations was added and WEVO became NHPR, New Hampshire Public Radio. Being the CEO of this operation was not just a job for Mark. Public radio was his passion and I know that tonight he would have been filled with pride to know that his vision is alive and thriving.
The NHPR celebration started at 5:30 pm, but I arrived a couple of hours early so I could meet with my good friend Detta. She teaches in a school just a few miles from the LaBelle Winery where the public radio function was being held. So she met me at the end of her school day and we had a wonderful couple of hours catching up on what has been happening in our lives over the summer. When I arrived at the NHPR celebration, one of the first people I saw was Betsy Gardella.
Photo by Allegra Boverman.
Photo by Allegra Boverman.
But looming over all of this was the fact that one year ago today Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico destroying everything in her path. I did not get to talk to Justin and Jo today, but I know it must have also been a day of celebration and reflection for them and all of the amazingly resilient people of Puerto Rico who survived Maria’s devastation. I can’t imagine that they didn’t spend their day reflecting on the past year, but hopefully they took time to celebrate their successes in overcoming one of the worst natural disasters our country has ever had. At the same time, we all know that way too many people died and way too many are still suffering the consequences with way too little assistance. I felt so fortunate to hear an hour-long program on public radio on my way here today that reported on the current state of things in Puerto Rico from the perspective of young people. We got so many things wrong in dealing with this disaster, but the vision of these young people is still so hopeful. Realistic, but hopeful. And hope is a good thing.
by Judy Handley | Sep 19, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 262—Still Drizzling
Date: Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Weather: Overcast with Drizzle; High 68, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
We were hoping for sunshine today because the Goldstone Monarch butterflies started emerging from their chrysalises yesterday.
By this morning all five had emerged, but we didn’t want to release them in the rain. So, release before school was postponed until afternoon with the hope of better weather after school. That didn’t happen. It was still drizzling. But the decision was made to take them to the backyard and give them the chance to fly away. The Goldpebbles plus neighbors Molly and Joey each chose one of the 5 butterflies to take their name and then personally tried to get them to fly.
Only one took us up on that offer, but hopefully tomorrow will be warmer with a little sunshine and the beautiful butterflies can start their trek to Mexico. And we have have one lone caterpillar that still needs to go through this process. I went to get fresh milkweed for the very hungry caterpillar today and I am hoping that by tomorrow there will be a chrysalis, not a caterpillar.
Tomorrow I am going to spread my wings and trek to New Hampshire to attend a New Hampshire Public Radio celebration of their Campaign for Innovation. In Mark’s fifteen years in New Hampshire, he and his very capable staff expanded public radio there from one station, WEVO in Concord, to a network of twelve stations that cover the entire state. We watched WEVO grow to become New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR). When Mark retired, he knew that what the station needed next was a leader with expertise in raising funds to assure that NHPR could thrive in the twenty-first century. Betsy Gardella was hired to succeed Mark and tomorrow we will all celebrate her success in raising more than 5 million dollars in the Campaign for Innovation. Mark would be so pleased to know that his dream for New Hampshire Public is alive and well. Before the celebration, I will have a short visit with my friend Detta Porat and after the celebration, I will spend the night with good friends Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg before returning home on Friday.
by Judy Handley | Sep 18, 2018 | 2018 Life Logs |
2018 Life Logs, Day 260—Just a Monday
Date: Monday, September 17, 2018
Weather: Partly Sunny; 77, Low 67 F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was just a Monday—a trip to the gym, grocery shopping, running errands, clothes shopping, and spending the evening with the Goldpebbles while Heather and Jed attended a Scout parent meeting. There was also more communication with Sam on Windbird about a sailing destination. No decision yet, but narrowing in on joining them for a sail from in the Leewards from St. Kitts to Nevis to Antigua in January or doing the passage from Aruba to Columbia in late May. Being away in January to avoid winter weather is enticing, so that might be the deciding factor.
