by Judy Handley | May 27, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 147: More Deliberations About Moving My Sister to MA
Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Weather: Sunny with Some Cloudy Periods; High Temp 68, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today I revisited the two assisted living possibilities here in Falmouth for my sister Patsy. Since I visited Atria on Thursday, the room I looked at has already been taken. The room now available is even smaller than the first one. After the visit, I spent more time gathering feedback on this move. In the afternoon I had an Encore Programs meeting and then visited the second assisted living possibility, this time with my daughter Heather. I really needed another set of eyes and it was very helpful to have Heather along. My sister is not capable of making this decision for herself, so as her legal Healthcare POA, the decision falls to me. And I have to say, I am finding the whole process a bit overwhelming. Deciding which place is best for her, reading through the disclosure of rights and services of both places, figuring out the timing on when and how to make the move, and then finding a new primary care and a glaucoma doctor for her, transferring her health insurance, buying all new furniture, and on and on and on. I’ll get through this, but right now it is all consuming.
I did do one thing for myself today. I went to a Woodwell Climate Conversation on “Healing the Earth from the ground up: How farms can fight climate change.” Two scientists from Woodwell, Ludmila Rattis and José Lucas Safanelli, who both grew up on farms in Brazil, talked about the “hidden power of croplands and how regenerative farming practices that restore soil health can store carbon, strengthen resilience, and protect our planet.” The June conversation will be with a farmer from Martha’s Vineyard, and I hope to attend that one as well. I have always been interested in how we grow our food, and this evening’s conversation helped grow my knowledge.
One last note about food. Yesterday Heather gave me aa batch of lamb’s quarter that she weeded out of her raised beds on the deck. Lamb’s quarter is known as a weed to most people, but it is edible, much like spinach, but with ten times the vitamins and minerals. My mom taught me that in the springtime, fixing a mix of lamb’s quarter and pokeweed leaves gives your body what she called a ‘jumpstart’. So, I went on an excursion through my yard to find some pokeweed. It is just beginning to come up, but I found enough to compliment the lamb’s quarter. Pokeweed leaves have to be double boiled in water to get rid of the toxins, but I have prepared these common weeds to eat for many years. And I will share this spring delicacy with Heather tomorrow.
Lamb’s Quarter Young Pokeweed
by Judy Handley | May 26, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 146: Beautiful Day
Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 74, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
After a string of cool, overcast and/or rainy days, today was beautiful. The sky was Cape Cod blue with a few fluffy white clouds, and it was too warm for a long-sleeved shirt. That is my kind of weather. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to spend much time outside. I had a 9:30 am meeting, an 11 am tour of another assisted living facility possibility for my sister and that took 2 hours. But I think I have found the right place. Then home for lunch and some play time outside with Shadow before picking Ollie up for our Tuesday afternoon saxophone lesson to soccer practice extravaganza. That basically takes about 3 hours from start to finish, but I love doing it. Every chance I get to be with a grandkid, I take it. That special time in the car together is precious time for me. Then tonight I was on two different one-hour Indivisible Zoom calls. Tomorrow looks like it will warm, but not sunny. But sun or no sun, I hope to get some gardening done.
by Judy Handley | May 25, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 145: Memorial Day in Falmouth
Date: Sunday, May 25, 2026
Weather: Overcast, Some Rain, Clearing Late PM; High Temp 63, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Memorial Day in Falmouth always begins with a parade from the Village Green to the library lawn where there is a ceremony honoring those who have given their lives for their country … for each of us. Leading the parade was the Falmouth Police and Fire/EMS Honor Guard and the US Coast Guard Honor Guard, followed by state and town officials. Then came the Falmouth middle school and high school combined bands playing America the Beautiful written by Falmouth’s very own Katharine Lee Bates. The Scout troops in town march with their own color guard and today the Highland Light Scottish pipe band joined in. Heather marched with the town dignitaries, Jonah marched with the band, and Jed and Ollie marched with the Scouts. The speaker today was a chaplain with the US Army Reserve, and her speech was deeply moving. I think everyone left the ceremony with a renewed respect and appreciation for those who serve our country and with a deeper understanding of just what we are asking of them.
by Judy Handley | May 24, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 144: Hat Trick Plus One
Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026
Weather: Rainy Day; High Temp 56, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Jonah had another day of soccer tournament games even though it rained all day. When you play on turf rather than on real grass, they do not call off games for rain. I had not planned to go, but I decided at the last minute to drive the hour plus to get to Nauset for the first game at 10:30 am. It was windy, chilly, and miserable, so I decided to not stay for the second game. But I should have. Jonah made not one, not two, not three, but four goals. In soccer, when a player scores three goals in a game, it is called a hat trick. So #35 had a hat trick plus one today. Congratulations, Jonah!
by Judy Handley | May 23, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 145: Normal–question mark
Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026
Weather: Overcast; High Temp 62, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
For the past year, I don’t think life has been normal for any of us. I know for one thing that my Saturdays have been spent protesting, not doing the normal things in my life like attending soccer games. But I love watching my grandsons play soccer. So, it felt great today to take the day off protesting on the Green and head to the Outer Cape with Heather and Jonah for the first ACI game in this weekend’s tournament. There are two more games tomorrow and a game on Monday, depending on whether Jonah’s team wins or loses tomorrow. According to the weather, tomorrow’s games will be played in the rain. I haven’t decided yet whether or not I am willing to brave the rain. Stay tuned on that one.
The other totally normal thing I did today was to buy garden plants. Memorial Day is the traditional time to plant a garden on the Cape, so I bought a few tomato and pepper plants to get in the ground in the next couple of days. I have been so busy and it has been so cool this spring that I have had no incentive to work in the garden … something I normally love to do. So, the time has come.
Now this next bit of news is good news, but it doesn’t seem quite the norm. I got a video from my daughter-in-law Jo of Justin in shirt, tie, and coat escorting Coco into the middle school prom. I haven’t seen Justin wear a tie very many times in his entire life. But there he was in the video escorting Coco into the prom.
And a prom where parents attend? That must be normal in Puerto Rico. All the parents and students are staying at a resort for the weekend and attending the prom together tonight. And this is for middle school. I asked Jo what they do for graduating seniors and she replied that this year’s senior class is spending four days in a resort with one huge night event and then traveling to the Dominican Republic for five days. Wow! And whether it seems normal or not, the Handley-Hunts look great and are evidently having a good time.
Last thing—I talked to my friend Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand this evening. In just three days, she is flying back to the US to visit with family and friends for the summer. She always comes to visit me here on the Cape, but this year, she says she is not coming until I can promise to not be so busy. Uh-oh. I am going to have to work on this. Busy has become a way of life, but friends and family should always come first. I need to find a way to slow it down a bit.
by Judy Handley | May 22, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 142: So Proud
Date: Friday, May 22, 2026
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 63, Low 47 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
This was a full day with lots to write about, but I want to begin by proudly congratulating my one and only granddaughter, Coco. She was one of the speakers at her middle school graduation and Jo sent me a video allowing me to be there virtually. Coco is beautiful, inside and out, and today she looked and sounded much older than her 13 years.
I have five grandchildren, four boys and then Coco, all teenagers. Sam is 19, Ziggy is 17, Jonah will be 17 in June, Ollie is 14, and Coco will be 14 in July. I have always called them the ‘Fab 5’ and they are proving that my description was accurate, each one fabulous in his or her own way.
Tonight I had dinner with the Goldstones, with all three Goldpebbles around the table. That was a special treat. After dinner we played a game of Trivial Pursuit—great family fun time together.
In addition to focusing on grandchildren, it was a full day of activities. It started even before I had time to get dressed. I got a call from the physican’s assistant that visits with my sister periodically. She was just calling to give me an update on my sister’s diabetes, but we talked about much more. I asked her opinion on moving my sister here to Falmouth, and although it will be hard on sister at first, she feels a move to hear where I can keep an eye on things is a good idea.
Nest was a trip to the bank to deal with a fraudulent charge on my credit card, on to my Friday class and from there to lunch with friend Jane Woodin, a stop at the grocery store on the way home, making dessert for dinner tonight, and then off to Heather and Jed’s. Another busy day. But it is not over yet. I am going to go watch the recording of Stephen Colbert’s last Late Night Show from last night before I head to bed. This is really emotional for me. During the last few months of Mark’s life when we moved off the boat and on to land, we had a television for the first time in 13 years. One of the programs we loved to watch together was Colbert’s show. Now it is no more, and I truly feel like I have lost a best friend.
