2026 Life Logs, Day 29: Car Repairs, Meetings, Uva, and a Grand Surprise
Date: Thursday, January 29, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High Temp 26, Low 7 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
My Honda Fit got new front brakes, a new catalytic converter and associated pipes, and front headlight ‘regeneration’ today. While that was being done, I had a meeting at my house about future workshops/trainings that the Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition and Indivisible Falmouth will have, and then tonight attended a two hour Zoom training on Noncooperation 101 with the Freedom Fighters. In between, I drove to Mashpee to a Newcomers/Encore event at Uva, a new age wine bar. It is self-serve. You get a bracelet to wear with a card that you tap on a selection plate and then put your wine glass under the wine spigot of the wine of choice, press a button to indicate the amount, and instantly, your glass is filled. Some members of my wine group were there, and we sat together for a bit to visit. It was all great fun.
It was when I got home from the wine bar that I got the greatest surprise of the day. While I was out drinking wine, my new neighbor, Billy, had shoveled two additional parking spaces in the driveway and had shoveled the path I had told him I was going to shovel all around the yard so Shadow and I can walk the loop instead of walking in the road. Oh, the wonderful energy of youth. Thank you, Billy!!!
The weather report is simply cold with snow on the way Saturday night into Sunday. It is truly winter in New England. And I can’t end this log without wishing a happy birthday to my sister Margie who would have turned 98 today if she were still living. She would have celebrated in a piano bar where she would have been tap dancing on the table tops. She was the ultimate party girl. Do you think they have piano bars in heaven?
2026 Life Logs, Day 28: Workday, Evening Vigil
Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High Temp 24, Low 10 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
So proud to be a member of this community and of Indivisible Falmouth and the Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition. Tonight’s vigil in front of Town Hall honored the courage of the people of Minnesota and acknowledged the grief we share for the lives lost on the ‘Streets of Minneapolis’. Afterwards, a statement was read before the Select Board thanking the town of Falmouth for their strong support and urging its continuance. It was just the right place to be tonight to give one that wonderful, warm feeling of community despite the frigid weather and the horrible happenings in Minnesota and around the country.
My day was spent in a Nominating Committee meeting for Encore and doing some planning work on my computer for Indivisible Falmouth. Shadow and I also spent some time outside starting to clear a walking path through the yard. When he runs on top of the snow, he continually falls through. And even though the town has done its best to keep the sidewalks plowed, there are places where I just have to walk in the street. A walking path in the yard sounds a lot safer for now!
2026 Life Logs, Day 27: Living in Winter Wonderland
Date: Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Then Cloudy Late Day; High Temp 24, Low 12 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
The snow we have is definitely going to be with us for the foreseeable future, and now there is the forecast of another snowstorm on Saturday night going into Sunday. Not as much snow as winter storm Fern brought our way, but it will certainly add to our winter wonderland. A little work, a little play, that was today. But the big news was that the driveway finally got plowed!
2026 Life Logs, Day 26: Snow Day
Date: Monday, January 26, 2026
Weather: Overcast, with a Bit More Snow; High Temp 32, Low 12 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
This was an official snow day. No school. Very little traffic in town. Just snow plows.
Today I continued shoveling the walkway to my house from my temporarily non-existent driveway. The driveway is just a field of snow right now except for the narrow path out to the street made by my neighbor Andy with his snow blower. Thank you, Andy.
Shadow and I trudged through the deep, wet snow early this morning to get out to the street so we could walk, but it was truly a struggle. So, thank you to my good neighbor. Shadow and I left a few brownies in a container on his doorstep. And I know his day started by waking up to the walkway up to his door being shoveled by an anonymous neighbor. Seems like the snow brings out the best in all of us.
The day was uneventful. Just shoveling snow, taking a rest, then shoveling more snow. Then tonight I was on two different Zooms dealing with knowing your rights and legally recording during protests or during an ICE raid. It is so sad that we all need to do this training, but we do. What has happened in Minnesota could happen anywhere, and each of us needs to be prepared.
But this evening, as the snow began to fall once more, we got good news in that Greg Bovino, Border Patrol agent who is pure evil, is being taken out of Minnesota, sent back to his post in California, and is expected to be retiring soon. There are other indications that at least some of the other 3,000 agents in Minnesota are being withdrawn as well. Who knows where they will be sent next. But for the people of Minnesota this is very good news.
I am headed out to shovel the walkway one more time before heading to bed. We are headed into a week with the high temperature not getting above 32 degrees F. Whatever is left out there tonight, is going to be frozen that way for a few days, and I don’t want a frozen walkway! And by the way, Shadow doesn’t love the deep snow, but he loves running in the cleared pathways.
Grandkid Update. Jonah has had three wonderful days with friends in New Hampshire snowboarding day and night. They will be returning home tomorrow morning. Ollie’s allergic reaction is no better, but no worse. He will be seeing a PA in his orthopedist’s office tomorrow, who will unwrap his arm, clean the area thoroughly, and then wrap it back up again. This is being done to try and get rid of the irritant causing allergic reaction. Somehow, he is still keeping his positive attitude. Go, Ollie!
2026 Life Logs, Day 25: A Busy Snowy Day
Date: Sunday, January 25, 2026
Weather: Overcast, Snow and Wind; High Temp 30, Low 28 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
The snow started at 10 am this morning, very light at first, and gradually building. By my measuring standard, by 11:45 am we had nearly an inch. At 1:45 pm we were getting closer to 3 inches. And by 4:45 pm we had between 6 and 7 inches.
Then the snow and the wind both picked up. Shadow and I were outside, and I was trying to shovel the walkways, but as soon as I got to the end, the path was filled in again. At this point the snow was very icy, so we came back inside plastered in ice.
By 7:45 pm, the snow had slowed almost to a stop, but the wind continues. My best estimate is that we have 8-10 inches. And now we are getting the icy snowy rain predicted. When that ends, the forecast shows very little chance of more precipitation until about 11 am tomorrow when we start getting 0.1 of an inch an hour until midnight. There is no school tomorrow and that is good for both Jonah and Ollie. Jonah is still in New Hampshire and not sure when they can drive home. And Ollie is still struggling with the allergic reaction to something that happened during the procedure to reset his arm on Friday. The Allegra didn’t work, so they had to start the prednisone this morning. So far, that is not working either. If it is no better tomorrow, they will contact the doctor again to see what to do next. But he won’t be going back to school until the swelling and itching is under control. But at least he is maintaining his positive attitude.
This afternoon, in between forays outside to try and keep the walkway shoveled, I attended a 2 hour Resistance Lab on Zoom, watched the second half of the Patriots-Broncos game (Go, Pats!), and then attended a Massachusetts Rapid Response Zoom on things we can do in Massachusetts to stand in solidarity with what is happening in Minnesota. Some of the call was about being prepared if Massachusetts should be targeted. I gained a lot of information in a short period of time, so I’ll spend tomorrow unpacking that in between digging out of the snow.
This is the deepest snow Shadow has ever encountered, and he finds going to the bathroom a little challenging. I guess if I had to squat down in the freezing snow to go pee, I would be challenged as well! I tried playing ball with him when we had just 3 to 4 inches, but I found that he also doesn’t care for putting an icy tennis ball in his mouth. I’ve always said he loves the snow, but today I found out he loves 2-3 inches of snow, but no more than that.
It is time to bundle up and take Shadow out one more time before we head to bed. I should shovel the walkway one more time, but I don’t think I have the energy. That will be tomorrow’s job.
2026 Life Logs, Day 24: Winter Storm Fern on the Move
Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Frigid; High Temp 17, Low 8 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Winter storm Fern has much of the country a little on edge, but the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and an allergic reaction to the antibiotic they applied to Ollie’s arm when they did the reset procedure yesterday also made this day not your normal Saturday.
The storm is going to impact most of this country east of the Rocky Mountains. Half of the country was under extreme winter weather alert today. Here we had frigid temperatures and tomorrow we are expecting somewhere near a foot of snow, followed by icy rain, and then topped off with a little more snow.
At noon today, I headed to the Green where our weekly rally was dedicated to showing our solidarity with Minnesota. When I got there, I had no idea another person was murdered in the streets of Minneapolis this morning. What people had heard was that it was an immigrant. But as we all now know, it was another citizen protester, 37 year-old Alex Pretti. If you have not already seen the commentary by American historian Heather Cox Richardson, you must. And I really mean this is a must for every person in this country. You can watch it here.
As the day progressed, it became obvious that Ollie’s allergic reaction to what appeared to be the antibiotic solution they used on his arm yesterday when they did the bone reset was not getting better. Slowly, after the procedure, his upper arm was slightly swollen with a red, itchy rash. Heather washed the part of his arm that was exposed, but much of his forearm is splinted and wrapped. The good news is that he no longer needs anything for the pain, but the bad news was that taking Benadryl as the doctor prescribed wasn’t working and when they increased the dosage, it completely knocked him out for three hours. So, tonight the doctor recommended a trip to the ER. It was fairly quick and they decided on trying Allegra instead of Benadryl. And if that doesn’t work, they prescribed prednisone and an EpiPen if things really go wrong. He is home now, wide awake after the 3-hour Benadryl nap, but in good spirits and hoping that when he does fall asleep, it will be an uneventful night. I will certainly sleep more soundly knowing that the ER doctor made sure they have a Plan 2 and Plan 3 if Plan 1 doesn’t work for Ollie.
Welcome to The Voyage of Windbird . . . and Beyond. My name is Judy Handley and I live on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. For six years of my life, my husband Mark and I sailed around the world. I documented that story, one day at a time, in this blog that was then just called The Voyage of Windbird. Those daily logs from 2005 to 2011 tell the story of our circumnavigation.
