by Judy Handley | Jan 23, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 23: All Over the Place
Date: Friday, January 23, 2026
Weather: Partly Sunny, Temp Dropping; High Temp 36, Low 6 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
My mind and my body felt like separate entities today. My body was in one location, but my heart and mind were elsewhere. I got up early, walked Shadow, and drove up to the Bourne Bridge area to Pampered Paws to drop him off for his every 7 weeks grooming appointment. After doing that, I drove back to East Falmouth to take my car in for an ‘evaluation’. When I had new tires put on last Saturday, I was told the car needs new front brake pads. Then, later that same day, the car started sounding like it had no muffler. So, this morning’s appointment was to see what needs to be done and to determine if it is worth putting more money into a 16-year-old car approaching 200,000 miles. What they found was the very problem I have been anticipating for two years. I need a new catalytic converter (Break Out Another Thousand!), plus I need new brakes. But for the whole morning, my heart and mind were with the people in Minnesota who were having a general strike and protest today against the horrors ICE is committing there and with Ollie who was in Hyannis having his broken arm reset and pinned. Thankfully, both the people of Minnesota and Ollie stood strong, but I ached to be with them.
I had an Encore business lunch appointment with good friend Bruce Woodin, ran some errands on the way home, heard from Heather that Ollie was in a bit of pain but home and doing okay, and got home long enough to take care of a few things I needed to do there. Then I headed back up the highway to pick Shadow up. Once I got Shadow home, I was out again to take Ollie some clam chowder and a chocolate chip cookie cake. I was so relieved to see him. He was obviously experiencing a bit of pain, but he is handling it all like a trooper. And I got there in time to say goodbye to Jonah who was heading out to go snowboarding in New Hampshire with friends for the weekend.
When I finally got home for the evening, I turned on the TV to see reports from Minnesota. Over 50,000 people came out today to protest against ICE in very frigid weather. The high there today was -9 F, and much lower with wind chill factored in. Tomorrow at noon we have our Falmouth standout in solidarity with the very brave people of Minneapolis-St. Paul and the temperature here is going to be in the low teens. Not as cold as in Minnesota, but cold enough for us to truly feel the connection!
Tomorrow will be spent standing in solidarity with the people of Minnesota and preparing for Sunday’s snowstorm. We are expecting a foot of snow, so I probably won’t be driving anywhere. I went to the grocery store tonight, but there was no arugula, no kale, no broccoli, none of the things I wanted, so I’ll try again tomorrow. Obviously, everyone in Falmouth is preparing for the storm, leaving the grocery store shelves empty.
by Judy Handley | Jan 22, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 22: Overflowing with Community
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2026
Weather: Partly Sunny, Warm for January; High Temp 44, Low 27 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today was warm for January and much of the snow and ice melted away. But never fear. More snow and ice is in our future. Sunday into Monday we are forecast to get over a foot of snow. And tomorrow night the temperature will dip to 6 degrees F. We are in for a week of serious winter.
The highlight of the day was the Town of Falmouth’s Forum on Immigration.
There were speakers, time for small group discussions, but the most remarkable thing was the number of people attending. Every seat in the room was taken and there were scores of people lining the walls and standing out in the hall. There must have been wellover 300 people in attendance, and I think even the speakers were taken aback at the number of people, almost all of whom were supportive of our immigrant population. Heather and the other four Select Board members were present. And I know Heather helped plan the event. I am so proud of her dedication to this town!
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.
