by Judy Handley | Oct 15, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 288: Indivisible Falmouth Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Cooler Than Yesterday; High Temp 61, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I spent my entire day getting ready for the No Kings rally on Saturday and the Indivisible Falmouth meeting tonight. But I could have skipped getting ready for the meeting as almost no one came. Either we are doing something terribly wrong or people are just too busy with election related activity to come to one more meeting. But we will have to figure that out after Saturday’s big rally. Still much to do to get ready for that to fret about low meeting attendance.
by Judy Handley | Oct 11, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 284: This and That Kind of Day
Date: Sunday, October 11, 2026
Weather: Mostly Overcast After Sun Early, Rain Late; High Temp 61, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
This was one of those days when I did a little of this and a little of that. I did some laundry, delivered the wheelchair I got yesterday to Patsy, picked up Shadow’s dogfood from Heather’s freezer, answered emails, and then I had to stop procrastinating and get the big job done. I did the quarterly financial report for the Board of Library Trustees which always takes me more time than it should. I’ll double check the figures tomorrow, but I hope I am done.
Delivering the wheelchair was not as easy I thought it would be. The bag that holds Patsy’s phone that has to be close to her at all times so I can get her blood sugar readings somehow got permanently attached to the wheelchair she has been using that belongs to Bridges. It should just be attached by Velcro straps. But someone must have taken the chair apart and put the straps between metal and plastic strips and I could not get it off. I had already transferred patsy from the old chair to the new one, but I had to transfer her back. I am just going to order another bag and will make the transfer when it arrives. I also started packing away some of Patsy’s summer clothes and replace them with some of the new things I bought at Walmart on Friday.
Today was Cape Cod Marathon Day. Jonah worked the early shift, then Ollie and Heather handed out cups of water to participants after they crossed the finish line.
They got home around 2:30, just before I arrived to pick up the dog food from the freezer. It was goo timing as I got to visit for a bit. Jed and Sam are in Stowe, Vermont today and tomorrow trying to find housing for Sam for the winter. They found a house that rents out 8 rooms. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, but everything else is shared. It is 30 minutes from the ski mountain where Sam will be working, but he loved the concept and the owner. There is not a room available until November, so he needs to still figure out what he will do for the last two weeks of October. But progress is being made!
by Judy Handley | Oct 10, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 283: Knocking on Doors and Doors and Doors
Date: Saturday, October 10, 2026
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 63, Low 48 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Along with my canvassing partner, Julie Lipkin, we walked and knocked on doors for four straight hours today in a neighborhood in Mashpee. We were told it was a compact neighborhood, but the streets went in circles, and we had 70 homes assigned to us. Compact maybe, but my phone says we walked 8 miles. There was sewer work being done in parts of the neighborhood which complicated things, but after 3 hours we were mighty happy to use one of the porta potties in place for the construction workers!
I made the trip to Providence this morning and made it to the Masonic Lodge in Centerville by 10:10 am to see if they had a wheelchair for Patsy. People were going in to donate equipment and others were coming out with their free treasures. But this all happens on Saturdays between 10 and 12. No other time. After a month of Saturdays when I couldn’t get there, I was so hoping the trip was going to be worth it. But when I walked in, I saw no wheelchairs. A young man had me write my name on a paper and he said if anyone came in with one, he would call me. I was so disappointed that I just went out to my car and sat there. I had to send an email to someone, so I wrote that before driving away. And just as I finished the email, I saw a man walking in front of my car pushing a wheelchair. I jumped out and followed him and, indeed, he was taking it in to donate. I looked at the young man I had spoken to earlier, and he said it was all mine. That is two successes in two days in my search for things for my sister.–yesterday’s Walmart clothing bonanza and a free wheelchair today. A big thank you to the Masonic Lodge for this service they provide.
by Judy Handley | Oct 9, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 282: Felt Like Winning the Lottery
Date: Friday, October 9, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 68, Low 48 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
It was another beautiful fall day. I headed to Bridges early to replace Patsy’s Dexcom sensor. This has to be done every 15 days and when it is not done on time, her phone goes ballistic. I had until tomorrow early afternoon, but there is no way I be assured of being there by then, so I did it today. From there I went to the ‘These Truths’ class with Jane Scarborough. Class is always interesting and certainly worth the time.
It was 12:30 when I got back to Falmouth and I ran a number of errands. These days, anytime I am near a clothing store, I duck into see if they have any of the things Patsy needs to build a winter wardrobe. I went into TJ Max and came out holding my head. For a person who doesn’t like shopping, that store always overwhelms me. Plus, they never seem to have anything I need for Patsy. I have been to Walmart three or four times in the past month and have looked for things there to no avail. But I was close by, so I went in again. I couldn’t believe it. They had long sleeved shirts, sweaters, winter compression stockings, almost everything on the list except for night gowns. I bought one of every color of the long-sleeved cotton shirts and the everyday sweaters. These will only last one winter, but the price was right and I felt like I had just won the lottery. With just a bit more online shopping, I think I will have most everything she needs for now.
My job this evening was working on the quarterly financial report for the Board of Library Trustees. I have way more to do, but at least I got that started. Now it is time to get to bed as tomorrow morning is an early one.
by Judy Handley | Oct 8, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 281: Omne Trium Perfectum
Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warmer Day; High Temp 69, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today fit the saying that good things some in threes. And as I just wrote that, I wondered where that saying came from. I looked it us and found that it goes way back to ancient times and is rooted in the Latin phrase omne trium perfectum which translates as “everything that comes in a trio is complete or perfect.” At least that is the quick answer to my question. There is more about the number three symbolizing totality, sacredness, or completion, but I’ll let you look into that if interested.
My three things today were a Newcomers program meeting, a birthday luncheon for Jane Woodin, and attending a soccer game between FHS and Monomoy. The last one was tense for me. I did not know until I got there that Jonah was going to be the goalie today.
No matter whose kid is in the goal, I always feel for them because there is so much pressure. I know Jonah ‘thinks’ soccer and knows where the ball will probably go, but it was hard for me to relax into the game with him as goalie. Teddy, the normal goalie has to have knee surgery, and the other goalie was elbowed in the head in the game on Monday, resulting in a concussion. Jonah is the only other member of the team with the ability who is willing to fill in, so there he will be, probably for the remainder of the season. Go, Jonah!
There was a fourth thing, but I did not attend. I left the soccer game at half time to go pick up Ollie up from a JV golf match. I also picked up food Heather had ordered from Le Bon Jour for the whole family and delivered both Ollie and the food home. Heather and Jed were going to head home right after the soccer game, gobble down dinner, and head to a Scout Court of Honor with Ollie. A family with three teen-aged boys makes for a busy enterprise.
by Judy Handley | Oct 7, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 280: Another Busy One
Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Still Cool; High Temp 62, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I was on the move today and I am feeling the exhaustion tonight. But nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix. I think it was so tiring because I moved from place to place. I spent an hour at an indivisible Falmouth Steering Committee meeting and then drove to East Falmouth for two hours to knock on doors for candidates, Jack Richarson for State representative and Dylan Fernandez for State senator. I then went to spend an hour visiting with my sister and found her in an exceptionally good mood. At 2:30 pm, I wheeled her off to a different part of the building for a Wampanoag drumming circle. I wish I could have stayed but I needed to ge home to let Shadow out and grab some lunch before going to a late afternoon reception for Dylan Fernandez. And in between all of this, I was on the phone with my sister’s doctor’s office as well as Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina. Somehow, even though I made absolutely sure everyone knew that Patsy’s medical insurance changed on August 1, I discovered yesterday that her primary care is still sending claims to North Carolina. Overseeing her medical needs is constant. Every single time I think I have things under control, another problem arises. But I can keep hoping that one of these times, there is not going to another single thing to deal with.
