by Judy Handley | Sep 17, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 260: Meetings … from Field Trips to Fascism
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026
Weather: Mostly Suny and Warmer; High Temp 77, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
The first meeting of the day was the one meeting a year that I really look forward to attending. It is the meeting where our Newcomers/Encore Field Trip Group plan our trips for the next 12 twelve months. This year we will be doing everything from touring the lighthouses on the Narragansett Bay to walking the Freedom Trail in Boston to role playing being a Senator in the Edward M. Kennedy Center’s full-size replica of the U.S. Senate chamber—the only one in the world. I was scheduled to volunteer at the Falmouth Dems headquarters this afternoon. I substitute there when a volunteer can’t make their shift. But extra people showed up so I was off the hook this afternoon. But then I had to be at the library early for our 6 pm Indivisible Falmouth meeting so I could set up. Tonight we were watching a film on how to deal with the move toward fascism that the Trump administration has tossed in our laps. Basically, it is just us, the people, who have to stand up against this and the film celebrated those who are doing so. Once the meeting was over, I rushed home to another 8 pm Zoom meeting on election protection. No grass is going to grow under my feet|!
by Judy Handley | Sep 16, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 259: NO KINGS 4 and Encore Welcome Back Luncheon
Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Weather: More Gorgeous Weather; High Temp 72, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Cape Cod blue skies and moderate temperatures have been dominating most days recently. It has been a glorious transition from summer to fall which comes officially next Tuesday. Starting on Saturday, it looks like it will get just a notch cooler. But I could take weather like today every day of the year.
I spent my morning and evening focused on the upcoming NO KINGS 4 happening across the country on October 17. It is not going to be a day of national protest as happened with NO KINGS 1, 2, and 3. Every Indivisible chapter across the country will be doing what makes sense for their area to promote early voting. The hope is that by voting early we avoid issues at the polls on November 3. We get our votes ‘in the bank’ early giving the message: no thrones, no crowns, no kings! But Indivisible Falmouth needs to decide what we will be doing, so we met on Zoom this morning to discuss that. Then I headed to the Encore Welcome Back Luncheon. I am no longer in charge of programs, but I was still in charge of the sound system today, so I had to be there early. It was a really lovely affair in a restaurant overlooking the Falmouth Harbor, and I was so happy to be an attendee instead of the organizer.
I went to visit my sister Patsy after the luncheon and tonight I attended a training Zoom meeting for No Kings. Tomorrow I split my day between an organizational meeting for the Newcomers/Encore Field Trip group that I co-lead, and then I head to the Falmouth Dems headquarters to man the office for the afternoon before heading to the library for our month Indivisible Falmouth meeting in the evening. It will be another busy day.
by Judy Handley | Sep 15, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 258: Exploring Public Policy and Dinner with Friends
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Weather: Sunny but Cooler; High Temp 70, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
It was a full day, but there’s not a lot to write about. This morning and early afternoon I did a 4-hour volunteer shift at the Falmouth Dems campaign headquarters, hurried home to let Shadow out and to have a little lunch on the run on my way to the first Exploring Public Policy meeting of the year. We always spend this first meeting of the year brainstorming topics of interest and coming up with a tentative meeting plan for the year. And we usually get a good number of people who attend this meeting. Today there were only six of us, but we forged ahead and came up with a tentative schedule. Afterwards, Peter and Karen Baranowski were headed to Taco Blanco for dinner as they were returning to the same room in an hour for a game-playing night of Scrabble. Bruce Woodin was also at the meeting, so the four of us had dinner together. Nothing better than impromptu fun with friends.
by Judy Handley | Sep 14, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 257: Happy 49th Birthday to Justin
Date: Monday, September 14, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Breezy; High Temp 77, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Happy 49th birthday to Justin! As he told me on the phone yesterday, he had no special plans for today, but I hope he did something to have fun. When I visit in Puerto Rico, I always take Justin and family out for a nice dinner. This year when I go for Thanksgiving, I think we will turn that special night out as a birthday celebration for all of us since we are never together on our actual birthdays. We’ll go out to dinner and come home to a big birthday cake we will have baked earlier in the day and sit around and tell stories of special things we have done during the past year. Today is also Mark’s brother Steve’s birthday. He is 82 today. And it is my ‘second’ son, Kevin’s birthday. He and Claire are in California with Kevin’s family today, but they are headed back to Mexico tomorrow. Happy birthday Justin, Steve, and Kevin!
This was not an exciting day, but a busy one with meetings and family affairs. I spent the morning on a Falmouth Immigrant Rights Coalition Steering Committee Meeting and spent part of my afternoon visiting with my sister and ended my day going to the Goldstones to fix dinner for Sam, Jonah, and Ollie. Twice a month on Monday evenings, Jed has a Board of Health Meeting and Heather has Select Board. On those nights, I volunteer to fix dinner for the boys. I did not have to pick Ollie up after golf practice as he did not go to school today. He has come down with a bad cold. We ate late as Jonah had an away soccer game against Barnstable. Falmouth won 2-0. Go Clippers!
by Judy Handley | Sep 13, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 256: Rainy Sunday
Date: Sunday, September 13, 2026
Weather: Rain All Day, Clearing Late; High Temp 70, Low 5765 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
My neighbor across the street, Andy, is a weather watcher and he keeps me posted on weather details. He texted to tell me we got 3.25 inches of rain today instead of the 5 inches he thought we would get. We need rain desperately, but I have never loved rainy days. I am trying my hardest to embrace a full day of rain, but it is just not in my DNA! Despite that, I managed to get up early and walk with Shadow before the rain started around 10 am. And then I continued my process of re-potting my indoor plants. I started that process outside and moved inside when the rain started. I am still not done, but I made more progress. Then I turned to indoor work.
I spent much of my day meshing together ideas from others to come up with an Indivisible Falmouth plan for the upcoming NO KINGS day on October 17. NO KINGS 1, 2, and 3 were all massive protests all around the country, but October 17 is to be a ‘working’ day. The national charge is to come up with creative ways to encourage early voting all across the United States this year. The goal of NO KINGS is to set a record for early voting. The rationale is to get the votes in well before election day on November 3 so that whatever new obstacles to voting Trump sends our way on election day or following, we will have the time to deal with those. The votes will already be in. The draft plan I submitted today involves activities prior to October 17, the first day of early voting in many states. It goes on to outline the activities on October 17, and then there are activities for each of the following 13 early voting days. October 17 to October 30 is going to be a busy time if this plan is adopted!
Tomorrow is Justin’s 49th birthday. Since it is on a Monday, which is a workday for him, I texted him and asked him to call me today if he was available. We had a long talk and he brought me up to date on happenings there and I filled him in on things happening here. In Puerto Rico, Justin and Jo are going to do a music gig in San Juan in a few weeks, so he and Jo drove to San Juan yesterday to make some of the arrangements. Ziggy is still recovering from having his 4 wisdom teeth removed, but he is back in school and all activities. He seems to be enjoying his senior year of high school. Coco is the busy bee. She is in a drama group at school, is part of the school’s pep rally team, participates in Model UN, sings in a choir in Mayaguez not associated with the school, and much more. It is challenging for Justin and Jo to keep up with her. I then filled him in on happenings with the Goldstone boys. Ollie is playing on the junior varsity golf team and is involved in Scouting activities, Jonah totally immersed in the high school soccer season and in being a senior in high school, and the big news was about Sam. He started online classes at Cape Cod Community College this week and then got the news that he got the job he has been wanting for the winter. He has been working as crew on a private ferry that delivers and picks people up on Martha’s Vineyard after regular ferry hours. Then he added a job plating salads and desserts at Falmouth’s fanciest restaurant, The Glass Onion. The job this winter begins on October 22 through most of February as a “snowmaker” at Stowe Ski Resort in Vermont. He will live in a dorm situation, will work 12 hour shifts 4 days a week, then probably sleep for a day and snowboard for the next 2 days until his “snowmaking” shifts begin again. As I understand it, a “snowmaker” works with another person. The pair is driven up the mountain and then they have to walk down the mountain checking all of the snow guns to make sure they are working properly. When they get to the bottom of the mountain, they are driven back to the top and they walk down another trail doing the same checking. They do this for their whole 12-hour shift. It sounds exhausting, but the perk is that you not only get paid, you get to ski/snowboard free at any Vale ski resort in the world. He is hoping to make enough money to go to the Netherlands in late February and snowboard with his friends at a Vale resort in Europe. He misses his friends so much, so that will be the incentive that keeps him going. Then he will return to attend spring, summer, and fall online semesters at the community college. Then back to Vermont. At least I think that is the current plan. The community college online semesters are only 7 weeks, so that allows him to be able to do this. That’s the full update on the Handley and Goldstone grandkids.
by Judy Handley | Sep 12, 2026 | 2026 Life Logs |
2026 Life Logs, Day 255: Another Day Derailed
Date: Saturday, September 12, 2026
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 73, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Another day, another call from Bridges with another issue with my sister. But this time, I was the cause of the problem. Her Dexcom sensor that has to be replaced every 15 days to monitor her blood glucose levels was today’s issue. I had it on my calendar that it needed to be replaced tomorrow. Obviously I cannot count! Her phone starting alarming around 10 am this morning. The nurse called to ask me what she should do. I really had to be on the Green today as I was delivering all the sound system. So, I told her to just turn off the phone and put it in Patsy’s room until I could get there this afternoon. When I got there, Patsy was already in the community room attending a music concert. I didn’t want to go in and take her out, so I drove to Hyannis to get a few food items that I have been needing and can’t buy here in Falmouth. I then returned to Bridges, replaced the sensor and visited with Patsy for the hour that it takes for the sensor to warm up to her body. There is no way to know if it is going to work until it is warmed up. Thankfully, it worked just fine and I headed home when Patsy headed to dinner. I then spent tonight working on some Indivisible things that I had planned to do this afternoon. The day didn’t go as planned, but at least I don’t have to go to Bridges to replace a sensor tomorrow.
