by Judy Handley | May 12, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 132: Happy Mother’s Day
Date: Sunday, May 12, 2019
Weather: Overcast; High 76, Low 48 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Sister Patsy Kerwood, Mt. Juliet, TN
Happy Mother’s Day to all of you wonderful mothers out there. . . especially to the mothers of my grandchildren, my daughter Heather and my daughter-in-law Jo. Being a good mother is the most important job on earth. And as all mothers know, it can also be the hardest. There are times of joy and times of sorrow, times of success and times of failure, times of elation and times of deflation. But all of the time, there is love. I heard from Heather and from Justin today and Patsy heard from Jennifer and her daughter Janet took us out to dinner. So we were happy mothers. Patsy and I spent our afternoon on a Costco buying spree and returned home just in time to go out to dinner. 
“Belly up to the bar” is not an expression I would associate with my sister, but Janet took us to Burger Republic for dinner and there was a wait. So, we bellied up to the bar and waited there for a table. And I actually had the best burger I have ever had there. 
It was a Black and Bleu Salad—a burger atop a fantastic and huge salad sprinkled generously with bleu cheese. They have an ahi tuna burger salad that looks equally as good. We might have to go back tomorrow night to try that. Tomorrow we might get a tad of sunshine—something I haven’t seen since I arrived. Looking forward to that.
by Judy Handley | May 11, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 131: Another Low-key Day
Date: Saturday, May 11, 2019
Weather: Overcast with Light Rain; High 80, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Sister Patsy Kerwood, Mt. Juliet, TN
It was another low-key day here. Patsy and I both have the bad habit of going to bed too late and sleeping in until 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning. I was actually up first this morning and quietly came into the living room and worked on the jigsaw puzzle I was hoping to interest Patsy in working. But I think she prefers her crossword puzzles that she does every morning. We managed to talk away the morning, mostly searching the web for what foods are best to eat if you want to gain weight. Patsy has the opposite problem of most of the rest of us, needed to gain, not lose weight. In the afternoon, I had her take me to the Club House to sign me in as a guest in the guest in the Fitness Room so I could ride the stationary bike. She left me to do that and then I walked home in the mist. It is a seven-tenths of a mile, gently uphill walk, and it felt great to get the exercise in. We continued working on our puzzles and then it was time to go to a neighbor’s home for dinner. Her neighborhood has been so generous, providing her food for the past two weeks. The neighbors also invited Janet and Monica. This evening I have been going through photos of my brother-in that are on my computer and tomorrow will put together a portfolio of photos for a display at the first of three Celebration of Life memorials that will be held in his honor. The first one is next Saturday here in Dell-Web. I’ll be home by then, but I’m so glad that I can help prepare for the celebration. I did a Shutterfly book for Joe’s 80th birthday and therefore have the photos sent to me by friends and family members. Therefore, I have all the photos on my computer making it is easy to choose the ones to print. The weather has been consistently overcast, rainy, and hot since I have been here and tomorrow is forecast to be the same. On Monday and Tuesday we should see some sunshine here, but the high temp is going to go down into the 60’s. I wonder what the weather is like on Cape Cod?
by Judy Handley | May 10, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 130: Doing the ‘Necessaries’
Date: Friday, May 10, 2019
Weather: Mostly Overcast; High 82, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Sister Patsy Kerwood, Mt. Juliet, TN
This day was spent doing the ‘necessaries’. My niece Janet asked me to send out an invitation to neighbors for a Celebration of Life event for Joe next weekend. While doing that, I experienced some difficulties using Joe’s computer, so time was spent trying to fix those issues. And I also started a couple of cooking projects. These things took all morning and then it was time for me to go to get a massage, compliments of Janet as an early Mother’s Day present. She does this every time I come visit, and this was the best massage to date. Thank you, Janet! Just after I got home from the massage and some grocery shopping, Janet arrived and we had a late lunch, worked on more computer issues, and I worked on more cooking projects. Actually I did some prep for Patsy so she could make her delicious spaghetti sauce. This was my request and it was delicious. I snuck in a walk around the neighborhood before dinner and Patsy and I started working on a 1,500-piece jigsaw puzzle. We discussed all sorts of things we might do tomorrow, but finally decided to just stay home and spend healing time together. We’ve been invited to a neighbor’s home for dinner tomorrow night, so at least no more cooking tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | May 9, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 129: In Tennessee
Date: Thursday, May 9, 2019
Weather: Early Sun in MA, Overcast in TN; TN High 78, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home with my Sister Patsy Kerwood, Mt. Juliet, TN
I am here at home with my sister in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. She is doing amazingly well for just having lost Joe less than two weeks ago. I think this visit will be a laid back one where we just spend healing time together.
by Judy Handley | May 8, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 128: Three Sunny Days in a Row
Date: Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 64, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Three sunny days in a row. I think that is a first for this spring. We had lots of sunshine during the winter, but this spring, particularly April, has been cool, overcast, and rainy. So, the sunny days this week have been a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, when I look at the forecast in Nashville, it looks like thunderstorms for the next four days, then a little sunshine by the first of the week. But it will be considerably warmer, so that is a positive. I leave early in the morning to spend a few days with my sister in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. This is a growing community about 25 minutes from downtown Nashville. It will be two weeks on Saturday since my brother-in-law died and my sister seems to be holding up quite well. Needless to say, I am anxious to get there to spend time with her.
I drove to Hyannis this morning for an annual eye exam. Healthy eyes, no change since last year, so no need for new glasses. All good news. When I go to Hyannis, I always make a stop at Home Depot, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s, and today was no exception. After shopping, I came home and finished the canning of the last few jars of chicken mineral broth, did a little gardening, and then got ready to leave early tomorrow. I watered the plants, cleaned the aquarium, packed up food that won’t last to take to Heather’s, and packed my bag. Then I met the Goldstones at Smitty’s, their neighborhood ice cream shop. We all should have been at Ollie’s first grade music concert, but we got word this morning that it was cancelled as the music teacher couldn’t be there due to a personal issue. Ollie was really looking forward to his first school concert and ice cream at Smitty’s afterwards, thus the reason for a trip to Smitty’s. Some of his first grade friends, who were equally disappointed by the concert cancellation, were also at Smitty’s. After ice cream, I said my farewells and headed home. Tomorrow is an early one, so it is off to bed with me now.
by Judy Handley | May 7, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 127: Never a Lack of Things to Do
Date: Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 57, Low 41 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Second sunny day in a row and second super busy day in a row. A trip to the chiropractor and a long walk with friend Jane Woodin took the entire morning. In fact, after running a few errands in town and a stop by Heather and Jed’s to put a laundry in, it was almost 1:30 pm by the time I got home. Then I was back at Heather and Jed’s by 3:30 to spend the afternoon and evening with the boys. And I managed to get my laundry done as well. Heather arrived with Sam, who had drum lessons after school, just before 5 pm and then headed right back out the door to go to a PTO meeting to give an update on the courtyard project. From there she was going to a school volunteer’s dinner. Sam helped me fix dinner. He loves the new grill and he grilled the burgers. Jonah, the one who eats no meat but has actually decided he likes hamburgers, complimented Sam telling him he thought the ones he fixed tonight were the best he has ever had. Sam really is becoming quite a little chef with a whole repertoire of things he can fix on his own. Jed got home from Boston just in time for dinner, so after dinner I headed home. I am spending my evening canning the chicken mineral broth I made yesterday. Never a lack of things to do.
