by Judy Handley | Feb 3, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 34: Super Bowl LIII
Date: Sunday, February 3, 2019
Weather: Partly Sunny, Continuing to Warm Up; High 39, Low 35 degrees F (in Nyack)
Location: Back Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
They did it again! I got home late in the afternoon from New York and headed to the Goldstones to watch the Super Bowl. Heather and Jed had invited neighbors that have two boys, so we had five boys 13 and under.
Maybe it wasn’t the most exciting football game I’ve ever watched, but when you live in Massachusetts, there is a special pride when the New England Patriots win yet another Super Bowl. They are proof of the success team work can bring. Go Patriots!!! And when I got home from New York late this afternoon, I saw that Punxsutawney Phil failed to see his shadow yesterday. Do you really think we can win the Super Bowl and have an early spring?
by Judy Handley | Feb 2, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 33: In Memory of Ed
Date: Saturday, February 2, 2019
Weather: Sunny and Warmer; High 30, Low 25 degrees F (in Nyack)
Location: At Home with Lynne Kirwin, Nyack, NY
This morning I drove from the Cape to Nyack, New York, to attend the memorial service for Ed Kirwin. Mark and I got to know Ed and Lynne as we sailed across the Indian Ocean together. We met in Malaysia and spent time together in Thailand before taking off for our Indian Ocean adventure. Ed and Lynne’s boat, Constance, and our Windbird were so perfectly matched in terms of speed that we couldn’t lose each other if we tried! Just as our boats became ‘buddies’, so did we. We sailed to India for a six week stay, down to the Maldives, on to Chagos where we spent two months, then to Madagascar for four months, and finally on to South Africa. The words people used today when talking about Ed at the memorial service described him as we all knew him—always a smile, always a gentleman, always kind, caring, and supportive. He loved to share his stories of the 17 years that he and Lynne spent sailing around the world and used those story telling opportunities to help people see the beauty in people around the world. When Ed found out he had cancer in the spring of 2015, he and Lynne left Constance on land in southern Georgia and moved to Nyack, New York, close to family and new friends they would make. Lynne starting volunteering with the Soup Angels at a local church who serve two meals a week to the homeless and needy. Ed helped out when he could, especially at the street fairs where he was very effective in getting donations to fund the Soup Angels. He and Lynne volunteered at the local library, sorting books for the annual book sale. They became an integral part of the community and Lynne wanted to have Ed’s memorial in the church community room where the Soup Angel’s serve the homeless. The Soup Angel volunteers offered to host and it was a beautiful affair in just the right atmosphere to honor Ed’s life. The large room was the perfect size for those who gathered and was artfully decorated by the Soup Angels and the tables were laden with all sorts of yummy nibbles. There were photos of Ed, and family and friends spoke about the goodness Ed brought to this world. As people mingled and talked, Ed’s favorite music played in the background, and as if perfectly cued by Ed, his very favorite came near the end of the afternoon. The song was “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli. Lynne had held up so beautifully all afternoon, but this song that Ed had requested brought a few tears. Ed’s gentle presence in the world will be sorely missed by all of us. Later in the evening, Lynne took all of the family members and a few friends out to dinner. It was a huge group and we ate, drank, and mingled all evening. I especially enjoyed getting to know Lynne’s nephew, Jeremy, who flew in from Michigan.
Lynne will have a gathering there in warmer weather, but Jeremy felt especially close to his Uncle Ed and came to represent Lynne’s family. The entire day and evening was a perfect celebration of the life of Edward John Kirwin.
by Judy Handley | Feb 1, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 32: One Month Down
Date: Friday, February 1, 2019
Weather: Sunny and COLD; High 23, Low 11 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I feel like time is in super drive these days. It seems to me that we welcomed in the New Year just a few days ago. But now it is February–one month down and only eleven to go in 2019. Today fit the super drive pattern. It was morning, and then all of a sudden it was evening. Where does the time go? I worked on my impossible puzzle this morning and made almost no progress. I’m going to have to call in forces. Then I visited with Shirley and Doris next door. They seem healthy and happy right now—no easy feat when you are in your nineties and a hundred years old! They played gin rummy with their in-home help this morning and laughed so hard they cried. I’m going to have to join them some Friday morning. Laughing is good. I then went to the gym to put my time in on the stationary bike, did some shopping, picked up a few things I need for my trip to New York, and then headed home. It wasn’t a productive day, but it was sunny, a tad bit warmer, and I was relaxed and happy. Off to New York early in the morning. Life is good.
by Judy Handley | Jan 31, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 31: Sunny, Freezing, and Busy
Date: Thursday, January 31, 2019
Weather: Sunny and COLD; High 15, Low 3 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Too busy living life to write about it tonight! I thought I had nothing to do today, but things came up making it a busy one. Tomorrow I will spend time getting ready for my trip to Nyack, New York, on Saturday for Ed Kirwin’s memorial service. I had hoped that it was going to warm up a bit tomorrow, but I just checked the weather and we are still going to be in the deep freeze tomorrow and tomorrow night. Maybe Saturday.
by Judy Handley | Jan 30, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 30: Happiness
Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Weather: Beautiful, Sunny Day; High 39, Low 7 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Happiness is watching your six year-old grandchild playing his violin along with your oldest child, his mother.
Heather started playing Suzuki violin when she was five and I have years of wonderful memories of her developing as a violinist. Now I’m getting to watch Ollie do the same. But the happiness doesn’t stop there. Happiness is watching your oldest grandchild playing percussion (drums)
for one of your favorite songs in years past. And then watching your nine-year old grandchild play a Pink Floyd song on electric guitar.
Yes, the Goldpebbles are all blossoming musicians and it gives me great pleasure and happiness to watch to this development. So, having dinner at the Goldstones this evening and getting to watch Sam, Jonah, and Ollie practice on their various instruments made me very happy . . . especially today. This afternoon I went to the viewing of a documentary at the Woods Hole Library that dealt with the topic of happiness. In the 1960’s documentary, The Pursuit of Happiness and Inquiring Nuns, people on the street are interviewed by two young nuns asking them the central question, “Are you happy?” They delved deeper by asking people what made them happy. Positive relationships and a loving family were at the top of the list of responses. And tonight I got to experience that happiness!
Just before dinner, there was more happiness. Snow makes little boys squeal with joy and there was just enough white stuff blowing around outside to make this happen. They immediately put on shoes (no coats) and headed to the back deck to slide in the little bit of icy snow that fell. By the time I got home the snow had stopped, but the wind continued blowing. It is blowing in frigid weather and the low tonight will be in the single digits. Tomorrow and Friday will be well below freezing with highs in the teens. The weekend will see high temps back in the 30’s. Not warm, but better.
by Judy Handley | Jan 29, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 29: Eclectic Day
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 38, Low 30 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
My activities today ran the gamut, so I’m just calling it an eclectic day. Knee exercises, visit to the chiropractor, visit to the physical therapy facility I have chosen for post-surgery, class at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis on total knee replacement details, and finally a wonderful dinner at the Baranowski’s where I shared my Voyage of Windbird PowerPoint with a couple from Newcomers who have wanted to see the presentation for some time. And now I need to turn my focus to those things I could do to get ready for the coming deep freeze headed our way over the next few days. Tomorrow night’s low is forecast to be 7 degrees F and Thursday’s high will be 17 degrees. Cold and windy.
