by Judy Handley | Nov 8, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 312: Earthquake
Date: Sunday, November 8, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 69, Low 48 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
These days, I get up around 6:30 am and go for a walk with Shadow. Sometimes I stay up. Sometimes I go back to bed. But after last night’s election celebration and the fact that it was my first night back in my bed after two nights on the sofa after Shadow’s surgery, I decided to go back to bed and enjoy the comfort. According to my clock, at 9:10 am I was jolted out of bed by Shadow’s barking that just wouldn’t stop and then a low, long rumbling noise that actually shook the cottage. I assumed it was a big construction truck. But on a Sunday? I got up and didn’t think anything more about it until later in the morning when I saw on Facebook that we had an earthquake in New England this morning. It was a 3.6 on the Richter scale. Any thing under 4.5 is not major, but still a bit of a jolt. But later in the day, Sam, Jonah, and Ollie were talking about this and wondering about the top limit of the Richter scale. I thought maybe a 10, but tonight when I looked it up, I found that there is really no official top number. Generally, 9 is used as the top number and an earthquake of that magnitude is equal to the release of the energy of 25,000 nuclear bombs. I hope I never have to experience that. And just in case you are curious, here’s a list of the top ten earthquakes.
1. Valdivia, Chile, 22 May 1960 (9.5)
2. Prince William Sound, Alaska, 28 March 1964 (9.2)
3. Sumatra, Indonesia, 26 December 2004 (9.1)
4. Sendai, Japan, 11 March 2011 (9.0)
5. Kamchatka, Russia, 4 November 1952 (9.0)
6. Bio-bio, Chile, 27 February 2010 (8.8)
7. Ecuador coast, 31 January 1906 (8.8)
8. Rat Islands, Alaska, 2 April 1965 (8.7)
9. Sumatra, Indonesia, 28 March 2005 (8.6)
10. Assam, Tibet, 15 August 1950 (8.6)
I got an email this morning from my daughter-in-law Jo’s parents who live in England. Phil and Margaret were sending congratulations on the election of our new President and Vice-President and announcing the birth of another grandchild. Jo’s sister lives in South Hampton, England, and just had her fourth child. This one was another little boy whom they named Woody. Katherine and Tom now have Kitty, Rufus, Felix, and Woody. It was so good to get the congratulations from Phil and Margaret and to hear their wonderful news. Welcome, Woody! And congratulations to the grandparents.
I thought I would be headed to Heather’s today around 10 am, but it was almost noon when I finally got there. Ollie had expressed interest in coming to my house to do some work today. But when I got there, the boys were deep into the rhododendron forest in their backyard. This rhododendron towers from ground level up to be even with the second floor deck. Invasive bittersweet vines are intertwined with the rhododendron and the Goldpebbles were climbing up from the inside and trying to figure out how to get rid of the vines. But when I arrived, Heather was ready to plant spring bulbs in the front yard gardens. So, the boys stopped and came to help. We did front yard work for an hour or so and didn’t stop for lunch until almost 3 pm. The boys and I then loaded the van with one of my kayaks that we had taken to their house late in the summer, the lawn mower, and leaf blower and headed to my house. It gets fully dark by 5 pm these days, but the boys had almost an hour to take the kayaks out and enjoy the warm weather on the water. We unloaded the lawn mower, which I will use here tomorrow, and then I took them back home. Tuesday is an early release day at school and Heather and Jed have parent conferences during the afternoon. I’m trying to think of some fun things for the boys and I to do during the afternoon. Then Wednesday is Veteran’s Day and a school holiday. We’ll just see what the week develops. I don’t really have any definite plans other than to enjoy the warm weather and resume my walks with Shadow. He is recovering very quickly from his surgery and is so anxious to walk. We did a mile today and might do that twice tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Nov 7, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 311: Soul of the Nation
Date: Saturday, November 7, 2020
Weather: Drop Dead Gorgeous Day; High 70, Low 49 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
What a day! First, I must mention that it was gloriously warm and sunny day. It felt like summer, which is always a great thing in November. I was outside at 11:27 am when I heard a ding on my phone. The message said, “We did it—he won!” And then immediately there was another ding, a message from my son Justin in Puerto Rico saying, “We won!” I headed inside and turned on the TV. Then I got a call from my sister in Nashville asking if I knew the election had finally been called for Joe Biden. And then another text from my friend Linda Stuart in Colorado. I turned on the TV and caught up with the happenings. What a sense of relief washed over me. It has been a tough four days since the election with no final results and an even tougher four years, but all of a sudden I felt the burden being lifted. 
I continued my day, but after a beautiful sunset over the marsh, I caved and came inside to watch the happenings. It was like watching a national block party. Young people in all parts of the country were celebrating with abandon. They came forth in this election with their votes and they deserve the celebration.
I put on the Biden-Harris t-shirt that had belonged to my niece Lynn that died recently. Her mother wanted me to have it as she knew that Lynn and I shared the same political enthusiasm. Lynn had worked so hard as a volunteer in this campaign, so wearing her t-shirt, I looked up to the heavens to make sure she got the message that we won.
Tonight, I watched the President and Vice-President Elect address the nation. Kamala opened by talking about a new day for America and I heard a television commentator say that she looked and sounded like a new day in America. And she did. She fits this moment in history so perfectly. And Biden’s speech continued the replication of the themes of this campaign—unity over division, decency, empathy, truth, science. Words that we certainly need reintroduced into the political nation. But his most important words were his first, “For love of country.” It is so refreshing to see young Democratic voters all over the country waving the American flag. I heard historian John Meacham say tonight, “Democracy is not a state. It is an action.” And enough Americans took action through their votes to make a change in the direction this country was headed. But the work is just beginning. Another presidential historian, Michael Beschloff also said tonight, “Eternal vigilance is always the price of liberty.” Our job is not done. It is ongoing. But it was wonderful to have one night of celebration before we get down to the hard work of restoring the soul of the nation.
by Judy Handley | Nov 6, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 310: And the Count Goes On
Date: Friday, November 6, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 64, Low 54 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
All day long I kept hearing Sonny & Cher singing, “The beat goes on, the beat goes on. Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain . . . La de da de de, la de da de da.” The beat is the constant news pounding into my brain with updates about this election. And the “La de da de de” is what I sing loudly anytime I see a replay of Donald Trump’s tragic press conference last night when he just spewed out lie after lie undercutting our democracy. This is the fourth day of watching the news, including Election Day itself, and it is just unsure how long it is going to be before we get any sort of final determination on who is going to be our next President. I am so thankful for MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki’s constant analysis of the numbers. It seems he has been on the air continuously since Tuesday. Maybe they let him sleep in the middle of the night. But I see him in the morning, in the middle of the day, and each evening, always in his white oxford cloth shirt with his sleeves rolled up, his khaki pants and Converse sneakers. He promises it is not the same pair of pants, just pants that look the same! But whether or not he has worn the same clothes all week, his steady and careful analysis of the numbers is much appreciated by many, including me.
Shadow was neutered yesterday and I was instructed to keep the plastic Elizabethan cone on him to keep him from licking the stitches. Evidently that can lead to infection. When I put the collar on him last evening, it was obvious that he hated it. He didn’t protest, but he lost all of his spunk. He is not supposed to jump or run for at least 10 days. He sleeps on my bed at night, but my bed is quite high. So, I decided to sleep on the sofa in the living room and hoped he would sleep on his doggie bed or on top of my feet on the sofa. When it was time to turn in for the night, I could not get him to settle in. He just stood in the middle of the floor wearing that cone. I was confident that he would find a place to settle in once I turned the lights out. I went to sleep, but I woke up at 2:30 to find him still standing in the same place. I tried to encourage him to lie down with no luck, but I was determined to not give in. At 4:30 I woke up again and guess who was still standing in the middle of the living room floor–the one, the only, very stubborn Shadow. I gave in and took the cone off and he immediate went to sleep on his doggie bed. By morning, he was on the sofa on top of my feet, sleeping like a baby. I checked the stitches and it was obvious that he had been licking them, so I put the cone back on and dedicated my day to finding an inflatable collar that might me more comfortable. None of the Petco stores between and Boston had any in stock. But they suggested I try PetSmart. I had to drive to Hyannis, but I did find one. Unfortunately, it was extremely expensive. He doesn’t love it, but the bigger problem is that he has found a way to continue the licking. Ugh.
by Judy Handley | Nov 5, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 309: Keeping Busy
Date: Thursday, November 5, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Warmer; High 65, Low 56 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
My lifelong solution to stressful situations has always been to keep busy. So, that’s what I did today. Watching this election play out is enough to make anyone half crazy, but I avoided thinking about it today. First, I had to get up and get Shadow ready to go to the Vet to be neutered. When Mark and I were doing self-sufficient farming, I always hated it when baby lambs were born and a few weeks later we were supposed to lop off their little tails. Couldn’t do it. So, our lambs always had long tails. I have put off getting Shadow neutered for six months for the same reason. I just can’t stand the thought of putting him through this sort of thing. But finally I decided to proceed with Shadow. More on that coming up.
This is how my day proceeded. I dropped Shadow off at the Vet’s office and went to Heather and Jed’s to pick up my leaf blower. I returned home and worked off my nervous election and puppy surgery energy by mowing and bagging leaves and then using the leaf blower to clean up the area. I think I could have continued to clean up every leaf in the wooded area around my house, but it was time to go pick up Ollie after school and then pick up Shadow. Ollie and I went to Petco to try and buy a special inflatable collar for Shadow to keep him from licking his incision, but they had none. I should have thought of this sooner, but I had been told that Shadow would come home with a cone to take care of this. Then this afternoon, someone from the Vet’s office called to ask if I had a collar. I told her I thought they were providing this, but she then told me that here are other types of inflatable collars that some dogs prefer. I had no idea.
As we found out at Petco, evidently these collars are hard to find these days. But Ollie and I were able to buy a new toy for Shadow, a Yedi. I dropped Ollie off, picked up Shadow, and I have spent the evening holding Shadow without the cone on to keep him from licking the incision. When I couldn’t do this, I put on the cone. He really HATES it. He seems disoriented as he can’t see and just stands in the middle of the floor. We’ll figure this out or I will figure out how to make a more comfortable collar for him. The good news is that he is eating, drinking, and going to the bathroom normally. Hopefully he will heal quickly and we get back to normal. In the meantime, I am really going to miss my walking partner.
I’ll spend tomorrow either sitting and holding Shadow or putting that cone on him and going out to do more yard work. I really do have to keep myself busy so I don’t obsess over this election. I watched Trump’s press conference on Fox News tonight and it put me over the edge. I just cannot believe he is willing to trash our democracy through his outright lies about the election process in this country. What a devastating situation for this country and our precious democracy. No matter who wins this election, we have a hard road forward.
by Judy Handley | Nov 4, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 308: Walking, Walking, Eating, Walking
Date: Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Still Windy; High 55, Low 53 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
Yes, waiting for the results of this election is driving me to walk, walk, eat, then walk again. Unlike many others, I actually went to bed at midnight last night. I had eaten all the chocolate and popcorn that I could tolerate. I am not normally a binge eater, but obviously the apprehension of waiting for the results of this election is driving me in that direction. In the name of health, today I directed my nervous energy to walking. I got up and checked my phone to see what had happened with the election. I learned that I had missed Biden’s update last night and Trump’s 2:30 am rant. Otherwise, things were pretty much where they were when I went to bed. I decided to leave it at that and not check back in until evening. I went for a walk with Shadow, came back and had my morning smoothie, and then went for a much longer walk with the Shad. By this time, it had warmed up a bit and the sun was shining, so when we got home I did a second coat of stain and sealant on the sandbox and outdoor redwood table. It has to be above 35 degrees for 24 hours after applying a coat and today was the first day since last week with a projected overnight temp out of the 30’s. I had a 2 pm ‘date’ with Jane Woodin to go for a walk along the water at Falmouth Heights Beach, so after lunch I headed into town. I stopped by Heather and Jed’s to put a load of laundry in and then headed to the beach to walk with Jane. We actually ended up heading inland to walk as it was quite windy along the water. But we still had a wonderful hour of conversation while walking together. I picked up Ollie after school and we picked up Jonah and went to the Skateboard Park.
By the time I got home, it was dark, but I took Shadow for another walk. We walked on the path through the woods behind the cottage and then headed out on the road. The fourth house up the street from my house has been empty since I moved here two years ago. Tonight as we passed that house I heard a man calling to me from across the street asking if I had heard about the big coyote. No. What big coyote? He explained that last night he had seen a very big coyote walking down the street and he suspects that it is living under the abandoned house. Great. That is Shadow’s favorite place to relieve himself. I thanked the man and as I walked away, he called after me telling me to be careful. I acknowledged and walked on and he called out again telling me that I really need to be careful. I am thankful that a neighbor that I have never met before would take the time to make sure I am aware of such things. About two months ago Shadow started barking during the evening for no apparent reason. Then I noticed the scat of some large animal in the woods behind my house, right next to my back steps, and in Shirley’s yard down by the water. I have a feeling that large animal is the big coyote. Every night before bedtime, I take Shadow out for a walk on the path in the woods beside the cottage, around the house, and sometimes down to the water by Shirley’s. I need to do that right now, but I think I’ll skip the walk on the path in the woods. If I come face to face with the big coyote, I would rather be in an open area where Shadow and I might be able to make a slow and careful retreat without tripping on one of the vines in the woods. Just writing about this is making me a little nervous. Maybe I need some popcorn before heading outside!
by Judy Handley | Nov 3, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 307: Election 2020
Date: Tuesday, November 3, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Windy; High 47, Low 36 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
I don’t know about you, but I agree with the Democratic slogan indicating that this election is represents a battle for winning back the soul of our nation. Whoever thought that on Election Day in the United States of America, fences would have to be put up around the White House and stores would have to be boarded up in some of our cities for fear of violence? Certainly not me. We are in a nation in deep need of a leader that can begin to bring us together. We are a nation in need of a great deal of reflection on some of our current election practices and a nation deeply in need of healing from racial strife and the coronavirus. I don’t see any of these things happening easily or quickly, no matter the results of this election. But if the status quo maintains, I don’t see any of it happening for a very long time, if at all. We have allowed ourselves to become divided. “United we stand” has lost its way.
We are probably not going to know the final results of this election tonight. Depending on how things go, it could take days or weeks to know the final outcome. In the meantime, there is a lot of apprehension. I wish I was one of those who can just ignore all of this until the final results are in. But I cannot. So. I will sit and watch, eat chocolate, and hope for the best. I did cave tonight and cooked a comfort food favorite of mine for dinner. I don’t eat wheat and limit carbs like pasta to a minimum, but I made chicken tetrazzini tonight. I haven’t made it for years, but making it and eating it tonight made me feel better.
My father was born on this day in 1903. Hayes Winfred Martin would be 117 years old today if he were still living. He died in 1973 when he was only 70 years old. But after all these years, I still always think of him on his birth date. His father was a big time Republican, but during the Great Depression, when my father was trying to provide for his young family, he became a die-hard Democrat. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was held in reverence. I came along much later than all of my other brothers and sisters. But even when I was very little, long after FDR was gone, listening to my father made me think FDR was some kind of god! It took me many years to figure out what those initials even stood for. If my dad were still alive, I know he would be hoping for a Biden-Harris victory tonight. In this we would stand united
