by Judy Handley | Sep 9, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 252: No Phone
Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Weather: Overcast; High 76, Low 67 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
It was a great day other than the fact that I found out that I have to buy a new phone. I honestly don’t remember if I bought my current phone last year or the year before, but whichever, I certainly didn’t expect to be replacing it this quickly. Earlier in the summer, I dropped it and had the screen replaced. That cost more than $250 and I should never have done it. I should have bought a new phone. I love hindsight. But yesterday the screen went blank and today the Cell Fone Fixer took a look and said the screen was dead. The phone is fine, but if you can’t see the screen, it does me no good. So hopefully either tomorrow or Friday I will get a new phone. In the meantime, I can’t believe how much I miss my phone. No way to call anyone, no texts, no phone camera, no easy check on the weather, no Googling facts while out and about. Ugh!
My afternoon with the Goldpebbles was so much fun. All three boys went to the skatepark today and all three had a great time. One of Jonah’s best friends, Noah, was there, and that was especially fun for him. After and hour and a half there, we left and went to Walmart. I needed Sam to go in with me to check out new phones. He has a Google Pixel and did a lot of research before choosing that one. So, I wanted him to help me look. After I got my short mini-course in phone choices from Sam, we went to the Subway in Walmart and bought sandwiches for lunch.
Then we headed to my house to spend the rest of the afternoon in the water. The Rubber Dockie was definitely a great purchase. The boys had a great time trying to throw one another off the mat. As I watched, it looked a little like water wrestling with lots of squeals and laughter. Today they took a heavy chain that I put in a net bag out with them to anchor the kayak. It worked great to keep the kayak anchored, but the rope was too short and caused the kayak to capsize easily. So, when they returned, Ollie pulled Sam in a kayak full of water, Sam paddled, and Jonah helped pull the Rubber Dockie behind the kayak, kicking as hard as he could. They looked like a well-oiled machine moving through the water. So much fun.
by Judy Handley | Sep 8, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 251: Book Club and Fun with the Goldpebbles
Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 77, Low 62 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
My Newcomers Book Club has been meeting monthly on Zoom, but today four of us gathered in person in one member’s backyard with two joining us on Zoom. These days we spend more than half of our meeting time just catching up on how each of us is faring during these coronavirus days. For years I have said that I didn’t want to join a book club because I didn’t want to have to read something chosen by someone else. But now that I am doing it, I like being stretched to read things that I would never choose on my own. This last month’s book was a true story of the most successful bootlegger in American History plus a murder, an introduction to the Assistant Attorney General at the time who happened to be a woman, and an eye-opening account of how the Justice Department helped cover up things that would make them look bad. Great material, but I found the book to be laborious—yet still interesting enough to finish. I’ve already started next month’s book and am finding it to be one of those books that you just don’t want to put down. It is not a book that I would have chosen, but I’m loving it.
So, it was up this morning to walk the dog, go to the Book Club meeting, and then to the Goldstones to spend the afternoon and early evening with the Goldpebbles. The boys were having so much fun playing in the water on the Rubber Dockie, that I didn’t get them home until 7 pm. When I first went to pick them up, we ate lunch and Ollie, Jonah, and I went to the skatepark. The shoes Sam likes to wear when using his skateboard were still wet from a trip into the water in Maine, so he stayed home and read. Jonah and Ollie loved getting back to using their trick scooters, but both said they felt ‘rusty’ in the skill area. It was sunny and hot, but as they persisted, they skills learned over the summer returned. Our time was cut short because one of the wheels on Ollie’s scooter was wobbly and needed tightened, but we didn’t have the right tool with us. So, we went home to pick up Sam and go to my house for kayak and Rubber Dockie fun in the water. I bought the Rubber Dockie for the boys just in time to have it sent to Maine for their use there. I heard all about the fun they had with it last night, so today I wanted a demonstration. The Rubber Dockie is a 6-foot by 12-foot closed-cell foam float that is rigid enough to allow the boys to sit, stand, and run on it to then jump into the water. Today Sam stayed in the dinghy and pulled Ollie and Jonah out on the float. They had a great time running and diving into the water. It was still a bit curled from being tightly rolled up for the trip from Maine to here, but tonight it is lying flat with the help of a little weight in the hopes that the curl will go away before our next foray out into the Eel River.
I was on the dock taking photos of the boys when all of a sudden the screen on my phone went black. I thought maybe it was low battery power, but that was not it. Unfortunately, I can’t share my photos from this afternoon as I can’t get them off my phone. My tomorrow morning will be spent having the phone checked out. I just spent a small fortune getting a new screen for the phone, so I’m hoping I don’t need a new phone. In the meantime, I have no way to make phone calls or read text messages. I feel totally isolated. I can receive email on my computer, so if you want to contact me, send an email for now. Hopefully, I’ll get this sorted out by tomorrow noon when I pick up the boys for another afternoon of fun.
by Judy Handley | Sep 7, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 250: Welcome Home, Goldstones
Date: Monday, September 7, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 75, Low 63 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
The Goldstones returned from their family vacation in Maine this evening. The boys were so excited to tell me of all of their adventures and I was so glad to see them. I bought pulled pork at Wicked N’ Wood, an outdoor barbecue take-out, made fresh buns, coleslaw, and mac and cheese and took it over so they wouldn’t have to cook on their first night home. Earlier in the day I went over to clean the guinea pig cages and make sure everything was ready for their arrival. It’s great to have them home.
Normally, school would be starting just after Labor Day. But not this year. I know I don’t have to remind you that everything is different this year in these Covid times. School here starts on September 21, so the boys have two more weeks of summer freedom. I’ll be continuing Camp Oma during the next two weeks, but there will be a break of a couple of days when Jed’s brother Tobi and his significant other, Stephanie, come to visit at the beginning of next week. I’m still not clear exactly what ‘school’ is going to look like for the boys as plans are evolving. The one thing that I think we have all had to learn during the past few months is to not depend on plans as things change so quickly. I know I have had to become much more flexible. Probably not a bad thing.
by Judy Handley | Sep 6, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 249: Happy Anniversary to Heather and Jed
Date: Sunday, September 6, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 78, Low 62 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
Today was a beautiful day, much like the day that Heather and Jed got married 17 years ago on Saturday, September 6, 2003. The wedding destination was in Boothbay, Maine, at Spruce Point Resort. Jed’s family has a summer home in Boothbay and the oceanside Spruce Point Resort was the perfect place for their wedding. They are in Boothbay today, so I hope they got to drive out to Spruce Point in honor of their wedding day. Happy 17th to Heather and Jed.
I completed canning the tomatoes today and spent time talking to Justin and family in Puerto Rico and to Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand. Heather and family return tomorrow and I am anxious to see them. And let this gorgeous weather continue forever. It has truly been absolutely beautiful.
by Judy Handley | Sep 5, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 248: Back to Tomatoes
Date: Saturday, September 5, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 77, Low 59 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
This log didn’t get posted yesterday because my computer took hours to update. I went to write my log at 9 pm, but my computer said it was updating. I know they have to do this from time to time, but it usually happens overnight. I waited patiently until 10 pm, then 11 pm, and finally midnight. It was still updating, so I gave up. It wasn’t a very exciting day anyway. It was a beautiful day, but I spent most of it processing the last half of the 30 pounds of tomatoes I got earlier in the week. I did take an hour out of the afternoon to just sit in the sun. Tomorrow I will can the tomatoes and be done with marinara sauce for this year!
by Judy Handley | Sep 4, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 247: Judy Handley Squared
Date: Friday, September 4, 2020
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High 83, Low 59 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
Can you believe there are really two of us? Today I met with another Judy Handley. Here is what she posted on Facebook: “Today’s happy meeting between two strangers, now friends. The reason? .. we are both named Judy Handley, and we both live in Falmouth. My namesake is way more interesting than I am, but we got along great, and we look forward to figuring out ways of getting to know each other with COVID restrictions. Maybe I can think of something as exciting about my life as her … among other things…sailing around the world for six years on a 42 foot sailboat.”
And here is what I added: “Now I must add that the other Judy Handley has done things in her life that I find fascinating. For one, she taught middle school for her entire career. That makes her a saint! And after retiring, she trained and became a guide at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The stories of the people she has met through that connection are so interesting. I must admit that it is a strange feeling to meet someone with your same name. It kind of felt like we were long lost friends. We will definitely continue to meet and get to know one another.”
It did feel surreal to meet another person with the same name, but we hit it off right away.
Judy and her partner Craig met me on Main Street. Craig went to the French bakery to get coffee for all of us and we sat at a picnic table on the library lawn and talked for two hours. Judy and I are both retired teachers and both of us lost our husbands to colon cancer. The other Judy has lived in the same part of Massachusetts all of her life while I have bounced all over the country. She is a Handley by birth. I am a Handley through marriage. She is tall; I am short. She’s an Aires’ I’m a Pisces. So, we have some similarities and some differences in the paths our lives have taken. But I really felt like I was meeting a kindred soul and I look forward to opportunities to get to know each other better.
This evening I went to the Baranowskis for dinner. We had barbecued ribs, coleslaw, and calico beans. The food was fabulous, but as always the company was even more awesome. Bob and Jan Paninski, also Newscomers, were also there and were celebrating their 44th wedding anniversary. Great evening. And congratulations to Bob and Jan.
