by Judy Handley | Mar 6, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 66: Continued Birthday Celebration
Date: March 6, 2020
Weather: Overcast; High 45 degrees, Low 29 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
My birthday celebration continued this evening with a sushi dinner with the Goldstones. They offered to take me out to dinner, but I voted for sushi take-out as it is my very favorite dinner. When I arrived, Jed was also pulling in. He explained that he had just come from the storage unit where he was in a search of my birthday present. It got packed away and is no longer accessible. So now I can look forward to another birthday celebration when things are moved from the storage unit to the new house. But I did get a new book, Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher—Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as We Age.
Otherwise I had a quiet day which started with an appointment to get my car oil changed and tires rotated. The young man who brought the car to me when the work was done said my mileage gauge read 123,450—only 6 miles off 123456. Pretty amazing. This afternoon I took some time to read in preparation for a book club meeting next Tuesday. canned the chicken mineral bone broth I made earlier in the week, and had a Skype video birthday call with Justin, Ziggy, and Coco. It was a special birthday treat to have the chance to catch up with Ziggy and Coco.
by Judy Handley | Mar 6, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 65: A Very Happy Birthday
Date: March 5, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 50 degrees, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Thanks to so many of you who sent birthday wishes my way today. I got a real kick out oA f a message from Lynda Kaufman in Myrtle Beach: Never Rest & You’ll Never Rust. If that is true, I should never rust! It was a beautiful day, warm and sunny, but Shadow and I only got in one short walk this morning as it took me the rest of the day to get ready for the Chili Cook Off Birthday Bash I was hosting this evening. A trip to the store, making my favorite cake to share with friends tonight, making corn bread, and just generally getting ready took my entire day. 
My favorite cake is a flourless almond chocolate decadence with dark chocolate ganache drizzled over, decorated with strawberries, and topped with whipped cream. Probably not on the Weight Watchers list, but delicious. It was a busy birthday with no time for rusting. But it was worth it. Eight of us had a great evening tasting chili, hearing about Peter and Karen’s three-week cruise, and talking politics. It was a special celebration for three of us who have birthdays this week.
Some of my birthday favorites from today . . . the Chilean organic Pinot Noir brought to share with dinner by Christina and Warren Brodie, a WCAI mug designed and made by a local artist given to me by Heather and family, the fabulous Edible Treats chocolate covered strawberries (two boxes) sent by Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco, and all of the birthday wishes sent from friends and family. The birthday fun continues tomorrow with a sushi dinner with the Goldstones.
by Judy Handley | Mar 5, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 64: Shadow Goes to the Doggy Beauty Shop
Date: March 4, 2020
Weather: Partly Cloudy and Windy; High 51 degrees, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The big event today was Shadow’s first trip to the doggy beauty shop. They don’t call it that, but that is what it is. I think it is a riot that I’ve only been in a beauty shop a very few times in my life, but my puppy made his first visit before his six-month birthday. He was looking a little shaggy, so I wanted to see what they could with him. If his hair continues to grow at the current rate, they suggest bringing him in every six weeks. Not sure I’ll do that, but they did a great job and you can now see his eyes!
Tonight I hosted my Mah Jongg at my house and tomorrow night I host my dining-in group, so my tomorrow will be spent getting ready for that. We are having a Chili Cook Off and celebrating March birthdays.
by Judy Handley | Mar 3, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 63: Turmoil, Weather and Political
Date: March 3, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 55 degrees, Low 41 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was late morning when I got an email from friend Lynda Kaufman in Myrtle Beach asking me if my sister Patsy in Tennessee was okay. She explained that there had been a tornado had hit Mt. Juliet, just east of Nashville, where Patsy lives. My niece Janet also lives there. I had heard nothing about this, so I called immediately. Patsy answered the phone and said that her house as well as Janet’s were not in the direct path. So they are fine. This happened during the night But the woman who comes in to help Patsy a few days each week lives in an area that was hit hard and wouldn’t be able to come today. The roads were totally blocked with debris. News reports that I had read say that at least 25 people were killed and the damage was extensive. I’m just so thankful that this tornado decided to avoid the part of Mt. Juliet where my sister lives. Every time I have talked to her for the past year, she reports the same thing. More rain. It’s been a wet and stormy year there.
Other than weather turmoil in Tennessee, Super Tuesday is looking like a day of political turmoil, more so for some candidates than others. Things have changed so quickly since the South Carolina Primary on Saturday. It is looking like a better day for Joe Biden than could possibly been predicted just a few days ago. Good news for Biden, but not such good news for other candidates. It is not looking so good for Mike Bloomberg. And it is too early to tell how things are going to turn out for Bernie tonight. He will do well in California, but we won’t know those results until tomorrow and maybe beyond. But right now the big problem is incredibly long lines in Texas when it is almost poll closing time. It really shouldn’t be so difficult to cast your vote in this country. Sure hope all of those people get to cast their votes.
by Judy Handley | Mar 2, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 62: Politics in the Fast Lane
Date: March 2, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 49 degrees, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The second day of March also came in like a lamb, so I guess we do have to brace for end of the month lion-like weather. Or maybe we can defy the saying this year and just have lovely weather right into summer. Just kidding! There’s no way that will happen. But I can dream.
With Super Tuesday approaching tomorrow, the political scene in the Democratic Primary race is changing at the speed of light. Since yesterday afternoon, Buttigieg and Klobuchar have dropped out of the race and endorsed Joe Biden. Beta O’Rourke, who dropped out very early, has also endorsed Biden. I’ll still vote for Warren tomorrow, but it is becoming increasingly clear that we are down to a Biden-Bernie race. I’m not completely giving up on Bloomberg yet, but all the money in the world might not be able to change this. Fascinating to watch it play out, but count me in as one of those Democrats that will fully support whomever can come out on top against Donald Trump. I try to avoid politics in this blog, but I feel so strongly that four more years of a Trump presidency could be the end of our democracy that I can no longer be silent. And no, I don’t think having a Democratic Socialist in the White House would be the end of our democracy. I, for one, am so grateful for Social Security and Medicare. Many view those as socialist initiatives. I just view them as government initiatives that support basic human rights. I am one that believes health care is a basic human right. And I see nothing socialist about a government that supports retirement with integrity after a life of working hard for that right. Bernie is not my first choice, but he speaks the truth and sugar coats nothing. I like that. There are many reasons for my negative feelings about Donald Trump, but my initial reaction to Trump when he first announced he was going to run for President is still my same reaction. The first-grade teacher and grandmother in me cannot support a person for President that doesn’t do anything to deserve the respect of the children in this country. A lot of people really like the fact that their 401k’s are doing well, but that’s just not enough for me. As Amy Klobuchar so elegantly points out, it is time to put decency and dignity back in the White House.
I spent my day moving stuff—moving unwanted things from Heather’s basement that we put in my car yesterday to the Hand to Hand Thrift Shop and the Swap Shop at the dump, moving things from my basement back upstairs, and moving things upstairs to the basement. I had taken area rugs to the basement when Shadow arrived and wasn’t potty trained. But he has been fully potty trained for two months now, so those area rugs could come back upstairs. I am hosting a dining-in group on Thursday night, so I needed to move chairs and a table that were in the basement upstairs. And tomorrow is trash and recycling day, so I moved trash and recycle bins to curbside. I also roasted a chicken and made chicken mineral broth and make a quick trip to Hyannis to do some food shopping. I thought I had done nothing today, but putting it writing points out to me that it was actually a fairly productive day. Tomorrow is an Early Release Day for the Falmouth schools, so I will be on Oma duty for most of the day. But hopefully in the morning, I’ll have time to go through the ever-growing pile of mail and emails that need to be addressed before heading to the Goldstones.
by Judy Handley | Mar 1, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 61: Transition Month
Date: March 1, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 34 degrees, Low 23 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Here we are in the transition month of March, the month that bridges winter and spring. Today in Falmouth I would say that March came in like lamb, so I guess we can look forward to a blustery end of the month. The last few days of February have been cold and windy, but tomorrow the temperature rises into the 50’s and I’m looking forward to that. I Googled “Comes in like a Lion, goes out like Lamb” and found that one of the earliest notations of that phrase was in Thomas Fuller’s 1732 writings in Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs. I had never heard of Fuller but read that he was a British physician, preacher, and intellectual in the 1600’s and later was often quoted by Benjamin Franklin.
I went to the grocery store this morning as my refrigerator was almost empty. Six bags of groceries later, I returned home just in time for a walk with Shadow, followed by lunch. Then I got a text from Heather asking if I had some time to help with the “grand moving project.” I was happy to over and help out. Jed had to work this afternoon, so it was just Heather and me. She had just completed painting the playroom and the downstairs bathroom ceiling. Painting is now completed and I think they have decided to do minimal renovation of the downstairs bathroom. This afternoon we worked on the basement. Heather took bins and bins of ‘stuff’ to storage and I tidied up the basement getting it looking good enough that I think the house should be ready to put on the market by next weekend. WoooHooo!
Updates on Adventuring Friends: Linda and Mike Stuart left Florida today on a cruise ship headed for Barcelona. From there they will resume their biking around the world adventure. Heather and Jon Turgeon, sailing friends who used to travel aboard their sailboat Evergreen, are now traveling across the US in the overland recreational vehicle. They are in Texas enjoying Big Bend. And Donna Pascarella’s brother Tom made it to the summit of Kilimanjaro. My adventuresome friends are doing the adventuring these days and I get to travel along vicariously.
