by Judy Handley | Oct 7, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 280: Rail Trail Newcomers Field Trip
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2021.
Weather: Beautiful Day; High Temp 73, Low Temp 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The weather today was spectacular. 
The sky was that beautiful Cape Cod blue and it was the same in Rhode Island. It was up early and off on another Newcomers adventure. This time it was a field trip to Portsmouth, Rhode Island to ride the Rail Trail. You ride in two or four person flatbed rail cars that you pedal to move along. 
I was grouped with friend Karen Baranowski and another couple I had never met, Joan and Walter Zwible. Today we did what is called the southern route that generally follows the coastline from Portsmouth down toward Newport. 
We peddled for three miles, got off at a delightful rest stop with bright red Adirondack chairs overlooking the water, and then pedaled the three miles back to home base. It was just delightful.
I drove separately and did not stay to have lunch with everyone as I wanted to hurry home to spend some time with Shadow. After leaving him all day and evening yesterday, I felt too guilty to do it again. I came home and took him for a long walk. Then we sat in the sun and shade, me in the sun, Shadow in the shade, for a bit before leaving to pick up Jonah and take him to his soccer practice up near Hyannis. I took Shadow with me this time.
Today was another fun day in the sun—the second one in a row. Today I received a couple of photos from yesterday’s wine group gathering from other members that reminded me just what a wonderful time we had on our boat outing. 
I’m holding onto summer as long as possible, even if I do have to put on a sweater.
by Judy Handley | Oct 6, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 279: Wonderful Day with Friends and Family
Date: Wednesday, October 6, 2021.
Weather: Partly Sunny, Then Full Sun; High Temp 69, Low Temp 50 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was a jammed packed day with friends and family. Karen, Olivia, Midge, and I joined Jane Woodin to celebrate her birthday. We had a wonderful lunch on the Cape Cod Canal at Fisherman’s View.
Then it was on to Kingman Marine on Buzzards Bay for a gathering of my wine group aboard Don Mroz and Susan Lapine’s boat. Thanks to the Captain and Admiral. 
The food and wine were superb, as was the sunset.
Finally, I headed to Heather and Jed’s to have dinner with them, Jed’s mother Marti, and Jed’s brother Tobey and his partner Stephanie. We had oysters from Wellfleet, Eel River, and Boothbay, Maine as well as salmon, potatoes, zucchini, and salad. It was great to see Jed’s family. Tobey and Stephanie head on tomorrow, but Marti will be with us for a few days. I look forward to having more time to visit with her.
Must end this and get to bed. I leave at 8 am tomorrow for a rail trip adventure in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Stay tuned to hear about that.
by Judy Handley | Oct 5, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 278: Another Dreary Day
Date: Tuesday, October 5, 2021.
Weather: Overcast and Misty; High Temp 60, Low Temp 52 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was another dreary day and I’m actually not sure where the time went. I did some cooking which takes time, I walked in the mist with Shadow, I caught up on email communication, I cleaned the inside of my car, I went to the grocery store, and at 3:30 pm I headed to Heather and Jed’s to take Jonah to his evening soccer practice. I got home from soccer practice by 7:30 pm and that was my day.
Tomorrow will be another story. I leave home at 11:30 am to go to a birthday luncheon for friend Jane Woodin. The women members of our Dining-in Group try to do something special for each female member’s birthday and tomorrow is Jane’s day. We are hoping to eat at a place called Fisherman’s View up on the canal. If it is too crowded, we have back-ups in that area. After lunch, I will hurry back home to walk with Shadow and pick up food and wine for a 4 pm gathering of my wine group, back up near the canal. And from there I will head to Heather and Jed’s for dinner. Jed’s mother, Marti, and Jed’s brother Tobey and his partner Stephanie, are headed home from a summer in Boothbay, Maine and will stop here tomorrow. Tobey and Stephanie will leave for home in Oregon on Thursday, but Jed’s mom will stay through the weekend before going home to Washington, DC. Two hours of my day tomorrow will be spent driving from here to Sandwich, Sandwich to home, home to Cataumet, Cataumet to Falmouth, and finally Falmouth to home. Then on Thursday morning I head to Rhode Island on a Newcomers field trip. Whew! I think Friday will be a day of rest.
by Judy Handley | Oct 4, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 277: Dreary, Rainy Day
Date: Monday, October 4, 2021.
Weather: Rain All Day; High Temp 63, Low Temp 56 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
What better to do on a dreary, rainy day than go shopping? Nothing, I say. So off to Costco I went late this morning. I took Shadow with me so he wouldn’t be at home alone all day, but of course, he stayed in the car while I was in Costco. It wasn’t the most successful trip I’ve made there as a few of the items I was after were not in stock. But it was still worth the trip.
When I got home, it was no longer raining, but was still misty. So, Shadow and I did our long walk of the day without getting too wet. That was it for today.
by Judy Handley | Oct 3, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 276: Garden and Yard Work, Pumpkins, and Football
Date: Sunday, October 3, 2021.
Weather: Cloudy; High Temp 73, Low Temp 60 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Yes. Fall is here. While Sam gave my neighbors’ yards their last grass cutting before the leaves come tumbling down, I planted the kale, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and arugula seedlings I bought yesterday. Now I just hope they get enough sun to grow. Sam, with me assisting, also cut up some scrap lumber that has been sitting in my backyard since June. I am hoping to now get rid of it, little by little, by putting it in bags with the weekly trash pick-up. We both worked constantly for three and a half hours, a little longer than we had anticipated, and then we hopped in the car to take him home.
We got a call just as we were approaching the entrance to Grasmere. It was Heather telling us they were on their way to the Tony Andrews Farm to get pumpkins. They had texted and called us for the past hour, but neither Sam nor I had our phones outside with us. As we turned into Grasmere, the van was just pulling out. So, they turned back in to see if Sam wanted to get in with them or if I wanted to go and bring Sam. We opted for the latter and we met at the farm. We only had an hour until they closed, but that was plenty of time to choose our pumpkins and have some fun in the corn field maze. 
It was a cloudy day, but the pumpkins sitting in the field looked a deeper color of orange than usual. The pumpkins were beautiful, and it was hard making our choices. Once we did have our pumpkins, we left them in the wagons and headed into the corn field maze. 
Sam kept us entertained by running through the corn and jumping out at us with great gusto as we passed by. Jonah and Ollie simply slipped up quietly behind us to give us a scare. It was a great call by Heather to head to the pumpkin patch this afternoon. We all had a great time.
Plus, we got the annual Goldstone pumpkin patch photo and Heather got a great selfie of all of us, even Sam the Scarecrow as Sam added a little straw to this hair.
I came home and had a nice long walk with Shadow and now we are watching the Patriots play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I used to watch a Patriots game here and there, but once Tom Brady left, I really haven’t tuned it except for the Super Bowl. But tonight, I just couldn’t resist watching Tom Brady return to Gillette Stadium as quarterback for the visiting team. It must be difficult for both Brady and Belichick. I can’t help but cheer on Brady, but the young quarterback for the Patriots is really impressive.
by Judy Handley | Oct 2, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 275: Soccer, Fall Plant Bonanza, Women’s Rally, Tea with a Friend
Date: Saturday, October 2, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Warmer; High Temp 70, Low Temp 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Ollie’s soccer game started at 9 am, so I was up and out the door walking Shadow early on this Saturday. Then it was on to Ollie’s game. 
Each week Ollie’s team really improves. Like everything else in our world, soccer practice and games have not been the same during Covid. Heather noted at Ollie’s first game that the skill level on all of the fourth grade teams this year seemed far behind fourth grade teams in the past. By fourth grade, both Sam and Jonah had added travel team experiences to their Falmouth recreational soccer. There has been no opportunity like that for kids Ollie’s age. I think today was game number three for Ollie’s team this fall, and already they look like a completely different team. At this level, the coach rotates the kids from offense to defense during each game but only the kids that volunteer have to be goalie. 
Ollie keeps volunteering to be goalie, but he seems to enjoy playing all positions.
As I drove home from Ollie’s game, I decided to go out of my way to make a stop at Soares which is a small garden center. I thought maybe they would have a few fall veggie seedlings. I was looking for kale, broccoli, or Brussels sprouts. And boy, did I ever walk into a fall plant bonanza. They had all three on sale for just a $1 for four plants. I texted Heather to see if she wanted any for her deck planters and the answer was a resounding YES. She had tried unsuccessfully to start seedlings and I simply never got that far. I had just thought about it. Soares did the work for us and I bought more than half of what they had left. Tomorrow will be planting day.
In the afternoon I headed downtown to be a part of the Falmouth rally supporting today’s much larger Women’s March in Washington, DC. 
The purpose of the march was to demand continued access to abortion. The Falmouth rally was well organized and well attended by an enthusiastic group of women and a few men. 
My friend Olivia White wore the collar she crocheted in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and held a sign that said, “Do It For Ruth.”
After the rally, I met up with friend Midge Frieswyk. We went to the French bakery to get tea and a “goodie” that we enjoyed at a picnic table on the library lawn. I think we talked for almost two hours. I got so into our visit that I totally forgot that I had planned to attend Jonah’s 4 pm soccer game. I got there when the game was almost over, but it was still a great ending to a fun afternoon. Then it was home for a walk with Shadow. The weather was beautiful today and I did get a few plants in the ground, but not many. Hopefully I will spend tomorrow in the gardens.
The sky was that beautiful Cape Cod blue and it was the same in Rhode Island. It was up early and off on another Newcomers adventure. This time it was a field trip to Portsmouth, Rhode Island to ride the Rail Trail. You ride in two or four person flatbed rail cars that you pedal to move along. 
I was grouped with friend Karen Baranowski and another couple I had never met, Joan and Walter Zwible. Today we did what is called the southern route that generally follows the coastline from Portsmouth down toward Newport. 
We peddled for three miles, got off at a delightful rest stop with bright red Adirondack chairs overlooking the water, and then pedaled the three miles back to home base. It was just delightful.
I’m holding onto summer as long as possible, even if I do have to put on a sweater.
