by Judy Handley | Oct 1, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 274: October 1st
Date: Friday, October 1, 2021
Weather: Sunny, Still Cool, but Warming; High Temp 66, Low Temp 51 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
What does October 1st mean to you? For me, it means that I have acknowledge that fall is really here. I include all of September as a summer month, but come October, it finally dawns on me that summer is over. I must let go until the next year . . . something that is always very hard for me. But the signs are here. Maybe it is the pumpkins and chrysanthemums that are everywhere; maybe it is the cooler nights; maybe it is the fact that tonight was the high school homecoming game and dance at Falmouth High School; maybe it is that I got the annual fall flu shot today. Whatever, I finally realize that it is fall. But only acorns are falling here on the Cape. Most of the tree leaves are hanging on tight. And the tree leaves are not turning colors. This year they appear to be holding on to summer, just like me. I like that.
It has been a while since I made a big batch of my Chicken Magic Mineral Broth and I am running low. So, today I put on a big pot of water, chicken bones, and veggies to burble first thing in the morning. As it burbled away, I spent time on my computer updating the monthly Bill Pay amounts that are sent out from my bank. It was just one of those taking care of business days punctuated by beautiful walks with Shadow. Welcome Autumn! I think I said that on the first day of fall, but this time I mean it.
by Judy Handley | Sep 30, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 273: Happy Birthday, Heather
Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Cool; High Temp 62, Low Temp 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Happy B-day to my Busy, Beautiful, Brilliant first Born! At the end of a very busy day for all of us, I went over to Heather and Jed’s for a birthday dinner and celebration for Heather. It was almost 7:30 pm when I got there and only Sam was at home. Jed arrived shortly with Jonah, coming from Jonah’s soccer practice at Cape Cod Academy which is about 45 minutes away. Then Heather arrived with Ollie. They had been to a violin lesson after school, then went directly to soccer practice, and from there to a 6:30 to 7:30 pm first elementary school band ‘practice’ where Ollie had his first lesson on his saxophone.
And I had been on a Newcomers field trip to the Cape Cod Museum of Art today. Whew! It really was a busy day for all. So, instead of a fancy dinner, the boys decided that the perfect birthday dinner was take-out from Moto pizza which included fancy donuts from a new place in Mashpee Commons instead of a cake.
It was a fun alternative to the usual fancy birthday dinners we have. After dinner Heather opened her presents. 
She loved the blown glass conch shell the boys picked out for her at the Sandwich Glass Factory this summer. There were many other gifts to open and then Sam challenged his mom to computer karaoke contest. Heather definitely got the highest score. Happy Birthday, Heather,
The Cape Cod Museum of Art is in Dennis here on the Cape. I had never been there, so I was excited to join the Newcomers field trip on this excursion. T
he trip was planned by friend Jane Woodin and it was a wonderful day. The museum is small but the sculpture garden surrounding the building and the exhibits inside were so engaging. We started by watching a film about the history of the museum which was fascinating. We then had a guided tour of the exhibits. If you live on Cape Cod and have not been there for the “cARTography” exhibition, I recommend you put it on your weekend schedule. It ends on this Sunday, October 3, and I am so glad I got to see it. It is a mix of historic maps of Cape Cod dating back as far as the 1600’s. These maps portray the traditional viewpoints represented by European mapping. The accompanying exhibits, however, add the perspectives of history that have been left out of traditional education. Artist and National Seashore cartographer Mark Adams depicts the landscape the native people of this area encountered through “Geologic, Native, and Historical Time.” 
A map on the gallery floor shows the landform and sea levels of about 11,000 years ago. This is paired with a display called “Our Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History.”
The Wampanoag have lived in southeastern Massachusetts for more than 12,000 years. They are the tribe that first encountered by the Pilgrims who sailed here on the Mayflower. The Wampanoag side of the story is told in this exhibit through short video clips that you can watch at your own pace. The entire display is captivating and very moving. If you haven’t seen it, make time in the next three days to get there. It is well worth it.
by Judy Handley | Sep 29, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 272: Walking, Walking
Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Cooler with N Winds; High Temp 64, Low Temp 49 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was a beautiful day for walking, and I certainly took advantage of that. This morning I walked with a woman that I met back in 2017 when I first started going to classes at the Anytime Fitness gym. I continued to see her in classes for the next year and a half. Then the classes ended, Covid arrived, and I haven’t seen her since . . . until a couple of weeks ago at the Farmer’s Market. I saw Kate there and we agreed to get together to become better acquainted. Our first foray was today. We walked in the cranberry bogs for an hour and a half. We have a lot in common and enjoy each other’s company, so we are planning to walk again next week. I didn’t take Shadow with me today, but I will next week. He has had a bit of an upset tummy for the past two days, so I chose to leave him at home.
By the time I got home, had lunch, and then took Shadow for his walk, it was almost time to go pick up Ollie after school. It was a day when Heather and Jed both had commitments, so I volunteered to pick him up. We stayed an extra hour so he could play with friends on the playground. By the time I got him home, it was time to go pick up Sam from soccer practice. Jed left to pick him up but then called to say the traffic was crazy and he was not going to get back in time to go with Heather to a ‘Meet the Teacher’ appointment at Ollie’s school. I was backing out of the driveway to head home when he called and volunteered to go get Sam. Since all three boys are in new schools this year, Heather and Jed both want to go to the introductory meetings with teachers. Two working parents with three active kids need all the help they can get. Heather and Jed are both active in community activities as well as having full-time jobs and all three boys have school, soccer, music lessons, and Scouts. It is a lot and since I certainly have more free time than they do, I love helping out when I can.
BTW, when I took Shadow for his walk it was evident that he was much better, so we had a nice long walk. I cannot pinpoint what happened to cause his tummy upset, but thankfully he is better now.
by Judy Handley | Sep 28, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 271: Back to The Voyage of Windbird
Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Weather: Cloudy with PM Thunderstorms; High Temp 73, Low Temp 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
In June, as summer activities kicked into gear, I put away my book writing project. The Voyage of Windbird book project spent the summer in a bag. This morning, I unzipped the bag and extracted the unedited ‘almost’ completed first sixteen chapters. It took all morning to get back into the project, but at least I assessed what had been done and formulated a plan. My first task is to go back and edit what I have already written. A friend has read and made editing suggestions on paper. I will start by reviewing those suggested changes and making them official on the electronic copy of each chapter. Then I need to complete chapter 16 and write chapters 17 and 18. That will complete year one of the voyage, Volume 1. I am hoping to get that done before Christmas. I can then start the new year by writing about the middle years of the voyage, Volume 11. The last year of the Voyage of Windbird and beyond and will become Volume III. That takes me into 2023. I think this project is going to take as many years to complete as it did to actually circumnavigate the globe. I’ll just keep chipping away.
This was an early release day for all grades in the Falmouth School District. I picked up Jonah and Ollie and headed home to check in with Sam. The weather and homework interfered with our plans, but I did get to take Jonah and Ollie to the Morse Pond soccer field to practice goal shots. Jonah has just been designated the person on his Steel United team to kick penalty goals, so he wanted to practice before going to official whole team practice later in the afternoon. Then the weather interfered. Sam’s high school soccer game and Jonah’s official soccer practice were both cancelled due to thunderstorms that brought torrents of rain. By the time I got home, the rain had subsided enough for me to take Shadow on a walk and then come inside and catch up on emails that needed to be written.
Tomorrow is supposed to be rain-free. I hope to go for a long walk on the bogs with a friend in the morning and spend the afternoon catching up on some household chores. Thursday I go on a Newcomers field trip to the Cape Cod Museum of Art. Time flies when you’re having fun.
by Judy Handley | Sep 27, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 270: Visit with the Aunties; Canning Tomatoes Again
Date: Monday, September 27, 2021
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 73, Low Temp 66 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Karen Baranowski and I drove to Scituate this morning to visit with her ‘aunties’ who are my next door neighbors for part of each year. Her Aunt Doris turns 103 next Monday. The aunties are not living next door to me this summer as Doris had a stroke in July and had to be moved back to her home in Scituate. Her sister Shirley, whose home is next door to me and who is my landlord, is staying with Doris. I made applesauce from apples from Shirley’s apple tree and wanted to take that to her. It is an old tree and the apples are not beautiful, but they make great applesauce. I also made broccoli potato soup and chicken salad for lunch. Karen added zucchini bread. Doris could not come downstairs to have lunch with us, but her son and daughter-in-law from Alabama joined us. I enjoyed meeting them and spending time with Shirley.
Once home, I walked and played ball with Shadow and then launched into cooking the last batch of tomato sauce for this summer. It is in the canner jiggling away as I write this. The applesauce was so good that I plan to salvage as many apples as possible tomorrow morning and make another batch of sauce. Then at noon I pick up the boys from school as it is an early release day. Plans are up in the air as the forecast calls for rain. If it is not raining, Sam wants to cut the grass next door at Shirley’s and Jonah wants to practice goal kicks at the school across the road from their neighborhood. It will take a bit of juggling to do both, but we’ll figure it out.
by Judy Handley | Sep 26, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 269: Soccer, Laundry, Cooking
Date: Sunday, September 26, 2021
Weather: Rain and Early AM, Clearing Late AM; High Temp 74, Low Temp 67 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
We had heavy rain overnight, but it was only raining lightly by early morning. The first word was that Jonah’s soccer game was cancelled, but a bit later Heather sent another text saying it was back on but in a different location. 
It was a good game but ended with a dramatic touch. Jonah was racing down the field with the ball far ahead of all the other players when the referee blew the whistle. Jonah’s arms flew out asking why. All he wanted to do was to get that ball in the goal. There might have been a foul, but I think it was just the signal for the end of the game. Disappointing for Jonah, but his team did win.
After attending Jonah’s late morning soccer game, the rest of my day was spent doing laundry and cooking. Not an exciting day, but it was productive. And tonight, I talked to Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand to catch up on what is happening in her life there. It was great to catch up. But now it is late and I am off in the morning to visit with the ‘aunties’ who are currently living in Doris’ home in Scituate. I am going to end here and get to bed.
