by Judy Handley | Dec 14, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 348: Computer Tutoring Session and Book Club
Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 52, Low Temp 30 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was a beautiful and a busy day. I started with an hour-long computer tutoring session. A Newcomers member, Art Gilbert, offers free one-on-one tutoring sessions at the Falmouth Senior Center. He is so popular that it takes a month or more to get an appointment, but it is worth the wait. From the computer session, I ran a couple of errands and then headed to meet with my book club. It was our first inside meeting since the beginning of Covid, but all of us have been fully vaccinated and boosted and we wore masks today ‘just in case’.
The literary interests of the members of this group are diverse and that was evident in our recommendations for books to read in 2022. Each of us brought a list of three books to present as possibilities. After each member’s presentation, we discussed the merits of the three books and chose one and paired it with a month. The one member that could not come sent her three suggestions in writing. Honestly, every book sounded fascinating, but we forced ourselves to come up with our favorites. Each choice seemed like a special gift. Since there are only eight of us, we will need to choose three more books at some point. We don’t meet in July, so we only need eleven books each year. We are set through September and at some point, we will go back over the list of recommendations and come up with choices for the last three months of the year.
Since so many people I know are always looking for book suggestions, I am going to list our recommended books here. The ones with three asterisks were the ones we chose. Happy reading in the New Year!
• ***The Immortal Irishman by Timothy Egan (2017) 384 pages
• Maid, Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother’s Will to Survive by
Stephanie Land (2019) 270 pages
• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (2021) 626 pages
• Additional Choice—Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (2021) 250 pages
• ***This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger (2019) 424 pages
• Love and My Husband’s Daughter by Emma Robinson (2020 ) 268
pages
• Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks
(2008) 425 pages
• ***The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria
Christopher Murray (2021) 352 pages
• Summer on the Bluffs by Sunny Hostin (2021) 400 pages
• The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, (2021) 600 pages
• ***Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (2017)
383 pages
• The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas (2017) 240 pages
• The Vanishing Half by Gail Honeyman (2017), 383 pages–Already
Read
• ***Miss Bensen’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce (2020) 368 pages
• State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton (2021) 512
pages
• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (also recommended by another
member)
• Additional Choice–Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger (2014)
336 pages
• ***A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allegne (2020) 336 pages
• An Invisible Thread by Laura Schroff (2012) 272 pages
• Midnight Library by Matt Haig (2020) 304 pages
• ***The Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley (2021) 480
pages
• Beloved by Tony Morrison (1987) 324 pages
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813) 380 pages
• Non-fiction Recommendation for Personal Reading—This Land is
Their Land by Bob Silverman
• ***Circe by Madeline Miller (2018, Reprint 2020), 416 pages
• Still Life by Sarah Winman (2021) 464 page
• Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell ( 2021) 320 pages
• Recommended for Historical Fiction Readers–Beatriz Williams
books
by Judy Handley | Dec 13, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 347: The Sound of Music
Date: Monday, December 13, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High Temp 48, Low Temp 39 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today my grandson Ziggy in Puerto Rico had his first piano recital, along with three other students.
He has only been taking lessons for a short time, but the video Jo sent of him playing at the recital was fantastic. Then I got a text from Heather asking if I would like to go to Jonah’s middle school band concert tonight. Jonah plays bass in the jazz band and trombone in the regular band. He had to wear all black tonight and he looked so grown up and handsome.
The sound of music in the auditorium was wonderful.
There were no in-person concerts last year due to Covid and tonight they took all sorts of precautions. You had to sign in with contact tracing information and you were asked to scan a QR code on the program and enter your seat number. There was also social distancing. All seats were labeled with a red or a green sticker. You could only sit in seats with a green sticker giving lots of space between people and everyone was masked. The district music director greeted people at the door explaining the Covid precautions and he started the program by saying how exciting it is to have live music programs once again. I certainly agree and really appreciate the care they took to make sure the event was done as safely as possible.
by Judy Handley | Dec 12, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 346: Great Day for a Walk in the Woods
Date: Sunday, December 12, 2021
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 59, Low Temp 38 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The sun was shining. The air was crisp. It was a great day for a walk in the woods with Shadow and a friend. We did a loop trail from Highfield Hall to the Punch Bowl and back in Beebee Woods.
The Punch Bowl is beautiful pond surrounded by woods on all sides. When I got home, I put on a huge pot of chicken mineral broth to burble for the rest of the day. I finished the jigsaw puzzle I started with Coco when she was here.
Then I read while Shadow slept at my feet. It was dark before I knew it and I had missed my chance to go out and play catch with Shadow. He didn’t seem to mind, however. He continued sleeping through most of the evening. That walk must have worn him out.
I saw a photo on Facebook of Ziggy and Coco after lighting the candles in their Advent spiral.
Each year, Jo makes a spiral candle holder and puts 25 indentations in it, one for each day of December leading up to Christmas Day. The spiral image is found in all cultures over time. It is associated with the cycle of rebirth, time and seasons, and sometimes a spiritual journey. Ziggy and Coco add another candle each day in December. I love their tradition and might join them in doing this myself next year.
by Judy Handley | Dec 11, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 345: Reading, Puzzling, Watching, Partying
Date: Saturday, December 11, 2021
Weather: Cloudy, Rainy, Windy; High Temp 62, Low Temp 39 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The most notable thing about today was the weather. It was warm, even with a strong wind blowing. There was a little rain. Not enough to deter outside activities, but enough to make it seem dreary. Heather and Jed braved the weather and walked the 9-mile Falmouth Moraine Trail today as part of Jed’s 50th birthday celebration. And tonight, they had two couples over for a birthday dinner celebration. I got a text from Heather saying they enjoyed the walk and had a great evening with friends.
As for me, I did a little reading, a little walking, a little puzzling (almost finished my latest jigsaw), and I allowed myself to watch two episodes of a television series I am really into. I usually just watch one episode every night or two, never during the day. But it was a good day for binge watching. Then tonight, I went to a Christmas party at the home of one of my Newcomers Wine Group members. I knew almost no one there, but I had a couple of fascinating conversations. It was nice to be out with other people, but I was really glad it was so warm that we could actually be outside on the deck for most of the evening. The threat of a rising Covid presence makes being inside with other people a scary proposition. When I got home, I called my friend Lynne in New Zealand. We must have talked for almost two hours. I miss seeing her so much, but if Covid allows, she is coming home for a few months next summer and early fall. In the meantime, it sounds like New Zealand is the place you want to be during this pandemic. They have had only 46 Covid deaths since the beginning in the spring of 2020.
by Judy Handley | Dec 10, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 344: Remembering Aunt Ethel
Date: Friday, December 10, 2021
Weather: Overcast; High Temp 47, Low Temp 42 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was dreary and overcast and only became more so in the late afternoon when I got a text from a niece with a link to an obituary for my Aunt Ethel. She was my aunt by marriage to my mother’s oldest brother, but because she was like a sister to my mother, we were very close when I was young. She was beautiful and smart, an elementary teacher by trade, and had an absolutely infectious laugh. I last saw her when I arrived unannounced at her door on her 103rd birthday. And that was three years ago. At that point she was still living alone, still driving, and still young at heart. I took her on an all day road trip that day from her home in Roanoke, Virginia, to Monroe County in West Virginia, where she grew up and where she met and married my uncle who was fifteen years her senior. At the end of the day, I was exhausted, but she was still going strong. My uncle passed away in 1975 and eventually Aunt Ethel remarried and outlived a second husband by many years. She never had children, but her second husband’s family adopted her fully and made sure she was cared for in every way through the years. After she remarried, I saw her very few times over the years, but her influence on me as a young child was always with me. I had to smile when I saw the photo with the obituary. It was Aunt Ethel with her cat Bella that she loved so dearly.
That picture had to be taken in the last six years and she certainly didn’t look like a centenarian. She was one amazing woman.
by Judy Handley | Dec 9, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 343: A Day with Ollie
Date: Thursday, December 9, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High Temp 38, Low Temp 28 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Ollie has not gone to school all week due to a cold. He is feeling okay, but Heather and Jed have hesitated to send him back to expose other kids as his cough still lingers on. Heather sent a text this morning wondering if I would be willing to have him at my house for the day. She knew we had some holiday projects we wanted to launch. Of course, I replied with an enthusiastic YES. 
Ollie and I spent our day working on holiday art projects and doing a homework writing assignment. Thankfully, Jed helped him with his math before we left their house. As I listened to the two of them talk about factors and prime numbers I was completely lost. Fourth grade math is challenging! We had a break in the afternoon when I had to take him to meet Jed at the Pediatrician office to get a Covid rapid test required before he can return to school tomorrow. And then at the end of the day, I took him home and stayed for the evening. Heather had to go to work to host a webinar and Jed had a dinner to attend. The boys and I ordered pizza that was delivered for dinner and after dinner we played games. It was a lovely day.
