by Judy Handley | Feb 11, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 42: Impeachment Trial and Writing
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2021
Weather: Partly Sunny, Cold Tonight; High 31, Low 12 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
My day flew by, but all I did was watch some of the impeachment trial and continue writing Chapter 5 of The Voyage of Windbird. I finished the chapter today but will read it tomorrow morning to make edits. Then I will move on to Chapter 6 which focuses on our time in the Caribbean. It is so delightful to be writing about warm places in these cold times. Watching the impeachment trial is not so delightful. It is painful for two very separate reasons. One is that if you are a person who loves our democracy, it is just hard to relive January 6 for reasons that don’t need to be stated. The other reason that it is painful for me is what we are hearing from many of the Republican jurors. I saw a cartoon post on Facebook today that said, “We find the President innocent by reason of we don’t care if he’s guilty.” I think the House Managers under Jamie Raskin’s leadership have each and all done a masterful job of telling the story of January 6 and building the case that led up to that day. What stands out in my mind most is the fact that the President of the United States of America sat and did absolutely nothing for the first couple of hours that the Capitol building, all of the employees there, all of our legislators and some of their family members, their staff members, and the Vice-President were under full attack. When it became obvious that the Capitol police were totally outnumbered and overrun, still Donald Trump did nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. I guess we just have to wait and see if enough Republican Senators agree with the case as the House Managers have presented it. It almost seems like it is not Donald Trump that is on trial, but rather the Senate. And I fear that they are not up to challenge.
As on all weekdays, I stopped whatever I was doing at 3 pm to go pick Ollie up after school. His positive outlook on life always gives me a mid-afternoon lift. The snow that fell on Monday and Tuesday is still on the ground, so today he was excited to get home to go sledding on the hill across the street. An older woman lives in the house across the street and it is her side yard that we walk through to get to the boardwalk and path around the Two Ponds area. She has told the boys that she doesn’t mind that they walk through. But when the snow came, they realized that the side yard path would make a great downhill sled run, they called to ask if they could sled there. The neighbor explained that she is great grandmother and is so delighted to have young children in the neighborhood. She doesn’t mind at all. In fact, she is excited to watch the action. Due to her kindness, the Goldpebbles have only to walk across the street to enjoy the lingering snow.
I saw a photo of my good friend Olivia White on her Facebook page tonight that made my day. I grew up in a football loving family and I thought they were over-the-top fans until I met Olivia. She is truly what you would call a football ‘fan’atic. Today she went to Gillette Stadium to get her Covid vaccine and posted a photo of herself standing high up in the stadium wearing her Patriots’ mask. She said that her only regret was that there were no football players. Go, Olivia!
by Judy Handley | Feb 10, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 41: Creepy Crawlies
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High 31, Low 20 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It didn’t get above freezing today and this is the warmest day until at least Sunday. So, the snow that is on the ground is going to be around for a while. Knowing that, I decided to go water plants for friends who out of town today even though I knew their very long uphill driveway was going to be an obstacle. It’s not going to get better until the end of next week, so I decided to go for it. I knew I would have to walk in the snow for at W half of the uphill trek, so I wore my boots and headed out. As I suspected, I was able to drive halfway up the hill as others live on that part of what I am calling a driveway and it had been cleared a bit. It was still snow-covered, but passable. When I got as far as I could go, I pulled the car over to the side and parked. Because it was a hill, I engaged the parking brake. After watering the plants, I returned to the car and tried to turn it around. No way. It was just too slick, so I attempted to back down to the main road. I got too far to one side and got stopped by the plowed snowbank. No problem, I thought. I’ll just rock my way out of this. But that did not work. I was just about to call a friend to come push me out of this mess, when I realized I hadn’t released the parking brake. Once I did that, I was able to rock my way out of the predicament and continue on with my day. I went into town to run a couple of errands and then headed home.
Once home, I took Shadow for his Morning Mile walk and then it was time for lunch. I turned on the impeachment trial and watched some of that while I was fixing lunch. About that time, my friend Peter Baranowski knocked on the door. I rent the cottage from Karen’s (Peter’s wife) Aunt Shirley, so Peter was going to do a thorough check of the attic to see if he could see where any animals might have gotten into the attic. I explained that I really think it was tree branches laden with heavy snow being slammed onto the roof by the high winds that had caused all the noise on Sunday evening, but we still needed to check. Heather had already checked things out, but a second look was welcomed. And because Heather had also discovered what she thought might be the remnants of termite activity, Peter had called Terminix and they were coming this afternoon. A young woman from Terminix arrived and we all checked out the attic. She said the problem is not termites, but rather carpenter ants. And that means the pest control squad has to be called in to deal with the issue. But she was not satisfied with just finding the problem, she wanted to know where they were coming from. She pointed out that if you treat the problem without finding the source and dealing with that, you will still have the problem. She found a tree very close to the house that she thinks is the source of the carpenter ants. Pest control will arrive on Friday and we’ll continue to track down the problem. In any case, I will be very glad to get rid of these destructive creepy crawlies in my attic.
With creepy crawlies on my mind, I went back to watching the impeachment trial after Peter and Terminix left. The video of the insurrectionists attacking the Capitol was being shown and now the insurrectionists looked like creepy crawlies to me. Carpenter ants can destroy the wood in your home very quickly if you don’t treat the problem. In the video the House managers were showing, the insurrectionists were destroying our democracy. Same, same. One is just blatantly more violent than the other. And as the young woman from Terminix pointed out, if you don’t seek out the source of the problem, the destruction will continue. It sure looks to me like it is clear that former President Trump incited insurrection on January 6 and he needs to be held accountable for that. But there are deeper problems that allowed him to rise in power and those are the true sources of the problem to which there is not an easy solution like calling Terminix.
by Judy Handley | Feb 9, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 40: Zoom, Zoom
Date: Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Weather: More Snow; High 33, Low 21 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The second Tuesday of each month I have a jam-packed day. I get up and take Shadow for our morning mile walk and then head to the chiropractor for a monthly check-in. This is the second month in a row that Michael, my chiropractor, has said that my spine alignment is better than it has been since I started seeing him in 2014. Maybe it’s the walking, maybe the exercise bike is helping but not sure how that would affect my spine alignment, but something is different. Since I managed to herniate two discs last spring, it has been a long uphill climb. Now I just need to make sure I don’t do something stupid to screw things up!
Then, today, as on every second Tuesday of each month, I rush home from the chiropractor for my monthly Book Club on Zoom. This month’s book was Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig. None of us had ever read anything by this author and we all enjoyed his writing. As a new Book Club member pointed out, this book uses a similar theme as the Harry Potter series. A young boy loses both parents, is sent to live in challenging circumstances, and has an older man that looks over him. This book takes place in the middle of the twentieth century in the western part of the United States. And the older man is not a wizard but an illegal alien from Germany. At one point, Donal, the eleven-year-old orphan says, “Life with Herman was a size larger than I was used to, like clothing I was supposed to grow into.” Like Harry, they do travel by bus, but it is not the Knight Bus. They travel by Greyhound. And Donal collects S&H Green Stamps. Remember those? It is a delightful book. Here’s one more of Donal’s quotes, “Life can tickle you in the ribs surprisingly when it’s not digging its thumb in.” Life according to an eleven-year-old American philosopher.
Zoom, zoom. After the Book Club Zoom, I spent a couple of hours reading the articles for a late afternoon Public Policy Zoom and checked in on the impeachment trial. Just before 3 pm, I took Shadow for another short walk and then we got into the car to go pick up Ollie. We took him home and then Shadow and I came home and watched a bit more of the impeachment trial while waiting for the Public Policy Zoom. That started at 4:45 pm and the focus was the Constitutional separation between religion and government. It was a good discussion led by friend Karen Baranowski. Great job, Karen. I really enjoy the Zoom meetings I attend, but by the time that my second Zoom for the day was over, I was Zoomed out. It is easy to see how kids and parents who are spending much of their days during this pandemic on Zoom are having Zoom fatigue.
We got more snow this afternoon and we are in for cold winter weather for the forecastable future. But the Goldpebbles are enjoy this first snowy period in a couple of years. Jed took them sledding again today after school and I know they are looking forward to winter vacation snowboarding in Maine next week. I am actually enjoying the snow as well. If I didn’t have Shadow, I know I wouldn’t be out there enjoying tramping through the woods in the snow. Thank you, Shadow. And I have discovered new trails that need to be rid of briars. So as soon as the weather warms up a bit, I hope Ollie will come help me clear more trails.
by Judy Handley | Feb 8, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 38: The Amazing Tom Brady
Date: Sunday, February 7, 2021
Weather: Snow; High 38, Low 21 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I’m sure glad I finally decided to forgive Tom Brady for leaving the Patriots and cheered him on tonight in Super Bowl LV. He is an amazing quarterback. And while I’m at it, I have to also forgive him for being a Republican. His performance in the tonight’s Super Bowl was like a work of art . . . beautiful. Whatever you think of him, I think we all need to take a food lesson from him. Look at your plate when you eat. If it is not 80 percent veggies and just 20 per cent meat, then you are not making the Tom Brady team.
The other beautiful thing about today was the snow. Shadow and I went for our morning walk before the snow started and it was unnervingly quiet. I guess it was the calm before the storm. When I returned from the walk, I talked to Justin, Ziggy, and Coco on Skype video. The snow started while we were talking. After the call, I took a shower and by the time I got dressed, the world outside was white. Before the roads got too bad, I headed to Heather’s to get my first haircut in a year. Thank you, Heather! And then I returned home and played outside with Shadow in the snow. I loved watching the geese with snow on their backs. And I looked longingly at my table and chair down by the dock covered in snow hoping that spring will come sooner rather than later. I look forward to the time that I can once again sit down by the dock and watch the Goldpebbles out in the kayaks. The snowflakes this afternoon were huge and they quickly covered the tree branches making it look like a winter wonderland. Later in the afternoon, Jo sent me photos from their afternoon at the beach in Puerto Rico. Their new puppy Lenny was surfing for the first time. Lenny in tropical wonderland and Shadow in winter wonderland made for beautiful pictures.
Between playing outside in the snow and the start of the Super Bowl, I made a wee bit of progress on my writing project. But while sitting at the dining table writing, I kept hearing banging noises. At first, I thought maybe it was the north wind making the outside flap on the kitchen fan vent flip open and closed. I went outside and walked around the house. I saw nothing on the roof and that vent flap was not moving. I came back in and the thumping from above continued. I went up in the attic and everything was quiet there. But when I sat back down at the dining table to write, the thumping started again. I made three more trips to the attic, one to throw balls of material saturated with eucalyptus oil around the attic floor. I think squirrels must have gotten into the attic. I needed peppermint oil to repel them. But I didn’t have any. But I know rodents don’t like the smell of eucalyptus oil that I did have, so maybe squirrels will be repelled by it. Whatever is up there has finally gone to sleep, but I figure I will be spending most of day tomorrow dealing with problem.
by Judy Handley | Feb 8, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 39: All is Quiet
Date: Monday, February 8, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Cold; High 30, Low 19 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Are you old enough to remember Dean Martin and Marilyn Maxwell singing Baby, It’s Cold Outside? I can’t remember the words, but I was humming that tune all day today. It was cold outside. Even though the sun was shining, the temperature didn’t get above freezing. So, yesterday’s snow is still frozen on the ground. When I headed out to take Shadow on his morning walk, I had to turn right around. The streets were a sheet of ice. We did walk in the crunchy snow around the cottage, in the woods, and down to the water. But even the geese looked frozen in place. I tried to catch the beauty of the ice in the trees and bushes as the sun came gleaming through. The photos don’t do justice to the real thing, however.
My strategy last night of going out every two hours to drive the car around the cul-de-sac that is my driveway and out onto the road worked as well as a snowplow. The snowplow keeping the roads scraped kept piling up big balls of snow where my driveway meets the street, but I would just drive through the piled up wet snow, back up, and drive forward again. And every time I did that, I totally cleaned the car off. By the time I went to bed the snow had stopped falling, so this morning I didn’t have to clean ice off the car or drive through big balls of frozen snow to get out onto the road.
I got some writing done today, but I had to end early as I had my annual physical exam. And then I had to pick up Ollie. When I took him home, Jed was getting ready to take the boys to Woods Hole to go sledding so Heather came home with me to check out the attic. Whatever was making all that noise last night evidently found its way out of the attic. Heather and I could find nothing up there and the noises have ceased. All is quiet.
by Judy Handley | Feb 6, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 37: Mostly Writing
Date: Saturday, February 6, 2021
Weather: Sunny and Windy; High 43, Low 29 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
By 4 pm this afternoon, the sun was still shining but the winds had built to 20 to 25 miles per hour. I went down by the water to play fetch with Shadow, but even he gave out after a shorter than normal period of time due to the wind. It is calm out tonight, but we are expecting snow tomorrow, maybe as much as eight inches. But the temperature is going to be in the mid-30’s. Not sure if that will lessen the accumulation. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Other than walking and playing ball with Shadow, I spent most of the day at my computer finishing Chapter 4 of The Voyage of Windbird and making a great start on Chapter 5. Chapter 5 is about the lumpy, bumpy, wild passage from Norfolk to St. Martin in the Caribbean. I am really enjoying go back the details of the voyage and hope to head on through the Caribbean to Panama tomorrow. Hopefully that will keep me warm as the snow falls. And then tomorrow evening there is the Super Bowl. Not sure if I will be watching it at home due to the weather or going to the Goldstones for a Super Bowl party.
