by Judy Handley | Jan 24, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 24: Very, Very Quiet
Date: Sunday, January 24, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Still Windy; High 32, Low 20 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was a very, very quiet day around here. I didn’t see another person, not even on my long neighborhood walk with Shadow, and I didn’t talk to another person until just now when I called my sister for our daily check-in. I usually see Heather and family most every day, but I think we were both spending the day just catching up. January has been a busy month. First, we were all glued to our televisions watching the storming of the United States Capitol. Then we had the impeachment in the House, followed by the inauguration and the first days of the new administration. So, for people like me who follow the news closely, I have spent much of the month keeping track of happenings. January is also the month that many health and gardening docu-series are launched, and I have been watching those. These docu-series are rolled out, one program a day. But at the end of the series, there is always a weekend where all of the episodes are available one last time. That was this weekend, so I spent part of my day watching those episodes I had missed. And then there has been football. Because of my love of die-hard Cleveland Browns fans and Buffalo Bills fans, I have watched a couple of football games each weekend. Now it is down to the Kansas City Chiefs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the Super Bowl. New England’s beloved Tom Brady is no longer a Patriot. He abandoned us to become a Buccaneer. Now he will be going to the Super Bowl (for the 10th time) with a new team. He is almost old enough to be the father of the quarterback for the Chiefs, a 25 year-old that is making football history of his own. So, the Super Bowl will be a match of quarterbacks and will be interesting to watch no matter who you are cheering on. But it looks like we have a break for a couple of weeks before the Senate impeachment trial and the Super Bowl. I have absolutely nothing on my calendar until Friday, February 6, when I take Shadow to the groomer. My goal is to use these next two weeks to truly catch up on the long list of things on my To Do list. Wish me luck.
I want to pass along a link to another opinion piece from The Guardian that Jo’s father sent to me this morning. It is interesting to read about the perceived impact Joe Biden’s election might make on British politics.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/24/hurrah-for-triumph-of-the-centrist-dad-but-dont-discount-joe-bidens-radicalism
by Judy Handley | Jan 23, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 23: Day with Ollie
Date: Saturday, January 23, 2021
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 33, Low 19 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Now I remember why our bodies are designed to have children when we are younger. I had a delightful day with Ollie, but I am tired.
Part of that is because we took a walk with Heather and Jed mid-afternoon and went further than we intended due to taking a wrong turn. I think we were out there walking for two hours and it was cold and windy. Just being outside in the cold saps your energy. We started our walk at Peterson Farm and checked out the sheep in the fields. Ollie and I will try to go back every month in the hopes of seeing baby lambs. We walked around the fields and into the woods where Ollie enjoyed climbing on the rocks along the way and Shadow had a great time pulling us along. Jonah and Sam went on an all-day outdoor Scout outing today. When I took Ollie home tonight at 8:30 pm, Jonah was just getting into a hot bath trying to get warm. I assume Sam was upstairs taking a hot shower. But other than being cold, Jonah said they had a good day.
by Judy Handley | Jan 22, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 22: Educating Oneself, A Lifelong Commitment
Date: Friday, January 22, 2021
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 44, Low 25 Degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
This afternoon, I hopped on my exercise bike and turned on the TV to catch up on the news while I biked. It was announced that Greta Thunberg, the young climate change activist, would be coming up in the next segment, so I was excited about that. I saw her in the interview with the Dali Lama a couple of weeks ago and I wanted to hear what she had to say now that we have a new administration in this country. The interview was great, but she was still ‘selling’ the same message. “Educate yourself about climate change. Educate, educate, educate.” This reminded me that I need to go back and watch the five films on Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops. Here’s the link if you are interested: https://feedbackloopsclimate.com/. And this afternoon Heather reminded me that I need to actually read Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. It is on my coffee table, but it has not been read.
The past eight days, I have been watching a docu-series called the Longevity Roadmap. I do want to summarize what I learned for you, but there was so much information and I need to watch some of the programs again this weekend during the replay. Then I’ll write my summary. I have also been watching a series of short programs each afternoon on winter gardening. It was not the best I’ve seen, but it did get me into sprouting lentils. They will be ready tomorrow to incorporate into a couple of new recipes that were shared, so I’ll let you know how that goes. I’m reading Obama’s autobiography which is a “deeply personal account of history in the making” and this week I have been glued to the TV watching history happening before our eyes. So, for sure, I have been doing my part to continue the lifelong learning process these past two weeks.
Tomorrow I am taking the day off to be with Ollie. Jonah and Sam have an all-day Scouting activity, so Ollie and I are going to do some special things together. One thing we are going to work on is making a nice walking path for me and Shadow in the woods on the street side of the property. This morning at 6:15 am when we went out for his early bathroom break, we almost ran into the neighborhood coyote in the woods on the water side of the property. We were way too close for comfort. I’ve known the coyote was around, but this is the first time that I saw him. He quickly ran away when Shadow barked, but I think I’ll avoid walking on that side late at night and in the very early morning. A new path, free of briars and low hanging branches, is definitely needed!
by Judy Handley | Jan 22, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 21: Happy Birthday to Sam
Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021
Weather: A Mix of Sun and Clouds, A Few Snowflakes; High 38, Low 29 Degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I woke up this morning feeling an unbelievable sense of relief that there is a new administration in Washington, but it was almost as if I had an inauguration hangover. Was this really true? Are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris really our new President and Vice President? Or was I dreaming? I shook my head and turned on the TV to make sure all was well. Whew! It is not a dream.
I started my day with my exercise and walking rituals, watched a couple of docu-series, and before I knew it, it was almost time to go pick up Ollie at the end of the school day. A little before that, I got a phone call from Heather preparing me for some bad news Sam’s received today, on his 14th birthday. This is a remote school week for Jonah and Sam, so Sam was at his friend Robert’s today. Sam and Robert are both drummers and had both just submitted their video auditions for the position of drummer for the high school jazz band next year. Yes. Sam is going to be in high school. They found out today that Robert got the position. It was unfortunate that this news had to come on Sam’s birthday. He is disappointed but seems to be handling it okay. But then tonight when I went over for Sam’s birthday dinner, there was more bad news. Just before dinner, Ollie went up to feed the guinea pigs and came back downstairs saying Jonah’s guinea pig, Max, was laying on his side. Heather and Jed headed upstairs while Sam and I stayed in the kitchen. The news we heard was not good. Max was obviously struggling to stay alive. At first Jonah headed to his bedroom, but then he decided he wanted to say goodbye to Max. He was a brave little boy and held his guinea pig and then everyone came down to the dining room. Max was resting for a bit and Heather kept going to check on him. None of really felt like eating dinner, but Sam heated up pieces of the duck breast that he loves so much and he ate standing up in the kitchen. Heather came down to try and get Jonah to eat. And eventually, Ollie, Heather, Jed, and I ate a little. But there was no sit down celebratory dinner. Sam opened a couple of presents and that distracted Jonah for a bit. Eventually, Heather took Jonah back upstairs and when she came back, she announced that Max had died. When Jonah rejoined us, Sam cut his own birthday cake and brought Jonah the first piece. Brothers can fight like crazy, but in a time of need, they are there for each other. And even though Sam had a very disappointing day and his birthday dinner was derailed, he handled it all really well and did enjoy opening the remainder of his birthday gifts at the end of the evening. So Happy Birthday, Sam. So hard to believe my first born grandchild is 14 years old!
by Judy Handley | Jan 20, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 20: A New Day in America
Date: Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Weather: A Little Snow, A Little Sunshine; High 38, Low 20 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Even if the joy only lasts one day, the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ushered in a much needed new day in America. I saw someone post on Facebook that the transfer of power felt like having a 243 pound gorilla lifted off our shoulders. I couldn’t agree more. From early morning to late evening, it was a an uplifting, joyous, hopeful day in our nation’s capital and around the nation. I heard my favorite politician, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, say tonight that today was a 10 out of 10 win-win for her. I feel the same way . . . a new President that is empathetic and kind and willing to dedicate his soul to the healing of our broken country . . . a new Vice President that is the first woman, first African American, and first South Asian to hold that office . . . a powerful 22 year-old national poet laureate whose words stole the day . . . everyone attending the inauguration wearing masks . . . three previous Presidents attending the inauguration and giving the new administration their full support . . . Lady Gaga singing the national anthem and bringing me to tears (I never, ever thought that Lady Gaga could make me cry!) . . . J. Lo singing a medley of songs and then addressing the nation in Spanish with the last lines of the Pledge of Allegiance, “Una nación, bajo Dios, indivisible, con libertad y justicia para todos” (One nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all) . . . the new Vice-President swearing in three new Democratic Senators . . . the President signing fifteen executive orders, one of which is rejoining the Paris Climate Accords (drumroll) . . . the first press conference of the Biden administration with Press Secretary Jen Psaki pledging to bring “truth back to the American government” . . . an evening ‘virtual’ Celebrating America concert with everyone from Jon Bon Jovi to Yo Yo Ma that ended with a fabulous fireworks display. And this happened while most of us were holding our breath anticipating a possible act of violence. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. It was quite a day and I don’t remember ever feeling this proud to be an American.
by Judy Handley | Jan 19, 2021 | 2021 Life Logs |
2021 Life Logs, Day 19: The Dark and The Light
Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 41 (felt much colder), Low 28 Degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It feels a bit like living in a Star Wars movie. We have the Dark Lord and we have the incoming Light. There is very little we know for sure these days, but barring some sort of cataclysmic act, the Dark Lord flies away from the Mother Ship (my name for our nation’s capital) tomorrow morning. Hallelujah! The Light arrived this afternoon when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris flew into Washington and presided over a very moving ceremony honoring those who have died from Covid 19. When the 400 lights lining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool came on representing the 400,000 of us who have died from the coronavirus, it was both sad and beautiful. I lit my candles, lights all over the country came on, and bells were rung. A national acknowledgement of what has happened since the first case of Covid was discovered in this country one year ago tomorrow was long past due and I felt so proud that this was the very first thing that our new President and Vice President did when they arrived in our nation’s capital. I will spend my day tomorrow watching the inauguration. It certainly is not going to be anything like past inaugurations, but then nothing these days is like it once was. Thankfully, we are a creative people, each of us figuring out how to negotiate life these days, and hopefully the inauguration tomorrow will reflect that creativeness.
Otherwise, my day was filled with watching a couple of docu-series episodes, one on health and one on winter gardening. I exercised, walked with Shadow, picked Ollie up after school, and spent an hour and half at the skatepark with Ollie and Jonah. I spend most of my time in the car reading while they practice their trick moves on their scooters, but once in a while I am asked to come video them in action. I love watching them and enjoy the extra time to read. I am currently back to reading the first volume of Obama’s memoir, A Promised Land. Really enjoying it.
