by Judy Handley | Dec 18, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 352: World Cup Win for Messi
Date: Sunday, December 18, 2022
Weather: Partly Sunny: High 41, Low 25 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:05 am & 4:15 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
If you are not a soccer fan, you might not know that today was the final game of the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar. The game was between the defending champion, France, and Argentina. Argentina’s Lionel Messi is 35 years-old and is generally accepted as the best soccer player of all time. His list of achievements is very long, but he has never played on the winning team in a World Cup final. Today was his day. Argentina dominated in the first half, but in the second half, France’s 23-year-old Mbappé scored two goals to tie with Argentina. The game went into overtime and ended in 3-3 tie. Penalty kicks were won by Argentina, and the World Cup was theirs. The announcers kept saying that this was the best World Cup game of all time. Mbappé is a phenomenal player, but he has many World Cup possibilities in his future. I was just so happy that Messi finally got the ultimate win in the world of soccer. I was glued to the TV for almost four hours, so I didn’t get as much done outside today as I had hoped. But there is always tomorrow for that. There is only one World Cup final.
I watched the game alone, as Sam still has the flu. I am, therefore, avoiding direct contact with him and didn’t go over to Heather and Jed’s to watch with them. They had a holiday party to attend after the World Cup game, so when I went over to do some fall leaf clean up, Sam was the only one at home. I wore a mask and went inside to say hello and ask him what he thought of the game. He said it was the best soccer game he has ever watched. I then mowed the backyard, bagged the leaves, and headed home with the lawn mower and leaf blower to finish the fall leaf clean up here. Sam was going to do that, but with him out of commission, I will see how much I can get done. I will pick up the bags of leaves from Heather and Jed’s tomorrow once someone carries them up the hill from the backyard. That I can’t do. I got a little done at home before dark and will continue tomorrow. I had to stop in time to play fetch with Shadow before the last light faded. Some things are just more important than others.
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, and I chose not to be with the Goldstones for that either. I missed the lighting of the candles on the first night of Hanukkah and eating those delicious latkes. But hopefully none of the rest of us gets the flu and we can enjoy Christmas together. For those of you who observe, “Chag Sameach.” This means ‘happy holiday’ in Hebrew.
by Judy Handley | Dec 17, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 351: Catching Up with Life
Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022
Weather: Overcast and Windy: High 46, Low 30 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:04 am & 4:14 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I was supposed to go to Revels in Cambridge with the Goldstones today, but since Sam has the flu, Heather was able to move our tickets to Friday night. Hopefully no one else gets the flu and we will be able to go then. But I fully supported changing on the chance that all of us can go as a family. The family experience is as much a part of Revels as seeing the production. If you are not familiar with Revels, it is a musical production celebrating the darkest night, winter solstice. And as a family, we have always let Revels launch us into the holiday spirit. Jed got a ticket for this afternoon and drove up to go with his mother, brother and his significant other who are visiting Jed’s aunt and uncle in Cambridge this weekend on their way to Maine. He will go again with us on Friday night, but it is wonderful that he was able to go with them today.
Not having to be away all day gave me a chance to catch up with life. I was so busy this past week while visiting with my sister that I didn’t even post my logs on two nights. I wrote short messages that I didn’t quite finish, so I finished those today and am posting them tonight. But in those short messages, I didn’t really write about many things that happened on those days. So, I am going to include some of the highlights of my week in North Carolina here.
The trip to North Carolina was a last-minute decision to help the family friend, Brian Thompson, who is Patsy’s financial power of attorney, take care of some financial issues. We got everything and more done than expected, so that made for a successful trip. I stayed with Brian and his wife Judy who live on beautiful Lake Norman. It is a huge lake with over 500 miles of shoreline. I stayed with them in August when I visited, but I didn’t see all of the wildlife that I saw this time. Driving in at night is especially tricky as there are so many deer that seem to jump out of nowhere. The deer are darker than any deer I have seen before, but it just must be the time of year.
When they stand in the oak leaves you can hardly see them. Then there are the wild turkeys, who also take their share of the road, and the eagles with a huge wingspan that fly overhead. Every drive out in the morning and back in the evening was quite of show of wildlife.
The other main reasons for the visit were to work with Patsy’s afternoon companion, Edie,
and to do some clothes shopping and shopping for necessities for my sister. The clothes shopping was a necessity because Patsy really needed slacks. When she moved from Tennessee to North Carolina a year and a half ago, many of her clothes were lost and never replaced. So, I got that done, found someone to do alternations, and had a great time getting to know Edie. Edie started working with Patsy after Patsy’s daughter died in September. Patsy has never been happy in the assisted living facility where she lives and even refused to go to the dining hall for almost a year and a half. But now Edie has her going to the dining hall and has helped her make friends with some of the other residents. Patsy looks forward to having fun with her friends and she has gained a little much needed weight. She seems genuinely happy and that made me happy.
Things were so much better than when I visited in August. So, all in all, it was definitely a successful trip.
I think that just about covers what happened in North Carolina that I forgot to mention in the other logs. But even in last night’s log, I forgot to mention the flying above clouds. Between Philadelphia and Boston, I looked out the window of the plane and what I saw made me feel like we were floating on a bed of cotton balls.
It was great until we started our descent into Boston when suddenly the bed of cotton balls became very ‘bumpy’. I was certainly glad when we landed!
by Judy Handley | Dec 16, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 350: Charlotte to Philadelphia to Boston and Home
Date: Friday, December 16, 2022
Weather: Rain and Wind: High 46, Low 37 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:04 am & 4:14 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
There is no place like home. It took all day to get here, but the important thing is that I made it. I got up at 4:30 am so I could get to the Charlotte airport in plenty of time to catch my 7:30 am flight. I thought maybe I got up too early, but when I got to the airport and saw the length of the security check-in line, I knew the extra time was needed. I have honestly never seen a security line like it. It started all the way at one end of the terminal where I checked my bag for my American Airlines flight. The line started at the Terminal A and B end of the building and went all the way to the other end to where Terminals C, D, and E were located. When the line got to that end, we started through the roped off back and forth lines. It took 40 minutes, but I had time to stop and stand in line at Dunkin’ Donuts to get a coffee and walk all the way back across the building to Terminal B just in time for boarding. Except we didn’t board. Finally, it was announced that there was a 30-minute delay. Then when we did get onboard the plane and started down the runway, we had another 30-minute wait. I knew I would miss my connection in Philadelphia, but there was nothing I could about it until I got on the ground in Philly. So, I just closed my eyes and slept most of the way. As I exited the plane, the American Service Desk was right in front of me and in about two minutes they had me on another flight to Boston. I was in Terminal A and the new flight was in Terminal C and I had only 15 minutes until boarding. Once again, I walked as fast as I could and got to Terminal C just in time. The delay was a bit of an aggravation, but all in all, it was a good day . . . just a long one.
Once in Boston, I had a two-hour bus ride to Sagamore and then a 30-minute car ride to Falmouth. Eleven hours after my day started, I pulled into Heather and Jed’s driveway to pick up Shadow. Sam was home from school today as he has Flu A. Tomorrow is our trip to Cambridge for Revels, but someone will probably stay home with Sam. I’ll check in with them in the morning to see what we are going to do.
I had a busy and productive week with my sister, but even with sleeping on the plane, I am totally exhausted. I am falling asleep while writing this, so I think I’ll just go to bed. The past two nights when I tried to write my logs, I fell asleep as well. Moving at top speed for three days taking care of medical, financial, and ‘restocking’ for my sister was a bit much. I had to do a lot of driving, went in and out of store after store buying the things she needed, and returned to Brian and Judy Thompson’s after 10 pm each night. I would then visit with Brian and Judy. The days started early and ended late, and I was busy constantly. But it was all worth it to see my sister doing so well. With the help of her companion, Edie, that comes in to be with her every afternoon, she has finally started making all kinds of social connections with the people in her assisted living facility. She seems truly happy for the first time since her husband died in 2019. It was a good trip, but I am ready to snuggle Shadow and move at a slower pace for a few days.
by Judy Handley | Dec 15, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 349: Last Day with My Sister
Date: Thursday, December 15, 2022
Weather: Still Rainy and Cool: High 40, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home with Brian and Judy Thompson on Lake Norman in NC
The time here is passing so quickly. I forgot to mention yesterday that I spent time in the afternoon getting to know Patsy’s afternoon companion, Edie. That was one of the main objectives of this trip. I met Edie when I was here in August as she was working with my niece Jennifer. When Jennifer passed away in September, I was able to hire Edie to be an afternoon companion for my sister. She (Edie) is in her seventies and has turned out to be the perfect companion for my sister. So, I continued to get to know Edie today, continued shopping (until late in the evening), and tried to spend as much quality time with my sister as I could. I took Brian and Judy Thompson, the family friends I am staying with, Edie, and my sister Patsy out to dinner tonight. I picked the wrong restaurant. The food was horrible, and the service was even worse, but despite that we all had a wonderful time together. I leave here at 4:45 am to head to the airport and right now I am falling asleep. I will have to fill in the details once I get home.
by Judy Handley | Dec 14, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 348: Shop ‘til You Drop Day
Date: Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Weather: Rainy and Cool: High 44, Low 30 degrees F
Location: At Home with Brian and Judy Thompson on Lake Norman in NC
Much of my day was spent shopping and fighting the Mooresville traffic. When my niece Jennifer and her husband Bill got married, they moved from Akron, Ohio (where they grew up) to Mooresville. The population of the town in the late 1980’s was just over 10,000 and according to my sister there was nothing there but a small downtown business district and large, empty tracts of land. Today the population is over 50,000, but those empty tracts of land have filled with businesses. The problem is that the roads have not changed. I would rather drive in downtown Boston than in Mooresville. The traffic light waits are painful, and the traffic is bumper to bumper during much of the day. Even Interstate 77 that runs north-south is jammed with traffic. All this makes shopping take much longer than it should. Plus, I had to drive south on I-77 to Huntersville to do some of the shopping. The good news is that I am making progress in getting some additions to my sister’s wardrobe that she desperately needs, plus I am buying many of the basics that she needs and won’t ask others to buy, things like Depends. My nephew Tommy shops for her all the time, but she was almost out of Depends because she is embarrassed to ask him to get them. I get that. So, I am trying to buy enough to last until I come back in April. Then when I left my sister’s assisted living facility late in the evening, I had to find a place to eat dinner before returning to Brian and Judy’s to debrief my day with them. It made for a long day, so now I need to stop writing and get to bed. .
by Judy Handley | Dec 13, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 347: Taking Care of Business and Visiting Family
Date: Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and Cool: High 44, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home with Brian and Judy Thompson on Lake Norman in NC
It is late and I can’t believe it has only been 28 hours since I landed in Charlotte. I have gotten a huge amount accomplished which makes it feel like I have been here for days. I literally had to go back and check the calendar to make sure I arrived just last evening. But it is good that I am getting things done for my sister. She has gained weight, coming up from 80 something pounds to 90 something pounds since I saw her in August. She looks good and after more than a year, she is finally starting to make friends in her assisted living facility. Tomorrow, we have a more relaxed day planned together after I do a morning hunt and kill shopping trip without her. Hopefully we can enjoy a relaxed afternoon together.
I took time out tonight to drive about 45 minutes south of here (took so long due to the traffic) to have dinner with my nephew Tommy, his wife Marilou, her parents, Bob and Ginny, and friends of Tommy and Marilou’s.
Tommy made linguine with shrimp and clams accompanied by a hearty salad. It was delicious and, as always, I enjoyed visiting with them. And I spent a lot of time bonding with Izzy, their Bernese Mountain Dog, which made me miss my Shadow.
And we did all of this in the light of their beautiful Christmas tree.
Such an enjoyable evening.
