by Judy Handley | Aug 14, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 227: Low Country Shrimp, Sausage, Potato, Corn Boil
Date: Monday, August 14, 2023
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 78, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
New England has its clam bakes. Maryland is famous for its boiled blue crab. The Great Lakes have white fish boils. In Louisiana, it is a crawfish boil. America’s coastlines all have their specialty. In South Carolina and Georgia, it is called a Low-Country boil and that is what I served to my dining-in group tonight. I have boiled crabs and I have boiled lobster, but it has been years since I did that. So, I was skeptical that I could pull this off, but I did it. Tonight’s Low-Country boil was a success, but it did take the better part of the day for me to get it together. I also made a super-moist jalapeno cornbread. Christina and Warren Brodie, our new members, brought cole slaw, Midge Frieswyk brought the appetizer, and Karen and Peter Baranowski added a blueberry cobbler for dessert. Great group, great fun being together, and good food. Can’t think of a better way to spend a summer evening.
by Judy Handley | Aug 13, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 225: Gardening and Trip to the Airport
Date: Saturday, August 12, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Rain Forecast for Tonight; High 79, Low 70 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Right now, I am sitting in the Cell Phone lot at Boston Logan Airport. The Woodin’s were kind enough to loan me their car this week, so I offered to pick them up from the airport tonight. They have been in Florida with Jane’s brother who is terminally ill and now in hospice. Jane had to come home for a few days as she has doctor appointments next week that can’t be missed, but she really didn’t want to leave her brother. The good thing is that Jane is very pleased with the hospice situation with a very caring and attentive staff.
Otherwise, my day was spent finally planting my new herb and flower garden in front of my little deck. I have spent a couple of days getting it ready, so today was the day to plant. Some things are in containers and others are in the ground, which was hard as a brick and full of roots and rocks. But I persevered and transplanted oregano, mint, and a perennial garden vining plant from my garden at the cottage. Then I added parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, chives, and a few basil plants in containers. I fear the rabbits will eat the basil, but I have more in the vegetable garden. I also added a container of green and red coleus in honor of Mark. When I saw it at the garden shop, I was compelled to buy it. When I first met Mark he lived in Bloomington, Indiana where he had a vegetable garden edged in coleus. I have never since had coleus in a garden, so now I do.
Update: It is now midnight and I just got home from the airport trip. Bruce and Jane arrived right on time, just before 9 pm, but they had checked luggage and the conveyor belt was not working. Plus, the traffic at arrivals was crazy. They have made it almost impossible to pick someone up. All passengers have to either walk a very long way with their luggage to one pick up area for all gates or they have to walk across three lanes of bus and taxi traffic and the car picking up simply has to stop traffic to load bags and passengers. It is very dangerous and I’m not sure why it has changed to be this way. It was after 10:30 when we finally left the airport. I know they were exhausted and will be so glad to sleep in their own bed tonight. My thoughts are with you, Bruce and Jane, during this very difficult time.
by Judy Handley | Aug 13, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 226: Early Morning Thunderstorm
Date: Sunday, August 13, 2023
Weather: Rain Early, then Partly Sunny; High 78, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
CRACK! Rumble, rumble rumble, roar. Wham! That’s my best expression of the sounds that basically threw me out of bed at 6 am. The thunder was so loud, and it went on for an hour with driving rain. I stumbled though the house, shutting windows as the rain was in from and then I tried to go back to sleep. Shadow was shaking like a leaf for the entire time, so I had to hold him close to me to try and settle him down. I told him it was all okay, but he wasn’t having it. It was not until after 7 am that we could both finally close our eyes and get a little more sleep. I am happy to get the rain, but it comes down so hard, and the thunder and lightning is just scary. When I finally got up, the rain had stopped. Or so I thought. I got dressed and took Shadow out just in time for another downpour with more thunder. He was not going to pee as long as there was thunder, so we ran back to the house and waited until the rain finally did stop for that potty break. Then I spent most of my day shopping for food and cleaning house for tomorrow’s dining-in gathering here. Between the pain in my right knee and my back, everything is taking a longer than it should. But I’ll just keep on going at a snail’s pace and get the job done.
by Judy Handley | Aug 11, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 224: Star Wars Afternoon with Ollie
Date: Friday, August 11, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 78, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
I took advantage of having no kids again this morning by catching up on Encore work. I am responsible for writing the greeting from the co-presidents for the September newsletter, so I got a start on that. I also continued working on my new herb and flower garden. Then I got a text from Jonah saying he needed a ride to go meet a friend downtown. I delivered him but then went back and invited Ollie to come to my house for the afternoon. He is a little better and I wanted to get him out in the sunshine for a bit. Besides, I really didn’t want to leave him alone all afternoon. After lunch and an Oma required 30 minutes in the sunshine, we came inside to continue my Star Wars education. Ollie didn’t want to watch the 8th major movie. Instead, we watched four episodes of Boba Fett. Ollie pointed out that I had ‘met’ Boba Fett in a couple of the movies we watched. He is a human male crime lord and a former bounty hunter whose career spans decades from the fall of the Galactic Republic to the end of the rule of the Galactic Empire. I am learning.
by Judy Handley | Aug 10, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 223: A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World
Date: Thursday, August 10, 2023
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Light Rain Late Day: High 76, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
It was another day without Ollie and Jonah. Ollie’s cold is no better, so again Heather said the boys would be fine and that I should avoid contact. I did take lunch to Heather and the boys and busied myself here with designing and buying a few plants for a new flower and herb garden. Then at 5:15 pm, Christina Brodie picked me up and we went to a wine and cheese reception at Highfield Hall followed by an author talk. The speaker was David Gessner. He is a NYT best selling author, and his latest book is A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World: Tales of Fire, Wind, and Water by David Gessner. The Highfield piece advertising the event said: “In A Traveler’s Guide to the End of the World, Gessner takes readers on an eye-opening tour of climate hotspots from the Gulf of Mexico to the burning American West to New York City to the fragile Outer Banks, where homes are being swallowed by the seas. He does so with his usual sense of humor, compassion, and a willingness to talk to anyone, providing an informative and sobering yet convivial guide for the age of fire, heat, wind, and water. Gesner approaches scientists and thinkers with a father’s question: What will the world be like in 2064, when his daughter Hadley is his age now? What is the future of weather? The future of heat, storms, and fire?” Gessner doesn’t like to use the word ‘hopeful’ when talking about climate devastation and the future.. He prefers to use the word ‘possibilities’. This prompted a very thoughtful discussion.
by Judy Handley | Aug 9, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 222: Encore Board Meeting and Ollie with a Summer Cold
Date: Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny: High 82, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
At 7 am the alarm went off and I woke with a start. In all of my preparation for today’s Encore Board meeting, I had totally forgotten to get the key from the library ahead of time to unlock the door. Our meeting starts at 9:30 am. The library opens at 10 am. What to do? I emailed the co-presidents from the past two years to see if this had ever happened to them. No, it had not. So I headed to the library at 8:15 searching for a solution. There were workman at the back of the library working on the roof. They had a door opened, so I entered. The library was totally quiet, no lights on. I thought if I walked upstairs, I might find a maintenance person or someone who could help me. I wandered through rows of books and came to the administrative offices. A light was one. I knocked on the glass door and a very surprised woman came to the door and said, “You are not supposed to be here.” I said, “I know that.” She was very surprised that the alarm system had not gone off and that the police were not on their way. I was shocked that my presence could cause such a stir. But long story short, she finally gave me the key I needed to the unlock the outside door and the meeting room. All was well. I hurried home to get my things and then headed to the meeting. Whew! What a way to start the day when you are in charge of a Board meeting for the first time in your life. I will never forget to pick up the key the day before again!
After the Board meeting, I was supposed to take Ollie and Jonah to the beach, but Heather had contacted me early to tell me Ollie has a terrible summer cold. He was fine yesterday. This really came out of nowhere. He is testing negative for Covid, so it looks like an old-fashioned summer cold. Hopefully he is better by tomorrow. I took advantage of the time by catching up on paperwork. No fun, but it felt good to get a few things done.
