by Judy Handley | Jul 8, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 189: Weekend Work Day
Date: Saturday, July 8, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 78, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
It was a beautiful day, but I had to put everything aside to get ready for my first Encore Board meeting as co-president. I worked for six hours with Christina Brodie, the other co-president, to put together Board books for each Board member. We meet here at my house on Wednesday. It will certainly not take six hours every month to prepare for the Board meeting, but this one, being the first, took more preparation.
After leaving Christina’s, I stopped by the cottage and packed up a few more things. I need more coffee cups for Wednesday’s meeting, so I actually unpacked a bin in the basement labeled as ‘Justin’s Mugs’. I thought they were all mugs he had collected on our travels when he was young. But actually most of the coffee cups were vintage public radio cups. So, I brought a few home with me.
Tomorrow, I plan to get the things I have transported from the cottage in the past couple of days put away and get the house ready to host 15-18 Board members on Wednesday. It is what I need to do regardless of hosting a meeting but that gives me the extra incentive to get the job done.
by Judy Handley | Jul 7, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 188: A Birthday Memory Celebration for Mark
Date: Friday, July 7, 2023
Weather: Another Beautiful Day; High 76, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Mark would have celebrated his 81st birthday today. Since he is no longer with us, Heather and family and I celebrated in his memory. They came to my new house and brought cheese cake and strawberries. We had a fire and ate and reveled in memories.
Jed is still testing positive, just barely, for Covid, so he came masked and sat a good distance from the rest of us. Mark’s sister and brother-in-law, Mary Ellen and Lee, also called this evening, and we reminisced as well. Mark and I had a wonderful like together and I miss him so very much. But I carry his spirit with me every moment. And sometimes I think he is watching from afar.
A book club friend, Sally Holbrook, volunteered to help me bill her vehicle and mine with stuff from the cottage basement and deliver it here today. Thank you, thank you, Sally. We accomplished so much. After I got all of that packed in the basement here, Jonah, Ollie, and I went to the beach. But that didn’t work out as we thought. It was a beautiful, sunny, hot day until I we drove down to Falmouth Heights Beach. When we got there, it was very foggy. We drove on to Menauhant Beach, but it was foggy all along the water. We got out on the beach and it actually felt cold. There was a strong wind blowing and no chance of sunshine coming through the fog. Jonah got in the water and played catch with Ollie, but they pretty quickly decided to head back home. But we did make the mandatory stop at Smitty’s for ice cream.
by Judy Handley | Jul 6, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs, Cape Cod, USA |
2023 Life Logs, Day 187: Completing Stage 1 of the Move … Almost
Date: Thursday, July 6, 2023
Weather: Beautiful Day; High 81, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
I had the day off Camp Oma today. Ollie and Jonah decided to have a laid back day at home and exploring downtown Falmouth on their own. That gave me the time to go to the cottage and load everything from the cottage (minus the basement) into my car and to deliver it here. Not all is unpacked, but hopefully that will happen tomorrow. I also made two trips to the Swap Shop with items from the cottage and from Heather and Jed’s. It was hot today and I had to move slowly, but I got it done. There is a bulletin board, one framed picture, and a few clothes to be donated that are still in the cottage. But the main thing is that there are a number of pieces of small furniture that I need to give away. I’ll deal with that tomorrow, but I feel good about what I got done today.
Tonight, Bruce and Jane Woodin invited me over for dinner. What a wonderful treat. I have struggled with eating properly during the past three weeks while moving and their invitation tonight was just what the doctor ordered. They are dogsitting for their grand dog, Fern. She is a ginormous Bernese Mountain Dog. They invited me to bring Shadow to meet Fern, which did not go well at first. Fern is as gentle as she can be, but Shadow was afraid and did his crazy yelping. Finally, however, he settled down and the two dogs tolerated each other for the remainder of the evening. The meal was delicious, and I got to admire all of Jane’s beautiful flowers
and Bruce’s Earth Box gardens. Impressive. Thank you, thank you, to Bruce and Jane for a lovely evening.
by Judy Handley | Jul 5, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 186: Afternoon at the Beach
Date: Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Weather: Beautiful Day, Foggy Evening; High 79, Low 68 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
It was a beautiful day, but I had to spend my morning on the phone with various health care providers for my sister. As her medical POA, I have to deal with all aspects of her health care and today was one of those days that I had to sit on hold waiting for people to talk to and then finding that they need more paperwork to talk to me. Frustrating. But it had to be done.
Sam doesn’t work on Wednesdays, so this afternoon, I took all three Goldpebbles to the beach. It was wonderful, but it was a wake-up call for me. I know Sam and Jonah are teenagers, but it didn’t dawn on me until today how that impacts Ollie. Sam and Jonah no longer dig in the sand and play,. They just like to get in the water and then lay in the sun. That is certainly not what Ollie wants to do, so I sat in the sand with Ollie and we built a sea wall. I think I will be doing a lot of this this summer. On the way home, we stopped for ice cream at Smitty’s which is another thing we will probably be doing a lot of this summer.
As Sam noted this afternoon, Cape Cod ice cream never disappoints, and Smitty’s is one of the best.
Tonight I met Heather and boys at the beach for the delayed 4th of July fireworks . . . that were once again delayed.
This time the delay was a late evening fog that rolled in. The fireworks should have begun at 9 pm, but at 9:10 all we could see were boats heading back into the harbor. Then we saw people beginning to leave. They had heard on the radio that the fireworks were delayed once again. But it was a great evening to be on the beach.
by Judy Handley | Jul 4, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 185: Rainy 4th of July
Date: Tuesday, July 4, 2023
Weather: Rainy Day; High 78, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
We had a rainy 4th of July. It rained overnight and in the early morning. Then the rain held off for a few hours—long enough for Heather’s neighborhood to have their 4th of July mid-day pool party. Then the rain returned. In the early evening we had thunderstorms causing the 4th of July fireworks to be cancelled for tonight and rescheduled for tomorrow night. So, our 4th celebrations will continue tomorrow. But I did watch the Boston Pops Fireworks on TV and Shadow and I are hearing lots of fireworks going off in town.
I had my own little Independence Day celebration. I got the remainder of the boxes unpacked and put away. Hurray! And I went back to the cottage and got everything left in the house packed up. That does not include the basement, but hopefully I can get the boys to help me get the packed boxes moved here and then pack my car with things that need to go to the Swap Shop. When that is done, I have to find a home for the pieces of furniture I am leaving behind. It is just small pieces, but I need to get them out of the cottage. Then I’ll start on the basement. But the immediate need is to get things out of the house. The never-ending move continues.
I think the new house looks great. Bruce and Jane Woodin stopped by for a few minutes this afternoon to see the progress and they loved what they saw . . . a living room with books on the shelves instead of in boxes,
a dining room with a table and chairs and built-in shelving full of books and memorabilia,
my little ‘office’ on the top of my old treadle Singer Sewing machine in the hallway,
a bedroom with all boxes unpacked,
a panty filled with food,
and a fully working kitchen.
It has taken 10 days to get to this point and it feels so good to be settled in.
by Judy Handley | Jul 3, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 184: A Wild Goose Chase of a Day
Date: Monday, July 3, 2023
Weather: Party Sunny, Morning Fog, Rain Overnight; High 78, Low 67 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
It was one of those days when things just don’t work out. Heather had to work today, so I had the boys. We had not gone to the boat to pump all of the rainwater out of the dinghy due to July 4th weekend traffic. But traffic was lighter today, so we decided to do that. And as long as we were going that far, I decided to drive on up to IKEA to get the half-high book shelf I need to complete the living room. I have the television sitting on the top of one half high, but the base is a little longer than the shelf top and needs another shelf for support. Jonah was tired from his overnight and I needed a break from lifting and unpacking boxes, so off we went. Sitting in the car sounded like a good thing. But, unfortunately, IKEA did not have the book shelf I needed. Bummer to drive all that way and not get it. I should have checked the website before I went, but I didn’t. Then we went back to the boat and there was very little water in it. The friends of Heather’s who are letting her use their mooring had pumped it out for us because it was looking ‘precarious’. Good to have friends who will do that for you. So, the trip to IKEA and to pump out the dinghy were the day’s wild goose chase. Then, just now, I got a text from Heather. Jed got home from Denmark tonight and he has Covid. As Heather said, that complicates things a bit. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!
