by Judy Handley | Feb 13, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 44: Planning Day
Date: Monday, February 13, 2023
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Rain Overnight; High 43, Low 33 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 6:42 am – 5:13 pm (+0 minutes)
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, NH
Today was a planning day. Planning for a move and, more immediately, planning for the family trip to Vermont. At this point, things are looking a bit sketchy, but I am sincerely hoping they brighten up a bit in the next day or two. First of all, the news I received from Justin yesterday about Jo and Coco being very sick was not encouraging. Then I keep checking the weather and it looks like we could get rain next week, not snow. No, no, no. No rain, please. But since I can do nothing about either of those situations, I did get into food planning gear. Heather and I had made a list of meals and I spent part of today refining that and getting a complete shopping list together. Much of what is on the list is in my pantry. So, I have been pulling things out and beginning to fill bags.
After talking to Heather and Jed last night, I reached out to my friend with the possible house rental to let her know that I am 100% sure I want it and she got back to me letting me that 100% it is mine. So now I can move forward knowing where I will live next. I love the property and the house and am getting excited about the move.
The other planning I did today was for a presentation on The Voyage of Windbird that I will give on March 2nd to the Upper Cape Ski Club and another one in June at the Atwood Museum in Chatham on the Outer Cape. The Voyage of Windbird is still in demand.
by Judy Handley | Feb 12, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 43: Super Bowl Sunday
Date: Sunday, February 12, 2023
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 45, Low 36 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 6:42 am – 5:13 pm (+2 minutes)
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, NH
My morning was spent thinking through preparations for the family trip to Vermont. Justin called and said that Coco and Jo have been very sick for the past week and that Coco still has a high temperature. We are all hoping they recover quickly and can still make the trip, but we just have to wait and see. My afternoon was spent baking granola and preparing a couple of contributions for a Super Bowl evening with the Goldstones. I arrived an hour before the game so that Heather, Jed, and I could spend some time talking about my housing situation and the possibility of renovations so I can eventually live with them. But that is going to take time, so for now, we all agreed that the rental of my friend’s home is the way to go.
Then it was on to the Super Bowl. Half of us were for Kansas City and half for Philadelphia. But we were mostly watching for the commercials, which were a bit of a disappointment in our opinion. And even though a Rhianna half time show was not the Pebbles’ cup of tea, we all enjoyed the first half and half time together. I then headed home and had to watch the remainder of the game in Spanish I kept getting a message that my television is not set up for 4G. I’ll have to figure that one out later, but I was thankful for English captioning!
by Judy Handley | Feb 11, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 42: Lost in Thought
Date: Saturday, February 11, 2023
Weather: Partly Sunny. Chilly; High 45, Low 28 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 6:43 am – 5:12 pm (+2 minutes)
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, NH
This was one of those days that came and went and I am not sure what I did to fill the hours. The Waquoit Congregational Church folks were coming to clear the remaining things from Shirley’s house this morning. Yesterday, after seeing the house I might move into, I called Karen to tell her I had changed my mind about not wanting Shirley’s dining room table. She told me that since I had said I didn’t want it, she had told the church folks they could have it. But she struck a deal with them. I got Shirley’s dining table, and the church got my table and chairs. By the time all of the moving around was done, it was 11 am. I talked to Heather somewhere in between all of that, and after everyone left, I took Shadow for a long walk. After lunch, I spent a good deal of time just thinking and planning, talked with Heather again, and then thought away the afternoon. There are definitely worse ways to spend your time!
by Judy Handley | Feb 10, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 41: House Hunting
Date: Friday, February 10, 2023
Weather: Partly Sunny and Warm; High 56, Low 33 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 6:44 am – 5:11 pm (+3 minutes)
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, NH
Today was unseasonably warm . . . no winter coat needed. This morning I followed up on a lead on a possible house to rent and it is looking very promising. Great place, just expensive. But renting most anything in Falmouth is expensive. I still need to follow up to make sure there is no possibility of me buying this cottage and I need to talk to Heather and Jed about the possibility of moving into the red room at some point. But for now, it makes all the sense in the world for me to rent this perfect little house . . . on a lovely lot with lots of gardening possibilities . . . right in town . . . from a good friend. The friend is moving to a condo in town, but is keeping the house and attached in-law apartment. Her plan is to rent the house and keep the in-law apartment as her office. After a year or so, if I find that I just can’t afford the house, maybe I can move into the apartment when she no longer needs it as an office. So, lots of possibilities. If I take this place, the move wouldn’t happen until July as that when she can move into her condo. Hopefully I won’t need to be out of the cottage before then, giving me plenty of time to prepare for the move. But if I do have to vacate here before then, I’ll just have to put everything in a storage unit and live with friends until the move can happen. But at least I now have a viable possibility. I no longer feel homeless and helpless.
After touring the house this morning, I rushed home to take Shadow out and then headed on to a Newcomer’s Nominating Committee meeting. We interviewed three people this afternoon and are chipping away at filling the openings for next year’s Board. I then watered plants for friends that are out of town, ran some errands downtown, and made it home to walk with Shadow and play fetch before sundown. Everyday now we gain minutes of daylight and I’m loving that.
by Judy Handley | Feb 9, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 40: Busy Day
Date: Thursday, February 9, 2023
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Windy; High 51, Low 46 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 6:45 am – 5:09 pm (+3 minutes)
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, NH
Attending a Newcomer’s meeting, a trip to Hyannis for food shopping, taking Jonah to his bass lesson in Sandwich, phone conversations with friends. That was my day. The Newcomer’s meeting speaker was a young woman from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. Her enthusiasm for white sharks was contagious, but I fear I am still not convinced that I should love these creatures. She did a great job of educating about the importance of protecting the white sharks and I applaud her mission. I just need a little more time to warm up to the idea of feeling at ease in sharing time in the water knowing these guys are out and about. After my food shopping trip and taking Jonah to his music lesson, I ended by day by talking to friends Jane Woodin and Lynne Kirwin about my housing situation and life in general. It is such a wonderful feeling to know I have friends who have my back. I love Lynne’s take on housing. She gets paid by people for staying in their beautiful homes to take care of their dogs while they are away. She doesn’t have to own or rent a home of her own in New Zealand. Brilliant!
by Judy Handley | Feb 8, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 39: Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Weather: Partly Sunny and Warmer; High 47, Low 30 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 6:47 am – 5:08 pm (+2 minutes)
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, NH
It was a Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” kind of day. The sun was shining, there was almost no wind, it felt warm and wonderful . . . a great day to pretend you were Gordon MacRae riding your horse across an Oklahoma meadow on a beautiful summer day. Unfortunately, tree trimmers were here early to trim the limbs that hang over the cottage, so I needed to stay inside with Shadow. Limbs were falling everywhere. It wasn’t an environment for a dog or a person and I didn’t want to leave in case there was an issue. So, Shadow and I curled up with my book and tried to ignore the crashing sounds outside.
I am currently reading a book Jonah gave me for Christmas, “Horse” by Geraldine Brooks. The book is based on a real-life racehorse named Lexington, one of the most famous thoroughbred racehorses in American history. The author, Geraldine Brooks, is a Pulitzer Prize winner and she uses the story of Lexington to explore the “roots and legacy of enslavement” in this country in the years leading up to and including the Civil War. Brooks artfully weaves a story that includes Lexington’s life in the 1800’s with an art dealer in New York City in the 1950’s to the lives of two young people in Washington, DC in 2019. Jess, a young scientist working for the Smithsonian even travels to Woods Hole. It is a heartwarming story that I am really enjoying. And it is providing a great escape from facing the reality of my life situation.
I did force myself to do some work today. I started doing a purge and organization of my huge food storage cabinet. It is a huge IKEA wardrobe with shelves and desperately needs attention. At least I got a start on that. And later in the afternoon, I took Ollie to his saxophone lesson. His instructor walked him out to the car at the end of the lesson to once again say what a great job he is doing. Go, Ollie.
