by Judy Handley | Nov 1, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 305: Fly Me to the Moon
Date: Friday, November 1, 2024
Weather: Some Sun, Some Clouds, Windy; High Temp 68, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Fly Me to the Moon is the name of a movie I saw this afternoon. It is not an expression of what I would like to do right now to escape these last few days before the election. But since I am stuck here, I am trying to think of things to do to get my mind off politics. I thought going to a movie would do that, but things happening in the movie kept reminding me of politics. Ugh. The movie was released this July, but I had never heard of it. It was showing at the public library and a friend invited me to go. It takes place in 1968 as NASA is gearing up for the moon launch. And, yes, when Richard Nixon was President. It is billed as a romantic comedy, showcasing a different, light-hearted twist on the launch of Apollo 11. A fun movie, worth the watch.
by Judy Handley | Oct 31, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 304: Halloween
Date: Thursday, October 31, 2024
Weather: Mostly Sunny and Warm; High Temp 64, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Halloween has an interesting history. Prior to the Christians, the Pagans celebrated Samhain on the first of November. Samhain or Sauin is the Irish language name for November. This celebration marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the darker half of the year. Along came the Christians and they celebrated All Saints’ Day on November 1, also known as All Hallows’ Day, the Feast of All Saints, the Feast of All Hallows, the Solemnity of All Saints, and Hallowmas. This was a celebration in honor of all the saints of the Church. There are versions of this celebration all around the world. In Mexico, they celebrate Día de los Muertos, in Italy it is Ognissanti, in the Phillipines it is Pangangaluwa, and the list goes on. Most of these celebrations honor the dead in some way. Here in the US, we just celebrate candy! Donning a costume and Trick or Treating on Halloween night can yield a huge bag of candy. Tonight, I set a bowl of candy outside my door with a sign that said, “This house is occupied by only a GHOST and a lone wolf. But they offer you a treat on this hallowed night. Please take 3, if you dare.” Then I headed to Heather and Jed’s. Ollie was spending the evening roaming in the neighborhood with Simon, and another friend, Jack. Heather, Jed, and Jonah were off at a party at the home of one of Jonah’s friends. Sam was heading to a movie with friends later, but he offered to stay home to greet the Trick or Treaters, and we certainly had a greater number than usual. I didn’t get many children last year. My driveway is long and dark and really does look scary. So, I assumed most just pass by. But when I got home tonight, the bowl of candy was half empty, so maybe tonight I had more visitors.
The rest of my day flew by. This morning Shadow and I drove to East Falmouth to pick up Olga. We went for a wonderful, long walk on the Quashnet River trail. On the way home, we stopped at Town Hall so I could vote, which felt great. But it was almost noon when we got home, and between eating lunch, doing a laundry, doing some kitchen clean-up, and other odds and ends, it was suddenly 2:45 pm and time to pick Ollie up after school. After school, Ollie and I went shopping, trying to find a skeleton. Unfortunately, everything Halloween was mostly off the shelves, already replaced with Christmas decorations. Ollie and I agree that it should be against the law to put out Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving, but I think we are in the minority on that one. We then headed to his house to decorate the front yard. I then headed home for a Zoom call with my doctor. He thinks my lingering cold is a sinus infection and prescribed an antibiotic to try and get rid of this before I fly to North Carolina next week. After the call, I took Shadow outside to play and then fixed a quick dinner so I could head to the Goldstones. And in between all of that, I communicated with Jo and she sent some photos of Ziggy and Coco in costume at school today. A lot to pack into one day and now it is time to get ready for another. Happy Halloween.
by Judy Handley | Oct 30, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 303: A Trip to Costco
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Weather: Cloudy AM, Partly Sunny PM, Warm; High Temp 63, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Yesterday morning we had a light frost on the ground and although it warmed up a bit, it still felt chilly all day. But this morning our world was warm. Shadow and I went for a walk downtown and it was so warm I had to take my jacket off and tie it around my waist. It felt warm, but it was cloudy and dreary, and when we got home, I decided I needed a change of scenery. I have needed a few things from Costco for some time now, so I decided to spend my day driving to Costco and back. When I walked into Costco, it was still cloudy and dreary. When I walked out, the sun was shining, and it was mostly sunny for the remainder of the afternoon. I got home just after 2 pm, unloaded the car, and then played outside in the sunshine with Shadow. I came inside and made fried green tomatoes to have for dinner and just as I was packing half of the fried greenies up to take over to Heather and Jed’s, I got a text from Heather asking if I could come pick her up at the bus station in 15 minutes. She has been in Boston for two days at a work retreat. I texted back that her timing was perfect since I was headed to her house anyway. She loves fried green tomatoes as much as I do, so I always share when I make them. If you are wondering where I got green tomatoes at this time of year, I bought them at the market in Lexington where I went on a field trip last Thursday. On Friday morning I woke up with the killer cold and haven’t felt like doing a lot of cooking until today. Thankfully, those green tomatoes did not ripen in the intervening days.
by Judy Handley | Oct 29, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 302: Encore Meeting, House Cleaning, Acorn Cookies
Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2024
Weather: Cloudy and Cool; High Temp 54, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
The high and low temperature for today that I copy from WeatherUnderground, does not reflect the fact that very early this morning my neighbor says the temperature here was 28 degrees F. By the time I was outside with Shadow at 8:30, it had already warmed up, but the neighbor said there was frost earlier. Glad I missed that!
My head is still a little stuffed with fluff, but for the most part, I think I am leaving my cold behind. I had an Encore planning meeting this morning, did some house cleaning this afternoon, and then picked Ollie up after school. I took him home, came home to play outside with Shadow, and then returned to take him to his saxophone lesson. When we returned, we made some acorn cookies, made with candy kisses, mini-Nilla Wafers, and mini-chocolate chips with chocolate icing as the glue to hold the pieces together. Tonight, I watched Kamala Harris give the most important speech of her life, the closing argument in her run for President. Donald Trump’s speech on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and Kamala Harris’ speech tonight on the Ellipse in Washington, DC, could not have given us a more stark contrast between our two choices in this election. How can this race be as close as it is?
by Judy Handley | Oct 28, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 301: Recovering from a Nasty Cold
Date: Monday, October 28, 2024
Weather: Sunny and Cool; High Temp 50, Low 36 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
The past few days have been cool during the day and in the 30’s at night. No first frost yet, but this cool spell has been a reminder that not only are the days cooler, but they are also now noticeably shorter. And by Monday of next week, we will have fallen back an hour, leaving Daylight Savings Time behind. I am trying to adjust my schedule with Shadow to prepare me for the shorter days, but I don’t look forward to it.
I am now steadily recovering from this nasty cold I have. Since discovering that the afghan I was wrapping around myself to stay warm was causing a strange allergic reaction, I have removed the afghan and have had no more allergic reactions. I think I am ready to go out and about again, so I’m off to a meeting in the morning. Hopefully back to life as usual.
by Judy Handley | Oct 27, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 300: 50 Years Later
Date: Sunday, October 27, 2024
Weather: Sunny, Cool, Windy; High Temp 54, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Our wedding day … Sunday, October 27, 1974. Yes, 50 years ago today Mark and I were married at sunrise on Lovers Key in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Only a few members of Mark’s family were present. Mark and I wrote our wedding vows that ended with poems from James Kavanaugh’s book, “There are Men Too Gentle to Live Among Wolves.” Mark died on September 11, 2016, two months before Donald Trump was elected President. Mark was absolutely certain that the goodness in the souls of the people of this country would never allow a man like Donald Trump to be elected. He was wrong. If Mark were alive today and heard Donald Trump’s closing argument speech at Madison Square Garden this evening, I know he would maintain that there is no way the people of this country will elect him a second time. I wish with all my heart that he will be right this time.
In honor of what would be our 50th wedding anniversary if Mark were still living, I want to share our wedding vows. Reading them after 50 years makes me hope that there is a kinder, gentler way forward for our nation if the “searchers” prevail. Our children and grandchildren deserve that.
MARK: As the sun rises and a new week begins, so do Judy and I begin a new life together. We have something to read that expresses how we feel at this very special time. Judy and I are among the searchers. There are, I believe, millions of us. We are not unhappy, but neither are we really content. We continue to explore life, hoping to uncover its ultimate secret. We continue to explore ourselves, hoping to understand. We like to walk along the beach, we are drawn by the ocean, taken by its power, its unceasing motion, its mystery and unspeakable beauty. We like forests and mountains, little streams and tall trees, deserts and hidden rivers. Our sadness is as much a part of our lives as is our laughter. To share our sadness with one we love is perhaps as great a joy as we can know … unless it be to share our laughter.
JUDY: We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we want to love and be loved. We want to live in a relationship that will not impede our wandering, nor prevent our search, nor lock us in prison walls; that will take us for what little we have to give. We do not want to prove ourselves to another or to compete for love. For Mark and me this marriage is the public pledge of our love for each other … my love for Mark …
MARK: And my love for Judy.
JUDY: In this pledge we wish to state our hopes for our relationship. We hope we will grow through the years to become stronger individuals and we hope our love will grow with us. Two people do not stay the same throughout a lifetime, but where there is love they change together. We hope we will have children and maintain a strong family union. In modern days the family structure has become weak, but we want to rear our children in a situation where we can all work side by side in everything we do … where we can all share equally in the joys and hardships of being a family and providing for ourselves. We make no promise to honor and obey…. only to love. I promise to cheer Mark when he is down and rejoice with him when times are good. I hope he will do the same by me.
MARK: I am here to pledge my love and to wed my life to yours with the hope that we may always be among those …
Who can hear the honking of geese
Above the sound of traffic
Who can hear the weeping of boys
Above the sound of mortars
Who refuse to take life as it is—
Because it wasn’t always.
—————————-
There is quiet water
In the center of your soul,
Where a son or daughter
Can be taught what no man knows.
There’s a fragrant garden
In the center of your soul,
Where the weak can harden
And a narrow mind can grow.
There’s a rolling river
In the center of your soul,
An eternal giver
With a rich and endless flow.
There’s a land of muses
In the center of your soul,
Where the rich are losers
And the poor are free to go.
So, remain with me, then,
To pursue another goal
And to find your freedom
In the center of your soul.
