by Judy Handley | Dec 20, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 354: Snow for the Golstone’s Annual Solstice Party
Date: Friday, December 20, 2024
Weather: Sunny Early, Then Rain and Snow; High Temp 43, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
I finished my Christmas shopping today which required a trip to Braintree near Boston and on the way home, it started snowing. But by the time I got back to the Cape, the snow had turned to rain. I checked the forecast and saw there was still a chance of snow starting around 5 or 6 pm, but I thought it felt too warm to stick even if it did come down. But what a surprise I got when I walked out the door to head to Heather and Jed’s annual solstice party. My car, that I had packed with chairs and coat rack just 40 minutes earlier, was covered in a wet snow. Of course, my snow scrapers were tucked away with my spare tire under all the chairs and coat rack. I grabbed a broom and used that to shove the heavy snow off and traveled on. When I got to Heather and Jed’s, the driveway was covered in snow. Ollie came out and said he had already shoveled three times, but since it was almost time for people to arrive, he shoveled it a fourth time and that did the trick.
A lot of people who had RSVP’d that they would be coming to the solstice party were sending texts to Heather saying they were not going to brave the weather. But that didn’t dampen the spirits of those who did come. And there were plenty of people who did. Jed’s gravlax and Heather’s yule log were the big hits of the night.
Heather put together the inside of the yule log but didn’t have time to assemble it and put the final coating of whipped cream chocolate icing on. So, Ollie did that for her and he did a super job. It was a most impressive yule log and absolutely delicious.
At the last minute, I was invited to a Feast of Seven Fishes at the Water Street Kitchen in Woods Hole, so I left the party a little early and headed to Woods Hole. The seven fish dishes and wine pairings were wonderful, but honestly, I liked Jed’s gravlax more. It was a wonderful evening of visiting with people, eating fabulous food, and loving the snow. Welcome, Yule!
by Judy Handley | Dec 19, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 353: Another Wonderful Winter Concert
Date: Thursday, December 19, 2024
Weather: Mostly Sunny with Temperature Plunging; High Temp 40, Low 22 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Tonight was Falmouth High School’s Winter Concert that included the chamber ensemble, the concert band, the jazz band,
the concert choir, the repertory singers, and Soulfege, FHS’s acapella group. Wow! It was a long concert, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I especially enjoyed the jazz band, probably because Jonah plays trombone in it,
but also because they are good. They had the whole auditorium rockin’. And when the concert choir sang “The First Noel” to the piano accompaniment of “Pachelbel’s Canon”, it was so beautiful it almost brought me to tears of joy.
I was at the Goldstones wrapping up the last of the cookie making at the time Jonah needed ride to the high school. He was dressed in the mandatory black from head to toe, and as he walked through the kitchen on our way out the door, I had to do a double take. My mind was not allowing me to admit that the tall, lanky, good looking young man walking out the door was my grandson Jonah.
All of My grandchildren are growing up in front of my eyes and it is both exciting and a little sad, all at the same time. But I am enjoying this new pre-teen and teenage stage. It just takes a little getting used to!
by Judy Handley | Dec 18, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 352: From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Date: Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Weather: Sunny and Warm, Rain Late; High Temp 48, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
The day started with getting an oil change and the tires rotated on my car, doing some shopping, and coming home to do some house cleaning–the ordinary. Things went up hill from there. Mid-afternoon the Exploring Public Policy group I co-lead with Jon Kaufman hosted Brian Stokes, Falmouth Public Library Director, at our December meeting. He talked about the role of public policy and the library, both how public policy affects the library and how the library supports public policy.
Then came the extraordinary. Ollie’s Lawrence Middle School Band Winter Concert was tonight. and it was great. The band is 125 musicians strong, and tonight they got to show off their talent. The jazz band played first, followed by the full band.
There are 20 saxophone players in all, but only eight saxophone players in the jazz band. Ollie is one of the three on tenor sax and he and one other tenor sax player had solo roles in one of the pieces.
Well done, Ollie, and Ollie’s proud parents!
by Judy Handley | Dec 17, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 351: Santa’s Secrets
Date: Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Weather: Cloudy AM, Partly Cloudy PM; High Temp 54, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Today was all about working on some Christmas projects that must be kept as Santa’s secrets. So, I really can’t write about what I did today other than getting the once every 10 years tetanus vaccine this morning and making more Christmas cookie dough in the afternoon. I then picked Ollie up from school and we did a little Christmas project shopping together. Tonight, I finally got the ornaments on my tree.
Tomorrow I have an afternoon meeting and Ollie’s winter concert is tomorrow night. I am hoping to wrap up the last of my Christmas shopping tomorrow morning and then start wrapping the gifts I have bought.
by Judy Handley | Dec 16, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 350: Back Home for Some Christmas Cookie Fun
Date: Monday, December 16, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Misty, Much Warmer; High Temp 48, Low 47 degrees F
Location: Back Home at 225 Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Once again, I shopped my way home from New Hampshire. After a fabulous breakfast of an asparagus frittata and fruit salad, I headed home making three stops along the way. I got home in time to pick Ollie up after school and we went directly to his house to start our evening of cookie decorating. When I left yesterday, I dropped off the dough for making Christmas cutout sugar cookies and Ollie and Heather made them yesterday afternoon and evening. So, all we had to do this evening was decorate them and make a batch of Hershey’s Kisses thumb print cookies. We always make Christmas cookies, but for years, I have had to help with the decorating. Now all I have to do is make sure the boys have the supplies they need, and away they go. Even teenagers like to decorate cookies, so Sam and Jonah both wanted to do their part, as well as Ollie.
A few dozen of the cookies go to the Jewish Synagogue tomorrow to be included with the meals they put together for needy families. Between Sam, Jonah, and Ollie, I think they ate another dozen, and we will save the rest for the Goldstone’s solstice party on Friday night. Jonah wants to make some chocolate crinkles and Sam requested more sugar cookie dough for more cutouts, more for him to eat than to decorate, but that’s okay too. We don’t have a lot of time this week as Wednesday night is Ollie’s Christmas concert at Lawrence School and Thursday night is Jonah’s concert at Falmouth High School. Then the party is on Friday night. To tomorrow after school, we will make the Double Chocolate Crinkle Cookies and maybe more cutouts.
by Judy Handley | Dec 15, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 349: A Happy Birthday Gathering in New Hampshire
Date: Sunday, December 15, 2024
Weather: Partly Cloudy and Cold; High Temp 35, Low 15 degrees F
Location: At Home with Tom and Detta Porat in Greenland, NH
I drove to the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area today to attend the 75th birthday party of a very good friend from my teaching days, Leslie Kole. I shopped my way to Greenland, NH, to Detta Porat’s home, dropped my overnight bag, and then Detta and I drove to Rye, NH, to Leslie’s home. When we were teaching together at Beaver Meadow School in Concord, we thought of ourselves as the three amigos.
Leslie, Detta, and I have stayed in touch, and in recent years, we have added Cheryl Dolin to our now quartet of amigos. Since the three of them all live closer together, they now have gatherings I can’t attend. And between my two surgeries last year, there was not a lot of opportunity for me to travel. Because of that, it has been a while since I have seen Cheryl and Leslie. So, this was a long overdue gathering with promises to get together more often.
After the party, I went home with Detta to spend the night. Tom got home from a business trip to Tennessee shortly after we got home, but I didn’t get to visit with him. We has one whopper of a cold or the flu, so he headed straight to bed, leaving Detta and I to talk until almost 1 am. But regardless of the late night, I have to get up and get started on the trip home fairly early as I have more Christmas shopping to do on the way home.
Heather put together the inside of the yule log but didn’t have time to assemble it and put the final coating of whipped cream chocolate icing on. So, Ollie did that for her and he did a super job. It was a most impressive yule log and absolutely delicious.
At the last minute, I was invited to a Feast of Seven Fishes at the Water Street Kitchen in Woods Hole, so I left the party a little early and headed to Woods Hole. The seven fish dishes and wine pairings were wonderful, but honestly, I liked Jed’s gravlax more. It was a wonderful evening of visiting with people, eating fabulous food, and loving the snow. Welcome, Yule!
