by Judy Handley | Mar 29, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 89: Ollie’s Trampoline Bday Party and Dining-in
Date: Friday, March 29, 2024
Weather: Rain, Clearing a Bit in the PM; High Temp 49, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Six twelve-year-old boys had a bouncing good time at Nova Trampoline Park in Plymouth this afternoon. This is what Ollie chose for his birthday party activity and all six boys really did seem to have a great time.
The trampolines are at floor level and the areas between each trampoline is so well padded that it would be hard to get hurt unless someone jumped on you. I arrived about ten minutes late and by this time the boys were jumping from one trampoline to the next and then launching their bodies up onto a high wall.
Only one of the six could literally jump up and land on his feet. That was a heart stopper.
Heather and I were the chaperones and they kept us busy. We would be watching them on the trampolines, turn our heads for a second, and they were no longer there. They were on to the dodge ball court, and then one would be off to the bouncing basketball court and the others would follow.
Then they were on to a zip line where you dropped into a pit of foam blocks
and a high climbing apparatus that required a harness and helmet. Once in a while they would all stop for a short break,
but then they were right back at it. All of this went on for two hours. Heather thought they would be exhausted, but they found the junk food counter and stocked up on candy and slushies. Two boys did stop about 10 minutes early saying they were “tuckered out.” Now that’s a term I haven’t heard for years. But the rest of them were wired!
Jed was in Marlborough, Massachusetts yesterday with Jonah attending a two-day soccer tournament. That left Heather to head home alone with the wild ones for an overnight. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to know if Heather survived.
by Judy Handley | Mar 28, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 88: Newport Mansions Field Trip
Date: Thursday, March 28, 2024
Weather: Rain and More Rain; High Temp 49, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Oh, the weather outside was frightful, but it ended being a great day for touring inside two of Newport’s mansions, Marble House and The Breakers. 
The Marble House was built between 1888 and 1892 by the younger Vanderbilt brother, William. It was a 39th birthday present for his most interesting wife, Alva. Three years after its completion, the Vanderbilts were divorced and Alva got custody of the children and the summer cottage, Marble House. Marble House is an opulent 50 room mansion of the Gilded Age, certainly not a cottage. But it was built at the time that the wooden summer cottages of Newport were torn down and replaced with mansions used as summer homes by the wealthy. To the Vanderbilt’s, it was their summer cottage.
The Breakers (phot borrowed from Wikipedia) was rebuilt by the older Vanderbilt brother, Cornelius. The original mansion on the property burned to the ground and was rebuilt to be as fireproof as possible. It is a 70 room mansion built of masonry and steel trusses with no wooden parts in the structure. To give you an idea of size, the front entry way, known as The Great Hall, is the size of a formal ballroom and was used for that purpose. When the rebuild was completed in 1895, The Breakers was the most opulent house in Newport. Unfortunately, Cornelis died four years later at age 55, leaving the mansion to his wife.
The younger Vanderbilt brother, William, and his wife Alva were both forceful personalities. Women’s suffrage was her passion and William loved sailing much more than running the family railroad empire. Marble House had personalities, but The Breakers won my heart with its library
and fabulous kitchen and butler’s pantry, plus the Upper Loggia (second floor) overlooking the water. This is a huge stone and tile porch connecting the bedrooms on one side of the mansion with the bedrooms on the other side and was used as an open-air living room. Today the visibility was zero, so I must visit it again on a sunny day to enjoy the view.
Tomorrow is the beginning of a three-day weekend. As there is no school tomorrow, Ollie is having his trampoline birthday party with friends in the afternoon. We are traveling to Plymouth for that. And then tomorrow evening my dining-in group is gathering at Christina and Warren Brodies. Let the parties begin!
by Judy Handley | Mar 27, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 87: A Walk in the Cranberry Bogs and Belated Birthday Luncheon
Date: Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Weather: Mix of Sun, Clouds, a Little Rain, Warmer; High Temp 52, Low 43 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Today … morning exercises … a walk with Shadow in the cranberry bogs with friend Olga Mitchell … a delightful belated birthday luncheon with friends … researching what to order for Ziggy for his birthday … final planning for tomorrow’s field trip to tour the Newport mansions. And now time for bed.
by Judy Handley | Mar 26, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 86: Pampered Paws
Date: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Weather: Overcast, Some Rain; High Temp 41, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
Every seven weeks, I deliver Shadow to Pampered Paws up by the Bourne Bridge and about six hours later I drive the 20 minutes back up to the bridge to pick him up. Pampered Paws is the name of the place where Shadow gets groomed and today was that day. Between transporting the beauty queen, taking Ollie to saxophone lesson, sending out final plans for a field trip on Thursday, and finalizing the agenda for next week’s Encore Board meeting, my day frittered itself away. And I forgot to mention the exercises in the morning, riding the exercise bike in the evening, and walking and playing outside with Shadow, and food preparation. Nothing exciting today, but Shadow sure looks good.
by Judy Handley | Mar 25, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 85: Catching Up
Date: Monday, March 25, 2024
Weather: Overcast, Super Windy and Chilly; High Temp 40, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
March is doing its windy thing. We are in the midst of another gale warning through tomorrow afternoon. The temp today was 40 degrees F, which isn’t all that cold, but with the strong north wind, it was freezing outside. So, after going to physical therapy this morning, I spent most of the day inside. I caught up on communications with a few friends, did some Encore work, did some indoor gardening, and just generally enjoyed a laid-back day.
Olivia White forwarded a piece to me today that my daughter wrote on her Heather Goldstone for Select Board Facebook page on St. Patrick’s Day.
“Happy St. Patrick’s Day! May the luck o’ the Irish be with Falmouth Public Schools – Massachusetts Clippers Women’s Hockey today as they take the ice at TD Garden to bring home the state championship!
This contest caps off a week that has showcased so much hard work and accomplishment by Falmouth students — first at All Bands Night, then at yesterday’s STEAM Fair. We also saw at the Falmouth Education Foundation – Massachusetts Gala the spirit of volunteerism and philanthropy that supplements the Town’s generosity to make our schools exceptional.
Public education in Falmouth is strong, and that’s one leg of the stool upon which a thriving, diverse, and resilient community sits. The other two are a bit wobbly. From ponds to coastlines, we have work to do to protect and restore our precious environment. And we have to address our housing crisis so that it is possible to both live and work in Falmouth.
At the same time, we can’t take that strong leg for granted. Staying at the top of your game takes constant work and investment (as any athlete knows), and there is always room for growth and improvement (something our educators and school administrators embody every day). Our schools can also be a hub and engine for progress throughout our town. That’s why education will remain one of my core issues and priorities as I shift from School Committee to Select Board. Go Clippers!”
And I say, Go Heather! I knew she had a dedicated Select Board page, but I wasn’t sure how to get to it. So, wanting to know what else she has posted, I just typed in Heather Goldstone for Select Board and Facebook took me right to it and I clicked to be a follower so I will get notified if there are new posts. Then I read the top of the page where she makes this statement, “I am an independent problem-solver focused on Falmouth’s future as a thriving, driving, resilient community.” And I am an independent proud mother.
And then there is Justin and Jo. Yesterday I saw their Silvermouse summer European music tour calendar posted on Instagram and I had another very proud mother moment. From Puerto Rico to Norway, carrying all of those instruments and electronic equipment!
Get ready to embark on a mystical musical journey!
Silvermouse goes BEYOND this Summer
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We are taking our fully brainwave entrainment supported body of work on tour: our ALL LIVE psychedelic weavings of multi-instrumentals (violin, guitar, mandolin, flute, ukulele, and other, random, magical instruments); live electronic compositions; and live psychoactive beat frequencies.
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Announcing the first wave of tour dates! Where will the magic take you?
Silvermouse Summer Tour BeyondTour2024
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Confirmed Dates:
Aguada, PR – May 18
Washington, DC – May 30
London, UK – June 13
Frome, UK – June 15
Totnes, UK – June 21
Kragerø, NO – July 20
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More enchanting destinations to be revealed… Stay tuned!
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by Judy Handley | Mar 23, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 83: Ollie the Farmer
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2024
Weather: Overcast and Rainy, Gale Warning Tonight; High Temp 50, Low 30 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA
By the time Ollie was two, he started putting a tractor on his Christmas lists for Santa. When he was three, I was his chaperone for a trip to the Coonemessett Farm and while all the other kids were admiring the animals, Ollie would lead me over to show me the tractor of his dreams.
09 Ollie Loved the Tractor
For his 4th birthday, Ollie got his first tractor. It was a John Deere pedal tractor with a trailer.
We learned over time that it was very hard to pedal. But Ollie persisted and continued to ask for a motorized tractor. Fast forward to 2022, and Ollie was sitting proudly on a kid-sized motorized tractor.
Then his Christmas list changed. He decided he wanted a real tractor. Since he doesn’t live on a farm, a real tractor seemed like a bit of a stretch, so this past Christmas Santa gave him the promise of a small lawn tractor as a combined Christmas/birthday present. It arrived today and he was thrilled. He is good driver, so I guess all the practice on his little motorized tractor paid off. I watched as he backed it up, headed out of the driveway, turned it around, and then headed back down the driveway to park it. I was certainly impressed.
Sam participated in a statewide Model UN today somewhere near Boston. He had to be on the bus by 6:30 am and didn’t get home until early evening. “Model UN is a world-renowned program in which students role-play delegates representing member states of the United Nations.” The Falmouth High School group have had preparation sessions after school since the beginning of the school year. I look forward to hearing about his experience.
I spent my day walking with Shadow in between spurts of heavy rain, did the set of exercises I am to do once a day between PT sessions, made a spinach mushroom soup, set up the grow lights for the things Ollie and planted last weekend, and somehow this filled my day. It was certainly not a day for outside activities. Tonight, it is roaring out there and raining harder than it did for most of the day. The rain is supposed to end by midnight, but the strong north wind will continue into tomorrow. It looks to be a rainy week, but the forecast for next week is promising with warmer temps and sunshine. I’ll be ready.
Only one of the six could literally jump up and land on his feet. That was a heart stopper.
Then they were on to a zip line where you dropped into a pit of foam blocks
and a high climbing apparatus that required a harness and helmet. Once in a while they would all stop for a short break,
but then they were right back at it. All of this went on for two hours. Heather thought they would be exhausted, but they found the junk food counter and stocked up on candy and slushies. Two boys did stop about 10 minutes early saying they were “tuckered out.” Now that’s a term I haven’t heard for years. But the rest of them were wired!
