by Judy Handley | Jun 9, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 159: Mostly Work, A Little Play
Date: Monday, June 9, 2025
Weather: Overcast with Drizzle; High Temp 61, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today was mostly work, with a little play. I had another meeting at the bank associated with my new job as treasurer of the public library. After that meeting and running a few errands, I came home to pick up Lynne to go to Heather and Jed’s boat with me. The person who did the repair work on the dodger met us at the boat at noon to deliver it. It looks great but we didn’t put it on as the boat as to be hauled to Mattapoisett on Friday to go in the water, and no canvas can be on the boat. I was going to do a little more teak work, but it started to drizzle. Teak oiling will have to wait until the weather is a little more cooperative.
Lynne and I returned home, had lunch, and then I was off for another meeting, again associated with being treasurer for the Library Board of Trustees. Once that was over, my official work was over for the day, and we were invited to Bruce and Jane Wooden’s for Happy Hour. That began the play part of the day. Between Bruce and Jane’s travels and my busy schedule, we have not had much time to socialize since January. It was great seeing them. Lynne met them on a prior visit, so they had a good time catching up.
by Judy Handley | Jun 8, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 158: Family Brunch as a Final Graduation Celebration
Date: Sunday, June 8, 2025
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High Temp 69, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
The last of Sam’s graduation celebrations was mid-day when we had a quiet family brunch at Heather and Jed’s. Sam opened his graduation gifts after we ate Cape Cod bagels with Jed’s leftover gravlax from yesterday’s party. Yummy. Sam seemed sincerely appreciative of his gifts from everyone. I still have to pinch myself when I look at him and realize that he is a young adult now. The photo frame of pictures of Sam through his 18 years was rolling in the background today reminding each of us that he is no longer the little boy in those photos. It is wonderful and exciting thinking about what the next few years hold for him, but at the same time it is hard to let go. Sam has a couple of days to recover from all of the graduation frenzy before he works W-Th-F-S at Corner Cycle. He repeats the same schedule next week before leaving for his graduation tour to Europe. Quoting what Heather said on her Facebook page, “I still can’t believe this is happening.” I couldn’t agree more.
Jed’s mother, Marti, leaves for Maine tomorrow morning. With graduation over, I think things will slow down just a bit. But there is boat work to be done before Ardenna is launched on Friday of this week. Lynne is here until Saturday, and I think things will settle down a notch or two this week so that we have time to do things together.
by Judy Handley | Jun 7, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 157: Sam’s Graduation
Date: Saturday, June 7, 2025
Weather: Mostly Overcast, A Little Rain; High Temp 68, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Samuel Ellery Goldstone, Falmouth High School Class of 2025 and on to the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Congratulations!
Today was the big day–the day my first grandchild graduated from high school. The threat of rain moved the graduation indoors, but the outside celebration in front of the school afterwards was joyous. Pictures were taken of Sam with … his brothers and mom and dad … both his grandmothers … his good friend Robert … Robert, Audrey, and Cece … Robert and Ethan … Sam, Jonah, and Ollie with Molly and Joey who the Goldpebbles regard as another brother and a sister … and on and on with other groups of friends. Congratulations to Sam and to all members of the Falmouth High School Class of 2025.
After the photo frenzy, we moved on to the after-graduation parties. Sam and Robert had a joint party immediately after graduation at Robert’s home. Then the graduates and some parents moved on to a late afternoon party at Ethan’s. Ethan, Robert, and Sam are headed to Europe later this month to meet up with Sebastian who rounds out the quartet of closest friends. After Ethan’s party, I think there was an evening of party hopping still to go.
Heather and I changed gears and went to Ollie’s last soccer game. Jonah was a line ref for the game, so we got to see both in action. But we had to watch much of the game in fog and then pouring rain. It was an ‘interesting’ way to end the spring soccer season!
by Judy Handley | Jun 6, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 156: Museum Visit, Blink, A Last Minute Shopping Frenzy
Date: Friday, June 6, 2025
Weather: Another Warm, Partly Cloudy Day; High Temp 75, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Part of my day was spent at the Cape Cod Cape Verdean Museum in East Falmouth. I met with two other Encore members to introduce them to the curator of the museum. She is the person we have asked to speak at one of our Encore program meeting next spring. When I set this meeting date, I had no idea how busy I would be with Sam’s graduation activities, Lynne’s visit, and all the normal craziness in my life. But the museum visit was helpful. I didn’t get back home until almost 2:30 and Lynne and I had planned to attend a movie, Blink, at the public library. She had lunch ready when I got home, so we wolfed it down and headed to the library. Blink is a National Geographic documentary about a family with four children with an incurable eye disease that would cause all four of them to go blind. So the parents decided to take them on an adventure around the world to see as much as possible so that when they do go blind, they will have visual memories. It was heart warming and heart breaking all at the same time. We thought about skipping it, but we are both glad we went. I then went on a wild shopping trip trying to find something that Heather and Jed wanted for Sam. The trip was unsuccessful, but the world will not end. When I got home around 6 pm, hooked up a new hose I bought today to water plants out by the driveway. And after taking a little break, I warmed up lasagna for dinner. Tomorrow is graduation and I have to be at Heather and Jed’s before 9 am. Everyone attending has to park in a Steamship Authority parking lot nearby and take a shuttle bus to and from the graduation ceremony. So off to bed I go.
by Judy Handley | Jun 4, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 154: Provincetown, Lynne Arrived, Ollie’s Spring Concert
Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 68, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Early this morning, I was off with 19 other Newcomers and Encore members on a field trip to Provincetown. Once there, we hopped aboard the Mayflower Trolley for a narrated trip through the town, out through the national park, and back to the Provincetown Town Hall. We then did a walk around town and had lunch at Bubala’s.
The car I was in returned home right after lunch, and when I got home I was greeted by my friend Lynne walking down the street with Shadow. Lynne now lives in New Zealand, but she is back in this country for the summer with her family in Michigan. I get her for the next 10 days. I have done my best to clear my calendar so we can have a few relaxed days together. But first, we need to get through the rest of this week culminating in Sam’s high school graduation. After that, things calm down considerably.
Jed and his mother, Marti, arrived from Washington, DC, just in time for Ollie’s spring concert at Lawrence Middle School this evening. Ollie played his saxophone with the jazz band and with the 120-student strong concert band.
Lynne and I then came home for a vegetarian lasagna dinner. Tomorrow morning, I am off to a meeting while Lynne will take a walk down to the beach with Shadow. Then we will drive to Costco to buy burgers and buns for Sam and Robert’s graduation party on Saturday. And tomorrow night, I will go with Heather and Jed to Awards Night at the high school. So goes the life here in Falmouth, Massachusetts on this warm and wonderful June day.
by Judy Handley | Jun 3, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 153: Sam’s Senior Walk of Honor
Date: Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 74, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Sam and all of the seniors that attended East Falmouth Elementary returned there today for the Senior Walk of Honor. They were in cap and gown and a few tears were shed by the parents, and this grandmother, attending. The parents were back where their now grown up seniors began their education career. Soon these seniors will be on to new adventures. The realization is tough, but it is also exciting. I was just so thrilled that Heather invited me to go along. Sam hates having photos taken, but I have been Oma Paparazzi for 18 years. So, I’m not going to stop now!
This evening, Ollie had his last soccer game of the spring season. And he played better than I have ever seen him play. Jonah was one of the referees for the game. It was fun seeing them both on the field together in their different roles.
