by Judy Handley | Jul 22, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 203: Day at Home Alone
Date: Saturday, July 22, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 79, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
I hardly knew what to do with myself today. Ollie left early to go home to play with his friend Seton which left me alone for the day. While the boys played, Heather and Jed and Seton’s dad drove to Mass Maritime for the ASLP graduation. Jonah and Seton’s sister Meagan were two of the graduates. They were home by noon and back to summer life in Falmouth.
I took the newly charged battery for the lawn mower and went out to the cottage to continue the grass cutting job Ollie started yesterday. The battery gave out before I was quite finished, so I will finish it up tomorrow. Because the grass is holding so much moisture, mowing was just a longer process than usual. Normally we can finish three quarters of Shirley’s yard before we have to charge. And then we can finish up with plenty of battery power left to do the yard at the cottage. But not this time. After mowing, I headed to Woods Hole to get a birthday present for Lily as she turns 17 tomorrow. Her dad, Andrew, is coming from New York to spend the day and evening with her and then we will all go out to dinner to celebrate.
The remainder of my day was very quiet. I spent way too much time getting angry and disgusted over something I read in the NYT Morning Newsletter. It was just one sentence from the newly adopted Florida Black history curriculum. It says “slaves developed skills” that could be used for “personal benefit.” It made it sound like slavery was a good thing. What kind of people write such nonsense? Any human with any amount of compassion for mankind knows slavery was not good in any way for slaves. They were stolen from their homeland, shipped across the ocean in conditions that were totally inhumane, then beaten, whipped, or hung, and if they did survive, they were once again separated from any family they made in this country. If I lived in Florida, I truly think I would have to leave that state. And if that was not an option, I would have to spend my days protesting. But I finally moved on and busied myself with things I really needed to do. Still this curriculum issue continues to haunt me. I took the time to buy my tickets to fly to Charlotte in late August and I rented a car. I caught up on email and also checked my finances. I have not even looked at my bank account since I moved here. Thankfully, Bill Pay is doing its job and I still have money even though some bills were automatically paid that I should have cancelled. Hopefully, I’ll get that money back at some point.
Tonight, Ollie is going to return to sleep over. It is already 8:30, so we’ll only have time to barely begin a new Star Wars movie. But begin we will.
by Judy Handley | Jul 21, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 202: Star Wars, Yard Work, Beach, and Soccer
Date: Friday, July 21, 2023
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 77, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Today was Day 4 of the Star Wars marathon. Ollie and I have pledged to watch all of the Star Wars movies before summer’s end, and we got a great start this week. We tend to watch one episode in two sittings, one in the morning and one at night. This morning we finished the last of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith. Since I have previously only seen the major movies in the series, starting with Episode 4, watching the prequel this week allowed me to learn about the origin of the characters. I finally know where Darth Vader came from!
Ollie and I also spent time back at the cottage. Ollie cut as much of Shirley’s lawn as he could before the lawnmower battery went dead. The grass was heavy with moisture which made it a much longer and harder job than usual, but he persisted and got the entire side yard done. We came home to have a late lunch and then a late afternoon play date with his friend Seton at Stoney Beach. Heather, Jed, and Lily joined us after work just in time to enjoy the only real sunshine we had today. Heather invited me to their house for dinner which was a delicious veggie curry. Then Ollie and I headed back to my house for another Ollie overnight. He is loving his little ‘nest’ we have created on an inflatable mattress in the living room.
After a dessert of fresh pineapple, we had a soccer evening switching back and forth between the FIFA Women’s World Cup, USA versus Vietnam, and Inter Miami versus Mexico City’s Cruz Azul. Ollie predicted that the US women’s team would win their game 3-0. And they did. We wanted to also watch the Miami game as it was Messi’s Major League Soccer debut. Messi didn’t play until the second half, and we didn’t get to see him make a goal in the 94th minute of the game giving Miami a win. We turned in at 10 pm because we were both really tired. Too much Star Wars kept us up very late last night.
by Judy Handley | Jul 20, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 201: Ollie Overnight
Date: Thursday, July 20, 2023
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 82, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Today Ollie decided that it is time for him to spend a few nights at my house. With both brothers away, I think he gets lonely at home. So, tonight was his first overnight at my new house. We brought over a twin-sized inflatable mattress and found a place in the living room that will have to serve as his ‘room’.
We closed the blinds on the sliders, pulled the drapes, and closed the blinds on the skylights. Hopefully the morning light won’t wake him too early because we stayed up WAY too late watching the remainder of The Clone Wars and the beginning of The Revenge of the Sith.
It was a mostly cloudy day and not beach weather according to Ollie, so after I did a little morning house cleaning, we spent most of the day watching the Star Wars movies. I then took Ollie home to pick up some clothes and announce to his parents that he was moving to my house for a night or so. Then we came home and fixed dinner. Ollie wanted hamburgers, so I went to the store to get the burgers and buns. Ollie did the grilling while I cooked the corn-on-the-cob. 
The corn was really tender, and the burgers were done perfectly. Yum! It was the beginning of a delightful evening.
by Judy Handley | Jul 19, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 200: Beautiful Cape Cod Beach Afternoon at Stoney
Date: Wednesday, July 19, 2023
Weather: Sunny and Hot; High 82, Low 70 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Stoney is the beach in Woods Hole that is owned by the Marine Biological Lab, not the town of Falmouth. It is small, but it has always been one of our favorites, and today was no exception. We packed lunch and met Lily at the beach. Stoney used to rather large stones on the beach, but this year it is mostly beautiful, soft sand with a few little pebbles. I got in to snorkel with Ollie and didn’t even have to wear my dive booties. Stoney is always a shallow beach with a sand bar just a little offshore. Today the tide was going out, but we could still enjoy snorkeling in the calm water. Going into the water at Menauhant is always a chore for me as there are always waves coming in and pulling the sand out from under your feet as it goes out. This happens at all beaches, but it happens with greater force at Menauhant and very gently at Stoney. I quickly remembered why I always loved going there when the boys were younger. Plus, there is a jetty on both sides of the beach where the boys always loved to try and catch crabs.
Using periwinkles for bait that they tie onto the end of a piece of grass is the method.
This afternoon Ollie met a kid on the jetty and the crabbed for a while and then Conner borrowed my snorkel and he and Ollie had a great time snorkeling together.
Heather, Jed, Lily, and Ollie were going to the Barnstable County Fair for the evening. It is Demolition Derby night and Ollie loves that. I declined going this year as standing for any period of time is just too painful. In March, I had an epidural to inject steroids into my spine that really helped. At best, the shot lasts four months, and with the effect of the move on my back, it is time for another one. I understood that after four months, all I had to do was call to make the appointment. Not so. Because of insurance requirements, I must have another appointment with the pain management doctor first and he has nothing available until August 23. I leave that day for Charlotte for my grand niece’s wedding, but I made an 8:15 appointment hoping I can make that. But for now, I just have to persist, and standing for long periods of time is just one thing I can’t do.
by Judy Handley | Jul 18, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 199: Swap Shop, Shopping, Star Wars
Date: Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 79, Low 70 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
The weather is just not what is expected on Cape Cod in July. It is more humid than usual and we are just not having those sunny, Cape Cod days. The same is true in Puerto Rico. It is rainy season there, but the rain came early and is more intense than usual. When I was on a Skype video call with Justin and family on Sunday, a torrential rain came down sideways and was blowing right into the house. Then I got this message from Jo, “Remember on Skype the other day when the rain was a coming in sideways? It was a freaking tornado!”
The direct hit was a mile or so from them, but it is just another example of this extreme weather we are experiencing. There was damage, but not directly on their property. For that we are all grateful.
This morning Ollie and I took my carload of things to get rid of to the Swap Shop. There’s a bit more to get rid of, but we are getting there. We did some shopping for Coco’s birthday and then we spent our afternoon watching a Star Wars movie. Tomorrow Ollie and I are going to try for a beach day. Hopefully we’ll have some sunshine and no torrential rain.
by Judy Handley | Jul 17, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 198: Back to Camp Oma
Date: Monday, July 17, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 80, Low 70 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Monday means Camp Oma is back up and running, but it is very, very different this year. Sam spent his day at home getting ready to leave for the National Scout Jamboree this evening. He will be gone all of this week and next. Jonah is still at ASLP for another week. So, I just have Ollie, and only part-time, this week. He likes to spend his mornings at home, so today I picked him up at 11 am. He went with me to the cottage to load all of the things in basement that go to the Swap Shop into my car. There was barely room for him to sit when we were done and tomorrow morning, we will take the things to the Swap Shop. We got back to my house around 1 pm and then spent the afternoon working and playing. Late in the afternoon, Ollie got his little John Deere tractor out of the storage shed and hauled the bags of soil and plants that I brought home from the cottage yesterday. He used my rubber mallet to pound one of my bean towers into unbelievably hard ground despite all the rain we have had and then delivered the bags of garden soil. I hope to get the beans planted tomorrow. Ollie is hoping a friend can come over to play tomorrow, but the last I heard, Heather had not heard back from the friend’s mother. So, we shall see.
I forgot to mention in last night’s log that I had a great conversation with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco yesterday. It is officially the rainy season there, and they got one whopper of a storm while we were on the phone. But, otherwise, things are going along good there. School starts on August 9 and Ziggy is not too happy about that, but otherwise life is good. But I’m with Ziggy. I can’t believe school starts so soon there.
Using periwinkles for bait that they tie onto the end of a piece of grass is the method.
