by Judy Handley | Apr 29, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 119: Celebration of Life for Jennifer Kerwood Price
Date: Saturday, April 29, 2023
Weather in Charlotte: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 72, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home with Brian and Judy Thompson, Mooresville, NC
Today was the Celebration of Life for my niece Jennifer Kerwood Price.
Jennifer died in September, but her husband Bill decided to have the celebration in the spring as close to Jennifer’s birthday as possible. She was born on April 27, 1960, so Bill picked today as it was the closest Saturday. Bill and the two children Jessica and Jacob put together a perfect afternoon with the help of sister Janet and cousins Rex and Tommy. I know Jennifer was smiling from above in approval of this beautiful tribute.
by Judy Handley | Apr 28, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 118: Gathering the Forces
Date: Friday, April 28, 2023
Weather in Charlotte: Sunny and Warm; High 73, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with Brian and Judy Thompson, Mooresville, NC
The gathering of the Martin family members is underway. Wednesday, a niece Janet, and one nephew Rex arrived in Mooresville. Yesterday I arrived. Today my niece Candi arrived and this evening, Heather and Candi’s mother Sue arrived. And Rex’s family, his wife Diana, and his daughter Rachel and her two children, Emma and Kit, drove in from West Virginia. This gathering of the forces is to celebrate the life of my niece, Jennifer Price, who died last September. Her two children, Jacob and Jessica arrived this afternoon to support their dad, Bill, who is hosting the celebration tomorrow afternoon and evening. More family arrives tomorrow, along with many friends. Quite a mighty force.
I spent my day driving to and from the airport in Charlotte twice and, along the way, checking out a few bridal venues looking for a dress for my sister Patsy to wear to her granddaughter’s wedding in August. Once I returned from the airport with my niece Candi, we went to visit with Patsy. It was such a warm and beautiful afternoon that we decided to take Patsy out to Brian and Judy Thompson’s to sit on their lovely porch overlooking Lake Norman. Normally my sister resists sitting outside, but today she loved it.
Brian and Judy are very close family friends that I am staying with this weekend. Sometime after 5 o’clock, we pried ourselves away from our lovely afternoon visit and headed back to Mooresville to run a couple of errands. We dropped my sister off before heading to the airport to pick up Heather and Sue and ended the day at my nephew Tommy’s to just sit and visit. We’ll do more of that tomorrow and Sunday before everyone heads back home. For just a couple of wonderful days, we will be together to share the stories that bond us together as family and to celebrate the life of one of us who died too young.
by Judy Handley | Apr 27, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 117: From Cape Cod to North Carolina
Date: Thursday, April 27, 2023
Weather in Charlotte: Rainy Arrival; High 61, Low 53 degrees F
Location: At Home with Tommy and Marilou Martin, Huntersville NC
Note: When I wrote yesterday’s log, I recorded the high and low temperatures in Charlotte, NC, not in Falmouth. It was NOT 61 degrees yesterday, but only in the 40’s. No wonder I was cold.
It was a long day today, but at 8 pm my plane landed in a very foggy, rainy Charlotte, North Carolina. After getting my rental car, I drove north to Huntersville to my nephew Tommy’s home for the night. As I drove into the driveway, I got a call from him saying to back out and drive down the street to a friend’s home. It was pouring rain, but Marilou came out to flag me down. Tommy and his wife Marilou and my cousin Rex were at the neighbor’s house watching the NFL football draft taking place in Kansas City. Another neighbor was at the affair, so the neighbors here were having a “watch” party. Once we headed home to Tommy and Marilou’s we stood around the kitchen island talking past midnight. Good to be here.
This morning I took Shadow to Bruce and Jane Woodin’s. They are keeping Shadow for me while I am away. Bruce and Jane, you are my Superheroes! I know Shadow will be treated like a king. I just hope Bruce and Jane can survive keeping my little buddy. I love him and miss him, but he can be a little rambunctious.
by Judy Handley | Apr 26, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 116: Day Off
Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2023
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 61, Low 52 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The high temperature today was 61 degrees F, but I was chilly all day. I had a list of things to do before leaving for North Carolina tomorrow, but you what? I didn’t get those things done. I gave myself the gift of a day off and did only what I wanted to do. Tomorrow morning I’ll be sorry. But then I’ll be on a bus and then a plane to Charlotte and whatever those things that needed to be done will be a distant memory. I did spend a lot of time getting my March and April photos in order. I always update and save my photo files on a hard drive before any trip, just in case something should happen to my computer while traveling. I did get that done. And I took Ollie to saxophone practice.
While playing in the yard with Shadow this evening, I saw a woolly worm.
It is almost May and usually they have spun a cocoon and are ready to emerge as moths by this time of year. At least that is what I thought. Whatever, that just added to my feeling that it was just too chilly today. Hopefully North Carolina will be a few degrees warmer.
by Judy Handley | Apr 25, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 115: Repeat, Boat Work and Sam to Rowing
Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2023
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 65, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today was a repeat of yesterday, starting with morning work on the boat, late lunch at home, then off to Harwich with Sam and Shadow at 3 pm. Shadow and I walked in the bogs beside Hinkleys Pond while Sam rowed.
In between all of this, I continued my online search for dresses for my sister to wear to her granddaughter’s black tie wedding in August. The bride, Jessica, specified that Patsy must wear black, champagne, or nude—all my sister’s worst colors. She eliminated nude right off the bat. Now, one day she goes with champagne, but the next day she says if she has to look awful, maybe she should just wear black. I had hoped to have something for her to try on while I visit North Carolina this weekend, but it is proving harder to find the ‘just right’ choice, in the right color, and in a size 0 or 2 on such short notice.
I have also been doing online research into teak finishes for Heather and Jed’s boat, but time is running out. Not sure what we are going to do. Whatever, one way or another, the boat goes in the water on May 29. At least we have all the old varnish removed. Maybe it will just stay naked for a year and get “dressed” next spring! We need to turn our attention to getting the bottom ready for splash down. It cannot go in the water without being “dressed”, so that has to become the first priority.
by Judy Handley | Apr 24, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 114: Varnish Removal Done, Sam to Rowing in Harwich
Date: Monday, April 24, 2023
Weather: So So AM, Sunny PM; High 64, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Finally, I can say that any varnish removal that I can do on Heather and Jed’s boat is done. Woohoo! There is still the removal of varnish on the underside of the bow sprit and the toe rail, but that has to be done from a ladder and I will not be doing that. Tomorrow I will go do some sanding, some clean-up, and then I will work on covering the wood that has been sanded to protect it from moisture until we can get back to work. Since Heather and I are both going to be in North Carolina this weekend and Jed will be busy carting boys from soccer game to game, no boat work will happen until the following weekend. The boat has it’s winter cover on, but it is canvas and has developed a few leaks, thus the need to protect the sanded teak from moisture. It has been a bit of work getting that varnish removed, but I actually look forward to getting back and starting the process of applying new protection to the wood.
I got home from the boat at 1 pm and spent the next hour and a half eating lunch, relaxing a bit, and taking a shower to get rid of the sanding dust from my morning’s work. At 2:30, Shadow and I took off to go pick up Sam and take him to Harwich for rowing practice. After practice, he ate the dinner I bought for him, and then I dropped him off for soccer practice at Monomoy High School in Harwich where he met up with Sebastian and Jonah. I then headed home as Sebastian’s mom would take him home.
Tomorrow will be a repeat of today—boat work and driving Sam to Harwich to soccer practice and then home to Falmouth to his weekly Scout meeting. Wednesday is my day to get ready to travel and Thursday I am off for North Carolina.
Jennifer died in September, but her husband Bill decided to have the celebration in the spring as close to Jennifer’s birthday as possible. She was born on April 27, 1960, so Bill picked today as it was the closest Saturday. Bill and the two children Jessica and Jacob put together a perfect afternoon with the help of sister Janet and cousins Rex and Tommy. I know Jennifer was smiling from above in approval of this beautiful tribute.
