by Judy Handley | Jan 5, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 05: Tomorrow is the Twelfth Day of Christmas
Date: Thursday, January 5, 2023
Weather: Overcast, Fog Tonight: High 47, Low 40 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:10 am & 4:27 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
On the twelfth day of Christmas, it is finally time for me to tuck away the holiday decorations. That day is tomorrow. I started tonight my taking the ornaments off my tree, but I will not take the lights off and take the tree down until tomorrow. I will enjoy one more night with those lights on all night to greet me in the morning. Taking ornaments off my tree and doing a once a year total cleaning my fish aquarium were the only house centered things on my to do list for today. I also continued to work on the PowerPoint for my presentation about food and climate change for next Wednesday. I plan to spend the whole day on that tomorrow and try and hope to get it done. But first, I will take the lights off the tree and get the tree outside.
I have to confess that today I keep getting distracted by what is happening, or maybe I should say what is not happening, in the Congress. I turned on the TV to check and see if any progress had been made and ended up leaving it on longer than intended. I just can’t help myself. I am a political junkie. I’ll try to resist the temptation to watch the proceedings tomorrow and keep my attention on that PowerPoint presentation. But we shall see.
At 6:09 pm EST tomorrow, the January Wolf moon is full. Because of the timing, some people consider tonight the full moon while others consider it to be tomorrow night. Unfortunately, it is overcast here tonight, so no moon can be seen. Maybe tomorrow night.
by Judy Handley | Jan 4, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 04: Taking Time for Friends
Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Weather: Overcast, Rain Tonight: High 50, Low 43 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:10 am & 4:26 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today I had lunch with my friend Karen Baranowski and then I visited with Jane and Bruce Woodin. At the end of the day, I realized that I take very little time to just visit with friends. I go to events and to dinners, but rarely do I just visit to talk. Doing that today was so nice and I promised myself to do more of that in 2023.
It was almost 4 pm when I got home, and I have spent most of the evening working on a PowerPoint for my presentation to my Public Policy group next week. It was going to be an in-person meeting and in that case, I didn’t need a PowerPoint. But because so many people have the flu and Covid right now, we are back to Zoom meetings where having visuals in a PowerPoint are helpful. I also spent some time watching the circus happening in the Washington, DC, or should I call it Crazy Town. Tomorrow I will continue working on the PowerPoint while watching more of the happenings in Washington. It is so sad, and more than a little scary, to see such dysfunction.
by Judy Handley | Jan 3, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 03: Taking Care of Business
Date: Tuesday, January 3, 2023
Weather: Overcast with Some Rain: High 51, Low 46 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:10 am & 4:26 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Woohoo! Gained another minute of daylight this evening. But it was overcast and rainy all day, so the extra minute was just as dreary as the rest of the day. Heather came over early this morning to help get Andrew’s dock walkway put back in place after our huge high tide before Christmas. When it happened, Andrew contracted to have someone come to work on the dock, but day by day it has been getting worse. Last night Heather offered to come try and get the walkway out to the dock back in alignment. I just can’t standby and watch things self-destruct when that can be prevented. Thank you, Heather. After Heather left, I took a long walk in the neighborhood with Shadow. I spent the remainder of the day inside on my computer and my phone. I worked on my 2023 calendar, on my phone and on a hard copy calendar, putting in major activities that I know about at this point. I dealt with some of my sister’s health issues and arranged for her doctor to come to see her at the assisted living facility tomorrow. I met via phone with Claudia Needham. I have agreed to be co-leader of the Newcomers Public Policy group with Claudia, and we needed to divide duties. One of my jobs will be contacting members ahead of each meeting to send them meeting details and reading resources. Since we are meeting next week for my presentation on food and climate change, I then had to get the email ready to send out. Because so many people are sick, with either Covid or the flu or colds, we decided that we will meet via zoom and that means I now have to put much of my presentation into a PowerPoint. That will be tomorrow’s job.
It feels good to work on getting organized for the coming year. So, in that respect, today was a good day. I also spent time watching what is happening in the US House of Representatives. It was not a good for Republicans in the House. I could be happy about that, but I am not. The dysfunctionality of the Republicans in the House means that the business of the House is not being done. And if ever we needed a functional government, it is now. It doesn’t bode well for the next two years.
by Judy Handley | Jan 2, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 02: Wonderful Dinner with the Goldstones
Date: Monday, January 2, 2023
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Cooler: High 47, Low 33 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:10 am & 4:25 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I’ve been watching the sunrise and sunset times carefully since winter solstice, and finally for the past three days, we have gained one minute of daylight each day with the sunset moving forward. I love each added minute of daylight.
This morning I went for another walk with friend Olga Mitchell. We tried a new trail this morning that is close to home. It was a trail through the woods, but it was nice and wide and no one else was walking. I let Shadow off his leash, and he enjoyed the freedom of romping in the woods. But he doesn’t stray far. Even when off leash, he basically stays right beside me. I took Olga home, came home to have lunch, and then in the early afternoon, I took Sam and Jed with me to Planet Fitness to establish Sam’s membership. Jed had to be along to sign the release since Sam is still a minor. This was Sam’s Christmas present from me, and I do hope he enjoys it.
Then tonight the Goldstones came over for a final holiday dinner. It was so wonderful to be with them and hear all about their second Christmas in Maine. We had roasted chicken and root veggies with salad and Jonah made individual molten chocolate lava cakes for desserts. The dessert was decadent and delicious, but now it is time for me to end the holiday dessert delights. I will get back to having only a couple of squares of dark chocolate for dessert while looking forward to the Christmas holiday season next year. But my holiday fun is not over yet. I still have my Christmas tree lights to enjoy for four more days until the Twelfth Day of Christmas.
by Judy Handley | Jan 1, 2023 | 2023 Life Logs |
2023 Life Logs, Day 01: Welcome 2023
Date: Sunday, January 1, 2023
Weather: Partly Sunny and Warm: High 55, Low 35 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:10 am & 4:24 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Happy New Year to each of you. I sent last night’s log before I went out for the evening, so I’ll start by writing about last night. Before I left home, I got a message from Jo with a photo of the Justin, Ziggy, and Coco playing Backgammon and having a chilled New Year’s Eve . . . a perfect way to bring in the New Year as a family.
Heather and family were still in Boothbay, Maine, celebrating the new year with Jed’s mother and his brother Toby and Stephanie. I picked up my friend Olga Mitchell and took her with me as a guest to a very small gathering of Newcomers Singles hosted by Lynda Onthank. Some who had planned to come backed out at the last minute as they had cold symptoms. We missed them but appreciated them staying at home and not spreading cold or flu germs. Lynda is a wonderful hostess and had more food than we could eat. But it was delicious so none of us entered the New Year hungry. At 10:45 pm, Olga and I headed to her house to join her daughter Susan, who lives with her, to greet 2023. Susan opened the bubbly I brought, Syltbar procecco,
and we toasted 2023 as we watched the celebrations on TV. I didn’t get home until 1:30 am, took Shadow out to greet the new year, and then headed to bed to read. Lights didn’t go out until 2:30 am. So, a 10:30 am walk with Shadow and Olga came early. We had a lovely New Years Day walk along the Quasnet River and then I spent the remainder of my day just living the good life. Here’s wishing each of you health and happiness in 2023.
by Judy Handley | Dec 31, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 365: Happy New Year’s Eve
Date: Saturday, December 31, 2022
Weather: Overcast and Rainy: High 56, Low 46 degrees F
Sunrise and Sunset: 7:10 am & 4:23 pm
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Each year on New Year’s Eve when I type Day 365 in my log, it always shocks me that already another year has gone by. They do seem to go more quickly the older I get. I am headed to a small gathering of friends from the Newcomers Singles group tonight and I am taking my 90 year-young friend, Ole will only stay a couple of hours and then head back to her house to bring in the New Year with her daughter. Olga lives very close, so that makes for a short ride home at mid-night. I hope you have or had a wonderful New Year’s Eve and are looking forward to a healthy and happy 2023!
