by Judy Handley | Nov 6, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 310: The Return of the Swans
Date: Sunday, November 6, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and Warm; High 73, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
My winter entertainment has arrived. Today as I sat at my dining table, I heard a familiar sound. I looked out the back door down toward the water, and there they were. The swans have returned for the winter. I only saw two today, but more will come. All winter long, they glide up the canal that I can see through the windows in the back door. And when they reach the end of the waterway, they fly back, always catching my attention. I welcome them, but I don’t welcome the geese that are also returning. I hate the mess they make in the backyards down by the water where Shadow and I love to play fetch. I know I have to share my little slice of paradise, but couldn’t the geese find somewhere else to hang out?
Again, it was unseasonably warm today. I haven’t replaced the screen in the back door with storm glass just yet, so tonight I am sitting here with the back door open to try and cool down. This morning, I went out to do some leaf blowing. I was wearing a cotton long sleeved shirt and to complain about heat. I love it. But it was hot today and still is this evening. By Tuesday, the temp is going to go back down a bit for a couple of days, but then it will be back in the 60’s.
The climate conference in Egypt starts tomorrow. It is going to be interesting to see what happens this week. I don’t hold much hope, but I can’t stop hoping.
by Judy Handley | Nov 6, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 309: Fall Back
Date: Saturday, November 5, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Warm for November; High 71, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It is that one night of the year when we redeem the hour we lost in March when we had to spring our clocks forward, losing an hour. I like gaining back the hour, but I hate what it will mean tomorrow. It will be getting dark by 4:30 in the afternoon. Since I am not a morning person, gaining the hour in the morning will go unnoticed by me. I will find the next two months of late afternoon darkness depressing. I look forward to the winter solstice in December, the longest night, as it means the next day we start gaining extra seconds, then minutes, of daylight.
Tonight, my daughter Heather is somewhere between here and London. It will be morning there when her plane lands, so she plans to spend as much of the day as she can walking through London. She has an evening business meeting and then on Monday morning she flies to Egypt for the UN Climate Change Conference, COP27. My daughter-in-law Jo is exploring the rainforest in Costa Rico, and if her posts on Facebook are any indication, she is having a wonderful ‘explore’. I talked to Justin, Ziggy, and Coco in Puerto Rico via Skype video this evening, and they seem to be surviving the rainier than usual rainy season. And Jed and boys are all away at Boy Scout Turkey Shoot camping weekend. This is the one weekend a year they get to practice target shooting with rifles and bow and arrows in a very organized and safe environment. Jed sent a photo of Jonah after he won the Junior division in 22 rifle competition.
Then there is me. I am right here in East Falmouth holding down the fort and continuing to enjoy this warmer than normal weather. It was in the low 70’s today. We didn’t have sunshine, but it was warm. Shadow and I went down by the water to play fetch. The tide was the lowest that I have ever seen it, so there was a lot of mucky marsh mud exposed. Shadow spotted a dead rabbit floating on the water and ran right down the bank and into the mud to try and get to the poor critter. I love the marsh, but not the black, sticky, stinky mud. That ‘explore’ by Shadow necessitated a trip to the bathtub to melt the mud away. Then we went back outside and Shadow ran around in the leaves as I used to leaf blower to clear the driveway. That’s it for news from here today.
by Judy Handley | Nov 4, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 308: Apple Sauce and Pumpkin Pie
Date: Friday, November 4, 2022
Weather: Still Warm and Sunny; High 68, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Tonight, my dining in group met at Bruce and Jane Woodin’s home. I had volunteered to bring pumpkin pie and whipped cream, but then homemade applesauce got added to that. Peter and Karen Baranowski could not come, so Karen asked me to make the applesauce she was supposed to bring. She and Peter have been kidsitting their grandchildren in Norwood all week while their son and his wife are away. Their daughter was supposed to come from New York to take over them today so they could come home for tonight’s dinner. But then she got sick with a killer head cold. So, they are with the grandkids and I gladly made the applesauce and took it as well.
Dinner was fabulous. Jane and Bruce provided the main entrée, the best and most tender pork tenderloin any of us had ever had. Midge brought the roasted veggies and Terry and Olivia brought the appetizers. It was a good dinner, but not quite the same without everyone with us. We will meet again in early December here at the cottage, and I do hope everyone will be able to come to kick off the holiday season.
Late this afternoon Jed left with the three boys for Scout Turkey Shoot camping weekend. Heather leaves tomorrow for Egypt. So, I’m on my own until Sunday when Jed and the boys return. I might try to get some of the carpet of leaves under control tomorrow. Or maybe I’ll just enjoy yet another beautiful fall day.
by Judy Handley | Nov 3, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 307: Enjoying a Gorgeous Fall Day
Date: Thursday, November 3, 2022
Weather: Gorgeous and Warm; High 63, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
We are experiencing a run of gorgeous fall days. The temperature is in the low 60’s, but with the bright sunshine and very little wind, today was warm enough that I was outside in a tank top. After lunch, I took Shadow for a walk and when we came back, I decided to spend time just sitting in the sunshine reading. I have a reclining lounge chair that I keep in a secluded, sunny spot, so I reclined and read. But I also took time to look up at the beautiful blue sky above me. The green, red, and brown leaves of an oak tree hung over my right shoulder
and a tall tree that has lost all of its leaves towered in front of me.
All of this with a Cape Cod blue sky backing was just gorgeous.
Before going back inside, I played fetch down by the water with Shadow. Watching him run back towards me with a yellow tennis ball in his mouth and his floppy black ears flying just makes me smile.
And then he stops, puts the ball down, and sits in front of me with that big pink tongue hanging out. He is definitely my crazy little wild man.
Jed and Sam were successful this morning in overseeing the hauling of Eider from Mattapoisett to a friend’s yard in North Falmouth.
Eider will spend the winter there. Heather and Ollie had a wonderful day exploring the Cape Cod National Seashore. They got back to the school at 5:30 pm and then headed to Mashpee for Ollie’s final soccer game of the season, played under the lights. Ollie was goalie for the second half and his team gave it their best effort.
They lost the game, but not their high spirits. They just look forward to next season
by Judy Handley | Nov 2, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 306: Fabulous Fall Day
Date: Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Weather: Warm and Sunny; High 64, Low 40 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
With only 59 days left in 2022, I savor every warm, sunny day we are experiencing here on Cape Cod. To be sure, we have had some rainy, cold fall weather as well, but days like today help you forget about that and just focus on the sunshine. It was windy earlier today and a new blanket of leaves now carpets the ground. Shadow and I played fetch down by the water this afternoon and loved watching him run through the leaves to find the tennis ball. I finished baking the last of a batch of granola I made for Heather and family this morning. And then I made fried green tomatoes. Peter and Karen Baranowski sent me a flyer from Spout Farm in Mashpee saying they have a lot of green tomatoes still on the vine in their greenhouses. I can never resist fried green tomatoes, so not only was it warm like summer today, I ate my favorite summer food.
The busy fall rowing and soccer season is slowing down. Tonight, I drove Jonah to his last practice and on Sunday he has his last game. But the Goldstone household is still abuzz so many things to do in the next two days. Tomorrow Eider comes out of the water at 8 am. Sam is going to take the morning off school to help because Heather is going on a field trip to the Cape Cod National Seashore with Ollie. Sam and Jed have to leave home just after 6 am in the morning to meet their 8 am haul out deadline. Jonah has jazz band at 7:15 am, so I will go take him to that. It is just too early and too far to walk with a bass guitar, and if I take him, Heather can stay home and focus on Ollie. At the end of the day, Ollie has one last soccer game and then has to finish a major school project that is due on Friday morning. Jed, Ollie, Sam, and Jonah leave Friday at 5 pm for a weekend of Scout camping and on Saturday, Heather flies to Egypt for the climate conference. She thought she was almost ready for that until a security meeting at work today for those traveling to Egypt. Computers need to be wiped, as well as phones. Heather is the communications person and has to have full use of her computer and phone. They are doing a work around for the computer. Instead of wiping her phone, which would mean adding everything back when she gets home, Heather made a decision to buy a new one. But when Sam heard her talking about this, he came up with the brilliant suggestion that she rent one. He found a place that rents phones, tv’s, all sorts of electronic devices, even furniture. And it is not that expensive. I guess the moral of that story is that if you have a technology issue, don’t go to the technology person at work. Find a teenager to solve your problem.
I do hope things go as smoothly as possible for the crazy family schedule tomorrow. My hope is that by the end of the day, Eider will be successfully stored on land for the winter, Ollie and Heather will have had a wonderful field trip to the seashore, and that Heather’s preparations for leaving for Egypt are back on track. Next week’s schedule looks so much easier. It is only a four-day school week leading up to Veterans Day on Friday. By the time Heather gets home the following week (and I leave for Puerto Rico), the schedule looks almost humanly possible. And by the time I get back from Puerto Rico, it will be time get ready for the holiday season. That sounds easy and like fun compared to all of this. Then it will be 2023. Time truly flies when you are having a good time!
by Judy Handley | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022 Life Logs |
2022 Life Logs, Day 305: Focus on Health Day
Date: Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Weather: Overcast with Rain; High 61, Low 49 degrees
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The fall I had while gardening in early July has become a four-month battle with my back and knees. But finally, things seem to be mending. My day started in the chiropractor’s office. My back issues are better, so I’m switching from weekly appointments to a visit every two weeks. My day ended in Hyannis with an evening MRI, and in between those two appointments, I made another trip to Hyannis to meet with the physician’s assistant to my knee surgeon for a knee evaluation. And as long as I was in Hyannis, I did a little grocery shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. But back to the health issues . . . the prednisone that my primary care ordered last week has reduced the swelling in the herniated disks in my back so that I no longer have the pain, tingling, and numbness in my legs. That has relaxed the muscles in m lower back and hip area, so my back is staying aligned. And for now, I think I can put off a knee replacement for another year. All good.
