by Judy Handley | Aug 23, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs, Cape Cod, USA |
2025 Life Logs, Day 235: Saturday Rally, Groningen Update, Tomatoes, and MV
Date: Saturday, August 23, 2025
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 74, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Across the pond today, Heather and Sam explored the North Sea coast just north of Groningen. They visited National Park Lauwersmeer where the sea comes inland a bit. This was the site of the last battle of World War II on Dutch soil was fought and Sam was delighted to find WWII bunkers. There were also a lot of sheep.
Later they ended their day with a sunset cruise on the Lauwersmeer which is a man-made lake on the border of the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. Heather also took photos today of the outside of Sam’s dorm, the courtyard, and the fields beyond. She said her photos don’t give us the real feeling of the area, but at least we know where he lives now.
As for me today, I attended the weekly rally on the Green, deseeded 30 pounds of tomatoes for making tomato puree, and went on an Encore trip to Martha’s Vineyard to have dinner and see the Illumination Week fireworks. The boat accommodated 40 of us and those of us sitting outside on the port side of the boat got duly soaked on the way over. But once there we had a great time, and I am happy to report that the trip home was . There were mostly couples, but five of us that were singles banded together and had dinner at the Sand Bar, walked through town, and returned to the boat to watch the fireworks from there. Fun evening.
by Judy Handley | Aug 23, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 234: Happy Sam and Happy Shadow
Date: Friday, August 22, 2025
Weather: Sunny and Windy; High Temp 76, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Sam is officially a resident of Groningen and has moved into his dorm room. Heather send a photo and he looked so happy holding that resident document.
So, the first two big hurdles have been successfully navigated. He is an official resident, and he has a place to live that is lovely inside and at the back of the campus where it is like living in a park. Sam loves that. Now that he is officially a resident, he can get his bank account set up next week. Little by little, the ‘to do’ list is getting done. This weekend Heather and Sam plan to take some time off and drive north to explore the North Sea coastline.
Ollie had a baby tooth pulled today and then late this afternoon he went fishing with Seton and Seton’s dad. Jonah had his last full morning of soccer practice today. Next week the practices are in the afternoon. I worked on finishing the cleaning in Sam’s room. Next week Ollie will move in there.
Shadow was a happy dog today. He is no longer wearing the big plastic cone. After spending the day at the groomer, this evening he could once again play catch and roam freely in the yard. The incision is totally healed, so all is well.
by Judy Handley | Aug 21, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 233: H&S in Groningen, Wine Group Fun, and Tomato Time
Date: Thursday, August 21, 2025
Weather: Partly Cloudy and Cooler; High Temp 66, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
When I woke up this morning, I read a text from Heather saying she and Sam arrived safely in Amsterdam, rented a car and drove to Groningen, and was happy to report that Sam’s room in the Emergency Housing for Foreign Students is great. Last I heard from them, they were in IKEA buying out the store. So, all is well there.
I totally forgot to mention in last night’s log that I was with my wine group last night. The theme was Down Under, wines from Australia or New Zealand. Interestingly, we all brought Australian wines. I went to Kappy’s and asked one of the managers what Australian wine he would take to a Down Under tasting and he suggested The Stump Jump saying it was a fun wine. What did he mean by that? And such a crazy name. Plus, when he first showed me the wine, all I could think is that it had a really ugly label. Still, he convinced me it was the best choice and it was only $10.99. How could I go wrong with a cheap wine with a crazy name and an ugly label?
When I got home, I looked up information on The Stump Jump and that started changing my negative feeling about this wine. Here’s the story I found about the name. “It is rumoured that the inventor of the Stump Jump plough, which enabled a ploughshare to jump over tree roots, had poor eyesight and required regular tests to ensure he could still operate machinery. The design of this label is inspired by an optometrist’s eyechart and serves as a makeshift sobriety test. If you can hold the bottle at arm’s length and still read the front label, you can enjoy another glass.” Such an Aussie story! And when we tasted the wine, even the pickiest wine connoisseurs in the group really liked it. So, I guess price is not always an indication of how good a wine might be. It really was a fun choice.
Today Ollie spent the afternoon downtown with friends and then met his dad at the middle school for 8th grade orientation. Having a little time, I turned my attention to the 30 pounds of tomatoes I picked up yesterday afternoon from Peach Tree Farm as I do every August. But then, I had a 3 pm Indivisible Zoom call and 6 pm Indivisible meeting, so all I got done was blanching and peeling. I will continue that project tomorrow.
As I sit here, I can hear the wind Erin is sending us building outside. We are only supposed to get 25 mph winds tonight and into the morning, but by tomorrow afternoon the wind should go back down into the teens and it is forecast to be sunny and back in the mid-70’s. Summer returns.
by Judy Handley | Aug 20, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 232: Happy Ending to a Tense Morning
Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2025
Weather: Overcast with Rain; High Temp 71, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
As decided last night, Heather and I headed to Boston at 6:15 am. We didn’t want to be late for her appointment with the Boston Passport Agency at the’ Tip’ O’Neill Federal Building in the North End of Boston. We had good luck with traffic and arrived an hour early. We found a place to park on the street near the court, had a quick breakfast, and then entered the courthouse. I know we were both a bit tense because we had no idea what the outcome would be. Would she get a renewed passport in time to check in for the flight?
After going through security, we walked up the steps to the waiting area where there was already a line of people. When Heather checked in with one of the security guards to tell him she had an appointment, he just said it could be along wait. Then a man came out of the office area to announce that after being closed for 5 days for renovations, we were the very first people to be served by agents at the brand new walk up windows, but the bad news was that the electronics were not working and everyone would have to have cash, no credit cards today. This news did not help an already tense situation, but again Heather checked with security and one guy said she would have to walk over to North Station to an ATM. But then another said there was an ATM right downstairs. So, she hurried down, got the money, and then we waited and waited. A couple of people were called into the office area, and we could see employees walking back and forth. We assumed they were working on the electronics situation. Finally, sometime after 9:30, everyone was allowed to enter the new walk-up window area. Only two windows were open, but things went pretty fast. At the first window, the woman took all of Heather’s information and told her to wait to be called up to a different window. It sounded like she was going to get a passport, but when? At the second window, after paying in cash, the woman at that window told Heather she would receive a call from Washington and should have a renewed passport in one to two hours. I think we both had a big sigh of relief. Heather called Jed to tell him to still bring his packed bag, but that all indications were that she would have a passport and could get on the flight to the Netherlands. While we waited, we decided to drive over to Mike’s Pastry in the North End to buy cannolis for Jed to take home with him. It was a little harder to find a parking spot, and as Heather was paying the woman behind the counter at Mike’s, her phone rang. I finished paying while she walked outside to take the call. Success!!! The passport was ready after only an hour. So, we drove back to the Federal Building, picked up the passport and we were on to the airport. It was still before noon when I dropped Heather off. She still was not able to check in for the flight on her phone. She kept getting a message that she needed to see an agent. I left not knowing for sure about the flight, but hopeful. I stopped at Costco to buy a couple of things on my way home and before I left there I received photos from Heather, two of Jed hugging Sam goodbye. I knew then all was well. Heather was going to get to go to the Netherlands with Sam.
Happy ending to a few tense hours and a lesson learned about checking passport requirements carefully ahead of time. I checked my passport when I got home and found it expires at the end of this month. I guess I’ll be making another trip to the Tip O’Neill Federal Building.
by Judy Handley | Aug 19, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 231: First Grandchild is Off to College Tomorrow
Date: Tuesday, August 19, 2025
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 71, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Tomorrow my first grandchild, Sam, is off to college. I remember vividly how traumatic it was for me having my first child (Heather) go off to college, but Heather has had a couple of major issues here at the last minute that have ramped up the tension. As I anticipated in last night’s log, she did get the message from Air Canada that the flight she and Sam were taking was cancelled due to the flight attendant strike. But as she was checking to see if she was getting the money back, she got a message from United saying they had been rebooked to fly from Boston to Dulles and from there to Amsterdam. It means a longer trip time and an earlier flight tomorrow. They were planning on doing last minute packing tomorrow morning and leave for Boston around 2:00 as their flight wasn’t until 6:30 pm. Now their flight is at 2:00 pm, so there really isn’t much time at home tomorrow. So, they do have a flight, but then this evening when Heather went to check in with United, they rejected her check-in because her Passport is only valid until sometime in November. For US citizens, a passport valid for at three months beyond your intended departure date. Hers was days short of that. She has been so laser focused on helping Sam make sure all of his paperwork was in order that she hadn’t even thought about herself. This new information late this afternoon put them into a scramble. Would Jed go instead of her? Could they delay the flight by a day or so until she could get an appointment with the passport office in Boston? They were in the middle of this when I arrived for Sam’s ‘last supper’ at home. Heather quickly explained the problem to me and then got on the phone and called the Boston Passport Agency. It was 7:30 by this time, but someone answered the phone. Miraculously, she got an appointment for 8:45 am. There are no assurances this will work, so Jed is going to pack tonight just in case. But I will pick Heather up at 6:15 tomorrow morning and we will head to Boston in hopes of working this out. Whew! Hopefully she will know if she is going to have a valid passport for the trip before Jed and Sam leave home for Boston. What stress to add to an already stressful time. But we did manage to have great homemade pizza for dinner and relax for a few minutes together. Now off to bed with me as 5:30 am is only 7 hours from now.
by Judy Handley | Aug 18, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 230: All of the Goldstones and The Last Class
Date: Monday, August 18, 2025
Weather: Partly Sunny, Much Cooler; High Temp 69, Low 53 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Hurray! All Goldstones are home from Maine. Jed and Ollie arrived home after 10 pm last night. But having everyone at home is temporary. On Wednesday, Heather and Sam leave for the Netherlands. At least that is the plan. However, their flight is with Air Canada, and they are canceling flights because of an air attendant strike. Heather was going to contact the airline tonight to check the status of their flight. I’ll have to update you on that tomorrow night.
This afternoon, I went with friend Judy Fenwick to Cape Cinema in Dennis to see The Last Class, a film about Robert Reich as an educator. In addition to be being Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, he worked in the administrations of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and was a member of Barack Obama’s economic transition advisory board. Add to that impressive resume 40 years of teaching, first at Harvard and most recently at UC Berkeley where he taught for 17 years before retiring in 2023. The film captures beautifully what it means to be a teacher and what teaching has meant to Robert Reich.
