by Judy Handley | Feb 3, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 34: Walking, Reading, Visiting
Date: Monday, February 3, 2020
Weather: Some Sunny Periods Mixed with Cloud; High 45 degrees, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Not a lot to report today. I spent time outside walking and playing with Shadow, but spent most of the day reading. I was desperately trying to finish the book I have been reading, The Overstory by Richard Powers, as I need to read a book by next Tuesday for my book club that I have yet to start. And I also need to read the rest of the book I started on People Training for Good Dogs. I didn’t finish The Overstory, but hopefully will finish it tomorrow. It is just not a book that you can flip through quickly. Each page, each word, causes you to stop and reflect, so it is a slow read. Karen Baranowski came by for tea late morning and we talked our way into the afternoon. She and Peter leave on Thursday for a month-long cruise and are looking forward to being warmer for a month. Tomorrow is an Early Release Day, so I will spend the afternoon with the Goldpebbles. Now I’m going to turn on the TV and see what is happening in the Iowa Caucasus before heading to bed.
by Judy Handley | Feb 2, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 33: Somebody Ought To . . .
Date: Sunday, February 2, 2020
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 42 degrees, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Nobody that knows me would ever call me a prude. But tonight when I watched the Superbowl half-time show, I sure felt like a prude. As I watched, all I could hear in my head were the words of my grandmother saying, “Somebody ought to spat her as . . .” The year I was born, 1947, a movie came out starring the Brazilian bombshell, Carmen Miranda. Copacabana was a musical comedy and in it, Miranda, performed one of her ‘high energy’ dances. My grandmother, a country woman, was visiting sometime during the next year when Copacabana was playing at the local theater, so my sister Patsy who was 14 or 15 at the time, took my grandmother to see the movie. When Carmen Miranda came on the screen with her signature bowl of fruit on her head and started dancing with that ‘high energy’, my grandmother stood up and announced loudly that “Somebody ought to spat her as . . .” My sister was so embarrassed that she grabbed my grandmother and left the theater. Of course, I don’t really remember any of this, but I have heard the story many times over the years. And tonight, as I watched Shakira and Jennifer Lopez perform, I knew how my grandmother must have felt. Dancing is one thing, but in tonight’s performances, the ‘dancing’ went too far. And the costumes were just plain offensive. I had been at Heather and Jed’s for the beginning of the game, but I decided to come home to be with Shadow. Hopefully they put the boys to bed before half-time. I read that Shakira and Lopez had promised to deliver an empowering performance for women. That is not what I saw. They are definitely talented and if someone wants to pay to go see them perform in a concert that is one thing. But to have that coming into your home during the half-time of a football game is another thing. It convinced me that our society has gone totally off the rails. Lots of things make me feel that way these days, but this sealed the deal. I immediately changed the channel to public television and watched Sunday night Masterpiece Theatre. Quite a contrast!
Shadow and I spent time with Ollie mid-day. We took a walk to the bogs with Joey, the little boy that lives next door. Then I took Ollie to play with a friend. Later in the afternoon, I went to a meet and greet session with a woman who is running for the State Senate seat from this district. I have never gotten involved in local politics, but I am convinced that now is the time that all of us need to be involved in politics at all levels. If we have met the people that are representing us, hopefully it will have a more dramatic effect when we call them not doing their jobs. This was a small group setting in someone’s home. I knew a couple of the people attending, but not most. I was very impressed with the level of questioning. Health care, education, the opioid crisis, climate change issues, and immigration were the topics brought forth by those of us attending. I listened carefully to this candidate’s responses. Now I need to find a way to meet some of the other candidates running for this State Senate position and hear what they have to say.
Other than being Superbowl Sunday, today was special in two other ways. Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning, indicating that we should have an early spring. Since we have not really had winter yet, that is good news, but we could have a nasty February and still have an early spring. The other thing was today’s date of 02/02/2020. This was palindrome day when the date reads the same way forwards and backwards. And this one was very special world-wide. “Unlike the date in 2002, this one reads the same in the US, where dates are written as month-day-year instead of day-month-year as in much of the rest of the world.” And it also worked for China and a few other countries that put the year first. The last time this happened was 11 November 1111.
by Judy Handley | Feb 1, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 32: Quick Trip Off-Cape
Date: Saturday, February 1, 2020
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 40 degrees, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The morning was spent reading more of the dog handling book, People Training for Good Dogs, by Melissa Berryman. In the afternoon, I made an unplanned trip to Newton, near Boston, to take the half-size violin Heather and Justin used when they were in elementary school to a violin repair shop. Ollie is ready to move up to a half-size from his current quarter-size, but the half-size needs some repairs. I have had taking the violin in for repairs on my ‘to do’ list since the first of the year, but just haven’t had the opportunity to get away. Late morning, I went over to Heather’s to take some packing boxes she needed and found that she also needed more plastic storage bins that I get at Costco. Since Costco is not far from the violin repair shop in Newton, I had just the incentive needed to take off to do these two things. I took Shadow with me and we enjoyed our travel time together. I stopped at Costco to get the storage bins first, took Shadow for a walk, and then traveled on to Newton. All I knew was the name of the place, so I put it Google Maps and arrived at Carriage House Violins. What I found out when I got inside is that the Carriage House is the instrument sales division of Johnson String Instrument, the largest stringed instrument dealer in New England. You can buy a 300 year-old violin for thousands of dollars, get an expensive violin restored, or simply get a student-grade violin repaired. It looks a little like a warehouse from the outside, but once inside you are transported into another world. 
The dark wood interior, the sound of classical violin music coming from various rooms, the overwhelming number of violins, violas, and cellos, even the way the staff dresses and move about a little more slowly than the rest of us, gives the whole place an old world feel. I thought I could just drop off the violin, but it wasn’t that easy. I was escorted to a waiting area and then met with a young man that took the violin to evaluate any repairs it might need. When he returned, he went over in detail the things that need to be done, explained why, and listed the cost of each repair for me. I could have decided to rent a new violin for a year for the same price as the repairs, but I decided to upgrade the old one. It is just a student-grade violin, but it has a history and I decided it should be given a ‘new’ life. The violin will be ready in a week and a half and I’ll return to pick it up. It was almost 5 pm by the time I got back to the car. Shadow was patiently waiting for me. I took him for another walk and then we headed back to the Cape. I love that Shadow is a good traveler and I hope he prefers traveling with me rather than spending the time in his crate at home.
by Judy Handley | Jan 31, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 31: Changing the Way I Think
Date: Friday, January 31, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 39 degrees, Low 32 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
If there was a theme in my life this week it was changing the way I think about certain things. I have been reading the fiction Pulitzer Prize winning book of the year, The Overstory by Richard Powers, that Heather gave it to me for Christmas. When you read reviews of the book, they are mixed. The Guardian review was not so favorable. The Atlantic review was laudatory. I am not quite finished with the book, but I can see both sides. But whatever side you come down on, reading the book definitely changes the way you think about trees, and more broadly about our role as ‘keepers’ of the world in which we live. I love one quote from the book, “The best arguments in the world won’t change a person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.” The Guardian review finds the story offensive. It basically says that the book was written with the purpose of converting minds to support a cause. And they say that is the opposite of literature. But the general consensus seems to be that the book was written “to help people think some other way about a world that we’re running through very quickly” and that different way of thinking is a good thing. It is definitely a story that helps reconnect us to the natural world that we have become so discounted from. And it has totally changed the way I think about trees, the forest eco-system, even the briers that I have removing from the woods around the cottage.
Today I spent my entire day reading a book by a Cape Cod author, Melissa Berryman. Sure wish I had known about Melissa and her book before I brought Shadow into my home. I would have done things very differently. But it is not too late. I just need some training to help me auto-correct. Melissa lives very close-by and trains people to better handle their dogs. Her business is called People Training for Good Dogs (PTFGD). She does not do dog training. She teaches dog owners about ‘dog handling’, or in other words, she does people training. She makes a comparison between types of dogs and Generals and Privates in the military. If you have a General, he will be in charge. If you have a Private, he’ll do what you say without question. Shadow might not have been a General when I got him, but I have allowed him to become that. Now I have to undo that. I have to be the General or the leader of the pack. It is a whole different way of thinking about being a dog owner. It fits with what Joe the Dogman said in our class on Wednesday. So much to learn. But how lucky I am that Melissa and PTFGD is less than 6 miles from here. Her training is expensive, but her approach makes so much sense to me. And I think life with Shadow will be so much better once he knows his place in the scheme of things. I will definitely become a student in training with Melissa as soon as possible.
I got word that a first cousin that I grew up with died peacefully this afternoon surrounded by family. I just talked to her three weeks ago and had no idea that her life was so close to the end. She is a year younger than me and has been struggling with different health issues for years, but still it is hard to learn that a someone so close to you in age has died. Last week my good friend Detta Porat’s mother passed away. A lot of sadness in one week. My thoughts are with Detta and her family and with my cousin Sidney Jane’s family.
by Judy Handley | Jan 31, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 30: Shadow 4, Judy 1
Date: Thursday, January 30, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 33 degrees, Low 22 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
I lost the day in terms of puppy training. Shadow won 4 battles while I won only 1. The ‘homework’ I was given by the dog trainer didn’t go smoothly. He could easily get Shadow to sit and stay even when there was a treat before him that he couldn’t have until he sat for at least 20 seconds. When I tried it, we made it only 5 seconds. It did become painfully clear to me today that I have let this beautiful, sweet puppy become Top Dog and he is not going to easily let me take his place as leader of the pack. I did win one battle and that was with using the snap collar to keep him from pulling when on a walk. That gave me my 1 point. But on 4 different occasions when I went to put his leash on to take him outside, he was nippy and just wouldn’t give in. Shadow definitely won the day today. But I will persist and hope tomorrow the score comes into my favor. We shall see.
I drove off Cape, just across the bridge to Buzzards Bay, for a 1 pm meeting with a representative from the Bourne Newcomers group to check out the technical set-up for my presentation before their Lunch and Learn group in two weeks. It is always a relief to know that the technology set-up for any presentation is in place. It was, so we adjourned to a nearby Dunkin’ Donuts to have coffee and conversation. I then drove home and took Shadow to the Dog Park as suggested by Joe the Dogman. I had never been there before and found there is large dog fenced in area, a small dog fenced in area, and a time-out area between to the two. There were lots of dogs playing in the large dog area, but they were too big and too aggressive for Shadow. We went into the small dog area where there were no dogs and played for a bit, but I’ll have to return on future days and hope that there will be some small dogs to play with. It is a really nice area and Shadow did enjoy watching the big dogs play. When we got home I took Shadow on a long walk and then I left again. This was for a Women in Newcomers dinner back across the bridge, very close to where I had been earlier in the afternoon. It was great to get together with this group, but driving across the bridge twice in one day is not something I want to do often.
Tomorrow my day starts with a vet appointment when Shadow will get a shot to prevent Lyme disease. There is not such a shot for people, but the shot for dogs has shown to be effective in somewhere between 60 and 85 per cent of the dogs who receive it. Since I live with forest on three sides, the chance of getting a tick bite is huge. And since seeing a tick on a dog with lots of black hair is almost nil, the shot seems like a good idea. After the vet appointment, we’ll come home and work on the training program. Sure hope it goes more smoothly tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Jan 29, 2020 | 2019 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 29: Leader of the Pack
Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2020
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 39 degrees, Low 24 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Today I had my first training session as a puppy owner. The first thing I learned is that Shadow thinks he is the leader of the pack, not me. And in an hour and a half I was given instruction on how to move myself into the leadership position. It all sounds so easy, but it is not. Shadow is a smart and headstrong puppy and I have to be smarter and more headstrong. We’ll have another ‘class’ in a week and half and we’ll see if I am able to be carry through with the instruction. Here’s the basic premise of the Dogman Training: “Dogs are domesticated wolves. To live successfully with your dog, you must be the pack leader. In order to get that message thru to your dog, there must be corrections. We use the leash and collar to correct our dogs because a correction on the neck makes sense to the dog.” It requires using a chain collar on Shadow and pulling or snapping it with the leash every time he doesn’t comply with instructions. I hate the idea, but I did see that it works. So, I will give it my best try. Already he walks with me on walks, not pulling me along. One of my assignments is to get him to sit and stay while I put food in front of him for a full five minutes before letting him eat. I managed 45 seconds today and that was not easy. So, we shall see. But I do like Joe, the trainer, and I will at least complete class number two before deciding if this is the training program for me and my Shadow. And the one really good thing about the session was that Shadow loved meeting Joe’s eight-month old puppy named Stubby. Shadow has not been around many other dogs, but he interacted very playfully with Stubby. Joe suggests I start taking him to the Dog Park to play with other dogs.
I took Ollie to his violin lesson this afternoon and afterwards we went to the Falmouth Pet Center and bought a couple of new fish for my aquarium. Ollie chose two Neon Tetras. Then tonight I played Mah Jongg. That is another challenging hurdle for me. Try as I might, I still can’t get all of the rules straight. But I love being with the group of women I play with and will continue on for the rest of winter and spring before deciding if this is something I want to continue.
