by Judy Handley | Nov 5, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 308: Jerusalem Artichokes and Mah Jong
Date: Monday, November 4, 2019
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 56, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
After going to the gym for a pilates class, I spent a couple of hours running errands. Then, I came home and started digging holes in which to plant the Jerusalem Artichokes transplants I got from Bruce and Jane Woodin yesterday.
I dug a line of 20 holes parallel to the driveway and put in what looked like sticks with roots. I won’t know until spring if they will thrive in the sandy soil, but I sure hope so.
I love the beautiful yellow flowers these plants produce in the late summer and fall. If my transplants survive, I’ll also enjoy eating the healthy tubers these plants produce. I have a few more to plant once I cut down some small trees. I think the transplants will survive for a few days while I figure out how to get these trees cut down.
This evening I went to a Mah Jong class. Christina Brodie from Newcomers found two other people who wanted to learn, but she needed one more. Last week she asked me to join the group and I reluctantly said yes. I have never been much of a game player, but I know it is good for your brain, so I decided to do it. The instructor is really good. That, plus the fact that I got an amazing set of tiles for my first game, allowed me to be the winner of tonight. 
It was definitely beginner’s luck, not skill, but it was fun. I’ll definitely continue the lessons for six weeks and made a decision then as to whether I want to join a group.
I made a big decision today. I have been considering getting a Labradoodle puppy for quite some time, but the right puppy had just not come along. I sent in my deposit on a chocolate and white parti (part white, part chocolate) male puppy today.
In a few days I will get to meet him to make a final, final decision, and if all goes well, he’ll be my housemate by mid-November. Very exciting!
by Judy Handley | Nov 3, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 307: Women at Sea Presentation
Date: Sunday, November 3, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 59, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was early to rise in The Cottage this morning. Heather and Ollie were off to go to a running class while I got ready for the day. 
After running class, Heather, Ollie, and I went out to breakfast and then I took off for Chatham to have lunch with Barbara Semple and then attend her Women at Sea presentation.
When I gave my Voyage of Windbird presentation to the Chatham Harwich Newcomers group in the spring, Barbara was in the audience and came up to introduce herself afterwards.
She explained that her Aunt Frances Brastow Amesbury from Rockport, Maine, had sailed with her husband, Captain Stanley Amesbury, in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s during the China Trade years. When Frances died, Barbara and her brother were given many of the artifacts from Frances’ days at sea on the Bark Adolph Obrig and the Ship William H. Macy. One of the artifacts was Frances’ diary, and in recent years Barbara has spent many hours pouring through the years of diary entries to write the story of Frances. The Women at Sea presentation comes out of those years of writing and now Barbara is starting to present it to various organizations here on the Cape. When I met her in April, she invited me to today’s presentation, so I put it on my calendar.
Barbara and her husband Paul live in a home overlooking the Nantucket Sound in Chatham. I arrived there for lunch and found the views from their dining room table absolutely breathtaking. And while having lunch, I discovered that Paul and Barbara had moved to their current retirement home from Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Hopkinton is right next to Concord and we discovered that we know many people in common. What a small world!
After the presentation, I drove to Bruce and Jane Woodin’s to dig up some Jerusalem Artichoke roots to transplant. I was late getting there and Bruce and Jane had a big bag of roots all ready for me to take home. With the time change, it was almost dark, so instead of heading home to plant right away, I stayed and had Happy Hour with them.
It was a great weekend. I loved having Ollie and Heather spent Friday and Saturday nights with me. It was a special treat. And when I got home this evening, I called to check-in and found that Jed, Sam, and Jonah had a great weekend at the Scout Turkey Shoot camp-out. Jed leaves for England for five days on Tuesday and I will be spending parts of Wednesday and Thursday helping with childcare in his absence. Heather has a 14-hour workday on Thursday. I’ll spend the night there on Wednesday so I will be there when Heather leaves at 5:30 am. I’ll get the boys off to school and then return after school to get dinner for the boys and get them into bed. Heather’s public radio station is trying to do all of their fall fund raising in one long day. Sure hope their efforts are successful.
by Judy Handley | Nov 2, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 306: Soccer Play-offs and Another Overnight
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 55, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
It was a beautiful day. It was on the chilly side, but the sun was shining and there was no wind. Ollie slept in this morning, giving Heather a little quiet time. When he got up, he and Heather read for a bit and then it was time for Ollie to eat breakfast and for Heather to go for a run. Once she got home, Ollie and I played a game of Rummikub and then it was time to get them home and for me to travel to South Dennis for Jonah’s soccer play-off game or games.
If his team won the first game, then they would play for their division championship right after. So off I went while Heather and Ollie went to his soccer game. In Jonah’s soccer play-offs, the teams ranked number 1 and number 4 played first.
When I arrived, that game had just ended with the number one team winning 9-0.
Then the 2nd and 3rd placed teams played and Jonah’s s won. Jed was actually able to escape from the Boy Scout camp-out to attend the first game, and once they won, he made the decision to stay for the final. Jonah’s team played hard, but the first place team won the game. They had a fabulous goalie and I know that Jonah was frustrated that two of his best goal attempts of the season were foiled by that goalie. But it was a well fought game and the coach was extremely pleased that the team had made it to the finals.
After the game, Jonah and Jed headed back to Scout camp and I headed home, making a stop at Whole Foods in Hyannis. Heather and Ollie decided to spend the night again tonight and I was able to buy wild Pacific salmon for Heather and I and little neck clams for Ollie for dinner. We also had red, white, and purple baby potatoes the size of marbles that were delicious, along with Brussels sprouts and salad. Ollie called it a feast, and Heather and I agreed. And the wonderful thing was that dinner took almost no time to fix. That’s the kind of feast I like! After dinner we played another game of Rummikub, a game of Trouble, and then a game of Apples to Apples. During the Apples to Apples game, we all laughed until we were nearly in tears. It was a wonderful day and a wonderful evening.
Heather and Ollie went to bed early as they plan to go running with a running class at 7:15 in the morning. It is the night that we set our clocks back and gain an extra hour of sleep, but going to a class at 7:15 am seems mighty early to me. They will return here after the class and then we are going out to breakfast. After breakfast, I head back out Cape to where I was today—not for a soccer game, but for a presentation called “Women at Sea” about women who sailed with their husbands on whaling ships.
by Judy Handley | Nov 1, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 305: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Date: Friday, November 1, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Windy AM; High 72, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Good grief, you can’t have Halloween without watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” So, tonight Heather and Ollie came over for dinner and we watched the movie that we watch every year. Like Linus, I am a believer in the Great Pumpkin and also in Santa Claus, leprechauns on Saint Patrick’s Day, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. And I always enjoy watching Charlie Brown. So it was a good evening. Heather and Ollie are spending the night here while Jed, Sam, and Jonah are away at a Scout camp-out. Jonah and two other Scouts on his soccer team will be picked up from Scout camp by the designated delivery parents who will take them to their 1:30 pm soccer play-off game. If they win, they have the final game at 3 pm.. and then back to the Scout camp-out. Heather will go with Ollie to his 1:30 pm soccer game and I will travel to Yarmouth to watch Jonah’s game. If his team wins, Heather will then come for the final. So, I’m designating tomorrow as crazy soccer day.
by Judy Handley | Oct 31, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 304: Halloween 2019
Date: Thursday, October 31, 2019
Weather: Rain Early, Then Cloudy, Then Windy; High 73, Low 51 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
Halloween 2019 was warm and balmy here on Cape Cod. We expected pouring rain all day and evening, but the rain ended by noon and the southerly winds blew in the warmth. No coats were needed for Trick or Treating tonight. Even with the wind, it felt like a warm summer evening.
When I arrived at the Goldstones, Sam and his friend Ethan were setting up the fog and light machines and getting the skeleton head that emits spooky sounds ready to greet Trick or Treaters. As the sun set, they turned on the candles in the jack-o-lanterns and Heather made up Vampire Ollie’s face.
Sam and Ethan headed out early, followed by Wizard Jed, Baseball Player Joey, Rosie the Riveter Molly, and Vampire Ollie. I dawned my black cat ears and joined Witch Heather in handing out the candy. I thought I was going to be handing out candy with Sam, but since I last talked to him, he decided that he’s not too old to go Trick or Treating after all.
And what a haul of candy the boys returned with. I didn’t talk to Justin and family today, but I did get to see a photo of Ziggy and Coco dressed in their costumes on Facebook. Coco was dressed as a female Robin Hood and Ziggy had on his scientist lab coat and BIG glasses.
by Judy Handley | Oct 30, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 303: Day Down Under
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Weather: Mostly Cloudy with Some Drizzle; High 68, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
No. I didn’t travel to Australia today. But I did spend my day Down Under. The morning was spent in my basement doing a little organizing and the afternoon was spent in Heather’s basement doing the same. And the benefit for me was that while working in Heather and Jed’s basement, I did my laundry. So, it was a win for all. On Wednesdays, I pick Ollie up from school and deliver him to his violin lesson where Heather meets us and takes over. But I really enjoy the car ride into town with Ollie. Today he went on a field trip to the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. This is only about 2 miles from here, but I have never explored there. Ollie gave me a very detailed and enthusiastic description. He obviously had a wonderful time and convinced me that I need to go there soon. This morning Jonah headed to the National Seashore with his class for a couple of days, so I didn’t get to see him this afternoon. But I did get to see Sam and we found that we were both dressed in burgundy long sleeve shirts with a dark-blue collared shirt underneath. I learned that Sam is running for Student Council and I love his platform. He wants to get healthier food served in the school cafeteria. Go, Sam!
