by Judy Handley | Apr 8, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 98: Here and There
Date: Monday, April 8, 2019
Weather: Overcast with Rain; High 51, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
My day started with a physical therapy session and a trip to the grocery store so I would have something to eat for lunch. Then I spent a couple of hours getting ready for a Voyage of Windbird presentation I make tomorrow at the Harwich Chatham Newcomers meeting here on the Cape. I roasted a chicken and started a batch chicken mineral broth. Friend, Karen Baranowski, stopped by just to catch up. And then I headed to Heather and Jed’s to take Sam to a Boy Scout commitment. I was supposed to take him to soccer practice, but the rain cancelled that and put the Scout event back on the schedule. I did some more food shopping while Sam was doing his duty and then I picked him up and took him home so he could have dinner and a little relax time before bedtime as he has his state testing for the next two days and needs to be well rested. Heather was off-Cape this evening with a work commitment and Jed was at Cub Scouts with Jonah and Ollie. I stayed with Sam until Jed got home and then came home and called it a day. I got photos from Jo when I got home of Ziggy blowing out the candles on his birthday cake today,
so evidently his birthday celebration continued for a second day. Lucky ten year-old and yummy looking cake.
The chicken mineral broth is still burbling, but I’ll get it in the refrigerator before I head to bed. I really was all over the place today . . . here and there. And tomorrow looks to be more of the same, but Wednesday looks like a day of rest. Yay!
by Judy Handley | Apr 7, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 97: Happy Birthday to Ziggy
Date: Sunday, April 7, 2019
Weather: Partly Sunny; High 50, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
The second born of my grandchildren, Ziggy Milo, celebrated his first decade of life today. He had a technology-filled 10th birthday and spent his morning building the kits he received. I talked to him via Skype video this afternoon
and he showed me the robot he had built and the computer he had put together from the Raspberry Pi kit I sent him. I also sent him an electronics kit and he had wired up a meter to track the amount of power being used by the computer. Go, Ziggy. And happy, happy birthday.
Heather, Jed, Ollie, and Jonah headed off-Cape early this morning to go to Jonah’s first soccer game of the season. I volunteered to stay home so I could pick Sam up at 11:30 when he got back from his Scout camp-out weekend. When I picked him up, I assumed he would want to go home, but he wanted to go to my house to launch the new kayak I bought a couple of weeks ago.
He ended up launching three kayaks, tied them together, and pulled them behind him—just because he could.
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He was having such a good time that I didn’t get him home until 4 pm. I dropped him off, came home to do a little organization for a sailing presentation I am giving on Tuesday, and then went back to Heather and Jed’s for dinner. Their invitation saved me as I have almost no food in my refrigerator. Tomorrow I definitely have to get to the grocery store!
by Judy Handley | Apr 6, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 96: The Long Way Home
Date: Saturday, April 6, 2019
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 58, Low 40 degrees F
Location: Back Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
After a morning walk with Leslie with beautiful seashore views, I left Rye to head west to a place called Ashburnham, Massachusetts, on the New Hampshire border. I had planned to do a surprise stop to see my niece Lynne on the way, but when I stopped to get gas and set my destination in Google Maps, I realized I really didn’t have time for that. So I decided to drive along the coast for a bit and then head west. As I left the coast to head west, I kept getting the strangest directions from Google Maps. But since I was unfamiliar with the route, I just kept following. I went through towns I had never heard of and the drive took much longer than anticipated. It should have taken me an hour and a half, but it took three and a half hours!!! I have been considering getting a puppy and a friend’s sister has a little yellow Lab boy available in Ashburnham. The farm is quite remote, but in a beautiful spot. Nancy, the puppy’s owner, is the sister of my friend Meghan, the goat lady. Nancy was in with the sheep when I arrived checking out a newly born lamb. Once she was sure the lamp was okay, she brought the puppy’s mother, Kylie, to meet me and then I met the five remaining puppies.
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and is probably going to be bigger than his mother. He is adorable, but I think a large Lab will be too big for my tiny cottage. Decisions, decisions. I make that decision tomorrow, but today I needed to get on the road home. I had checked out the timing before leaving home and thought it would take about two and half hours. But this afternoon, my phone said it would take over four hours. When you are driving alone, you just basically do what your phone tells you, but things got weirder and weirder. I was being routed on tiny little roads, no where near I 495 that I thought I would be taking for most of the trip. And in addition, my phone battery was low and I was fearful that it would shut off while I was in the middle of nowhere with no paper map. I kept stopping and trying to memorize the route, but even when I changed it to head directly to I 495, it continued on side roads. After two and half hours, I was in slightly more familiar territory and I followed my nose to the main highway. At this point, my phone was still saying I had two hours to go, but I knew it should only be an hour and a quarter at most. I looked at the route and it was taking me off I 495 and back onto side roads. Then the phone died and I drove home by the highway that I know. I was exhausted when I got here and so confused by what had happened. When talking to Heather tonight she said to check the settings on my new phone. She thought maybe it was set to avoid highways. I had no idea there was such a setting, but indeed there is and indeed my phone was set that way. Ugh. What a long way home, but I was introduced to all sorts of places where I have never been before. I guess that’s a good thing. And I’ve learned to never leave home without a paper map and a car charger for my phone.
by Judy Handley | Apr 6, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 95: From Bow to Rye, New Hampshire
Date: Friday, April 5, 2019
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High 39, Low 33 degrees F
Location: At Home with Rich and Leslie Kole, Rye, NH
Visiting with good friends in New Hampshire is always a happy time. This morning I woke up in Bow at the Kanegsberg’s and tonight I am tucked in bed in Rye, New Hampshire, in Rich and Leslie Kole’s beautiful home. Leslie and I taught together in Concord, New Hampshire, for many years, and when she retired, she and Rich moved to Rye on the seacoast. Rich is a phenomenal chef,
so dinners here are always a delight. Tonight we had a wonderful salad and a delicious shrimp and sausage paella. Good food and good company always makes for a great evening. Earlier in the day, I worked with Helaine to pack up some of the things from her kitchen cabinets that she knows she won’t need in the next month before their move. When we finished our packing job, we went to a restaurant called The Common Man for lunch. Everything about the day was delightful from beginning to end.
by Judy Handley | Apr 4, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 94: Trip to New Hampshire Plus Anniversary Wishes to J&J
Date: Thursday, April 4, 2019
Weather: Sunny; High 46, Low 23 degrees F
Location: At Home with Alan and Helaine Kanegsberg, Bow, NH
Justin and Jo were married 12 years ago today and each year they seem more madly in love. So here’s to 12 beautiful years together with wishes for many, many more.
I drove to New Hampshire this afternoon, met with my friend Detta Porat at the end of her school day to catch up on happenings, and then headed to the Concord Yacht Club meeting at Gretchen and Mike Coughlin’s in beautiful Canterbury, New Hampshire where there was still snow on the ground! As this group grows older, there are fewer and fewer members who still have boats, but there is no lack of sailing stories. No one can spin a yarn better than a seasoned sailor,
so we ate and sat around and listened to a few of those yarns. A couple of members that I haven’t seen for years were there tonight which made it a special evening for me. Alan Kanegsberg has been our Commodore for years and even though he and Helaine are moving to Massachusetts, he will continue to keep us organized. Thank you, Alan, for your dedication to this group. After the meeting, I drove back to Alan and Helaine’s to spend the night at the Hotel Kanegsberg where we stayed up late to continue talking. Wonderful evening.
by Judy Handley | Apr 3, 2019 | 2019 Life Logs |
2019 Life Logs, Day 93: Taxes Filed
Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Weather: Sunny and Windy; High 50, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home in the Cottage, East Falmouth, MA
For the first time in 45 years, I filed my own taxes today! I used a free online filing service on the IRS site which was easy. On Monday I tried using the free Turbo Tax service, but being my first attempt, I kept making errors. So, I started fresh today with a different service and things went much more smoothly. I know I filed taxes myself before I met Mark, but somehow, once we were together, that job became his and I let that be. It feels good now to have done it for myself. And I’ll get the $150 that H&R Block would have charged. Nice compensation for a couple of hours of work.
Otherwise, I got ready for a trip to New Hampshire. I leave tomorrow just after noon and head to Bedford to meet with my friend Detta after her school day. Then I travel on to Canterbury for the Concord Yacht Club meeting tomorrow evening. I end my day at the Kanegsberg’s in Bow where I will spend the night. They have sold their home to move into a beautiful state-of-the-art retirement community in Massachusetts. After many years as a regular ‘customer’, I’ll be spending my last night in the Hotel Kanegsberg. It makes me a little sad, but I am so excited for Alan and Helaine. On Friday I will travel on to the New Hampshire coast to the town of Rye to visit with my friends Leslie and Rich Kole. Then on Saturday I’ll head home. It is the first soccer Saturday of the season and I am going to miss Sam’s first game on Saturday morning. But I will go to Jonah’s Sunday game which is off-Cape.
