by Judy Handley | Mar 23, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 82: All or Nothing and a Fall
Date: Sunday March 23, 2025
Weather: Sunny and Cooler; High Temp 42, Low 33 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
More and more these days, it seems like I have incredibly busy days interspersed with days with nothing on my calendar when I just collapse and do nothing. Today was one of those days. I did have one thing on my calendar, but I ignored it and stayed home with Shadow. On these ‘do nothing days’ I still find myself on the computer for much of the day catching up on email correspondence that I have ignored on those days when I am just too busy to reply. So that was my day.
I did take time to ‘smell the roses’ so to speak, as I took inventory of spring blossoms. The snowdrops are still with us and more and more crocus are blooming. I even saw one lone yellow daffodil bloom in Heather’s neighborhood. Yesterday I noticed that Heather’s crocus were in full bloom, so I went over this afternoon to take a photo. Too late. They had closed shop for the day, but I will try again tomorrow. I didn’t just go over to take a photo of the crocus, however. I also went just to give Heather a hug. She called me mid-afternoon to let me know that Jonah fractured his left upper arm bone in a hard fall while snowboarding at Killington. He went to Killington for the weekend with a friend who is a member of the junior ski patrol there. When Heather talked to Jonah, he had no memory of his fall, but the fall was hard enough to crack his helmet. She’ll find out more once he gets home. The ER doctor who talked to Heather said that he doesn’t think he has a concussion but that he should be watched carefully for the next 36 hours. Because he has a fracture of the humerus, not a break, they will not set the arm in a cast. He will come home with his arm in a sling that he should wear for the next 7-10 days before seeing an orthopedic doctor here. The doctor explained that gravity, with minimal movement on Jonah’s part, will hopefully allow the settle back in place and surgery will not be needed. But it just depends on how the next few days go. One thing is for sure. Spring soccer is not going to happen for Jonah this year as the healing process will take about 8 weeks. And that is if all goes well. And he is probably not going to be playing the trombone for the jazz band’s big night of jazz in two weeks. For Jonah, not being able to play soccer will be very hard for him as soccer is the love of his life. But as Heather was telling me all of this, she was just so thankful that the only damage can heal with a little time. As with any accident, it could have been a lot worse.
Bedtime Jonah Update: Jonah is home and feeling okay with the help of Ibuprofen. He is really bummed about all the things he will not be able to do this spring, but when talking on the phone, he sounded upbeat and ready for the challenge. The fall was the result of a jump. He has video of him doing the jump yesterday and he did it smoothly. But watching the video of the jump, and then the fall today, felt like being punched in the gut. He was high, then BAM, he was down. There is video because he and his friend Jack were taking turns jumping while the other shot video of the jumps. Here’s hoping he can sleep tonight.
by Judy Handley | Mar 22, 2025 | Cape Cod, USA |
2025 Life Logs, Day 81: Opening Birthday Presents and Planting Peas
Date: Saturday March 22, 2025
Weather: Sunny and Windy; High Temp 49, Low 31 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Spring officially arrived on Wednesday, but I was so busy I didn’t even think about spring until today. On Thursday there was no sunshine and yesterday it rained all day. But today the sun was shining, and the temperature was much more spring-like. I went over to Heather and Jed’s at noon to watch Ollie open his birthday presents from family, followed by more chocolate birthday cake. Ollie’s presents were all on the practical side this year, but he seemed truly excited. He got the Intro to Welding class, money, a gizmo to hold things when he is soldering, a much-needed bike helmet, a fabulous organizer that can be hung on the wall, and a new pair of Vans sneakers that he didn’t need, but that he loves.
Afterwards, since it felt like spring, I asked Ollie to come over and help me plant snap peas. I needed him to get up on a ladder to hammer a bean/pea tower into the ground and then move some heavy bags of soil. We were successful and have peas in the ground. Now, we’ll have to see if it stays warm enough for them to grow.
Tonight, I went back to the Goldstones to spend the evening with Sam and Ollie. Heather and Jed were off the Falmouth Education Foundation (FEF) Gala. Sam helped me cook dinner and we had a quiet, but nice evening together.
by Judy Handley | Mar 21, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 80: Happy 13th Birthday to Oliver Preston Goldstone
Date: Friday March 21, 2025
Weather: Rain Early, Then Cloudy; High Temp 47, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Happy 13th birthday to my grandson Ollie. Today he became a teenager, and in July my granddaughter Coco turns 13. When that happens, my ‘Fabulous Five’ will all be teenagers, with one headed to college. How wonderful it is to be able to watch your grandchildren growing up.
Ollie and his friend Simon, who was born on the same day in 2012, planned a combined birthday party. They invited four shared friends to spend a couple of hours bouncing on trampolines, climbing a rock wall, attacking a ninja warrior course, and more at Nova Trampoline Park in Plymouth. The two dads went along as chaperones, while the moms stayed home to make birthday cakes. Heather made a chocolate cake for Ollie. Simon’s mom made an ice cream cake for Simon.
And when the boys got home, everyone had a bit of both. Tonight, Heather and Jed are hosting an overnight for the six boys. The wonderful thing about being a grandparent is that you can say goodnight and go home for a quiet night’s sleep!
After three months of not taking Shadow to the groomer, I caved and took him today. It is so expensive, but for a dog who has hair that grows, versus fur, you really have no choice. He was a matted mess, but when I picked him up, he was his handsome self. I’ll be taking him to be groomed regularly once again.
After dropping Shadow off, I went to a PT session for my neck, and then I spent the remainder of my day searching for an intro class to welding as a birthday present for Ollie. The place that seemed the best fit for the best price was in Plympton, near Plymouth. Their website gives only an email address. I emailed a week ago but had heard nothing back. So, I drove to Plympton with only a street name, no detailed address and no phone number. I put the name of the welding shop in Google Maps, but when I got there, I did not find a welding shop. I went to the Town Hall. Closed on Fridays. I went to the Fire Department next door and couldn’t find anyone around. I thought that surely someone would know where I could find the shop. I finally went to the Police Department and no one there had ever heard of the place. But the receptionist and two officers did everything they could to search for me. They finally found a phone number which they called, but no one answered. Finally, they found an address. Success! I was able to arrange for a private 4-hour intro to welding class for Ollie and Jed.
While driving around today, I listened to NPR. How depressing it is to listen to the news these days. But tonight, when I got home, I hopped on my exercise bike while watching The Rachel Maddow Show. Watching the replay from today of our Secretary of Commerce Lutnick was not just depressing, it actually brought tears. It really hurt to watch him saying that if Social Security didn’t send our their checks this month only fraudsters would complain. Fraudsters? I live on a fixed income. My teacher retirement and Social Security are my only sources of income. I paid into both of those for the 30 years that I was an educator. I have a few thousand dollars in savings, but literally just a few. Lutnick’s exact words were, “Anybody who’s been in the payment system and the processes, knows the easiest way to find the fraudster is to stop payments and listen, because whoever screams is the one stealing,” If I don’t get my Social Security check, I will have to use my meager savings to pay the rent. But there are thousands of people who worked hard at even lower paying jobs than a teacher that have no savings. Those of us in this situation are going to ‘scream’ and we are not stealing. We would only be asking for what we have earned. Hearing Lutnick’s words was just a step too far for me. “Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their check this month. My mother-in-law is 94. She wouldn’t call and complain. She just wouldn’t. She would think something got messed up and she’ll just get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise screaming, yelling, and complaining.” Obviously Lutnick’s mother doesn’t depend on her Social Security to pay her rent!
by Judy Handley | Mar 20, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 79: Luncheon, Meeting, Meeting, Town Hall
Date: Thursday March 20, 2025
Weather: Cloudy, Foggy; High Temp 47, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
These are busy days. I attended an Encore Lunch In at noon, wedged in a short meeting where I decided to run in the town election for a 3-year position as one of the Trustees of the Public Library and went to Town Hall to pull my papers to make it official,
attended an Encore gathering of new board members for next year, and then traveled off the Cape for a 6:30 pm Town Meeting with our Representative to the US House, Bill Keating.
Keating entered the political world in 1977, so he is certainly not new to representing his constituency. And in the past 60 days, he has stood up for what is right. But tonight was a tough meeting. There were a few very angry people who want to know what Democrats in Washington are going to do to stop the dismantling of our government. Keating calmly explained that there is not a lot Democrats can do right now. But that answer was not what these people wanted to hear. I guess it is an answer that none of us wants to hear. I support what Keating has been doing up to this point, but I agree that playing by the rules might not be a strategy against actions made by the opposing party who is not playing by any rules. The one thing that was made clear is that it is up to the people to make their voices heard.
by Judy Handley | Mar 19, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 78: Meeting, Meeting, Meeting, Meeting
Date: Wednesday March 19, 2025
Weather: Partly Sunny; High Temp 48, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
My two-year term as Co-President of Encore is coming to an end, but I somehow got myself nominated to be the Vice President of Programs for next year. At some point, I did say I would fill the position if absolutely no one else would do it. Evidently, no one would. So, this morning I met with the woman who will be the Assistant VP with me, along with the other Co-President and next year’s President. The woman I will be working with next year on programming is a delightful person. I look forward to working with her to bring interesting programs to our Encore monthly meetings.
Next was a Woodwell Climate Research Center (WCRC) webinar entitled, “Navigating Federal Policy with Woodwell Climate.” I wanted to tune in to this to try and understand how Woodwell plans to keep their presence at the federal government level in these trying times.
I had a lunch break, took Shadow to the Vet for annual vaccinations, answered some emails, and then was off to an Exploring Public Policy meeting. Charlotte Harris, Chair of the Town of Falmouth Planning Committee, came to talk with us about the role of the Planning Committee in terms of dealing with Falmouth’s affordable/attainable housing crisis. I had never met Charlotte, but she has been on the Planning Committee for ten years and is a wealth of information.
One more meeting to go. I went to Woodwell for a documentary screening and Zoom ‘conversation’ with John Francis. The documentary tells the story of his 17 years of silence and 22 years of walking. John Francis. Born in Philadelphia in 1946, the son of a West Indian immigrant, he moved to Marin County in California as a young man and has been an American environmentalist for over 55 of years. It all began with the oil spill in the Gulf of San Francisco in 1971. His struggle to rationalize his lifestyle in the face of such destruction led him to give up traveling in motorized vehicles and eventually to stop talking for 17 years. He felt like he needed to listen, not talk. He started walking from California to Oregon where he stopped to get a college degree. He walked on to Montana where he got his master’s degree, all the while remaining silent. Walking on to Wisconsin, he got his Ph.D. And then on to Washington, DC, to assist the US Coast Guard in their response to the Exxon Valdez disaster. He is an amazing man and question and answer session with him afterwards was truly inspiring.
by Judy Handley | Mar 18, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 77: Archie by Day, Indivisible Meeting by Night
Date: Tuesday March 18, 2025
Weather: Partly Sunny, Cooler; High Temp 43, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
I was at home today, dog sitting a puppy for a friend who was leading a field trip today. The puppy’s name is Archie, and he is very cute but very shy. He and Shadow tolerate each other, but don’t play together. It took me all morning, but I finally got Archie to sit on my lap and Shadow joined us.
Tonight, I attended the weekly Upper Cape Indivisible meeting. The meeting began with a view out the windows of an incredible sunset.
Then, we had guest speakers from PFLAG speaking on behalf of the transgender population at this very trying time. One speaker was transgender and there were two speakers who are parents of adult transgender children. It was terrifying to me to hear how afraid they are for the lives of their children right now. It was a very informative and emotionally moving meeting.
