by Judy Handley | Jan 8, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 08: Catastrophic Fires in the Los Angeles Area
Date: Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Weather: Same, Same–Sunny, Windy, Cold; Temp 29, Low 19 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
It has been cold for days, but the wind today was brutal at times. Right now, it is 22 degrees outside, but WeatherUnderground says it feels like 7 degrees F. Brrrrr. But no complaints. It could be a lot worse.
I read about the fires in the Los Angeles area last night, but it was not until this morning that I realized just how catastrophic the situation really was. When I saw that it was not just the Pacific Palisades area, but that there were other fires that started during the night in different areas of Los Angeles (specifically in Pasadena). that I got concerned for my friends Kevin and Claire, Kevin’s mother, and his sister’s family. His mother lives in Pasadena, and his sister and family live close-by in Eagle Rock. I knew that Kevin and Claire had put their little motor home in storage in Pasadena while they flew to Toronto for the 80th birthday celebration for Claire’s mom, but I did not know when they were returning. So, I sent a text and Kevin called immediately. He said they returned to Pasadena and got the van out of storage yesterday. They were planning to leave for Mexico this morning, so they parked the van just outside where his mother lives. He said the winds were unbelievably strong last night and he had to carefully place the van in the hope that none of the very tall palm trees on the street fell on it overnight. When they got up this morning, the tallest tree in the neighborhood had fallen on another tree and a utility pole and that whole mess was blocking one end of the street. The entire area was smoky, and ash was falling all around. But they didn’t think they should head across to Arizona because there were reports of 70 mile an hour gusts in the desert. When we hung up, Kevin said they were getting his mom to pack a bag, and they would take her to his sister’s home. Then they would all go to a friend of his sister’s which was a little further away from the fires. I was hoping they would get his mother with his sister and then head out of town. But plans were changing even as we spoke. I heard from Claire at 7:30 tonight telling me they had decided to get away from the fires and cross the desert and that they were now in Phoenix. They used Windy (a weather app Mark and I used for ocean navigation) to time each leg of their trip to Phoenix to miss any dangers. And she said it certainly looked like they did miss dangers as they saw five to ten trucks blown over on their way. But now they are stuck in Phoenix for the night due to a freeze warning on the way to Nogales in Mexico, their next stop. As Claire said in her text, the drama never ends. But I will sleep more peacefully tonight knowing they are away from the fires. All of this made the stories about the fires today much more personal. I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose an entire town in 24 hours. It sounds like Pacific Palisades is simply burned to the ground. In 1975, Mark and I lived in Santa Monica for six weeks while he was producing a public television pilot program. We could walk over to a residential area of Pacific Palisades from where we lived and often did. And some of his filming was in Topanga Canyon. It makes me so sad to think about those beautiful areas being burned to a crisp. I guess the only thing we can do is hope those winds die down completely overnight, stopping the rapid spread of the fires. The last report I heard said the winds have died down enough that the helicopters can now be used to try and control the fires, but that the wind that is blowing tonight is blowing the fire toward Hollywood.
I had a hard time focusing today because I kept turning on the television to find out what was happening with the fires. But I did manage to start my chucky granola clusters experiment. I have been making granola since I lived in northern Minnesota in the mid to late 1970’s, but I have never wanted chunky granola. But a few days ago, Sam asked me if I could make some chunky granola that he could eat as treats. I did a little research and found three recipes I wanted to try. I made two of them today and will make the third tomorrow and then have a taste test. When I picked Ollie up after school today and told him about my experiment, he suggested that I adjust my recipe and try that as well. So, I might make a fourth option tomorrow as well.
by Judy Handley | Jan 7, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 07: Birthday Luncheon at Fisherman’s View
Date: Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Weather: Sunny, Windy and Cold; Temp 26, Low 19 degrees F (feels 12 degrees colder)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
The women in my Dining-In group gather for birthdays throughout the year. But with travel schedules, we often have to combine birthdays and celebrate more than one at a time not really close to either. But the thought is there. Today we celebrated Karen Baranowski’s January birthday and Midge Frieswyk’s February birthday. This is the last time we will all be together again until the next March birthdays celebration in April. We will still get together between now and then, just not everyone be present. Today we met at The Fisherman’s View on the Cape Cod Canal. It is a great location with good food and we enjoyed great conversation as well.
Late afternoon, I took Ollie to his saxophone lesson and went to Karen and Peter Baranowski’s during the lesson. They live about 5 minutes from the lesson location, and it was just the right amount of time for the three of us to have a toast to the new year. It was one of those “must drink this wine” events. On Sunday evening, I put a bottle of Southern Right sauvignon blanc in the freezer to get cold quickly before Heather and Jed arrived. However, they decided on a red wine and I forgot all about the wine in the freezer until after they went home. The wine bottle had not broken, but the wine had frozen enough that it had pushed the cork most of the way out. That meant it needed to be enjoyed this week and tonight’s short New Year’s toast with the Baranowski’s was a perfect time. After the sax lesson, I returned home to have dinner and can the Magic Mineral Broth I made last night. I ended up with 5 quarts and 9 pints. I got on the scale with the pot of broth to see just how much it weighed. It was 26 pounds including the pot, so you can see why it is difficult for me to lift all of the broth in the one pot. And before the vegetables and chicken bones are removed, it would have weighed 32 pounds. You can see why it is difficult for me to life the whole thing to move it off the stove.
by Judy Handley | Jan 6, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 06: Magic Mineral Broth Day
Date: Monday, January 6, 2025
Weather: Overcast; Temp 27, Low 17 degrees F (feels 10 degrees colder)
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
On the twelfth day of Christmas, I made some magic in my kitchen. The recipe I use for making bone broth is called Magic Mineral Broth, thus the magic. You start with a 16-quart pot and the bones of a roasted organic chicken. You add to that a bunch of celery, 6 carrots, 2 onions, 4 red potatoes, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 garnet sweet potato, 1 leek, kombu seaweed, a bunch of parsley, juniper seeds, peppercorns, vinegar, 5 garlic cloves, and 8 quarts of water. The pot is brimming to the top, so you carefully bring it to a boil and then turn down the heat and let it burble for 8-10 hours. The only work time involved on this first day is getting the veggies washed and in the pot. That takes about 30 minutes. Then just before bedtime, you spend another 20 minutes or so, getting the broth separated from everything else. The problem with this is that the pot is incredibly heavy, so I have to use a colander to get one batch at a time separated and then divide the broth into two pots so I can carry them outside to sit overnight. Tonight I was curious as to how much the bones and veggies weigh, so I put the compost bag they were in on the scale. Just the waste weighs over 6 pounds! In warmer weather I have to fit the pots in the refrigerator which is a real pain. So, I prefer making the broth in the wintertime when I can use the outdoor freezer. Tomorrow I will skim off the fat and can the broth.
I want to thank Heather and Jed for the time they took on Sunday night to put some new lighting in my kitchen. Tonight, when I was straining the broth, I could not believe how much easier everything was with the new lighting. When I moved into this house, lighting was needed everywhere, but the kitchen was particularly dim. But months went by without me doing anything about it. Just before Christmas I saw a light strip in Heather and Jed’s basement that they were taking to the Swap Shop. I grabbed it and that is what they installed for me tonight. It is fabulous. Thank, thank you, H and J.
The only other thing I did today was spend the evening with the Goldpebbles while Heather attended her bi-monthly Select Board meeting and Jed attended his bi-monthly Health Board meeting. On those Monday nights, I consider it my “civic duty” to fix dinner for the boys. I love doing it as it gives me a chance to catch up on what is happening in Jonah and Sam’s lives. I see Ollie almost every day, but now that Sam and Jonah are in high school I see less and less of them. So I cherish my Monday nights with them. Tonight, we had veggie curry, butter chicken and rice, and chicken pakoras. It was the first time I had ever made the pakoras and all three boys loved them.
by Judy Handley | Jan 5, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 05: Sunday Dinner with the Goldstones minus Sam
Date: Sunday, January 5, 2025
Weather: Cloudy, A Little Less Wind; Temp 34, Low 21 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Right now it is 28 degrees outside, but it feels like 16 degrees according to WeatherUnderground. It has been like this for the past few days, and I think the rest of this week will be mostly the same. Cold and windy, making it feel colder than it really is. But the wind was a little less this morning, so Shadow and I were back to our longer morning walk. I started the steroid regime this morning, the one prescribed by the health clinic doctor on Friday. The warnings that came with the drug said I might make me a little hyped. For whatever reason, by noon I was totally exhausted and had to take a nap. Weird. But after the nap, I was fine.
I invited Heather and family over for dinner tonight. I attempted to roast a brisket for the first time in my life and I totally failed. It was overcooked and I didn’t like the marinade, but I tried and no one mentioned how bad it was. And thank you to Ollie who sliced it for me.
Despite my culinary failure, we still managed to have a nice dinner together, but we missed Sam who was not with us tonight. College applications are due at 11:59 pm tonight, so he stayed home putting on the final touches. He still has about half an hour left, so good luck, Sam.
by Judy Handley | Jan 4, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 04: Day of Impromptu Happenings
Date: Saturday, January 4, 2025
Weather: Sunny, NE Wind Continues; Temp 31, Low 26 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
One of the things I loved about sailing across the South Pacific was the hospitality of the local people on the islands. No matter how humble the abode–sometimes a thatched roof hut, other times a small concrete block home, big village or small one–as Mark and I walked through the villages, people would always invite us in for a cup of tea or a local treat of some sort. These impromptu meetings gave us a true view of how Pacific islanders live day to day. Somehow, they always had a kettle boiling and always had food of some sort to share. It felt so carefree and welcoming. This afternoon an invitation to the visit with Bruce and Jane Woodin felt that way. It started with Jane wanting to drop off some beef bones for Shadow. I was not at home, and she ended up not coming to drop them off. But I said I would come pick them up later. One thing led to another, and we ended up having an impromptu 4-course dinner of leftovers and some veggie soup I contributed. Jane brought out the food and served each course like a formal dinner. We had roasted brussels sprouts for the first course, my veggie soup for course number two, steak and shrimp straight off a Japanese hibachi grill( a couple of nights ago) served with rice for the third course, and leftover chocolates and cookies from Christmas for dessert. No one had to cook, and we had a great meal with lots of time for conversation. It was such fun!
My day started as usual with a walk with my Shadow. The temperature these days is misleading as it is much lower than the number showing due to wind chill. On my walks with Shadow, I have been wearing infinity scarf I got from Justin and Jo for Christmas like a balaclava. Wrapped twice around my neck, I can bury my face into it to protect from it from the wind. It has been keeping me warm on my walks with Shadow on these very cold, windy days we are experiencing.
This morning I walked only a half mile, despite the sunshine, as my hands were freezing despite the new wool gloves I got from the Goldstones for Christmas. When we got home, I realized I didn’t really have a plan for the day. So on the spurs of the moment, I decided to drive to Hyannis to go to Whole Foods. I have been needing a couple of food items that I can get only there or online from Amazon. So off I went–another impromptu happening in my day.
The final impromptu happening in my day was watching a rerun of Nicole Wallice’s Deadline Whitehouse program on MSNBC. When I got home from Bruce and Jane’s, I sat down at the computer to write my log. I was recording the weather and that prompted me to turn on the television to see if there was an update on the weather channel about the storm crossing the middle of the US. But before I could change to the weather channel, I got completely immersed in the program that was on. Nicole Wallace’s program is on MSNBC every week day at 4 pm, but tonight’s rerun was from this past week. She had an hour-long interview with documentary film maker Ken Burns. I watched the entire hour. It started with Ken Burns talking about his Civil War documentary that came out in the early 1990’s and how much of what was happening in the 1860’s in this country is mirrored in the present. It went on to relate material from some of his other documentaries to the present time, but there was one thing that he said that really stuck with me. Nicole mentioned that many people are just burying their heads in the sand currently, just not watching the news because it can be so depressing. His response was something to the effect that sitting in the fetal position and sucking your thump is not going to benefit anyone. He stated that we all need to stay involved in some way to help move our country forward. I agree with him, but I also realize that it is really hard to find the best way to be involved right now. I was so glad that I got to see this program, totally by accident, and really glad to be reminded by Ken Burns of how important it is to stay involved.. Today made me a new fan of ‘impromptu’.
by Judy Handley | Jan 3, 2025 | 2025 Sailing Logs |
2025 Life Logs, Day 03: A Trip to the Community Health Center
Date: Friday, January 3, 2025
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Still Windy; Temp 38, Low 24 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
This saga began in late October with the beginnings of a sinus infection. It wasn’t full blown, but because I was going to be flying to North Carolina, my doctor prescribed an antibiotic. I hoped that would be the end of that. And it was until I got back from North Carolina. That was when I started having some pain just below my left ear. I thought maybe it was a dental issue, but I had a dental cleaning appointment and x-rays and the dentist gave me a clean bill of dental health. I then flew to Puerto Rico and was fine while there, but again on my return I had a sore throat, but only on that left side. That made me think it might be tonsilitis. I used a salt solution to gargle and heat on the neck area and everything was fine over the Christmas week in Maine. But when I got home, the very stiff neck and sore throat on one side only came back. Then, when I woke up this morning, the stiffness and pain from my ear and neck had traveled on to my upper left arm. That prompted me to go the Community Health Center. I arrived at 11:30 and thought I would be home no later than 1 pm. But I barely made it home in time to pick Ollie up at 2:45. I still have absolutely no idea what is causing this, but after a very long interview with the doctor and then an EKG and all sorts of x-rays, I was told that there doesn’t seem to be a cause. I do have postnasal drip, but my tonsils, my esophagus, my heart, and my ears are all fine. After 3 hours, I was prescribed a short term steroid, told to take Claritan, use a nasal spray, and buy a new pillow. Very frustrating, but good to know it doesn’t appear to be anything serious.
