by Judy Handley | Sep 25, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 269: Full Day
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2024
Weather: Partly Sunny; High Temp 65, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
My day began with my walk with Shadow and lodging another appeal for my sister. Then I was off the a meeting that lasted into to afternoon. Once home, I worked on house cleaning and organization as I am hosting my wine group on Saturday night. I picked Ollie up from his after-school meeting and we headed to the high school to watch part of Sam and Jonah’s soccer game. Then Ollie came over with the leaf blower to do a little yard clean-up for me. That is as much as I could pack into this day! Tomorrow is more of the same. I have another all morning meeting and then it is back to the house cleaning which is really just getting rid of or organizing the clutter that seems to build up over time.
by Judy Handley | Sep 24, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 268: Early Release Day
Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2024
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High Temp 64, Low 53 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
On Early Release days the Goldpebbles only have a half day of school. They have the afternoon off so teachers can engage in professional development activities. I have always loved helping out on Early Release days as it has given me a way to be a part of Sam, Jonah, and Ollie’s lives during the busy school year. It is different now that they are older, but today I was there’ just in case’ and so that they could have friends over. Heather headed to New York City today and Jed and a full day of work, so starting at noon I was at their house as boys came and went. Sam and Jonah had soccer practice until 1:30 and Ollie was hanging out with Simon, who lives in the neighborhood, and Seton who was invited to Simon’s for the afternoon. But since I was there, the three of them came in and played on the Xbox until Sam and Jonah, and two of Jonah’s friends, came home from soccer practice.
Then the younger boys got back on their bicycles and the big boys got on the Xbox for a bit before going outside to play soccer and just hang out. While they did that, I got dinner in the oven for Jed and the boys, and then late afternoon took Ollie to his sax lesson. He was excited about this lesson as it was his first on his new tenor sax. A couple of weeks ago, his band teacher asked if any of the sax players would like to go from alto to tenor and Ollie volunteered. It is so much bigger than the alto, but after his lesson today, he was even more excited.
by Judy Handley | Sep 23, 2024 | Cape Cod, USA |
2024 Life Logs, Day 267: Less Than 100 Days to 2025
Date: Monday, September 23, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy; High Temp 63, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Some things never change. I did not do what I planned for today. I never got to doing what I stated in yesterday’s log of getting some healthy salads and a soup made, and so I would have heathy lunch and dinner choices for the rest of the week. I wanted to make a broccoli and cauliflower salad, my favorite edamame salad, and my mainstay vegetable soup. Maybe tomorrow? I doubt it as it is Early Release Day, and I will be at the Goldstones in case I am needed. Heather heads to New York City for Climate Week tomorrow morning, so I offered to be on ‘duty’ and to fix dinner for Jed and the boys. Today I just had a laid-back day planning for the Octoberfest I will be hosting for my wine group on Saturday, doing a little house cleaning, and dealing with some of my sister’s needs. She is really putting forth great effort now that she can stand on both legs again. All good news for now.
Just a reminder. Yesterday was day 266 of this leap year which has 366 days. That means we are now in the 100-day countdown to Day 366. So, if you still have things you want to get done in 2024, you’d better get busy.
by Judy Handley | Sep 22, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 266: Fall Has Arrived
Date: Sunday, September 22, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, but No Rain; High Temp 66, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
The autumnal equinox was at 8:43 am this morning EDT and when I opened the door to take Shadow out for his morning walk, it certainly looked like fall in my yard. Yesterday and through the night, the wind had blown enough leaves off the trees to cover the ground. The leaves are not yet changing their colors here but leaves on the ground surely make it look like fall. And the temperature has fallen enough that I needed a jacket for my walk this morning. I am still hoping for the return of warm weather and sunshine, but I can no longer say it feels like summer.
Today I spent much of my time in the kitchen cooking. And this evening I took chicken soup with matzah balls over to the Goldstones to have dinner with the Goldpebbles. Heather and Jed were going to a Falmouth Farming dinner, and I volunteered to cook dinner for the boys. Heather is headed to NYC for Climate Week, making Jed a single parent for most of this week. So, I also made some chili that Ollie and Sam can take in their lunches. I am going to continue my work in the kitchen tomorrow. I was so busy over the summer that I didn’t have time spend my Sundays making healthy things to eat to carry me through the week. Tomorrow I will focus on making healthy things for me to eat!
by Judy Handley | Sep 21, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 265: Happy 5th Birthday to My Shadow
Date: Saturday, September 21, 2024
Weather: Overcast with Rain All Day; High Temp 60, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
Shadow actually turned 5 years old yesterday, but Ollie and I have an agreement that we will always celebrate his birthday on the 21st. Ollie’s birthday is on the 21st of March and Sam’s is on the 21st of January, so we agreed to fudge Shadow’s birthday to the 21st as well. Today was a truly dreary day and it rained from morning to night. Shadow and I put on our raincoats for our morning walk, but by the time we had walked around the block, we were both soaked. I decided a longer walk would have to wait until the rain stopped. It didn’t stop, but it did slow down enough that late this afternoon we walked around the block again. But it was miserable, so that was it for our walking day.
I managed to spend my entire day on my computer. I was doing things that needed to be done, but I had no idea it would take me all day. I did go to the store to buy some food, but that was it. I gave Shadow a stuffed hedgehog for his birthday. He looked at it for quite a long time before attacking, but once he had taken a chunk out of the hedgehog, he set him aside.
I find it hard to believe that I have had Shadow for five years, but he was indeed born in September of 2019, and I brought him home with me in mid-November. A medium-sized labradoodle in good health can live 12-15 years. Since Shadow still looks and acts like a puppy, I’m hoping he still has at least 10 more birthdays. Happy birthday, Shadow!
by Judy Handley | Sep 20, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 264: Day Trip to Springfield to Visit with Lynne Kirwin
Date: Friday, September 20, 2024
Weather: Overcast with Rain, Gale Warning; High Temp 65, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth, MA
My friend Lynne Kirwin, along with two of her sisters, flew into Hartford, Connecticut from Michigan yesterday and made their way to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. They came to visit for a few days with the fourth sister. Her name is Hope and she has a summer place in Pittsfield in the Berkshires. Since Lynne was here for 10 days at the end of July into August but I only got to see her for a day and a half, I told her I would drive out to see her if she had time. When she arrived yesterday, her sister seemed to have every minute of their visit planned, but this morning Lynne sent a text saying the others were going to the Norman Rockwell Museum. She had visited on another trip to see her sister and said she would skip it if I could come. She wanted to meet halfway, but since I had about 2 minutes to figure out where we could meet, I suggested Springfield and gave her the name of a restaurant that came up when I Googled ‘vegetarian lunch restaurants in Springfield’. It was a 2 ½ hour drive for me with traffic around Worcester and an hour for her. That seemed fair to me since she spent all of her time here dog sitting Shadow while I went to visit with my sister. She arrived at the restaurant first and called to tell me the door was locked. I was about 5 minutes away, so we agreed for me to continue on and once I got there, we could figure something else out. Actually, the restaurant was open, but for take-out only. We both had to go to the bathroom, so we both got in my car and traveled on to the next restaurant on my list. It was in town and there were no parking spots available. But we found a couple of friendly guys doing valet parking, so we left my car with them and walked to the restaurant. The street it was on was under construction, but with the help of a women we asked for directions, we found our way around the construction site and had a delightful lunch in a little hole in the wall restaurant called Noche Café and Restaurant in The Marketplace in Springfield. It had great food and was also a bookstore. I had falafels wrapped in phyllo dough and Lynne had a black bean burger, also wrapped in phyllo dough and served between focaccia bread
Both were delicious and the setting was perfect. We ate and talked for two hours and then we were both back on the road. The visit was far too short, but it was great to see Lynne. She heads back to New Zealand in October, so I won’t see her again until she returns to Michigan for her summer visit next year.
The drive home took an hour longer than the morning drive to Springfield. The weather in Springfield was overcast with no rain, but as I drove back to the east, the rain started. It got heavier and heavier and was raining so hard it was difficult to see the last 50 miles. But it was worth it. In addition to spending time with Lynne, I got to see the first colors of fall. Leaves are falling here in Falmouth, but there are no fall colors showing. But the closer you get to Boston and as you drive to the west, the leaves are beginning to turn. Last week it still felt like summer, but this week it is evident that fall is coming. Sunday is the autumnal equinox, but when this rain ends and the sunshine returns, I will hold on to summer as long as I can.
