by Judy Handley | Aug 19, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 232: Looking Ahead to the Start of School
Date: Monday, August 19, 2024
Weather: Rain Until Late Afternoon; High Temp 74, Low 65 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
Yes, it is that time of year. The first day of school is only a couple of weeks from now, so today Ollie and I worked on getting ready. Sam and Jonah will be returning to high school, Sam as a senior. How did that happen? I find myself tearing up every time I think about it. But they are independent young men now and don’t need Oma’s help getting ready for school. Ollie, on the other hand, is moving from elementary school to middle school where things are done differently than in his past seven years. The middle school here has a dress code. Students cannot wear clothing that has any logo showing. So, today’s job was to go through the bins of clothing that Sam and Jonah have outgrown and pull out the pants and shirts that are Lawrence Middle School ‘approved’. We had to order a few shirts to supplement and hem some shorts that were a little too long. I need to finish the hemming tomorrow and that should get Ollie in good shape clothes wise.
Right now, I am watching the Democratic Convention while writing this. It is much more interesting than my day, so I will close and give the freedom convention my full attention. I can feel the energy right through the television.
by Judy Handley | Aug 18, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 231: Falmouth Road Race Day
Date: Sunday, August 18, 2024
Weather: A Little Rain Early, Overcast; High Temp 73, Low 66 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
By the time Shadow and I got to Lawrence Middle School this morning, the runners who gathered there very early had all been transported to Woods Hole and trucks were bringing back the porta potties from the other gathering places. And it was only 8:30. But by that time, the wheel-chair division of the race was starting in Woods Hole. Just after 10 am, I ventured out in my car to see how close to the Falmouth Heights Road section of the race I could get a parking spot. Cars were parked everywhere, but I was able to get close enough to walk a short distance to watch the runners for a bit. I will have to plan better next year. It is really not much fun to go by yourself so when hordes of people started walking back to town from the finish line, I high tailed it home. Heather, Jed, and Ollie rode their bikes to Falmouth Heights Beach and their volunteer work didn’t end until after noon. Riding their bikes home was a bit crazy. When there are more than 12,000 runners and thousands of spectators, I guess you have to expect it to be a bit crazy. But now that the Road Race is over and the tourist season is coming to a close, the traffic in town on a normal day be back to Falmouth normal.
I got another invite from Heather to come to dinner tonight. Sam was home tonight, so it was great to have the whole family together.
by Judy Handley | Aug 17, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 230: Quiet Saturday, Sushi Dinner with Goldstones
Date: Saturday, August 17, 2024
Weather: Cloudy and Cool; High Temp 69, Low 64 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
Today was a slow and quiet Saturday. Shadow and I started our day with our daily walk which takes us through the entrance and parking lot of Lawrence Middle School before heading home. That has been a busy place this week. Last Sunday well over 200 porta potties were brought there to be stored for tomorrow’s 52nd Falmouth Road Race. The number of runners who run this race varies from year to year, but it is usually more than 12,000. The race starts in Woods Hole where there is no parking, so early tomorrow morning the runners will gather at Lawrence Middle School, the high school, and another site or two and be taken from there by bus to Woods Hole. Yesterday those 200 plus porta potties were still at Lawrence, but this morning there were only 20. The remainder had been taken to other places where they will be needed tomorrow morning. The parking lot was full of trucks loaded with orange temporary fencing which is put up in various places around town. By the time Shadow and I walk at 8:30 am tomorrow morning, all the runners will have been transported to Woods Hole. Heather, Jed, and Ollie are volunteering at the finish line at Falmouth Heights Beach tomorrow morning. It is a seven-mile race. It is going to be in the low 70’s tomorrow morning, cloudy, and not too windy. Good conditions for running.
Tonight the Goldstones invited me over for home-made sushi. Sam was on Martha’s Vineyard tonight with his friends attending the fair, but I did get to see him earlier in the afternoon when I stopped by to say hello since I had not seen the boys since they returned from Maine yesterday. Jed cut the salmon and Heather made the rolls and sushi. Ollie made what I call an inside out roll tonight that was delicious. He put Saran Wrap on the rolling matt to keep the rice from sticking, covered it with rice, then salmon and cucumber, then Nori, and rolled it, sprinkling it with sesame seeds. It makes a beautiful and delicious roll with the rice on the outside. Fun evening.
by Judy Handley | Aug 16, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 229: Illuminating Encore Trip to Martha’s Vineyard
Date: Friday, August 16, 2024
Weather: Some Sun, Some Clouds; High Temp 75, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
In Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard sits an open-air tabernacle surrounded by gingerbread cottages that ‘evolved’ in the 1800’s. It all started in 1835 when Jeremiah Pease and six other Methodist men secured land to hold a religious camp meeting. It began as a simple preacher’s stand with plank seating. Eventually a canvas tent was erected. As the years progressed, more and more people came, staying in tents put up around the tabernacle. Then platforms were built to put the tents on. And eventually, small cottages were built on those platforms. Some say the gingerbread cottage village on Martha’s Vineyard is one of the quaintest places on earth. Grand Illumination Night on the third Wednesday of August has been happening in this quaint little gingerbread village since 1869. Lanterns of all kinds light up the cottages. Then more recently on the third Friday of August, they added fireworks to mark the end of the summer season.
This evening, I got aboard The Patriot in Falmouth Harbor, to travel with fellow Encore members to watch the fireworks.
Some went out to dinner in one of the many restaurants and others of us took our dinner with us and found a quiet corner to eat and then walk the main street on our way to the park to wait for the fireworks. The wait was a bit long as the fireworks didn’t start until 9:15 pm.
Our boat was supposed to leave at 9:30, but the captain delayed for about 15 minutes and then we watched the end of the fireworks display on our way out of the harbor.
It was a fun trip!
by Judy Handley | Aug 15, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 228: A Day of Accomplishment
Date: Thursday, August 15, 2024
Weather: Partly Sunny AM, Thunderstorms Late PM; High Temp 77, Low 61 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
Somedays it takes all day to get nothing done. Then there are days like today when you spend the whole day getting things done you have been putting off for weeks. The huge pile of Encore paperwork that needed to be filled in the correct notebooks got done today. Then the call to Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina about my sister’s Medicare Advantage insurance finally happened. It took over an hour, but I got all my questions answered. I had sent them a copy of the legal paperwork naming me as Patsy’s Healthcare POA, but today I learned that does not give them permission to talk to me. So, I had to scan in the 17-page Durable POA paperwork so that at least someone can talk to them. And the agent helped me file other forms that will allow me to see Patsy’s account online. Just as I was finishing all of that, the rolling thunder started and eventually we got a whopper of a thunderstorm followed by an entire evening of rain. Heather came over for dinner and we talked the night away. Jed and the boys return from Maine early tomorrow to try and avoid the worst of the traffic headed to the Cape for Falmouth Road Race weekend.
by Judy Handley | Aug 14, 2024 | 2024 Life Logs |
2024 Life Logs, Day 227: Encore Board Meeting, Hurricane Ernesto
Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Weather: Partly Sunny; High Temp 77, Low 62 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
I saw a quote on my Facebook feed today that said, “Somedays it takes me all day to get nothing done.” I can’t believe how many days this summer I have felt that way. Today, my morning was spent at an Encore board meeting, but then I amazingly spent the rest of the day getting nothing done, at least nothing of consequence. I did a little bit of this and a little bit of that, a little food shopping, a little Encore work, a little communicating with people about my sister, and a little playing outside with Shadow.
This morning, I received a couple of inquiries asking if Justin and family were okay. I honestly didn’t know that hurricane/ tropical storm Ernesto hit the western coast of Puerto Rico and moved on leaving at least half of Puerto Rico without power and with lots of flooding. Justin said he had heard that the bridges are flooded between Rincon and Mayaguez where the kids go to school, and they have no power at home except for their solar back-up. They do have water which surprises them as it is usually the first thing to go. A neighbor’s big tree came crashing across their fence, so they have some clean-up to do, but were otherwise unscathed. Thank you to all of you who inquired.
