by Judy Handley | Mar 5, 2026 | Cape Cod, USA |
2026 Life Logs, Day 64: Rainy Day, Sunny Birthday Celebration
Date: Thursday, March 5, 2026
Weather: Rainy Day; High Temp 44, Low 28 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Today was my 79th birthday. Me, oh my, that is a lot of years! The weather wasn’t my favorite–a rainy day that felt colder than the thermometer indicated—but the warmth came tonight in the form of a sunny birthday celebration with friends and family. My dining-in group has been meeting once a month since the summer of 2017 and this March it was my turn to host. I suggested we celebrate Cinco de Marcho with margaritas and Mexican food. So, that we did.
Three of us have birthdays within five days of each other, so we also had birthday cake. Heather, Jed, Jonah, and Ollie came over to join us for cake, and I invited my neighbor Billy to join us as well. He and Shadow were having a boys’ night out in Billy’s studio apartment, but he escaped long enough to have birthday cake with us.
I received two birthday cards today with this message written on the envelope, “Life is a celebration of the soul.” So true.
by Judy Handley | Dec 22, 2025 | Cape Cod, USA |
2025 Life Logs, Day 356: The Night Before the Night Before Christmas Eve
Date: Monday, December 22, 2025
Weather: Sunny, Windy, Cooler; High Temp 35, Low 29 degrees F
Location: Back Home with My Shadow on Lakeview, Falmouth, MA
I shopped my way home from Cambridge, arriving here by 2 pm to pick Shadow up. My neighbor Andy kept him at his house and I think both of them had a good time. When I got the mail from the mailbox, there was a small package for me from Justin. I texted to tell him it had arrived and he suggested that since I will not be at home on Christmas Eve that I open it tonight. He explained that it was something for my tree, so I had to pretend this was Christmas Eve when we would normally exchange ornaments. I opened it and it was so Finca Maravilla (translates as wonder or marvelous farm). It was a beautiful, glass rooster in shades of red. Coco and Ziggy named it Partick Chicken, no meaning behind the name. I shortened the name to PC and he hangs beautifully on my tree tonight reminding me of the slice of paradise they call home with a horse, a goat, a pi
g, multiple dogs and cats, chickens, and a very proud rooster. Here’s to all living creatures who call Finca Maravilla home!
by Judy Handley | Dec 19, 2025 | Cape Cod, USA |
2025 Life Logs, Day 353: Sam is Home for the Holidays
Date: Friday, December 19, 2025
Weather: Overcast, Rain, Wind; High Temp 56, Low 28 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
It is not quite midnight, and since I was still up, Heather sent a text to see if I would like them to stop so I could welcome Sam home with a big hug. Of course I would. Shadow was so excited and he got the first hug. But then I got mine.
Sam’s flight from London didn’t land in Boston until sometime after 7 pm, and then he had a long wait to get his luggage. Heather, Jed, Jonah, and Ollie all went to greet him at the airport, and no one had eaten dinner. So, they had a late dinner in Boston and just arrived here. Sam’s trip from the college campus to Amsterdam started at about 1:30 am today our time, so I know he is exhausted, but happy to be home. My guess is he will sleep most of the day tomorrow. Then tomorrow night the Goldstone’s host their annual solstice party, and I’ll get to see him again. Welcome home, Sam! Now we start the countdown to Christmas. 5-4-3-2-1
by Judy Handley | Dec 14, 2025 | Cape Cod, USA |
2025 Life Logs, Day 348: Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow
Date: Sunday, December 14, 2025
Weather: Snowy All Day, Now Windy; High Temp 36, Low 14 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
The gently falling snow has finally stopped, but now the wind is blowing something fierce and the temperature is dropping precipitously. We are going to be in a deep freeze overnight and into tomorrow, but then the temperature rises slowly to get us back into the 40’s on Wednesday. I don’t love the super cold weather, but I do love the snow. Every window I looked out of when I got up this morning afforded a beautiful view.
Outside, one of my favorite ‘views’ was the rail fence that I decorate with garland and lights each year. The snow made it picture perfect.
Shadow loves playing in the snow, so I spent some time outside with him today. He runs so fast in the snow that he sometimes just looks like a black streak with ears flying high.
I also attended a Resistance Lab on Zoom. And then tonight, I joined the Goldstones for the lighting of the menorah on the first night of Hanukkah. This house still has piles of notebooks and papers everywhere, but over the next day or two, I hope to get that under control. Tomorrow, however, I have to focus on Christmas and make sure Santa has all of the gifts needed for my family.
by Judy Handley | Dec 6, 2025 | Cape Cod, USA |
2025 Life Logs, Day 340: Holidays-by-the-Sea 2025
Date: Saturday, December 6, 2025
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Some Rain; High Temp 43 Low 29 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Most of the day today was spent downtown Falmouth to enjoy Falmouth’s Holidays-by-the-Sea activities. The first activity was not associated with the holiday season. It was our weekly Standout for Democracy on the Green. It rained as I was driving there. But by the time I parked, the rain had stopped. I got home at 1:30, answered some emails, and then turned around and went back down to Main Street for the 3:30 pm Jingle Jog. Again, it rained as I was driving there, but miraculously the rain stopped and a little ray of sunshine came through. Jonah, his friend Jean Luc, and some other soccer friends I didn’t know, were running the 5 K ‘fun’ race.
And Heather and Ollie were also both running. Jed was working on getting the boat secured for the winter, but he arrived in time to watch the race. It is a fun race to watch as everyone is dressed in some sort of holiday fashion. The team of runners dressed as Santa’s reindeer won my prize for most festive this year.
Main Street was closed off for the race, the downtown Holiday Stroll (shopping) from 4-8 pm, and the Lighting of the Green at 6 pm. I headed home after the race and had just enough time to eat lunch/dinner before heading back to the Green for the annual lighting. Parking is always a challenge, but I thought I could drive halfway and park at Lawrence Middle School, then walk across the playing fields to the Green. But I was wrong. There was not a place to park anywhere. Every parking space and every patch of grass was taken. So I drove back home and walked as fast as I could to get there just in time to see the lights.
Then the caroling begins. I didn’t stay for all of that as I was meeting friends who had invited me to go see a Woods Hole Film Festival movie tonight. It was a fun-filled day. But the weekend is not over. Tomorrow is the parade and Holidays at Highfield.
by Judy Handley | Nov 27, 2025 | Cape Cod, USA |
2025 Life Logs, Day 331: 25 Years of Thanksgiving
Date: Thursday, November 27, 2025
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 53, Low 42 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA
Most Thanksgiving Day’s in my life have been celebrated with family, but today I had Thanksgiving at the home of a neighbor. We are friendly, but not friends, and it was a very strange experience for me. The strange feeling was not because I have specific Thanksgiving traditions that I need to follow, other than making Mark’s cranberry salad. It was just that I was not with the people I love. So, for however many Thanksgivings I have remaining in my life, I will make sure that I am with family or close friends.
When I walked home late this afternoon from the neighbor’s house, I started thinking about just where I have spent Thanksgiving Day over the past 25 years. I went down that rabbit hole and three hours later I emerged with the answer. I have spent 3 of the past 25 years in Concord, New Hampshire, 3 in Florida with Mark’s family, 4 in Puerto Rico with Justin and family, 2 in North Carolina with my sister Patsy, and 2 in Cambridge, Massachusetts at the home of Jed’s Aunt Sue and Uncle John. And I have spent 6 of the 25 years having Thanksgiving dinner here in Falmouth with Heather and Jed and boys. Some of my favorite memories of the years in Falmouth include 2021 when Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco flew up from Puerto Rico and instead of observing the traditional Thanksgiving Day, we spent our day in Plymouth standing in solidarity with the indigenous people of Massachusetts who hold a Day of Mourning on this day. Then the next day we had what the grandkids called a fabulous, fun, Friday family feast. In 2020, our ‘pandemic pod’ family gathered for the occasion. This included Heather, Jed, and the boys, me, and the Simpkins family—Mike, Grace, and their two boys, Robert and Joey. In 2019, we had turkey, but Jed also whipped up a fabulous mushroom wellington to add a vegetarian alternative to our feast. And we had oysters, which is a Goldstone tradition. In 2018, we had Mr. Turkey for dinner. He was a turkey that Sam and Jonah earned at a Boy Scout turkey shoot. They each won one, so we ate Mr. Turkey and gave the other one to the Falmouth Service Center.
That leaves the 5 years Mark and I spent in various places on our sail around the world. The first one of those was in the Chesapeake Bay just after we left. Justin traveled down to Solomon’s Island to surprise us with a Thanksgiving Day visit in 2005. In 2006, we were treated to a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Opua Cruising Club in New Zealand. They had a tradition of inviting boats who were laying over there for their summer to bring a dish to share and come together in their clubhouse. I never thought to ask why they had an American Thanksgiving in New Zealand, but I think we were 1 of 4 American couples that year. All the rest were from all around the world and we all enjoyed New Zealand turkey. In 2007, were in Bundaberg, Australia, and we invited two other couples to have dinner on Windbird. The following two Thanksgivings, 2008 and 2009 were both spent aboard Windbird in the Langkawi Yacht Club on Rebok Island in Malaysia. And in 2010 we were in South Africa and just completed a 4 day safari in Kruger National Park. We were with friends, Lynne and Ed Kirwin, and we had Thanksgiving dinner at a Portuguese-Mozambican restaurant in the mountains of the northern province of Mapumalanga in the town of Graskop. That was definitely the most unusual Thanksgiving dinner. We certainly did not have turkey that year! And I really enjoyed another unusual Thanksgiving dinner with Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco in 2023, when instead of turkey, we had Pernil which is Puerto Rican seasoned roast pork. It was so tender and delicious.
I have had many Thanksgiving Day adventures, but the one I cherish most was in 2015 when the whole family was together in Puerto Rico. It is the only Thanksgiving that Mark and I ever had with our whole family together … Heather, Jed, Sam, Jonah, Ollie, and Justin, Jo, Ziggy and Coco.
At one of the Thanksgiving dinners at Heather and Jed’s when the boys were younger, we went around the table sharing something for which we were grateful. Jonah answered, “The whole universe.” I’m with Jonah. Happy Thanksgiving!
