2026 Life Logs, Day 146: Beautiful Day
Date: Tuesday, May 26, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 74, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

After a string of cool, overcast and/or rainy days, today was beautiful. The sky was Cape Cod blue with a few fluffy white clouds, and it was too warm for a long-sleeved shirt. That is my kind of weather. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to spend much time outside. I had a 9:30 am meeting, an 11 am tour of another assisted living facility possibility for my sister and that took 2 hours. But I think I have found the right place. Then home for lunch and some play time outside with Shadow before picking Ollie up for our Tuesday afternoon saxophone lesson to soccer practice extravaganza. That basically takes about 3 hours from start to finish, but I love doing it. Every chance I get to be with a grandkid, I take it. That special time in the car together is precious time for me. Then tonight I was on two different one-hour Indivisible Zoom calls. Tomorrow looks like it will warm, but not sunny. But sun or no sun, I hope to get some gardening done.

2026 Life Logs, Day 145: Memorial Day in Falmouth
Date: Sunday, May 25, 2026
Weather: Overcast, Some Rain, Clearing Late PM; High Temp 63, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Memorial Day in Falmouth always begins with a parade from the Village Green to the library lawn where there is a ceremony honoring those who have given their lives for their country … for each of us. Leading the parade was the Falmouth Police and Fire/EMS Honor Guard and the US Coast Guard Honor Guard, followed by state and town officials. Then came the Falmouth middle school and high school combined bands playing America the Beautiful written by Falmouth’s very own Katharine Lee Bates. The Scout troops in town march with their own color guard and today the Highland Light Scottish pipe band joined in. Heather marched with the town dignitaries, Jonah marched with the band, and Jed and Ollie marched with the Scouts. The speaker today was a chaplain with the US Army Reserve, and her speech was deeply moving. I think everyone left the ceremony with a renewed respect and appreciation for those who serve our country and with a deeper understanding of just what we are asking of them.

2026 Life Logs, Day 144: Hat Trick Plus One
Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026
Weather: Rainy Day; High Temp 56, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Jonah had another day of soccer tournament games even though it rained all day. When you play on turf rather than on real grass, they do not call off games for rain. I had not planned to go, but I decided at the last minute to drive the hour plus to get to Nauset for the first game at 10:30 am. It was windy, chilly, and miserable, so I decided to not stay for the second game. But I should have. Jonah made not one, not two, not three, but four goals. In soccer, when a player scores three goals in a game, it is called a hat trick. So #35 had a hat trick plus one today. Congratulations, Jonah!

2026 Life Logs, Day 145: Normal–question mark
Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026
Weather: Overcast; High Temp 62, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

For the past year, I don’t think life has been normal for any of us. I know for one thing that my Saturdays have been spent protesting, not doing the normal things in my life like attending soccer games. But I love watching my grandsons play soccer. So, it felt great today to take the day off protesting on the Green and head to the Outer Cape with Heather and Jonah for the first ACI game in this weekend’s tournament. There are two more games tomorrow and a game on Monday, depending on whether Jonah’s team wins or loses tomorrow. According to the weather, tomorrow’s games will be played in the rain. I haven’t decided yet whether or not I am willing to brave the rain. Stay tuned on that one.

The other totally normal thing I did today was to buy garden plants. Memorial Day is the traditional time to plant a garden on the Cape, so I bought a few tomato and pepper plants to get in the ground in the next couple of days. I have been so busy and it has been so cool this spring that I have had no incentive to work in the garden … something I normally love to do. So, the time has come.

Now this next bit of news is good news, but it doesn’t seem quite the norm. I got a video from my daughter-in-law Jo of Justin in shirt, tie, and coat escorting Coco into the middle school prom. I haven’t seen Justin wear a tie very many times in his entire life.  But there he was in the video escorting Coco into the prom.

And a prom where parents attend? That must be normal in Puerto Rico. All the parents and students are staying at a resort for the weekend and attending the prom together tonight. And this is for middle school. I asked Jo what they do for graduating seniors and she replied that this year’s senior class is spending four days in a resort with one huge night event and then traveling to the Dominican Republic for five days. Wow! And whether it seems normal or not, the Handley-Hunts look great and are evidently having a good time.

Last thing—I talked to my friend Lynne Kirwin in New Zealand this evening. In just three days, she is flying back to the US to visit with family and friends for the summer. She always comes to visit me here on the Cape, but this year, she says she is not coming until I can promise to not be so busy. Uh-oh. I am going to have to work on this. Busy has become a way of life, but friends and family should always come first. I need to find a way to slow it down a bit.

2026 Life Logs, Day 142: So Proud
Date: Friday, May 22, 2026
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 63, Low 47 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

This was a full day with lots to write about, but I want to begin by proudly congratulating my one and only granddaughter, Coco. She was one of the speakers at her middle school graduation and Jo sent me a video allowing me to be there virtually. Coco is beautiful, inside and out, and today she looked and sounded much older than her 13 years.

I have five grandchildren, four boys and then Coco, all teenagers. Sam is 19, Ziggy is 17, Jonah will be 17 in June, Ollie is 14, and Coco will be 14 in July. I have always called them the ‘Fab 5’ and they are proving that my description was accurate, each one fabulous in his or her own way.

Tonight I had dinner with the Goldstones, with all three Goldpebbles around the table. That was a special treat. After dinner we played a game of Trivial Pursuit—great family fun time together.

In addition to focusing on grandchildren, it was a full day of activities. It started even before I had time to get dressed. I got a call from the physican’s assistant that visits with my sister periodically. She was just calling to give me an update on my sister’s diabetes, but we talked about much more. I asked her opinion on moving my sister here to Falmouth, and although it will be hard on sister at first, she feels a move to hear where I can keep an eye on things is a good idea.

Nest was a trip to the bank to deal with a fraudulent charge on my credit card, on to my Friday class and from there to lunch with friend Jane Woodin, a stop at the grocery store on the way home, making dessert for dinner tonight, and then off to Heather and Jed’s. Another busy day. But it is not over yet. I am going to go watch the recording of Stephen Colbert’s last Late Night Show from last night before I head to bed. This is really emotional for me. During the last few months of Mark’s life when we moved off the boat and on to land, we had a television for the first time in 13 years. One of the programs we loved to watch together was Colbert’s show. Now it is no more, and I truly feel like I have lost a best friend.

2026 Life Logs, Day 141: Explorations
Date: Thursday, May 21, 2026
Weather: Overcast, A Few Sprinkles; High Temp 63, Low 50 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

My day was spent exploring knowledge—interesting, but not exciting. I spent the morning exploring possibilities for bringing my sister from an assisted living facility in North Carolina to one here. It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to oversee her medical care from afar, so I decided it was time to explore local possibilities. It is going to be a difficult decision to make. The one place I visited today gave me mixed feelings. I am not sure it is the right place for her. There is one other possibility, so next week I will visit there, compare the two places, and then make the decision.

The other exploration was for Indivisible Falmouth. I did a crash course on door-to-door canvassing for a presentation at tonight’s meeting. I learned a lot this afternoon, but I learned even more from the members who attended tonight’s meeting which was focused on getting out the vote.

Tomorrow morning, I have a 9 am meeting and then a 10:30 am class for which I have done only half the reading. So, I will sign off here and go do some speed readin

2026 Life Logs, Day 140: Big Girls Don’t Cry
Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Weather: Sunny, Rain Late; High Temp 69, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

When I was 16, my first love broke up with me. He was two years older, and we had been going steady for more than two years. I was heart broken and crying uncontrollably. My oldest sister and her husband were visiting, and my brother-in-law had a heart-to-heart talk with me. He told me that this wasn’t really the end of the world and that I should take a deep breath and wait until tomorrow to cry if I still thought it was worth it. Wait until tomorrow? I thought it was such a strange thing to say to me, but it did stop the crying. And the next day, I was moving on. No more tears. But my brother-in-law’s words stayed with me through the years, and I never cried until I waited until tomorrow. That is, until tonight. As I ate dinner, I was watching the recorded Colbert show from last night. As I am sure you are aware, tomorrow night will be the last Late Show ever. The end of an era. I have been an avid Cobert fan for years, only watching the recorded monologues the next day when I sat down to eat lunch. But today, I watched last night’s program while eating dinner today. Jon Stewart was the first guest. (I also equally love Jon Stewart.) And watching Stewart’s farewell tribute to Colbert was one time I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to cry. I was crying like a baby. And rightly so. What is happening in our country is just plain despicable and deserves tears. Colbert’s program being taken off the air is just one of a loooooooooog string of horrible things happening. So, I enjoyed a good cry and came out of it more determined than ever to do whatever I can to continue to fight this madness.

I spent yesterday getting ready for today’s Encore program, and I spent this morning making that happen. When I became Program VP for Encore last spring, there were two things I really wanted to do—had wanted to do for years, but was now in a position where I could make them happen. I wanted to have a program focused on our Wampanoag neighbors and another focused on our Cape Verdean neighbors. So, last month we hosted a Wampanoag program and today was the Cape Verdean program. I think everyone enjoyed the Cape Verdean/Portuguese food as well as the wonderful presentation by Barbara Burgo about Cape Verdean history and culture.

My role as Programs VP will end in June and I will be off the Encore Board after three years of service. Not being on the Board will give back a huge chunk of time to my life and I am looking forward to that. But I am so glad I got to fulfil my wish of bringing programs to Encore that highlighted our wonderful Wampanoag and Cape Verdean neighbors.

2026 Life Logs, Day 139: Getting Ready for Tomorrow
Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Weather: Sunny but Hazy/Windy PM; High Temp 67, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

This was one of those days spent just getting ready for tomorrow’s Encore program meeting. As VP of Programs, it is up to me to set the program, arrange for the speaker, and in the case of tomorrow, prepare food to go with the program. After the Cape Verdean islands became colonized by the Portugues, many people from the Cape Verdean islands emigrated to Cape Cod. It was when whaling was at its height that Cape Verdeans came by boat. When the whaling era ended, many settled on the Cape and became berry pickers, and then farmers. They picked cranberries, blueberries, and during World War II, some became strawberry farmers. During tomorrow’s social half hour before the program, we will have a taste of Cape Verdean food. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Karen Baranowski for pitching in and making cranberry bread and Cape Verdean pudding. I purchased some items from a local bakery that makes malasada. This is Cape Verdean style fried dough. And I bought some Portuguese items from a Brazilian-Portuguese Restaurant in East Falmouth. Coordinating the whole affair became more than I expected and that is when Karen stepped in to do the cooking for me. Thank you, Karen!

It was local election day here and the results were as expected. Two ballot measures passed, one incumbent and one new super star were elected to the Select Board, and three people who bring a wealth of experience were elected to the School Committee. Only about 20 percent of eligible voters made their voices heard, but that percentage is actually better than many other towns on the Cape. We have to find a way to get more people to the polls by November. After tomorrow’s Encore meeting, I will start preparing for Thursday night’s Indivisible Falmouth monthly meeting that is on that exact topic—Get Out the Vote!

2026 Life Logs, Day 138: Field Trip to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Date: Monday, May 18, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 72, Low 58 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

Today I led a field trip to the Massachusetts maritime Academy, and it couldn’t have gone more smoothly. There were 28 of us and we had a great time.

The weather was gorgeous and the cadets who led us on a tour of the Patriot State, a 525-foot-long training ship that arrived there in October of 2024, were very impressive. As was the ship.

After the ship tour, we had lovely lunch in the student cafeteria, toured the engineering building, and ended our day in the simulator where anyone who wanted got a chance to be at the wheel taking us through the Cape Cod Canal. It was great fun!

When I got home, I switched gears to fix dinner for the Goldpebbles while Heather and Jed attended other events. I love my evenings with the Goldpebbles.

2026 Life Logs, Day 137: Lovely Free and Easy Sunday
Date: Sunday, May 17, 2026
Weather: Sunny and Warm; High Temp 72, Low 56 degrees F
Location: At Home with My Shadow, Falmouth, MA

A little gardening, which included getting the drip irrigation system going for the season, a little tree trimming, a little reading for my Friday class, a little research for a Thursday presentation on door-to-door canvassing (which I have never done before in my life), last minute adjustments to the planning for a field trip I am leading tomorrow, and a quick visit to check in on the Goldstones to see what they have been up to this weekend. That was the total of my day. It was a lot to cram into one day, but since there was nothing pressing other than the field trip prep, I worked at a slow pace. It was one of those days that I call ‘free and easy.’ And the weather was spectacular!