Welcome to The Voyage of Windbird . . . and Beyond.  My name is Judy Handley and I live on Cape Cod in Massachusetts.  For six years of my life, my husband Mark and I sailed around the world.  I documented that story, one day at a time, in this blog that was then just called The Voyage of Windbird.  Those daily logs from 2005 to 2011 tell the story of our circumnavigation.  While sailing, my daily logs were sent via Ham radio to the internet to appear on this blog spot each morning.  My son Justin made that happen, and to this day, I don’t understand the process.  But it was like magic.  I would sit in the cockpit each afternoon around 4 pm and summarize the day’s activities.  During the evening when the conditions were just right for sending radio emails, my husband would send the log.  The next morning my son, my daughter, other members of my family and good friends would read the news and know exactly where in the world we were and what fun we were having.

After almost 6 years of traveling, we sailed into Woods Hole on Cape Cod.  We continued living aboard for the next five years and I wrote about that, adding ‘and Beyond’ to the title of the blog.  Then shortly before Mark’s death in 2016, we sold our beloved Windbird and my travel logs became land logs.  At this point, I had written a daily account for each and every day for 11 years.  I fully intended to end the blog at that point, but when I wrote that news in a log, I got many responses saying that I really needed to keep posting.  At the same time, I realized that I couldn’t stop writing.  Summarizing each day had become a permanent part of my life and I will probably continue writing until I can no longer.  These postings reflect the ordinary, and sometimes the extraordinary, days in my life and I would like to invite you to join me on my journey.

NOTE: Due to Google upgrading Picasa to Google Photos, many of our old photos are now broken.  We are actively working on fixing this – thanks for your patience!

2024 Life Logs, Day 78: Monday Work-a-Day

2024 Life Logs, Day 78: Monday Work-a-Day
Date: Monday, March 18, 2024
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Northerly Wind; High Temp 47, Low 34 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

There was sunshine today, but every time I went outside, I was freezing. The temperature wasn’t much different from yesterday, but that northerly wind makes it feel much colder. But, after all, it is not quite officially spring. Winter can have one more day, then I seriously want warmer weather! Just kidding. I know spring is a long, fickle slog, not erupting into summer until July.

I don’t have much to report today. I am in charge of the joint (Encore plus Newcomers) general meeting on Wednesday, so I spent much of my day getting the agenda finalized. This required checking in with a number of people and then putting together a PowerPoint presentation to match the agenda. I also spent some time researching what to get Ollie for his birthday. It is on Thursday, and I am behind the times this year. And I also did a little digging to see what I might be able to do to help out with Heather’s campaign for Select Board. That was it for my day.

2024 Life Logs, Day 77: Happy St. Patrick’s Day

2024 Life Logs, Day 77: Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Date: Sunday, March 17, 2024
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High Temp 52, Low 49 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Ollie and I spent the entire day together just enjoying life and doing a little gardening. After a late breakfast, I went to the hardware store to buy garden soil for my new planter. On Cape Cod, St. Patrick’s Day if the traditional day to plant peas, so Ollie restrung the pea and bean tower, carried the bags of garden oil from the car to the front of the house, and then planted the seeds. We stopped for lunch, and he helped me get something done that I have been working on for two weeks. I got the growing flats ready days ago, but I had not planted the seeds. We took the flats outside where Ollie meticulously put the tiny seeds in each cell and then brought them back inside. I still need to get the grow lights up, but I have a few days as the light is not needed until the little plants emerge.

Heather left early this morning to take Sam and his friend Sebastian to a soccer game west of Boston and then she drove them into Boston to the Gardens to watch the Falmouth High School girl’s hockey team play in the State semi-finals. Jonah took the student bus from the high school to the game. They were not going to get home until after 6 pm, so Ollie spent the day with me. Jed stopped by early in the day to check-in and we decided on a plan for dinner. I picked up the meat at Wicked & Wood while I was out getting the garden soil and later in the day, he dropped off the red cabbage so that I could fix coleslaw. And we gathered at their house once everyone was home. Heather and Jed added mac and cheese for our version of a quick and easy St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

2024 Life Logs, Day 76: Science Fair, Mingle & Mix, Ollie Overnight

2024 Life Logs, Day 76: Science Fair, Mingle & Mix, Ollie Overnight
Date: Saturday, March 16, 2024
Weather: Mostly to Partly Cloudy; High Temp 52, Low 41 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

The day began in the Falmouth High School gymnasium where I went to see the STEAM Fair entries. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. When you add the A to make it STEAM, you are adding art ranging from visual arts, language arts and physical arts to music. The annual event where students presented science experiments used to be called science fairs but have now been extended to include more. For instance, this year Sam did not enter a science experiment. Members of his physics class built marble runs and entered those as an active display.

Jonah and Ollie both did science experiments. Ollie’s was titled Food Dye Filtration. His goal was to determine which select mediums did the best job of filtering out Red 40 dye.

The title of Jonah’s experiment was Food Dye Hyperactivity in Zebrafish. He found that food dye does affect the level of activity in Zebrafish, similar to the way it produces hyperactivity in people. He won a second place in the high school division and received a $250 check. The top first place prize was a $3,000 college scholarship. When Heather and Justin were entering science fairs, there was no monetary prize. I think it is wonderful that today’s students get the incentive that hopefully encourages them to keep entering year after year.

In the early evening, I went to an Encore Mingle & Mix affair. This is a two hour get together in a host home where everyone brings an appetizer or dessert and their drink of choice. It is a great opportunity to make new friends. I left right at 7 pm so I could go pick up Ollie. Heather and Jed were at the Falmouth Education Foundation fund raiser where the high school jazz band provided the music. That meant Jonah was there as well. Sam was at an away soccer game, so Ollie had asked me if he could come over to my house for dinner and an overnight. He loves chili, so I made that ahead of time. I picked him up and we came home to eat and then watch another Star Wars movie. We have watched all of the major ones, so last night we watched Solo. It is about Hans Solo as a young man. I really enjoy learning the background history of the various Star Wars characters. And I love having the special time with one grandchild at a time.

2024 Life Logs, Day 75: At the Computer All Day

2024 Life Logs, Day 75: At the Computer All Day
Date: Friday, March 15, 2024
Weather: Mostly Cloudy with a Little Rain; High Temp 54, Low 37 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

I was on my computer all day and on the phone most of the evening. The phone call was with my friend Lynne in New Zealand. It has been a month since we last talked, so we had to catch up on what is happening in our worlds. After the phone call, Lynne sent me a whole list of books that I might want to read. I always love getting Lynne’s reading suggestions. She will be flying home to the US for the summer, landing in California and traveling on the west coast for almost a month to visit with friends. Then she will fly home to Michigan. Hopefully by the time she comes here to visit, I will be finished with my knee replacement physical therapy so we can walk while she is here.

The computer work today was mostly writing the presidents’ letter for the Encore newsletter. That is always due on the 15th of the month, and I usually start early. Unfortunately, I put this one off until the last minute. It required getting information from other people, so there was a lot of emailing back and forth. I interspersed trips to the grocery store and spending time in the kitchen making chili and desserts for a Mingle & Mix I am attending tomorrow night. Then, of course, I spent time outside with Shadow. So not the entire day was spent sitting at the computer.

Since I was on the computer all day, checking email often, I saw aa notice from Instagram that Justin had made a posting. It has been so long since I signed into Instagram that I couldn’t remember my password. So, I checked Facebook and saw that Justin was in Austin, Texas at the South By Southwest Conference. I knew he was going but forgot that it was this week. SXSW brings speakers together to talk about the convergence of tech, film, music, education, and culture. Yesterday Justin gave a talk about Silvermouse (Justin and Jo’s music brand), the Monroe Institute (Justin’s employer), and the use of brainwave entrainment in live music.

Justin is the musician and Jo is the beatmaker for Silvermouse. I read a posting on Facebook that Jo had written saying, “There isn’t an established genre descriptor for what we do. #Livetronica and #Jamtronica are as close as it gets … Psychoactive Livetronica is what we call our sound.” Justin started playing violin at age 3, went on to the guitar, the mandolin, the ukulele, and even adds flute and recorder. But his first love, the violin, remains favorite. Taking again from Jo’s post, “The rich textures and melodic structures that his live instrumentation brings are magic. The combination of live electronics, live multi instrumentals, and live brainwave entrainment frequencies is a sacred trinity of sorts. We are devotees, at least!” I am just so proud that Justin has pursued his passion for music throughout the years and that now he and Jo can play together.

2024 Life Logs, Day 74: Coonemessett Greenway Heritage Trail

2024 Life Logs, Day 74: Coonemessett Greenway Heritage Trail
Date: Thursday, March 14, 2024
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 48, Low 41 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Falmouth has some wonderful walking trails. Today, my friend Olga Mitchell and I decided to walk the almost 1-mile loop of the Coonemessett Greenway Heritage Trail. It is a 3-mile trail but has several shorter loops. That part of the trail is easy walking as it is actually wheel-chair accessible. It is flat and wide with no obstacles. We had planned to walk further, but since both of us have not been walking much recently, we just enjoyed the shorter loop today with plans to walk further next week. It was a gorgeous day and warm enough that just a light jacket was needed. Shadow really enjoyed the walk and wearing the brace on my right knee allowed me to walk without pain. It was great.

2024 Life Logs, Day 73: Falmouth Public Schools All Bands Night

2024 Life Logs, Day 73: Falmouth Public Schools All Bands Night
Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 47, Low 38 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

The mission statement of the Falmouth Public Schools Music Department is, “The core subject of music is for every child and every child can be successful.” Once a year on All Bands Night, you get to see that mission statement come to life.

Students can start playing an instrument in elementary school. By the time they get to fifth and sixth grade at Morse Pond School, all students have the opportunity to join band and/or jazz band. That continues when they go to middle school at Lawrence. Then when they reach high school, there are many options—marching band, concert band, jazz band, chamber strings, concert choir, plus a whole host of other music classes. Once a year on All Bands night, the band from Morse Pond, the concert band from Lawrence Middle School, the concert band and strings from Falmouth High School, plus the jazz bands from each, fill the floor of the high school gymnasium and show off their skills. The high school band begins the evening playing the Star Spangled Banner. Then the fifth grade band plays a song, next the sixth grade band, followed by the middle school band, and finally the high school band. Then it starts over, and each group plays a second song. Just watching the progression of skills is fascinating. They are all good. There is a short break while the band students who also play in jazz band move to the front and get settled. Starting with the fifth and sixth grade jazz band, each plays two songs. Ollie plays alto saxophone in the sixth grade band and jazz band and Jonah is in the high school jazz band splitting his time between trombone and bass guitar. The grand finale is all of the bands playing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture together with the only joint practice being just before the evening begins. And to top it off, the arrangement of that piece is by Mr. Borning, the fifth and sixth grade band teacher.

This night brings out more than the praises of a very proud grandmother. The band directors are nothing less than amazing. I don’t know how many band members were on that gym floor tonight, but I would estimate at least 200. And they sounded great playing individually, and even more impressive when all were playing together. Hats off to the Falmouth Public Schools Music Department.

The rest of my day was filled with a morning Encore board meeting followed by a Shamrock Luncheon with live Irish music at Liam McGuire’s sponsored by Newcomers. It was a full day and tonight my back is telling me it needs a rest. I arrived early for the board meeting this morning and set up the tables and chairs before the others arrived. Probably not a great idea. I am going on a walk with Shadow and friend Olga Mitchell tomorrow morning, but I promised my back I will take it easy tomorrow afternoon.

2024 Life Logs, Day 72: Beautiful Day

2024 Life Logs, Day 72: Beautiful Day
Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Weather: Sunny; High Temp 55, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Finally … we are getting a break from winter’s last big fling. Today was sunny, not a cloud in the Cape Cod blue sky. It was still a little windy earlier in the day, but it calmed a bit as the day progressed. I picked Ollie up to take him to his saxophone lesson after school and he was so excited that it finally warm. At least, warm to him. I’m not ready to give up my winter coat, but daytime temps in the 50’s are certainly an improvement.

I had my monthly book club this morning. We read the first book in the Louise Penny series about Inspector Gamache. I am a Louise Penny fan and have read all of the 18 books in that series, but I really enjoyed going back and reading the first book again. The book club member hosting today is also a Louise Penny fan. She even had licorice pipes for us. Don’t know what a licorice pipe is? I certainly didn’t until I met Inspector Gamache. The books in this series mostly take place in the small idyllic village of Three Pines in the countryside not too far from Montreal. There is a bistro in that town run by Olivier and Gabri where members of the community come together to eat and talk. In the middle of the day, Inspector Gamache loves nothing more than going to the bistro to sit in front of the open fire to have a café au lait with a licorice pipe or two. Maybe it is Quebecois thing, but as you read, it seems to be a most civilized way to spend your time while trying to puzzle through who might have murdered a beloved villager. In one review I read, the author captured this by writing, “It’s rather quirky, and unexpected, that the Head of Homicide in the Sûreté du Quebec, is partial to such a treat. Aren’t fictional detectives usually predisposed to greasy fast food, an alcoholic beverage or other drug of choice?” But Armand Gamache is refined, intelligent, thoughtful, intuitive, and highly observant. He needs those licorice pipes to help him solve the mysteries.

2024 Life Logs, Day 71: Doctors, Doctors

2024 Life Logs, Day 71: Doctors, Doctors
Date: Monday, March 11, 2024
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Gale Warning; High Temp 45, Low 35 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Early this morning, I headed to Patriot Place in Foxborough for my first doctor appointment. Patriot Place is the home of Gillette Stadium, but there is a shopping area and Mass General/Brigham and Women’s, plus Dana Farber, have satellite medical centers there. My appointment was with Dr. Jennifer Kurz who is a physiatrist. I had never heard that term until I was referred to her by friends. This type of doctor treats patients with the same types of issues as a physical therapist. But unlike a physical therapist, a physiatrist has completed medical school plus four years of residency. They specialize in non-surgical care for nerve, muscle, and bone disorders, dealing with the pain caused by these conditions, and they are dedicated to treating the whole person. Since I no longer have severe pain, I could have canceled this appointment that I made prior to my back surgery. But I am glad I kept it. She was able to give me some concrete ideas on what I should be doing to prevent future pain caused by the stenosis in my spine. And if I do have severe pain again, I can get an appointment much sooner because I am now a patient of hers.

When I left home this morning, I thought I was going to stop at Costco on the way home. But just as I parking my car at Patriot Place, I got a call from my knee surgeon’s office, letting me know the new light weight brace for my right knee had arrived. They wanted to know if I would be coming in today to pick it up. On the spur of the moment, I said I would be there at 1 pm. After the doctor appointment, I had to drive around the other side of Gillette Stadium to pick up Sam’s wallet that fell out of his pocket at the last Rev’s game. Luckily some honest person turned it in. By the time I picked that up, it was time to high tail it to Hyannis. I’ll have to make a special trip to Costo at another time.

I did go to Heather and Jed’s after I got home and picked up some of my equipment for starting seeds indoors. I got things ready, but I need to go back and get more seed trays. Maybe tomorrow afternoon I’ll get some seeds started.

2024 Life Logs, Day 70: Spring Forward

2024 Life Logs, Day 70: Spring Forward
Date: Sunday, March 10, 2024
Weather: Rain Overnight, Partly Sunny Day; High Temp 50, Low 33 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

So, we moved our clocks forward an hour to enter the world of Daylight Savings Time … daylight coming later in the mornings and lasting later in the afternoons into the evenings. Heather and Jed came over late in the afternoon to assemble the raised planter they gave me for my birthday. They thought putting this together would be the easiest thing they had to do today, but it didn’t work out that way. There were no directions and even after Heather found directions on a website, it took much longer than expected, and they still need to put on the finishing touches. They left around 6 pm and before I knew it, it was time to watch The Oscars. The program started an hour earlier tonight and it was still light outside. That seemed weird. But I have to say that Jimmy Kimmel’s opening monologue was fabulous. I’m still waiting for the big awards, but I have found the whole evening really entertaining. Or maybe it was a just a great year for the movies. I’ve not always watched The Oscars, but I am glad I decided to watch this one. Other than watching the Oscars and watching Heather and Jed work to assemble the planter, the only other thing I accomplished was putting together a concise portfolio of my medical history to take with me an appointment with a physiatrist, which is a pain management specialist, from Brigham and Women’s-Mass General tomorrow morning. Thankfully, thankfully, I don’t have the severe back pain anymore, but I want to be prepared if it ever happens again. Dr. Kurz uses a combination of approaches that I would like to learn more about. I will meet with her at her Patriot Place office in Foxborough, so that will be my day tomorrow.

2024 Life Logs, Day 69: Back to Dreary Weather

2024 Life Logs, Day 69: Back to Dreary Weather
Date: Saturday, March 9, 2024
Weather: Overcast; High Temp 42, Low 39 degrees F
Location: At Home on Lakeview Avenue, Falmouth MA

Between back surgery, recovery from back surgery, Covid, recovery from Covid, a sinus infections, and this incessant dreary weather, my normal zest for life has slowly drained away. I think I need a jump start to get back into the swing of things. And as I look at the calendar for this coming week, there is enough activity to give me that jump start. Today I tried to get myself interested in starting seeds indoors. This is something I usually love to do, but it was a chore today. I did go to Job Lot and bought a 4-tier wire shelf that will fit on the wall to the left of the sliders in my living room. I assembled that, and tomorrow I will get the grow lights and seed starting trays from Heather and Jed’s. That activity and starting a new book was about it for my day. I sure hope your life is more exciting than mine these days!