Getting Ready

Davis And Albarran Families

Beth And Her Children: Mitch, Beth, Marisa, Tyler

It's 7:00, and the Hampton Inn's breakfast bar just opened. Both Evie and I were awake at 6:30. She stayed in bed, and I'll be taking her coffee up at 7:15. We leave for Beth's at 8:45 to help set up for the Celebration of Rami's Life, running from 10:00 to 1:00.

With Marisa And Jill

Kaia Loves Milena

Saturday was busy — depending on who you were. Everyone wanted to help set up for the celebration, and everything more or less got done. I was up early, of course, had my coffee, wrote the blog, took coffee up to Evie, and showered. By 9:30, all seven of us were on our way to Beth's.

Urn Thrown By Mitch

Nick And Renee Arrange Flowers

Enjoying Guacamole and Salsa

Beth, Marisa, And A Sleeping Pup

A Sad Tin Tin As We Uber Off

Even though Hampton offers breakfast, we had another round — or at least some of it — once we arrived. After breakfast, Beth divvied up the jobs for both Saturday and Sunday morning. Four of us drove twenty minutes to Central Market and picked up wine, fruit for a salad, the makings for a Bloody Mary bar, and a few other condiments for guacamole. When we returned, most everyone was busy doing something inside or out. Evie and Beth's mother-in-law, Chelo, were making their specialties — guacamole and salsa — for lunch. Once they finished, and it was quite a production, all of us feasted. Some of the best we've ever had. Nothing like a grandma in the kitchen to make something truly good.

We relaxed for a bit after that, got a few things done, went for a walk, and then five of us headed back to the Hampton to nap or unwind, returning at 5:00. Evie stayed behind to help out if needed. I felt like an old grandpa for most of the day — everyone buzzing around doing something while I sat there watching.

Beth had arranged dinner for fifteen of us at a nearby spot called McRae's American Bistro. They gave us their covered patio all to ourselves, and we stood around enjoying various libations until it was time for appetizers — deviled eggs, bacon rounds stuffed with jalapeños and cheese, and roasted artichoke hearts. All delicious.

Cocktails At Mc Rae's

Granny With Family

Renee And Tyler

 For the main course, we chose from salmon, a pork chop, or steak with frites and a salad. To celebrate my grandson Mitch's twenty-eighth birthday, Beth had brought two cakes, and we were each served a slice of both — a perfect finish to an amazing family evening. We Ubered back to Beth's, and then the six of us, tired from the day, drove back to the Hampton around 9:00. Evie and I were in bed by 9:30, hoping for a good night.

Dinner

Cousins: Mitch And Nick

The Girls: Evie, Lettie, Patty, Chelo, Renee, And Milena

A Gathering Of Family (Happy 28th Birthday Mitch)

Most Of The Gang

Well, as expected, with thirteen of us, Evie and I are staying with family at a Hampton Inn in East Dallas, ten minutes from Beth's home. I've been sitting in the breakfast room since 7:00. This is the only Hampton Inn we've ever stayed in that starts breakfast at 7:00 instead of 6:00. That's Texas for you.

In a nutshell, Friday got us to Dallas by 9:30 — 8:30 Dallas time — but it was not fun. We were up at 4:30 at our Comfort Inn in Buffalo, took a shuttle to the airport at 5:30, and checked in at the American Airlines desk without a hitch. Then came the TSA line, which sandwiched around the airport for what felt like forever. I guess early morning is rush hour for flights out of Buffalo. We finally made it through, then waited maybe 20 minutes to board our Airbus to Dallas. I had forgotten how claustrophobic a plane cabin can be — stuffed three across, narrow aisle, packed flight. Fortunately, it was a decent ride with just a few bumpy minutes, nothing severe, and we landed at Dallas/Fort Worth a half hour early. It's a massive airport, made even crazier by construction, but we found our bags easily enough. Then the fun began trying to get an Uber. We weren't sure where we were in the airport, what level, nothing — and we had all kinds of trouble getting the app to cooperate. We even flagged down a couple of bystanders for help. Finally snagged a ride, and it took about 40 minutes to reach Beth's house. Yippee.

Jill And Marisa

Tom, Mary, And Son Nick

Beth And Marisa

It was wonderful to see Beth, her two sons Mitchell and Tyler — who'd spent the week there helping — and her mother-in-law Chelo, along with Chelo's daughter Patty, whom I taught English to back in 1979. They'd had a hectic week but seemed to have Sunday's Celebration of Life for Rami fairly well organized. Around 11:00, my son Tom arrived from Kansas City with his wife Mary and son Nick. An hour later, our daughter Jill flew in from Virginia — everyone gathering for Rami's Celebration of Life on Sunday. Right around the same time as Jill, our granddaughter Marisa, a med school student at UT Austin, drove in. Wh Despite the heat, we were able to sit out on Beth's porch, thanks to a newly bought umbrella. It's always wonderful to have family together, even on a sad occasion. Lots of laughs and tears. We had Jimmy John's sandwiches for lunch — or leftovers — while we mapped out the next two days. Tyler's girlfriend Renee arrived from Atlanta around 2:30, and unfortunately, Mitch's wife Milena, flying in from LA, had her flight delayed and wouldn't make it until evening.

Tyler, Renne, And Tin Tin

Birthday Boy Mitch And Family

Evie, Jill, Tom, and family and I,  headed out around 3:30 to check into the Hampton Inn, relaxed for a bit, then made our way back to Beth's at 4:30. Tom got on his phone and ordered Terry Black's barbecue for dinner at 6:00 — delivered right to the door. Before that, we enjoyed cocktails, wine, and beer out on the porch as it began to cool off a little. Then we feasted on ribs, brisket, various barbecue sauces, beans, and an enormous container of coleslaw. By 7:30, Evie and I were running on fumes, so Nick volunteered to drop us off at the Hampton Inn and head back to Beth's. We didn't linger — lights out by 9:00.

On To Dallas

Dallas, Thanksgiving, 2024

Good morning, and it's 5:AM and our shuttle to the airport arrives in half an hour. We were both in bed by 9:00, and neither of us slept well. Just 'good enough'.

It's 7:30 in the evening and I am sitting in a Comfort Inn, just across the street from the Buffalo Airport. We can leave the car in the Comfort Inn parking lot — free for ten days, then ten dollars a day after that. I will try to get this published tomorrow early morning, since we will be up at 5:00, catch a shuttle to the airport at 5:30, and board our flight at 7:00, arriving in Dallas around 9:30.

It's ugly outside right now in Buffalo — a drizzle and gray skies. This morning was the same, and I never got in a paddle because of it. I did make it to breakfast at 8:00, which was a good way to start what turned out to be a taxing day. I was home around 9:15, and Evie was up enjoying her coffee, gearing up to finish packing. We relaxed and got ourselves ready, and by 10:00, we were hard at it. We were planning to take just one bag, so we really had to scrimp and save on what we brought. Later, when checking in, we found out we each had a free bag, so around 2:00, we repacked and spread everything into two bags. During the week, Evie had been getting packages from Amazon — usually something she might wear in Dallas. By Thursday, we had four packages to send back, so I drove to Lakewood, dropped them off at Michaels, and headed home.  For Claire, I received a pair of black flats that fit, are comfortable, and Cute.  BINGO1

By the time I returned, I was ready for lunch. I finished up the veggie soup and made a turkey sandwich, just like the day before. I tried to nap afterward since I'd had a bad night, but it was no use. I came back downstairs, checked in on our flight, downloaded the boarding passes to our phones, and made a paper copy just in case. We were packed and ready by 3:30 but hung around until 4:30, when we closed up the house and began our drive to Buffalo. Midway, we ran into an accident, traffic backed up, and we got off at Exit 58, drove eight miles on Route 20, and got back on. I'm not sure we saved any time, but at least we were moving.

We arrived at the Comfort Inn around 6:30, checked in, and were exhausted — not entirely sure why, but there it was. We were ready to hang out and watch some TV. Around 7:00, I drove over to McDonald's and picked up a couple of quarter-pounder meals. When I got back, a parking attendant directed me to the lot, I parked the Kia, and got a ride back to the Inn. I joined Evie, we enjoyed our food, flipped over to CNN, and hoped to stay awake until at least 9:00.

And that was our day.

A Dreary Morning Of Gray

6:06

9:11

It's 7:00, and after a rough night, I finally dragged myself out of bed at 6:00. I've been reading the newspapers ever since and decided to get the blog written before heading out to breakfast at 8:00 at the Ashville General Store. Today's mission: finish organizing and packing for our flight to Dallas tomorrow. We're staying at the airport Comfort Inn tonight and leaving the car there — a nice little perk.

Yesterday was a blur, as many days tend to be, since my routine doesn't vary much. I was up early and lucky enough to get in a good paddle before the rain and wind moved in. After paddling and breakfast, we published the blog, and then we both dove into the great packing debate. We know we always overpack, and we're trying — not very successfully, I suspect — to break that habit. I have it easier than Evie, as most men do. Throw a few things in a bag, and I'm done. I actually read something yesterday about happiness, and the takeaway was to stop agonizing over decisions and just go with "good enough." That's my motto now. What I've packed so far is good enough for Dallas. Evie has not yet embraced this philosophy and is still going back and forth about what to bring.

So that's how the morning went — packing, deliberations and some cleaning. I tackled both porches, sweeping and vacuuming, while Evie ran a couple of loads of laundry. I also called our dock guy and boat guy to let them know we'd be away for a couple of weeks.

Earlier in the morning, Evie had pulled a serving of pastitsio from the freezer for my lunch, so it was warming up while I finished the porch. I had to hustle — dark clouds were rolling in — and I got it done just as the sky opened up, a torrential downpour that lasted about half an hour. I had my lunch, watched a little TV, and then took a decent nap, having been up so early. Around 2:30, a message came in that a couple of prescriptions were ready, so I drove to Wegmans, picked those up, and did a little shopping. I also stopped at the bank and swung by Sherwin-Williams to get a couple of paint cans shaken up on their handy-dandy machine.

I was home by 4:00 and spent the next fifteen minutes organizing my pills for the next three weeks. It's one of those things I used to laugh about watching my parents do, and here I am doing the exact same thing — and I'm pretty sure I'm taking far more than they ever did.

I jumped in the shower around 4:30, and by 5:00, we were settled in with sushi, potato chips, and a glass of wine or two, talking through everything we still need to do before driving to Buffalo on Thursday. For dinner, we were lucky to have leftover Kentucky Fried Chicken — heated up in the oven, it was surprisingly good, and I managed three pieces — along with coleslaw and broccoli. We watched our usual shows until Evie headed up to bed, and I caught the first three quarters of the Cavs game. I found out this morning they won in overtime. I should have stayed up — or at least saved it.

Wet And Windy

Granny's Kindergarten Class

6:33

8:44

As you can see, Evie returned to her kindergarten class for the last time yesterday — a day of laughs, fun, and tears. It started early for me, too. I was up before the house, waiting until 8:00 to kayak because Evie wanted to be awake by then to get ready for school. I was out forty-five minutes, came back, wrote the blog, and Evie read it before we published. Then I helped her fill goodie bags for her eighteen kids, and by 10:00 she was off.

Kayak Morning

The Sun

Clouds And A Touch Of Blue

Northern Sky

For some reason, I haven't felt like doing yoga or pickleball, and I'm not entirely sure why. Flying to Dallas on Friday probably has something to do with it — I wanted to get things ready before we leave. Around 10:30, the sun came out and started drying the lawn, so I pulled out the battery-powered mower and got the grass cut. I was pleased to find I made it through most of the lawn on a single charge, barely needing the second battery to finish.

It's always a little strange to be alone in the house when Evie's gone. I'm not used to it. By 12:30, I was ready for lunch — I heated up the veggie soup, made a turkey and cheese sandwich, added some chips, and watched my show. Then I went upstairs to read Live by Night by Dennis Lehane, one of the few of his books I hadn't gotten to yet.

Around 3:00, I was in the garage pulling out gardening tools when Evie drove in — happy, but carrying the sadness of a last day. We saved her stories for happy hour. She grabbed something to eat and watched her show while I took the tools out back and spent a good half hour weeding around our two fairly new trees. The mulch, for whatever reason, loves weeds, and it took longer than I expected.

I wrapped up around 5:00. Evie had her Zoom call with her sisters for forty-five minutes, and I read until she was done. Then we talked about her day. The kids had been all over her, of course — she'd been gone a couple of weeks, and they couldn't understand why she hadn't come back sooner. A painful afternoon in some ways.

We'd both been looking forward to dinner: Kentucky Fried Chicken. We loved it, especially the coleslaw. We watched some news, then a great Colbert — he had four fellow late-night hosts on together, which made for a wonderful hour. After Evie went up to bed, I watched the Spurs–Timberwolves game through the third quarter, then headed up myself, confident the Spurs had it.

Another Bright Sunny And Windy Morning

7:14

8:58

It's 7:30, and I've been up for half an hour. No kayaking yet — I'm waiting to wake Evie at 8:00. She's heading to her kindergarten class for the last time this year and has a bag full of goodies for the kids, so I want to make sure she's up and ready. It's 8:00, and Evie just woke so I am going out for a paddle. 

Kayak Morning

Woodlawn

A quick thank-you to the reader who pointed out that the osprey in yesterday's photo was actually enjoying a fish dinner up in the tree. I didn't look closely enough before I published. Should have. Just now, a heron glided by like a 747 and set down somewhere in Victoria.

Yesterday got off to a good start — a solid paddle down to Wells Bay and back, light winds, plenty of sunshine. Evie was up by the time I got in, and we had a relaxed breakfast, enjoyed our coffee, and got the blog out. After that, though, I ran out of gas. No energy, no interest in a bike ride or a hike. I puttered around, helped Evie with a few things, and eventually drifted outside for some light yard work with plenty of breaks built in. I even went upstairs and read for a while — and may have drifted off for a few minutes.

We spray the foundation of the house once a year to keep the bugs at bay, so I went around the perimeter pulling weeds and clearing out any ground cover that had crept up against it. There was more than I expected — took about 15 minutes. I decided to save the spraying for later and headed in for lunch. Evie made me a BLT; I had her soup. While I'd been outside, she'd been deep-cleaning the TV room and bathroom, getting the house ready for our departure on Thursday.

After a good nap, I woke up with some actual energy. Evie had headed to Lakewood to shop, so I got moving. I sprayed the foundation and both porches — hopefully enough to hold off the spiders and ants — then pulled out the weed whacker and went to work along the beds, the lakefront, and around the trees. I edged the brick path, trimmed some branches to give the bushes and trees a bit of shape, and hauled everything up to the woodpile at the top of the road. Done for the day, and happy about it.

Evie got home around 4:00, loaded down with Dollar Store finds for her class. Wine time stretched until 6:30, when we sat down to Mandarin chicken with rice, salad, and broccoli. We watched a couple of episodes of Friends and Neighbors, and after Evie went up to bed, I caught the first three quarters of the Cavs-Pistons game. They looked sharp for once — good energy, hitting their shots. I'm hoping they can carry that into the rest of the series.

A Bright Sunny Spring Morning

6:35

8:39

It's 8:30 and a cool 37° despite the sunshine and calm winds. By 2:00, however, it will climb into the 60s — perfect weather for working in the yard or going for a walk.

Kayak Morning

Woodlawn

North

A Reluctant Osprey

I was out on the lake by 7:00 for my usual hour-long paddle down to Wells Bay and back. Near the end of the outing, an osprey returned to the same tree as the day before. I shot many photos, though none turned out well — he was looking the other way.

Yesterday turned out to be a good day despite the wind. I went out for only a short paddle before coming in early, which left plenty of time to read the newspapers, surf the web, and write the blog while waiting for Evie to wake up. She was up around 8:30, read and published the post, and we listened to CNN for much of the morning. By 10:30, I was ready to get out of the house, and since it was Sunday, I drove to the Chautauqua Institution and walked the grounds for forty-five minutes. The place is beginning to come alive — residents are returning, and the trees are turning green. I was back by 11:30 to find Evie busy with laundry and beginning to prepare for our trip this weekend. I opted for soup and a sandwich at lunch rather than my usual omelet, then watched a little TV and read before heading upstairs to try for a nap.

Thunder Bridge

I may have slept fifteen minutes — maybe not — so I came back downstairs, read a bit more, and eventually decided to tackle the lawn. By 3:00, I fired up the mower and took my time, stopping occasionally before pushing through to the finish. We both love the look of a freshly mowed lawn, especially in spring green. Afterward, I caught some of the Knicks' dismantling of the 76ers until 5:00, when wine time called. It was a beautiful late afternoon — lots of sun and blue sky. For dinner, Evie sautéed mushrooms, baked potatoes, made a salad, and grilled steaks. We watched a couple of episodes of Hometown, and I stayed up for part of the Spurs/Timberwolves game before tiredness won out, and I went up to read.