A Gray Friday Morning

9:04

It's 9:15, and both of us are up, me at 6:45, Evie around 8:45. For me, it's been a busy morning. We are expecting Spectrum this morning to set up our Internet. I was afraid that our routers might not be working, at least that's what Kinetic surmised over the phone, so I drove to Walmart and picked up a router, stopped at Ryder's Cup for coffee, talked with Dave, came home, and kayaked, all before 9:00. 

Kayak Morning

Northern Gray

Our Maple Tree 

Yesterday was a strange day for me because I didn't feel like doing much, although I ended up having a typical day. I had breakfast in Bemus at 8:00, returned by 9:00, then kayaked for 40 minutes, arriving home in time to see Evie off to kindergarten at 9:40. I then finished up the blog, still using my phone's 5G because we have no Internet. By 10:30, it was published and though I didn't feel like it, I went for what I thought would be a short walk, but I ended up walking for forty-five minutes in our woods. 

Looking North

Pine Tree Dominates The View

Long Point

Attempts To Keep Detritus Out Of The Lake

Blue Skies

I wasn't very hungry since I had an omelet for breakfast with toast, so I finished up the mushroom barley soup and listened to a podcast in the living room. I had a Kia appointment at 2:00, and I spent an hour and a half in their lounge, finishing up the job they had started a week ago. I then drove to Community Help Hands, on Water Street, and dropped off clothes and various household items. Unlike the Salvation Army, they don't charge people for the items, although I wonder how it works because I saw a mountain of plastic bags filled with stuff in their warehouse.

I didn't get home until 4:00, then filled up both cars with washer fluid, making sure they are ready for the winter, and came in and enjoyed a glass of wine with Evie at 5:00. It's strange not having Internet and having to listen to the news on our phones. Dinner was a chicken pot pie I picked up at Walmart and a salad. The pie was edible, but I don't think we will buy it again. Evie went to bed around 8:15, just as the Bills game was starting. I watched the first half on my computer, then went up to bed and finished my novel, What We Can Know, and started a new one, The Loneliness Of Sonia And Sonny by Kiran Desai. 

Ten years ago, we arrived in Dallas to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter Beth's family, and we ate that night at a drive-in called The Velvet Taco,.

Another Special Lake Morning

7:20

7:31

7:31

10:20

It's 7:45 and I am off to breakfast in Bemus in five minutes. Both Evie and I have been up since 7:00. After breakfast, I hope to kayak before finishing up the blog. For the past 24 hours, we have been without Internet, but I have been able to get on via my 5G iPhone. To say we are upset with Kinetic would be an understatement. It's 11:00 as I finish the blog, and I have already had breakfast in Bemus and just returned from a 45-minute paddle down to Sandy Bottom and back. We still have no internet, so I am using my phone's 5G.

Kayak Morning

Kayaking Into The Reeds

Sandy Bottom

North

Yesterday began like today, with a placid lake, no waves, wind, just some sun, although today it's often hiding behind the clouds. I was out for close to an hour, loving such a great day in November. For a good part of the rest of the morning, Evie spent on the phone, trying to get our Internet back and getting no straight answers as to why it was down. She was on the phone for close to an hour. I couldn't sit around listening, so I went for a walk around the campground for forty-five minutes on a fine morning, with blue skies and sun.

Chautauqua Campground

Chapel In The Woods

Sea Gulls

Lunch was toasted pita with cheese and tomatoes, and barley mushroom soup. I ate while listening to a podcast because we had no Internet, making me wonder what it was like when we never ate in front of a TV.  Evie had a hair appointment at 1:15, and I dropped her off and waited for her to finish at Ryder's Cup. By 2:00, we were talking to Jessica, our healthcare advisor. We started out thinking our Medicare Advantage plan might cost a lot more than we had in the past. I am not sure if she was trying to scare us or sell us an expensive program, but by the time we left, we had an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan costing about the same a month, with basically the same benefits as our Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, so we left feeling fairly good about our plan. We celebrated our new plan with a Manhattan, but also bemoaned the fact that we had no Internet. We had an easy dinner, pasta with mushrooms and tomato sauce, a salad, and Nutty Buddies for dessert. We relaxed in the living room after dinner, with both of us on either on are phones or, in my case, my computer because I was able to watch the Cavs game using my 5G. We went to bed early.

A Spectacular Morning On The Lake

7:38

8:59

I woke up to clear skies, blinding sun, a windless morning, and a smooth lake. What a surprise after the last couple of days of gray and wind. I quickly took a morning photo, made coffee, got ready to paddle, put on my sunglasses, and walked out to my kayak. I pushed it into the water and paddled away into the southern sun. It; 's now 10:50 and we have had trouble with our Kinetic internet. It seems to be down, and Evie has been on the phone for over an hour with no solution in sight. For some reason, however, I can get on a neighbor's line 

Kayak Morning

Paddling Towards Woodlawn

Same View

Through The Reeds

North

Mallards

Mallards

Yesterday was an interesting morning. It began as usual with a good paddle, then finishing up the blog and having breakfast. Around 8:30, our handyman arrived, ready to put new fans in both of our bathrooms. We had ordered them online earlier, a Panasonic Whisper fan. It ended up being a fairly easy job and he was out of here by 11:00. leaving little if any mess. While he worked, Evie left for school, and I walked the Victoria/Woodlawn again, because I wanted to be home when he finished. We should have our new walk-in shower in a month or two as well. After he left, I drove into Mayville, did some shopping at Tops, and came home with dinner, stuffed pork chops. 

Kinney's Run

Fallen Leaves

For lunch, I made a sandwich with chicken, cheese, and sriracha mayo and heated up a bowl of mushroom barley soup. I watched my series, Slow Horses, then read and napped. After my nap, Evie returned from school and shopping at Wegmans, and I helped put things away. We then had an afternoon of large leisure until 5:00 when Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters. After the call, Evie seared the pork chops, then put them in the oven for 35 minutes. We had a salad along with the stuffed pork chops, and, unfortunately, neither of us was crazy about the pork chops. We had a nutty buddy for dessert to pick up our spirits as we watched a couple of more episodes of All Saints. After Evie went to bed, I watched a few minutes of the Duke/Kansas game, then finished the night with another episode of Slow Horses. 

A Fine Morning For A Paddle

7:11

7:11

8:25

It's 8:30 and I just returned from a 55-minute paddle on a calm lake, finally, little wind, a partly cloudy sky, and 29º. I didn't see any interesting waterfowl, the usual geese, mallards, and scared off groups of buffleheads. The sun has tried to burst out through the clouds to no avail, although it has been lighting up the southern sky.

Kayak Morning

Bemus Bay, Looking East

Northern Sky

North, Again

Monday was another snowy and windy day, thus no morning kayaking. We didn't do much early on, other than listening to our favorite radio show on Sirius Radio, the Michael Smerconish show. I knew I wanted to get out of the house, so I volunteered to go to Wegmans and pick up a couple of prescriptions for Evie and some necessities for our dinners this week. 

Long Point Yesterday At 10:24 AM

I stopped for a coffee, then shopped for a few things, then headed home, arriving around noon. Evie was busy making cookies with peanut butter and chocolate chips. I was hungry since I only had a banana for breakfast. Evie also had made a pot of mushroom barley soup, so I had a bowl of it along with the leftovers from our Sunday night Mexican dinner. I watched another episode of Slow Horses on AppleTV, then read and briefly napped. 

Jim And Ripley

Looking North, Towards Victoria And Woodlawn

Woodlawn

Afternoons are usually our time to relax, but by 3:00 I was bored and wanted to get in some exercise since I wasn't able to kayak, so I walked our woods for forty-five minutes. It's an easy walk, mostly through woods, and in our backyard, so we are lucky. I ran into my neighbor Jim, out walking his dog, Ripley. I was home by 4:30, and by 5:00, we were enjoying a glass of wine and sushi from Wegman's. 

Last Night's Sky At Dusk

Dinner was baked cod, with lemon, salt, and pepper, and hot sauce, along with baked potatoes and spinach. We have rarely if ever, had cod, so it was a pleasant surprise, and we will certainly buy it again. We watched a couple of episodes of All Saints, but both of us are getting tired of it, too many depressing episodes. Evie went to bed early, and I watched some Monday Night Football for 20 minutes, then another episode of Slow Horses before bed. 

A Couple Inches Of Snow Overnight

7:55

8:42

It's just about 9:00, and Evie is just making her coffee, having slept in, a lucky gal. I didn't get up until 7:45, looked outside, and thought I could kayak; the wind didn't seem too bad. So I put on all my gear, grabbed my coffee, and went out, unfortunately. As I started out, a wave hit the side of my kayak and splashed over, soaking me. I stayed out for another ten minutes and decided it was crazy to continue, and came in. I was out maybe 15 minutes. After coming in, I grabbed a sponge from the garage and soaked up any remaining water in the kayak, as I didn't want it to freeze.

A Wavy Kayak Morning

North

Victoria

Sunday was another day on the couch, watching too much football. Because of the heavy winds most of the day, I couldn't kayak so it was a long morning coffee. By 10:00, however, I decided to 'do something' and drove over to the Chautauqua Institution for a walk. It was a good choice as the rain or sleet let up and the sun came out briefly during my 45-minute walk. I was home by 12:15 and Evie was on the phone talking with our daughter Beth, who lives in Dallas. We usually go to Dallas for Thanksgiving but this year, we are heading east to our daughter Jill's home in northern Virginia, a much shorter drive.

Thunder Bridge

Typical Canvas Porch Covers In The CI

Brick Walk In Bestor Plaza

A Walk Into The Clouds

Around 1:00, as the Bills began, Evie made a menemen, Turkish scrambled eggs with cheese and tomatoes. It tasted great, of course, and we sat there for the next three hours, watching the Bills finally play well, defeating  Tampa Bay, 44-32. Once that game was over, the Chiefs game came on so we watched much of that game until 5:45 when we drove off in a snowstorm to pick up Ron and Linda. We were going out to dinner in Mayville at the fairly new Mexican restaurant called Pueblo Real. The place has had many restaurants over the years, so we hope his one survives. It was not crowded but there were people at the bar and a few tables. Three of us ordered beers and Evie ordered a margarita, a huge glass with a straw. Our dinners were decent, not great, but we liked the place enough to go back and try other entrees. It's nice to have a choice, other than a burger, wings, and beer place, which is the usual. We were home by 8:00, and Evie was really tired so she went up to bed, and I watched, yes, more football before deciding to watch Slow Horses, starting with the first season, which we watched a couple of years ago and liked. I hope to stick with all six seasons.