Seven Below

7:12

8:30

8:43

Today is the coldest day we’ve experienced since retiring here in 2010. When I stepped onto the front porch to take a morning photo, I was surprised to see four ice-fishing tents set up off Long Point—hearty souls, indeed. We received another couple of inches of snow overnight, and if the weatherman is right, we may be in for a deluge tomorrow. Interestingly, our kids live in Virginia, Texas, and Missouri, and all three have Winter Storm Warnings like us. 

Ice Fishing This Morning

Yesterday wasn’t much fun because of my cold, and, alas, this morning isn’t much better. I can function as usual, but there are no hikes or drives off to Ryder’s Cup or Wegmans. I was up early, made my coffee, read for a bit, took a few morning photos, and wrote the blog—all before Evie got up. Once she was awake and ready, she read the blog and published it.

Around 10:00, I layered up and went outside to clear three inches of snow from the driveway and the car. It took longer than I expected, but there was little wind, so I wasn’t too cold.

For lunch, I had chicken soup and a cheese sandwich, compliments of Evie, and watched the end of Sinners. I’ve now seen two Oscar-nominated films, Sinners and One Battle After Another, and neither grabbed me; I was surprised by their nominations. I assume one of them will win Best Picture for 2025. After lunch, I napped for a good hour, worn out by itchy eyes, a cough, and a stuffy nose. Fortunately, I don’t seem to have a fever. While I slept, Evie stayed busy in the kitchen and later watched some TV. I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and reading.

Mid Afternoon Blue Skies

By 5:00, Evie had dinner ready—a recipe I had suggested, with ground chicken, sweet potatoes, coconut milk, and spinach. We sat down with a glass of wine around five, just as the internet went out. For the rest of the evening, we sat on the couch, bored and wondering when it would come back. Worst of all, 5G on our phones wasn’t working, so we were completely cut off from the media. Dinner, served over rice, was mediocre at best; we won’t be making it again.

Needless to say, we were at sixes and sevens without TV or cell phones, and Evie eventually went upstairs. I stayed downstairs, finished my novel Broken Country, and started a new book, Theo of Golden, before turning in. It’s remarkable how dependent we’ve become on the internet—and how lost we feel when it disappears.

Quotation Of The Day: 

“We’ve never needed them (NATO). We have never really asked anything of them. You know, they’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan, or this or that. And they did – they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” Donald Trump

Winter Storm Advisory

7:12

8:04

It’s 7:43 as I start this, and I still feel miserable, with all the familiar symptoms of a cold. I was up at 6:20, made my coffee, took a Tylenol, and read some of the New York Times and Washington Post. We received a couple of inches of snow overnight, so I’ll be heading back out to shovel again. At the moment, it's 12º, and I'm more concerned about the strong winds than the snow over the next couple of days because of the risk of power loss. 

Thursday wasn’t much fun because of the cold. We were both up early, as usual, since Evie was going to school. Around 9:00, I bundled up, went outside, shoveled the parking area, and pulled the Outback out of the garage to make things easier for her when she left. The roads were snowy, but she took her time. Once she was gone, I hunkered down—reading, listening to Sirius radio, and making myself some chamomile tea, which Evie’s dad swears is a panacea for colds.

Spectacular Winter Sky At 11:41

I wasn’t very hungry, but I heated up a bowl of kuru fasulye and watched the first half hour of the Oscar-nominated film Sinners. After lunch, I showered, hoping it would clear my head, and then took a solid nap. Evie got home around 3:00, tired from school and a stop at Wegmans to stock up for the coming storm. I helped put everything away, then spent much of the afternoon on the couch, reading my new novel, Broken Country.

By 4:30, we had accumulated another couple of inches of snow, so I went back out for about half an hour to shovel again and clean off the car, trying to stay ahead of the snowfall. We relaxed around 5:30 after Evie put together dinner—eggplant, pasta sauce, and spaghetti. We both commented on how good it was; we must have been hungry. We watched Colbert and then started a new series, The Beast in Me, with Claire Danes. After two episodes, we’d had enough for the night, though we’ll probably keep watching. Once Evie went to bed, I watched a quarter of the Mavericks–Golden State game and ended the evening with another half hour of Sinners.

Quotations Of The Day:

"We are in the middle of at least four unravelings: The unraveling of the postwar international order. The unraveling of domestic tranquillity wherever Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents bring down their jackboots. The further unraveling of the democratic order, with attacks on Fed independence and — excuse the pun — trumped-up prosecutions of political opponents. Finally, the unraveling of President Trump’s mind." David Brooks

"No one has delivered more in one year than President Trump." Jim Jordan

Thursday Clouds And Blue Skies

7:29

7:58

8:10

8:30

It’s 8:15, and I’ve been up for about an hour. Unfortunately, I’ve come down with a cold—aching bones, a cough, chills—so I won’t be doing much today. No yoga, for sure. The sun briefly popped out at 8:10, forcing me to move my seat, but twenty minutes later it disappeared again. When I looked out the window at 8:30, the sky had turned cloudy once more, the wind had picked up, and snow was falling hard, adding to the three inches we got overnight. It was a complete whiteout.

Wednesday was an easy day for both of us, with nothing much we had to do. We lingered over a long coffee hour, listening to the news and finishing up the blog. I had my usual breakfast—yogurt with chia seeds, homemade granola, hemp hearts, and blueberries. Around 8:00, I put a pound of white beans into the pressure cooker for half an hour. While they cooked, I sautéed onions with tomato paste and Turkish spices, then added the beans and stock and let everything simmer for an hour. By 10:00, I had a pot of Turkish kuru fasulye ready.

After that, I headed out to hike Tom’s Point, a trail just five minutes from our house. The first couple hundred yards were easy, as someone had already been through, but then the tracks stopped and I had to bushwhack the rest of the way, cutting a path all the way to the tip of the Point. I walked partway back along the lake, then through the woods and an open field to reach my car. I was gone for about an hour and felt good about getting in a fairly rigorous hike.

Trail Leading Out To Tom's Point

Bridge

Looking North From Tom's Point

Lunch was a taco salad, courtesy of Evie, and I finished up TASK. After such a bad night’s sleep, I took a solid nap, having first dozed off while reading. Once I was up again, I read while Evie puttered until 6:00, when our neighbors, Barb and Jim, kindly picked us up and drove us to the Viking Club for dinner.

Happy To Back At The Viking Club

The club was surprisingly empty, though it was only the first Wednesday it had been open in 2026. We ordered beers and dinner and simply enjoyed being back. Every Wednesday there’s a drawing called the Queen of Hearts, and last night someone won the jackpot—nearly five thousand dollars. It was the second time we’d been there when someone won. Five years ago, the cook won a jackpot of more than twenty thousand dollars. Needless to say, she no longer works in the kitchen.

We were home by 8:30. Evie went straight to bed, and I watched a little TV, then headed upstairs and fell asleep reading.

Quotations Of The Day:

“We are watching one of the wildest things a nation-state has ever done,” journalist Garrett Graff wrote: “A superpower is [dying by] suicide because the [Republican] Congress is too cowardly to stand up to the Mad King. This is one of the wildest moments in all of geopolitics ever.”

"In just a year since his second inauguration, Trump has torn apart the work that took almost a century of struggle and painstaking negotiations from the world’s best diplomats to build. Since World War II, generations of world leaders, often led by the United States, created an international order designed to prevent future world wars. They worked out rules to defend people and nations from the aggressions of neighboring countries, and tried to guarantee that global trade, bolstered by freedom of the seas, would create a rising standard of living that would weaken the ability of demagogues to create loyal followings." Heather Cox Richardson

Warming Up To 8º

6:92

7:07

7:52

7:53

It’s 7:52, and I’ve been up for nearly two hours. I woke in utter darkness, but now the sun is rising in the south, and fishing tents are starting to appear on the lake. I’ve also begun making Turkish kuru fasulye, a white bean stew. I put a pound of white beans into the pressure cooker for 28 minutes, then add them to a sauté of onions and tomato paste, seasoned with Marash and Aleppo peppers.

Yesterday was another busy day and an early afternoon for both of us. I had yoga at 9:30, and Evie left for school at the same time. I was up early—as usual—reading the papers, surfing the internet, writing the blog, and waiting for Evie to read it before publishing. After breakfast—a banana—I went outside to brush the snow off the car, shoveled the parking areas, and pulled the Outback out of the garage for Evie to drive to school. I left at 9:10 for yoga.

Class was small, just three of us regulars, which made it feel a bit different from usual. Since I haven’t been lately, it was especially nice to be back, and this class focused on twists. Afterward, I stopped at Ryder’s Cup and chatted with my buddies—Neal, Bob, and Dave—all regulars like me and all retired.

I stopped at Walmart hoping to pick up some pancetta for the kuru fasulye, but they didn’t have any. Since I’d only had a banana for lunch, I bought a sandwich at Subway. I was home around noon, ate most of it (saving a quarter for Evie), watched my show Task, then went upstairs to read and take a short nap. Evie was home when I came back downstairs—tired from school but happy, as always, after spending four hours with kindergarteners.

Blue Skies Mid Afternoon

Fishing Hut In The Middle Of The Lake

Quite A Tent

Despite the winter advisory, it hardly snowed yesterday, and we had plenty of sunshine and blue skies. I’m not complaining. I read my novel for the rest of the afternoon until Evie had her Zoom call with her sisters at 5:00. I watched half an hour of my series, then joined her afterward for a glass of wine and the evening news. We were in the mood for an easy dinner, so Evie made French toast—a nice change—and we watched, alas, a couple of episodes of All Saints. After Evie went to bed, I watched a few minutes of the NBA before returning to my series, which never seems to end.

TRUTH OR LIE: "I think everybody, the American public, believes it's absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency," Caroline Leavitt said. 

FACT or FAKE NEWS:"Most modern Presidents before Trump put their assets into blind trusts or broadly diversified funds to avoid concerns from the public about the White House favoring policy decisions that would benefit a President financially. Trump didn’t do that. After returning to office, Donald Trump’s net worth jumped to $7.3 billion, up from $3.9 billion in 2024, according to a tally that Forbes published in September, 2025."

1º

7:06

7:49

7:49

7:50

8:04

What a temperature to wake up to—1º! Unfortunately, I woke at 5:00 but didn't get up until 6:00. It's now after 7:00, and Evie is up and wants to go to school despite the cold. I'm not sure what I'm going to do. It's too cold to hike or cross-country ski. I could go to yoga, but that means I'd have to get going, and right now it feels good to just veg.

Yesterday was cold with intermittent snow. We were both home much of the morning, having our coffee, deciding what to have for dinner, and finishing up the blog. I took my time getting going, but by 11:00, I was ready to get outside and hike. I decided on the easy hike around our Victoria/Woodlawn woods. I wore my crampons just in case, but a couple of us had already made a path, as well as a cross-country skier. It made hiking much easier. I was out for forty minutes and finished my walk on the lake. I was surprised by the surface—it was no longer wet underneath the snow but solid ice. In other words, it was good to walk on and would be great for cross-country skiing if it weren't so cold. When I got back, I took fifteen minutes to clear the snow off the driveway and car.

Blue Skies

Shadows

Victoria Sreet

Self Portrait

Blowing Snow

Evie had a doctor's appointment in Jamestown, so I offered to drive her because of the icy roads and snow. I dropped her off at one and was going to go to a diner next to the office, but it was closed. So I drove to Burger King on Foote Avenue and ordered a Whopper meal. I drove back to the office, parked in the lot, and took a break to enjoy my lunch. Evie was out by 1:30, and we were home by 2:00.

2:28

Long Point

Blue Skies At 4:36

I was ready for a nap, and I must have slept at least half an hour because I woke not knowing whether it was morning or afternoon. I then read some—I'm into my book, The Crying Cave Killings. I went outside at 4:30 and shoveled once more, probably a couple of inches of snow. We then relaxed with a glass of wine until 6:15, when Evie heated up our dinner of stuffed shells and made a salad. We watched a couple of episodes of the much-awarded The Pitt. We're not that taken with it but will stick with it. After Evie went to bed, I watched three quarters of the Indiana-Miami game before going to bed, hoping Indiana would win. They did!

Quotation Of The Day: "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.” Donald Trump

Light Snow And 14º

7:23

It's 8:20, and I have been up for an hour, watching the frenetic birds as they attack the bird feeder. Long Point and the shoreline are a blur because of the light snow and overcast sky. Today will remain cold, and we may receive more snow this afternoon, adding to the inch or two of snow overnight.

Sunday was typical for us lately. It began with a long coffee hour, as we listened to the news on CNN and had our coffee. It was a fine, blue sky morning, but cold. We finished the blog by 9:15 and then talked about dinners for the rest of the week. I wanted to get in a walk despite the cold and the warning from ChatGPT about walking in cold weather. I decided to walk the streets of the Chautauqua Institution, and it was a good choice. I wore my crampons, just in case it was icy, and cut my walk short because of the westerly winds. So I was out for only half an hour, but that was enough to energize me. After the walk, I drove to Tops in Mayville and picked up a few things for our dinners this week. As usual, Tops was practically empty since the Chautauqua Institution closed for the season around Labor Day. During the summer, 7500 people are in residence on the grounds, but in the winter, three or four hundred.

Aboretum

Thunder Bridge

Typical Snowy Street

Walking Dogs On Brick Row

Greek Temple

Thunder Bridge From North Side

I was home by noon and relaxed on the couch. Evie then volunteered to make me breakfast, eggs on toast, so I enjoyed it and watched another episode of Task on HBO Max. Since I had a bad night, I went upstairs and napped for 45 minutes, a good one because I woke feeling refreshed. I then took my first shower in our new walk-in shower and liked it. Both of us will start using it because of the ease of getting in and out safely. By 3:00, I was ensconced in front of the TV, watching another NFL playoff game between the Texans and Patriots. Like the Bills game, it was a game marred by turnovers by both teams. The Patriots eventually won, 28-16. After the game, we got ready to drive over to Linda and Ron's for Sunday night dinner.

   

Ice Fishing In The Afternoon

A Blue Afternoon

It was chilly on our drive over, no seat warmers. We were greeted at the door, took off our boots, put on our slippers, and the four of us quickly sat down at their kitchen table. We had wine then, and Linda had made a spinach/artichoke dip with tasty Issa's pita chips (made in Buffalo). We hadn't seen them since our dinner at the Stockton Inn, ten days ago, so we had lots to catch up on. Linda's sister and brother-in-law, who are both in their mid-80s, recently talked with a gerontologist and have changed many of their habits as a result, and it was interesting to hear. Dinner was perfect, chicken meatballs and orzo in a cream sauce, and a salad. For dessert, Linda made a Middle Eastern flan with an orange sauce, a nice way to end our dinner. We were on our way home by 8:45. Evie was ready for bed when we returned but I watched the end of the Chicago//LA game before joining her. Another good winter day.

Blue Skies Before The Storm

7:15

7:59

6:50

7:59

The frigid temperatures have returned—15º—and will only worsen as the week progresses. It's 8:10, the sun is up and filling the living room with light, and I've been awake since 6:30.

Saturday ended up being a disappointing day because the Buffalo Bills lost in overtime, 33-30. There were some questionable calls, but a team with five turnovers usually deserves to lose. The day started normally enough: getting up early, reading the newspapers, blogging, having breakfast, and waiting for Evie to wake up. Unfortunately, the power went out around 9:00, so I was unable to post the blog. By 10:00, I was on my way to the Transfer Station and checking whether Hogan's Hut had electricity so I could get Evie a cup of coffee. It didn't. I stopped at Ryder's Cup for coffee, then hurried through a busy Wegmans, picking up a prescription and various items for our taco dinner. On the way home, I stopped at the Stedman coffee shop for another coffee for Evie. I returned home maybe ten minutes after the power was restored, and Evie already had her coffee—a good thing, because the Stedman coffee was terrible.

Woodlawn/Victoria Trail

Victoria

I was home by noon, but I wasn't hungry, so I decided to hike through the Victoria/Woodlawn woods, which are conveniently located and decently forested. The hike usually takes just over half an hour, and yesterday was typical: lots of snow on the trees and trail. I wore my crampons in case it was icy. When I returned, Evie had taken the first shower in our new walk-in and loved it. I was hungry by then, so I had another bowl of Penicillin soup and made myself a salami sandwich on Dave's Organic bread. I watched another episode of Task on HBO Max, then went upstairs to read my new thriller, The Crying Cave by Wes Markin. I don't love it, but so far I'm sticking with it.

Overcast Southern Sky

Bridge Over Calm Waters

Victoria/Woodlawn

After a brief nap, we both killed time waiting for the Bills game to begin at 4:30. It went on until 8:00, so we were planted in front of the TV much of the afternoon and early evening. Late in the game, Evie put together a taco bowl with taco shells, meat, lettuce, cheese, taco sauce, and sour cream. By the time the game was over, we were both wiped out. Evie and Tommy had been messaging back and forth during the exciting game. I then watched the first half of the next NFL playoff game between the 49ers and Seahawks. Evie, however, went up to bed, and I followed at halftime—too much football for one day.