Thursday, March 28, 2024

A Chilly But Bright, Sunny Lake Morning

 

7:48

7:15

7:15

7:21

It's 7:30, the sun's in full bloom, filling the living room with its light and I am wearing my baseball cap. I was surprised at the temperature, 28º, because it was much warmer yesterday morning. It looks like we will have some sunshine the next couple of days.  Maybe I will get outside and get in a hike somewhere, maybe not! It's 9:21 and I just returned from breakfast at Lake Life In Bemus, a good way to start my day before leaving for yoga. 

I am getting tired of writing the same things each day and was thinking about asking ChatGPT to do it for me. Life, however, mostly stays the same during the late winter and Spring at least here at the lake. However, A calm lake morning was a gift yesterday so that I was out for forty-five minutes and paddled over to Long Point on calm days like yesterday. I was off by 9:40 to yoga and surprisingly, we had three or four new students. Our new teacher, Grace, is fine and I like her class, not too easy or hard. I was tempted to do some shopping but came straight home since the weather had turned windy and gray.

Evie was busy much of the day with her Shutterfly book of the summer of 2023 yet took time out to make me avocado and tomato sandwiches on brioche rolls to go along with the last of the lentil and sausage soup. I started a new series that I doubt I will continue called Rizolli & Asles on Max. I had enough after the first episode and couldn't wait to get back to my book, Box 88 and nap. And that was it for the rest of the afternoon, mostly reading while Evie worked on the Shutterfly album.

By 6:00, we were ready to pick up our neighbors and drive over the lake bridge to the Viking Club, quite busy because of the drawing, now worth somewhere around $5000.00. We are getting tired of ordering wings so I had a Buffalo chicken pizza and Evie ordered a chicken salad, both decent. We had a good time just catching up on the neighborhood and politics and stayed until after 8:00. When we returned home, we  Evie was tired and went up to bed and I watched the NBA before joining her. 

'Looking Back' To Camping In Austria, Probably 1976


Wednesday, March 27, 2024

A Calm, Partly Cloudy Morning

7:14

It's 7:30 and I have been up for an hour, surprised by the lack of wind and warm temperature of 47º. The lake looks inviting, smooth, and gray so I hope to get in a paddle. It's 9:10 and I was out kayaking for forty-five minutes, across to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom and home, my usual paddle. I was serenaded by two loons, one to my right and left and whenever I paddled near them, they dove and disappeared so I never got a good photo. 

Kayak Morning

North

Long Point

Partial Sun

Shades Of Gray

Yesterday was windy most of the day so I didn't get outside to do anything except for yoga. I wrote the blog, had breakfast, and was on my way to yoga with Courtney by 9:10. I was the only guy and left feeling much better than I did on arrival. I did not linger but came straight home, thinking Evie might need the car. She decided to put off her shopping for another day so neither of us had any plans for the afternoon. Evie had made my lunch before I returned, a chicken parm sandwich which was heating up in the oven. Just what I wanted as I watched my show, Unforgotten for an hour. 

Our afternoons seem the same lately because of the inclement weather. I read, Evie watched some TV and I napped until 5:00 when Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters. By 6:00, both of us had showered and were on our way to dinner at Bellininis bar, in the Chautauqua Suites Hotel. We met Ron and Linda for the first time in a couple of weeks because both of them had Covid. It was half-priced beer and burger night so the bar was crowded with mostly locals. The four of us ordered the burgers, fries, and beer of course and my bill was twenty-five bucks, the best deal in Chautauqua County. It was good to see Linda and Ron again, both feeling good after their bouts with Covid. We stayed talking until 8:00 when we headed home. 

We then watched some TV until 9:30 when we both were tired and went up to bed to read and hopefully sleep, 

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Gray And Windy

 

7:22

8:14

It's 8:20 and windy out there, gusts up to 40 mph. No kayaking, obviously, just sitting in my living room, watching the bird feeder, enjoying my coffee and reading the papers on my computer. It's 40º and we may have some rain.

Yesterday was a bore as I did nothing, no kayaking, yoga or walking. I was up later than usual, had breakfast, and wrote the blog as usual and it seemed strange to have no yoga. Mondays are no yoga days at Eight Limbs Yoga Studio. At 11:00, however, I had my Annual Wellness Visit with my PA, mostly a quick check-up although it turned into a decent physical and a blood test. I then stopped at Tops to pick up a few things for dinner and was home for lunch by 12:00. I had the lentil and sausage soup for lunch along with a couple of cheese sandwiches and watched my series, Unforgotten. 

Fortunately, I am into my book by Charles Cummin, Box 88, so that's how I spent a good part of the afternoon reading and occasionally napping. Evie made banana bread with avocadoes and cottage cheese for a nice midafternoon snack. We enjoyed wine time before Evie put together our dinner of chicken parmesan with the leftover chicken cutlets from Sunday night. We devoured it while watching some basketball and then a feel-good movie on Netflix called Bank Of Dave. It was predictable yet fun to watch if you avoided being critical. 

We also spent most of the evening watching UCONN and Iowa women play basketball, I was impressed by UCONN's Paige Buecker (AP Player of The Year, 2021), especially her inside play and classic jump shot. Cailin Clark had a rough go of it against a scrappy, aggressive West Virginia team yet scored 32 points in a close win. It was a good way to end the night with an Iowa victory, sending them into the Sweet 16 along with UCONN.

Full Moon At 8:45



Monday, March 25, 2024

Sunny, Windy, And Warming

Happy Twenty-First Birthday To Our Granddaughter, Marlena


7:32

8:17

I was surprised to look at my watch this morning and see the temperature was 30º, the high in the 50s, maybe Spring is near. I was tempted to paddle this morning but the wind was just too much despite the inviting morning sun. 

Yesterday was more March Madness in the afternoon and evening but we got smart and watched the last five minutes of most of the games. The day did start well, with a great paddle and a shot of a bald eagle which made my day. We enjoyed the morning sunshine and the birds at our feeder. We decided to get in a walk in the morning and decided on our usual Sunday walk at the Chautauqua Institution. I was worried it might be icy but we could navigate around the icy parts. We walked for a good forty-five minutes, literally having the CI to ourselves. On the way home, we stopped at Tops to pick up a few things before driving home. 

A Snow Covered Thunder Bridge

Brick Walk

It was just about 1:00 when we returned and Evie made me avocado toast with two eggs. Yum, a nice Sunday morning treat. The afternoon went quickly as we alternated between various games and reading, watching junk TV or napping. The highlight of the afternoon, however, was the waterfowl. Much of the afternoon hundreds of migrating birds floated or flew in circles in front of our house. We had never seen anything like it; seagulls, mergansers, buffleheads, swans, geese, and mallards roamed for a couple of hours. It was like a National Geographic film. 

A Raft Of Water Fowl

By wine time, however, they had disappeared and we sat around enjoying the quiet. By 6:00, Evie was frying chicken cutlets, baking potatoes and roasting brussels sprouts for our dinner. We watched the last two episodes of Secret State, a depressing look at the corruption and self-interest in governments. It's worth watching on Prime Video. We ended the night with our favorite HGTV series, Hometown, before watching a bit of basketball again before going up to bed.

Full Moon Rising

Full Moon 

 



Sunday, March 24, 2024

Paddling On A Sunny 19º Morning

Bald Eagle

7:35

9:24

Sunday Morning

The sun is out, filling the lake with its reflection, and a cold morning. I was up just after the sun rose,  surprising me when I came downstairs. When I looked at the temperature, I didn't think I would go kayaking but the lake looked too inviting so out I went and was rewarded with my first Spring sighting of a bald eagle.

Kayak Morning

Looking  North

Mostly Blue

Hanging Out 

Yesterday could only be described as Mad, as in March Madness. It did not begin until noon so we had a relaxing morning, watching the three swans feeding in front of our house and enjoying a couple of cups of coffee before finishing the blog, By 10:30, we had gathered the trash and I went off to the Transfer Station on a cold morning. My Kia was frozen from sitting out, so I took the Outback which was in the garage. There are advantages to having two cars.

Cruising

Napping

Cuddling

Lunch was a Turkish omelet and a couple of brioche rolls and I watched some of the first March Madness game. I soon got bored and went back to my book, a spy thriller by Charles Cumming titled Box 88. I soon tired of it and took a nap, what else. The only game we wanted to see was Iowa Women with Catlin Clark. We had it taped so Evie made some popcorn, I poured the lemonade, and we watched the entire game with millions of fans. I am sure it was the most-watched game on Saturday despite it being a women's game. 

After the game, we enjoyed our wine and relaxed in the living room,  surfeited with basketball after watching Iowa and parts of other games. Dinner was the lentil, sausage, and spinach soup along with sourdough bread. We loved the soup and it was substantial, with the lentils and sausage. We decided on a 2012 series from Great Britain called Secret State and we liked it and watched a couple of episodes. It deals with politics and corruption and division in government. Sound familiar? I can see why people despise the government with the many self-serving politicians. Evie went to bed around 9:00 so I watched the end of the Tennessee/Texas game before joining her.


Saturday, March 23, 2024

Three Swans A Swimmin

Swans

8:03

Woke up to a couple of inches of Spring snow, yep, winter is still hanging around. It's 25º, warming up, and the best part of this morning was spotting three swans in front of our house, dunking for weeds, not donuts! We also saw the trio late yesterday afternoon so they have been hanging around for at least 24 hours. 



Today, like yesterday, was too windy and cold for a paddle so I had an easy morning, coffee, breakfast, the blog, no hurry. The good old Outback is still starting in the cold so I took it to yoga class. Six of us were in class, four of the regulars. One, a young guy, a friend of our teacher, walked the Appalachian Trail in 2021 so it was fun talking with him. After class, I did a quick run through Wegmans thinking I had a prescription but didn't despite their message that I did. I bought the ingredients for a Lentil, Sausage and Spinach soup, compliments of my niece and nephew. When I got home, Evie wanted to get the soup made so the two of us did some chopping and sauteeing, before adding the lentils and let it simmer for forty-five minutes. I had a leftover roast beef on a Kimmelwick bun for lunch and watched Unforgotten on PBS. I spent the afternoon watching some of March Madness interspersed with reading and a nap, a good way to spend a Friday afternoon. 

Tulips and Snow -- Tulips from our friend Barb

After a glass of wine and photographing the swans, Evie put our dinner together, tortillas topped with ground beef, tomatoes, and cheese and baked in the oven. Once done, we topped them with lettuce, and catsup, and pickles and ate them like a taco. They were a bit messy to eat but tasty. We finally finished Marcella's third season, and both of us were happy to see it end. We then watched Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix as he traveled to Croatia and tasted their food in various cities. It's pretty good although we tire of his silly banter and humor. Evie went to bed around 9:00 and I watched some basketball then finished my book The Berry Pickers which I would highly recommend. 


Friday, March 22, 2024

Windy, Cold, And Gray

7:06

7:12

8:25

Well, I guess the weather gods did not get the memo that Spring is here. It's 18º this morning and I woke to a winter storm advisory for the area, with flurries to start in five minutes.  It didn't matter to the birds who were at the feeder once it became light.

Yesterday was a fun morning, beginning with breakfast with my friend Jack who just returned from a couple weeks in Trinidad and Granada. He regaled me with his trip, the weather, the beaches, and the great restaurants. I was home by 9:10, finished up the blog, and drove off to Yin Yoga at 10:00. Class didn't end until 11:20 so I didn't get home until just before noon. Evie had chicken salad ready for me to make sandwiches on toast and she took off for an interview with the Southwestern Schools Primary grade principal. She hopes to help out with kindergarteners and 1st graders a couple times a week if her references give her good reviews. I began watching another series which I have started a couple of times, Unforgotten, on PBS. I started it because I liked Nicola Walker so much in River and she is the main inspector in Unforgotten, all seven seasons. 

Evie didn't get home until 3:00 because she shopped at Wegmans after the interview. I watched some of the March Madness games, mostly the Akron Zips loss to Creighton, and read and napped. At 5:00, Evie drove our neighbor to North Harmony for a court appearance. Fortunately, it did not take too long so she was home by 6:00 although the courtroom seemed packed. Knowing she might be gone during dinner time, she bought sliced roast beef and kimmelwick buns for our dinner so all she needed to do was make sandwiches for dinner. The kimmelwick buns, loaded with salt, make the roast beef and horseradish sandwiches extra special. We watched another couple of episodes of Marcella and then the last six minutes of the Oakland upset of Kentucky. It's the biggest upset of Kentucky since the Ohio University Bobcats destroyed third-ranked Kentucky 85-69 on March 11, 1964, in the NCAA Regional Semifinal. It was played in Williams Arena in Minneapolis and yours truly scored seven points. It was quite a thrill to beat Kentucky and its coach Adolph Rupp. We ended the night with Everybody Loves Raymond, our go to show for a laugh after 'breaking bad news'. 


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