More Snow, Again ,But Warming

Backyard At 8:10

9:30

It just struck 9:00 and 29º as I start this and I have been up for an hour. We got five or six inches overnight and I cannot wait to get out there and shovel. I made the mistake of reading an article by the Post's Dana Milbank, describing the 'extravagantly unqualified" Trump nominees and the gutless Republican shills who support them and it ruined my morning. Will I have to avoid the news for the next four years to keep my sanity?

Entrance To Long Point State Park

Groomed Trail

Yesterday, a Thursday was a pretty good day. Up early and breakfast with Jack at 8:00 is always a good start to the day. And Evie's up early as well, organized and excited, to be going to kindergarten at 9:30. I was home by 9:15 and we finished up the blog. I wanted to get in a hike so I dressed in layers, put on my hiking boots, grabbed my hiking poles, and drove over to Bemus, down Lakeside Drive, to the entrance of Long Point State Park. It was a beautiful hike of over two miles, trees frosted with snow, and, fortunately, someone had trail blazed the paths, making it easier for me to walk, Instead of a foot of snow, I struggled in two or three inches. 

A Striking Winter 

Old And New Signs

I was home just after 12:00 and did some shoveling, again, before coming in and having lunch, the leftover cauliflower and garbanzo bean curry. The rest of the afternoon I read, napped and waited for Evie to return. She was late because class had a substitute and she stayed to help out. I forgot to mention that on Tuesday when she was about to leave for home, the class formed a wall at the door and wouldn't let her leave. How cute. Once home,  Evie relaxed and then started prepping our dinner, mashed potatoes and Salisbury steak, a 50s dinner. While she was prepping, I went out and did more shoveling and walked down our street to get the mail.

5:31 PM

Dinner was great and I love mashed potatoes with gravy. Yum. We watched two more episodes of Greek Salad and had enough. It's really getting bad. So what did we watch? Colbert who ridiculed the qualifications of many of the nominees, depressing us more. Once Evie went up to bed, I watched a few minutes of the Cavs but they were behind by 30 points at halftime so I watched another episode of Whitechapel before going up to bed. 

Remembering Our Little Sister Laura On Her 65th Birthday

A Dusting Of Snow

7:18

8:03

9:15

When I woke, I looked outside to see if I needed to shovel the parking area again. Fortunately, we received less than an inch, but I need to clean off the car. It's chilly out there, 15º and windy. It's almost 9:30 and I just returned from breakfast in Bemus with Jack, always interesting because of his knowledge of the area. 

Yesterday was probably the worst morning to have to drive to Jamestown because of the snow but I made it. First, it took me a good 20 minutes to clear off the car and shovel the drive of at least six inches of snow.  Then, I took the highway, #86 and it was fine, taken care of by plows but the streets of Jamestown were mostly slush so I had to be careful. I am happy to report that I only need a new crown, not an implant saving me mucho bucks. I took #394 on the way home and it was clear, no snow, no ice so I felt fortunate. 

Mary's Dad, Great Grandfather Frank

Evie did not have school so she got a few things done around the house while I was in Jamestown. For lunch, I had tuna/egg salad sandwiches and soup and watched my show as my afternoons do not change much. I then read, napped and watched it snow until 4:30 when I went out and shoveled for another 20 minutes, then went for a walk in our neighborhood, running into Jim, out walking Ripley. 

We enjoyed a leisurely dusk as Evie had dinner made,  ravioli with asparagus and tomatoes. We enjoyed it with a salad and watched a couple of episodes of a series I found on Prime called Greek Salad. It's not great but we stuck with it because it's set in Athens. We ended the night with the depressing news on CNN and some basketball. 

Overnight Snowfall

7:19

8:03

I was up early, at 7:00, looked out the window to another five inches of snow. I hope the roads are decent because I have to be in Jamestown at 9:00 for a dentist appointment. 

Tuesday was a good day for both of us. Evie spent the day at school with her kindergartens and I got in a coffee and a good hike. First, I had to clear the driveway and car before Evie left for school at 9:30. About a half hour later, I grabbed my hiking poles and drove to Lakewood to see if anyone was at Ryders Cup. Neal, one of my new friends from Sugar Grove, PA, was there so we talked for a good half hour. He has grandsons who are hockey lovers and they practice in Erie, and play all over the place. This weekend he will follow them to Ann Arbor for a tournament. He loves it of course and doesn't mind the travel. He owns a roofing and gutter business now mostly run by his sons. 

Trail Begins

Lots Of Snow

After coffee, I drove ten minutes to Dobbins Woods, a great place to hike or snowshoe. I pulled in the empty lot and wasn't sure if I should hike it because of four or five inches of new snow and lots of uneven hiking. If I sprained an ankle, I would be in trouble. Fortunately, I persevered, was careful and hiked the entire circle, gone for about 40 minutes. Next time I will text Evie where I am hiking just in case. 

Where's The Trail

Hemlocks

I was home by 12:30 and hungry for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on 12-grain toast. I also had a bowl of Evie's cabbage and veggie soup and watched Whitechapel for an hour, then went up and napped briefly. I read until Evie came home around 2:30 and helped her with the groceries then returned to my book. It started snowing around 4:00, and I was tempted to go out and shovel but I thought I would wait until it stopped. I showered at 5:00 while Evie was on a Zoom call with her sisters till 5:45. When she got off the phone, Evie started putting together our dinner, cauliflower and chicken pea curry. So I went outside and shoveled and cleaned the car for a half hour on a beautiful night, a few flurries filling the night air. 

Shoveling At 6:10 In The Early Evening

Dinner was the best, a veggie curry topped with yogurt, salad, and naan on the side. We struggled with what to watch on TV, starting a couple of recommended series but none grabbed us so we watched Lewis Gates  Finding Your Roots and followed Joy Behar's genealogy. We ended the night with Colbert and some basketball. 

 basketball once Evie went up to bed. 

More Snow And Cold

7:55

8:00

8:01

I woke to four or five more inches of snow and a chilly 12º. I guess the winter storm warning was accurate. A few fishing tents are out but not as many as the weekend. Evie goes to kindergarten this morning so I better get out there and clear the snow off the Kia and shovel the driveway. 

Yesterday was a busy day. It began as usual with coffee, the blog, and breakfast. By 9:30, I was ready to drive to yoga class. When I got there, I found out class didn't start until 10:30 and I was 35 minutes early. So I drove down to Ryders Cup, sat with my friends, and talked until 10:20 when I returned to the studio and class. It was a Melt class, so it was mostly a massage of the entire body with a foam four-foot roller. I felt pretty good after class meaning my back was none the worst from class.

When I returned home, I had soup and another ham and cheese for lunch, then took a brief nap because we were going to Jamestown for Evie's appointment with a urologist at 3:00. It went quickly and I was able to drop Evie off at T.J. Maxx and make my appointment with a podiatrist at 4:15, actually getting in to see the doctor early. I had to go in and grab Evie from TJ's, then we drove to Walmart where we did some more shopping and I picked up my new prescription sunglasses.

We were home by 5:00 and relaxed in the living room as the sky darkened and we listened to the depressing news in California. Dinner was easy, with leftover chicken chili over sweet potatoes and a salad with beets. We watched Hometown, Antique Roadshow, and another home improvement show before Evie went up to bed. I watched the first half of the Rams/Vikings game then went to bed. It was a busy day. 

Overcast amd 24º

 

7:44

8:46

It's 8:25 and I have been up for close to an hour. Evie's sleeping in, lucky gal. A few tents are out on the lake but nothing like the weekend. In fact, I am sure a couple of the tents are left on the ice for later in the day or tomorrow. 

Heading Home

Sunday was another football Sunday and I am glad to see the end of the playoffs are in sight. Evie was up early and I slept in, sort of, till 8:00. We listened to the news with our coffee and planned our day around the Bills game at 1:00. The other two didn't matter. I wanted to get some exercise so I walked the Woodlawn/Victoria woods for 35 minutes, running into my neighbors, Barb and Jim, again. Fortunately, they had blazed the trail through the snow with their snowshoes, making it easier for me to hike. I met some fishermen on the way home and they told me the lake was at least 5 inches thick so I walked home on its snow-covered surface. It was a beautiful late morning, with some blue skies and sun so I loved it. 

Hiking Woodlawn/Victoria

Frozen Lake

Shadow

Looking Southeast

When I returned, Evie was making a big pot of cabbage and vegetable soup. We decided to hold breakfast off until 1:00 when the Bills game started and by 1:00,  Evie made a couple of omelets with feta and tomatoes along with toast. By half-time, we were bored and needed a change. So I went upstairs and read and napped and Evie watched something else on TV. After my nap, we watched the second half that we had saved and the Bills won 31-7 although it was 10-7 at half-time.

Dusk

Once the game was over, we adjourned to the living room and enjoyed the waning of the day as the fishing guys slowly walked to shore. Earlier, Evie had marinated a couple of pork chops in teriyaki sauce so she fried them up and we had them along with broccoli and rice for dinner. We watched a bit of football then decided to watch the Westminister Kennel Club dog show from 2024. That was fun and after it was over, Evie went up to bed leaving me to watch some football and my show, Whitechapel before bed.

23º And Cloudy

8:49

9:06

It's 8:45 and both of us are up although Evie was up before me. The fishing guys have been out on the lake for a couple of hours and the ice must be thick because we saw a couple of snowmobiles on the lake yesterday.

This Morning

Saturday was typical, getting up around 8:00, having our coffee, writing the blog and having breakfast, in no hurry to get anything done. By 10:00, however, I had put together a white chicken chili recipe into the crock pot and Evie started a pot of vegetable soup. We cleaned up the mess in the kitchen and I then drove to the Transfer Station. Once I dropped off the trash, I drove over to the Long Point Marina and walked out to Long Point and back along with quite a few others, families, snowshoers, fishermen, and my neighbors, with their dog. It was a beautiful, short hike, trees trimmed in snow and a decent path so I did not need snowshoes,.

Trails At Long Point

Hemlocks

Photo From Long Point

Long Point

Barb and Jim With Ripley

I returned home around 12:30 and Evie had my lunch ready, soup and a toasted cheese and ham sandwich. I watched my show, of course, then started my new book, Death At The Sign Of A Rook, Kate Atkinson's seventh Jackson Brodie mystery. I read most of them so I am excited to have her latest. At 2:00, we put clean sheets on my bed and I then took advantage of them and napped for a half hour. At 5:00, I watched some of the Houston/LA game but soon got bored and joined Evie in the living room. By 6:30, our chili was plated, and topped with cilantro, cheese, and radishes. It was tasty but not something to rave about. We watched a new Swedish series on Netflix called The Breakthrough and watched all four episodes. I recommend it. Evie went to be at 9:15 and I watched the first half of the NFL game which I had saved before going up to bed. 

Bemus Bay Fishermen

A Beautiful Winter Sunrise

8:01

8:39

It's almost 9:00 and we are both up enjoying what was a sunny morning but is now an overcast sky. Lots of ice fishermen are out along Long Point as well as in the middle of the lake. I have yet to see any stats on the depth of the ice so I will stay off it for now. We also received two to three inches of snow overnight. Yippee, I get to shovel!

Morning Ice Fishing On Chautauqua Lake

Friday was a typical day for us lately. We both slept in, me till 8:00, Evie till 9:00 and were in no hurry to get moving. By 10:00, we were ready to do something so I was hot to make a white chili recipe in the slow cooker today so I drove off to Wegmans to pick up the ingredients I needed and stopped at Ryders Cup for coffee. On the way home, I bought a car wash since the Kia was dirty from the snow and ice.

When I  got home, Evie was busy cleaning the kitchen and stove, giving both a deep cleaning. We talked about dinner but couldn't decide whether to go out or stay home, leaving it up to our mood late afternoon. I had the leftover shrimp and rice for lunch and watched another episode of Whitechapel. As I mentioned yesterday, I am enjoying my novel, The Wife, so I spent a good part of the afternoon reading, napping and watching some TV. By 5:30, we decided to stay home for dinner so I drove over to Bemus Point and picked up a pizza. It was a good choice along with a salad and we watched two episodes of a new medical drama on Max called The Pitt, starring Noah Wiley from ER. It's not bad. We then watched the Ohio State game although Evie stayed for only the first quarter. I lasted until the fourth quarter and went to bed not sure if the Buckeyes would win. They did so all is well in Ohio.