Parly Cloudy, Windy And Cool

Our Great Grandson, Tommy

It's 8:23, and both Evie and I have been up since 6:45. After a cup of coffee and planning our day — mostly how I am going to help this morning — I realized she's already up doing things, so I'd better get this written so I can be useful, which is always problematic. I was out on the lake at 7:30, paddling into a southeasterly wind for 20 minutes down to Sandy Bottom, then had an easy paddle back, spotting both a heron and an eagle, which made my morning.

7:22

6:36

Kayak Morning

  Into The Sun And Reeds

Heron

Tuesday was a good day, mostly because Evie had a great day at kindergarten. I had my usual morning of paddling, blogging, and breakfast, so I won't go into detail. By 9:30, we were on our way to Southwestern. I'm sure Evie could have driven, but I wanted to give her knee one more day to heal, so I dropped her off with no plan for the rest of the morning. I went a little crazy and walked around the Target next to Wegmans, checking it out, and was surprised at all the stuff on the shelves — it rivals Walmart. I bought a pair of sweatpants for twenty-five bucks but will take them back today because they're too short. After my retail excursion, I stopped at Tim Hortons for a coffee and a sausage biscuit, then drove to Bemus, to the end of Lakeside Drive. Instead of my usual hike, I did the eastern side of the trail, heading up toward the highway past the buildings. It seemed longer than I remembered — it ended up being about two miles, much of it up some easy hills. I was glad to get back to the car.

Long Point Trail

I was home by 12:15, had a fish sandwich, watched some TV, then left to pick Evie up at 1:15. I waited in the parking lot for five minutes before she came out smiling, having had fun with her class. We were tempted to do some shopping, but it would have been too much for Evie after a day in kindergarten. Once we got home, she regaled me with stories about some of the kids, then watched her shows while I read and napped. Neither of us did anything productive the rest of the afternoon, and we looked forward to wine time at 5:00. It was a windy late afternoon, with the wind chimes sounding every minute or two. After wine and appetizers, neither of us was that hungry, so a bowl of Evie's veggie soup and a hot dog sounded good — that was our dinner. We watched a few shows until Evie went up to bed, when I switched over to the first half of the Fever game. I was bored by halftime, so I switched to my series Fauda, about an Israeli undercover counterterrorism unit. It takes place after the October 7th Hamas invasion, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed. Episode seven, though, went back to that day — to the invasion itself — and it was hard to watch Hamas storm a house and kill children, and rape and kill the wife of one of the series' main characters. There was a warning before the episode began about its violence. I looked up the stats afterward: yes, 1,200 Israelis were killed. In the Israeli response that followed, which continued for over a year, roughly 72,000 Palestinians reportedly died — I had a hard time falling asleep after that.

Loving Autumn Weather

7:09

8:22

It's 8:35, and Evie's up, showering and getting ready for school. I returned from a 50-minute paddle at 8:15, having been up since 6:30 on a chilly 48º morning. It was a good morning for a paddle, although the wind is picking up now. The ospreys have definitely migrated, but I shot three different herons and one eagle high up in a tree.

Kayak Morning

Victoria/Woodlawn

Clouding Up

Hunkering Down

Cormorant

On A Branch

The first day of fall was a decent day for both of us. Evie's knee gets a bit better each day and she is more mobile, enough so that she is going to school today. Yesterday was typical, with an early morning paddle, writing and publishing the blog, and having breakfast. Before going for a bike ride, I helped Evie organize a bedroom for the arrival of our great-grandson Rhys, and brought down some toys saved from when our grandchildren were young. Once that was done, I drove to Spectrum Eye Care to get my glasses adjusted because I accidentally sat on them. I was in and out in ten minutes, and since I was already in Celeron, I drove to Celeron Park on the lake, left my car, and rode my bike to Lakewood, stopping at Ryder's Cup for a coffee, and sat down and talked with a couple of friends, Dave and John. I then rode back to Celeron and drove to Wegmans to do some shopping. I then picked up some wine at Evans and was home by 12:30.

Celeron Lighthouse

I had lunch and watched my show, Fauda, then took a good hour-long nap, a first in a long time. Evie was relaxing much of the afternoon, putting ice on her knee occasionally like a good girl. I read some, then was on my way to meet with my friends for beers at Dick's house. We try to get together every couple of months, alternating at each other's house. Since three have worked at the Chautauqua Institution for many years, it's often the topic of conversation, especially since a former friend's son is now the president of the CI. We left around 6:00, vowing to get together sooner rather than later.

The Boys

When I got home, Evie had dinner practically ready and was putting the breaded fish in the air fryer. Ten minutes later we were enjoying fish, coleslaw, and roasted potatoes. We watched TV together until 8:30, when Evie went up to bed, and I watched some Fauda and Monday Night Football until 10:00, when I went up to bed.

A Southwestern Morning Sky

6:53

6:52

6:48

6:47

6:34

It's 8:44, and we're both sitting around, watching the constantly changing lake sky. I was up around 6:20 and was fortunate to catch a spectacular sky before sunrise. I waited until 7:15, when the sun began to rise, and then went out for a paddle on a very algae-filled lake. It was a long, 75-minute paddle across to Long Point, then south to Tom's Point and home. My kayaking friends had mentioned on Saturday that they'd seen five eagles along Tom's Point, but when I turned the corner, there wasn't an eagle, osprey, or heron in sight. On my way back, however, I did see a heron and a mallard.

Kayaking Along Long Point

Bemus Bridge

Kayaking Towards Tom's And Prendergast Points

Mallard

Heron

Sunday was another day of football, like most Sundays in autumn. It began with a decent paddle, then writing and publishing the blog, all before Evie woke. It was great to see her sleep in, and her knee seems better each day, which is encouraging. We sat around until 10:00, thinking about what we might need for dinner over the next couple of days. We also found a knee brace recommended by ChatGPT that was available at CVS, since the brace the hospital gave her keeps sliding down and is much too big. So around 10:30, I drove into Jamestown and bought CVS's last knee brace. After that, I stopped at a very busy Wegmans and picked up what we needed for the next few days. I forgot the beer and wine, though.  Probably because I wanted to remember to stop at Jeremy's for corn near Hogans. There was none left, so I drove up to Stedman Corner, then to the farm down the road, and found none at either. I went home empty-handed.

When I got home, Evie had been busy in the kitchen, making her famous veggie soup and getting things better organized. For lunch, I had the leftover fried rice and lamb chop and watched the Steelers/Patriots game. I had enough after the first half and went upstairs to read and nap. The rest of the afternoon went quickly, as neither of us did much other than sit around, scroll on our phones, or watch TV. Evie did have long talks with both Beth and Jill, and by 5:00 we were ready for a glass of wine.

For dinner, our neighbor Pat had cleaned out her freezer when she left, so Evie pulled out Pat's ham loaf, made it into ham balls, and baked them with a brown sugar syrup. We'd had them before at Pat and David's and really liked them. Along with mashed potatoes, they made us happy in front of the TV. I watched some of the Sunday night game between the Chiefs and Colts but went up to bed at halftime, tired from doing very little all day.

From my former student Rex:

Yom Kippur (Day Of Atonement)

To those I have wronged,

I ask forgiveness.

To those I may have helped,

I wish I had done more.

To those I neglected to help,

I ask for understanding.

To those who helped me,

I thank you with all my heart.

G'mar Chatima Tovah

May you be sealed in the Book of Life

 

 

A Damp, Dreary, Sunday Morning

6:53

8:45

It's not quite 7:00, and the darkness has lifted to a gray, misty, overcast morning, with the sound of lake flies humming in the distance. I'm enjoying a latte and waiting another 15 to 20 minutes for the sky to lighten and the drizzle to stop before I get out on the lake. There's not a hint of wind, so it should be an easy paddle.

Kayak Morning

Annoying Lake Flies

Tina And Jim

Northern Gray

I was out for over an hour and had to laugh as I paddled out: there was just one boat on the lake, fishing in front of our dock. The kayaking was interesting, as lake flies hovered around me much of the way while I tried to take a photo. It was a good morning, however, for herons but not ospreys as I think they have migrated south. 

Fishing

Hanging Out

Another Gut

High Up In A Tree

Yesterday, Evie's birthday, was another tough but improving day for her knee. The pain subsided some, and she was able to get around without a crutch. We had to cancel a birthday dinner, and she spent much of the day either in bed or on the couch with her knee raised. As for me, it was a busy day, beginning with a 50-minute paddle, then writing and publishing the blog just as Evie was getting up. I made sure she was comfortably set in the living room with coffee, then walked over to my neighbour's house, and we drove off to pack sauerkraut at Tom and Julie's. Maybe six weeks ago we went through a couple of hundred pounds of cabbage, cutting and slicing it and packing it in urns with salt. Now it's sauerkraut, ready to be packed in plastic bags and frozen. Jim and I filled close to 30 freezer bags with the remaining kraut, thanked Julie and Tom, and drove home to put it in the freezer. Yum, we're set for the winter, for pork and sauerkraut or Evie's Slovenian pork, bean and potato soup.

Packing Sauerkraut For The Year

I was home around noon, and Evie fried up some bacon for me in the air fryer, then had enough and went up to bed to relax for a couple of hours. I made a couple of BLTs, watched another episode of Fauda, then went upstairs to read and make sure Evie didn't need anything.

Around 3:30, Evie came downstairs, got something to eat, and relaxed in the TV room watching some of the shows she's missed. I'm starting to enjoy my new read, Before You Knew My Name. and read for an hour. Around 4:15, I decided to get some work done outside. First, I trimmed the privets, giving them some shape. Then I took deadfall up the hill to the woodpile, clearing the path some with my trimmer. Finally, I started putting things away in the garage attic, getting ready for winter. It took about 45 minutes in all, so it was perfect timing for a glass of wine with Evie.

We listened to the breaking news, for maybe the fifth or sixth time, that CNN and other news outlets were illegally denied entrance to the White House because of Trump's hissy fits with the truth, the facts. Earlier, Evie had put together a fried rice dish with tomatoes, and around 6:30 she grilled lamb chops for our dinner. We watched a couple of shows until 8:30, when Evie went up to bed. I briefly watched the Ole Miss/LSU game before returning to another episode or two of Fauda on Netflix.

Happy Birthday Evie And Tommy (Pink Sky In The Morning)

Hawaii, 1969 - Evie and Tommy

Pontoon Boat At 6:37

6:53

7:04

8:09

It's 7:00 as I begin this. I've been up since 6:30, watching the sky turn pink and now shift to yellow as the sun begins to rise over the Bemus shoreline. It's now after 8:00 and I was out for 50 minutes, down to the Powerboat Club and back. We kid about the area in front of our house being a sweet spot, and wouldn't you know, the last couple of mornings a pontoon boat was parked in front of our yard, fishing at 6:40. When I returned from kayaking, two pontoon boats were basically docked in front of our yard.

Kayak Morning

A Noble Heron

Pontoon Boats In Front Of Our Yard

Fishing

Yesterday began with a good paddle, but I was in a hurry to get home and see how Evie was doing. I was able to write the blog and publish it, and then I made sure to help her come downstairs. It was clear, even to her, that we needed to go to the ER. I helped her get ready and bring all that she might need for a long haul of waiting, and we drove to Jamestown and checked into the ER. Fortunately, we were called back to a room after 45 minutes and saw a doctor within ten minutes. He wanted Evie to get an X-ray before making any diagnosis. Once she was back, the X-ray showed arthritis and a strain, but he felt that Evie may have torn her meniscus, and only an MRI would show that. He was a funny guy and it made our stay easier. The PA then put a brace on Evie's knee and helped her learn how to use a crutch and avoid putting weight on the knee. I went out and brought the car back to the entrance, helped Evie get into the car, and we drove off to Lakewood, stopping at McDonald's and bringing lunch home. It's difficult for Evie to get out of the car, or to move in any way that strains her knee. We settled down on the front porch, ate our lunch and put ice on her knee. After lunch, she just wanted to go upstairs and stay in bed. I helped her up the stairs and she stayed up there for a couple of hours.

Zinnias

I read and tried to nap, but I had a project on my mind that I wanted to get done. So I put on my bathing suit and bailed out the rowboat, then paddled out to the front of our dock and pulled the buoys out of the water. Each buoy is attached to a cement block, and I had to drag them up out of the water, complicated by a wind that kept making it more and more difficult. I finally got seven of them in the boat, then set them on our wall and cut the rope attaching each buoy to its cement block. I put the cement blocks away in the bushes for next year, then filled a wheelbarrow with water and bleach and scrubbed the buoys clean of dirt and muck.

Evie came downstairs after I was done, and we sat out on the porch, waiting for wine time. Evie is comfortable when her leg is elevated and she doesn't have to move. Earlier, I had marinated pork chops in teriyaki sauce, and around 6:30 I grilled them. Dinner was decent: rice, pork chops, and a salad, and it tasted good to Evie. We then watched some TV until Evie wanted to go up to bed, and I helped her get organized with water, pills, watch and phone. I then watched the first half of the Fever game and another episode of Fauda before going to bed.