A Changing Morning Sky

6:24

6:50

7:33

It's 6:45, and I've been up for a half hour, enjoying the colorful morning sky. It's 56º, and I have breakfast at 8:00 in Bemus. I was lucky to get in a half house paddle, down to Sandy Bottom and back before heading to Bemus for breakfast. What a great morning sky.

Kayak Morning

Eastern Sky

Pigeon Roost

Rhys Is Up When I Return From Kayaking

Ready To Catch A Fish

Update, 9:20: Tom and I just returned from breakfast in Bemus with Jack, and it was a fun morning. It was great for the two of them to meet. When we pulled into our driveway, Evie and Mary were sitting on the steps watching Rhys play in the dirt.

Rhys And Tom In The Digger

Watching The Digger

Tuesday was another Rhys day; what else? He dominated the day except for a two-hour nap from 12:30 to 2:30, and we love it. Yesterday began with a long paddle, and instead of returning to a quiet house, I found Tom and Mary up with Rhys, ready to go. Mary had already made him scrambled eggs, so he was entertaining himself with his trucks and farm until the "digger" arrived to get our parking area ready for asphalt. Of course, he was infatuated with the digger and the dump truck and sat on the front porch, either alone or with one of us.

It was a cloudy, overcast morning, but the wind had died down, and the lake was calm, so I took the cover off the boat and we cruised for an hour, over to Bemus, along the shoreline, and back home. Rhys was not particularly taken with it, preferring to sit on his grandparents' laps most of the time, although we did get him to sit on my lap for a bit and help me steer. When we returned, we all had lunch, finishing up the chili and tuna salad, and Rhys had a quesadilla before going up for a nap. He is so good about going down for a nap.

Cruising Chautauqua Lake

Rhys

Rhys And Baba

Tom and Mary wanted to go for a hike and volunteered to shop at Wegmans, so they went off, hiking around Long Point State Park, then driving to Lakewood to pick up salmon and other goodies for dinner. Evie and I relaxed while Rhys napped, and around 2:30 I brought him downstairs so Evie could read him some books and play trucks with him. He was happy with just the two of us and didn't seem to miss his grandparents.

They returned around 4:00, and Rhys was happy to see them. We had one more project: Tom and I mounted the birdhouse close to the house, behind the rhododendrons. We'll just have to wait and see if it's a good spot. Tom picked up an anti-squirrel disk, so hopefully the squirrels won't be able to get to the house.

Playing With Balloons

Helping Granny Cook

Sitting On Back Porch

We sat out on the front porch since it was so pleasant, enjoying some wine and watching Rhys chase balloons and airplanes in the front yard. We launched both into the air, and Rhys had fun chasing them when they fell to the ground. Dinner was salmon, broccoli, and a salad, with a couple of ears of shucked corn, and Rhys had chicken tenders. He was ready for bed around 7:45 and happily went up to sleep. I watched quite a bit of the Fever win while the rest sat in the living room on their devices. Tom and I had a piece of chocolate peanut butter pie, and it was sinfully sweet. The others went up to bed around 9:30, but I stayed up and watched the game until the end.

The Sky At 10:00 PM

Hanging Out With A Two Year Old Great Grandson

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Preparing Our Parking Area For Asphalt

Our Boy Loving Watching The Digger

With Baba

6:51

It's just after 7:00, and I've been up since 6:20, waiting for the sky to lighten. The lake is perfectly calm, so I'm excited to get out on the water despite the gray, overcast sky and 56º. As I pulled into the yard, I noticed a "digger," as Rhys calls it, and a dump truck sitting out back, ready to excavate our parking area for asphalt. Rhys is so excited that he's sitting outside watching the guy begin.  

Kayak Morning

North

Long Point/Prendergast Point

Morning Heron

Prancing Heron

Monday began with an early coffee, and Rhys rose around 6:40, ready for bear. I then took a 50-minute paddle with, fortunately, a fairly light north wind. When I got back, everyone was up, and Rhys was playing with a new farm set Evie had set out the night before. He is amazingly good at playing on his own and doesn't seem to need adult attention or favor. By 9:30 we were hungry, so Tom volunteered to make scrambled eggs and toast. Rhys shoveled the eggs into his mouth, usually with a fork, occasionally with his hand. He's a good eater, at least of the things he likes.

Loving Books

Hat Man

Having Tom around has been great because he's so much more adept with computers and with putting things together, something I seem to lack more and more. First, Evie was given an amazing birdhouse for her birthday by her sister Claire. It has a camera inside that takes photos of the birds and sends them to your computer and Photos. Putting it together wasn't hard, but syncing the camera with the computer was difficult for me and easy for Tom, so we were done in half an hour and ordered a bird pole from Amazon, which arrives today. Yippee! Then we tackled a Skylight Digital Picture Frame, a gift to Evie and me from my Robert College students a year ago, which we never got to work. Tom figured out how to reset the password and connect it to our computer, and now photos from the past 60 years pop up on our frame. Two Yippees!

Loving His Nani

Meanwhile, Rhys played with his toys, including the new farm set, and took advantage of two grandmas willing to read to him whenever he got bored. He had lunch around 11:45 and went down for a two-hour nap at noon. We had a choice of chili or tuna and macaroni salad. After lunch, we were either on our devices or napping. By 3:00 Rhys was up and we wanted to do something, so we drove over to the Chautauqua Institution and browsed the bookstore because Mary wanted to get a sweatshirt for Tommy. Unfortunately, none were small enough, but Rhys talked Evie into buying a fire truck, so he was happy. We then drove down to the Bell Tower, where there's a playground made mostly of old tree trunks, and Rhys loved exploring the various apparatus.

Loving His New Fire Truck

Mary, Tom, And Evie

Playing At The CI Beach

Crossing The Swinging Bridge

Once he'd had enough, we drove home and relaxed with a glass of wine or two until 6:00, a nice way to end the afternoon. Earlier, Evie had made Turkish koftes, so Tom and I grilled them for about ten minutes and brought them inside for Evie to assemble into a Turkish Iskender kebab: pita, koftes, and tomato sauce, topped with yogurt, a family favorite. With corn on the cob, it was a feast. Rhys went to bed around 8:00, and we watched the first half of the NFL game before joining him. What a fun day.

Overcast And 56º

Go Chiefs, Go Bills

6:47

It's 7:00, and I've been up since 6:20. The dark sky has turned gray, with not a hint of sun at the moment, and a 6-mph wind from the north might make my paddle back more difficult if it picks up. I'm getting tired of windy mornings. It's 8:25, and we're all up, watching Rhys play with his trucks. I was out for 50 minutes on a cloudy, gray morning. It didn't rain, and the northern wind was light enough that I had no trouble kayaking back to Woodlawn.

Kayak Morning

Great Blue

Eagle

On Woodlawn Dock

Yesterday was a full day, thanks to Rhys and the Bills and Chiefs game. It started with an early wake-up and a brief 15-minute paddle because of the wind. Once everyone was up, we decided on buttermilk pancakes, and Rhys helped Granny make the batter. We sat down and devoured them, and Rhys, of course, ate his share. We weren't sure what to do with the day, so I suggested driving to Lakewood, getting coffees at Ryder's Cup, and then taking Rhys to the playground just down the street. It's a great playground, with two levels, one for older kids and one for younger. Rhys loved it, and we stayed close to an hour before heading home.

Rhys And Tom and Hydrangeas

Getting Coffee

Walking Down To Playground

The Great Grandparents

The rest of the afternoon was organized around NFL football. The games started at 1:00, so Evie volunteered to stay home with Rhys while he napped. The three of us went over to 14 Main in Bemus, a sports bar with four games on various TVs: Bills, Steelers, Browns, and Chiefs. We wore our Chiefs shirts into the bar, but I wore my Bills hat, so we were welcomed. We ordered beer and lunch: soup, loaded fries, and a sausage sandwich for Tom. Fans sat around the TV of their favorite team. Most of the patrons were Bills fans, although there was a loud contingent of Steelers fans. Evie called just after halftime, so I went back and picked up her and Rhys and brought them to the bar. We sat around for another hour, ordering more beers, some onion rings, and chicken tenders. Rhys was happy to sit on Mary's lap for a good half hour before he and Evie played with the bowling machine. It was a good day for the fans, because all four teams with viewers won: Bills, Chiefs, Steelers, and Browns.

Loving His Trucks

Putting Together The Puzzle With Rhys

After the game, we walked down to the Casino, which was closing for the season, and Mary and Evie took Rhys to the playground for a bit. We then headed home and relaxed from our afternoon of viewing with a glass of wine or beer. While we were at the game, Evie had put together eggplant sandwiches and had already made artichoke soup. That was our dinner, and it was just right after all we'd eaten during the game.

Our House At Night, Photo By Our Neighbor, Joe

We kept Rhys up until 8:00 to keep him on schedule, and he went quickly to sleep. About 9:00 Evie and Mary then went up to bed, and Tom and I watched the first half of the Rams/Broncos game before joining them.

Swaths Of Color Fill The Morning Sky

Airport

Rhys Arrives At The Lake

6:45

6:16

It's 6:42, and I've been up for a half hour on a 50º morning. Rhys is sleeping in so far, which is great for his grandparents. It looks like another windy morning paddle, with a brisk northerly wind, alas. It just turned 7:00, and the roar of bass boats fills the air as they fire out of Long Point Marina. It's 7:43, and Tom, Mary, and Rhys are up. Rhys is full of pep while the three of us sit around, nursing our coffee, trying to wake up. I kayaked for 20 minutes into the wind. It took me close to 15 minutes to get halfway down Woodlawn, into the fierce northerly wind, then I coasted back in 5. I did manage a moon shot, as well as a heron on one of the neighbors' docks.

Kayak Morning

Heron On Woodlawn Dock

Rhys Morning

Making Buttermilk Pancakes

Saturday was a busy morning, putting the finishing touches on Tom, Mary, and Rhys's arrival. I did get in an energetic paddle because of the wind, and had the blog written and published by 9:30. My last two tasks were to vacuum and clean both porches, something I usually do every month or two. Thinking back over the past few days, having company makes us give the house a good cleaning — something we ought to do every month or two but don't. Instead, we wait for company. While I was porch-sitting, Evie was cooking and cleaning as well. My final task before lunch was to vacuum upstairs, an easy 15-minute job.

Lunch was great: BLTs and soup, and I watched some football before reading and trying to nap. I took a shower, then left for the airport around 1:45, knowing their flight was on time. I arrived around 3:15, a half hour early, which was fine. Both flights were easy, and I met them at the gate just before 4:00. We got the bags, strapped Rhys's car seat into the car, and drove home the back way — the scenic route, a little over an hour and a half drive. Evie was sitting outside waiting for us at 5:45, and Rhys couldn't wait to see her.

Rhys And His Papa

Rhys And Nani

The living room was filled with toys, and somehow Rhys remembered from two years ago, because he went right in and started playing with trucks. The three of us sat around the fireplace area, watching Rhys and Evie play with trucks, puzzles, and all the other kids' stuff Evie's saved from when our grandchildren would visit.

Tommy

Tommy

We had dinner around 6:45 — chili with fixings, corn on the cob, and cornbread. Rhys had grapes, mac and cheese, and loved the cornbread. Dinner was perfect, just what we wanted on a cool Saturday evening. Afterward, Rhys went upstairs, and Mary put him to bed fairly easily, despite it being a new bedroom. The four of us then sat around on our devices, occasionally talking and sharing a funny meme, until 9:00, when all four of us went up to bed, tired but happy from our day.

Harvest Moon