No King's Protest Saturday

All In The Family

7:39

8:03

9:18

I'm starting later than usual today — I slept in until 7:30, had my coffee, and didn't push off for my paddle until 8:15. It was a lovely 50-minute kayak down to Bootey Bay. The wind is picking up now, so the timing worked out well.

Kayak Morning

Into The Sun

Looking South

Yesterday was a full and satisfying day. It began with a good morning paddle, and when I returned, I made breakfast and finished up the blog. By 10:00, I had gathered the trash and driven to the Transfer Station. At 10:40, we headed out with our neighbors, Barb and Jim, to the No Kings Protest at Jamestown's Dow Park — our third rally, and the best-attended yet. The energy was high, the signs were creative, and the outfits were imaginative. Our neighbors Joe and Betsy met us there, and the six of us enjoyed the cold morning together, listening to the speakers and joining in the songs. I ran into a couple of my yoga friends and several others from the area. Most of the crowd lined the sides of the street, cheering for honks from passing cars. The rally started at 11:00, and we left around 12:15, nudged out mostly by the cold. By the way, Donald, we are still waiting for our checks for attending from George Soros. 

Typical Street

Woodlawn Gang

Yep 

Some Of The Protesters 

Back home, I heated up leftover pizza for Evie and me, then watched another episode of Detective Hole. Having just finished The Terminal Man, I started a new thriller, Guess Again, and I'm enjoying it so far. Around 2:00, I took a brief nap, talked with my sister Ellen, who is flying to Paris for a week with her daughters' family. 

Ellen And Our Family in Paris, 1974?

I then happily read for most of the afternoon. At 4:45, Evie gave me a much-needed haircut, after which I showered and got ready for dining out.

We picked up Ron and Linda at 5:40 and drove to Westfield to Brazil's — probably our favorite restaurant in the area. Linda had called ahead, and we had four reserved seats at the bar on a bustling Saturday night. Brendan, the bartender we've gotten to know, promptly brought our drinks and menus, and we had a great time chatting with a couple seated nearby. Everyone enjoyed their dinners. For the first time, I ordered a steak. When it arrived, the server mentioned it might be a bit overdone and offered to grill another — I agreed. Ten minutes later, I was happily working through a strip steak with vegetables and mashed potatoes.

We said our goodbyes to Brendan and another couple we'd befriended at the bar, then left at 8:15. After dropping Ron and Linda off, we were home by 8:30. Evie headed up to bed soon after.  I settled in to watch most of Arizona's win over Purdue — a trip to the Final Four. I went up at 10:45, read for a bit, then turned off the light and hoped sleep would come quickly.

A Cold, And Bright Shiny Morning

7:46

9:06

It's 7:45, the sun is flooding both the lake and our living room with light, and I'll need to move to another chair in a few minutes. It's 20° out with little to no wind, so I think I'll go for a paddle. Now it's 8:00 — I've finished the first draft of the blog, so out I go. It's 9:30 as I finish this after a 50-minute paddle down to Wells Bay and back. Of course, the wind picked up on my paddle back. Fortunately, I had on four layers and wore mittens, keeping me warm. It's not as much fun this time of the year because there's a lack of birds, no ospreys, herons, or eagles yet.

Kayak Morning

South To Wells Bay

Heading Back To Woodlawn

Northern Sky

Buffleheads  Cruise

Buffleheads Take Off

Woodlawn

Friday was not the best of days. I was up at my usual time, wrote the blog, had breakfast, and by 9:15 was on my way to pickleball. I should have stayed home — my play was abysmal. I should have left after the first game, but I stayed for more punishment. Oh well, at least I got some exercise, which is a fine way to rationalize the whole thing. I stopped for gas on the way home: $3.85 a gallon, and I imagine it'll keep climbing.

I was home by 11:45. Evie was upstairs culling her closet, and I wasn't ready for lunch yet, so I read until 12:30, then enjoyed the last of the chicken, mushrooms, and artichokes. I've started a new series called Detective Hole, based on the Joe Nesbo books, many of which I've read. So far, so good. Afterward, I went upstairs to read and promptly fell asleep — despite one assassination after another in The Terminal List (all deserved, I might add). The rest of the afternoon was leisurely: reading and lounging, until around 3:30 when the sun came out and I went for a walk through the neighborhood's front yards, photographing some buffleheads with my camera as they clustered along the lake wall. It was good to be outside in the fresh air.

Late Afternoon Sky

Woodlawn Creek

Around 4:30, I called the Asheville Country Store, ordered a large pepperoni pizza, and drove the six miles to pick it up by 5:00. When I got back, we were both hungry, and by 5:30, we were settled in front of the TV with pizza and a salad, watching a couple more episodes of Landman and then The Pitt. Evie headed up to bed after that. I caught the second half of the Duke/St. John's game, decided I'd had enough basketball, and watched another episode of Detective Hole before finally calling it a night.

 “I built this great military,”  I said, you’ll never have to use it. But sometimes you have to use it. And Cuba is next, by the way. But pretend I didn’t say that. Pretend I didn’t. Please, please, please, media, please disregard that statement. Thank you very much. Cuba’s next.”

Windy And Cold, Again

7:09

8:28

Windy Morning

It's 8:15, and I've been up for over an hour watching the sky lighten — the flag snapping in the wind, the lake ruffled and restless. Right now, both the sky and the water are a flat gray, though the sun may break through later. I checked the rain gauge this morning (a frozen 24°) and found we'd gotten an inch and a half overnight.

Yesterday was a weather-wild day. The morning, though, was sunny and delightful — I got in a paddle and took some great photos. We were both up early, Evie for school and me for yoga. Class was the usual: crowded and seemingly endless. Afterward, I made a quick pass through Walmart and left with little to show for it — just 20-pound fishing line to string along the lawn and keep the geese away.

I was home just after noon, hungry, so I heated up leftover chicken, mushrooms, and artichoke hearts and settled in for another episode of my Romanian series. The sun was still out when I decided to nap. I woke to thunder and lightning. Downstairs, Evie was already home from school. It rained, then stopped, and as the afternoon wore on, a heavy fog rolled in and swallowed much of the shoreline. The view during wine time was so striking, I grabbed the camera.

Long Point

Choppy Waters

Wind And Rain And Long Point

Dinner was Greek feta-and-turkey burgers from Wegmans, with French fries. We watched Landman as the wind picked up and rain hammered the roof. Evie turned in after a couple of episodes, and I finished my series before catching the end of Purdue's win over Texas.

A Spectacular Morning Sunrise

8:15

It's 8:20, and I've been up since 7:00 — out paddling by 7:20 for 45 minutes on a placid, empty lake, save for the ducks and geese. I was excited to hear the cry of a solitary loon, a first this spring. 

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising At 7:23

Looking South Towards Sandy Bottom

North Towards Woodlawn

Turkey Vultures Are Back

Wow

Common Mergansers

Wednesday was another pickleball day. I was up around 7:30, read, wrote the blog, and had breakfast before heading out by 9:15. I'm never quite certain I'll go until the last minute, and then finally think, why not. I played a bit better, though I had some spectacular whiffs. I also realized that the real trick to winning is having a good partner — one who covers for your mistakes. It was nice to linger afterward and talk with a number of the players; a good group, and getting to know them better was a bonus.

I was home by 11:30, earlier than usual. Evie was having a leisurely morning — much needed after a day of kindergarten. I made an easy lunch of the leftover eggplant pasta and watched another episode of my Romanian thriller. I'm also into my new book, The Terminal List, despite having seen the film. After a decent nap, I came down to read for a while, noticed the lake had settled, and headed out for an afternoon paddle despite the overcast sky — down to Sandy Bottom and back.

Kayak Afternoon

Buffleheads

I returned in time for happy hour, and while I'd been out on the lake enjoying myself, Evie had been in the kitchen putting together dinner: chicken with mushrooms and artichokes. It's one of our favorites — a dish we started making back in Honolulu in the 1960s. We enjoyed it over rice and watched a couple of episodes of Landman, which we're warming up to, especially the episode set around a funeral in the Panhandle. After Evie went to bed, I caught an episode of my show, watched some basketball, then headed up early to read and sleep.

 “They say if you use the word war, that’s maybe not a good thing to do. They don’t like the word war because you’re supposed to get approval. So I’ll use the word military operation, which is really what it is. It’s called a military decimation.” DJT

A Calm Lake, Partly Cloudy Sky, And A Chilly 29º

7:38

7:32

It's 8:05, and I've been up since 7:30. I'm tempted to go paddling but also plan on pickleball, so there isn't enough time for both. Honestly, I'm too lazy to get up and kayak — though I still feel a little guilty about it. The sun just broke through the clouds, forcing me to move seats to escape the glare. Life is tough. A few minutes later, I looked outside to find it clouding over and getting windy, which eased my conscience considerably.

Mallards Exploring Our Front Yard This Morning

Tuesdays are always busy, especially in the morning. We were both up at 7:00, made coffee, and spent a relaxed half hour on our devices, reading the Times and the Post. Evie showered around 8:00 while I wrote the blog and had breakfast — my usual yogurt and healthy staples. Evie read and published the post at 9:00, and I got ready to leave for yoga at 9:30. Courtney's class is always a different experience from Thursday's Yin — more rigorous and demanding. Afterward, I drove to Wegmans and made a quick run through the store on a very busy 5% Tuesday. The decent weather had everyone out shopping.

I was home just after noon and hungry, so I heated up some ramen and made a ham-and-cheese sandwich. Still struggling to find something to watch, I landed on a Romanian series — a first for me — called Subteran. It's not great, but watchable. Just as I was about to head upstairs for a nap, Evie came home from school. As always, she enjoyed being with the kids, but was glad to be back. I started a new book, The Terminal List, which felt familiar since I'd seen the film adaptation a while back.

I napped for about half an hour, then read on the couch until restlessness got the better of me. I headed outside and spent a solid half hour gathering deadfall and stuffing it into garbage pails to haul up to the woodpile. It always feels good to get that done.

Blue Skies And A Tidy Yard

At 5:00, Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters, so I watched some TV until she finished at 5:45. We then relaxed for an hour over a glass of wine before hunger set in. Dinner was the leftover eggplant pasta, reheated and somehow just as delicious — we wondered aloud why we don't make it more often. We watched Hometown and another episode of Landman before Evie turned in. I caught some of the Cavs game and an episode of Subteran, then headed up to read and sleep.

“We don’t have people around the president who will say no. And even if we did, he wouldn’t listen to that,” the foreign policy analyst continued.

“And everybody in Washington knows that. All the guardrails, all the processes, all the systems that have evolved over time to avoid just this kind of catastrophe have been shut down, broken down, run around, and we’re left with a decaying, elderly, ignorant, paranoid, vainglorious, deluded commander in chief making it up as he goes along.”

Excerpt From

“Why Trump’s ‘Psychosis’ Has Insiders Terrified”

Laura Esposito, The Daily Beast Podcast

The Daily Beast

That Afternoon Sky

7:24

It’s a bright, blue-sky morning. The lake is calm, the geese are honking, and at 22º it’s too cold to paddle, and I’ve got yoga at 9:30. 

Monday began gray and overcast, but by afternoon, the sky was blog-worthy. I woke early, had my coffee, read the papers, and wrote the blog—all before Evie woke. Lucky her. I made it to pickleball by 9:30, played a bit better, and got to know some of the regulars. I even had one of those rare, ridiculous moments—a winner hit through my legs, to everyone’s amazement, especially my own. I played four games, won one or two, and was good and tired by the end.

When I got home, Evie was busy with a few things but volunteered to make lunch: tuna melts on brioche buns. Yum. Our afternoons don’t vary much. We tend to stay active in the mornings and ease into the day later on.  By wine time, we were both admiring the shifting colors of the late afternoon sky.

Sun On Long Point At 7:00

Late Afternoon Sky

After a nacho appetizer, we had leftover chicken cacciatore for dinner, then watched a couple of Colbert episodes and Landman. Evie headed upstairs, and I finished my series, Blood Coast. I also wrapped up my novel, The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits. It follows a former college basketball player turned lawyer trying to make sense of his life on a road trip. Along the way, he stops at outdoor basketball courts, meets the players, and begins to imagine turning the journey into a book. Eventually, he ends up in Los Angeles, staying with his son while facing a health issue. During his journey, he meets a friend in Denver, a just-fired NBA executive and a former NBA player in LA, and both are contemplating suing the NBA for discriminating against white players.  Interesting, 

Amazing Clouds

Dusk

Out of curiosity, I looked up Markovits and learned he played basketball at Yale, studied at Oxford, and later played professionally in Germany before becoming an English teacher and writer. He even wrote a book about his time in Germany, Playing Days, which I promptly ordered from Amazon. He’s about twenty years younger than I am, but we seem to share many similar experiences. Evie thinks I should write to him. We’ll see.

"Now with the death of Iran, the greatest enemy America has is the Radical Left, Highly Incompetent, Democrat Party! Thank you for your attention to this matter." President DJT