Awakening to A Morning Without Hayden and Halle, Alas

6:45

Halle Lovin It

Granny's Helper

Off to The Bookstore with Their Purses

Coco Chases Halle,  Pulls Granny

A Beauty 

Up about 6:00, to a fisherman's light already out on the lake, obviously a die hard type.  It's 29 degrees out, warmer than yesterday, and though the lawn has no snow, the lake remains frozen with a dusting of snow.  The sky is  blue gray, now, though just above the eastern coast line, it's brilliant pink, as the sun struggles to rise, at 7:03.  The wind is howling early, not a good sign for the day.  Either rain or snow is forecast for later in the day, depending on how warm it gets.  Let's hope for snow.

Yesterday, after the Bissell's left at 8:00, Evie and I did our usual routine after the family leaves; we went into a high intensity cleaning mode, to take our mind off of the emptiness and quiet of the house.  I got out the vacuum cleaner, did the entire downstairs, as Evie worked on dusting and cleaning the kitchen.  We worked for about an hour until I left for Yoga at 10:00.  Evie stayed behind and continued with the clean up.  Yoga was a group of six of us and it felt good to do some stretching and get in touch with my body, center myself as it were.  Don't I sound like the typical yuppie yoga enthusiast!

After lunch, we went out to cross country ski, not sure how good it would be.  To our delight, it was perfect for skiing,  a light snow on the lake, perfect for sliding, a blue sky, bright sun, little breeze, an amazing afternoon to be on the lake.  Too bad the girls were not there to enjoy it.  We skied all the way to the tip of Tom's Point, staying close enough to shore in case the ice was weak.  We did pass two snow mobiles, racing across the lake, a couple of brave, more likely stupid souls.  Lots of people were out fishing off of  Long Point as well.  We were out for at least an hour or more and I  am sure we both got sun burn, as the sun was blinding as we skied home.  It was similar to the last time we skied, about ten days ago, when were ended up skiing beyond Tom's Point.

Last evening, we went over to Ron and Linda's for a dinner of lamb couscous, which brought back great memories from our life in Turkey.  We had not had lamb in quite a while so it really tasted good to both of us.  Linda used a lamb shoulder, rather than the leg, which is what most middle eastern cookbooks call for, as it's a great cut for braising and cooking for a long period of time.  As you can see, I made a friend with their cat, Poochie, as she fell asleep on my lap as we had cocktails and appetizers.  After dinner, we watched the documentary on Bill Clinton on PBS until 11:00.  It was interesting to go back over events that we should have remembered but didn't.  And he certainly had a lot of falls, but his gift was always being able to pick himself up and not only rise but triumph.  Flawed but also Great.

Today looks like it will be in the thirties, another good day for a walk or more skiing depending on our mood.  Other than exercise, we have nothing on the agenda, no 'program' as my good friend Ates would say.

With Poochie