Clear, Slight Haze, Perhaps Rain Later

6:17

Mitchell, Tommy and Drew

Eating lunch

At the Gorge

Granny with Halle and Hayden

Buffalo Bob and the Girls

Looking for crayfish

Up at 6:15, just Evie and me, as Beth took Ramiro to the airport in Buffalo, leaving at the ungodly hour of 4:30, so she should be back around 7:30.  It's amazingly quiet at this hour, when all seven grandchildren are still sleeping, like waiting for the tornado to hit, perhaps a hurricane is a better comparison. It's 62 degrees, as last night was a good sleeping night.

A full panoply of events yesterday, starting off with Rami biking early, up to Panama, and back, some twenty seven miles.  After an easy breakfast, if it's ever easy with fifteen people, Evie and Beth put together a lunch of wraps, and we all took for for the Chautauqua Gorge, off Hannum Road in Mayville.  It was warm day, but a delicious coolness down in the Gorge, so if wet, we sought out the sun.  We walked the Gorge for maybe a half mile, kids looking for water bugs, minnows, and crayfish, just enjoying the beauty of the creek, then picnicked and swam after about an hour of hiking, then headed back to the house. Nick and Tommy did so road work, running up the side of the Gorge a couple of times, as well as along the trail, as Nick needs to keep in shape for his soccer tryouts when he returns home. We were gone about three plus hours total, as after a while, the older boring boys seemed ready to go.

When we got home, Evie must have spent an hour and a half in the water with the girls, as the adults biked to Mayville and back, about fourteen miles total.  For Tom and Mary, it was a first, so they got a full dose of biking up and down the hills of Chautauqua.  In late afternoon, unfortunately, Halle, the youngest, developed a urinary infection, so Drew, Jill and I drove to the Urgent Care in Jamestown.  She saw a doctor, and was given an antibiotic and seemed fine after the visit.  We met the gang over at the Casino for our usual wing bash for fifteen, followed by play on the  playground, then ice cream cones from the Bemus Country Store.  Tommy took the boat over with the kids, some of us drove, and it was a delightful night to walk around Bemus, watch Chautauqua Idol (pretty bad), and cruise the lake on the way home.  We were home by 9:00 and watched the Olympics on TV, as the American men seemed to fall apart in the gymnastics.

We are staying put today, other than some shopping at Wegman's, perhaps some rock painting is on the agenda.

Amazing Sun and Clouds for Monday

6:45

The Grandchildren

Nick, Tyler and Mitch

The Girls  in New Dresses at the Blue Berry Farm (with Mitch in the bushes)

More girls, New shirts and skirts

Up around 6:30 and Beth and Rami up, Rami already planning his bike ride for the morning.   Then Drew got up  and Evie, and we are sitting here going over meals, trying to figure out our schedule for the next week, what to do during the day, what to have for dinner each night, which night to have company for dinner.  It's now 8:02 and we are still the only ones up, though Rami is off riding.  It was a great night for sleeping, 57 degrees when I got up.  This morning we head to the Chautauqua Gorge, to hike and picnic.

Sunday was a full day, not unusual, with family enjoying the lake and sun.  Evie made egg and bacon sandwiches for all, just in time for the guys to head off to Maplehurst Golf Club to play eighteen holes. They did not get back till 4:00, a 'good walk spoiled.'  The girls went for a long walk around the campground, and Evie took the granddaughters back to the blueberry patch and to Will, the egg man.  I stayed home, in a quiet house, with Mitch, and we pitched a tent for the girls and watched the US Men's volleyball team defeat Serbia, with my good friend from the Hawaii days son, Clay Stanley, leading the way.  The boys also went tubing, and all of us took advantage of the warm sun, to sun tan or swim.

Dinner was my Dad's old standby, English Cut, marinated for twenty four hours, with corn, rosemary roasted potatoes, and green beans, with a peach cobbler Evie put together in her spare time for dessert with ice cream, of course.  What a great day.  We ended it watching the gymnastics on the tube  The girls wanted desperately to sleep outside in the tent.  Not a good idea said the adults! We were all in bed by 11:00, tired from enjoying the day.

Heavy Fog Sunday

6:20

Love that Jill

At Campground

Gymnists  Relaxing

Playing Restaurant

Ding, Dang, and Dong

New Dresses

I was the  first one up this morning, about 6:10, to a foggy lake, just the dock is visible and cool outside, around 59 degrees.  It looks like a perfect day on the lake.  Right now, it's 7:45, all the guys are on their IPADS, no talk, just search!  We figured that between all four families, we have 7 IPADS, four Macs, 7 iPhones, and 6 Itouches, close to eighteen thousand dollars in Apple products sitting in our house.  Don't tell anyone.

Yesterday was a hard day to describe, as so much was going on in different configurations and corners.  We did watch some of the Olympics. Beth and I watched the US women's volleyball team defeat Korea, then we all watched the summary in the evening, cheering Phelps' lost because he's so obnoxious.  We also watched the bike race in late morning, since Rami and Drew were really interested in it.  While some were watching the Olympics, others went to the campground, to the petting zoo with the girls, hitting the store for ice cream cones.  Mitch, Tyler, and Nick went out for a fifteen mile bike ride while the others were at the petting zoo.  Rami and Drew headed to the bike shop, getting new tires for Rami, and then Wegman's, where Drew picked up a fire pit at Wegman's, for all of us to enjoy in the evening, with smores of course.  When the guys returned, the two of them went off on a bike ride, Drew going about twelve miles (he'd run about three miles before biking), and Rami about twenty five.  O, yea, I forgot that Tom, Mary, and Jill went for a run at Bemus. Only I was a slug, as Evie got a work out with the girls, non stop play, most of the day. 

The Bikers

Enjoying the New Fire Pit

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, in and out, the boys and girls swimming, doing some fishing, until dinner time.  For dinner, Evie made chicken delight, a casserole with wild rice, bringing back memories to all of hospital food but we all had seconds.  After dinner, Drew built a fire in our new fire pit, and we had Reese's cup smores, quite an improvement on the original.  We then came in about 9:30. I told the girls a bad boy story, and then we all watched the Olympics till about 11:00 when all but the adults went to bed.  The three boys stayed up in the TV room, watching the final episodes of Arrested Development.

Overcast, Drizzle, and Cool

Bissells and Davis's Arrive

The Girls

Shucking corn

Toweling Up

Dinner

Evie and Her Girls

Evie and Three of her Girls

6:40

Early morning with the guys, my son Tom, two son in laws, Drew and Ramiro, as we all are sitting on the front porch, clued to our Macs or IPADs, watching some of the Olympics live, talking about cycling, all kinds of guy things.  Evie and Beth are in the living room, sequestered from the porch a la Islam, and Halle is the only grandchild up at this hour.  It's 68 degrees, with rain shower forecast for part of the day, but right now, it feels delicious to sit on our front porch, enjoy the morning breeze, the bird songs, and knowing the entire family is here for a week.

Yesterday was spent, like the previous five days, getting for the arrival of Jill and Tom' family.  Evie and I went off to Sam's and Wegman's, buying our both stores, bankrupting me, as we are now ready for only the next four days.  While we shopped, Beth cooked and made the beds, getting ready for the families.  Then, we relaxed some in the afternoon, though relaxing for Evie is cutting the lawn and getting a few things ready for dinner.  Tyler did work on his college essay some, Mitch and Marisa fished, wasting time, waiting for their cousins.

Both families arrived around 5:00, and it was semi chaos from that point on, the girls wild and happy to be with each other, rushing from the outdoors, to their bedroom, getting it set up for the week to their liking, putting their clothes in dressers, deciding who sleeps where on the floor, so that sisters are not next to each other.  Then, it was out to the lake for an hour, playing hide and go seek and wipe out on the inflatables, as the adults sat on the porch, drank beer, and caught up.  Most had not seen my son Tom's family since last summer, as they live in Kansas City.

Around 7:00, we had dinner, two casseroles of baked ziti, an Evie speciality, with corn, garlic bread and salad, brownies and ice cream for dessert.  We then played a mega game of SPUD for about a half an hour and as usual, the kids picked on my daughter Jill, always calling her number.  We went inside about 9:00 to watch the terrible opening of the Olympic Games from London and the adults slowly disappeared to their bedrooms, tired from the day but not the grand children, the girls up until at least 11:00, giggling and carousing in their bed, as Evie tried to settle them down. Rami arrived from NYC about 11:00 for the weekend, so all the family is here.  Not till Evie and I went to bed at 11:15 did the girls go to sleep.  The boys stayed up watching TV and I have no idea what time they went to bed.  All are still asleep in the TV room so I don't expect to see them until 10:00 or later, though Mitchell is already up.

Foggy and Overcast on Friday

6:40

Weeding the Orange Brick Road

New Vases and Holder, compliments of Beth

The New Porch Furniture and Fan...tres chic

Up at 6:45 and Beth's already up, making coffee.  Evie soon came down. It's  a warmer morning, around 67 and humid, as it has rained quite a bit over the past twenty four hours.  We have already started making menus for the week, as Jill and Tom's families arrive today.  The grocery list seems endless, as we try to figure out what we will need for the next four days, so we don't have to keep going to the store.  It never works; we always think of something else we need or forgot.

Yesterday was gray, rainy in the morning, cloudy and some rain in the afternoon, just right for organizing the upstairs bedrooms, ours so that four little girls can sleep on the floor, the others, one for each family, with the boys sleeping wherever, downstairs in the TV room, or on air mattresses in their parent's room.  It depends on how late they stay up watching movies.

Beth and Tyler went off to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh for the day and Rami left for NYC in the early morning so it was just Marisa, Mitch, Evie and I.  We did do some weeding in the morning, clearing our brick path of weeds and grass, with the big help of Mitch and Marisa.  Later in the afternoon, Marisa, Mitch and I went off to Sugar Grove, PA, to a grocery store to pick up Pot of Gold milk and gas.  When we arrived in town, the electricity was out, a result of earlier storms, so I couldn't get gas and the grocery store was dark.  Fortunately, if I had cash, I could get the milk, so the cashier gave us a flashlight and we went back to the cooler, picked out two half gallons of chocolate milk, one of whole, and a couple of smaller bottles of chocolate for the kids to drink on the way home.  This milk comes straight from the dairy and is amazingly fresh, creamy and good.

For dinner, we got a pizza and Caesar's salad from the Hadley House, ate out on the front porch, and finished just as Beth and Tyler returned from Carnegie Mellon.  It sounds like Tyler liked the school but it's not in his first five, too specialized in the first couple of years, perfect for someone who is sure of what they want to do.  He wants something a bit more open, in case he chooses to move from mechanical to electrical engineering, or something like that.  We had peach crisps for dessert and watched some TV before going to bed.  A cooler night, we did not need air conditioning though it was humid.

Stormy, Gray, Thunderstorms, High of 90

6:20

Margaret and Randy Smith, Blue Berry farm owners

Marisa feeding Buddy at Blue berry farm

Beth Kayaking

Kayaking Through the Reeds

Enjoying the Home Made potato chips

Dinner

Rami and I are up around 6:30, to thunder, some lightning, on and off again rain.  We are supposed to get some severe weather during the day, in fact, it sounds that way for the entire East coast.  High winds, hail, and temperatures up to 90 all combine for a day spent inside at Lake Chautauqua.  Unfortunately, Rami is flying to New York city this morning, and Beth is taking Tyler to visit Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh for the day.  A good day to not be at the lake but not a good day to travel because of the storms. Last night, we had thunderstorms, lightning, and almost an inch of rain, more expected during today.

Yesterday was the perfect Chautauqua day (yea, I know, I say that too much) but it was sunny, with a breeze, high in the 70's, perfect for swimming, boating, biking, or just relaxing.  The main event yesterday was the installing of a ceiling fan on our porch by Ramiro, with me as his gopher, something I am good at.  The only problem encountered was we needed some washers to insure the fan was level, involving another trip to Home Depot.  It took a couple of hours, not too bad, with few hiccups along the way.  It's dark brown and fits in well on our porch, with our new brown rattan furniture.  We are becoming so chic I can hardly stand it.  Early morning, as most of us were relaxing,  Rami rode his bike around the perimeter of the lake 41 miles, in little over two and a half hours.  Later in the day, he and Tyler also took a ride up to Stedman, down to the CI, and home, so he was a tired camper by the end of the day.

While Rami was riding, Beth and I kayaked, Beth taking pictures to sketch later, and Evie and Marisa went off to the blueberry farm owned by Randy and Margaret Smith, just a few miles away on Carpenter Pringel Road.  They had a great time picking berries, talking with the Smiths, enjoying the new beef cattle they bought, playing with Buddy, the dog.  Later, they went off to an egg farm, just down from the blueberry fields, and talked with the owner, Will, an interesting guy, who delivers on farm fresh, free range eggs on Thursdays.  So we are going to have him deliver when needed.  He's traveled quite a bit, loved Turkey, so he and Evie had a lot to talk about.

I forgot to mention that Tuesday, Rami and I went off to Hollyloft bike shop, to order some new tires for his bike, but we stopped at the Southern Tier Brewery on the way, as I wanted to show Rami the pub and outdoor beer garden.  It was open, so we went in, talked to the manager, and walked out with a half gallon of Belgium White Draft beer called DU,  I think.  Needless to say, it lasted just through last night's dinner.  It had a hint of coriander, off putting a bit, but as you drank it, you enjoyed it more and more.

We had the free range eggs for lunch, with blueberry pancakes and every one's favorite, pea meal bacon from the Lighthouse, the good life.  The kids fished and played in the water during the afternoon, as the fan was installed.  Then for dinner, Mitch and Evie made deep fried potato chips, slicing, soaking, drying and eventually frying and salting.  They were amazingly light and tasty, better than anything in a package.  We had Leonard's over for a few, and they took a plate home to enjoy.  For dinner, I cooked juicy lucy's and blue cheese burgers outside, and along with the chips, corn, and a salad, we had a filling and tasty dinner.  For dessert, Evie made my favorite (I know), peach crisp and with ice cream, it was the perfect ending to another 'perfect' day.

Bright and Shiny Wednesday

6:20

Beth and Rami at Casino

Up at 6:30, lots of light, and a wonderful 56 degrees, a great night for sleeping if the windows were open.  Rami and Evie got up soon after me, and we played around with Aperture, my photo program, as I am cleaning it up and trying to get rid of duplicates, with a program I bought named, aptly, Duplicate Annihilator.  It is not as easy as they say.  What is.

Casino

Tyler and Beth

Evie with Marisa and Mitch

Sated with wings and ice cream

Yesterday was another great day to be outside, a fairly breezy day, the lake choppy, sometimes with white caps, just perfect for laying out on the dock, swimming and just taking it easy, enjoying the kids.  Beth and I did shop briefly in Mayville, picked up some goodies we love from the Lighthouse, kielbasa and pea meal bacon, and best of all, a large basket of local peaches.  They are amazing right now, sweet and juicy.  We had wraps and leftover for lunch, sat on the front porch, and Evie and Rami began talking about how nice it would be to have a fan on our front porch.  That led to Rami saying that he had put in fans before and before I knew it, I was at Home Depot with Rami buying a fan.  Since Evie had Rami on her side, there was no contest.  I just went with the flow.  We hope to put it in later this morning, after Rami gets back from his 40 mile ride around the lake.

For dinner, we all went on our wing pilgrimage to the Casino.  It's been an ongoing summer event for at least 30 years and all our children and grandchildren look forward to this night.  We got the usual, at buckett of wings and then some, a pitcher of Blue Moon, and fries.  All were happy.  The kids played the games, leaving the adults alone to talk.   After wings, the kids played on the swings and then we walked through Bemus, stopping to buy ice cream cones at the counter at the Bemus Point Market.  It was crowded with people, doing a stellar business as it was a great night to be outside.  We got home around 9:00 and were in bed by 10:30.

Blinding Morning Sun and Warm

6:15

Up at 6:30 and Evie and Ramiro are already up, having their coffee, with IPADS and MacBooks in hand, a typical summer morning.  The sun is blinding, hardly a cloud in the sky but it's not supposed to get much warmer than 80 today.  I will believe it when I see it.

With Marisa

We had a perfect day for swimming yesterday, high in the mid 80's, so any time we got hot, we just jumped into the lake.  As I mentioned, the big event in the morning was making crispy creme donuts, mostly all are devoured by now.  I then got down all our rafts, and Tyler and Mitch inflated them, so now we have a gaggle of inflatables.  The kids love playing tag or hide and go seek on them, jumping from one to another, trying to avoid being caught by Evie.  We had wraps for lunch, easy an tasty, and in the afternoon, Rami and Tyler went off to the Chautauqua Country Club to golf 18 holes and the rest of us hung out side, reading, playing in the water and getting things ready for dinner.  Just before dinner, Evie scared away a hawk from our purple martin house, and we were both worried it had gotten some of the babies but they are still there, enshallah.

And both Marisa and Mitch did a lot of fishing off the dock though they did not have much luck, even with worms, catching only a few perch.  Perhaps it was too warm.  For dinner, Evie grilled eggplant, tomatoes and onions, and I then grilled teriyaki pork chops for dinner.  We didn't eat till about 7:30 and by then it had cooled off to make it a nice evening to eat out side.  So, we had ratatouille, pork chops, salad and rice, a Chautauqua dinner for us.

Ding and Dong

A Pensive Marisa

I think for most of our family it's a nice change to come here because we spend so much time outside, rather than sitting in an air conditioned house, like most families.  Certainly, we do enjoy sitting inside, reading or playing on our ipads, but most of the day, we spend outside, playing games, eating, swimming, just enjoying being outside under the trees, looking at the lake.  We are so fortunate to live on a lake, Evie and I keep saying.