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.