Cold, Clearing, A Fine and Sunny Sunday Morning

A Dinner With Fresh Pasta and Two Sauces

7:40

Buddies

It's 8:40, the sun has just appeared, though the fog hangs on the far shore remains, the lake white with patches of reflected ice.  It was 16º when I got up, about 7:20 but it's already 22º, with highs in the upper thirties, and sunny.  A good day for a walk, some March Madness, and burgers and fries, perhaps teriyaki pork chops, depending on our mood.  At the moment, the lake has disappeared because of the fog, from the warming weather, the cold ground.  I can hardly see our  flag!

Ready for Pancakes 

At Red's on Clymer/Sherman Road

A full day yesterday, as we wanted to show my buddy from Maui our typical Chautauqua hospitality.  We started late morning with a drive to Sherman, with Dick loving the rural country side, snow covered fields, occasional Amish buggy so different from Hawaii.  We went to Red's Pancake House, our second visit and it was great.  Dick loved it, the people, the friendliness, the lack of pretension of life here in Chautauqua.  We talked with the owner/pancake turner, a neat guy, who keeps track of the number of pitchers of pancakes he has poured over the years.  At the moment, it's ninety eight thousand.   He even showed us the crease between his thumb and finger from pouring.  Our waitress was really cute as well, hovering over our table, bringing Dick ten pancakes, two at a time.  When we arrived, it was mostly older folks, looked like farmers and their wives from the area, but lots of families came in later, so it was a mixed crowed.  We ate a leisurely breakfast, enjoying the atmosphere and food, and checked out the maple syrup making room, just next to the dining room.  We then drove to Sherman, stopped at a store to pick up some eggs, then did some browsing at an antique store we have been at before.  I found an amazing no parking street sign, bought it for five bucks, and it already hangs on our garage door. NO PARKING BETWEEN 4:00 PM SUNDAY AND 4:00 PM WEDNESDAY. So friends and neighbors, be forewarned.  A picture will be forth coming, tomorrow or the next day.  It's great.

We got home around 12:30 and Dick collapsed on the couch, as the traveling caught up with him, and he slept from 12:30 to 4:00.  I didn't mind as I napped and watched March Madness. And typically, Evie spent all this time getting things ready for dinner.  She made brownies, a shrimp vodka sauce, put together the dough for pasta, set the table, cleaned up the kitchen, all while the boys were either sleeping or watching the games.  What a women!

Mary and Elizabeth with Dad

At 4:00, Stan stopped over with his two daughters.  The youngest, Mary was in tears because she did not want to come.  After about five minutes with Evie, she was fine and by the time they left, they did not want to leave.  They left, of course, with two presents apiece from the treasury chest.  They are darling, such beautiful little girls.  We wish we could see them more often.

Making Pasta

Clam linguini

Stan took them home just as the Mc Clures arrived as they were coming to dinner, again!  Stan came back as well and we relaxed with  drinks and appetizers , hot pepper jelly and cream cheese before we all adjourned to the kitchen.  While the gang made the fresh linguini noodles on the pasta machine, I put  together the second sauce, my mom's clam linguini sauce, with cream cheese instead of milk.  Everyone pitched in and helped with the noodles, putting the dough through the machine four times to get the right thickness, then through the linguini cutter.  It was great fun,  and we all had a good time contributing to the dinner.

We did not eat till almost 8:00; everyone tried and loved both sauces and noodles and we sat around enjoying the food and conversation until 10:00.  We of course reminisced about the good old days, especially our first teaching experiences in Painesville, Ohio but also quite a bit about  our years in Hawaii.  I am sure we bored the Mc Clures some but they are good sports.  Stan and the Mc Clures left about 10:30.  Dick and Evie and I stayed up talking till about 11:30 when we went to bed.  Dick stayed up for awhile as he has not yet adjusted to EST.

Today, we hope to walk early, then another good friend of Dick, Stan and me, John Di Angelo is coming in mid afternoon.  He will stay for dinner and the night, and tomorrow, he will take Dick into Cleveland, where he will stay with his sister and see his family.