Overcast, Again, Gray Skies, Lake, and Mood

6:15

Bass Boat Morning

Up at 6:10, as the bass boats roar out of  Long Point Marina, one after another, their tails of spray following their boat, as they head either up or down the lake, getting that edge on their competition.  It's  61º, even a bit chilly in the house from the dampness, and over the past 36 hours, we have had close to two inches of rain, and some sun, usually in the afternoon.

Because it was rainy when we got up, I went off to yoga with Chris, a good way to start a wet Saturday morning.  We had only five people in class but, once again, I knew everyone, some I had not seen for a couple of weeks, Julie, Ian, and Yvonne.  I stopped at Ryder' for coffee, a crowded day at the coffee shop, came home and gathered all the trash for the weekly trip to the Transit Station.  It never fails that when I drive by, coming back from yoga, there's no one in line at the Transit Station.  When I arrive a half hour later, there are eight to ten cars, lined up waiting to divulge their junk.  Go figure.

Evie's Bass

When I got home, Evie was out on the dock, having just caught the largest bass of her life, just off our dock.  I missed it but when she pulled it in, she started shouting to our neighbors to get a camera and Kathy came running out, wondering what was the matter, then went in, got her camera and took the picture you see of the fat bass.  We don't usually have much luck but maybe that's changed.

Evie's New Scarf by Chris

We decided to have the Leonard's over for a home made pasta dinner, so getting ready for that took up a good part of our afternoon.  While Evie started getting things ready, I went off to the Lighthouse to pick up ground chuck for meatballs, some rolls and stopped at a neighborhood garage sale on the way home, spending ten bucks on junk I don't need but were bargains.  When I returned home, I went out and grilled some vegetables(with no salt and pepper, no oil, according to my latest cooking guru), and Evie put together the meatballs and two kinds of sauces for dinner, one without meat using the grilled vegetables, the other with meatballs.

Dinner with Leonards

Kathy, Isabelle, Brian, and Joyce

The Leonards came over around 6:00,  Bill and Joyce, two of their daughters, Chris and Kathy, and two grandchildren, Isabelle and Brian.  We sat out on the porch, enjoying the late afternoon sun, having more blue cheese dressing and vegetables before we all went in and helped make fresh pasta.  It did not work out as well as we hoped this time, as the pasta, when protruding from of the machine, tended to clump together as it dried although when cooked, it separated some and tasted fine.  We still have to refine that aspect of our pasta making.  It was fun, however, as Evie had both Leonard grand kids help her put the dough through the machine so they actually made their own pasta.  Dinner was really good, two great sauces, salad and rolls, and everyone seemed to enjoy getting together.  They stayed till about 9:45,  as Evie took over the kids, got out the toys and games, to entertain them.  It was another good evening with friends, the third night in a row we have either had friends over or been out with them. We are getting to be tres social!      

HARVARD SQUARE: ANDRE ACIMAN

Unfortunately, I wrote a review of this book a couple of weeks ago, but I clearly did not save it so I have to write it again.  So here it goes.  It's the summer of 1977 and the narrator, whom we assume is Aciman, has just failed his comprehensives in English at Harvard, has the summer to study for them and take them once more in the fall. He's an Egyptian Jew, a fish out of water, so to speak, until he meets Kalaj, a Tunisian Muslim taxi driver, who takes Aciman under his wing, Zorba like, and together, Kalaj teaches the narrator how to live, to argue, to chase women, to eat, to live so to speak, as the two work their way through the hot months of summer, the narrator studying and Kalaj, driving his taxi cab, hoping to get a green card, and gain the respectability he thinks he's been denied because of his ethnicity and religion.  He hates everything American, calls everything ersatz, or fake, the school, the government, the American dream, you name it and Kalaj hates it, argues against it until he gets a part time job as a tutor in French at Harvard.  He's transformed by this, cleans himself up, stops his posturing until he loses his job because of a lack of green card.  From that point, things begin to change as the narrator has learned how to live, like the Boss in Zorba, and no longer needs Kalaj, in fact, he tries to avoid him at all costs.  Kalaj falls as the narrator rises, passes his comprehensives, is accepted in the the university and society, as Kalaj gets arrested, for over staying his visa, and the last we hear, he is deported.  The narrator is strangely unmoved by this, looking at it as an experience to learn from, grow, and shows little empathy for the Kalaj's demise.  We assume the narrator lives happily ever after, but Kalaj must return home in shame, having failed to make it in first Paris, later Cambridge.  I liked the book more as I got into it, a little slow me pull me in at the beginning.  It has gotten better reviews than I would have expected.

Chilly Nights, Rainy Days, The Old Chautauqua Days Are Back

Fishing Yesterday As Storm Clouds Gather

7:30

Up at an unheard of time 7:20 and Evie's been sitting and reading quietly, no Only The Game, letting me sleep in.  I woke to rain on the roof, a wonderful way to wake up, much like sunshine in the bedroom, came down to a few fishing boats on the lake despite the rain,  gray water on gray sky, and  60º.

Vineyards Road Lead to Cherry Picking Trees

Yesterday like today was wet though it cleared up enough in the late afternoon for us to be outside and stayed that way till dusk.  I did go to yoga at 9:00, the usual suspects attended, no shopping or coffee afterwards as we were driving to a Nursery in Fredonia which had a buy two, get two plants free.  We stopped in Westfield, at the library, to pick up a book I put on reseve, THE SON, by Phillip Meyer.  We then took Route 20 though rain but stopped at a farm to pick cherries for about a half an hour.  We were one of two or three people there because of the rain but ended up with almost five pounds of cherries, Evie's favorite fruit.  We then went to the nursery, browsed for plants, bought more geraniums and herbs, what else, nothing new or exciting, just the tried and true.  We stopped at the one of our favorite delis in Fredonia, the Tuscan, which has a great meat market, lots of interesting kitchen items, all with an Italian flavor.  We also stopped at the Privaterra Gardena and Vegetable stand on Rt. 60, on the way out of Fredonia, which we have been to many times.

Making Pizza With Evie

With Jane and Jerry Grice

By the time we got home, it was almost 3:00 and Evie spent the rest of the afternoon getting a pizza dinner ready for the Grice's, making the dough, cooking the mushrooms and Italian sausage, grating the cheese, making the salad, in other words, getting things ready so dinner was easy when they arrived.   We had not seen Jane and Jerry in almost a year for some reason so it was good to see them again.  Jane recently won an award as one of the highest earning real estate agents in the county, with her picture in the  paper. Jerry also has been busy, having just finished up a home in the CI, with lots more work to do this summer.  Things in real estate and construction are picking up in this area,  We sat on the front porch, had Evie's version of chicken wings, home made blue cheese dressing, veggies, with no wings!  Everybody loved the carrots and celery.  Evie and Jane put together the pizzas, and Jerry and I took them outside and put them on the grill for about six minutes, three of them, and presto, in 20 minutes we had great  pizzas to go with our salad.  We sat around talking till about 10:00 when they headed home, as Jane still had some real estate business to do on her computer.  A good day, fun evening.

Overcast, Some Fog, More Rain To Come

6:20

Tom Dawes and Friend

Kayak Morning

It's 6:15, the kind of misty, gray overcast morning I like, the kind of morning for fishing, at least in my mind.  There are a couple of boats out but the lake is mostly smooth, empty of action.  No wind, showers expected, a good day to get some chores done, read, have the Grice's over for pizza.

Yesterday began at 7:15 with a long kayak paddle, as Evie and I cruised over to Tom's Point than back along the shoreline of Wells Bay, Victoria, and Woodlawn.  As we were paddling, we saw, in the distance a rower in a canoe with a dog.  On our return, our paths happen to meet, we said 'Hello, what a great morning to be on the lake."  And the gentleman said.  "I think I know you.  Are you the one's who have a blog called Early Rising on Lake Chautauqua?"  We laughed, said "Yes," and began to talk with him.  His name is Tom Dawes, owns the Muskie Mall, his wife Annie sells her pottery in the shops.  They have lived in Bemus since 1977.  Anyways,  he is a member of the Park Commission, wanted to get some photographs of the Overland Trail, Googled it, and my blog came up with pictures of our hiking the trail.  From that, he began to follow my blog somewhat regularly.  In fact, he recognized us because of the pictures of us kayaking on the blog.  He told Evie he loved her garden, her cooking, knew I was and English teacher, especially enjoyed the way we took advantage of Chautauqua in the winter.  A good guy, we had fun talking and laughing with him as he knew much more about us than we did about him because of the blog.  This confirms Evie's belief that I have over a hundred people following my blog even though I have listed ten or eleven followers.

The Great White Hunter

After kayaking, I went off to Yin yoga, the only male in a class of 13.  It was a good class as Danielle always tries something new and different from the previous week.  The ladies were talking about food and gardens, when one mentioned garlic, that she was harvesting the tops, used them in salads and pesto.  I joined in and she asked me if I wanted to try some; she had them in the car.  So now I have a plastic bag of garlic scapes,  put them on my wrap yesterday for lunch, and they are like a mild onion or scallion.  I guess gardeners cut the tops off of long necked garlic this time of the year to encourage growth.

The afternoon was relaxing for me, watching a TV show, Inspector Lewis and reading, as Evie went  to the mall, to get more matching dresses for the girls, hit Wegman's, and print a couple of pictures for a neighbor as a gift. I have started my third John Sandford book, this one has Lucas Davenport as the main character.  It drizzled on and off the rest of the afternoon, perfect for reading.  Evie returned home around 3:30 with lots of goodies, groceries, so the girls should have a happy summer.

Mary Ann Miller

Dinner at Hadley House

We went out to eat with our neighbor Mary Ann Miller at 6:00.  She has called us a couple of times to take us out when we have been out of town.  So, we set up last night and went to Hadley House, just up the road, past the bridge.  It was fairly busy for a Thursday night, which was nice to see, and their menu had lots of interesting things, from inexpensive to fairly expensive.  I got the Shrimp scampi, with asparagus on pasta, Mary Ann a chicken Caesar salad, and Evie, a portobello sandwich, with sweet potato fries.  All our meals were great, though mine got a little much towards the end because of the butter, cheese and I assume, olive oil.  It was a fun night, and we presented Mary Ann with a picture frame with two 5X7 photos of her sons; one with Tom and his wife, the other of Jack and his family.  I had taken the photos at the Fox's party on Memorial Day, at the Woodlawn gathering on June 1st.  She seemed to really like it, was going to put it in her living room.  We were home by 8:00, to watch some TV and read, before going to bed, unexpectedly tired, perhaps because of all the shopping for Evie, no reason for me.

HEAT LIGHTNING: JOHN SANDFORD

The second in a series of Virgil Flowers novels, set in the twin cities of Minnesota.  Much like the first novel, like most of Sanford's novels, the text follows a framework, beginning with a murder or killing of someone, though we know little if anything about them.  This one begins with Virgil in bed with his third  ex wife, or his second.  Unhappily, he's interrupted by Lucas Davenport, the chief, to tell him about a mysterious murder in one of the suburbs of Minneapolis.  We then flash back to the shooter, as he takes down the cocky ex vet, Sanderson, and wants to know where the other two guys are, Bunton and Wigge, and who is Carl.  We are not sure who the shooter is, why he targets Sanderson, who the others are that he wants.  Gradually, as Virgil follows the trail of these guys, he realize they all have one thing in common.  They were in Viet Nam together as grunts.  When he finally tracks down Bunton and Wigge, neither will say what this is about though Virgil knows they are lying.  When Wigge gets ambushed, Bunton goes into hiding, to no avail, as he, too, is taken out, but not before he tells Virgil what's up.  When they were in Viet Nam, they were involved in some illegal activities, taking out some of the US equipment before the fall, selling the equipment abroad for profit.  And on there last day, one of there party, a buddy named Warren,  ended up getting drunk, shooting up a family of Viet Cong, raping a daughter.  It becomes clear that the Vietnamese recently discovered the names of the killer and his comrades and have sent a team over to wipe them out, to avenge the earlier killings.  Virgil gradually figures this out, sets up a manhunt, to save Warren, the main perpetrator of the crime, but he too gets blown away.  They chase the fleeing Vietnamese, killing the shooter and an accomplice but two get away in Canada, ending up safe in Viet Nam.  One of the two, a women, calls Virgil at the end, to say hello, since the two of them had a brief tryst, obviously before Virgil knew she was playing him.  They remain friends, as debts were paid, and all's well that ends well, I  guess.

DARK OF THE MOON: JOHN SANDFORD

John Sanford was recommended to me by my good friend, Ron Mc Clure, who is rarely right but this time, he hit the bulls eye, as Sandford is fun. This novel begins in the small town of Bluestem, just outside of Minneapolis, as a wealthy but intensely disliked man named Judd dies in an explosion in his house.  And a couple of weeks earlier, there had been another seemingly unrelated murder, two in fact, a doctor and his wife, who was found propped up in his yard. Virgil begins to smell out the connection, thus the story.  Sanford, fortunately, is the master at creating an interesting character in Virgil, thrice married but still interested in women, who works for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, BCA for short hand.

There are clearly plenty of people who hate Judd, as he milked just about everyone in a get rich scheme to make money from ethanol.  Everyone seems to have lost money but for Judd.  Neighbors, high school friends, even the editor of the local newspaper are suspects in the killing and we are pulled along by the dialogue, the interesting narrative, the character of Virgil until the end, when we are led, by logic and reason, to the editor, Williamson, who happens to have been the illegitimate son of Judd, out to avenge the death of his mother at the hands of Judd.  But we don't know till the very end who done it, one of the hallmarks, I assume, of Sandford's books.  A good read, I am ready for the next novel, HEAT LIGHTNING.  O, yea, I forgot, Virgil beds at couple of honeys along the way, just keep the male readers' interested.

Sunny and Clear But Clouds and Rains Are Coming

6:20

Rising Sun Over Long Point

Up at 6:15, expecting a cloudy, even wet morning but it's a awesome (love that word) sun rise off over Long Point, the lake a light pink/lavender, no wind, a perfect morning to kayak, which I am going to do the moment Evie is ready.  It's 7:00 and we want to get in a paddle before the rains come, predicted to be heavy and arrive late morning, early afternoon.

Yesterday was another wonderful day to be on the lake.  We started our day with a kayak paddle around 7:30, like today and we headed down towards Whitney Bay but the clouds started to gather and we heard thunder so we paddled back, down to the reeds by Giarizzo's, and back home though it never did rain.  I then went off to yoga, with Elise, and for the first time, I knew all of my fellow students, Janice, Nancy, Linda, Steve and me...how about that for getting to know the locals.  All have been regulars at one time or another.  Elise mentioned that yoga teacher at Panterra in Westfield was giving a weekly series on Meditation starting in late July, how to do it, why its effective.  She said he's great, really a worthwhile course.  I think I will look into it, might as well buy into the whole yoga thing, not only asanas but meditation, too.  I made need it as I mature!

Backyard Green

I came home around noon and Evie was fishing with Isabelle, our next door neighbor's granddaughter.  I went out to fish with them and worked on my tackle box, organizing all the crap I have accumulated over the years, throwing out stuff I do not use.  It must be my day to organize because early afternoon, as Evie cut weeds for the first time this summer, I went into the garage and reorganized my shelves, which have become a mess over the past year, so that I could not find a tool, a nail, a can of spray, or Miracle Gro.  It took me over an hour but now I know where things are.

A Regular On Our Docks

We went kayaking again around 4:30, as it was so grand out, so over to Wells Bay, back across to Long Point and home, for a beer out on the dock, fishing some, just enjoying the late afternoon, putting off going into the house to make dinner.  But we did, a quick but enjoyable repast (show off), of bacon, eggs, bagels, salad, and grilled veggies with yogurt, a la Turk, my favorite way to eat them.  We watched some TV, read, staying up till after 11:00, then to bed. another good day for us.

Gray and Overcast, A Misty Morning On the Lake

6:20

A Family Waddling To The Lake

Up at 6:20 and Evie was already up, coffee brewed, paper in the house.  It rained a touch last night, enough to wet the walk, but that's about it.  It's 66º, still feels humid both in and out, possible rain this morning than clearing.

Back to routine yesterday, beginning with fishing off the dock early, then off to yoga with Chris at 9:30, with one other student, a woman named Nancy Barger, who I met once or twice at parties.  She ran as a democrat a couple of years ago for the House seat from our district.  She also was a radio host for awhile, so we had a nice talk before class.  Yoga was fine, good to get back to stretching and posing, listening to Chris talk about the life of a yogi.  After class, I got my coffee and went on a shopping binge, stopping at Aldi's for vegetables, much cheaper than anywhere else, Home Depot for chains and ropes for my buoys, then Wegman's, for food, and a quick stop at K Mart, a store that has practically nothing.

Clematis

When I got home, the lawn was already cut and Evie was in the water playing with our next door neighbors granddaughter, Isabelle.  Both she and her brother had already been to the treasure chest, part of their routine at the lake.  They are cute kids.  We have been having trouble with fisherman casting their lures on our dock, getting them stuck.  We have found at least six from the past weekend.  So we are setting up a more extreme buoy system, hoping to keep them away from our dock.  We now have eight buoys,  They have been really unprofessional recently, even throwing their lures at the Leonard's dock yesterday when they were sitting on it and swimming.  Usually, they don't do this, at least the pros don't.  So we need a more obvious and alert, telling them to bug off.

Isabelle with Her Treasures

It was a warm day, so it felt good to swim, to put in the buoys, to fish off our dock and enjoy the outdoors.  When our chores were done, we went for a long kayak ride around 3:00, out to Long Point, around it, then back to Wells Bay, and home.  It started to darken around 5:00, so we sat on our porch, having a sun downer, hoping it would rain hard but it only spit for a few minutes though it was threatening the whole evening.

We are really worried about our martins as we found another egg on our dock and there seem to be few if any families in our house.  The same thing seems true of other neighbors house towards Victoria but it's hard to tell sometimes because the birds take off for the day.

We had fresh bratwurst, cooked in beer, then grilled for dinner, with sauerkraut and I also grilled some vegetables outside.  We watched Stewart and Colbert, some Revenge, then went to bed on a muggy evening though it was beginning to cool off a bit.

More yoga  this morning, perhaps a kayak paddle before I go, more shopping no doubt then home, to enjoy the afternoon as it clears up, I hope.

Once More, At The Lake

6:20

6:21

A restless night, up at 6:20, to an overcast sky, a slight pink on the lake, some in the sky, with thunderstorms forecast for today.  It's warm, 69º, quite a difference from the morning we left for Virginia, last Thursday, when it was 48º at this time.  No action on the lake, though I did hear a boat go out when I got up.

We left the Bissell's yesterday about 8:00, just late enough to give the girls a hug as they were rising for swim practice, a good way to get them up during the summer by the way.  We took our time coming home, taking # 15 to Leesburg, then #7 to Winchester,  #522 to Berkley Springs, then up to Breezewood and #80, to Alttoona on #99, then home through the Allegheny Forest, via Penfield, Ridgeway, Warren, and Sugar Grove to  home, if anyone cares.  We did stop at Gio's, a famous barbecue/gas station just off of #80, just past the Clearfield exit.  We bought a quart of pulled pork, a pint of cole slaw, and we had dinner ready.  We made our routine stop at Town& Country in Sugar Grove, just inside the PA line, to buy a half gallon of Pot of Gold Milk, some bacon, and a half dozen freshly made bratwurst.  Evie also bought a quart of honey, as we have heard that it's becoming difficult to find.

We got home just after three, a little over seven hours, not bad.  It's a pretty drive fortunately, and we avoid the PA turnpike for all of but 15 miles.  We had a quick unpacking, as we are taking less and less on our trip though two cases of wine did test my back.  The Leonard's youngest daughter Chris and her two children were next door and they quickly ran when they saw Evie, to give her a hug and wonder when she was going swimming.  We quickly adjusted to being home and though Evie was tempted, she put off cutting the lawn till this morning.  Since we did not get home till later afternoon, we sat out on our porch for a beer around 5:30, enjoying the air from our porch fan (hung by our son in law Ramiro last summer), as it was unseasonably warm, 85º at 5:00.  We then went out on the dock, fished a bit, then took a cooling, refreshing swim, washing our hair for the first time this summer in the lake, with biodegradable shampoo, of course.

Dinner was easy, heat up the pulled pork, put it on a bun with cole slaw, and we were set.  It was delicious, just what we wanted, and we watched the final episode of Mad Men, one of the best of what we thought was a weak season, especially the last two scenes, where Don shares his childhood story of living in a whore house with his colleagues, then takes his children to see the house he grew up in, after the firm tells him he's on forced leave for his strange behavior.  So the year 1968 ends, with Moon River playing in the background, making us wonder what Don will do next season, quit and start his own firm, go to a rival, or return, changed and chastened.  And The Killing continues to grab us, the best season yet, especially the relationship between Holder and Linden, no romance yet not even a suggestion but there' something  between them.  We will have to see how it develops, if at all.  When you put and man and a woman together, day after day, for weeks, something usually happens romantically, a euphemism for sexually, the prude that I am.

Home, Baby, Home For A Couple of Months!

Relaxing with the Bottiny's

Hayden and Jill

Having Dinner on the Deck

Drew, Biff, and Walt

Halle and Girl Friend with pet Rabbit

Up at 5:30 and Drew, my son in law,  has already left for work at 4:30, so I missed him.  He gets there early so he can run and work out before his day begins, much like me!  It's clearing up here, 68º, one degree warmer than Chautauqua's 67º.  We head back to the lake today after a great four days with Jill and Drew and our granddaughter's Hayden and Halle.  We will see them all  again in six weeks.

Yesterday was a hanging out with the grandchildren kind of day.  Rainy till mid afternoon, we stayed inside, and I helped Drew clear out his den, then put it together with a new desk they bought on Craig's list, a wrap around kind, creating more space, making the den look great.  Evie and Halle hung out because Hayden slept till at least 11:30 if not later, exhausted from her recitals and staying up late.  She did get up, however, we rarely saw her till later as she, like a teenager, preferred to stay up in her room, text messaging friends I assume, surfing on the Internet on her Mini Ipad.  Kids!

Evie, with Hayden, After Her Recital

With My Sister, Ellen

Around 2:00, Evie and Jill went shopping at BJ's, Home Goods, and Target, picking up some things for Drew's newly organized den and food for dinner.  Around 5:00, my sister Ellen and her husband, Wally, came over and we had good time, barbecuing burgers and dogs outside, after enjoying appetizers inside until it was cool and pleasant enough to sit out on the Bissell's porch.  We did eat outside, had our dessert in the comfortable chairs on the porch, making it a nice evening.  It was good to catch up with Ellen and Wally, who at 61 years young, ran triathlon three weeks ago, an amazing dude.     We have not seen them since the Christmas holidays, when Ellen had all of us over for dinner.  Ellen and I both have blogs, hers concentrating mostly on her garden and flowers, and she is becoming a professional photographer, so we compared notes on our blogs.  It's hard to keep up with her photos they are so amazing.  They left about 8:30, so we the watched, with bated breath, the great Nik Wallenda walk across the Grand Canyon chanting " Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Jesus."  I was glad to see the slick, oily televangelist  Joel Osteen there as well, bringing God's concern with a good Reality TV show.  Obviously, God cares about about a good PR opportunity for Joe, a chance for the great Nik Wallenda to preach his faith.  If he fell, would it have been Jesus's fault?  Amazing  reality TV but I felt sorry for Willie Geist, having to act interested and awed by this family. We all had a good laugh, even the girls.

A Wet Sunday Morning in Virginia

The Lovely Miss Hayden's Final Recital

Evie and Her Girls

At Katerina's Greek Restaurant

First one up, as even Drew, my son in law, is sleeping in.  Gray skies, a wet deck, some rain herald an inside day unless it clears up later.  It looks like a leisurely Sunday with Halle and Hayden, the good life.

Yesterday, as predicted, was a sunny and warm day.  Since Hayden's recital was at 3:00, we did not do much other than get her ready.  Jill and I did manage a trip to Trader Joe's, for me to pick up a couple of cases of Charles Shaw's finest, and Jill also picked out some goodies.  It was surprisingly empty for a TJ's, especially in a dense area like Northern Virginia, so it was a pleasure to shop there.  When we got home, Drew was back, having flown in from Detroit Saturday morning, getting up at 3:30, to make  his flight at 6:00.  He was staying in Sandusky, Ohio, so he had an hour drive to the airport.  It was good to see him, catch up on his life.  Evie , Jill, and the girls left for the recital about 1:00, as Hayden had to be there early.  Drew and I stayed back, Drew cutting the lawn, me catching up on some reading.  We left around 2:00 for recital, about forty five minutes away at a high school auditorium in Manassas.  The auditorium was brimming with parents and their daughters, the show began promptly at 3:00 and we sat through 24 dances before Hayden appeared on stage, for her two minutes.  She was great, of course, poised and amazingly limber, effortless in her dance steps.  It's fun to watch her mature as a dancer and a young woman.  Thankfully, there was an intermission after the 28th performance, so Drew and I, with our wives permission, of course, took off to Old Town Manassas, to wait for them, as they had to sit through the second half of the performance before they could pick up Hayden.  We managed to find a couple of watering holes, The Philadelphian, your typical neighborhood bar, with what looked like locals, enjoying an early afternoon brew like us.  We then walked around town, as their was some kind of festival, with music in one of the closed off streets, people eating and drinking on the side walks in front of the restaurants.  We went in to Carmella's a fairly modern, hip restaurant and sat at the bar, for one more Great Lakes for me, a Shock Top for Drew.  It was much more pleasant inside, too warm sitting out in the sun.  Drew and I always manage to get some quality bar time in when I visit. as we have a mutual interest, a good beer, a run down bar.

Jill and Drew in Manassas, VA

The gang called about 6:30 and we met them at Katerina's Greek restaurant, where we had reservations.  Jill had heard about it through friends, that it was the hot new place in town.  They gave us a table, unfortunately, just inside the door, so there was lots of traffic but other than that, it was a very welcoming place.  The owner brought over a couple of tastes of wine, even brought me a taste of retsina.  Jill loved the white, which we decided to get a bottle of, and I had a glass of retsina with my meal.  When we lived in Turkey, we always drove through Greece on our  travels to various European countries.  And I always ordered some retsina when I got into Greece, either in Alexandroupolos or Kavala, and only then did I feel like I was back in Greece.  For most people, it tastes like turpentine because, like in the old days, it's aged in pine barrels and some of the pine tar leeches into the wine.  Retsina is living proof that people will drink anything if it has a kick.  We all had great meals, Jill and Evie whole sea bass, cooked Greek style.  I had lamb kapama, basically a lamb shank in a cinnamon and tomato sauce, and it was great as well.  The girls would not try anything Greek, so they got burgers or pizza, and Drew got a Gyro platter.  It was a good place to celebrate Hayden's special night.

Hayden Enjoying Conversations On The Deck

We got home around 9:00 and since it was a beautiful, full moon evening, all of us sat outside for another hour, just enjoying the cool air, the moonlight, having a final drink.  Jill and Drew have an amazing deck, surrounded by trees, so you feel like you are sitting up in the trees.  And the moon kept playing hide and seek,  with the few clouds, adding a special dimension to the night.  We all went to bed around 10:30, tired but happy.

Full Moon Rising

Today we had hoped to go to the pool but because of the rain, we may stay inside.  Late afternoon, my sister Ellen and her husband Walt, who live in nearby Herndon, are coming over for a barbecue.  We have not seen them since our last visit to Bristow at Christmas time.

One More Dancing Recital in Bristow

The Lovely Hayden Bissell

Pas de Deux

Ah, I slept in till after 7:00, the good life her in Bristow.  Another warm and sunny day forecast for Virginia, high near the 90's alas but we have air conditioning so it does not matter.  If it were the lake, we would be closing the windows in an hour, to keep the house cool.  It's cheaper and it works.

Yesterday we hung out with the girls most of the day, nothing big and exciting, just enjoying them and their friends.  The day began early for Hayden, as she had swim team practice at 8:00.  Almost all of the neighborhoods in this area have huge pools, a center of life for both parents and kids during the summer.  Each neighborhood pool has a team, composed of swimmers from all ages, with meets on Saturdays.  It's a big deal here, lots of support, in fact, last night their was a huge rally at the pool because of the meet this morning.  And parents were out setting up tents and canopies, getting ready for today's morning swim extravaganza.

Swimmers Get Ready

Halle, Waiting to Swim

At 10:00, Halle had swim practice and both Evie and I went with her, to watch and enjoy the morning. We happened to sit next to a gal, a friend of Jill's, who grew up in Jamestown, loves the area, and returns every year with her boys to enjoy the lake.  Halle, as well as Hayden, are both becoming good if not passionate swimmers.  Some of their friends are of Olympic caliber, go to meets all over the Virginia area...sounds like hockey and soccer in Ohio.

We came home, had lunch, and Halle brought a couple of the neighborhood girls over and together with Hayden and Evie, they decorated and ate the rest of the cupcakes Evie brought from the lake.  They had a fun time squeezing the frosting our of the plastic bag, creating towers of frosting before devouring them.

Frosting Cup Cakes With Granny

Halle and Grace

Hayden and Kelly

We then went back to the pool with Hayden and Halle around 2:00,  as Jill worked for a couple of hours, swam and sunbathed with all the Mom's and their kids, a busy place on a hot afternoon.  The  girls loved playing in the water with Evie, just like Chautauqua but without the lake.  We stayed for just about an hour, then Hayden had to get home to get ready for her recital.  The dance performance, all 54 of them, started at 7:00 and Hayden had to be there at 6:00, so they left at 5:00, stopping at Five Guys for sustenance and energy for the long night ahead.  Jill suggested I might not enjoy sitting through this so I unwilling stayed home with Halle, didn't want to miss the shows!  Anyways, we had a great time together, going to Chick Filet for dinner.  Halle loves their nuggets and fries and along with a cookies and cream shake, she was one happy little girl.  We came home and watched a movie on TV, then took Coco out for a walk, before watching a little more TV before bed.  She is a cutie, happy to go up to bed as long as it's not too early.  Evie and the girls did not get home till almost 10:45, exhausted from the show but exhilarated from Hayden's dance.  And Hayden was pumped as well, starving too, so Evie heated up some of her homemade vegetable soup.  We all were in bed by 11:30, ready for another day, another recital, this time I get to attend along with Drew, who has been in Sandusky, Ohio, at the nuclear power plant, for a few days of security scoping.  It will be good to see him.


I particularly liked today's poem from The Writer's Almanac, by Anne Sexton, so I thought I would end my post with this celebration of the simple things in life, the joy we rarely acknowledge, are conscious of until late in life if at all.

Welcome Morning

by Anne Sexton

There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning,
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that heats my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry "hello there, Anne"
each morning,
in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each morning.

All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean,
though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
in a prayer of rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck into their marriage of seeds.

So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.

The Joy that isn't shared, I've heard,
dies young.