A Stormy Morning on the Lake

Overcast at 6:05

Awoke this morning to rain pelting our roof, as storms have moved in but they are mild compared to what's going on in other parts of the States.  In Colorado Springs, where are daughter Jill lived, their neighborhood is on evacuation watch because of fires, and a nearby neighborhood called the Black Forest, which we have hiked in because it wa a great pine forest, is up in flames 100 homes destroyed.  And heavy rains and winds have hit the Midwest, fortunately, missing us as it moves East.  Right now it's 65º outside, and we have had 3/4 of an inch of rain overnight.

Strawberry Shortcake Pie

Yesterday began very early, as I mentioned, with me going kayaking at 7:00 for an hour, catching a single sun fish but enjoying being out on the lake on a beautiful morning.  It made you just want to get out and do something, which I did.  I then went to yoga while Evie put together the strawberry pie.  When I got home, she was out kayaking, the weather too tempting to ignore by staying inside baking.  Yoga was good, one guy, whom I met a week or two ago, Steve Nystrom, about my age, and a couple of new students as well.  When I got home, it was after 12:00, so Evie quickly made up some tuna wraps, as I took the cover off of our boat.  We then went for a lunch cruise, our first one of the summer.  We went slowly, enjoying the lake, viewing the houses along the west side of the lake, going as far as the CI.  We then cruised across the lake to the Viking Club, where they have a huge tent up on their lawn, as they are having a special weekend celebration, even having a pig roast, with people dressing up in Viking garb on Friday evening.  It looks like it could be fun.

After our cruise, we both went out on the dock, to fish some, sun bathe, and read but Evie soon got antsy, and went in to cut the lawn because it was supposed to rain the next  two days, and we are having the Woodlawn picnic in our yard on Saturday.  Our neighbor, Bill Leonard, also cut his but he cannot keep up with Evie, nor does he want to.  A good man.  Just as I went inside to finish my book, about 4:30, it started to rain, so I had to run out side in the down pour and put the cover back on my boat.  It was a brief shower, just enough to wet me and the boat.

Enjoying wine on Scholtz's Front Porch

We went to our neighbor's, Ken and Majorie Scholtz's for dinner around 7:00.  It was a pleasant night to sit on their grand porch,  enjoying a glass of wine and appetizers, as Billy Deault cut various neighbor's lawns, occasionally drowning out the conversation.  This seems to happen every time we have been invited for either dinner or drinks, as if he anticipates the neighbor's will be on their porch talking.  We had a good laugh about it.  Ken's buddy, Charlie, a retired music teacher from PA and Marjorie's sister, Mary Ann, were also invited, so it was a fun night.  We had a good time talking about our winters, all of our travels, the quirky teacher's we have known over the years, and Ken put together a great Thai dish called Fragrant Chicken, with coconut milk and thai basil, at least it had the licorice like taste of the basil.  We had Evie's strawberry shortcut pie, with whipped cream, for dessert, then adjourned back to the porch, to complete a lovely evening.  We returned home around 10:15, in time to watch some TV, read some  before going to bed.  A great evening.