Chautauqua Weather Returns: Chilly, Windy, and Overcast

Kayak Woman

6:25

6:25

I am up at 6:20, to the wailing of a north wind through the trees, a chilly morning, as I sit in my fleece, even sweat pants,  hugging my knees on the front porch, to keep warm.  The lake is choppy, flags flying wildly, no boats out, and a very Fall like morning of 57º.  I love it.

Yesterday was cabbage roll day!  I went off to Topp's and the Lighthouse  around 9:30 to pick up the ingredients for my mother in law, Dot's cabbage rolls.  Two springs ago, we were in Scottsdale and Evie and I helped her make her cabbage rolls, as I wrote down her method carefully on my computer. So I called up the recipe and while I shopped, Evie made the tomato sauce, boiled the cabbage so when I returned, all she had to do was mix the beef/pork mixture with rice, parsley, eggs and salt and pepper. Then, the two of us put together forty rolls, wrapping the meat mixture in a packet of cabbage leaves.  It went quickly with two of us, about 15 minutes.  Evie then layered the rolls with sauerkraut, poured the tomato sauce over them, and baked them for close to two hours, filling the kitchen with wonderful smells.  I cannot wait to enjoy them on a cool day in August with our kids.  We sat with the Leonard's, mentioned the cabbage rolls, and Bill reminisced about the good old day when he had them.  So, Evie took them over a few to have for their lunch.

Cabbage Rolls, Yum

Before the shopping and cabbage rolls, we went kayaking on another amazingly quiet lake, a bit overcast though the sun would occasionally peak through the clouds.  We went off towards Whitney Bay this time, down beyond the campground as far as the two new Mc Mansions and back. We both commented on how the weeds seem so much better this year, perhaps because of the rain and higher water level, or the fact that it just may be seasonal, some years better than others.

I cannot even remember what we did yesterday afternoon, as one blends into another.  I know I am finally reading a book I like, Kate Atkinson's LIFE AFTER LIFE.  What a pleasure it is to be reading a book you really enjoy.  I started two recently, read perhaps a hundred pages of each before putting them down with disgust.  Not so with LIFE AFTER LIFE, which I immediately got into though I must admit to being unsure about the early deaths of a couple of characters, who seem to reappear later in the novel. Perhaps I misread or she's playing tricks with her readers.  It begins in 1930, jumps back to 1910, then moves into the 1930's and 1940's, following a fairly well off British family, their daughter Ursula in particular.

I know I gassed up the boat late afternoon, getting it ready for the weekend, cut some weeds with Evie before the rains came about 5:30.  We sat on our front porch, enjoying the down pour with horseradish cheese and crackers, as it rained on and off the rest of the night, a thir of an inch as of this morning.  

For dinner, we had club sandwiches, with chicken, bacon, and tomatoes, a salad and watched a few more episodes of Nurse Jackie, as she continues her downward spiral into lies and drugs.  It reminded us both of Walt's situation from Breaking Bad, where one bad decision leads to another, to more lies, to more danger. as each episode leads the main protagonist deeper and deeper into despair.  We sit on the edge of our couches, anxiously waiting for the bottom to fall out, the drug use discovered, the lies brought light.  It's also interesting that both have families which they love but their addiction trumps all, especially in Jackie's case.