Overcast, Some Rain, A Quiet Beginning to Labor Day Weekend

Enjoying a Pitcher at the Seezurh House

6:20

I got up at 6:20, went outside after turning on the coffee and everything was still wet from some showers last night, about 1/10th of a inch.  I walked out on the dock, not a boat insight, surprising because this should be the last busy weekend on the lake.  After Monday, things will settle down, traffic will almost disappear, and the locals take over.  And we can walk the Chautauqua Institution any time we wish.

Yesterday began with yoga, perhaps my last class for awhile as my pass runs out unless I decide to take on another month.  We will see.  Class was small, a couple of people I recognized, and the teacher, Courtney was her usual cheerful self, quite a contrast to moi.  She unlike the others does eye yoga, where we move our eyes to the far left and right, and also draw circles with them, both clockwise and counter clockwise.  I have no idea of its effectiveness but it sounds good...exercise your eyes.

I came home to a house full of fans, as we want to make sure our carpet dries before we set everything back in its place.  The humidity was as high as 98%, with no wind, so we have had the fans on for two days.  It feels normal this morning so I assume we will now be able to put down some of our Turkish carpets.  I have to say our living room looks amazingly good (and clean), as Evie has worked hard at cleaning every table, lamp, and chair before putting it back in place.  I wonder if it's in my head, that it looks so different, or whether it really does look different once the carpet is cleaned, the chairs and couches put back in place?

New Lime Light Hydrangeas from Virginia

Because it was supposed to rain on and off all weekend, Evie decided to give the lawn one more mowing, despite the hot weather.  It was brutally warm, for Chautauqua, from 11:00 on, mostly because of the humidity.  As Evie cut, I went fishing in my kayak, one of the few boats on the lake at 4:00.  My first cast brought in a feisty sun fish but that was it for the next forty five minutes.  When I got back, both Evie and our neighbor Joyce were standing, neck deep in the lake, talking and they stayed there, cool and refreshed, for a half hour, talking.  It reminded me of some of the Florida condos we stayed with my parents in the 1980's where the pool was often busy with snow birds, usually leather skinned women, who would spend hours standing in the pool, keeping cool, kibitzing on short winter afternoons.

The Mc Clure picked us up at 6:00, for a final summer hurrah, a beer on the porch of the Lenhart Hotel because it closes in three days, a sign summer is truly over.  Bemus Point was packed with people, perhaps because of the Neil Diamond sound alike concert.  We were, however, able to get rocking chairs on the Lenhart porch.  Ron and I ordered Old Vienna's, our routine, and the four of us sat on the porch, enjoying our libations, lamenting the end of summer, but looking forward to the crisp, colorful days of autumn.

We went to the Seezurh House for a fish fry, always good but had to wait forty five minutes for our dinners.  It was crowded, no doubt but the waitress explained that one of the cooks either had to leave at the last minute or quit, we are not sure which.  It was fun to see the Seezuhr House so busy, the porch filled as well as the dining rooms and we reminded ourselves of a few dinners we had in the past year, probably in February, when we were the only customers in the restaurant.  We walked down to the floating dock, past the long line of people getting ice cream cones, listened to the sequined, strutting Neil Diamond double for about ten minutes, then drove home on a warm late summer night, perfect for sitting outside and listening to a concert, which hundreds of people did.  Another good night with the Mc Clures.

As I finished this, it's still overcast, gray on gray though our neighbors ski boat did fly by twenty minutes ago, a sign that summer and warm weather remains at least for a few more days.

A Morning of Heavy Fog

6:25

6:30

Up at 6:05 to a dark house, a lake hidden by fog, as just the docks are visible.  The humidity has dropped a little as has the temperature, 61º, but it will get in the 80's later today and stay close.

We had the carpet cleaners come in yesterday to clean our downstairs carpets and stairs, something we have needed but never gotten around to doing.  So, early on. we started moving some of our things out of the living room, making it easier for the guys to do their job, things like lamps and break ables, not furniture as they do that.  At 9:30, I went to yoga with Danielle, a crowded class of course and it was good to see some of the people I have not seen for a couple of months.  Summer does feel over as most of us get back in to our normal routines.

When I got home, the guys were hard at work, the job overall taking close to two hours.  They seem to have done a fine job, the carpets look almost new though we will not be able to tell for sure until they dry completely.  We asked them how often they recommend getting carpets cleaned and they suggested once a year.  Well, this is our first time in 17 years so I guess we were overdue.  Because of the high humidity, we had fans on all day, hoping to get the carpets dry.  They seem pretty good this morning when I came down.

We still our unsure of when our friends from Turkey will arrive but we continue to get ready for them. Evie worked in the yard and cut the lawn, which needed it and I worked on my garage.  It continues to get messy and when it rains, water gets in.  And, as I was putting things up in the attic, one section of the dry wall collapsed on to the floor, creating quite a mess.  I am not sure how to fix it, whether to salvage the dry wall, put it up again, or put another entirely new piece up.  This is something I expected as the ceiling shows signs of wear and will not handle the weight I have put up unless I reinforce it some, which was done by our previous owners.

Evie decided to get food shopping done late afternoon, heading to Wegman's, so she can get a start on making some dishes for our friends over the weekend.  We assume they will call today and arrive either on Sunday or Monday but we have to plan for an earlier arrival, just in case.  We had BLT's and fresh corn for dinner, the corn still sweet, watched some TV.  I am now into a Harlan Coben novel about sports agent, Myron Bolitar, ex Celtic Number One draft choice, who also has a FBI background, or something like that.  It's not bad, an easy read, by no means taxing or informative, just entertaining.

Finally, A Sun Rise But Still Hot and Humid

Up at 6:40, just in time to see the sunrise, just to the south of the tip of Long Point, as it continues its journey towards Wells Bay.  I can already feel the humidity in the air, a dampness though not unpleasant yet.  It's 62º, high will get in the 80's later in the day.  The good news is that we did not have this weather when the kids were here.

6:40

6:50

Yesterday I jumped back into my old routine, starting the day with yoga with Elise.  It felt good to get back to doing some exercising and stretching.  We had six people in class, basically the group that gathered much of last year but not during the summer, so it was good to see them again.  Most were busy during the summer and now they have time to return to class.  One, Lauren, mentioned he is now bar tending at Bellino's, the bar at Chautauqua Suites, that they have music on Wednesday's and Friday's from 6:00 to 9:00.  I felt great after yoga, stopped for coffee at Ryder's, then went to Home Depot to pick up a few items.

It was hot and humid through the day, not the kind of weather that makes you want to do anything, so we took it easy most of the day, Evie doing some fishing, me kayaking for an hour, and I even caught a bass on my first cast.  We have decided to hang a couple of our copper trays on our walls, one in the kitchen, one in the living room.  Only one, however, has a hook so I had to find someone who could either fasten a hook on the back of the tray.  I stopped at Mayville Dock Works, opposite the Lighthouse, but John said it could not be done.  So I ended up stopping by Dave Ward's machine shop, a guy who seems to be able to do anything.  When I go there, he was busy fixing a grape picking machine.  I showed him what I needed and he said it would be no problem.  He loved the tray, said it was hammered out by hand and very old.  He should have it done by Friday.  Amazing and interesting guy.  He also, by the way, built a trailer for my neighbor, Bud Kinney's sailboat.

King Fisher

On my way back from Home Depot, I stopped by Jeremy's and picked up some corn and tomatoes, near the Hadley Bay Restaurant.  He mentioned that the raccoons are doing on a job on his corn, ripping the top off, then moving on to the next ear.  I guess you cannot kill them; they are not in season though a friend a few years ago shot 36 raccoons in an attempt to save his corn field.  They can be pests no doubt.  Anyways, we had the corn and spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, with cole slaw and watched some TV.  We tried the new Netflix series Orange Is The New Black and were not taken with it, mostly because it's set in a women's prison and, obviously, can be vulgar at times.  So we watched some old Super Pass Word shows, with Bert Convey, still fun to watch.  I finally finished THE INTERESTINGS by Meg Wolitzer and really liked it.  I highly recommend it.  And I started a Harlan Coben thriller, a writer I have never read. This one revolves around a murder of a tennis player during the US Open.

Morning Rain

6:30

Sunrise, 8/27/2012

It was 6:10 when both Evie and got up, to a wet yard, the reassuring sound of rain on the roof top and trees,  It's gray outside, with a tinge of yellow, unhealthy looking to be honest, as the sun must have come into play though I see no evidence of it's rising other than the lightening gray vista.

Yesterday was one of those days where we were both still tired from our weekend festivities but we had things to do so we marshaled on.  For Evie, it meant painting the bead board wall but before doing it, we had to decide on a color, which we finally did.  Since we were not taken with any of the colors of the rainbow, we went with a lighter shade of our walls, a light buff and we just happened to have a can of paint upstairs from painting our walls two years ago.  It took Evie a couple of hours but when done, we were both really happy with the look and will probably stick with it.  There's a large space above the bead board, perfect for a picture but we tried one of our copper trays and it looked great, blending in nicely with the colors on our back splash so I think it's almost done.  We will live with it for awhile and see how we feel in a couple of weeks because the color will be easy to change if we like.

My role was to go to the paint store once, also to Chautauqua Brick for supplies, and I returned some of the molding we did not use from putting up of the bead board.  It was a warm sticky day, not exactly the kind of weather for painting but it's done.  I also trimmed out hedges, ripped out some of the choking vines that often invest them, filled my boat, getting it ready for the weekend with friends from Istanbul.

At 6:00, our friends the Mc Clures came over.  Both Ron and Linda liked the color of the wall and Evie and Linda brainstormed about the space above the bead board, coming up with the idea of our copper tray.  It helps, usually, to have someone else's opinion.  We went out for dinner to Guppy's, a spot we are beginning to like more and more, like most people, because it seems to be the busiest restaurant on the lake, always people waiting to get in.  We were lucky like the previous two or three times, to get a seat in the bar where we like to sit.  I ran into a fellow yoga student; I did not remember her name but she introduced herself and her husband to Evie and me.  We had beers and most of us had the two specials of the day, beer and cheese soup, followed by a teriyaki chicken quesadilla, both quite good. We also ordered onion rings for the table as an appetizer, and they were excellent as well.  We had a good time, catching up, talking about our weekend, the Mc Clure's weekend as well, returning home around 8:45.  We watched some TV and I read quite a bit as I am almost finished with THE INTERESTINGS, which I have quite enjoyed.  It's overdue so I want to get it done because it's costing me a nickel a day.  Whoa!

A Wet Welcome Back To The Lake

6:20

Up before 5:00 for some reason, just could not get back to sleep so I came downstairs, laid on the couch for awhile but  couldn't sleep, wanted coffee, so here I sit, in utter darkness, with coffee and computer, waiting for daylight.  I did walk outside and it's drippy, from quite a bit of rain last night, about 3/4's of an inch, so everything is wet.  I did see the moon peaking through the clouds and the lake is barely visible at this hour, just foggy.

We did our usual drive from Darien, leaving early, by 7:00 and both Marisa and Mitch and parents got up to say good bye.  It's their first day of school so they were excited though they would not admit it. Our ride was though mostly overcast skies, little traffic, and a bit of rain, uneventful which is the best.  I have to admit I am not as psyched about the beauty of the drive as I used to be.  After so many rides on the same Interstate, you just want to get to your destination.  We got home in seven hours, right around 2:00 with a couple of stops.

Unpacking was easy, two bags and we were in.  Both of us were surprised at how warm it was, and we even worked up a sweat just watering the plants with lake water, as it had not rained since we left.
Because it was so warm, we both ended up out on the dock, sunbathing and swimming  a couple of times just to cool off.  The water was amazingly clean, little if any algae, which is encouraging.

Our good Turkish friend Sami finally got in touch with me after playing phone tag for a couple of days. As a graduation present for his daughter, he is taking her on an extensive tour of the world.  We first heard from him in South America, the second or third part of his trip.  He's now on the West Coast, traveling by car and will  be in NYC this weekend.  We have been trying to get him to come to the lake so he will fly in from NYC this weekend for a couple of days.  Both of us are excited to see him and his daughter, and we hope to pay back some of the hospitality he showed us when we were in Turkey four years ago.  He literally took care of us for five days, driving us from Istanbul to his house on an island off of Turkey called Cunda, then to his olive farm south of Izmir.  He more then took care of us and we want to show him the same kind of hospitality.

We did not feel much like cooking after our travels, so we had home fries and eggs for dinner and caught up on some of our TV shows, Breaking Bad in particular, which had, I might add, an amazing twist for Walt's brother in law.  It gets better and better.

Once More To The Lake

Three Sisters. Pre Wedding

French Fries at Fairway

My Sister in Law, Claire, Relaxes After A Busy Day

Up at 6:00 because we want to be off for Chautauqua by 7:00, hoping to avoid some school day traffic.  It looks like a nice day as I peer through the windows and tree branches.  House is quiet, Cody is sleeping next to me, hardly moved when I came down.  The coffee is made, bags are packed, and we will be ready for take off, in our car, in a half hour or so.  We have had a great stay here, just the right amount of time.

The Great Grandmothers

Yesterday, we left Long Island around 8:15, had an easy ride on the Long Island Expressway, no traffic jams, no stoppages, so we made it to Darien by 9:40.  Everyone was up except for the boys, of course, and Beth and Evie immediately went off shopping, finishing off the things Marisa needs for the start of school, quite a list and very specific, for example, a certain kind of writing notebook that Beth cannot find.  They did stop at my favorite bagel place, so when they got home, everyone was up, ready for a bagel.  Rami had just gotten back from a 35 mile bike ride, so he was really hungry.

After breakfast, we went off to Costco, a typical Sunday morning excursion for Rami, getting all the essentials for the week and both Evie and I like to go along.  We don't buy much, just four different cheeses this time but it's fun to look.  It was packed with people, the chapel of choice for the shoppers on a Sunday and I would say half of the shoppers were Hispanic, surprising for this area unless you know it, I guess.  Both Stamford and Norwalk have large Hispanic communities, not so Darien.  We didn't do much during the afternoon, played some games, watched some TV but around 3:30, Marisa said she want to go get french fries at Fairway, our favorite grocery store.  So off we went, tasting the olive oils, cheeses, before getting a basket of their freshly made fries, more than enough for the three of us.  When we got home, Beth, Rami and Tyler had left for Greenwich, where a family was having a gathering for all the Dartmouth freshmen in the area.  While we were out, Mitch was off skate boarding with buddies, happily, as they had been on vacation for a week, so he had no one but me to board with.

My College Bound Grandson, Tyler  posing as" Walter White'  from Breaking Bad

For dinner, we bought deep dish pizzas from Costco and with a salad, that's all we needed as we were still full of fries.  After dinner, we packed up the car, got things ready for an early start tomorrow.  Beth, Rami, and Tyler returned home about 8:00, had a good time at the Dartmouth party.  They were ravenous so the rest of the deep dish pizza disappeared quickly.  Marisa went to bed early, around 8:30, as school starts tomorrow.  She has all her books, notebooks, and pencils ready, took a shower, did her hair and is ready to go.  Hers is the only class in the school that cannot wear flip flops (to dangerous according to her teacher) so she got a new pair of blue Chuck Taylor low cuts and she loves them.  We were all in bed by 10:30.

Back To Darien For The Day After A Great Time on Long Island

With Henry, my brother in law and his son David

It's 7:00 and I am once again sitting in my hotel room, having coffee, as we are taking our time, something unusual for me, before driving back to Darien this morning.  Let's hope the Long Island traffic is not too bad on a Sunday morning.

Yesterday was another great day with the Kartagener family, and Evie's three sisters.  We did not  get started very early yesterday because of the wild night Friday, the wedding and all that followed as I wrote yesterday,  So, we got over to Claire and Henry's house around noon.  Henry's family, many from the West Coast, have been there for a week because many have their roots on Long Island.  So, we basically spent the day and part of the evening hanging out in their lovely backyard, replete with a swimming pool, an outdoor bar, and a shaded grassy area where non stop bean bag games took place.

Kartagener Backyard

We got to know Henry's side of the family much better after an afternoon and evening of eating and drinking and playing bean bag.  Plus there were a couple of babies around, to amuse and play with if you were bored with adult talk.  Claire had an amazing spread for breakfast and lunch; I made myself a lox and cream cheese bagel, which held me over till dinner, a couple of briskets with cole slaw, a family favorite for good reason.  Evie's sister Elaine and family left about 2:00 as they had to get home to Chicago by car, as the kids start school on Monday.

Evie and Claire's daughter Stacy, with Jake and Grace

The Gang Enjoying A Late Afternoon German Brandy

I have to admit to starting drinking much earlier than usual, why not on a sunny day with pool and friends and this continued on and off the rest of the day, ending with bottle of snake wine from Vietnam, with a whole snake and scorpion in the bottle.  Fortunately, I did not partake but a couple of the younger family members did to their dismay.

We hung out at the bar after dinner, having rum and cokes or high balls, ginger ale and bourbon as my parents called them, feeling better and better about the day, the evening, the family.  About 8:00, my brother in law Henry, after a day of drinking became so nostalgia about family that he said, "If I arrange a safari to Africa next summer for family, how many are in?" That's all it took and now he has a group of twenty eager relatives, willing to go next August. Nothing like alcohol to loosen the tongue, make you regret what you have said the next day! By the way, Africa travel is his business, so he's going to check on the cost some time in the next month for a two week excursion to Kenya and let us know about the possibility... exciting.  His son David, also part of the business, showed Evie and me a slide show of the various places we would be staying if we went and it looks amazing, much different from my tour of southern Africa in 1996, when we traveled in a converted truck, pitched our own tent, cooked our own meals, with a group called Wrong Way Tours.  I think it cost me 900 dollars for three weeks, as I said cheap.

Snake Wine from Vietnam

We left about 9:15, said our good byes to everyone because we are leaving from the hotel this morning for Darien, and thus ended two wonderful days on Long Island, one a great wedding, the next a relaxing, fun day with family at the Kartagener home.  Claire and Henry are great hosts, to say the least, and we stayed with them last April in Scottsdale for a week, also a great time.  We are fortunate to have great families on both sides, that we continue to enjoy each others company.  Enshallah.

THE BURGESS BOYS: ELIZABETH STROUT

This is the third book by Strout I have read and though good, none of her books measure up to OLIVE KITTERIDGE, her prize winning novel from ten years ago.  This one is set both in Maine, where the Burgess Boys grew up, two of them, Jim and Bob, and their sister, Susan and in NYC where Jim and Bob have moved in their adulthood.

The defining event, which has shaped the Burgess boy's life took place when they were young.  Their father left the car at the top of the drive way to go move something out of the way.  The car started to roll, ran over the father, killing him and Bob was sitting in the front seat, behind the steering wheel. Though only six, he was silently blamed by the family for the accident and has had to live with the guilt of having killed his father all his life.  This incident begins the story; the second event is the arrest of Susan's son, for having thrown a sheep's head into the local mosque, in a small town in Maine, where numerous Somalis have immigrated, to escape the devastation back in Africa.  The mixture of locals, Somalis, and the Burgess brothers forms the triangle of this story.

Jim, a lawyer, having become famous in his early career for winning a famous O.J. like case, comes back to town to help out his nephew but ends up causing more harm than helping, a result of his no longer being a Mainer and the locals dislike of someone who is successful and left town.  Bob, too tries to help but he's never been able to get over his guilt, has gone through numerous depressive episodes and has seen a psychiatrist on and off during most of his adult life.  We also see Jim's wife Helen, unhappy and aimless in her marriage since her children have grown up.  And Pam, Bob's ex wife, also unhappy, still good friends with 'good old Bob.'  Jim treats his brother like a loser, calls him names, gives him little credit for having carved out a life in NYC and we wonder why he is so tough on him till we find out why.  Jim has had to live with the guilt of having put his brother in the front seat of the car after having been there himself and run over his father.  He finally admits this to Bob who thinks, at first, that Jim is lying but later realizes the truth, completely changing his life and who he is, understandably, as the guilt he has felt forever has disappeared.

Things fall apart after Jim admits his betrayal of Bob and, because of a marital affair his wife leaves him.  For Bob, however, things seem to brighten; for his sister Susan, they brighten as well as her son is not prosecuted, a result of the Somalian elder withdrawing charges, realizing that the boy could just as easily been his son, and he exhibits the compassion and care lacking in most of the Mainiacs.  The novel ends with Jim having lost his job and wife, getting on a bus, hoping to throw himself at the mercy of Helen, that she will take him back.  And it ends.  Strout's characters are always interesting and she does not fail in this novel, as we are kept interested because of their quirks, the inclusion of outsiders like the Somalians, which create unexpected results when thrown into a Maine town.  Well worth reading.

Dancing The Night Away On Long Island

Henry and Claire, Proud Parents of the Groom

It's about 8:30 and I am sitting in my bed, drinking coffee at a hotel that used to be called the Sheraton Inn Long Island but changed it's name in the last week, and owners, to Upsky  It's a huge, older hotel, large lobby with a bar and restaurant, and full, I think since there are at least three weddings going on around her with most of the guests staying in the hotel.  We will spend the day at my sister in law Claire's house, enjoying family, and drive back to Darien tomorrow morning.

Pensive Irish Dancer

 Marisa and Her Friend Amanda

Looking back at yesterday, it seems like we did quite a bit.  It began with our packing, having breakfast, taking Cody for a walk, then driving, with Beth, to Stamford, to watch Marisa's Irish Dance class perform some of the steps they learned this summer.  It was informal, no costumes, just line after line of girls, from ages five to fourteen, strutting their stuff.  It was fun to see the little ones prancing on hard and soft shoes and, of course, Marisa was the cutest and the best.  I only wished she had danced more but they seemed to want the newest dancers to dance the most, perhaps to get them to come back during the year for lessons.  After the dance, we went back to Beth's, finished packing our car and drove to Dix Hills, Long Island, which took us about an hour and a half.  I guess we were lucky to have only one ten minute delay at a toll booth.  Traffic leaving Long Island looked horrific, as everyone seemed to be heading either north or south, for the beaches I assume.  We arrived at Claire's about 2:30 and lots of both sides of the family were there.  Fortunately, they have a large house, a great backyard replete with pool and outdoor bar, so it did not feel crowded.  We met lots of my brother in laws side of the family, many who grew up like him on Long Island and spent most of the time with Evie's three sisters.  We left for our hotel around 3:30, giving the family time to get ready for the wedding later in the night.  We checked in, relaxed and surfed the Internet, checked email and Facebook before starting to get ready for the evening wedding.

The wedding ceremony and reception took place in this amazing complex, like a large, elaborate and expensively but overdone villa in Italy, at least that seemed to be the theme, lots of dark wood and paneling and coffered ceilings everywhere.  We joked it could easily double as a funeral home. Anyways, the ceremony took place in one of the paneled rooms, which did indeed look like a small chapel.  Scott's brother, David, presided and did a great job of marrying Scott and Liz, a nice combination of humor and sentiment.  The cutest part of the ceremony was Scott and Liz's daughter who, when seeing the two, kept laughing and crying out 'Dada, Mama.'  Scott's best friend played the trumpet for the two, both coming and going, which was a nice touch.  There ceremony took all of twenty minutes, with the emphasis on bringing together two very different families, one Jewish, one catholic,  the importance of connecting and uniting that which, up to this point, had been separate and different.  The two were the picture of innocence and affection, as brides and grooms should be.  And very happy.

Liz and Scott Kartagener

We went out into the courtyard, a lovely evening to sit outside to what we, who had never been to a Long Island wedding, thought was dinner only to find out it was heavy, very heavy appetizers, seven stations worth, with meats, veggies, and seafood...you name it, they offered it.  I started with chicken, Italian sausage, and prime rib, cut in front of you, then on to calamari, shrimp, some cheese and vegetables, then back for more until I realized dinner was to come.  Also, their were waitresses walking around with trays of appetizers as well.  Music played throughout and there was a bar at at the far end where everyone seemed to tip the bartender every time they got a drink. a good gig for him.

We sat outside and schmoozed for at least an hour and then we were ushered inside to the dining room, where a stand out six piece band played just about every great dance song from the past forty or fifty years non stop the rest of the night.  They had played at Claire's step daughter's weddings so they knew how good they were.  I think it was about 8:00 when we went in to the reception and dinner hall, and we did not leave till about 12:00.  Salads were on the table to begin dinner, but we did not eat until about 9:30 as everyone was encouraged to dance, which they did, and drink which they also did, I assume, to work off the appetizers to get ready for dinner.  They had the usual promenade of the bridal party, the bride and groom dances, all of that kind of thing.  After a salad, we had sherbet, a palate refresher, before a choice of salmon, Chateaubriand, or chicken.  All were good, followed by a chocolate mousse, then cake, then coffee or tea.  Amazing night for all of us.  We got to know a couple of Claire's best friends, Monica and Susan, and their husbands, both couples outgoing and fun to be with.  We had never met them before but they knew all about Evie and me from hearing about us for the past twenty years or so.

Claire and Evie, Rockin Out

Jim, Elaine and Jean, Evie's sisters and brother in law

Evie, surprise, was the life of the party, dancing and laughing and having fun with her sisters the entire evening.  It was a great night for the bride and groom and all their families, memorable and fun.  We left about 12:30, got home around 1:00 and did not get to sleep until about 2:00.

THE BAT: JOE NESBO

The fourth or fifth novel I have read by this Norwegian crime writer, which follows the career of Harry Hole, often drunk or on the wagon, depending on the book, always has a girl friend, though usually no good comes of it.  This is his first novel and for some strange reason, it's set in Australia; I don't get it because I like the feel of his Norwegian novels, the darkness and gray, lack of sun and this one is so different.

Harry is sent to Australia to investigate the murder of an Norwegian woman,  which allows him to get involved with a Norwegian expatriate and fall for her, as he is investigating the crime.  His police partner in Australia is an Aborigine, allowing Nesbo to narrate much of the sad history of the aborigines lives since the arrival of the convicts and immigrants from Great Britain; its not a pretty story obviously. Harry's role seems at first to be subordinate but he eventually takes over when his partner is found having committed suicide, perhaps the result of a drug overdose it is first thought.  Later, they realize it's also a murder, an attempt to cover up the trail which leads to the murderer, also an aborigine, a good friend of the murdered detective but also a psychopath.  Along the way, Harry's girl friend is also killed, in an attempt to lure the killer out into the open.  The plan goes wrong, she's kidnapped and killed, as the attempt to bring him out of his cover fails.  Harry, obviously distraught, goes on a binge but awakens long enough to continue the trail, finally apprehending and killing the psychopath and so it ends.

We get a good feel for the underworld of Australia, the police procedures, the drug trade as well as the clubs  the dealers inhabit and some of the girls who ply their trade in these clubs.  Not a pretty picture of a certain side of Australia.

Morning in Darien, Afternon on Long Island, Evening at My Nephew Scott's Wedding

Antiquing With Mitch and Marisa

A warm and quiet morning and up at 6:20.  It's difficult to see the sky from where I sit as the window is filled with ten foot rhododendrons.  I guess I ought to be sitting in Beth's sun room but habit is habit so I will stay put.  Rami just biked off to the train station, basically a slight down hill from here to the station,  five to ten minutes, so no sweat literally.

Mitch

We hung out with the grand kids yesterday, doing some shopping, taking walks with Cody, on an oppressive, late summer day.  Marisa had Irish Dancing Camp till noon, so Evie and I went off in the rain (just what we needed, more humidity) to REI, to look at hiking shoes, which I passed on, deciding the ones I had were good enough and cheaper.  And we went to Home Goods, just to browse, picked up a couple of things we don't need and by the time we finished shopping, we discovered we didn't want them so we bought nothing.  Shopping surfeit I suppose, a good thing in the long run.

When we got home, Marisa was back, Mitch and Tyler were both up, so we spent part of the afternoon cajoling them to get off their Ipads or video games.  I rarely if ever see any neighborhood kids and wonder if they too are inside on a device, rather than outside, like us when we were growing up, playing with others.  I sound like an old foggy, I know, but there is some truth in it.  You can spend a lot of time just watching a TV show on an Ipad or playing a video game and don't have to move.

Our New Buddha

Around 3:00 we had an reluctant family afternoon out, all of us but Tyler, and went off to this amazing Antique Store, United House Wrecking, with thousands of items both in side their store and sitting outside, marble fountains, statutes, outdoor furniture, and inside, windows, doors, whole mantels,  jewelery, couches, memorabilia, you name it, they might have it.  As fate would have it, a two foot cement Buddha got my eye, we bargained and now I am proud owner of it.  Now we have to figure out where to place it, in or near Evie's garden.  I cannot wait to see it in the snow.  Marisa and Mitch even seemed to enjoy browsing in this huge barn like show room, in Stamford by the way, not Darien.

Rigatoni with Sausage and Tomato Sauce

When we got home, I took Cody for his second walk of the day, the humidity was disgusting but we made it up the hill and back, about fifteen minutes.  About 5:30, we opened a bottle of wine, got out some brie and french bread, and Beth, Evie, Mitch and Marisa played a few hands of Telefunky, my Mom's famous card game, until it was time for Beth to make dinner.  She has what seems to be a simple, nothing special recipe for Rigatoni with a sausage, tomato, garlic and red peppers but when we sat down to eat it, we knew why it was Rami's favorite meal.  The rigatoni are huge compared to ziti or penne, but with this meaty tomato sauce, it works perfectly.  In fact, Evie put it in the cookbook she made for all the families at least ten years ago, but I don't remember ever making it.  Now we will for sure.

Want To Go For A Walk, Cody?

Around 9:30, before going to bed, Mitch and I took Cody for his final walk of the day, on their pitch black street.  Mitch had his skate board, me a flashlight, and it was great fun, watching Mitch do jumps and turns in the dark.  Though there was a full moon, the street is so tree filled, without street lights that it is hard to find your way.

We all went to bed by 10:30, us to get a good night's sleep so we are ready to rock and roll at the wedding this evening.

Kicking It In Darien With The Grandkids For A Day

48 Years Together... It's Gone Too Fast

Up at 6:10, my usual time, to another warm day in Darien, in the high 80's if not 90 like yesterday though with air conditoning, you don't notice much unless you happen to venture outside.  I was the first one up and actually figured out how to make the coffee, no easy task anymore with this coffee pot, which grinds as well as brews in the morning.  My short term memory worked well enough for me to remember from the last time we were here in June.  Bravo.

Yesterday we celebrated out 48th wedding anniversary by driving across New York State to the Albarrans.  It was an easy but seemingly endless drive for both of us, perhaps because we have taken it so many times in the past seven or eight years or we had just driven it in June.  Anyways, lots of fog for the first couple of hours or more, all the way to Corning before it burned off.  We left at 7:00, got to Beth's around 2;30, to be met by the barking, then wagging tail of Cody, and the kids running out of the house to give us a hug.  It wasvery warm so we relaxed in the house the rest of the afternoon, after taking our bags in, talking with the kids and Beth though Marisa, Mitch and I did take Cody out for a walk, something I try to do a couple of times a day to Cody's obvious delight.

Celebrating Our Anniversary with Our Grandchildren

We helped Beth put together a special dinner for us, a crispy, sticky citrus flavored chicken, from Bully chef Gordon Ramsey, and we celebrated out anniversary with a special banana/peanut butter cream pie for dessert, made by Tyler, who is becoming quite the pie chef.  After dinner, we gave Marisa her belated birthday present, a poster of  photos of her, from years one to ten, put together by Evie and really neat.

Marisa With Her New Poster

At dusk, I took Cody out for a night walk, had to jump out of the way of truck turning into the street, and enjoyed the full moon walk.  When I got back, all the adults  were tired and went to bed early, around 10:00 though the boys stayed up, watching TV or playing games on the computer. I can remember when Evie and I first started going to bed before our kids, just about the time our kids were college age.  It made me think of the innocent, good old days in Turkey where all three of our kids always went to be at 8:00, regardless of their age but then, there was no TV, radio, computer or Internet, just a book to keep you interested.  Ah Nostalgia!

Off to Darien, Then to Long Island for A Wedding

 Full Moon 9:30 PM

6:10 AM

Up at 6:00 and we hope to be off to Darien around 7:00.  It looks like a great day on the lake, the sky at the moment a soft pink as the sun has yet to rise.  We have about a seven hour ride ahead of us, most of it on the Southern Tier which I enjoy.

Yesterday was another beautiful day and I never get tired of saying it; it was much nicer than Monday, sunny all day, few boats on the lake, the water fairly clear, even making you want to swim.  My friend from Hudson, Scott Shorten and I went out for a kayak ride around 8:00, off to Long Point, Wells Bay and back, a great morning to be on the lake, just a few other paddlers out that early.  When we got back, we went over to the Bemus Point Inn for breakfast, always a good spot and we were not disappointed.  I had my usual, poached eggs on hash and Scott had a full breakfast as well.  It was crowded, like most days in the summer.

Kayak Morning With Scott

Scott took off around  11:00 and we then started getting ready for our trip, a fairly easy packing because we are only going to be gone for a few days, till Monday.  It was such a pleasant day that mid afternoon we took a long boat ride to Bemus and back, just cruising slowly, enjoying being on the water. We tried to sit out on the dock but when the sun was out, it was too warm, so we went in and Evie decided to  put together a kuchen for the Albarrans.  Yum.

We had an easy dinner of baked ziti, sweet corn and salad, sounds familiar.  We finally got to watch Breaking Bad and it did not disappoint us.  It's still riveting, making us wonder what is coming next for Skylar and Walt, how the series will end.

Pink Sky in the Morning

7:00

It's 6:20, the sky off to the east a soft pink when I woke and now, at 7:00, the sun is rising above Long Point, just visible behind the clouds.  Another cool morning, 51º, great sleeping weather, a good morning for a paddle in my kayak.

Yesterday was not my favorite morning but it's that kind, when it's over, you are glad to be done with it.  At 9:00 I took my Pilot in for its vehicle inspection, a forty five minute job, then at 10:00, I went to have my teeth cleaned, not a lot of fun, but when done, I knocked two things off of the 'have to do but I don't want to but should' list.  I  then stopped at Home Depot, returned some moulding we did not need, bought some stuff I also don't need and headed up to the lake.  While I was gone Evie put together a baked ziti for dinner since our good friend from Hudson, Scott Shorten, was coming late afternoon and would spend the night.  This has become a yearly event, something we both enjoy.  Scott was part of the weekly boy's night out in Hudson for years.

We relaxed and read in the afternoon and started getting ready for our trip tomorrow to Darien, CT, to see the Albarrans and go to a wedding in NYC on Friday evening.  Evie's sister Claire's son Scott is getting married and it should be fun to see all of that side of the family again under happy circumstances.  

At The Viking Club

Scott arrived about 4:00, to a surprisingly overcast lake though sunny and warm was predicted.  We sat on the porch catching up on all the news from Hudson, especially our families, as I taught all three of his kids and know them well.  Two are in med school, the other is working in LA doing well.  About 5:30, it started to clear up so we took a nice boat ride over to the Viking Club, just beyond Midway Park and showed Scott our 'Club', had a beer, sat outside on the porch, watching the sun slowly set along with all the other 'golden agers.'  It turned out to be a nice evening for a beer on the lake and the ride home was pleasant, no waves, a setting sun.

Scott Shorten

We had the ziti and sweet corn for dinner, with a salad, and enjoyed talking about Scott's trip next trip out to Glacier National Park in September, camping and hiking with his older brother.  He knows that area well, has a place in Big Sky, just outside of Yellowstone, where we hope to hike in late September so he was able to give us good advice about what to see, where to hike, and even offered us a place to stay if we liked...how great.  The moon was in its full glory almost, so we took a brief walk along Woodlawn, watched The Colbert Show from last week, the one where Stephen does his dance along with various stars, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, the Rockettes, in Henry Kissinger's office, etc, great fun. We were in bed by 10:30, to read and then to sleep.

A Quiet, Overcast Morning On The Lake

6:20

A littler warmer this morning, 61º, the high perhaps 80º later in the day.  Right now the lake and sky are gray, with some light off to the north.  Not a ripple on the lake, a myriad of grays and blacks, shadows from the docks, a peaceful morning.  And I am sitting outside on my front porch, as it's warm and pleasant with a fleece.

Praise on the Lake

Floating Pulpit and Choir

Yesterday was another enjoyable day on the lake, lots of sun, warm, and windy during the afternoon. As we were having our coffee, we heard music off towards Bemus and realized it was Praise On the Lake morning on the Floating Dock.  So we decided to kayak over that way, to see what was going on. It took us forty five minutes to paddle over to the service.  The hillside was packed with church goers, a small band was playing religious hymns, mostly modern sounding, and at least 30 boats were docked off the stage, participating in the service.  It was a fine morning, a great way to enjoy a religious experience on a Sunday, on the lake, outside, with friends.  We paddled among the parked boats, listened for awhile before paddling off, skimming the docks along Lakeside Road, to the Marina, then home.  We were gone for about two hours, returned with sore shoulders from the long paddle but it was a great way to welcome the morning.

Worshippers Stand and Sing

Boat Raffle (we hope to win with our two tickets)

Because a couple of my buddies from Hudson are visiting today, we drove to Wegman's, picked up what we needed for Evie to make baked ziti and stopped at Sherwin Williams, to buy a gallon of paint on sale, to paint our new bead board kitchen wall.  They allowed us to buy the gallon without coloring it  and we could bring it back for mixing when we decide on a color.

It was such a blue-sky afternoon that we did not want to stay inside, so we went out on the dock, to enjoy the sun, the puffy clouds and read.  While we were sitting on our dock, our neighbors, the Kinney's sailed by in there new sail boat and asked if we wanted to go for a sail.  We quickly acquiesced, jumped in their boat and off we went for a sail around the Bemus Bay.  It's a perfect boat for our lake, easily seats four to six people, with an electric motor powered by a solar battery, how cool.  It's rigged so one person can easily sail it.  And Debi thoughtfully brought along a chilled bottle of white wine, which she opened and shared.  What a delightful way to spend an afternoon, without the roar of a motor,  just the wind on the sails, the waves hitting the bow.

Anniversary Dinner at the Italian Fishermen

Around 6:00 the Mc Clures came over, offered their advice on which colors to paint the kitchen wall and then we boated over to Bemus, to celebrate both of our anniversaries which take place this week. We had the requisite beer on the front porch of the Lenhart, then walked over to the Italian Fishermen and ate outside on their porch, a lovely evening to eat outside.  Our food was great, a very spicy grilled shrimp  dish for me, fish tacos for Evie.  The Fisherman was fairly crowded for a Sunday night, most likely because it's the only restaurant on the lake, which makes it attractive to most visitors.  We took our time boating home, hugging the shoreline, on a moonlit evening, getting home about 9:30.  We watched one more episode of Nurse Jackie, read, and went to bed.  Another good day on the lake.  How lucky are we!

Overcast For Now, Sunny Later

7:00

Up at 7:00 on the dot, surprised to see how dreary and gray it was out side, the sun hidden by clouds, no fog that I can see, 55º, no traffic on the lake yet.  A quiet morning, listening to NPR and Terri Gross as Evie  has just just gotten up to join me.  We are finally getting accustomed to (not used to) waking without grandchildren in the house.

Yesterday was another perfect day, sunny and warm, not hot, what I like to call a Chautauqua summer day, so unlike the hot, humid days we have had the last couple of years.  I did go to yoga since I have not been in a week, and it was a good class, lots of the Saturday people, those who work during the week unlike me.  A coffee at Ryder's Cup in Lakewood where they were having Children's Appreciation Day, with lots of face painting going on.  Despite the great day, we did not do anything exciting.  Evie, in fact, went off to Walmart to print some pictures from the summer and do some grocery shopping while I hit the Transfer Station, now newly organized, so I had to hunt for proper trash containers for paper, plastics, cans etc, though they probably throw them all together in the end or so I have heard.

Finally, A Perfect Loaf of Bread, with Oats, Flax seeds, and Quinoa

Most of the afternoon, we relaxed, either on the dock or porch; Evie cut the lawn, for aesthetic reasons as well as exercise.  At 5:30, we went off to our neighbors, the Scholtz's, for drinks and to talk about the week's lectures on Turkey, which they also attended.  They visited Turkey in the fall of 2011 so they were familiar with Turkey, its geography and politics.  Both have interest in what's going on both in Turkey and the Middle East, so we spent most of the late afternoon going over the talks, trying to decide whether we were optimistic about what was happening in Turkey or pessimistic.  We told them about our adventures  with Friday's speaker Kemal Kirisci and explained some of his reservations about the Gulen Foundation and Movement, both here in the States and in Turkey.  Most people have never heard of this Muslim cleric who lives in Sailorsburg, PA,  yet he has founded over 300 charter schools here in the United States, ostensibly as a bridge between the US and the Middle East, between Muslim and Christian.

A Welcoming and Growing Cairn

We came home around 7:00, had a dinner of fresh corn and Greek sausages, made with feta cheese, bought from the small grocery in Sugar Grove, PA.  They make all kind of their own sausages and it's worth the trip to drive there, to buy gas, forty cents cheaper than here in New York, and some Pot Of Gold milk.  After dinner, we watched a few more episodes of Nurse Jackie, still not taken with it but we have nothing else we want to watch.  I am almost finished with The Burgess Boys and have one more day before my digital book expires, so I better finish it today.