Steam Bath On The Lake

7:05

Up at 6:10 to haze, the kind of summer day I remember as a kid growing up in Euclid, Ohio, the humidity so thick it literally dripped moisture.  It's not the kind of say I expect here at the lake, especially in September though I also remember there being at least a couple of paralyzingly hot days during the first week of school, as if taunting us with a day which we could not enjoy because we were in a classroom.  Anyways, it was 72º both inside and out at 6:30, so I sat outside on the porch but kept the windows closed, keeping our house from heating up during the day.  Right now I just got a baseball cap as the sun, though filtered somewhat by the haze, is too bright to sit on the porch without a shade of some sort.

7:06

7:15

Yesterday, as predicted, was sickeningly hot and humid, the high getting up to 88º here at the lake, the 90's in other parts of the county.  It made you just want to stay inside, venture forth at your own risk. And of course we did, deciding to go for a walk along Bemus Point's Lakeside Drive abut 10:00 in the morning.  It ended up being not too bad though we were both drenched in sweat when we got back to our car, a little less than three miles.  We felt proud for having roughed it in the heat and humidity, came home, and decided to stay inside because it was at least 10 to 15 degrees cooler in the house.

Since we had not any major grocery shopping recently, around 11:30 I drove off to Sam's Club, to get gas and salmon, then to Wegman's for a few other staples, like oats and walnuts for chocolate cookies.  I was in a bit of a hurry because my neighbor, Bill Leonard, had dropped his boat off at a marina on the Chadakoin River, so I did not want to tarry.  Of course, the line I entered at Wegman's had to be closed because the cash register would not work, so I had to go to the end of another line.  Doesn't it always seem that when you are in hurry you get in the wrong line?  It must be a rule.  Anyways, I picked Bill up after shopping, getting home a little after 1:00, for a lunch of left over vodka and shrimp pasta, as we watched Jon Stewart.

Green Gone Wild

The rest of the afternoon we stayed in side,  Evie making some phone calls,  to Jill and Dot for a good hour or so, catching up on family news.  I spent the afternoon reading the new Phillip Kerr Bernie Gunther novel, enjoying immersing myself in post WW II Germany, as Bernie tries to resurrect his career as a private investigator in 1949  Germany.

About 5:30, things cooled just a bit, to the low 80's, so we decided to enjoy the lake by taking our boat out for a booze cruise, something we won't be able to do in a few of weeks.  We boated down as far as Point Chautauqua on the east shore, taking our time, coming back slowly on the west side.  There seemed to be quite a few guys out fishing, enjoying the late afternoon calm.  It looked like fun.

Around 7:00, I cooked the salmon outside on the grill.  Earlier, Evie had marinated it, then spread mayo over the filet, and wrapped it in tin foil before I put it on the grill, at 400º for just under twenty minutes. It was perfect, tasty and moist because of the mayo I think.  We also had garlic spinach, which we love with salmon, rice and a salad, another fairly easy but tasty dinner.  Neither of us felt like cooking after the boat ride but we were hungry enough to soldier on.  It was worth it.  We ended up watching a few TV shows, then Obama's explanation of his policy towards Syria, a no win situation, whatever we end up doing.  The idea of Syria volunteering to turn over their chemical weapons sounds like a sensible, non violent way to get out of what seems like a burgeoning quagmire.  Is it weakness to solve a problem without force?  I don't think so but Fox News no doubt will.