Where Did Summer Go?

7:50

At Stedman Corners Coffee House & Bistro

It's 50º out at 7:00, an overcast sky, as boat after boat pours out of Long Point Marina, the start of a large bass tournament.  Few seem in our area as they most likely are off to the farthest point from the marina and will work there way back during the day.  It did not feel that cold out when I got the paper, perhaps because there was no wind.  It looks like a nice day (except for the return of lake flies), for a walk, later a drive to Jamestown to enjoy the Chalk Walk, perhaps a brew at Brazil.  

Road Side Wild Flowers

 Yesterday was in the 50's most of the day though overcast, threatening rain.  We decided to risk getting wet, test our rain gear by walking up to the Stedman Corners Coffee House & Bistro for lunch.  It's an easy and picturesque 40 minute walk if we park at the top of the hill, which we did.  We were the only ones in the coffee shop at first but later two other couples came in for lunch as well.  We split a club sandwich, ordered a couple of coffees and enjoyed the ambiance though the owner/waiter is a bit of a slob, in a dirty, wrinkled tee shirt, large belly, and scuzzy pants, not very appetizing.  Clean it up Jack!  We enjoyed the walk, just the right distance round trip, about three miles and Evie took lots of pictures of cows, pastures, and horses.

A Pensive Cow?

Because it was cool and cloudy most of the afternoon, Joyce, our next door neighbor, invited Evie over for tea and banana bread, and she stayed, along with Pat Jones, for a couple of hours.  I went to the Lakewood Library, to pick up a couple of books only to find it closed at 3:00.  Why would a library close at 3;00 on Friday? And 1:00 on Saturday?  I got a coffee at Ryder's Cup, stopped at Evergreen Outfitters to look at their hiking gear, and browsed the Ashville Library which was OPEN.

Evie returned home around 4:00 and started putting together our dinner, Nanna Anne's chicken spaghetti, though she doctored it up with white wine and herbs.  And she made the dough for fresh pasta and let it rest for a half hour.  About 5:30, we began the process of making spaghetti noodles, having watched a couple of YouTube videos to get some tips.  And I had bought Evie a pasta drying rack for her birthday but since she found out about it via Amazon and my email, she got it early.  Well, the pasta process was much easier, incorporating the tips, as we were able to pinch the ends of the dough together as it was going through the machine, like a belt, and gradually make it thinner and thinner.  It worked well and when we put it through the spaghetti cutter, we gathered it on a dowel and hung it on the rack.  Viola. Easy and fun.  We cooked half of the noodles for two minutes, put it in a pan with some of the chicken and tomato sauce, let it marinate for five minutes, then served the spaghetti with the chicken thighs.  We gathered the rest of the spaghetti in to small nests of pasta, let it dry, put it on a cookie sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours, then in a freezer bag.  When we want more fresh pasta, we will just pop it out of the freezer into boiling water, and we will have fresh pasta. We were both excited about how much more efficient the process has become as we learn from experience and, of course, YouTube.

After dinner, we watched the Academy Award Winning Foreign Film AMOUR, a marvelous acted film,  about the end of the life decisions a couple makes, as the wife slowly loses control of her mind and bodily functions.  It's a film about what goes on all over the world each day though hidden, rarely made visible.  It's too depressing and fearful, as no one wants to contemplate a future like this. Realistic and thoughtful but not fun to watch.