Sounds of Boats and Birds, Lots Of Sun

5:57

Lunch With Ron and Vickie

Evie and I are both up before 6:00.  I was out on the front lawn taking a picture as the sun rose, just as the boats starting booming out of Long Point Marina, heading points north and south.  I worried that they might wake up our guests but it's now almost 7:00 and they are both still sleeping in despite the smell of coffee filling the downstairs.  At the moment it's 56º, the lake quiet (where did all the bass boats go), a high later of 77º, a great beginning to a Sunday.

I skipped yoga yesterday morning because we had lots of chores to get done before our friends from Maine arrived.  We tided up the downstairs,  and Evie was also busy in the kitchen getting things ready for dinner so that she could enjoy our guests.  I went off to the Lighthouse around 9:15, to pick up ground chuck for our Turkish koftes, small cigar shaped spiced meat patties, for dinner.  When I got home, Evie had already put  together most of the baked ziti for Sunday, then she made the koftes for Saturday, and put them in the refrigerator for later.  I also worked on my garage, cleaning it up once again as it always becomes a mess after two or three weeks of its being ignored.  

Our friends, Ron and Vickie arrived just about 1:00, having spent the night in Binghamton, NY, after their drive from Oxford, Maine on Friday. It was  great to see them, and we figured they had not been to our house for at least ten years.  They were constant and helpful friends and visitors for our first seven years her at the lake, before they moved East to teach.  They, like us, are retired, living full time now on Lake Thompson, about forty five minutes west and north of Portland.  It was a nice afternoon, so we ate outside, having to move the table into the shade because of the hot sun, not a surprise since 'summer' had officially arrived.  We had Sahlen hot dogs, with Cleveland's Stadium mustard, of course, and one of my favorite soups, Indian cauliflower, perfect for their return to the area.  We sat out on the dock, catching up on their children and grandchildren, and especially, their first year of retirement in Maine.  

Trout

Victoria

Biff

Around 3:00, we took a hiatus from talk, with Vickie taking a nap, me watching some soccer and napping, Ron and Evie sitting outside, reading and talking, under the shade of our maples.  About 5:30, everyone was ready for a booze cruise, so we hopped in our boat and slowly cruised the shoreline to the Casino, where Vickie took a picture of it for her son Ronnie, who loves the wings, and sent it to him in Doha, Qatar, where he's now working as a paramedic.  It was a lovely night to be on the lake, a light  breeze, so we needed a jacket.  We were back around 7:00, so since everything was mostly done, I fired up the grill for the koftes, Evie fried some zucchini slices, and within a half hour, we were drinking some of Ron's French wine, happily devouring our version of an Turkish Iskender kebab, toasted pita, topped with koftes, a tomato sauce and yogurt.  Amazing.  The only thing it was lacking was a waiter walking by with a pan of sizzling butter, ready to be poured on your kebab!  We sat around eating  and talking and finished our dinner with Evie's homemade baklava.  

Wing City

Evie quickly put the dishes in the dish washer, and we sat around till about 10:30, talking and looking at pictures from the past, even some videos Evie had taken of their granddaughter when we visited them in Maine in the fall of 2011.  We all were in bed by 10:30, tired from our day, but looking forward to a couple more days of reminiscing and eating and boating and walking, the life of retirees, no doubt.

Enjoying Old Pictures