A Hazy, Rouge Morning Sky

Happy To Have All Our Family Together At The Lake

6:30

Up at 6:15, to what looks like could be a sunny day here at the lake, at least until mid afternoon.  The lake's quiet, no clouds, just a hazy, lazy morning here in my living room.  At the moment it's 7:00, and both Drew and Ramiro are up as well, both on their iPads or iMac's, doing what we all do in the morning, from grown ups to kids, checking email, browsing the web, skimming Facebook, then talking, if there is time.

Tommy And The Girls

We were lucky yesterday as the weatherman called for scattered thunderstorms but we had neither, just a sunny day, with puffy clouds, perfect for enjoying the lake, doing what you liked.  We did get a slow, slow start, as all seem slow in waking up, preferring to leisure over coffee or breakfast, rather than getting up and taking advantage of the morning.  Hey, it's everyone's vacation, so who am I to complain if we get started late.  After breakfast of sorts, of cereal, granola, bagels, cinnamon toast and such, Tom and Drew took the girls tubing for the first of three times, a perfect, calm morning on the lake.  Then Drew and I ventured up Woodlawn Drive, found some dead wood, and Drew cut out his chain saw and cut it up for our fire pit, an easy job.  Around noon, Beth, Mary and Jill, drove off to Lakewood, to hit the Elephant Gallery in Lakewood, T. J's to pick up some duds for the girls, then a mega shopping trip at Wegman's, what else when you are feeding 15 people three times a day.

Hayden and Marisa

While they were gone, the boys went off to Turner to workout, not my idea of a vacation but it's nice to see them want to say in shape.  The rest of us decided to have a picnic on the boat, so Tommy grilled twelve hot dogs, Evie got the drinks and chips, and off we went for a leisurely cruise on the lake, a gentle wind at times, a sun playing peak a boo. The girls entertained themselves by trying to decide which house I should buy along Bemus as they ate,  (ultimately deciding that ours is the best) then wrapped themselves in blankets or sat on the front fishing chairs, as we cruised, a great afternoon lunch.  When we got back, they wanted to tube so off they went with Tom and Evie again, then swam, and practiced their jumps with Evie.

Marisa Flies

Marlena Jumps

Halle Cheers

Hayden Tucks

Around 3:00, the girls and Evie and I went off to pick blueberries, a the berry patch off of Carpenter Pringle Road.  We have been going their for a number of years now, so that Margaret, who owns it, has come to know us and the girls, mostly because they always come in matching outfits. She was tickled to see us, insisted on getting her camera so she could take a picture of all of us.  Great people. We picked berries for about forty five minutes, fourteen dollars worth at 1.65 a pound, a deal.

Blue Berry Girls

More Blue Berry Girls

With Baba

Everyone was back by 4:00, so some of us sat on the dock drinking beer, others enjoyed sitting on the porch, some were in the kitchen getting dinner ready, and Tyler, Nick and Evie made a huge blueberry crisp for dessert.  It was a nice afternoon to just sit on the dock, at least for me, grab a beer, talk and watch the girls swim or jump in the water to cool off.  At 4:00, the guys drove off to Southern Tier Brewery, where we bought two flights of their beers, to see which we like the best (none really, too hoppy), but we came home with a growler of their IPA, the one we disliked the least. It's a great pub, however, we outside seating as well.

Introducing Tyler To Flights At Southern Tier Brewery

Around 6:00, we started dinner, Evie making homemade pasta noodles once again with the boys and Tommy, this time wide, Dutch type of noodles, cooked in chicken broth.  Nick and I grilled twenty four chicken thighs, with Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, and Jill cooked the corn.  We laid out the goods on the table outside, so everyone could help themselves, so we feasted on another one of our favorite meals, barbecued chicken with noodles, coleslaw and corn.  There are three or four meals that everyone associates with summers at Chautauqua and this is one of them.

Kitchen Staff

Adult Table

The Grandchildren

After dinner, we decided to forego the fire pit because the girls wanted to go tubing one more time, so off they went with Evie, as light began to fade.  When they came in, we had our blueberry crisps with ice cream of course, and none was left.  Rami drove in about 9:30, from a quick day trip to Chicago, and Beth made him a plate of chicken and noodles and corn.  The girls ended their day with Dunking Doughnuts (code for skinny dipping), a tradition started by their granny a few years ago.  They love it, of course, especially the shallow, half moon dive, and Marlena said it best: "This feels so good." Some went to bed around 10:30, others stayed up watching American History X in the TV room.

Today we are celebrating Evie's 70th birthday because everyone is here.  It's her DAY, to relax and do nothing, letting everyone else worry about meals, keeping the girls happy and so forth.  It's going to be difficult to keep her out of the kitchen, but we will do our best.  We have a dinner extravaganza planned.  I cannot wait.