Nick's Soccer Team Wins And A Fun But Expensive Day at IKEA in Kansas

Mary Paparazzi Chic

We are up early because we want to get a good start for home, about sixteen hours total. We are not sure how far we will go today; it just depends on our mood, how tired we are, how quickly we want to get home to the lake...quickly as always.

Swedish Meatballs at IKEA

Yesterday morning, Marlena played hooky from school, so we could spend the day with her.  So what did we end up doing?  Head to IKEA, which just opened a new store in the area about a month ago.  I did get a good walk in before it got too hot but did not take Bella because she has had enough of my walking her.  We left about 10:30, thinking it would be a quick trip but we did not get home until 2:45.  Mary and Marlena had never been to an IKEA and Evie acted as if she hadn't either, so we took our time, moving from section to section, looking at just about everything, from home wares, to school desks, to bedrooms, kitchens, pillows, etc.  You get the idea.  I admit to suggesting a few items we might like, a new set of dishes, as well as silverware for twelve.  So, I cannot really complain too much about the time and the money.  After all, what's time, what's money when you have both.

Our Carts Runneth  Over

Shopping of course can be exhausting so we took a break to eat lunch at their cool, efficient cafeteria. Marlena got a children's meal of chicken tenders and Evie and I both got the Swedish meatballs with potatoes.  Everything was fine, especially the chocolate mousse cake Marlena had for dessert.  We then shopped for another forty five minutes, finally picking up our last buy in their warehouse.  I was surprised at how crowded the store was on a Monday with lots of people just like us, with nothing to do, and decided to spend the day shopping, therapy for many Americans.  I have to admit I felt good after buying new dishes and silverware until I thought of the cost.

Nick Hustles

Nick had just gotten home when we returned from IKEA, taking it easy before his soccer game at 6:30.  Mary made him some pancakes, as Evie and I packed up for our drive tomorrow.  Marlena and Evie watched The Sound of Music which she surprisingly has not seen before.  Beside the movie we did not do much once we got home, just waiting for Tom to get home, so we could head off to the soccer game around 6:00.  It was ungodly hot out, at least 85º if not higher, so no one wanted to be outside.

An Intense Nick

We left for the soccer game at 6:00, no fleeces, tee shirts were just fine. Nick's team was playing Blue Springs, a fairly weak team.  And it showed as Lee Summit jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first half, then just played around the rest of the game, winning 3-0.  It was a fun game to watch till Nick went down with a foot injury, when he and another player hit the ball at the same time.  He went out of the game with about five minutes left and seems to be fine because he's sitting next to me at the moment, watching the Chiefs play the Patriots, waiting patiently for his pizza and salad.  It was a great way to end our stay, with a soccer win, pizza as we watch the Chiefs beat New England, 41-14.  A good day for everyone in Kansas City.

A Miraculous Soccer Goal, A Treasure Box And A Birthday Dinner

Evie And Her Very OwnTreasure Box

Treasure Box Gifts From Evie's Sisters

Marlena Stuck

It's early and I am awakened by Nick taking a shower at 6:30, his bathroom is next door to our room. I stumble downstairs, and Mary is getting breakfast ready for Nick, packing his lunch.  Bella runs to pick up her toy, waits for me to sit down, then jumps up on my lap, for her morning petting.  Nick comes down, dressed up, asks his mom to help with his tie, has his breakfast and is off to school, on game day.   And so it goes, says Billy Pilgrim.

Marlena Scores

A Tangle of Sixth Graders with our #22 Marlena Getting in the Mix

Though yesterday was a Sunday morning, soccer knows no stops, so we had to be ready by 10:30 for a game in Kansas, a good forty five minutes away.  So, I took Bella for a walk around 9:00, making sure I was back in time for our departure time.  She was a good sport despite the hot weather, never wavered from the lead, and when she got home, she must have lapped up a pint of water.  We then drove to Marlena's game on Heritage Field, a group of eighteen soccer fields on what used to be a farm.  The fields were filled with soccer players of all ages and genders, so the parking lots were overflowing with hundreds of cars.  We got lucky and found a space quite near Marlena's field.  It was not much fun sitting in a 80+ degree sun watching sixth graders play soccer, though we had to sympathize with the players, who had to play in the heat.  Marlena's team hung in there, despite being behind 2-0 much of the first fifty minutes.  They finally scored in the 60th minute, making it 2-1, and then, the 'big moment.' Marlena went into the game, and with the grace of the Soccer Gods, nudged the soccer ball into the net on a cross,  to tie the score.  And the fans, especially Marlena's parents and grandparents went wild.  As she said after the game, "I looked up and there was the ball in front of my foot, so I booted it into the goal."  Ten minutes later, they scored again and ran off the field with a 3-2 win, happy with themselves, forgetting about the heat.  Nothing like a win to make you forget your miseries.  On the way home, we stopped, again, yes, at Costco, to pick up groceries for the week, plus some things for last night's special dinner, as well as a couple of pizzas for after Nick's game on Monday.

Evie, Marlena, and Evie's Sister Jean

Scrabble Coasters Made For Evie by Marlena and Mary

Around 4:00, Evie's sister Jean came over for dinner, and to help celebrate Evie's birthday since we were at the lake on September 19th.  And she brought along a treasure chest, like the one we have for grandchildren at Chautauqua, filled with presents for Evie to open, all from her sisters, Claire, Elaine and Jean.  We all sat around the 'treasure chest' as Evie opened all kinds of thoughtful presents for a 70 year old, like a magnifying glass, a wine stopper, and hot pink gardening gloves. Cool beans.
We then sat around and talked, watched football (what else do you do on a Sunday afternoon) until it was time for dinner.  Jean wanted to bring dinner, so she picked up New York strips at Costco,  and Tom grilled them outside, to go along with the mushrooms, Mac N Cheese, brussels sprouts, and salad, a great dinner.  And it was so nice out that we set up our table on Tom and Mary's deck once again, enjoying the cooling evening breeze, the lengthening shadows, as the sun began to set.  We had Nick's favorite dessert, compliments of Jean once again,  Dot's pound cake and some homemade peach ice cream, especially for Evie.  Neither lasted very long and I am having one of the last slices of the pound cake with my coffee as I write.

Jean went home around 8:30 and we may see her tonight at Nick's soccer game, for pizza afterwards. We sat around the rest of the evening as I helped Nick with a personal narrative essay which he was writing for English class.  Marlena worked on her homework as we watched, what else, more football till about 9:30 when we all went up to bed.  Both kids needed their sleep as well as the adults.  It's always a fun, busy weekend when we are in town.

Oktoberfest in Lee's Summit, MO

Ready for the Oktoberfest

Marlena, Olivia, Ella

Up later than usual, 7:30, as the KC air must be agreeing with me.  Marlena soon followed and it's now 8:00 and we are watching CBS Sunday Morning.  It looks like another fine day in the Midwest. And the big news for the day, George Clooney got married!

We did not do much yesterday morning though Tom decided to make a big Saturday breakfast, of eggs, home fries and toast around 10:00, mostly because Nick had an early soccer practice and he thought he would enjoy it when he returned home.  So, that was the major action of the morning. About 11:00, Tom and Nick went off to golf at the local course.  I was going to go but it was too hot and they had quite a wait to even get on the course so I came home and decided to walk the creek with Marlena and Evie, taking the dog of course.  It was exceptionally hot, buggy, and the creek was dry so it was not as much fun as usual.  So we ended up not picnicking despite taking a snack because the girls just wanted to get home, out of the sun and heat.  I don't blame them.

Tommy With Marlena and Olivia at Chipotle's

At noon, the new refrigerator which Mary and Tom ordered arrived.  The guys moved the old one downstairs, the new one into the kitchen in less than a half hour, seemingly without much effort  They know how to move big things obviously.  It's huge but fits into the kitchen nicely and they will certainly enjoy it.  Around 2:30, we all went shopping for no good reason, just to get out of the house and do something.  We hit TJ's, Bed Bath and Beyond, Best Buy, as well as a snack at Chiptotle's for Marlena.  We took two cars so the guys could  go home early instead of sticking around while the girls shopped and shopped and shopped, a good idea.

Marlena and Olivia Dancing The Polka

Bavarian Dancers In Costumes

Riding the Flying Parasail

Ferris Wheel High

Lee's Summit was having an Oktoberfest along with carnival rides so we all went, including Nick's buddy Chris, girlfriend Hannah, and Marlena's friend Olivia.  It was packed, so that we had to park a half mile out of town, in the Baptist Church parking lot.  It would be hard to estimate the crowd but three of four streets were absolutely packed with people.  The lines at the various venues, especially the beer and brat parlors were twenty deep.  Fortunately, the girls were able to get on most of the rides with minimal wait time and they loved all of them.  Evie wishes she could have joined them. We walked and watched the girls enjoy the rides for the first hour or more, then settled down in the Oktoberfest  tent, where they had German music, dancing, German beer and brats with sauerkraut. We ended up having beers and brats, talking to an elderly German, with his new girlfriend.  He mentioned  how healthy he was despite his age, mostly because he never ate processed food. Ironically, we noticed that he took the little girls' chips when they were dancing, even tried to hide them when we returned.  Some health food nut!   . We ended up on the dance floor, Evie, the girls and Nick and Hanna, dancing the snake dance, then Tom, Evie and the girls dancing to a polka.  It was a great way to end our night of fun.

We were home by 9:00, so most of us ended up playing apples to apples, enjoying a soda, and eating popcorn before it was time for all to go up to bed, around 10:30.

A Relaxing Saturday In Kansas City With Family

I slept in some, till 7:15 and Nick was already at soccer practice, and Tom and Mary were up. Surprise. It's  now 7:45 and Marlena's awake as well, and we are all on our devices.  How I long for the mornings when we used to watched TV together!   It looks like another fine day, warm and sunny.  We have no plans for now.

Relaxing On Boat In Front Of Evie's Sister Jean's Home

Yesterday was like today, sunny and warm, little breeze.  I went for a walk around 9:00, through the neighborhood, on the paths, getting home around 10:00.  Mary was at a neighbor's garage sale, and Evie and I were going over to her sister Jean's home on Lake Tapawingo, about a twenty minute drive from Tom's.  We got there around 11:00, a neat little lake, perhaps a mile in length, not far from Independence, MO.  She moved there about five years ago and really takes advantage of living on the lake, both kayaking and boating.  The lake is crowded with homes, as everyone wants to live on the waterfront of course, and everyone has a dock, even the neighbor's on the other side of the street from the lake.  We sat outside for awhile, on her pontoon boat, catching up on her daughter Jennifer's life in Texas.  And Jean has just moved into a new house, also in the Ft. Worth, Texas, area, to have a home near her grandchildren, a smart move.  She is in the process of landscaping her house, so she and Evie went over the plans, talking about what kinds of shrubs and plants might go well.  Residents are given three months to landscape their houses, which is an interesting rule, a smart one I suppose, to make sure the neighborhood is kept up.  We came up and had at yummy lunch, chicken salad, crackers, and a tasty green salad, with apples and nuts.

Riding In Peace

After lunch, we borrowed Jean's friends kayak, and the three of us kayaked the perimeter of the lake, looking at all the various types of homes, from cottages to small mansions.  It's a great lake to kayak because it's not too large, and there's lots to look at, with three or four coves we could kayak down.  When we got back, we were parched as it was easily in the 80's, so Evie and I jumped in the lake to cool off.  It felt great, was 70º, much warmer than Chautauqua Lake.  It was around 3:00 when we decided to go for a short cruise in Jean's pontoon boat, a nice leisurely ride, with a beer and pretzels to stave off my young boy's hunger.  It was a fun afternoon, perfect weather and company, a lake, a swim, a kayak paddle, what more could we want.

The Outsiders of Lee's Summit

 Soda Pop and Ponyboy 

We got back to Lee's Summit around 4:45 and Marlena was home, Tom and Nick following shortly thereafter.  We sat out in their front yard, with a beer, as Marlena and her neighborhood friends played four square, and Nick and Tom took the top off of Tom's new Jeep Wrangler for the Friday night football game.  Pretty cool.  Nick's buddies came over because they were all going out to Chipotle's for dinner, then to the big football game between the two Lee's Summit high schools.  Tom let Nick take his Jeep so they were pumped to ride in style.  Most of the boys from Nick's high school wore wifebeater shirts as part of their "team spirit."

Chillin and Grillin On A Warm Friday Night

For dinner, we bought fresh pasta noodles from Costco, to go along with barbecued chicken, again one of our favorite Chautauqua meals.  Tom and I grilled the chicken thighs outside, while Mary and Evie got things ready in.  It was another mellow evening, so we decided to eat outside on their deck, and we sat out their after eating until it got dark.  The temperature had to still be in the 70's and the crickets were howling in the near by trees, amazing to hear this late in September.
When we finished dinner, Evie and Marlena went downstairs to watch Mrs. Doubtfire, a film Evie thought Marlena might like while Tom, Mary, and I watched the local football teams play on TV.  Nick and his buddies came back from the game around 9:30, five of them, and wanted to play games on the Xbox but had to wait for Mrs. Doubtfire to finish.  It was finally over around 10:00, and they tromped downstairs to play.  Evie put Marlena to bed around 10:30, when we went to bed as well, to the thumping beat of Xbox!  Ah boys.  It was another good day in Lee's Summit with our grandchildren, especially Marlena who is sitting next to me reading this as I write so I better say that!

Heating Up In Kansas City

Ready For The Walk To The School Bus

Nick and Hannah

Awake too early, before 6:00 but I did not get up till 6:20, just before Nick also got up to get ready for school.  It's already warm here, 60º, and like yesterday, it will get in the 80's later in the day.

Hiking In The Neighborhoo

We had a lazy day yesterday, tired from our drive I suppose.  We did get an enjoyable hour walk through the neighborhood walking path in the morning.  It's neat the way some communities have thought ahead enough to have a walking/bike path wind through neighborhoods and woods, encouraging the residents to exercise.  We were out just about an hour, long enough to work up a sweat.  When we got back, Evie showered and then we drove ten minutes to downtown Lee's Summit, the older part of the area where a huge carnival of rides was being erected as part of this weekends Octoberfest.  It should be fun to attend this weekend although I did see on the news that a local Kansas City Church, Holy Family, was having a 'Slovenefest', obviously a celebration of ethnic foods by the Slovenian community.  We did some shopping downtown, at a couple of neat shops before returning home for lunch around 12:30.

We relaxed with Mary until 2:00 when we took off for our must do excursion to Costco, to pick up groceries for dinner the next couple of nights and ogled all the goodies on the shelves, things we would like but don't really need, the great temptation of a store like Costco.  We were able to control our shopping genes and just get what we needed which, by the way, is not much fun.  

School Picture Day

We picked Marlena up at the bus stop at 4:15 and she had a quick snack before going to soccer practice with three of her neighborhood girlfriends.  Around 5:30, Nick and his girlfriend Hannah came home from practice, Tom from work.  We relaxed and talked about Nick and Hanna's school until it was time for dinner.  We bought a large filet of Coho salmon at Costco, so Tom made a marinade and then put it on the grill for about 15 minutes.  Nick and Hanna chopped and cooked the garlic spinach and Mary and Evie did the rest.  

Dining Al Fresco

We decided it was too nice out to eat inside, so we trucked all the food and dishes down and ate on their patio beneath their porch.  It was a perfect night to eat outside, and all of us enjoyed the salmon and spinach and salad.  For dessert I had bought some Blue Bell ice cream, a premium brand made in Texas, highly recommended by my good friend Paul Storey, who lived in Dallas for years.  Nick and Marlena like it too so we all had a dish of Moo-lish-ish, vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate, carmel, and pieces of almonds, pecans, and walnuts. 

A Happy Girl

We then sat around talking, watching the football game, as Nick and Hanna did homework until it was time for her to go home, around 8:30.  Marlena got hungry so Evie made her a cheese sandwich before she went up to bed.  We then spent some time looking at pictures, playing around with them on Aperture, with Nick and Mary before going up to bed around 10:30, the end of a fun day.  

144 Hours In Kansas City

Granny and Marlena

Nick Intense

Nick Ready For Game

Up at  6:30, CT, just me and Bella, the family dog, sitting on my lap of course, making it difficult to type with one hand because I have to pet her or she whines.  Nick and his Mom are up by 6:50, so Nick can have some breakfast before heading off to school and his first class, Physics at 7:30.  I remember those days.  It looks like an amazing six days here in the heartland of the country, sunny and warm every day, highs to get in the 80's.  Maybe we will swim in Evie's sister's lake later in the week.  We brought our bathing suits.

We left from Effingham yesterday about 8:00, arriving in Lee's Summit, a southeasterly suburb of Kansas City around 2:45, an easy six hour drive or less if you don't stop at the country western store, Kleinschmits which we always do so I can pick up another Carthart flannel shirt, the farmer's favorite.  We browsed the store for about a half hour before heading to KC.  When we arrived, Nick was already home from school, with Mary, so we quickly unloaded the car, played with Bella, and got caught up on all the news.  Nick's soccer team was playing their bitter cross town rival Lee Summit North, at 6:30, so he was a bit on edge, excited but nervous, and not sure what to eat before the big game.  I remember those days when my Mom would make me pancakes.  We met Marlena at the bus, which was fun because she was so excited complaining that 'the day went so low because I couldn't wait to see you.' What a kid.

Tom's Cool New Wheels

While Marlena worked on her math homework, fractions, we waited for Tom to get home, at 5:30. He had a new car, obviously a mid life crisis sort of vehicle, a Jeep Wrangler with a removeable top, a cool vehicle, ready for anything, on or off the road.  Both he and Nick were excited to show us their new iPhone 6's, bigger than the old 5's, almost like a small iPad.  We went to the game around 6:00, saw the end of the JV, easily found seats in the stands though their was a good crowd, lots of boisterous Lee Summit West students, supporting Nick's team.  Nick's school is fairly new, a modern building with great facilities, in this case a football stadium with a turf field, a composite track, the equal of many colleges I suppose.  It was a perfect night for soccer, in the 60's with little wind.  Nick's team fell behind by two goals early in the second half but came bouncing back to tie the game at 2 all, before losing 4-2 in the end though they played hard and well.  All the boys were disappointed, as were the coaches, but they will get back on track.  We are staying till Monday so we can see Nick's next game, on Monday evening.   And as an added bonus, we get to watch Marlena's soccer team play Sunday at 12;30.

Lee Summit West Field

Nick Again

We got home around 7:45, Nick not till 8:30 because of a team meeting.  Mary had made spaghetti and meatballs ahead of time, her specialty, so we heated them up for dinner.  Great meatballs, great sauce, her Dad's Sicilian recipe, as usual.  We talked with Nick who was down, of course, because of their loss but buoyed by their hard play because the game could have gone either way with some luck.  We were all tired for some reason, so all of us went up to bed around 10:00.  A good choice because Evie and Tom and Marlena are still sleeping and it's 7:30.

Not sure what is on the agenda for today, taking it easy in Lee Summit, perhaps a walk with the dog, some shopping, and maybe lemon chicken with rice for dinner, Tommy's favorite.

Quiet Night In Effingham, On To Kansas City

Effingham IL, At Night

At Hone At The Lone Star Steak House

I am up too early because we are an hour behind here in Illinois, so when I am waking up at 6:00 Chautauqua Lake Time, it's really 5:00 here in Effinghham Il. I am sitting down in the breakfast room of the Delta Inn, what used to be the Hampton Inn last time we were here.  I guess the Hampton name makes a difference because we seem to be one of three cars in the parking lot though we have been assured it's the same staff, rooms, breakfast, beds, linens, etc, just cheaper.

The Not So Filled Parking Lot

We left yesterday morning, just after 7:00 and nine hours later, we arrived in Effingham,  It was a beautiful day for the ride but we could not help thinking how nice it must have been on the lake as well, not on a highway heading West.  Traffic was easy through Ohio, also in Indiana and Illinois, but lots of trucks and some one lane slowing as there was quite a bit of road work and bridge repair.  Not much to see on the way.  We just want to get there.  And once we leave the hills of Ohio, it's flat all the way to Kansas City, occasional large cities, like Indianapolis, then smaller ones, like Richmond and Effingham, in between vast farmlands, mostly corn.  We stopped once for breakfast at a McDonald's in Ohio, then had leftover cubans and rubens for lunch.

We relaxed in our Inn for a couple of  hours, reading, watching TV, surfing the Internet, then went to dinner at our favorite Lone Star Steak House, where we have gone the past four or five years.  We usually meet someone interesting at the bar, strike up a conversation, and have a fine time.  This year, however, the bar was practically empty, as was the restaurant, perhaps because it was a Tuesday, so we have no stories to tell about someone else's interesting life.  We did ask the bartender if she knew Steve, the guy we met last year and, of course, she did.  He has a new girlfriend and a cracked rib, still works at the Wings restaurant but does not stop in the steak house much anymore because of his girlfriend.  That's as far as we got we a conversation. At least our sandwiches we quite good.

Evie's Chicken Sandwich

So, we were back at the Delta Inn by 8:00, a bit bored, knowing we did not want to go to bed too early, so we stayed up watching TV and reading until, 10:00 Central Time.  We will take our time this morning, hit the road by 8:00, stopping only at Kleinschmits, my favorite Western store in Higginsville MO., then arriving at Tom and Mary's around 3:00.  Nick has a soccer game at 6:00, so we should easily make it.

Westward Ho...To Effingham, IL., That Is

6:25

Sunset From Viking Club at 6:35

Jerusalem Artichoke

We are both up at 5:45 and getting ready for a nine hour drive today to Effinghham, as we are on our way to visit our son Tommy's family in Lees Summit, MO, just outside of Kansas City.  We are in no great hurry this morning, as we gain an hour, so we should get to our Inn around 4:00.  It's pitch black at the moment, so I had to wait a half hour to get some color in the sunrise photograph.

Yesterday was a real fall day, late fall in fact, as the temperature never reached the 50's, though its supposed to warm up later in the week.  Neither one of us had much energy, so the only venture out was to the post office.  Other than that, we hunkered down in the house, got things ready for our trip, then packed.  I did lots of reading as did Evie, and we had the fire place going, and I even made some Turkish tea, my routine on cold winter days, not that its cold or winter yet.  Still, it was nice and cosy in the house, the tea comforting and along with a good book, I was happy to stay inside.

Hydrangeas And Eight Foot Tall Jerusalem Artichoke flowers

Around 6:00, we headed over to the Viking Club, to meet the Mc Clure's, what we hoped were the newest members of the Viking Club, for Monday night's specials, Rubens or Cubans. Unfortunately, this was an unusual year for new members, so they were put on the waiting list, alas.  As usual, there were not many people in attendance, nothing like the Rod and Gun, but that's why we like it.  We can always find a seat in the bar, and the sandwiches are good and huge, enough for lunch the next day. We had our usual pitchers of beer, with popcorn, as we waited for our sandwiches and caught up with the McClures, who have been gone a week.  They are pretty excited because they fly off to Italy and Germany for two weeks, not returning to the lake until October 7th. Our sandwiches were great, with pickles and chips, so Evie was really happy, nothing like chips.  We stayed until about 7:30, when we said our farewell, as we both are traveling in the next few days.

Enjoying The Viking Club

When we got home, we watched the newest episode of The Good Wife, from yesterdays, and went to bed early because of our trip today.

MOVING DAY: JONATHAN STONE

This was a free book from Amazon, just published, which I decided to download although I knew nothing about it or its author. It begins with the retirement of Holocaust survivor and wealthy industrialist Stanley Peke, who is moving from the East Coast, to Santa Barbara and the good life. The movers arrive, a day early for some unknown reason, so the Peke's think nothing of it, even helping with the move.  The next day, however, another group of movers arrive, find an empty house, with Stanley and his wife, and only then does Stanley realize he's been taken in by a crook.  The story then jumps to the thief, a Greek named Nick, with a hardscrabble background.  He's driving the truck to Montana, where he stores the goods then fences them through various dealers.

Even thought he can afford the lost, Stanley cannot let it go...it's not in his blood, his DNA to let someone take advantage of him.  He realizes the thief has a key to his bank box and will probably try to get that as well.  So he puts an electronic GPS device in his expensive watch, puts it in the box, hoping the thief will take the box and wear the watch.  It works perfectly and Stanley finds the thief lives in a small town in Montana.  He drives there with his wife, takes a look at the buildings, waits for the thieves to go on their next heist, calls his son who sends a truck, uploads all of Stanley's furnishings in the truck, and takes them to Santa Barbara.

But things don't end there as Nick is just as bloody stubborn as Stanley; he refuses to let this old man 'one up him' and he drives to Santa Barbara, kidnaps Stanley, and tells his wife she better let him have the goods back or Stanley will die.  And she is not to tell anyone.  She eventually tells her son who finds out where in Montana Nick hides out, hires five professionals, and they go to Montana, wrestle Stanley from the crooks. Stanley, however,  has single handedly, beaten up the three skin heads guarding him, obviously Nazi haters, even before his son rescues him.  Nick escapes, only to be caught by Stanley, then shot by one of the professionals who came to free Stanley.  The book ends with Stanley back in Santa Barbara, enjoying the rest of his life.  A good part of the book allows us into the mind of Stanley, as relives much of early life fleeing from the Nazis after having been abandoned by his parents to save his life.  From then on, he lives by his wits, until the war ends and he immigrates to the US. But hard as he tries, he never escapes his past, as his tussle with Nick and his group of thieves proves.  A decent read, not my favorite but I was interested enough to finish it.

Autumnal Equinox Brings Rain And Cold (Sierra Hull To Play at Beachland Ballroom on November 20th, in Cleveland, Ohio)

8:00 AM

7:10 In The Evening

6:42 Early Evening

Both Evie and I slept in until 8:00, a near miracle for me.  I woke at 5:00, thought about getting up, thought I would see if I could get back to sleep and  viola, it was 8:00 when I woke.  Not a very nice day, gray on gray, wet, 43º outside, 58º inside so I turned on our gas fireplace for an hour, to warm the house up.

It was gray and wet early on Sunday, though it cleared up later in the day.  Evie and I decided to kayak in the morning despite the clouds, perhaps rain, a  good decision as it was a perfect  day to kayak, not too hot, the lake easy, the clouds, even though gray, energizing as we paddled to Tom's Point, then back along the shoreline to Woodlawn.  No matter what the sky, it's always exciting to be on the lake, surrounded by water and sky.

When we returned, the sun peaked out for about a half hour, so Evie bundled up and went out on the dock to enjoy the sunny weather.  A half hour later, it clouded up and she came in, made our traditional breakfast, then decided to make chocolate chip cookies, to take to Nick and Marlena in KC this week.  Of course, I got to sample some.  After the cookie making, it did clear up again, and Evie went out to enjoy the sun and blue skies, and I stayed in long enough to watch both the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns lose, a typical Sunday around here.  Around 4:00, I went out to enjoy the sun with Evie, then both of us decided to jump in the lake, despite the cool weather.  I won't say the water was warm, but once we were in it, it felt amazing, cold but not yet bone chilling.  After the dip, Evie went in to get dinner organized, and  I went for a quick bike ride but the heavy winds beat me back so that I was only on the road for about a half hour.  It's no fun peddling into a thirty mile an hour wind.

7:03 pm

7:05 pm

We relaxed before dinner with some wine and cheese and crackers, as the sky was particularly colorful, changing from minute to minute, sending both Evie and I out to take picture after picture, as you can see.  We had leftovers for dinner, cabbage borek, pork, and salad, satisfying and easy, and we watched some TV shows which I cannot remember.  We were both tired, in bed and asleep by 10:30.

Tom's Point and Ellery Farm 6:19 pm

Today, we get packed and ready for our trip tomorrow, stopping in Effingingham, IL, on Tuesday night, arriving at our son Tom's home in Lee's Summit, MO, around 3:00.  We cannot wait to see the entire family.