A Sad-Making Saturday, Leah's Last Day At The Lake

Leah and Evie, Ready For Bear

Pooped

7:38

Another cold morning on the lake, 23º, and I am up way to early, at 5:30.  I tried but could not get back to sleep, so here I am, at 5:45, starting my blog in a chilly living room.  Coffee's brewing, the fireplace is on, and I am about to turn NPR on, so soon, all will be right in the world.

This is Leah's last day here at the lake, alas, so we hope to make the most of it.  Because her flight leaves Sunday morning at 7:00, we have gotten her a motel room across the street from the airport, so we will be driving to Buffalo, late afternoon, having dinner, then dropping her off at her room for the evening, then heading back to the lake.  It's now 7:00 and everyone is up, Leah because she had to reserve her seat on Southwest, twenty four hours ahead of time, and Evie because Leah's up.

A Happy College Grad

Our Cross Country Ski Trail Head

Friday, after a fine morning of coffee and my usual. homemade granola, with plain yogurt and blueberries, we went cross country skiing at Dobbins Woods, an easy ten minute drive.  It was a perfect morning for it, cold enough but not uncomfortable, as we let Leah blaze the trail through the loop, through woods and lovely sun covered hemlock forests. Their branches, hanging low because of the snow, covered us with snow if we brushed them while skiing. After one loop, we bisected the circle by bush whacking, making our own trail through the snow and dead fall, great fun and interesting as you don't quite know where you are going, what you will find.  It added another twenty five minutes to our skiing, which was just right.  Leah loved it, said it reminded her of skiing with her Mom. We were home by 12:30 and Leah was famished, having had a light breakfast, so Evie made her a chicken/cheese quesadilla and I had the leftover chicken piccata and rice.

Riding High

Falling Down

After lunch, I took it easy for an hour while Evie made up the mushroom pasta sauce for tonight's dinner and Leah did one of her workouts for her race.  When Evie was through with her cooking, the two of us went cross country skiing because the sun was out, sky blue, the lake a brilliant, virgin white.  We could not pass it up, so we skied down to Wells Bay and back, creating streaks on the otherwise untouched surface of the lake. It was another perfect afternoon on the lake, one that's rare because we do not get many sunny days.  So when they happen, we better take advantage of them.

Blue Skies At The Lake

A Legal Leah Enjoys A Cider With Aunt Evie

At Brazils, In Downtown Jamestown

Mid afternoon, we drove into Jamestown, so Leah could see the city.  We hit a couple of the hot spots, a new store we like, then the Jamestown Skate shop and their indoor skate board ramp.  We then stopped at the Dykeman Gallery and browsed a bit.  Evie found some mini bowls we liked so we got a deal, eight for half price, twelve bucks.  We then were thirsty and it was getting late so we dropped in at Brazil's Craft Beer and Wine Bar, so Leah could see the 'high life' in Jamestown.  We were lucky to get seats at the bar and it was happy hour, so we went wild, ordering a couple of beers and blackberry pear cider for Leah.  It was just starting to get crowded as we left so it was good timing but a fun half hour and we enjoyed the beers and cider, but we wanted to get home because we were making fresh pasta.

Fresh Pasta Master

We were home by 6:00 and Evie had already made the mushroom and cream pasta sauce and the dough for the fresh pasta so she and Leah pulled out the pasta dough and Leah basically did the rest, putting the dough through the pasta machine a couple of times, then once more for fettuccine.  By the time she was done, she was an expert.  We dropped it in the boiling water for about five minutes, spooned it out into the pan with the sauce and let it marry for a few minutes while we got the salad and veggies on the table.  Evie plated the pasta sauce and fettuccine and we had another gourmet dinner.  Leah loved the sauce and pasta, of course, knowing this might be her last home cooked meal for awhile.

Cooking  Fresh Pasta 

After dinner, Leah and Eve went through some of the old picture albums, from when she visited Chautauqua with her family while I cleaned up the kitchen.  We then sat around in the living room, looking at pictures from our day, surfing the net, and talking about what we wanted to do on Leah's final day tomorrow.  We had planned on lake walking once again but since no one mentioned it, I think we were just too tired out to contemplate getting dressed and going out again.  We actually never made it in to the TV room, content to sit in the living room, music playing, and a cosy fire to keep us warm. I read and Leah and Evie played Bananagrams for an hour before we all went up to bed early, tired out I think from our past five days of fun.