Saturday Redux

6:08

6:30

When you are retired, like us, Saturday mornings, like Sundays through Fridays, are pretty much the same.  So I am up early, 6:10, another chilly morning, 28º, a sky of pink, later gray, with the lake like a mirror, reflecting the clouds.

Yesterday was cold, bone chilling cold, mostly because of the winter wind.  It was, however, sunny most of the day, making it seem as if it were pleasantly warm, not so I can attest.  I went to yoga at 9:30, seven of us, two guys who I call Ball Cap, always five or ten minutes late, and Asymmetrical, because he always puts his mat at a 45º angle to everyone else.  Breathe.  Stopped for coffee afterwards, no fresh eggs, but they will have some for me tomorrow.  Nothing like a coffee shop that also has fresh eggs.  After coffee, on to Wegmans for more water (we disinfected our well recently), some goodies for the weekend, nothing exciting.

For lunch I had something different...luncheon meat from Wegman's on sourdough bread, a toasted swiss and pastrami sandwich.  I prefer toasted cheese with jam.  The rest of the afternoon was a waste for me, as I watched the Cavs beat Boston, then read some, took a nap.

July, 2014

Evie, however, was busy, putting together family portraits from the past 15 years, figuring out how to frame them, where to put them once we figure out which one's we want.  It's fun to go back and look at old photos and amazing how young everyone looked just a few years ago.  The grandchildren, obviously, have changed the most and we forget how adorable they were (still are) when toddlers.

July, 2006

We were invited for dinner at the McClures, for a spring picnic, but Ron called about 4:00 to say his sister had fallen, broke her hip, so they had to head home late afternoon but (the good news), they were bringing over our dinner which, when  they stopped by, proved to be steaks, potatoes ready to roast, salad, dressing, everything we would want for dinner, plus a few other items from their refrigerator which would spoil. We tried (hardly) to get them to freeze things, but Linda would not hear of it.  So,  I grilled the steaks, Evie baked the potatoes, tossed the salad, and we had a marvelous dinner, sans Linda and Ron, but we toughed it out, eating up everything.  We owe them one!

After dinner, we watched the much admired THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, about the life of the physicist, Stephen Hawking, with an amazing Oscar winning performance by Eddie Redmayne. Surprisingly, it was a love story, an unusual one to say the least.  And a sad, tragic one, as Stephen is stricken with Lou Gehrig's disease at twenty one, is given two years to live, but marries, has three children, and becomes famous.  His wife, however, is also admirable, staying with him, having his children, nursing him until he becomes enamoured with his caretaker.  They part amiably and both continue with their lives.  The ending was a perfect antidote to the sadness of film, a winding backward at their lives together, ending with the beginning shot, of them dancing under the moonlight, starstruck with each other, innocence personified. Rivals the final minutes of the film CINEMA PARADISO.  It made me think of a Jewish proverb I came across recently: "I ask not for a lighter burden but for broader shoulders." Both Stephen and his wife exhibit 'broad shoulders.'