Home Alone

The Bissells

7:01

7:15

It's 6:48 and three of us are up, busy on our machines, sipping coffee of course.  It's overcast, a gray colorless morning until a few moments ago, when the sun peaked over the clouds.  The Bissells drive back to Virginia this morning. leaving us home alone for the firs time in three weeks.  It's going to be a sad, long day and a hot one, high around 80.

Yesterday, our last with the kids, was a great day.  Sunny and warm, everyone enjoying the outdoors, the food, the drinks, and each other as we sat out on the dock with a cooler for three or four hours, occasionally jumping in the lake to cool off.  Even the girls enjoyed the dock, sunning some or fishing.  Our morning, however, was different.  Drew, Jill and Hayden and I drove over to Bemus and went for a run, me a bike ride, through Long Point State Park.  I would ride forward and backward, making sure no one got lost on the trail, through the woods, out to the point, back to the car.  Everyone loved it, especially the run in the woods as opposed to a neighborhood.  Afterwards, we had the mandatory stop at Skillman and Wright, the 'department store in Bemus,' then a coffee for Hayden at Wired On Main.  We drove separately because I brought my bike so I got corn, Drew ice and we were ready for the day.  I forgot to mention that I went kayaking around 8:00 for an hour, out to Tom's Point and back along the coast line.  It's always exciting to be out on the lake in the morning, just a few other boats and me, a calm lake, the sound of my paddles.  And around noon, I took our three trash cans and other detritus to the Transfer Station...love getting rid of our trash, coming home with empty cans; it's like organizing your house or drawers or just plain cleaning up.
Weird.

The Family

So that was our day until 6:00, when we went in, the Bissells got dressed up, and we took pictures for them out on the dock, hoping to come up with a good one for their Christmas card.  Before we got out there, Chris, my trusty boat guy, came by and put a used prop on my boat, taking about ten minutes and we were ready to go.  So, after the boat and pictures, I grilled chicken thighs on the barbecue, Evie cooked the noodles in chicken broth, and steamed the corn.  We ate outside again, and loved this dinner, always a favorite, especially the noodles and corn.  I got the corn from Jeremy, just beyond the bridge, and it was the best of the summer.  I think Hayden had three or for ears.

Lake Cruise After Dinner

Sunset

After dinner, we took a final cruise as the lake was beginning to darken, the boat fine, perhaps better or faster than ever.  Dusk is the perfect time to take a boat ride, no wind, no traffic, just you and the widening sky. We came home and had ice cream sundaes before playing a couple of exciting games of Spoons.  Jill and Evie each one a game, beating out the guys and Hayden.  That says something about our wives.  In bed by 10:30, tired from the day, (an exhausted Halle asleep by 8:30) none of us looking forward to the next day, the Bissells to a seven hour drive, us to a quiet house.