An Afternoon Cross Country Meet (Maple Grove!), An Evening Of French Fries At Steener's Pub

7:42

8:00

It's 7:30 and Evie and I have been up for just about an hour.  The sky is just starting to lighten so we can make out Long Point.  It's 42º out, the high later in the 50's.  We are listening to Only A Game on NPR, their weekly sports program.

We had a healthy Friday until about 6:00 but I will tell you about that later.  It was a typical cloudy day at the lake, a sky of threatening gray clouds most of the day but it never rained after early morning.  It was a brisk day, with the highs around 50 but great for walking.  We needed groceries so I left around 10:30, stopping for a coffee at Ryders Cup, where they wondered where I have been.  I then picked up some mulch at Home Depot and did some grocery shopping a Wegmans before getting home around noon.  Evie had left a note to say she was out walking the campground, so I had a lunch, of tuna on a bagel and lentil/squash soup.   Evie was out for a good hour and a half, walked over four miles according to her new iPhone, which keeps track of her every step, each day, and saves it so she can see how active she has been. Pretty cool and a good motivator for her to get out and walk or cut the lawn.

Maple Grove Girls Pre Race Huddle

The Race Begins

About 3:30, we drove over to Bemus, to the golf course, where the New York State Regional Cross Country Meet was taking place.  Since attending our granddaughter Hayden's cross country meet in Winchester, VA, two weeks ago, we have been following the local high school team, Maple Grove, mostly because we have often seen their team, both boys and girls, running in Long Point State Park when we are out hiking.  They are a dedicated bunch, always high ranking in the state.  It was a cold, gray afternoon for a race but good for the runners, the golf course mostly flat with one hill, and lots of curves to make it easy to follow the runners.  The top Maple Grove boy finished third I think, but the girls' team, made up of what looked like clones, finished 1, 2, and with a 7th grader finishing in 3rd.  They clearly love to run, compete and their enthusiasm is catching.  It was good way to spend the afternoon, better than visiting a gift shop in Bemus where we dropped mega bucks on 40% off items we don't need but hey, it was a deal.

The Winner, Hope Pietrocarlo (18:15)

We walked back to the course as the last JV race was finishing, and I suggested we go to Steeners Pub for ONE beer and a plate of their french fries.  We were lucky to eventually get a seat at the bar, devoured their fries and of course, had two beers and lots of popcorn, our dinner so to speak.  Not very healthy but tasty, especially their fries, well worth the stop.  We seem to always meet the same guys, the regulars, Jeff, a regular who we often see at the Seezurh House, Jeremy, the week day bartender who tends to stay on into the evening along with always someone new if we sit at the bar, like the waitress Ann, who had just gotten back from a trip to Venice.  It's becoming a cosy place for us as we know the owner, the cook, and the bartenders.

We were home around 7:30, not very hungry and watched some of the Cavs and World Series before binge watch three Stephen Colbert late night shows.  Early on, we were a bit disappointed in his show but he seems to have found his groove as we loved the show last night, some really funny routines and great guests, like Jack Black, Hilary Clinton, and Seth MacFarlane.  We fast forward the first five minutes where he dances and acts silly.  Let's hope he grows out of it.  Anyways, its nice to know he is back.  The highlight, was a young women, a tap dancer, who just received a Mac Arthur Grant for her art.  She was amazing.

Rain Overnight, Drizzle In The Morning

7:45

Thursday Night's Dusk

It's 8:45 and Evie just got up to a wet morning, overcast sky, some drizzle on the roof, a light wind and 39º.  The rain should stop soon but it will remain overcast most of the day, alas.  I have had enought gray skies, want some sunshine.  I guess I better head to Florida because we are not going to get much here over the next five or six months.

Yesterday turned out to be a nice day, windy but some sun on and off during the day.  We did not get started until late, unable to decide where to hike or walk.  Because it had rained quite a bit overnight, we decided it would best to walk Lakeside Drive, in Bemus Point, which we have not done in awhile, preferring the woods.  We started out and within a half mile, knew it was too windy (50 mph gusts) to continue, even scary, with the huge trees hanging over the road.  We walked up Bemus Road to avoid the wind and found a private drive which listed at least eight names.  We walked it and found an amazing neighborhood of modern homes, one street back from the lake road.  None had a good view of the lake but they all enjoyed a wooded area and the homes, architecturally, were cool.  We did not even know they existed because they are hidden from the lake road by a row of houses and trees.

We continued up to Frontage Rd, then to Jeff Present Rd, which led to the Bemus Cemetery, decorated with flags for firemen and police.  In the distance, we could see a tent being put up on the golf course, getting it ready for today's Regional Cross Country Meet, usually held in Long Point State Park but because of the work being done there, the meet was moved to the Bemus Golf Course.  We ended up walking only two miles, avoided the wind, and discovered a cache of interesting residences.

Bemus Point Cemetery

We were home by 12:30, ready for a leisurely afternoon, not sure if we wanted to walk again, work in the yard or just relax.  I had another bowl of kuru fasulye, on rice this time, the way its eaten in Turkey and watched another episode of Longmire.  The lake was too choppy to kayak, so we read or watched TV until 4:00, when we both went outside, to rake leaves, and mulch some in certain areas which were thick with leaves from the rain and wind.  Our front yard was mostly leaf free, the side, however, covered with leaves.  We worked for about forty five minutes, gathered a couple more barrels of leaves, which I took up the hill.  And as you can see from the bird photos, we put out a couple of feeders a couple of days ago.

Red Bellied Woodpecker, A Big Boy

Nuthatch

After the yard work, I showered, sweaty from working, then drove over to Bemus to get a pizza from Coppolo's, the pizza joint in the village.  When I got back, we relaxed and enjoyed the end of daylight, with cheese, crackers and pistachios, our latest obsession.  Dinner was simple, pizza and a salad.  We actually liked the pizza, decided it was the best we have had in the area, and wondered why it took us 25 years to try it.  No answer.  We watched Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher's Real
Time before going up to bed.  We fell asleep to rain on the roof, comforting and sleep making.

THE NIGHTINGALE: KRISTIN HANNAH

Another book set during WW II, not in Berlin this time but in occupied France.  And the protagonists are not guys but women.  At first, I wondered why I was reading this book; I knew it would not be much fun.  How could the Nazi occupation and their often abominable behavior be fun.  It couldn't but the behavior of the French Underground, the understandable fears of the French people, and the heroic actions of the two main protagonists, two sisters, Vianne and Isabelle Maurica, make the book unforgettable.  Both have terrible childhoods, having lost their mother when they were young and abandoned by their father after their mother's death.  Their father, having lived through the atrocities of WWI, comes home psychologically harmed,  a different person, and  the death of his wife literally took away his will to live and he left his children to a stern mistress.

They are scarred by his abandonment, but Vianne falls in love at 16, marries at 17 and has a seemingly good life.  For Isabelle, however, the opposite is true and she is expelled from one boarding school after another, for unruly behavior and breaking the rules.  Neither sister has much sympathy for the other since they have not lived together since their mother's death.

The novel begins with the coming of the Nazis, the falling of the Maginot Line, which would supposedly protect the French, but the French quickly surrender to the German army.   The rest of the novel describes their lives during the occupation, seen partly through the eyes of Vianne, as life, freedom, and food slowly disappear each year.  Her husband, Antoine, has been captured and is working as slave labor.  Vianne must feed her two children, then her Jewish neighbor Rachel's son, when she is taken away to the camps.  Like many women, she is forced to house a Gestapo officer, Captain Beck, a surprisingly kind, empathetic officer, who does his best to help her family.  When he is killed, by Vianne by the way, to save her children, another officer moves in, SS Herr Sturmbannfuhrer, a pig, who despises the French, rapes Vianne, makes her pregnant, and could care less about her children.  That's Vianne's half of the story.

The other half chronicles her rebellious sister, Isabelle, who refuses to kowtow to the Nazis and leaves Vianee behind because her attitude toward the Germans would jeopardize Vianee and her children.  She joins the French Underground and slowly earns her wings by first finding downed British and American airmen, then taking them on a dangerous trek over the Pyrenees to the British or American consulate in Spain, saving their lives.  Every trek is dangerous, risking both her and the air men's lives, and she becomes an anathema to the Nazis, is nicknamed The Nightingale, and they do everything they can to capture her.  She makes over twenty-seven trips during the last three years of the war before she is finally captured and tortured though they cannot get her to admit who the Nightingale is (they have no idea it's a woman), and she is finally sent to a camp.  She barely survives but returns home to her sister Vianne and dies shortly after.

The saddest part of the novel  is when Daniel, Vianne's Jewish friend Rachel's son, who has become just like her son, is taken away from her after the war by the Jewish Refugee Organization, and he is repatriated to a family in the States.  This seems almost as terrible as what she endured during the Nazi occupation.

The novel is told in retrospect by an older woman; we are not sure who she is until the end.  It's Vianne who has never told her children about her life before coming to the States.  In her 70's, however, dying of cancer, she agrees to go to France to accept an award for saving the lives of many Jewish children and it's only then that her son learns about her heroic actions.  What he never learns is that he was fathered by the Nazi who was housed in Vianne's home.  Love conquerors all.

Stormy Weather Early/Sunny Weather Late

7:40

8:08

8:38

The outline of Long Point is just starting to develop, like a black photograph, out of the darkness of morning.  It's 7:23, 45º out and it's been raining for the past hour, in fact, for the past 24 hours, accumulating over two inches.

Yesterday felt like we were on the coast of Maine, last October, when a nor'easter ruined our visit to Acadia Park.  Constant, heavy southeasterly winds and rain marked the day.  Flags flew, branches bent, limbs fell, leaves floated downward, covering the green, mulched yards from the day before. Surprisingly, we had a hint of sunshine mid morning, for about ten minutes, before the rain began again.  Evie was off early, for a doctor's appointment, and I stayed home because of the plumber was coming at 8:30 to tune up our boiler, making sure all the zones were functioning correctly.  They were so we are ready for winter, we hope.  

By 10:00, we were sitting in our living room twiddling our thumbs, wondering what we were going to do with our day, no hiking or kayaking.  So, we decided to make a recipe I found for a lentil and squash soup.  Evie had picked up the squash at Tops after her doctor's appointment, so I cut it up in small pieces while she sauteed the carrots, onions, garlic with spices, like cumin, turmeric and mustard seeds.  Once they were ready, we added the red lentils, the squash, chicken broth, and let it simmer for forty five minutes before using the "boat motor" to blend it smooth.  It tasted just as we thought, a combination of French, Turkish and Indian flavors. 

Unfortunately, I did not have it for lunch because we had leftover chicken picata and rice, so I had that instead of soup,  saving it for the rest of the week.  At 3:00, I drove into Jamestown, stopped at discount grocery store, to pick up some walnuts from a truck load sale, saving three or four bucks a pound.  I also stopped at the dentist, to check some discomfort around a crown, but it is nothing serious.  Seriously.  

I was home by 5:00, in time to watch Evie sear our stuffed pork chops, put them in the oven, then join me for a glass of wine, as the wind continued to whip our trees, the rain fall.  What a miserable day, especially in contrast to the amazing weather we have had in both September and October. Two weeks ago we were sunbathing on the dock and Evie, not me, was swimming.  We watched the Republican debate, more a slug fest, good entertainment, than a debate, where everyone ganged up on the moderators, rightly so to an extent, with their 'gotcha questions.'  It seems like the candidate who is best at a rejoinder to an attack comes off the best.  They may not be the best leader, just the quickest to take offense, to attack.  Donald is good at it, so is Ted Cruz, neither, however, would make a good President.  Neither are statesmen like, and their styles remind me of the Soviet brute, Nikita Khrushchev, pounding his shoe on the podium at the United Nations in September, 1960.    

It's now 8:45, the winds have settled momentarily, the rain stopped, a blue sky and bright sunshine have appeared, so I have been walking outside taking pictures of the changing morning sky.  Evie's still sleeping, lucky lady, as I sit here listening to the pundits analyze last night's debate.  What would they be talking about if there were no debate I wonder.  

A Blustery, Wet Fall Morning

7:34

8:04

8:15

We are both up at 6:00, Evie because of an early doctor's appointment. We can hear the wind howling, strangely coming from the southeast, rain pelting the roof.  It's not going to be a very nice day but it's going to warm up a bit, to the 60's.  I am not sure what today will bring, no walking or kayaking, perhaps it's a good day for bread making, soup making, something like that.  I  saw a lentil/squash soup recipe on the NYTimes which looked good.

Black Walnut Row

Yesterday was another fine fall day on the lake, sunny and cool, with a nice breeze.  The lake, unfortunately, was choppy so we did not get out in our kayaks but about 10:00, we drove over to the end of Lakeside Drive and walked Long Point Park, a 3 + mile jaunt, mostly through woods. Someone over the past year or two has created new trails, so it was fun to walk somewhere different, as we wound our way through the heavily wooded areas.  It was strange because at times, we were zipping up our fleece, at others, unzipping it, depending on the wind and whether we were in the sun or not.  We actually met three other walkers, which is rare.  They were, of course, dog walkers.  We also passed a prison guard with a band of green clad trusties, splitting wood something we tend to see each fall.  It must be nice for them to get out in the woods, enjoy some sun.

A Fall Sky

We were home about 1:00, in time for some kuru fasulye, again, and Longmire.  While I had lunch, Evie prepped dinner, chicken picata, then we both relaxed until 3:30 when we powered up both mowers and cut and mulched a couple of yards filled with leaves.  It took some time because the leaves were so thick especially the front yards.  At least they were dry and there's a feeling of accomplishment, if fleeting, when we were done.  We also did some raking, filling up a couple of garbage cans before taking them up the hill.  It was starting to get dark when we finished, as is nature's wont this time of the year.  In fact, one week from today, it would have been dark as the time changes this weekend.

Black Capped Chickadees Are Back

We relaxed with a glass of white wine before dinner, but were both hungry, so Evie finished off the picata, then braised some sprouts and made rice, our usual accompaniment to the chicken.  We were excited to sit down and eat and watch TV because we had three of our favorites shows saved, Fargo, Homeland, and The Affair.  We watched them in succession, taking time out to watch a bit of the Cavs or the World Series before returning to the next show.  Evie went up to bed early because she has an early morning and I soon followed to read.

At the moment, it's just 7:00, still too dark to take a photo of our morning, so I will have to wait for awhile by reading the NYTimes or Washington Post.  We have the plumber coming at 8:30 to do a check on our boiler, thermostats, zones, to make sure they are all functioning for the winter ahead.

It's now 9:55, Evie's just returned from the Doc to choose photos and edit the Blog.

Another Good Day For A Hike And A Paddle

7:33

7:41

7:40

8:07

The sun has finally risen, over Bemus Point, on its trip south.  Both Evie and I have been up since 7:00, a late rising for me, an early one for her.  We both have gotten up off the couch numerous times to take a photo of the wakening sky.  It's a never ending photo shoot.  It's a chilly 39º and should get up into the mid 50's later in the day before the winds and rain arrive tonight.  We had better enjoy today because the next couple of days look bleak for kayaking and hiking.

We both sat around yesterday morning, enjoying the leisure, trying to figure out what to do with our day.  We felt a strange freedom, not having to worry about dinner because Linda Hepp and her husband, Ron, were having us over for dinner.  I had read somewhere that to be truly alive, you should do something you don't want to do each day.  So I picked getting our flu shots, so off we went to Mayville, to get our shots, quite an adventure.  Actually, we were in and out in ten minutes.

Paul And Nadine Webb Trail Head

Compliments Of Our Health Center, A Great Idea

We then parked our car next to the closed Box Car Barney's ice cream parlor and walked the Webb Trail, one we have not been on since last spring.  It's a great walking trail, a slight, unnoticeable rise going out, a dip coming back.  The trees were just starting to lose there color, so it was still an amazing walk, a pathway of over hanging trees, of browns, yellows, greens and red.

The Wonder Of A Path In The Woods

Evie In The Woods

 There's something soothing and wonderful, at least for me, about a path through a heavily wooded area, strewn with leaves.  The colors, the sounds, even the smells of the coming winter are palpable.  We walked from #394 to Morris Road, then to #430 and back, close to four miles, taking us an hour and a half.  It was the perfect choice for our morning even though we did not get home until 1:00.

A Turkish Comfort Food, Kuru Fasulye

I was anxious to get home, to lunch, the kuru fasulye I had made on Sunday afternoon, a simple stew of beans, tomato paste and red pepper.  I loved it, of course, probably because I made it; it's like a thick bean soup.  While I ate, Evie could not stay inside, so she was out doing some raking of the flower beds, a never ending task in the fall.  At least, for a moment, there is some sense of satisfaction, of having gotten something done.  Of course, all you work disappears by the next day when more leaves have fallen.  The one consolation, both of our trees in the front yard are practically naked, so we are almost there, to the end of chopping leaves.  No way....it never ends.

Evie On The Lake

Around 3:30, we noticed the lake had settled down, the surface smooth, the reflection of the trees visible on its surface.  We were off in minutes, over to Long Point, to the Marina, paddling or just sitting in the middle of this enormous bowl of water, feeling almost dizzy if we looked up at the blue sky, written on by the various jets.  We were out for an hour before returning and getting ready to go over to our  friend's home for dinner.

An Autumn Dinner With Linda And Ron

We were at the McClures by 6:15, in time for a couple of Sam Adams Oktoberfest beers and some German cheese with apples, an apt fall like appetizer.  For dinner, we had a pork loin braised in apples and onions. Yum and to go with it, we had sweet potato latkes, a perfect complement to our pork.  A salad, a good bottle of pinot noir, and we were all happy campers.  We left about 9:30, a full moon lighting our way.  It was the end to another 'good day.'

Morning Fog Blankets Chautauqua Lake

8:00

Sunday at 4:45

It's 8:45 and I still cannot see beyond our yard, only the trunk and fingers of our maple and leaf coverd lawn are visible. And its been this way all morning.  It's a chilly 36º outside and it looks like a couple of nice days before a storm mass arrives on Wednesday.

Yesterday felt like a Sunday, a day of rest, the way it's supposed to be.   We took it to heart and literally did nothing most of the day, sitting inside, cosy on our couch, often with a blanket, enjoying a good book, watching some TV, either football or some other show and feeling 'guilty' about it.  Go figure.

A Garden At The Chautauqua Institution

We did, however, get a walk in yesterday morning, the Chautauqua Institution loop we usually take, about an hour of exercise.  It was in the 40's, perfect for walking, lots of leaves on the paths, trees and bushes at their peak.  It's always fun to see what houses have been taken down, a start up in its place. Perhaps building is slowing down because we have only noticed one, next to the Packard Manor although there look to be many renovations going on as always.  After our walk, we drove to Tops in Mayville, did some shopping, and as we walked out, I jokingly asked Evie if she bought coffee filters (I paniced Sunday morning because we were out).  She hadn't, forgetting to scroll down her iPhone!  Pretty funny.  So she went back in, found the coffee filters, as I got the car.

Long Point, Early Afternoon

Autumn Wonder

When we got home, Evie made our Sunday breakfast of eggs, bacon and bagels, and we watched CBS Sunday morning.  Overnight, I had soaked a pound of cannelloni beans.  I am determined to start eating more beans because they are so healthy and I want to use a pressure cooker to cook them. So we both fussed with our pressure cooker, trying to figure out how to use it, how long to cook the beans.  The manual for the cooker said to cook beans for 3 or 4 minutes; the guide from the Internet said 12 minutes, of course.  We chose 11 minutes and the beans came out overcooked but still good enough for kuru fasulye, an easy Turkish dish, their comfort food, of sauteed onions, tomato paste and red pepper, added to the beans and water.  It sounds bland but isn't and I love it, especially over rice.  It's a Turkish peasant's cheap and filling and tasty go to dish.  I will keep experimenting until I get it right, whether with white beans or black.

6:21 pm

6:25 pm

6:40 pm

7:30 pm

We enjoyed another long and picturesque cocktail hour, as the sky afforded us plenty of photo ops, as the moon appeared before it got dark, above the clouds.  Amazing.  We had a great dinner of potatoes, TJ's ribs, and coleslaw and watched The Good Wife, saving Homeland and The Affair for another night.  I am fast into Robert Galbraith's(J. K. Rowling) third novel, CAREER OF EVIL, following the one legged PI, Cormoran Strike.

It's now 10:20 and the fog is just beginning to lift.  O, yeah, we both got up late.

Lucky Us---Another Clambake Saturday

7:55

Well, it's almost 7:00, still pitch black outside, a light rain, and I have been up for an hour.  I am listening to a podcast from Pop Culture Happy Hour, which is discussing the movies of Tom Hanks and his most recent, Bridge of Spies, which they all feel is old fashioned, like something made back in the 1960's.  I have yet to see it but would like to.  And I had a moment of panic early, as I could not find coffee filters, even though I ripped apart a closet looking for them.  I had to brew a make shift cup of coffee, with a tea bag of coffee, dropped in hot water and it was terrible. This dire need for caffeine each morning is the definition of addiction.

Yesterday was a blah sort of day, weatherwise, gray skies, a choppy lake, threatening clouds, occasional rain but all was well by late afternoon when we went over to our neighbor's home, the Kinney's for the annual Fox Clambake.  Before that, we had our typical morning and early afternoon, with Evie putting together some appetizers for the clambake.  One, Buffalo cauliflower, was quick and easy but was nowhere near the time consuming effort of making homemade potato chips, a neighborhood favorite.  Besides cutting, washing, soaking the potatoes in ice water and a second soak of a water/vinegar solution and drying the potatoes a couple of times, it took her a good hour of sitting out on our porch deep frying the potatoes.  Meanwhile, I did little of any import other than a visit to the Transfer Station, with lots of junk from my garage's attic, another attempt to purge.

The Bake Masters, Chris and Jim Fox

Evie and The Fox Gals

My Neighbor, Joe Bergen

The main event, the clambake, took place two houses down from us, with the bake set in the back yard, under a canopy in case it rained...it didn't so we were able to gather around the boiler and drink beer, eat appetizers, and catch up with all the neighbors, relatives, and friends.  Fortunately, the Kinneys have a huge, deep two car garage, so it was filled with tables, so we could eat inside.  We sat around for a couple of hours, enjoying the late afternoon chill, warming each other by the bake or in the garage, until the clam broth, always a highlight, was ready.  We then pulled the chickens out and put them on the grill, to give them a quick basting before we ate.  Around 7:00, we sat down to a feast, about 25 of us, in the garage, with plates of clams, chicken, sweet potatoes, corn and coleslaw, a feast.  Everyone had a least a dozen clams and there were enough for seconds for anyone who wanted them.

Debi, Joe, Arlo, And Evie

Ethan Kinney And Friend, Jen

Alex Kinney And Son, Arlo

The clambake was great fun, a happening, and nothing reminds me so much of a fall day as standing around a huge boil of clams and chickens, drinking beer, and talking, on a chilly fall afternoon.  The only downside...it often signals the beginning of the end of autumn, the coming of cold weather.

We stayed until about 9:00,  the younger crowd stayed on, no doubt, till late.  We then watched some TV, read, and were in bed by 11:00.

The Most Spectacular Day Of The Year

Geese Rising

7:24

7:37

8:25

I am up later than usual, 7:30, to a gray sky with a slash of pink just above the horizon.  The sky slowly added more pink only to dissolve quickly to gray, like a switch was turned off.  And now it's just gray, with some gray/white clouds of in the distance.  We both were awakened by gun shots, louder than usual because we had our window open, duck hunters no doubt.  It's 45º, with rain forecast, not ruining our neighborhood clambake but pushing it inside for much of the afternoon.

Off To Bemus Bay

Kayaking Through The Boat Lifts

Yesterday was the perfect day, the best day of the year weather wise.  We were so taken with it that we kayaked twice, a long paddle in the morning to Whitney Bay, a shorter one in early afternoon. The sky was a cloudless dark blue, the lake placid, waveless because of the lack of wind.  And the leaves were at their peak, so that it felt like we were kayaking in a large, bejeweled bowl filled with water.  Every where we looked, we saw the cobalt blue lake, the browns, yellows, burnt red, and green of the treeline and the blue sky.  It reinforces my understanding and belief  in Oliver Sack's quotation from by blog: 'My religion is nature.  That's what arouses those feelings of wonder and mysticism and gratitude in me."  How could we not feel this as we sat out in the middle of the lake drinking in the wonder of the natural world, so wonderfully displayed all of yesterday.

Kayak Lady

Fall's Beauty And Wonder

After kayaking, I had to got into Jamestown, to pick up maps for our trip out West in three weeks, to Dallas and Kansas City, so I naturally had to stop at Brigiotti's for vegetables, Wegman's for groceries, and Mike's, to pick up some mulch for our new tree.  I wasted little time because I wanted to get home to enjoy the day.  When I drove in the yard, Evie was out mulching the leaves, a Sisyphean task, because they just fall down the next day.  Anyways, we both worked outside until lunch, trimming privets, raking leaves, cleaning up the yard.  When all was done, I had a quick lunch of bean soup and a hot dog, and Evie got out her chaise lounge and enjoyed the sun in our side yard.  After eating, it was just too nice to sit inside, so I went out, looked at the lake, an jumped in my kayak for another paddle, over to Long Point, to the Pavilion, and back home before joining Evie in the side yard to read and, of course, take a nap.  It was strange to wake and find myself in the yard, the sun starting to fade, the air beginning to gain a chill.  We both decided it was time to go in and turn on the fireplace.

Around 5:30, we sat down with a glass of wine and listened to NPR and read until dinner time.  Evie had pulled a chicken stew out of the freezer, warmed it up, braised some brusell sprouts and we had dinner.  We watched an older Tom Hanks movie, Road to Perdition, where Hanks plays an unfamiliar role, as a Irish mafia hit man.  A decent movie, not great.  We then listened to Rachel Maddow interview Hilary Clinton and whatever people think of her, she is, by far, the most experienced and knowledgeable candidate on either side of the aisle.  Unfortuantely, that usually makes no difference; we would rather vote for someone we would like to have a beer with rather than the most qualified to lead our country.  And by the way, I would not like to have a beer with either Ben Carson or Donald Trump...maybe Rubio or Kasich but defintely not the first two.  Sorry for the tub thumping.