Warming Up For The Weekend (Snowmobile Hell)

7:30

It' 7:30 and I have been up for less than an hour; the gray skies have replaced the brilliant blue of yesterday morning, the temperature is about the same, 25º, but freezing rain and perhaps 40º temperatures are in the making.  The fishermen are out, as usual, as I count six guys enjoying the early morning on the lake.

Ready To Cross Country Ski On A Beautiful Morning But

Because yesterday was such a sunny day, blue skies, the bright whiteness of snow, we both decided to break up our routine and go cross  country skiing in the morning once it warmed up which means waiting for it to get above single digits.  So at 10:30, we drove off to Mayville, thinking that Webb's Trail, because it's flat and scenic would be good.  Wrong.

Coming

We should have realized it when we parked our car along with various snow mobile trailers.  We started out, were passed by a couple of snowmobiles but we thought that would about it.  About 50 drive by's later, we gave up and returned to our car.  Not only did they often not slow down, but the trail, at least for us, was filled with exhuast fumes.  This was the first time we have experienced such traffic and will be sure to make sure it's the last.  We then parked at Mayville's Park, hoping to ski on the lake as there were lots of fishermen out there.  Well, not only was the snow deep, so we had to literally trudge through the snow but it was also wet beneath the snow, icing up our skies.   And despite the cold tempertures, we both worked up a sweat because of the deep snow.  Rats.   So, we packed up or skis, decided it was not our day, and stopped at the Lighthouse Grocery to pick up a sub sandwich for lunch, the only good part of the morning.

Going

Lunch, then was easy, a sub and the last of the cauliflower soup.  I watched some Sports Center and took a brief nap before heading off to Jamestown to pick up my new glasses despite the fact that one lens was not quite right.  When I left, Evie went out again to get in some cross country skiing but unfortuantely, she faced the same problem, deep snow and her skies icing up.  My eye appointment, however, went well and they let me take my new glasses home and will call me when the new right lens comes in.  Afterwards, because I had read about a cabbage and sausage recipe, I stopped at a local grocery store Brigiotta's and picked up some of their homemade sausage and a head of cabbage. Then on to Wegman's to pick up a few more things before I stopped at the self car wash and bank.  Finally, after five stops, I drove home with an almost clean car.  It won't last long around here.

Woodlawn Blue And White And Brown

Evie was busy getting our dinner ready, salmon, garlic spinach and rice.  The shadows had already begun to fall on the lake but I was determined to get in some skiing so I started on the lake but soon realized it was too soggy to go far.  So I skied up into the Victoria/Woodlawn woods and worked up quite a sweat because the snow was deep and much of my trail was uphill.  I even fell for the first time this year as I was struggling up a steep hill when my poles slipped and my skis went backwards. The hard part of cross country skiing is trying to get up after falling but I did it without having to take off my skies, the only triumph of my afternoon.  I was home after 5:00, happy to get off my sweaty clothes, put on sweats and sit down on the couch with Evie and have a glass of fine wine....two buck chuck of course.

It Takes A Village

Dinner was great, one we come back to almost every other week, salmon glazed with orange marmalade/mustard/balsamic vinegar/hot sauce, garlic spinach, huge salad and rice.  We watched two quite good mini series, American Crime Story, wrenching and well acted, then the O.J. story which is surprisingly good.  We finished the night with American Idol, thinking it would be terrible because we did not much like any of the contestants but we were surprised how good they all were in the duets with past Idol stars.  Wrong again.