A Wet, Gray Morning

8:17

I did not get up until after 7:00,  sleeping in for once, to an uninspiring morning of drizzle and clouds, raindrops on the windows, a 52º.  And there's not much action on the lake this early, no buffleheads, boats, just a few Canadian geese off in the distance.

Yesterday was another fine day at the lake, sun and blue skies, mild temperatures, yet we spent most of the day in the house getting ready for our trip on Friday.  I did get to yoga, the one excursion away from the house.  When I got home, Evie was busy, doing everything but what she knew she should be doing, which was packing for our trip.  It always seems to happen to us, not wanting to do what you know you have to do.  So, you find things to do that are less onerous, like cleaning the bathrooms or cleaning the oven.  At least things get done.

Lunch was simple, tunafish sandwiches and soup, some Game of Thrones, then afternoon of reading and taking a nap, then more reading, listening to POTUS and canceling both our paper and mail.  Evie's afternoon was like the morning although she gave me a haircut which was well needed.

Neither of us felt like dinner after a busy day, so we ordered a pizza from Coppolo's in Bemus and I picked it up at 6:00.  When I got home, a salad was made and we ate it while watching the OJ mini series, still riveting, then a James Corden Special and finished the evening off with some of the town halls with the candidates, mostly Trump who is always entertaining as well as infuriating.  His bluster makes him a tough interview but Chris Matthews bluster was just as noisy.  They were well matched. And watching Trump is like waiting for a train wreck.   I am reading another South African novel by Deon Meyer called TRACKERS, which I really like, a nice change from politics.

BROOKLYN: COLM TOIBIN

This award winning novel is set in both Ireland and Brooklyn, in the 1950's. The novel opens as as the main character, Eilis Lacey, younger sister of Rose, lives with her Mom in a small town in Ireland, barely scratching out a living. Eilis is an innocent, easily influenced, mostly unconscious, happy enough with her life, assuming she will eventually meet a boy, marry, have children and spend her life in the small Irish town of Enniscorthy. We get an accurate description of post war life in Ireland, her friends, and Eilis's small, closed world. Her older sister, Rose, has different ideas, other plans for her and with the help of an Irish Priest, visiting from Brooklyn, arranges a passage for Rose to Brooklyn, including a job.  Thus, Eilis's life changes dramatically through no fault of her own. She is definitely not the master of her fate as she just goes along with Rose's wishes.

The second part of the book takes us to life in Brooklyn, her difficult adjustment to the immigrant experience,  and being away from her family, a life quite different from that at home. At first homesick and depressed, she, with her Priest's help, goes to school, works toward a degree in accounting and gradually makes friends and assimilates into the American experience.  She soon becomes accustomed to her job, is promoted, promised another promotion once she gets her degree. And, most importantly, she has a beau named Tony, her first experience with love.  He woos her, and they seem to fall in love.  She meets his family and wins them over despite their being Italian and she Irish.  Things seem to be going well until Eilis's mother writes to tell her that Rose, her older sister, had died unexpectedly of a heart attack.  Thus, she must go back to help her mother but vows to Tony that she will be back in a month.

The third and final section describes her return, how she falls effortlessly back into her old life, her mother's plan all along.  And with the urging of her old girl friends, she takes up with a neighborhood boy even though she has discovered that she is pregnant from Tony.  She seems to once again be falling in love, thinks hard about what she should do, whether to stay or go.  Towards the end, one of her mother's gossipy neighbors invites her into her home and alludes to Eilis's last minute marriage to Tony back in Brooklyn before leaving for Ireland.  This shocks Eilis out of her day dreams and changes everything and without saying good by to anyone other than her Mother, who seems to know the truth, she returns to Brooklyn and the novel ends, abruptly I thought.

I like the book but did not love it, maybe because I knew the story from the movie previews.

Sunny and Cold Here At The Lake (26º)

7:09

Another sunny, blue sky morning, two in a row, the weather gods perhaps making up for the miserable Monday.  It should be nice enough most of the day before the rain and cloudy weather moves in later tonight.  I did hear a few hoots from loons when walked outside and a raft of bufflelheads seem to like the lake in front of our house because they have been there yesterday and this morning, dunking for vegetation I suppose.  They are becoming my favorite ducks

Buffleheads

Yesterday we did not stray from the usual, the routine, what has become our daily ritual.  I was up early, with coffee, camera, and computer, waiting for the sun to rise so I could photograph the changing sky.  I then wrote my blog, Evie picked out the photos, and I attached them to the blog before she proofread my blog and, viola, it was published and I could then get ready for yoga.  That's our morning most of the year.

Yoga class was fine, lots of gals and me!  I then stopped at Lakewood Library to return a couple of books and stock up on books for the next 12 days when we head south.  I then went to Ryder's, said aloha to the regulars, got my coffee and headed up on another sunny and windy morning.  Evie had spent the morning baking a banana bread and starting to put away our winter stuff and getting out our summer togs, shoes, sandals, the whole kit and caboodle.  She took off around 12:30 for the gym, then Wegman's for the last time before we leave on Friday for Folly Beach, South Carolina, a stone's throw from Charleston (actually at 15 minute drive).  Lunch was in the oven, frozen enchaladada's from a couple of weeks ago, still yummy.  I was tempted to get outside, to work in the yard but thought the better of it and read, took a nap, then drove off at 2:30 because Subaru had sent me a letter alerting me to a minor problem that needed to be fixed, something about resetting the computer which would take about a half hour (it took an hour).  So a good part of my afternoon was spent in Fluvanna.  After the car was done, I stopped at AAA, to pick up maps.  For those of you who don't know what a map is, it was what we used to plan a trip before the GPS was invented.  It's on a large piece of paper, usually colorful, folded in a complicated way.

I was home in time for wine time with Evie.  It was an easy night for us as all we had to do was warm up the Greek lemon chicken from Monday night, add a salad and broccoli.  We both LOVE leftovers, in fact, they always seem better the second day.  We watched BETTER CALL SAUL, a bit of a disappointment, then a Wallender, the Swedish inspector, again, not one of their best episodes.  All this was but an appetizer for the townhalls with the Fabulous Threesome, Cruz, Trump and Kasich.  Ask a question about immigration, and they will give you their biography. Ask a question about ISIS and they will talk about Obama.  For once, I had some sympathy for Anderson Cooper.  Bed could not come soon enough.

COBRA: DEON MEYER

I am new to Meyer, to his South African crew of detectives, so he's a good find.  Captain Benny Griessell, a recovering alcoholic (surprise), one of the Hawks, a special crime unit in Cape Town, is thrust into what looks like professional hit job, with two corpses with a bullet in their head and a man kidnapped.  It gets worst when the seeming tourist who is kidnapped happens to be a professor in Great Britain, David Adair, an expert on terrorism, who has written an algorithm which gathers information about not only terrorist cells but also their wiring of money through various European banks. The two dead are the bodies of his body guards.  Benny's two sidekicks, at least in this novel, are the skeptical Vaughn Cupido, a colored from Cape Town, and the straight arrow, Zulu, one Miss Mbali Kaleni, an unlikely threesome especially since Bennie was at one time a police officer during Apartheid.  They discover that the assassin is man nicknamed Cobra, an  ex French Foreign Legionnaire from Mozambique.  He has been hired to find the professor who has a new version of the algorithm, even more devastating to terrorists and their banks. The three detectives of then must find the Cobra and end up chasing him through Cape Town, as they fight the bureaucracy and politics of South Africa, yet steadfast in their refusal to bow down to political hire ups.

Meyer seems to have a couple of stories going so we also follow the machinations of a skilled pick pocket, Tyrone Kleinbooi, who uses his skills to put his sister through school.  He gets mixed up in the chase when he picks the wrong pocket, that of David Adair's girl friend, who is bringing the valuable algorithm on memory card to Cape Town to save David's life.  Tyrone ends up playing the cops off against Cobra, saves his sister's life and bargains with Cobra, promising him the card for two million dollars.  The Cobra agrees to the trade, and Benny ends up with the money though he then gets caught by Benny after the Cobra and his fellow assassins have been violently dispatched on a suburban train.  Benny realizes, however, the courage and the street smarts of Tyrone and lets him go, making Tyrone promise to go straight, make sure his sister finishes college and to make his life miserable if he ever gets caught pickpocketing again.

The only problem with the book: Meyer uses quite a bit of Africaan slang which makes it necessary to refer to the glossary of terms at the end of the novel.

It Feels Like A Fall Morning

7:15

7:27

7:35

A striking morning sky of clouds, blue skies, and sunshine, reminding me for some reason, of a sky in mid fall.  It's chilly out, 30º, quite a difference from yesterday morning.  And we should have sun all day, clear, blue skies, a high of 40º, a huge contrast to yesterday.

I cannot remember a worse  day at the lake then Monday.  Right from start, it was miserable outside and it continued until dusk.  I did make it to yoga, in a wet mix, a heavy wind.  Class, as usual, was enervating, so when I walked outside, I was ready for bear but not the weather.  I stopped at the bank to cash a check from the State of New York, a rebate for property taxes.  Thank you Governor Cuomo.  I also picked up some yogurt and head lettuce at the store before heading home.  I also stopped at Smith Library as well, to pick up a book but it was closed until noon.  Why don't I check or pay attention to their published hours.

Lunch was made when I got home, a fish sandwich, with coleslaw, ready to heat in the oven and homemade vegetable soup.  What a woman.  So I settled in the TV room to watch the last half of the Syracuse/Virginia basketball game and enjoy my lunch.  Evie took off to the Y and then got her hair trimmed at the Mall with Casee, her regular.  After the game, I read some, made Turkish tea, took a brief nap, and listened to the wind howling, the trees and house shaking, the rain/sleet falling at a  45º angle.  And the lake reminded me of a mild day on Lake Erie, as we had waves not only close to shore but out in the middle of the lake.  I just hunkered down in the house, hoped no large branches would fall, that our electricity would not be effected.  Fortunately, it wasn't although a few miles away in Chautauqua, a utility pole was downed, effecting I assume homes in that area.   National Grid was scurrying all around the area, repairing many downed lines.

A Choppy Lake, Long Point, Late Afternoon

Evie returned home, braving the weather around 4:00, just as I had gone outside to pick up a few branches as the rain had stopped momentarily.  We had a relaxing wine time, watching the sky darken, the waves break, the wind continue.  Dinner was bratwurst with sauerkraut and German potato salad that Evie put together that morning.  So we filled up on brats and potatoes and watched another episode of BILLIONS and THE GOOD WIFE.  Around 10:30, I went upstairs to read a new Deon Meyer thriller, TRACKERS, having finished my Bruno the Detective novel in the afternoon.  It's always nice to have another book ready to read.

Storming Morning

6:54

7:38

6:40

7:56

Up at 6:45, to a changing sky of blue/gray, then gray,  at times rain, sometimes a heavy wind, then the sky lightens up before darkening and raining again.  And, by noon, a light snow is predicted as the temperature drops precipitously from this mornings 50º to the 30's.

Yesterday was a beautiful Easter Sunday, mostly sunny, little wind, and the temperature hit 70º late in the afternoon.  We, however, took little advantage of it because both of us were tired from our busy Saturday of kayaking and hiking, at least that was our understanding of what my father would always call 'lack of pep.'  Indeed, we had little pep.  We did make it to the Chautauqua Institution for our circling of the empty grounds, an hour walk on a sparkling morning on the lake.  We did not run into a soul, perhaps they were all in church.  We took a quick drive to Tops to pick up some spinach, then drove home getting there around 12:30.

It was then time for a great breakfast, toast, fried eggs, bacon and a bagel, as we watched what I thought was an uninteresting CBS Sunday morning.  I guess they were struggling to find something of interest.  Jelly bean art?  We then spent part of the afternoon as usual, reading and napping, until our better selves took over, and we ventured outside in the warm afternoon and do some raking, filling up three barrels with leaves and twigs, getting our yard ready for spring.  That was it.  We had enough and went in to our couches.

Easter Sunday Afternoon at 5:00

Around 5;00, Evie began prepping our Easter dinner, Greek lemon chicken, with garlic spinach and rice, one of our many favorites.  We then enjoyed the late afternoon with a glass of white wine before having a great dinner.  We were not sure what to watch, as we were caught up with most of our shows, so we popped the DVD STEVE JOBS into our playstation and watched a bio of a much admired, even deified icon of the computer age. This particular film, however, also brought out his stunted personality and style, cold, calculating, unable to empathize, as he turns away from old friends and even his own child, a very troubled genius.  It was not fun to watch.  We ended the night laughing while watching Real Time, with Bill Maher, always obnoxious, profane, but right on.  And finished with the political half hour review of the primary campaigns, aptly named The Circus.  A good way to end the evening before returning to Bruno's gustatory and criminal investigation in France.

Yoga, Kayaking, A Hike, Burger, And A Beer (Allegheny State Park's Bear Paw Trail; Horseshoe Inn)

6:48 - Easter Morning

6:57

7:17

7:18

I was up at 6:00, just as a tinge of orange began to rise on the Bemus skyline.  It took a good hour and 15 minutes for the sun to rise, to an absolutely clear Easter morning sky, the sun rising on the east side, the moon hanging in the west.  When I walked outside to get a better photo, I scared off two wood ducks, both sitting in the limbs of our tree.  And the air was filled with sounds of ducks and geese, happy to be on a sunny lake so early in the morning.

Wood Duck Spotted

Yesterday was one of those days that ending up surprising both of us.  Neither of us felt that energetic but we knew we wanted to do something.  We put off making a decision, so off I went to a difficult class, where every pose was difficult, mostly because I was not in the mood for class.  When I got home, Evie had cleaned out the refrigerator and pantry, so I had lots of trash for the Transfer Station, my next task for the day.  Around noon, the lake looked so inviting that we gathered up kayaking gear and paddled off to Booty Bay, passing two canoes and a kayak filled with our neighbors, the Johnston's and their kids.  It was a windless day on the lake for the most part, so we paddled down to the Power Boat Club and back, enjoying the sun, the quiet lake.

Spring Kayaking

For some reason, despite my ennui, I wanted to drive to the Allegheny State Park, 45 miles away, hike, then go to the Horseshoe Inn for dinner.  I ran it past Evie and she agreed, so the rest of the day was set.  We decided to push ourselves and do something we did not necessarily want to do.  I then had lunch, read some, took a nap and around 3:30 we drove off to the Allegheny State Park.  We decided to hike a fairly easy trail, Bear Paw, which is the same trail we snowshoed with a group at night.  It's close to three miles, mostly wooded, with various stations for viewing.  We were surprised how different the trail appeared in daylight, as we actually hiked fairly close to a road.

Stone Tower In Allegheny State Park

This Way

The half way point is the Stone Tower, our hike back, more uphill then we both remember.  It was a fine afternoon for a hike, clear sky, a slowly setting sun, a forest still leafless, ground brown with fall's leaves.  As always, it was nourishing to our mind/body/soul (whatever), to be walking in the woods.  And we always seem to be the solitary hikers, as met nary a soul on our hike.

We then drove through Seneca country, stopped to get cheap gas, 35 cents cheaper a gallon then in Chautauqua County, and pulled into a crowded parking lot at the Horseshoe Inn, mostly filled with pick up trucks.  We were lucky to find a seat at the bar, as a couple had just gotten up as their table was ready. The bar's walls seem dedicated to hunters, as various kinds of rifles, muskets, and pistols fill the many of the walls, a couple hundred of them I would estimate.

Wall Of Rifles

We struck up a conversation with the couple next to us, from Frewsburg, a town ten miles away.   They were fun to talk with and made various recommendations from the menu.  Evie ordered the steak sandwich with mushrooms and homemade fries, and I got the Horseshoe burger, with fries, both great.  It's a very welcoming place, filled with locals I would guess,  and we will make this our go to place anytime we hike in the Allegheny.

Dusk In Farming Town Of  Poland, NY

The drive home seemed awfully long (37 miles) despite the beauty of the dusk sky, as we were tired from our busy day. We finally got home around 8:30, in time to watch some junk television before turning on the Kansas/Villanova basketball game, a tense, fun to watch thriller which Villanova finally won.  Because the game was so late, we did not get to bed until 11:45, late for us.  And as we walked upstairs, we were shocked by a huge, yellow moon hanging over Bemus Point.

Early Morning Gray, Then Light

7:33

8:10

It's 7:42 and the sun has just risen above a vast cloud bank of gray, the Bemus coast still dark, but sunlight filling our living room.  When I got up at 6:30, there was little hope for sun, as the sky was one vast wall of shades of gray.  Now, however,  the sky above is blue, the sun has risen, and all is right in the world, for the moment.  It's a chilly 28º but should warm up into the 50's later in the day, perhaps 60º tomorrow.

I started yesterday with a good yoga class, lots of participants, as we worked on my least favorite pose, the triangle, not my cup of tea to use a cliche.  It's always interesting to see a new face or two, wondering where they have been the past couple of months.  Are they just here for Easter weekend or have they just put off coming to a yoga class?  Afterwards, I stopped at Ryder's, three guys, regulars, were there to commiserate about the fickle weather, always a subject of conversation in this part of the world.

When I got home, it was time for lunch, the leftover curry and Evie had gotten herself together, readying for workout at the gym.  She said aloha and I sat down to a nice lunch and to watch some of the saved Kansas game from the previous night.  I was halfway through the game, when the door opened, scaring me, and Evie walked in.  It was Good Friday...gym was closed.  Who would have thunk.  Obviously, most of Jamestown.  So that was a downer, so the rest of the afternoon was spent waiting to go out to dinner at the Rod and Gun.  By the way, I did check to make sure it was open.  Around 4:00, I decided to drive to the Smith Library, at the Chautauqua Institution, just to get outside and do something and pick up another Deon Meyer novel.  Well, as I drove up it seemed awfully dark and it was closed.  Good Friday idiot. Two for two for the day.

Anyways, the Rod and Gun Club was open so we drove there around 6:30, thinking it would not be very crowded after all, it was good Friday and most good Christians would be in church or home with family.  Wrong again.  The dining room was full, the bar and lounge able to seat around 150 people had nary a seat open when we got there.  We quickly scoped the bar area for someone leaving and had a seat within five minutes.  We sat there for over an hour, nursing a couple of drafts, gambling a ten spot to no avail, and struck up a fun conversation with three widows, all dressed to the nines, also waiting for a fish fry.  One had a son living in Aurora, Ohio, knew Hudson well and had started a email conversation with a gentlemen  from Hudson from one of those dating sites.  She said if she remembered his name, she would call to see if we knew him.  An interesting trio of ladies, enjoying a cocktail, missing their husbands, and missing male companionship.  We finally got our tables at 7:45, much later than we expected, and quickly ordered the fish fry.  They always seem to come quickly and Evie was ravenous and loved her dinner.  Twenty four bucks and a five dollar tip later, we walked out, happy and full.

We were home in time to watch some TV, a few snippets of basketball, Stephen Colbert and the first episode of a new series called The Catch.  After one episode, we have had enough, trashy and ridiculous, starring Mireille Enos, who became well known in the series The Killing.  The Catch is no Killing.

Happy Thirteenth Birthday To Our Granddaughter, Marlena

Birthday Girl

Marlena, With Cousins, Hayden, Marisa and Halle - 2015

A gray, depressing morning, the only positive, a few buffleheads, floating then diving,  in front of our house.  It's cooler today, 35º, with rain forecast on and off during the day.  I listened to NPR this morning, not MSNBC, and forgot how different its programming is from the the three Trumpeters, FOX, MSNBC, and CNN.  And it was nice to have some local news.

8:30

No surprise, yesterday was back to routine for both of us, as I went to yoga in the morning, a fun class of lots of women and two guys, sounds like a burger place (Five Guys). My knee still bothers me in some poses, but I am getting pretty good at avoiding them.  This morning I read an article entitled 'what namaste really means,' a Sanskrit phrase said at the end of every yoga class.  In India, it's a sign of respect, usually said to your elders, meaning, "I bow to you." When you say it, you put your hands together at your heart, close your eyes, and bow.  In American yoga classes, however,  it's more like a Hindu mantra, a divine chant, with a spiritual connotation.  So, depending where you are, whether in India or a yoga class in the US, it has different meanings. When we lived in Turkey, I can remember some of my teammates, bowing and touching their forehead to the feet of a respected elder, a grandfather like me, a Muslim sign of respect.

After yoga, Evie had started to think about our trip to South Carolina, getting out some of her summer and beach clothes, beginning to put away the winter stuff.  It was warm and sunny out, so I decided to vacuum and clean our car before the predicted rain.  It's amazing how dirty the inside gets during the winter, with snow and dirt from your shoes.  Afterwards, I had a lunch of chicken salad which Evie had made  in the morning, and I watched the third episode of Games Of Thrones and I am starting to understand the conflicts, beginning to enjoy it.  I finished my Russian novel, ARCHANGEL, and returned to Southern France, Bruno the Detective, in Walker's newest novel, THE PATRIARCH.   Evie left for the gym, albeit reluctantly, around 1:30.  The wind really picked up mid afternoon, giving me an excuse to avoid going out for a walk because I did not feel like it.

We relaxed with a glass of wine, as is our wont, after Evie had put together our dinner of a lamb curry, the curry we always made when we lived in Istanbul from our then 'go to cookbook', Craig Claiborne's THE NEW YORK TIMES INTERNATIONAL COOKBOOK.  This particularly curry was called 'Curried Lamb a la Francaise, with bananas, apples, celery, tomatoes and cream.  We always made it on the day after having a leg of lamb.  We serve it with rice, of course, and it brought back memories of our meals in Turkey with our kids sitting around the table in our kitchen, on the third floor of our house, Barton Hall, among the tree tops.

Barton Hall, Istanbul, Turkey

We watched the next episode of THE AMERICANS, as things are tense, violence is becoming necessary.  And we finished our night with the last two episodes of OCCUPIED, tense and scary, but the ending left us hanging, no doubt, preparing us for Season 2.  We also watched bits and pieces of the four basketball games.  I will watch more today because I saved all of them on our DVR.

Taking A Break

7:11

7:41

I woke in darkness, thought to myself it must be after 6:00, checked my watch and it was 6:15.  I am getting pretty good at estimating the time when I wake.  What good does it do me?  So, it's now 6:41, utterly dark inside, a spot of pink just appeared over Bemus, and I started writing this earlier than usual.  It continues to be mild, 46º, and listening to the weather reports, the huge snowstorms in Colorado, I expected us to be hit by the storm later in the week but it looks like its south of us.  It's now 7:00, and the sky and lake are both slate gray, hardly a variation in either.

We had an easy day yesterday, as both of us had run out of gas, we were feeling blah for some reason, no mojo, some aches and pains, the usual I suppose combined with a bad attitude.  I had to make myself go to yoga even though I wanted to blow it off.  Class was challenging and even though I felt more alive afterwards, the momentum did not last long.  So, when I got home, all I wanted to do was lay down, read, take a nap, read, take a nap.  So that's what I did after a lunch of ramen and a chicken sandwich, another episode of Game of Thrones.  Evie felt much the way I did.  She, however, bagged a workout for the first time in a long time and stayed home, enjoying the leisure, getting some organizing done, enjoying the fact that she did not have to do anything.  Otherwise, we spent much of the afternoon watching the antics of rafts of buffleheads, which seem to enjoy the water in front of  our house.  And we had to chase Canadian geese off our lawn a couple of times, as they have figured out how to jump up onto our wall.  We are going to have to stretch a fishing line across our property which acts as a deterrent.

Cruising Buffleheads

Around 5:00, Evie put together some cinnamon crescents, using the leftover yeast dough from last nights rolls, filling the kitchen with great aromas.  We relaxed for an hour with a glass of wine before a dinner of bacon and a potato, spinach, tomato, and egg omelet.  The smells of the bacon and cinnamon rolls was overwhelming.

We spent our evening catching up on a couple of show, the O. J. series, then Evie's favorite, BETTER CALL SAUL then a couple of more episodes of OCCUPIED, which is both riveting and scary, a look into the future, where oil is scarce and Russia, with the acquiescence of the EU, occupies Norway, an interesting premise.  We also channel surfed between the big three, CNN, FOX, and MSNBC, quick tire of each, so we moved on.  A good book and bed sounded delicious.

Breakfast this morning with the guys but because the Bemus Point Inn is closed for a couple of weeks, we are going to the Village Restaurant in Dewitville, about 15 minutes away on the east side of the lake.  Last week, in fact, we tried the Ashville General Store.  Next Thursday, it will be back to the Inn in Bemus.

A Mild Morning of Gray

7:25

It's 7:30 and I have been up for close to an hour.  There's not much of a sunrise outside, too many clouds, with a hint of light just above the horizon.  It was quite mild, 52º when I walked outside to pick up the paper.  Listening to the pundits criticize Obama for going to a baseball game yesterday after the attacks in Belgium (admittedly insenstive), you would have thought he planned them and carried them out.  Everything is his fault.  And I wonder why the media doesn't criticize themselves for spending the past few months following Trump, ignoring terrorism and ISIS.

Yesterday was a lazy day for me, a busy one for Evie.  I have lost some of my mojo although I did make it to yoga, stopped for coffee and washed my car at a car wash.  That was about it for me for the day.  Meanwhile, since we were having Ron and Linda over for an early Easter dinner, Evie was busy on and off in the kitchen much of the day.  We both wanted it special so as I mentioned yesterday, we bought a leg of lamb.  It needed to be marinated, then roasted for a couple of hours, and finally, wrapped in tin foil until it was time to carve.  We were having shrimp cocktail for an appetizer, so I helped peel the shrimp before Evie mixed it with the mayo, lemon and red onion and put it in the refrigerator to chill.  We also had her homemade rolls for dinner, so the dough had to be made early, left to rise, then baked later in the afternoon.  So that's how she spent some of the day, getting things ready for dinner and I helped by staying out of the way or washing and drying some of the dishes.

An Early Easter Dinner With Linda And Ron

McClure's came by at 6:00, and relaxed with beers and the shrimp appetizer for a good hour before I went into the kitchen, carved the lamb, and Evie pulled the roasted potatoes out of the oven.  Evie plated the lamb and potatoes and we sat down to great dinner.  The lamb, however, was not as good as we remembered, so that was a disappointment although everyone cleaned their plates. Next time I will butterfly the leg, marinate it for 24 hours, and grill it.  McClure's stayed until 9:30 and we then reluctantly cleaned up the kitchen before watching some TV before going to bed.

FOREVER: PETE HAMILL

A very different novel as it begins in 1734 in a small Irish town and ends in 2001, just after the Twin Towers have collapsed, the result of a terrorist attack. We, the reader, are given first hand accounts of what it was like to live at various times in American history, as we follow the ageless, never ending life of Robert Carson or Cormac in the novel.  He represents the quintessential Irish immigrant experience, as he lives through close to three centuries, much of it the history of the New York City. We see Cormac's hardscrabble life in Ireland, where his parents are murdered by an Earl.  Cormac vows revenge on the Earl and his family, walks into his mansion and kills him and flees to New York via a ship.  On this ship, he befriends Kongo, a slave and shaman bound for America and is granted the gift of immortality for aiding the Africans during the journey.

This device allows the reader to follow Cormac's life, his many roles, professions, friendships and conflicts over the next two hundred and fifty years.  Cormac is at times a journalist, dime novelist, painter, a worker on the Subway system, the Woolworth Building, and The Brooklyn Bridge, and a musician.  His life allows us to live during the Revolutionary War, the stinking, plaque ridden days and riots of the 1830's, the Boss Tweed machine, and finally, 9/11. For some reason, neither of the World Wars are mentioned, nor is the Vietnam War given much more than a cursory mention.  We meet Cormac's many lovers but he never loves for long because he know they will die and he will live on.

This changes in the last part of the novel as he meets his destined soul mate, who bears him a son, so his name will live on even if he won't.  One interesting and unexpected thread woven throughout the novel was the emphasis on the African American experience, as Cormac, beginning with his experience with African slaves on the ship, befriends many Africans and understands their importance to the American experience despite the discrimination they constantly face.  And he does anything he can to help them gain their freedom and the respect of the American public.  It's one of few novels that take in to account the African experience over the centuries.

In a nutshell, the novel's two things: a history of New York City and the Irish immigrant experience.

Cool And Clear And Calm On The Lake, Terror In Brussels, Belgium (Equinox)

6:30

7:26

It's 7:30 and I just got up off my couch to take a photograph of a duck, sitting on our lake wall, but my movement scared him and his mate away.  The sun is bright, filling the living room with its light, the lake wrinkled, a slate blue.  It's a crisp morning of 25º, as I listen to the tragic news of the terrorist bombings in Brussels.  How very terrifying and sad.

Noon

Yesterday was cold, a frosty morning, with intermittent snowflakes during the day, painting spots of the lawn white, only to have them disappear when the sun came back out.  A strange spring day in Chautauqua.  I did, however, brave the frozen tundra of Lakewood, making it to yoga on time, a good class and my knee seems to be finally healing.  I then did some shopping for our Easter Dinner tonight with the McClures, who will be leaving for Pittsburgh tomorrow.  I picked up a boneless leg of lamb, the first time we have had one in a long time for some reason.  When we lived in Istanbul, it used to be our go to Sunday dinner, buy the leg of lamb on Saturday at the open Besiktas market, then roast it on Sunday with potatoes.  I can remember sitting at our kitchen table, having a glass of Buzbag (a cheap Turkish red wine which costs 50 cents a  bottle), having helping after helping of lamb with gravy.  Good memories.

Anyways, I also picked up a rotisserie chicken for dinner, then stopped at Wegman's to get what I couldn't find at Sam's and finally made it home around 12:30. I had a leftover hot dog and some koftes with tomato sauce for lunch and finished the first episode of Game of Thrones although I am not sure what is going on other than lots shagging and violence, part of the lure of this series I suppose.

Our Hungry Neighbor

Evie then drove off to the Y, with little enthusiasm I might add, but she went anyways, then did a bit of shopping as well before returning home around 3:30.  I spent my afternoon as usual, reading, taking a nap, making some Turkish tea and munching on a tres expensive bag of cookies we bought from the Reverie Creamery, a mistake because they are not that good.

Long Point at 6:30 p.m.

We finally were able to settle down with a glass of wine or two, some hummus and cheese and crackers to enjoy the end of day before dinner.  Around 7:00, Evie put together a salad, fried up some leftover baked potatoes into home fries, and we had the rotisserie chicken for our main course.  We were anxious to get back to OCCUPIED but limited ourselves to one episode and went on to watch the latest episode of BILLIONS.  We like Axelrod and detest his nemesis, Paul Giammati, supposedly the good guy.   Hey, what's wrong with rooting for a billionaire!  It seems to be the flavor of the month, perhaps the year.

Moonlit Night 

A Striking Sunrise And Snow Showers Forecast For Noon -- Red's Best Pancake House

7:19

7:27

7:47

I was up at my usual time, sometime after 6:00, to a streak of light just above the horizon, some lights on the Bemus shoreline.  It's cold, 24º, the windows on my car are frosted and snow is expected around noon for a brief period. We both worry about the early budding of trees, plants and bushes around here, knowing how fickle the weather can be.  Let's hope the early bloomers can survive numerous frosts as well as a snowfall.  I read where the blueberries that  grow in Maine, in Acadia National Park, are three weeks early, not a good sign.  I worry about our local blueberry farm up on Carpenter-Pringle Road.

John Allen And J. D. in 2010

Today

Yesterday was a very different Sunday for us, as our good friend, John Allen and his son were visiting for twenty four hours.  They live on Maui, so the weather was a bit of a shock even when we helped to bundle them up, both outside and in the house.  They are not used to our in house temperature during the winter of the low 60's.  We got a slow start because 18 year old J. D. slept in, not surprising especially with travel and fighting a sinus infection.  John had been to Red's Pancake us with us a couple of March's ago, so he wanted his son to experience the homey atmosphere of Red's as well as the never ending pile of buckwheat pancakes.  We were, of course, happy to oblige, making this our third trip to Red's this year.  It was packed with people, extraordinarily warm to the Allen's delight.  The pancakes and sausage did not disappoint, as we all ate more than we should have.  They both enjoyed the ride out and back, through the early spring farm lands and landscape of Chautauqua County, so different from the lushness and green of Hawaii Nei.

Buckwheat Pancakes, Maple Syrup, at Red's Pancake House

Not Quite Hawaii Nei

We did not get back until 1:30, relaxed until 3:00, when they headed back to the Cleveland area for a family gathering.  It was a fun visit, short but we packed in quite a bit and J. D. got to enjoy the visit, for his second time.  He was here six summers ago, was able to catch fish as well as kayak.  Not this time.

We had Saturday's leftover dinner of koftes, pita, and tomato sauce for dinner, just as good as the night before. And we watched three more episodes of OCCUPIED, as things are getting more and more intense, as the Russians slowly seem to be occupying Norway.  We ended the evening with lots of laughs, mostly black humor, as Bill Maher skewered not only Trump but the electorate that deserve him.  He blames it all on our coddling of our young, the protectiveness with which we envelop our children, where nobody loses, everyone wins, where we are told to love ourselves.  Funny, some truth I suppose but a bit overboard with his opinion.

And here's a nice way to start your week:  Enjoy this poem from today's Writer's Almanac.

Ordinary Life  by Barbara Crooker  This was a day when nothing happened, the children went off to school remembering their books, lunches, gloves. All morning, the baby and I built block stacks in the squares of light on the floor. And lunch blended into naptime, I cleaned out kitchen cupboards, one of those jobs that never gets done, then sat in a circle of sunlight and drank ginger tea, watched the birds at the feeder jostle over lunch’s little scraps. A pheasant strutted from the hedgerow, preened and flashed his jeweled head. Now a chicken roasts in the pan, and the children return, the murmur of their stories dappling the air. I peel carrots and potatoes without paring my thumb. We listen together for your wheels on the drive. Grace before bread. And at the table, actual conversation, no bickering or pokes. And then, the drift into homework. The baby goes to his cars, drives them along the sofa’s ridges and hills. Leaning by the counter, we steal a long slow kiss, tasting of coffee and cream. The chicken’s diminished to skin and skeleton, the moon to a comma, a sliver of white, but this has been a day of grace in the dead of winter, the hard cold knuckle of the year, a day that unwrapped itself like an unexpected gift, and the stars turn on, order themselves into the winter night.