Fog And Ice

6:40

7:00

7:00

7:10

I was up around 6:30 to a heavy fog on the lake, so heavy I could hardly see past our lake wall.  And the sunrise appeared only after the sun rose high above the shoreline  Even now at 7:42, the fog remains heavy, obscuring any activity on the lake.  It remains cold, 19º, but today looks fine, blue skies, some sun, a high around 30º.

Fishing Huts Off Of Long Point

Yesterday remained cold most of the day, with occasional sleet or light snow flakes filling the air, hardly sticking to the ground.  Our morning routine always stays the same on Saturdays, clean the refrigerator, go around the house looking for trash, occasionally, like yesterday morning, cleaning out a closet and organizing it before I head off to the Transfer Station with a car full of trash and garbage, a kind tidying up I suppose.  Afterwards, I wanted to get some exercise, so we drove to Mayville, hoping to have a great walk through the woods of Webb's Trail.  It was, alas, rough and uneven, with frozen areas where we would sink through the ice.  We made it to Morris Road and back though it was not the fun hike we had hoped for and just a couple of miles.  We stopped at the Lighthouse Grocery for a sub sandwich, did some browsing, then headed home to enjoy lunch, an assorted sub sandwich, with chips and a Pepsi.

Neither one of us did much the rest of the afternoon, Evie having lost her mojo, deciding not to go to the gym,  And I was happy to listen to music, watch the Kansas/Iowa State basketball game later afternoon, after some reading and a great nap...nothing like a good nap, one in which we wake up energized.  Evie had no need to do any prepping because I was taking her out for a good dinner.  We were not sure which one of our favorite restaurants to the north to go to.  So we decided on the just opened, after a couple of month vacation, Brazil's in Westfield.  We wanted to sit at the bar but we were not sure if any seats would be available.  When we got there, not only was the bar packed (and they now take reservations for seats at the bar), but the restaurant was booked for another hour.

Happy At Rocco's In Fredonia, NY

Reluctantly, we left and headed east on a cold, light snow filled night, driving another 17 miles to Fredonia, to our other favorite, Rocco's.  And, happily, there were lots of empty seats at the bar and Rocco, the owner was more than happy to hear we wanted to stay at the bar because there were lots of people waiting for tables.  After almost an hour of driving, we were finally happy and Rocco's was the better choice.  I ordered the Steak Diane with mashed potatoes and snow peas and Evie had her usual, a leaning tower of eggplant with tomato sauce.  Both dishes were extraordinarily good and we wonder why we go any place else when we want a meal other than a burger or wings with fries.  That's how good Rocco's is.  And Rocco was surprisingly talkative, telling us all about his life, having lived in California for 13 years before deciding to come up to Fredonia and buy Rocco's in 2000.  And, like many small business owners, he complained how the Cuomo government has made it difficult for his business to survive because of required wage hikes.  He's an interesting, self assured guy, doing well enough in a dying area.  We also met the owners of The Brick Room, the other highly recommended restaurant in Fredonia.  He was very talkative, a good friend of Rocco's and told us we ought to try his place.  We may but it will be  hard to pass up Rocco's.  Our ride home, through the darkness and back roads of Chautauqua County, was no problem, just a few snowflakes, and no icy roads or black ice.

We were home by 9:45, in time to watch the third episode of HOUSE CARDS and we discover that Lady Macbeth has nothing over the snakelike Claire Underwood.   I am now reading Colm Toibin's BROOKLYN, highly recommended but I am a bit bored by it and I am at least 100 pages into it.  I will stay the course!

Remembering Pat Conroy With Our Copy Of His Southern Cookbook