Sunny and 10º

6:20

6:42

7:14

7:20

Up at 6:30 to a surprise, a blue sky, a strip of orange along the horizon and now, a great sunrise just over Tom's Point.  It's cold outside, a 10º, when I got my paper.  And it's not been the best of mornings so far.  As I was getting a gallon milk out of the refrigerator for my coffee, another jar started to fall. I grabbed it and dropped the milk, spilling it all over the kitchen floor.  Evie was still sleeping so I was able to clean it up before she got up.  What an idiot!

Sea Gulls Over Lake Erie

Barcelona Beach On Lake Erie

Yesterday was a different sort of day as I have decided to take a couple of days off from yoga because one of my knees is bothering me.  I either strained something at yoga or when I went hiking or skiing.  Rest, Advil, and China-Gel, a new version of the analgesic Tiger Balm helps it.  It was a snowy morning, quite beautiful to be honest but I felt like doing something different.  And I have been known to drive a long way for something special, in this case, a potato pancake at the just reopened Jack's Barcelona Drive In.  So I drove off  to Barcelona, on the coast of Lake Erie, in a snowfall, taking my time, knowing the snow would stop in a half hour.  It didn't.  I was excited to see Lake Erie but it was so windy, with a wet snow, that I could hardly stand on the beach, as the wind whipped the snow on my face.  The ice is gone, the beaches are bare, except for rocks and driftwood, the lake brown, with white caps.

Jack's Now Open

I then walked into Jack's, one table of four, a table of one, and ordered the potato pancake. Unfortunately, they did not have applesauce which was disappointing but I ordered it anyways, with sour cream.  It was not as good as I remembered, when I had it with my daughter Beth last summer, when we went rock hunting.  Probably because of the lack of applesauce, the pancake seemed dry and not as tasty.  I then drove down to the Barcelona pier, watched the swooping sea gulls, then drove to Westfield, and browsed the neat Patterson Library, picking up a DVD, the newest film about Steve Jobs.

Au Revoir, Lake Erie

I was home at noon, and the kitchen looked as though Evie had been busy, which she was because she wanted to get dinner for last evenings guests prepped and ready before they arrived.  So the bread had risen, the chicken with olives and prunes was cooked, ready to be heated for dinner.  And she was ready to drive off to Lakewood for her workout, Wonder Woman.  I, of course, was a feeble helper, cleaning up the kitchen and vacuuming the downstairs, both tasks I can handle with some degree of sophistication.  I then had lunch, watched another episode of NARCOS, did some readng and took a catnap before Evie came home. The rest of the afternoon, we relaxed or got things ready for dinner.  I went outside and shoveled what little snow had fallen on our parking area which felt good.  Fresh air.

Winter Dinner With Friends

The Heinz's and Volker's, both buddies from the breakfast club arrived at 6:00 on the dot.  We have had the Heinz's over before but not the Volkers.  We settled in the living room for an hour, with our various libations, enjoyed appetizers, and a soup Evie made, kind of a rich garlic and mushroom soup, tasty and warming.  We then had a great dinner, Chicken Marbella, from 1980's Silver Palate cookbook, along with a salad, with homemade onion straws, rice, and homemade bread.  After dinner, we enjoyed coffee, tea and ice box pudding for dessert.  And then the fun began, as Evie got out her iPad and started playing music from Apple Music Library.  Someone would mention their favorite tune and Evie would find it, then play it.  The favorite of the night was Amanda Marshall's "Sunday Morning After," about a women who wakes up from a wild night out with a snake tattoo and a pierced tongue.  It's not only a good song, but hilarious, country music at its best.  Other favorites were Frank Sinatra's "I've Got You Under My Skin,"  Jackson's Browne's'" The Load-Out,' and Bob Dylan and Johnie Cash's "Girl From North Country."  They stayed until just after 10:00.  We were too tired to get the dishes done but did some minor cleaning up.  Bed felt awfully good after a busy day, a  fun evening.

Woodpeckers In The Morning