Autumn Like For A Day Or Two

Kansas City Dudes

Well, I slept in till 7:00, came down to a living room full of sunlight, a cool, breezy morning reminiscent of our fall days here at the lake.  The only difference, everything is green.  It's 58º, the high should get into the 60's, after yesterday's 85º and humid day.  No wonder it's so windy this morning.

7:30

Yesterday, a glorious day of sun on the lake,  began as usual, with coffee, NPR's Only A Game, then a healthy breakfast with Evie.  By 9:30, the boys were still asleep, so I wanted to get some things done, so I drove off, dropping our trash off, picking up another dozen eggs at Ryder's Cup, then on to Home Depot, to pick up more soil and grass seed, as my efforts so far to grow grass on the bare spots has ended in mud, perhaps sludge might be a better word.  I couldn't pass by Wegman's, of course, so I picked up a half dozen fresh bagels and a dozen ears of sweet corn for dinner last night.

Nick

Nick

Chris

Chris

By the time I got home, the boys 'had arisen.' They were happily chatting with Evie, having just come in from a swim, all three, having just plunged into the cold waters, a la Evie.  They loved it, especially doing their flips as Evie took photos, so that was great.

Peyton

Peyton

Nick Running On Water

For breakfast, Evie made up some scrambled eggs, a la Turk, with tomatoes, feta cheese, Aleppo pepper, with a Mexican touch, avocado, and fresh bagels -- what could be better.  The boys loved it.

Breakfast

Afterwards, they helped clear the table, did some dishes, before going out to do some fishing.  That did not last long because they were using lures.  I volunteered to get out the worms, but they decided to go kayaking.  Our neighbors let them use one of their kayaks, and off they went, with their life jackets on, fortunately.  It was a bit windy, choppy, and when they got near Long Point, Chris reached into the kayak to get rid of a spider and tipped it over.  Nick and Peyton, along with another boater, helped him get it back to shore, where they were able to turn it over, get the water out, and continue on their way. Their first adventure on the lake.  They laughed about it, got on Chris's case, and I don't think they ever felt in any danger because all three are good swimmers and had lifejackets.

The Beginning Of A Kayaking Adventure

They decided for us whether to go out to dinner or stay home.  They wanted a good, home cooked meal as they had of eating out.  So I drove off to the Lighthouse, ordered seven inch thick pork chops. The butcher got out a side of ribs, and on his band saw, cut us seven prime chops.  Evie had the teriyaki marinade made, so when I got home, she dropped them in it for the rest of the afternoon.

Lunch Al Fresco

We had a late lunch, a Mexican tortilla soup, with chicken, avocados, cheese and tortilla chips.  Since we had a late breakfast, that was it for lunch and the boys loved it, getting seconds as we sat out under the trees, the wind blowing hard enough to knock napkins off the table.  We then took it easy till around 4:30, watching some soccer, playing bean bag, the boys playing games on their computers, Evie prepping some for dinner, and me taking a short nap.  Around 4:30, we took our first cruise to Bemus and back on a rough lake.  I made the boys my special drink, sparkling water, with cranberry juice and lime, and all three really like it.  Like most kids, they don't particularly like a slow cruise, sightseeing more or less, so by the time we got back, like our granddaughters, they wrapped themselves in towels and hunkered down on their seats, to avoid the wind.  We all were warm from the ride, so we went swimming, playing with the frisbee, as they would run and jump off the dock, as I would toss them the frisbee to catch.  We did this for a half hour, then went in and dried off, and started thinking about dinner.

Ah Shucks

I fired up the grill, the boys shucked a dozen ears of corn, Evie made a salad, and rice and when the pork chops were done, we again had dinner outside around 7:30, as the long day was beginning to wane. Dinner was fabulous, the boys loved the teriyaki chops (with applesauce ala Evie), even had seconds, and the Florida corn was a hit, as was the rice.  Afterwards, we sat around talking, planning our week, and decided we would go to Niagara Falls on Monday, staying on the States side but going on the Maid Of The Mist.  We will walk the Gorge on Wednesday, depending on the weather.  It was nice to just sit around the dinner table and talk with them.

Pork Chops, Rice, Corn, Salad, The Boys

After we cleared the table, Evie told us to go outside and play bean bag and she would clean up the kitchen.  We had a great game of bean bag, as Nick and Chris barely beat Peyton and me in three games.  We then came in and Evie made all of us large bowls of ice cream with strawberries , and we sat down to watch one of 'my movies,' The Lives Of Others, set in East Germany in 1984, as the Stasi, the Secret Police, spy on the lives of their citizens.  It's a great movie but was not the right choice for last night, as it was slow, sub titled and talky, not the kind of film the boys would enjoy.  It was the kind they might be required to watch in a modern history class, not on a vacation.  So, from now on, we will watch movies they want to see, not one's I think they should see.

Today is going to be cool, so it will be wings night at the Casino, a walk at the Chautauqua Institution late morning, perhaps some fishing, bean bag, and working in the yard, spreading top soil and grass seed.  They boys are happy to help.

Update:  We just had to wake the boys up, at 10:40, to Eminem's Lose Yourself.  It worked.