Overcast After A Brief Sunrise

5:41

5:53

I was up at 5:30, to a purple then orange glow on the lake, as the sun struggled to rise above the horizon.  Now it's mostly gray, the lake and sky, as the clouds have arrived.  It's 56º as I listen to the pundits discuss the democrats sit in, whether it's a publicity stunt or a heart felt belief.  Most believe it's bad news for the republicans because of this possible bumper sticker: Republicans Want Terrorists To Have Guns.  It's not true but it seems that way from the way they are refusing to allow a vote.

Yesterday was somewhat different, as Evie was off to drop off the first round of checks to the Chautauqua Lake Association, do some shopping and get her hair trimmed leaving the house by 8:30.  Since she would be gone much of the morning, I decided to take my car to Jamestown and get the oil changed on the Pilot.  I brought my bike along, so when I dropped it off on Washington Street, I then rode my bike to the Prendergast library, picked up Rodger Rosenblatt's latest, THOMAS MURPHY,  then rode to the Labyrinth Press Coffee shop, bought a coffee, sat down and read for a half hour before heading back to pick up my car.  For once, they did not list any problems with my car (I suspect they never checked).  I then stopped at Tops, to see if they had any of the soft drink Squirt, and they did so I bought a 12 pack.  The new drink of summer: a Paloma,  Squirt, with tequila in a rim salted tall glass.  Sounds good, like a margarita but easier.  I then went to Home Depot, picked up two 2 by 4 by10 boards, managed to fit them into my Pilot and drove home.  Evie was back already, so I helped her unpack.

Around 12:30, Evie made me BLT's for lunch, to go with some veggie soup.  I ate and watched the Cavs victory parade in Cleveland, as an estimated one million fans came out to honor them.  I am glad I wasn't there but it looked like fun if you don't mind crowds.  And so far, I have not read about any violence, rioting or the burning of cars which often accompanies this kind of celebration.  After lunch, we both spent a good part of the afternoon, either watering the parched plants around our house, napping, sun bathing or cutting lake weeds.  It was a nice 78º on the dock, with a breeze and there were plenty of weeds to cut if we wanted.  I stayed in the water for about an hour, cutting and piling on the dock to dry and Evie worked on the algae which floats on top.  By late afternoon, our lakefront looked fine, so we rewarded ourselves with cocktails on the porch, along with hummus and pita chips.  It was a beautiful late afternoon, the lake a brilliant blue, a light breeze, and sunny, as the shadows slowly took over the lawn and dock.

We had an easy dinner of tacos, with all the fixings, always a satisfying dinner.  And we struggled to find something to watch.  We started a fairly new series called AQUARIUS, set in the late 1960's, with a focus on Charles Manson and his group of followers.  We could only take a half hour before we changed channels, and watched the most recent Real Time with Bill Maher.  We loved his interview with Rebecca Traister.  She wrote ALL THE SINGLE LADIES and we were wowed by her insights into women's rights and how they have slowly changed over the years.  She was so good, so quick, that she actually shut Maher up.  Her thesis: women are slowly becoming more independent, marrying much later in life, if at all, and as a result, cultural norms, the idea that a woman is not compete unless she marries,  are changing. I want to read her book.  We both were tired from our work in the lake so we went up to be around 10:00, rare for us.