Early Morning Thunder And Lightning But No RAIN

6:05

7:12

8:00

I woke at 6:00, to rolling thunder off in the distance.  I turned on the coffee and walked outside to get a photo, gray and overcast to the north, some color off to the south.  It's a lot warmer this morning, 71º, compared to yesterday's 56º.  Rain is forecast for the rest of the morning, then it will clear up and get hot again, the high later in the day in the mid 80's.  It' maddening to sit here, pulling up the weather map, watching the storm clouds veer north and south of us, not that I want a heavy storm, just rain.  It's clearing up across the lake but behind us, the clouds are gathering.

Yesterday would have been a beach day if we were a beach.  Instead, we had a Chautauqua Lake day, spending most of the day outside, enjoying the warm and humid day, perhaps the most uncomfortable day because of the high humidity.  The day began with breakfast for me at the Bemus Point Inn with with two of the guys.  We ended up talking about politics, the Republican convention and Trump, wondering who sitting around us was a Trump supporter.  It's hard to tell. I had one of my two usuals, poached eggs on hash, with wheat toast.  When I got home, the gang was still sleeping, so I jumped in the lake, lovely and clear, and brought in a raft that was losing air, took out another one that I had just pumped up with air.  I came in and Beth was up, frying up some pea meal bacon and eggs for her breakfast, her favorite.  Marisa was sleepy but up, enjoying a bagel with cream cheese.  Evie was thinking about what to have for dinner, and starting a shopping list for the next four days as Jill and family arrive early evening today.  I was tempted to go for a hike through Long Point but found no takers, so I went for a hot and sweaty kayak paddle instead, off to Long Point and back, followed by a dip in the lake.  Meanwhile, Evie was gathering up some of the weeds that were gathering along our lake wall, as this is going to be a continual problem if the lake stays so low.

The Hard Work Of Lake Life

By noon, everyone was out on the dock or water, neighbors as well, ready for a afternoon on the lake. Beth, Evie and Marisa hung out in lake chairs, Marisa on the floats, and I sat on the dock reading until it was to hot, so I swam, then came in and had lunch of soup and leftover lamb chops and potatoes.  I watched some of the lead up to the Republican convention, read, took a nice nap in our cool house compared to outdoors.  I went back out around 3:00, joined the dock club until we decided to go for a boat ride around 5:00, hoping to cool off.  It was pleasant to be out on the lake, so we cruised down to the Chautauqua Institution and back on a surprisingly empty lake but then, it was Thursday not a weekend.  When we got back, Evie and I swam, and I put the cover back on the boat, a move that almost guarantees it won't rain.

Ready For Dinner

For the next 45 minutes, Evie, Beth and Marisa put together our dinner.  Marisa and Evie worked getting the schnitzel ready, Marisa flouring the cutlets, Evie dipping them in egg and breadcrumbs. Beth washed the potatoes and put then in the oven, and Evie put together a quick salad.  Dinner was great, as it's hard not to like pork schnitzel, with lemon, butter or applesauce.  We did not finish up with dinner and the dishes until 8:30 and though Marisa was tired, she insisted on playing a couple of games of Pounce, basically a competitive solitary.  By 9:30, Beth and Marisa went up to bed and Evie and I watched about two minutes of Trump's speech, then switched to something more salubrious, like James Corden and Michelle Obama doing Car Karaoke.  What an amazing woman and First Lady, talented, funny, smart, hip and fun.  She broke the mold of the conservative, stay at home, First Lady.  Not that the previous First Ladies did not have much to admire.

Today will be getting ready for the four Bissells day, shopping, cleaning, and enjoying the lake in between chores.  We cannot wait to see the gang.

It's now 7:30, I am still the only one up, and the rain looks as though it will avoid us once again.