Heat Dome Cometh

6:12

6:14

I'm up just in time for the sunrise at 6:10, fog rising on the lake, a single fisherman off towards Tom's Point and that's it.  It's a chilly 54º although the 'heat dome' is coming, according to the NYTimes, a front of heat that just sits, extracts the moisture from the corn (corn sweat or evapotranspiration), making it even more humid.  Can't wait.  Actually, it will get into the high 80's today, perhaps rain tomorrow, with the next week or so in the 80's which does not sound so bad.

We had another fine day at the lake yesterday, lots of sun, of swimming, enjoying both the dock and the water.  For breakfast, Evie made buckwheat pancakes from a mix that our favorite pancake house here in Chautauqua County, Red's, uses.  Unfortunately, they were not anywhere near as good as Red's, no fault of the cook.  They just were not the same, heavier and denser than Red's.  Evie followed the directions, just add water to the mix, so what could be easier or more accurate than that. Yet they just weren't as good as her famous buttermilk  pancakes.  Afterwards, we went for a swim, and I brought in one of the rafts that had a leak.  Then, Evie got out the patches and fortunately knew where the leak was and attempted a patch.  We will find out this morning if it works.

One of Marisa's Chautauqua favorites is a stop at Ryder's Cup for a frozen hot chocolate drink.  I had promised to take her the first day she arrived, so I was a day or two late, but Beth, Marisa and I drove into Lakewood.  The frozen hot chocolate was just as good as she remembered, Beth and I had iced coffee and I picked up another dozen organic eggs.  We then stopped at the grocery and picked up a couple of chuck roasts, another one of our favorite summer dinners, which we marinate for 24 hours, literally char on the grill, then cut in slices.  Yum.  When we got home, Marisa was full from her drink and none of us were that hungry, so we had a cup of soup and Evie made a cheese sandwich for Marisa and me.

Comfy New Lake Chairs

Lolling Lake Gals

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the dock and in the water.  Our neighbors also came over to enjoy the floats and Beth and Kathy caught up on their lives.  Evie loves having kids to play with in the water so she was happy, happy.  We had bought a couple of floating chairs and the kids and Beth love them because they are comfortable and you don't have to get totally wet.  By 4:30, after a warm afternoon, the wind picked up and the swimmers and sun bathers were getting cold, so everyone headed in but me.  I stayed out and read for another hour, finally jumped in the water, washed off and came in to get ready for dinner.

A Couple Of Swingers

Upside Down Swinging

We drove over to Bemus Point, to enjoy the Wednesday night steak special at the Seezurh House. Our kids all like the Seezurh House because they grew up coming there for burgers and fish fries.  Evie and Beth ordered the steak special, Marisa a burger and I got a fish fry.  All dinners were up to snuff so we were happy.  Evie talked with Robin, the manager and she said the new Ellicottville Brewery is hurting their business and also the Italian Fisherman is way down.  She hopes they can make it through the year, especially fall, winter, and spring when they are the only game in town.

Split Hand Stand At Bemus

Bent Hand Stand

We were home by 8:00, in time for the birthday party next door for both of our neighbors' grandchildren.  We had ice cream and birthday cake, played lots of bean bag, then sat around the fire pit talking and watching an amazing moon rise over Tom's Point, 'huge and yellow.'  We were home by 9:30, most ready to  go upstairs to read or watch some of the night talk shows take on the Republican Convention.