Winter Returns (for a few days) - Viking Club, Lodge 65

Well, it's white again out there, a faux snowfall because it's hardly a dusting.  It is cold, however, 16º compared to the 50º weather we had over the weekend.  We may  get some more snow later today, some tomorrow, an inch or two, and on Saturday, it warms up again.

Yesterday we tried to get back to our routine.  I went to yoga class at 10:00 a good class as usual and the gang of gals from Ryders Cup were there, too.  I had enough coffee for the day so I skipped the coffee shop and came straight home.  Roads were fine, no snow, slush or rain, just gray skies...surprise.  Evie was excited because the mail had brought her a new pan from Amazon, just what she needs, a new pan...but it was a deal!  She had been busy making up my morning mix of oats, walnuts, cinnamon, flax seed, a granola I eat each morning with yogurt, a healthy kind of guy.

For lunch I had the dwindling pot of veggie soup and tuna sandwiches, on toast of course and watched the penultimate episode of the Swedish Wallandar.  I am going to miss it.  And it was surprisingly emotional as Wallander, who has been hiding the onset of his battle with Alzheimers, finally  tells his daughter the truth of his health.  The last shot, of his looking back at his daughter and granddaughter, as he walks to the car, was difficult to watch.  What an awful disease and the show has treated it with respect and honesty.  While I was watching TV and eating lunch, Evie decided to give the gym a try, see if she could still walk on the treadmill despite the severe blister on her heel.  It did not go well but she did get in maybe a half hour of exercise.  The true exercise came with her stopping at Wegman's and shopping, enjoying the freedom of browsing without me, wondering like a little kid, if she was done.

We both took it easy, what else, the rest of the afternoon before driving off to the Viking Club for the Queen Of Hearts drawing, at 7:30, worth $21,000 dollars.  The club was packed, and most had never seen it so busy on a Wednesday.  Money is a great motivator.  We bought thirty bucks worth of tickets, found a seat at at the bar, and Evie filled them out.

Fun to Meet Mark and Carol

We ordered wings and a burger, a couple of beers, and struck up a conversation with a couple from Jamestown.  We had met Mark on a Sunday earlier in the month, a fireman, waiting for his wife, a waitress at the Rod and Gun.  Well, when Evie discovered the woman sitting next to her worked at the Rod and Gun, we realized that we had met her husband.  And so began a fun conversation, ending with us becoming Facebook friends and taking a selfie.  Next  time we hit the Rod and Gun, we are to text her and we will be seated at one of her tables.  Cool beans.

A Very Happy Winner

The drawing was at 7:30, they picked out a ticket, called out the name, Kaitlin, and the gal we have gotten to know because she works in the kitchen, ran out.  They pulled the card off the board and she WON.  Twenty thousand bucks.  The place went crazy cheering her and everyone was happy for her.  She had just gotten married this past summer so I am sure they can use it.  We stayed until 8:30, enjoying our wings, burgers, and beer and talking with Mark and Carol.  We also were happy to see others we have become good friend with on previous Wednesday nights and all of us are looking forward to next Wednesday when we may be the only one's at the bar, like a breakfast club but at a bar.  We ended the night watching HBO's Vice News, caught a glimpse of our niece Kathryn on one of the shorts on Chinese students coming to get their education in American high schools.  It was a shock to see her, so Evie immediately texted her to let here know she was on TV.  Fun.  Bed sounded really good after such an exciting night.

In his own words: "I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!"