Thunder, Lightning And Rain

Crazy At Lakewood's Wegmans

6:49

6:58

7:16

9:08

It's an interesting morning sky, lots of threatening clouds, some rain and thunder, and now, at 7:00 the sky behind is clearing up, the lake blue rather than gray. The rain (a half inch) has kept any boats off the lake; I am tempted to kayak but I will wait until I am sure the thunder and lightning have stopped. And the haze has disappeared as the shoreline is washed clean, in clear focus. It's now 7:40, 64º and I am listening to Only A Game as it just started to rain again after seeming to clear up.  Only A Game had an interesting story about Tom Meschery, a Russian emigre in the 1950's, who became an NBA All-Star and now writes poetry.  I remember his name, his feisty play.

Yesterday most of us got a slow start with the day.  I, however, was up and at em, blogging and photographing early, then out on the lake kayaking by 7:00.  When I got back, the second pot of coffee was on and all were up, Evie, my sister, Ellen and her husband, Wally.  We were not sure what kind of weather the day would bring so we decided on a trip to Lakewood in the morning, hoping to enjoy the sun and lake in the afternoon.  It turned out to be a good choice.  We drove to Ryder's Cup around 11:00, to get a cup of coffee and introduce Els and Wally to Joyce, the owner.  She is always welcoming and friendly.  We then hit our favorite grocery store.  Ellen has a great super Wegman's in near Herndon, VA, putting our tiny Wegman's to shame.  But we still had fun, as you can see, taking a silly selfie near the vegetable section.  We also ran into our good friend, Barb and her daughter, up for the 4th of July from North Carolina.  The guys went their way, looking at micro beers, the girls picked up the shrimp and fixings for dinner.  We got separated of course and I did not realize that the girls had already checked out so I was wandering around the store looking for them.

Eggplant Sandwiches For Lunch, Again

We hurried home, taking the back road to Ashville, quickly put away the groceries.  Evie then heated up the cauliflower soup, made four more eggplant sandwiches and guacamole and we had lunch outside, a mistake because the sun came out and it was getting humid.  We did not linger.  We then took a time out, to read or nap or sun but Evie stayed in the kitchen and put together a vodka pasta sauce, getting it ready for dinner and making pasta dough for later.   By 2:30, Wally and I were busy trying to figure out how to hang a magnetic screen door on our porch.  After a couple of wrong turns, we managed to get it up and swinging.  For now, it seems like a good idea; time will tell if it lasts, especially when the grandkids arrive and dash in and out.  It's held in place by velcro so we will see how well it holds.

Patsi And Beau, Cruising Chautauqua Lake

We then relaxed on the dock, swimming and floating some and Evie and I worked for a half hour on cutting weeds which are really disgusting in some of the areas in front of our house.  We need the weed cutters to bring their machines and cut them.  Around 6:00, we gathered drinks, Evie heated up hankie pankies (an appetizer) and we went for a nice booze cruise over to Bemus Point, along Lakeside Drive and home.  It was sunny but a nice breeze made our cruise comfortable.

Making Fresh Pasta

When we got home, Evie got out the pasta machine and after showing Wally and Ellen how to use it, they made enough pasta fettuccine to feed the four of us and some.  Once they were done, Evie grilled the shrimp, heated up the pasta sauce and I cooked the fresh fettuccine in boiling water for about five minutes.  We mixed the noodles, with the sauce and shrimp, let it marinate for about 10 minutes.  We then had a glorious dinner al fresco again.  We had more than enough Vodka pasta, and with a salad and sourdough rolls, we were happy campers.  It was a perfect night to eat outside.

A Vodka And Shrim Pasta Dinner

After the dishes, we then sat out on the porch until it became too cool and about 9:30, we got out Wegman's key lime pie, and had our dessert before we were tired enough to go up to be around 10:45, the end of a good day.