Darkness Ebbs

8:04

8:05

Not the best of mornings as our smoke alarm went off at 5:00 for some unknown reason, twice, so I ended up coming downstairs, turning off the breaker and turning on the coffee.  Being up at 5:00 in utter darkness reminds me of winter mornings when it does not get light until 8:00.  Right now it's 6:40 and the lake and Long Point are visible although in shades of gray.  We have had 36 hours of wind and rain so even though the sky is gray, the wind has lessened, little if any rain is forecast so I hope to get in some kayaking.

Kayaking In The Mist

Yesterday was a miserably wet and windy day as I mentioned above.  No kayaking early because of the wind and rain.  I did, however, get to my Yin Yoga class and the numbers are way down, as only the locals are in attendance.  After class, I had a number of stops, the library, coffee shop and bank before Wegman's.  I was surprised to fill my cart, thinking it would be a light shopping day.  After Wegman's, I made a quick stop at Sav A Lot to pick up some chicken breasts which were on sale.  Evie wanted to freeze them, pull them out as needed in the next few weeks.

When I returned home, Evie had been busy, making one of her favorite desserts, a lemon pudding cake for last night's dinner.  She had invited our neighbors, Bill and Joyce, and their son David, in town from Sacramento, over for dinner.  Lunch was easy because on Sunday, Evie had made one of our favorite soups, an Indian spiced cauliflower soup. She made some croutons for the soup and I had a delicious lunch and finally finished the series THE CODE.  I liked it quite a bit and now must find something else to watch during lunch.

We had a fairly easy afternoon once Evie breaded the pork chops and I washed the potatoes and we both cleaned up the kitchen.  We then did the usual, read, napped, watched some TV and wished we could get outside but the weather was not cooperative.  It was strange to be housebound, in our fleeces and sweats, not outside on the dock or cruising in our boat on the lake.

Dinner With David, Joyce, And Bill

Our neighbors arrived at 6:00 and we sat around enjoying some wine or beer until 7:00, as David regaled us with his life in California.  I think because of our cold, rainy weather, he's ready to head back to La La Land.  Dinner was breaded pork chops, applesauce, roasted red potatoes, asparagus and a throwback to the 1970's, a strawberry, red onion and lettuce salad with poppyseed dressing.  The pork chops were excellent and no one left any of their salad so dinner was a big success. We ended the night with the cake topped with whipped cream.  They left at 9:00 and we then we spent the next twenty minutes, doing the dishes, Evie washing, me drying, what's come to be our routine after a dinner party.  We must enjoy it, especially the waking up to a clean kitchen.