Empty House, Calm Lake, Gray Skies

Good Bye Family

7:17

A Quiet Morning Paddle On The Lake

I slept in till 7:00 so I feel more refreshed than usual although the house is too quiet, no granddaughters around to tease.  I have heard multiple gunshots so I assume the duck hunters are out so I will have to be alert when I go kayaking.  Although it overcast, the lake is like glass, the temperature is near 40º so I will be out on the lake shortly.  It's just after 9:00 and I was able to get out on the lake, then finish up the blog next to a nice, warm fire in our fireplace.

Kayaking Towards Long Point

Victoria And Woodlawn In The Morning

Yesterday was a sad day as Jill and Drew and their girls left for home around 8:00.  I did not envy them the ride because of the freezing rain but they made decent time and went on the major highways instead of back roads.  Before they left, Evie made them ham and egg sandwiches for the road.  So we bid them safe travels and immediately did our thing whenever family abandons us for home.  We start cleaning and straightening and washing and organizing the house.  For some reason, it's our way of dealing with the emptiness and quiet, to get busy with getting the house back to normal.  By 10:30,  we were mostly done, so Evie took all the turkey bones, leftover ham bone and put them in a stock pot and let it simmer for five or six hours.  And of course, once we were through with our straightening and organizing, I drove to the Transfer Station in the rain to get rid of our trash from the week, more than usual because of family and boxes from Amazon. 

By noon, we were done with everything, dinner, the leftover turkey, potatoes and gravy, was ready to be microwaved so we literally did nothing the rest of the afternoon except watch Ohio State destroy Michigan it what's been billed as 'the game.'  If you were an Ohio State fan, it was a day of excitement and surprise because the Buckeyes were not favored and had not played well in their previous games.  They, however, rose to the occasion and played their best game of the year.  I actually watched the entire game although I did DVR it so I watched it later so I could fast forward through much of the commercials.  Evie,  who never naps, actually fell asleep on the couch for an hour, as the past week must have really tired her out. 

We did have our wine time around 6:00, the quiet hard to get used to after the fun and games with our kids.  Our leftover turkey dinner was just as good as on Thanksgiving, so good that I once again had two helpings, love that stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy.  We did not know what to watch so decided on two Colberts that we had saved from earlier in the week.  By 10:00, both of us were ready for bed.