Wind, Rain, Sleet, Perhaps Snow

7:38

8:12

A nasty morning here on the lake, cold, a strong southeasterly wind, fog, and an overcast sky.  I don't think I will be getting in a paddle this morning.  It also looks like tomorrow's weather may be even worse, with snow forecast.  It's 7:40 and still windy and foggy, with either sleet or snow.  It's bizarre to sit here in early November and watch the snow fall at a 45º angle because of the wind but not stick. We like winter but not this early.

Yesterday, surprise, was mostly sunny and cool, a good day to be outside.  The lake was too choppy early and the sky gray, so I decided to forego kayaking, a good decision.  I did go to yoga at 10:00 and all the classes seem to be smaller, not sure why.  Some of the regulars have not been there the last few days.  Because the class was small, ten or us instead of thirty, Danielle decided to get out the folding chairs and we used them throughout the class for something different.  Interestingly, her class was also the same as Wednesday's class with Jen.  After class, I came straight home because I woke up yesterday morning with a couple of things I wanted to get done in the yard, some before lunch, others after.  I am getting obsessed with fall clean up.  When I returned home, Evie was up and getting a few things done, nothing too demanding and she is getting more active.  I put on my jeans, a fleece and went outside and worked for forty-five minutes on the leaves around my garage and in the parking areas.  First, I raked them into the road, then mulched, then raked them into piles and put them in garbage pails to take up the hill.  I filled two pails with mulched leaves, both heavy enough that I had to be careful not to pull a muscle when I put them in the car. 

I was done by 12:45 and when I came in, Evie had my lunch ready, toasted cheese sandwiches on potato bread and beef barley soup.  I watched THE SINNER on Netflix having canceled it, then registered on my son Tom's family plan, saving us the monthly fee.  Thanks, Tommy.  I am enjoying my book, LETHAL WHITE, almost as long as C. K. Rowlings Harry Potter books.  I took a brief nap, worrying about whether I would be able to get some work done in the yard before the rain.  So I was out chopping and mulching the leaves in our side yard and our neighbor's yard, hoping this might be one of the last times I have to mulch.  Looking out at the yard this morning, I think my hopes were a bit premature as the side yard is filed once again with leaves from the unusual southerly winds.

Around 4:30, Evie and I started prepping dinner.  Evie flattened and breaded some pork schnitzel cutlets, made the salad, and I cleaned the Brussel sprouts and did up the dishes.  We then enjoyed a glass of wine around the fireplace as the winds picked up, the sky darkened.  Evie browned the schnitzel, then put it in the oven with the baked potatoes and braised the Brussel sprouts.  Dinner was really good, probably because we were both hungry for it.  We watched a Colbert, then another episode of HOUSE OF CARDS before Evie tired and went up to bed around 9:00.  I stayed up until the ungodly hour of 10:00, flipping back and forth between the NFL and NBA before going up to read and sleep.