Take Five

Cousins Rock

7:29

7:30

It's 7:20 and I have been up for an hour, seemingly the only one in the house.  Everyone else is sleeping in although I just heard gunshots echo over the lake and the hunters are up and out.  It looks like a wet New Year's Eve, much like the past week of drizzle and changing weather patterns.  And as I look out my window, there's a vivid pink/orange glow over Tom's Point, signaling the sun's slow rise. 

Yesterday seemed like the day after, whatever that suggests.  All I know is we started the day with twelve, Mitchel left at 3:45, Jill and family at 8:00, and Mary and Marlena at 11:00 and then we were five. 

Mary, Off To Kansas City

Marlena, The Beauty

So the ambiance changed from activity, at times chaos, to one of quietness and calm.  It was hard to adjust to this seeming emptiness although there were still five.  We did get busy, especially Evie, putting the house back in a semblance of order, getting the kitchen and refrigerator back into good shape, vacuuming, and reorganizing the bedrooms, putting away the extra mattresses we no longer needed. It's a good way to keep your mind off of the families leaving the lake, probably until next July. Everyone helped out, so we were back to normal house wise by 11:00.

Around 11:30, Evie and Beth made up a shopping list and took off for Wegman's for the first time since Thursday and Marisa and Tyler went to workout, leaving me home alone. I did not know what to do with myself, having been left by the gang.  So I did what I usually do on Sunday afternoons, watched football and had a lunch of two Slovenian sausages sandwiches with horseradish.  Soon tiring of football, I read, fell asleep on the couch, only to wake when the shoppers returned home with the groceries.  

Kayak Afternoon

One of our grandson Tyler's favorite Chautauqua lake meals was barbecued chicken with noodles, so Evie got busy poaching the chicken, getting it ready for barbecuing outside on the grill.  Early afternoon, all five of us went our ways.  About 3:00, however, the sun came out briefly, enough of a spur to get me to grab a paddle, boot on my boots and go for a paddle on a partially frozen lake.  I was able to find a path through the ice out and in and it another fine afternoon to be on the lake, a solitary paddler, the sun shining through the trees, warming me on the lake.  

A Partially Frozen Lake Front

Kayaking Into The Sun

When I returned, the gang wanted to go to the Reverie Creamery, an excellent cheese shop just up the hill from us.  We spent 15 minutes tasting different cheeses and came home with two the creamery makes, Luna and Tom and one other, Camamilla.  When we returned home, Tyler and I barbecued the chicken and put it in the oven to keep warm while we had our cheese and wine time.  We liked all three kinds of cheese but the award-winning Tom was our favorite.

Dinner was just what Tyler wanted, a summer barbecue, chicken and noodles, salad and broccoli.  And best of all, we have leftovers for lunch.  We were not sure what to watch, so Tyler convinced us to watch the new Spike Lee movie, Blackklansmen, a good choice.  It was loosely based on fact, set in the 1980s, where a black policeman joined the Klan in Colorado Springs, with the aid of his department.  As a film, I would give it a B, worth watching, but by the end, it ended up being a political drama, clearly a criticism of Trump and his racial animus.  The film ended with clips from the Charlottesville Klan rally and Trump's speech about the 'good guys on both sides.'  It was after 10:00 by the time it was over and we had our dessert, a triple berry pie with ice cream, so four of us went to bed, leaving Tyler up to play his games with friends.
 

Baba At Rest

Now We Are Seven, Soon To Be Five, Alas (And Another Photo Overload)

Halle And Marlena

Mary And Tyler

Sisters And Drew

Marisa

Hayden

Tyler

Well, it's 8:10 and Jill and family and two dogs have just piled into their car and headed home to Virginia.  Typically, our home is strangely quiet when the first family leaves.  And, as you notice, Evie cannot pass up posting mucho photos of her children and grandchildren.

Light Snow Morning

And later this morning, Mary and Marlena fly back to Kansas City, making us just five after three hectic but fun-filled days of twelve.

Lunch At The Ashville Country Store

Yesterday was gray and drizzly for most of the day, so we were not sure what to do if there was somewhere to go and get out of the house.  We came up with the idea to go out to lunch to one of the kids favorite summer luncheon spots, the Ashville General Country Store.

With Beth

Hayden And Marlena

Drew And Evie

Marisa And Halle

So after a light breakfast, some game time, we drove off to Ashville minus Tyler and Mary, the good guys, who were going to work out.  Fortunately, the store was practically empty at 12:30 so we were able to commandeer the large table for ten.  We made our orders, grabbed pops from the cooler and waited ten minutes or so for our lunches, a cornucopia of delights, like mushroom pizza, beef on wick, subs, chicken fingers, and stranges of all, ham and scalloped potatoes for two of our grandchildren.  They loved it.

That was it for the day for an outing, just enough to calm the grandchildren down to moderate so we could enjoy the afternoon.  Evie was busy with the girls making her famous sticky buns for dinner but they never made it because the grandkids were eating them just as they came out of the oven.

Making Sticky Buns With Marlena And Halle

Sticky Buns

Beth and I worked on taking the skin off a tenderloin and tying it up for about a half hour, getting it ready for dinner.  Around 4:30, Drew and I watched some football on TV, the girls played Telefunky with Evie for awhile and Beth and Tyler went off to the Lighthouse to pick up some peameal bacon, at Tyler's request, and a couple of six packs of microbrews.

Cocktail Hour

Around 5:30, we put together the shrimp platter, the girls peeled the potatoes for dinner and at one time all twelve of us were in the kitchen, even prepping dinner or making some kind of exotic drink with either tequila or vodka.  It was madness for ten minutes until we dispersed and played another game of Telefunky and/or Bananagrams before dinner.

Kitchen Cousins

Spud Detail

We ate around 7:30 and the tenderloin, always a worry, was cooked to perfection and none was left of the six-plus pounder.  We had a simple dinner really, meat, salad, green beans with bacon, mashed potatoes and sticky buns to sweeten the night.

Crazy Dinner Selfie

Around 8:00 the kids absconded to the TV room to finish up their series, not releasing from the TV room till 9:30 to say they were done with it. By 10:30, Evie and I were tired and went up to bed, thinking the rest of the gang would follow.  Well, Drew, Jill and Mary did but Beth stayed up with the six grandkids until 1:30, watching the crazy, insane and funny BORAT movie.  A nice way to unwind before going to bed.  All were in bed by 2:00, even Mitch who had to get up at 3:45 for a 6:30 flight to Dallas.  He's in the air as I write and will meet up with his Dad before they fly to Calgary to ski for a week.  Lucky kid.

Mitch Is Happy To Be Going  Sking

Mitchell Loves HIs Aunt Jill

Maybe A Winter Morning (Photo Overload)

Granny And Her Girls At Ryders Cup

Reiki On Call By Beth

8:09

I slept in till 6:30 and it felt fantastic when I looked at my watch and noticed the time.  I got up quickly, walked outside for the paper, saw a light salting of snow on the car's windshield and came in and turned on the coffee pot before settling down on the couch with my Mac Air.

Mary And Daisy

Mitch And Coco

Marisa

Yesterday was the first full day with a full house and I mean full house, twelve of us and two dogs.  During the summers it's easy and does not seem crowded because we are outside most of the time, swimming, boating, enjoying the yard but not this time of year, especially when we get rain and not snow.  It does not seem to matter, however, since we are together, a rarity this time of the year.  And most of the morning, it's just the five adults, sitting in the living room with our devices, while the rest sleep in.  Late morning the crew of six finally rose from their blankets, hungry and ready for the day. Fortunately, Evie had been busy, putting together a double batch of pancake batter and cooking up some bacon.  Everyone 'chowed down' on the buttermilk pancakes and bacon until there were none left, a good way to start the day.

Drew On the Porch

Yesss?

Mom, Daughter and Pups

We then had the dilemma of figuring out what to do with our day since it was gray and wet outside although quite warm, a 50º.  We decided to get out of the house, so Evie took the girls into Lakewood for hot chocolates at Ryder's Cup Coffee, a must when the girls come to the lake.  They then drove over to Bemus Point and met Drew, Beth, Jill, and Mary at Skillman's, a neat clothing store that was having a great sale.  The boys and I stayed home, happy to be in a quiet house for a bit.  The girls came home with some cool sweatshirts and zippered fleeces, so it was a fun day of shopping.

The Lake (photo by Beth)

More Lake

They were home by 2:00, ready for lunch of the leftover ham and chicken tortilla soup, a perfect lunch for the hungry crew.  We then hung out in our respective spaces, the TV room, fireplace or living room.  Around 3:00, I noticed the lake was smooth and calm, the sky starting to open up to some color, so I put on my boots, grabbed my paddle, and went kayaking for forty minutes, down to Sandy Bottom and home.  It was neat to be back out on the lake, as the reflections of the sky on the lake's surface were amazing.  In fact, Beth, our painter, was out taking photographs of the lake, thinking she would love to try painting the colors. 

Kayak Afternoon

Returning Home

We had planned earlier for anyone who was interested to drive to Jamestown and have a beer at a couple of the Microbrews.  So five of us drove first to Brazil's Micro Brew and Wine Bar. 

Brazil's In Jamestown

It was fairly busy so we could not sit at the bar but we all found beers to our taste.  The bar has a nice ambiance and Evie and I have been there many times.  We then walked around Jamestown, ending up at a just-opened beer place called The Beer Snob.  They have around 30 beers on tap but the place lacks the ambiance of our first stop.  We had a difficult time deciding on our beers, finally make a couple of good choices, some bad. 

The Beer Snob

We were home by 6:30 and while we were gone, Beth and the girls had made a pan of baklava and as we came in, the girls were pouring the sugar syrup over the finished product.  It looked amazing. 

Baklava Girls Layering the Phyllo

Dinner was practically ready so we were sitting down by 7:00, to a dinner of Slovenian sausages, from Asman's in Cleveland, of course, a brand we have been enjoying since the 1960s.  We had mac n cheese to go with it, along with roasted cauliflower, and a great salad with avocados and tomatoes. 

Slovenian Dinner In Honor Of Our First Lady (Barf)

The Slovenian sausages hit the spot and many went back for seconds.  I like mine with horseradish, the others with Stadium Mustard, also from Cleveland.  Best of all, the grandkids happily (reluctantly) did up the dishes. 

Amazing Grace

A Scary Lady

The grandchildren had been watching a series called THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE.  They were anxious to get back to it and had six more episodes to finish the series so that was the last we saw of them last night except for an occasional excursion into the kitchen to get another piece of baklava.  By the way, there's none left this morning.  The adults then sat in the living room, talking, reading. crocheting, or on our devices, listening to music until it was time to say goodnight to the kids, leave them to their TV and go up to bed.  It was a good day. 

Spring For A Day

They Are Here!

Excited Halle

Hayden, Our Soon To Be College Bound Senior

It's just before 8:00 as I start this blog and Beth and I have been up since 6:30 talking and getting that second cup of coffee.  It's an unnatural 46º outside, not exactly winter weather.  All of the Christmas Eve snow has melted, the lake's open, and the temperature will probably get into the '50s later today with lots of rain. 

8:08

Yesterday was another exciting day here at the lake as our daughter Jill and her family arrived from Virginia around noon.  And now we are twelve until Sunday, when the various family have to head home for school, work, or play. So most of the morning was the usual, coffee, breakfast, getting ready for the arrival of Jill and Drew's family.  Beth, however, made her classic chicken tortilla and vegetable soup, a must have on a dreary morning. When they pulled in and opened the car door, their two dogs, Coco and Daisy popped out and immediately ran to our house, having been here just about a month ago. The drive was easy for all but the driver, Drew, as Jill and the girls slept most of the way having left around 5:00 AM.  It's fun to see how the cousins, four girls, immediately bond as if they have never been away from each other.  They text each other occasionally but there's nothing as much fun as getting together at their grandparents home on the lake.  We love it.

A Soup Lunch For Twelve

Since they arrived at noon, everyone was hungry so the soup was ready and we got out the makings for sandwiches, various meats, cheese, tomatoes, and all the condiments but the soup was the hit, especially adding avocado to it and hot sauce to taste.  We then spent a good part of the afternoon catching up, while the grandkids talked, played on their devices, watched some TV, or played games with Granny.  

Jill And Drew, Happy To Be Back At The Big Inlet

Tyler And His Mom

Around 3:30, five of us drove off to sample the libations at the Big Inlet Brewery, twenty minutes away, a new favorite for all of us.  We were there early enough to stand at the bar and sample various brews and then get a table for five.  We left around 4:30 after a round of brews, just enough and got home in time for some appetizers and bloody marys or wine.  

Sisters

Sampling Drafts 

Evie had dinner under control, as the ham was in the oven, the potatoes au gratin were made, and Jill put together the salad. We were all hungry, finishing up the potatoes, the salad, but we still have lots of ham left for sandwiches and maybe another dinner.  

A Ham HappyFamily

We then ended up either talking in the living room or watching a scary movie with the kids until we were tired enough to go to bed, around 10:30, leaving the grandchildren downstairs to their own devices.  What happened to the good old days when the grandkids were in bed by 8:30 and we stayed up until midnight.