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7:50

Sitting On A Bucket In The Bay

Both Evie and I are up and it's 8:30.  I slept in again, until 7:45 and Evie soon followed.  It's a gray day on the lake, a sad contrast to yesterday's brilliant sunshine.  The guys are back out on the lake fishing.  I counted at least eight tents and a few guys sitting on a bucket.  It's warmer than yesterday's 6º, a toasty 22º.  It's 9:20 and Evie's been waiting for the past 30 minutes for her virtual appointment with the Cleveland Clinic, a follow up on her back surgery in October.  It's much better than a drive to Cleveland in January.

Noon On The Lake

Yesterday was as nice a winter day on the lake as I can remember, at least 8 hours of sunshine, blue skies, light wind, and temperatures in the 20's.  It was a crime to stay inside.  I did, however, in the morning, drive to yoga at 9:30, then stopping for coffee at 11:00.  I talked a bit with Dave, the regular, who grew up in Lakewood and reminiscing about his youth when he drove his snowmobile into the lake, one of 3 o4 4 times he fell through the ice.  It's a miracle he's still here.  I stopped at the carwash on the way home and the guys worked for five minutes trying to get the ice off of the wheel wells, a problem with this Outback.  Finally, because the tire pressure light was on in my car, I stopped at my garage and they put air in all four of my tires.  I thought it was just the cold but I guess I was wrong; they needed more air.

Fishing Huts Off Of Long Point

When I returned home, Evie had been busy of course and I was hungry, having had only a banana for breakfast because the car was iced over and I had to spend ten minutes cleaning it off.  Evie left for the doctor's office at 12:30, to see if they can help with her annoying cough which she's had for at least ten days.  It seems like a cough is just part of every winter for both of us.  I heated up the quinoa soup and made two tuna sandwiches, with pickles and watched another episode of Friday Night Lights.  Then, because the house was so quiet, I took a nap, waking when Evie returned from the doctor's office, with steroids for her cough.  At least her lungs are clear, no fear of pneumonia.

A Groomed Trail

I then read until 3:00 when I decided I needed some exercise.  So I got ready to go cross country skiing which for some reason is always an onerous task, finding the right socks, the ski boots, spraying silicon on the skis, things like that.  I decided I would ski Webb's Trail, in Mayville, an old abandoned railroad track that's also a snowmobile trail.  It was a good choice as it had obviously been groomed by the snowmobile club and was perfect for skiing because there were no snowmobiles.  I could not understand why I was struggling on the way out until I started back and realized the trail was a slight uphill on the way out, an easy glide on the way back to my car.  I was out for about forty-five minutes and worked up a good sweat.

Sun Begins To Set On The Trail

I relaxed with a beer, Evie a glass of wine before dinner, kind of winding down from the day.  Dinner was the sausage and white bean dish that I had put together on Saturday morning.  Dishes with tomatoes in them always are better after sitting in the refrigerator for a day or two.  The stew was decent to good, perhaps too much sausage and not enough beans but filling, with a salad and rolls.  I was happy and full.  We were not sure what to watch so I suggested a film mentioned in the Golden Globes which was on Amazon Prime.  So we viewed a much-discussed film called FIRST REFORMED, about a minister struggling with his doubts.  Ethan Hawke plays him perfectly, a divorced, dying, alcoholic who tries to answer the question: 'Can God forgive us for what we have done to his world."  The theme of global warming and environmental destruction is contemporary, his struggles with doubt ancient.  I mention two words, both keys to the understanding of the film, perhaps spoilers,: levitation and kiss.  Watch it.