A Spring White Morning

7:19

I slept in until 7:00 having stayed up until 11:30 watching the classic March Madness thriller, as Virginia beat Purdue in overtime.  What a thriller and neither team should have lost.  As you can see, we did get some snow overnight as the temperatures dropped from the '60s to the 20's in 12 hours.  Ah Chautauqua! The lake is a gray mass of floating ice and open water, constantly changing, with small islands of snow.

A Lake Of Floating Ice Floes

Yesterday was a carbon copy of the previous day, with both of us still suffering from colds, especially Evie who took a turn for the worst, coughing and feeling terrible although she has no temperature.  We just have to be patient and it too will pass but I don't like it.  Evie did sleep in till 8:00 but I was up to my usual, around 6:30.  The morning seemed to go on forever with nothing to do.  I finally set aside my computer and started to read some until it was time to gather the trash and drive off to the Transfer Station.  Thankfully, there was something I had to do.

Scavengers Are Back

Once that was done, Evie and I had some of her vegetable soup and I had a quesadilla with cheese, tomatoes, and avocados.  By the time we were through with lunch, I was tired of doing nothing so I read more about the narcos and fell asleep.  I did not dream of a Big Mac.  When I woke, Evie was watching an old noir, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, so I watched most of it with her.  It's so dated, so overacted, at times silly, that it was almost funny yet a classic.  The rest of the afternoon went slowly, reading, watching some TV, waiting for dinner time and the start of the basketball games.

Evie passed on dinner and, fortunately, I just had to heat up the leftover Indian chicken and rice.  We watched another Bill Maher's Real Time, some Trading Spaces before settling in to watch basketball.  We watched most of the terrific first game between Texas Tech and Gonzaga, a nail biter down to the very end.  Then I stayed up and watched the Virginia/Purdue game, as good a college game as I have ever seen.  Lots of lead changes, great plays, amazing three-point shooting, a miracle shot to send the game into overtime, then an eventual winner, Virginia.  It's the first time all season that I have watched an entire game, college or NBA.  There's nothing like the Elite Eight games as I remind Evie every year because I played in one for Ohio University in 1964, beating Kentucky, then losing to Michigan.  Sorry for the bragging.

Ohio University Bobcats Elite Eight, 1964

Still Gray, Still Wet, Still Dreary

7:37

I was up at 6:30, dreaming about a Big Mac.  Go figure!  It still surprises me how dark it is at that hour when I walk outside to get our paper, The Post Journal.  It's warm, with temperatures in low 60's later in the day but snow still predicted for Sunday morning.  The lake is still mostly frozen although there is an alley of open water along our shoreline where the ducks can float by or dive for weeds.

Life is sure boring when you are not feeling well.  Both Evie and I are suffering from colds but mine seems to be getting better, Evie's worst.  Hopefully, today we both start our climb back towards normal.  As a result, neither of us felt like doing much yesterday.  Dinner was already made, the leftover moussaka from Wednesday as was lunch, a couple of soups.  Along with soup, Evie made me an avocado sandwich, gathering enough mojo to make it.  Perhaps our biggest act of the morning was to take a shower which made both of us feel better for an hour or two.

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent on couches, usually with Evie in the TV room watching something on TV and playing Words With Friends.  I was on the living room couch, reading the third book of Don Winslow's POWER OF THE DOG trilogy, which describes in detail the consequences of the War On Drugs, begun in the 1980's, the appetite for heroin, marijuana and cocaine in the States, the violence in Mexico as the cartels battle to fulfill the American appetites.  I just finished THE POWER OF THE DOG, having read THE CARTEL earlier.  And I am now into the third volume, THE WALL.  Each novel is thick, over 600 pages.  All three remind me of the Netflix series NARCOS. They are good reads and though fiction, Winslow has done amazing research on the drug wars.

First Bufflehead

We did gather in the living room around 5:00, to have a spritzer and we were able to view our first bufflehead duck, to go along with the mallards and Canadian geese, all three on their way north.  Dinner involved heating up the moussaka in a microwave and making salad although neither of us was very hungry.  We watched an old Real Time with Bill Maher, another Home Town, before Evie went up to bed, leaving me to watch some basketball until 10:15 when I had enough and went up to bed as well.

A Dreary, Wet And Gray Morning

8:30

Not much of a morning sunrise, just a gradual slide from darkness to gray.  The rain is actually welcome in Chautauqua County because I just read in the local paper that there have been brush fires because of dry conditions and needed the fire department.  Well, we should have rain today and tomorrow and they are calling for maybe 1-3 inches of snow Saturday night and Sunday. Today's weather aptly fits our mood as we are both fighting colds.

Snoozing On Ice 

Cruising

Yesterday was a miserable day especially for me.  I spent the day coughing, blowing my nose, and taking Advil.  Evie, too, was dealing with cold symptoms so we did not do much, get much done.  I made the mistake of saying I would go to breakfast yesterday morning.  I went but should have stayed home.  The rest of the morning I sat around drinking peppermint tea, sucking on lozenges, trying to find a panacea for my cough but nothing seemed to work. 

Sea Gull Feeding On Ice

Evie made me a good lunch, soup and avocado toast since I still have an appetite.  It tasted good and for a while, I forgot about my cold.  I must sound like a baby, having a cold and complaining about it. Get over it!  I took a good, long nap and could have slept even more.  The afternoon was like the morning, drinking tea, reading some, coughing, waiting for dinner time.  Evie had put together an Indian dinner, with chicken, mushrooms and broccoli earlier in the day.  So we were able to have wine time although I had a beer which actually felt good on my throat. 

6:00 PM

Dinner tasted really good to me, chicken with a spicy sauce on rice.  I always put a dollop of yogurt on top which makes it even better.  We watched another couple of episodes of CATASTROPHE but we are quickly losing interest in the series, too much of the same and may bag it.  We then watched Colbert and some basketball, and we were able to watch Purdue's exciting victory in overtime before going up to bed. 

Red Sky In The Morning

6:47

6:53

6:54

It's a morning of a dark sky slowly turning red, as clouds roll in, bringing rain.  The lake has opened up in front of our house, a two hundred by fifty foot swimming area and the mallards have already found it, floating by, then flying off, honking as they go.  Spring is coming to the lake,

7:27

Yesterday was another sunny blue sky day, with temperatures reaching into the '50s making it difficult to stay inside even if you feel lousy because of a cold. So I didn't, ignoring the cough and runny nose.  We had our coffee as the sun rose for first time in three weeks and it did not disappoint us.  Because my new MacAir does not have the same ports as my old one, I have been having a difficult time downloading photographs from my camera to my computer.  I finally managed to do it but it was frustrating, far from easy.  There must be a better way.  Around 9:30, I went outside, grabbed a rake and filled a couple of buckets with twigs and leaves, even some deadfall that wouldn't fit in the bucket. I took two trips up the hill and had to wait for workers to move their trucks which were blocking the road.  A new roof is going on the Miller cottage as well as lots of work inside.

By 11:00,  Evie had a list of groceries on my iPhone so I drove off to do some shopping, stopping at Ryders' Cup for a coffee, saying hello to the regulars.  I then drove to Wegman's, had an easy time shopping as it was not 5% Tuesday and was in and out in 20 minutes.  I then stopped at the ATM, to replenish my cash, picked up our mail at the post office, and got my Honda Accord washed before coming home.

When I walked in, Evie has been busy, making a pot of Indian spiced sweet potato, cauliflower, and coconut milk soup.  She also put together the beginnings of a moussaka, baking the eggplant, making the tomato sauce.  For lunch, I had the soup and a toasted cheese sandwich and watched another disappointing episode of Ray Donovan.  It has lost my interest so I will have to find something else to watch during lunch.

We both were tired by the end of lunch and did little in the early afternoon.  I did get in some reading and a nap.  Around 4:00, we both worked outside for forty-five minutes, mostly raking leaves from the garden and flower beds, filling a couple more buckets to take up the hill.  Around 5:30, Evie made a bechamel sauce for the moussaka and put together the eggplant, zucchini, and tomato sauce and topped it with the bechamel.  While it baked, we enjoyed the late afternoon view of the lake with a glass of wine.  The moussaka was straight out of Greek diner, saucy and tasty, along with garlic bread and a salad.  And I was determined to find a series we both might like and I did it.  We watched the entire first season of CATASTROPHE in Amazon Prime.  Each episode is less than a half hour so it goes quickly.  It's about a couple, one Brit, one American, and their struggles with love, marriage and children.  It's quite good, at times funny, at other times sad.  We have three more seasons to go.

And, Again . . .Once More To The Lake

7:00

Sunrise From Evie's Chair

7:01

7:01

7:01

Like clockwork, I woke at 6:00, to a darkened house, as I had over an hour before the sunrise.  The lake is still frozen although not safe for fishermen.  It's a surprisingly chilly 19º but should get up into the high forties later in the day with some sun.

7:20

7:20

Unfortunately, I woke up with a head cold yesterday and it looks like I will be fighting it for a couple of days.  It's more annoying than debilitating but it's going to keep me away from yoga until next week.  Yesterday was our final leg of our 2750 mile road trip, to KC, Dallas, and home.  So we were up early in our Hampton Inn in Columbus, on the road by 7:00 and through Columbus and on our way to Cleveland by 7:30.  Traffic on #271 to Cleveland was heavy but not as bad as through Tennesee and Kentucky.  We were at Traders Joes on Chagrin Boulevard by 9:30, stocking up on more goodies for the next couple of weeks.  Our car was literally groaning with stuff as we left for the lake, stopping at the last gas station in Ohio, a Loves, filling up our car with cheap gas.  We also commented on the fact that RT 90 from Cleveland to Erie was one of the best roads because we did not have to dodge potholes, a problem for most of our trip.  

Woodlawn  Road

We were home by 2:00, welcomed by a beautiful blue sky, sunshine and a frozen lake.  It's always so scary walking in your house after a long vacation but all was fine, no water or heating problems.

A Welcoming Blue Sky And Frozen Lake

It took us quite a while to unpack but once that was done, we always feel a bit empty, not knowing what to do with ourselves for the rest of the afternoon.  I took a brief nap and read some.  By 4:00, however, despite feeling crappy because of my cold, Evie and I went out and worked in the yard, raking and picking up twigs and deadfall for forty-five minutes.  I have to admit it felt great to be outside doing something despite the 30-degree temperature.

Yard Work

I also was able to photograph a hungry hawk obviously enjoying a fish just above our lake wall.  He may be the reason we have few birds at our feeder recently.

Afternoon  Snacking

Neither of us felt like fussing with dinner, so Evie made us bacon, home fries, and eggs, which we picked up at Trader Joe's in Cleveland.  I also had a bagel and Evie a salad so we were happily ensconced in our TV room for the first time in 19 days.  It seemed like we never left.  We watched a Colbert and an old Real Time With Bill Maher before going up to bed earlier than usual.  

The Final Lap

Driving Into The Rain

It's 6:00 and I am down in the dining room of the Hampton with one other guy.  I was awake at 5:30, waiting for the magic coffee hour of 6:00.  I brought Evie two cups, then went back down to write my blog and enjoy some breakfast, orange juice.

We left Jackson, TN, by 7:15, ready to get on the road, hoping for the best.  We were worried about construction in Nashville because of all the signs but fortunately, it was beyond our turnoff north to Louisville, so we lucked out.  I can't say much about our drive, lots of traffic, much more than I expected, especially from Nashville to Louisville, then Cincinnati.  It seemed to be one truck after another, but I imagine this is normal.

The worst part was we had rain much of the afternoon and it was especially bad when we were behind a truck, spraying up water, making it even more difficult to see.  We traded off every couple of hours which makes it much easier to drive long distances.

We were not sure if we were going to make it a long drive, all the way home, close to 11 hours or just stop somewhere and leave four for five hours tomorrow,  The rain made up our minds, as by 4:00 we had enough of driving and ending up pulling into a Hampton Inn just outside of Columbus.  It felt good to get out of the car, throw our bags in the room and collapse on our beds for an hour or two before showering and getting ready to go out to eat.

Final Night On The 'Road

Fortunately, the gals at the desk recommended a restaurant less than a quarter of a mile away, The Rusty Bucket.  It reminded us of an Applebee's or TGIF but local.  We found a seat at the bar and settled in for a beer and dinner.  We did not get to meet anyone this time but the food was quite good, Evie had a great salad and I had a burger with their homemade beer cheese and onion rings.  We ended the evening at Mc Donald's, picking up a hot fudge sundae to take back to the room, Evie's idea of course.

Sunset Over Rusty Bucket's Parking Lot

Road Trip Through The Heartland

Sunrise When We Left Dallas

It's 6:15, both Evie and I are up. I went downstairs and got us coffee, the first one in line.  Breakfast is not included here at the Doubletree but I don't mind as I don't usually have it when I am at a Hampton Inn.  We are not sure what today will bring, how far we'll go, just depending on our moods and how tired we get of driving.

We were both up by 5:30 on Sunday morning, had our coffee, packed the car, hugged Beth and said goodbye just after 7:00, a good early start to our day.  It was just getting light as we drove east out of Dallas, the roads quiet for Texas.  The sky was dark and threatening off in the distance, then the sun would break through, then be hidden by the clouds again as we drove.  It's a fairly boring drive, mostly flat and through vast ranches in Texas, some fields brown, others green with grazing cattle.  I had forgotten how long it took us to get through Arkansas after Texas, to Tennesee even though we drove this road a couple of years ago.  We passed the exit for Hope, Arkansas, Clinton's hometown, then drove around a busy Little Rock, as we headed on #40 east to Memphis and Jackson, where we stayed.  The drive through Arkanasa was more interesting, as pine trees filled both sides of the road, reminding us our drives South through South Carolina.

On The Road

We stopped for breakfast and lunch, once in Texas, once in Arkansas, at Mc Donald's, our usual road trip eatery.  We arrived at our hotel, a Hilton Doubletree about 4:00, not a Hampton Inn for sure and relaxed in our room, watching basketball games thinking we would wait till 6:00 and then go out for dinner.  Well, our plans changed, as we were just too tired to get showered and gussied up to go out so I went and picked up some fast food, not quite the night out we had expected.  But we were happy, watching basketball, enjoying our food, thinking about our drive tomorrow.  I wanted to stay up and watch the Ohio State game but didn't make it because I was too tired from the drive and getting up early.

Clouds Over Tennesee Farms

Hanging Out On A Cloudy Day In Texas

What A Cutie

We both are up at 6:00, hoping to leave sometime by 7:00 as we begin our long trip home.  We will stop in the middle of Tennesee for the night, in Jackson, a small town with not much to offer other than a hotel and, we hope, a nice bar, with good food and beer on tap.  It will make our eight-hour drive much easier.

Happy Together

Yesterday was a day of relaxing for everyone after a busy week.  None of us wanted to do much, especially Beth and Marisa who had a tough week.  We decided to help Beth and get her ready for her first week of school. We moved some furniture for her, washed the sheets and changed the beds, and then we started packing, always an onerous task as we don't like taking more than we need into the hotel rooms.  Evie has it all figured out, however, so all I do is follow directions!

 By noon, Beth and Evie had made up a list of things she might need for the week and for tonight's dinner.  We drove to Central Market, our last trip there in a while and had fun people watching and shopping.  We struck up a conversation with a big guy who saw we were looking at the inch thick Berkshire pork chops Beth recommended.  He said to get them, they are amazing, the best pork chops you will ever eat.  With that recommendation, we bought four chops for thirty-two bucks.  We also stopped at Petco, my first time ever, busy with pets and their owners if on a leash.  We should have brought Cody along,

The Dude And His Daughter

We were home by 12:30 and Beth heated up the leftover chili and rice and between the two of us, we finished it up.  The rest of the afternoon I watched basketball, occasionally getting up to take Cody out for a walk and showering late afternoon, so I don't have to do it tomorrow morning.  Marisa enjoyed just hanging out with her Granny and between the two of them, they cleaned up her room and changed her sheets as well.  Granny was in her organizing mood.

Couch Time With Granny

We started wine time early, at 4:30, even though it would be a long time until dinner, around 6:30. Evie put some potatoes in the oven about 5:30, made a salad, and I grilled the pork chops around 6:30.  Everything was great, especially the pork chops, thick and juicy.  We then didn't do much, just sat in front of the TV, watched bits and pieces of basketball before going back to our old stand by, The Office,  Marisa would look up a favorite episode on her phone, then find it on Netflix for us to watch, and Beth got out the chips and dip, to satisfy our late night craving.  Because we were leaving early, we watched only a couple of episodes before going up to bed, sadly, our last night in Dallas.
 

A Good Dog

A Day At The Modern Art Museum Of Fort Worth

A Good Way To Enjoy The Day

a

At the Art Museum 

It's 8:15 and Beth and I have been up since 7:00, talking about her courses that start Monday, the beginning of a Masters Degree In Education from Southern Methodist University, just 10 minutes away.  It's exciting but also daunting for her to begin school again.

Yesterday was another busy but fun day.  Beth had her usual non-stop day, teaching her ESL class, then going to art class after lunch to finish for a make-up session.  Marisa, the poor girl, was up late, studying for two tests and turning in annotations for English.  Evie and I decided then since the house was going to be empty and I could tape all the basketball games, to drive an hour to Fort Worth, to visit the Modern Museum Of Art, highly recommended as a must see in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. 

Evie's Favorite, Winter Writing by Sylvia Plimack Mangold

Driving, at least for me, always takes some getting used to in Dallas, with its five or six lanes of traffic, always busy and amazing cloverleafs every ten to fifteen miles.  After driving in Chautauqua, this is like traveling in a new world.  The drive, however, both to Fort Worth and back was pretty easy, as we avoided rush hour although, to us, traffic always seems like a rush hour. 

Andy Warhol

We were fortunate to find a parking space in front of the museum even though entrance was free on Fridays.  The museum dates back to 1892 but its current modernist building opened in 2002 in the Cultural District.  We then spent a good hour and a half browsing, taking our time and photographing the works we really liked.  We did not recognize most of the artists with the exception of a Picasso, a Hockney, a couple of Warhols and Jackson Pollock. 

Picasso's Reclining Woman Reading

An Early David Hockney

The galleries were not crowded so we had them to ourselves most of the time.  Around 1:00, we sat down and had lunch in their lovely cafeteria overlooking a pool of water.  I ordered red chiles tacos and Evie had a chicken and coconut soup, both quite good.  Waze took us home a different way, probably because of traffic but we were home in an hour.

KAWS, Clean Slate, Bronze, 21 feet tall, 12,000 lbs.

Evie Stepping Up

s

Artsy Photo (?)

When we returned home, I was expecting a call from a Turkish journalist who wanted to interview me for an article about my experiences playing in the old arena called the Spor Sergi Saray.  So we spent the afternoon, watching basketball or the news, waiting for Marisa and Beth to get home.  I finally decided he wasn't going to call around 5:30 and took Cody for a walk.  Of course, he called then so when I got back, I messaged him and he called me at 1:00 in the morning, Turkish time. We talked about my experiences for maybe 15 minutes before he felt he had enough information and promised to send me the article, hopefully, translated.

We ordered pizza for dinner, too much of course, but the leftovers will be good for lunch.  Marisa was in a great mood, ready to be annoying now that she had a weekend ahead of her.  What a difference it makes to have some free time.  I admire her seriousness and hard work, her work ethic which will eventually pay off.  We ate pizza in front of the TV, watching a few episodes of The Office and some basketball but paying little attention to it as we mostly talked until 10:00 when we tired and went up to bed. 

Spring Has Sprung In Dallas

Cherry Blossoms And Tulips

It's just after 8:00, Marisa's in school, and Beth and Evie are both up, on their devices like me,  listening to Morning Joe.  I woke at 5:00, struggled to get back to sleep, thought I couldn't but woke up at 6:45.  When I came downstairs for coffee, Beth was already awake, the coffee was perking. 

Tee Shirt Weather In Dallas

Yesterday was a good day, busy for once for all of us.  Beth taught her ESL class in the morning, so she was gone until lunch.  And Marisa was off early, lots of tests to get ready for.  Evie and I were not sure what we wanted to do but when we realized that Friday at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth was free, we decided on visiting the Dallas Arboretum And Botanical Garden.  Before leaving, Evie made a pot of chili for dinner, then packed us a lunch, sandwiches, chips, fruit, and water and we were off by 11:00.  It's a half hour ride, through interesting neighborhoods and when we arrived, we were shocked by the seemingly full parking lot.  Luckily, we found a space close to the entrance.  We had bought our tickets and parking pass online so we entered easily. 

Crape Myrtle Alley

This is our third time to visit, the first time in Spring and it was glorious as the cherry trees were in full bloom, surrounding much of the 65 acre gardens.  It was a busy place, lots of retirees like us, families, and school kids, on field trips.  It did not, however, detract from our visit as everyone was friendly and happy to be outside, enjoy the spring weather. 

Evie Trying For The Perfect Photo

We took a circular walk, taking our time, enjoying the variety of plants, trees, bushes, and spring flowers, all named which is so helpful. 

Quinceanera Celebration

We ran into a couple of 15-year-olds in what looked like wedding dresses, celebrating their Quinceanera, a coming of age in the Hispanic community.  We also witnessed a bride, having her photos taken, as a quartet played music. 

A Profusion Of Spring Flowers

We were able to find a bench in the shade for our lunch, watching people and two artists who set up easels and painted the same scene, one realistic, the other abstract.  We left about 2:00 and wound our way home through backstreets as Waze led us on a merry ride home, avoiding the busy Mockingbird Lane.

Once we got home, I started watching various March Madness b-ball games, looking for the ones which were exciting.  It was a good way to spend the afternoon, breaking it up with walks for Cody, waiting for 5:00 when we could begin wine time.  We did not eat until 7:00 as both Beth and Marisa had lots to do and wanted to get stuff done before dinner.  The chili was great, especially with all the fixings and I had a couple of helpings.  While Marisa studied until late, with a paper due and two tests on Friday, we lounged in front of the TV with Beth, watching the usual Colbert, basketball, and the news until bedtime, around 10:30.  Marisa's light was on until late I fear.