Now There Are Eleven

Tyler Lovin Hugin

6:19

7:09

It's 6:30 and I am out on the front porch, a partly cloudy morning sky and spit of rain. It's a pleasant 67º and I am listening to a podcast, Making Sense With Sam Harris and his interview with Ricky Gervais, the British comedian.  It's 8:30 and I was tired of waiting to see if it would rain so I just went out in the lake about 7:15 and sat in the middle, watching the dark clouds loom, listening to The Eagles.  I was in no hurry to paddle anywhere so it was pleasant, floating in the middle until it finally started to rain hard enough, after a half-hour, and I headed in to shore.  Now a few are up, enjoying a bagel, peanut butter and a banana and most hope to go to the hot yoga class at The Fitness Bunker at 9:30, but not me.

Kayak Morning

Yesterday was another great day and I am running out of superlatives.  Lots of sun, fun, bean bag, rocking on the mat, food and the arrival of our grandson Tyler from Boston where he works for a chip design company.  I started the day with a good paddle down to Whitney Bay and back.  I was driving to the airport at 9:30 to pick up my grandson, Tyler, so Evie and I quickly gathered the trash, cleaned out the refrigerator, and I drove off to the Transfer Station at 9:15.  I left, then, to get Tyler, leaving the gang to enjoy their morning.  Most of the girls hung out on the porch butTom and Mary went for a run out to Long Point.

Tom And Mary At Long Point

Tyler's plane was on time, 11:20 and we were back home by 1:00. On the way home, Tyler called Evie to tell her he was starving, so she had a great lunch ready for him, his favorites, Slovenian sausages, and corn chowder.  There was even enough left for me.

Tyler And Family

After lunch, the gang went out to the dock to enjoy the afternoon and stayed out their sunning, swimming, and playing on the mat until late afternoon, with occasional trips to the house for libations, the potty, or to change into a dry bathing suit.  I, however, read and took a brief nap before joining the crowd. Fortunately, we have enough chairs if least three or four are in the water or we would have to expand the dock.

Granddaughters In Another Bikini

The Old, Old Man On The Dock

Happy Siblings

Around 3:30, Tom, Mary, Tyler, and Jill took the boat over to Bemus Point and had a few beers at the Ellicottville Brewery.  While they were gone, Evie and the girls began the process of making another of the many favorites, sticky buns.  Evie has been making them since we had grandchildren and now they are able to help her put them together.

Granny And The Girls Make Sticky Buns

Tyler's one request was to make sure Evie would make fresh sticky buns.  It's a two or three-step process because you have to let the dough rise, then the rolls, before they are baked.  And we, of course, played more bean bag or relaxed on the porch until it was time to start dinner.

A Beautiful Blue Sky With Puffy Clouds

Porching It

The group returned back from Bemus and we all began to prep dinner. Tom wanted to cook the steaks in a new way, using a reverse sear method.  He put them on the grill under indirect heat until the meat thermometer registered 90º, then seared them over the hot grill to give them sear marks and bring the temperature up to 120º which is rare.  In the kitchen, Evie had sauteed mushrooms and pulled two trays of her famous stuffed shells out of the freezer and heated them up.  And, best of all, the sticky buns had been baking so we were able to have them with and after dinner.  The steaks were great, the virtue of the method being that they were uniformly rare.  The shells were devoured as was the salad and sticky buns, so it was a successful first night dinner for Tyler

A Couple Of Groovy Chicks

Mary And Tyler

After dinner, we sat outside and played bean bag again until the kids seemed to get bored and Tyler suggested watching the new scary movie on Amazon Prime called US.  So we all adjourned to the TV room and watched the movie.  I lasted for the first half-hour before going upstairs to read and fall asleep.  Jill, too, was so into her book, ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE that she skipped the film and read. The film's ending so I heard was confusing enough that they had to go to Google to find out what the critics said.

Steak Dinner For Eleven