More Shotgun Blasts, Less Ducks

Dining Out With Ken And Marjorie

7:19

It's 8;00 and I was awakened just after 7;00 by the first blast of a duck hunter.  And as I have been sitting here, blasts come off and on from both the north and south, followed by dogs barking.  It's 42º with a partly clouded sky, hints of pink, mostly gray.  I was able to get in an hour of kayaking, over to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom and home, paddling by two duck blinds, both blending into the woods.  I assume that because of them, I saw little waterfowl.

Kayak Morning

Duck Blind At Long Point State Park

Saturday was a day to get things done for me,  No kayaking because of the fog, no yoga on Saturday so we enjoyed a relaxing morning until 10:00 when it was time to gather the trash and drive to the Transfer  Station so crowded I had to wait in line.  When I returned home, I started getting serious about getting ready for winter, cleaning out my garage first, then putting away some of the dock furniture, the yard stuff, getting the poles out for when the guys bring in our dock, probably this Wednesday.  I was busy until 12:30 and unfortunately, pulled my iliopsoas muscle starting the lawnmower to mulch some of the leaves.  I have done it before usually when shoveling snow and the only cure is to rest it.  I might be able to go to yoga but I am not sure.

Lunch at 1:00 was leftovers and more of Evie's vegetable soup and I continue to be glued to the series Line Of Duty, which always seems to have a surprise in each episode, keeping me guessing. I then read, watched some football, took a nap and by 3:00, we were ready to head back to Lakewood to look at carpets and furniture.  Home Depot may have the best deal on carpets, with free installation so we have a guy scheduled to come by and measure our home on Wednesday.  We then went back to Lakewood Furniture to talk with John since we have chosen a fabric.  Unfortunately, the fabric is the most expensive in the store and the couch we wanted is too high.  So we looked for alternatives, found a couch that might work.  John worked up a rough cost and I thought the numbers were for both a couch and loveseat.  I was wrong!  So we either bite the bullet, break the bank, or keep looking.  When furniture shopping, nothing is easy, always complicated, and eventually more costly than you expected.  So why didn't I expect it?

Western Sky At 6:24

We were going out to dinner with Margorie and Ken.  Unfortunately, they are closing up their cottage Sunday and won't be back until next spring.  We drove to Westfield, to a new spot called Grace and Abe's, a microbrew with a pizza oven.  It was a good choice.  We decided to sit downstairs where they have a bar and ordered the 89, one of their microbrews which we all enjoyed.  We had spent grain pub sticks with sea salt with an ale and four-cheese sauce for an appetizer and it was quite tasty.  For dinner, both couples split a salad and pizza, and both were excellent.  We left talking with the pizza maker, as he fed pizzas into the oven on a wooden paddle.  We will be back.

Masters At Grace And Abe's Pizza Oven

We were home in time to watch Real Time with Bill Maher, always fun and he ended the show with an offer for Trump.  He will give Trump a million-dollar check if he resigns.  He's encouraging others to do the same.