Snow White

Snowbound Adirondacks

6:55

Dawn Ice Fishing

Sun Rising At 7:51

Had Enough

 It's just about 8:00 and I have been up an hour, watching the ice fishing crazies march out on the snow-covered lake, put up their tent or set down their bucket, drill a hole in the lake with an augur and then fish. For the first time, it really feels like winter, 16º, snow falling on and off during the day, an accumulation of probably a foot and a half over a couple of days.  The sun is a blur, a small round disk, blasting its light through the clouds and light snow. 

Snow Hills On Our Rhododendrons

Yesterday was another day for hunkering down and we did a good job of it.  Yoga was canceled so I had the entire morning to myself, no hurry to get the blog done, just enjoy sitting around doing nothing.  Well, around 10:30 I had enough sitting.  First, I helped my neighbor unfreeze her car and backed it down the snowy road for her. 

Skiing North

Then, I threw my skis and poles in the car and drove down to Mayville, to the Portage Trolley Line Nature Trail.  Evie and I have been on this trail before, in all seasons so I was familiar with it.  It's flat, tree-lined, and I knew if the snow was deep, it would be a good trail for skiing.  It was although I was blazing the trail through a good foot on virgin snow so it was quite a workout, as I raised my heart rate to close to 140, the max for a guy my age.  It was a lovely jaunt, light snow falling, as I made my way along the trail, with only one hitch, my skis occasionally froze, making sliding more difficult.  I was out for forty-five minutes, just right, having worked up quite a sweat despite the temperatures in the teens.

Cross Country Skiing Back

Lunch was another healthy goose liver sandwich, with the last of the leek/potato soup and a handful of Fritos.  Since we started The Americans series on Thursday, we watched an episode during lunch.  We were looking forward to enjoying a cocktail at dusk so it seemed like a long afternoon.  I read, napped, watched some TV, looked for things to do inside.  Evie did the same and since we were having the leftover Santa Fe chicken, there was no prepping for dinner.

6:30

A Van Gogh Like Snow Falling

Snowflakes 

We enjoyed a Manhattan or two along with another one of our favorite cheese, Castello, a combination of blue cheese and brie.  Heavenly.  We watched the sky change from white, to gray, to finally, black, as the snow fell, our spotlight catching its flakes.  Dinner was great and easy, a stew of chicken thighs, sweet potatoes, hominy, lots of garlic and chiles.  We watched an Off The Grid, then another episode of The Americans and a Colbert before going up to bed.  I have to admit we both enjoy this kind of day, snowed in, lots of falling snow, with lots of good food at our fingertips.

Maple Lit By Spotlight

It's All White

8:00

8:15

Winter arrived in full force yesterday and will continue today and tomorrow.  It's cold, 18º, and we have gotten probably a foot of snow in the past 36 hours.  This afternoon it's supposed to heat up, blizzard conditions although, at the moment, it's not snowing.  I take that back.  It has just started to snow.  Yoga is canceled, however, because of the forecast as are most of the schools around here. Because of a day off from yoga, I decided to go crazy and have pumpkin pie for breakfast instead of granola.

Yesterday morning was sketchy, as I was not sure I should venture out on the road and drive to yoga class.  After writing the blog and breakfast, it took me 15 minutes to clear the snow and ice off the car and clear our driveway of a good 8 inches of snow.  The road to Lakewood was plowed but slushy so it would have been difficult to stop quickly without sliding, thus I took my time and hoped others did as well.  About ten of the hardy made it to a good class and  I was glad I went.  I decided to stop for coffee and it was more crowded than I expected, probably because schools were closed.

The roads were much better on the way home, with a gentle snowfall.  Evie had been busy making a pumpkin pie,  the wash and kitchen but was watching the news when I returned home.  We were both excited about our throwback lunch since Evie bought some goose liver yesterday at Wegman's and I picked up Fritos at Sav A Lot.  For Evie, a goose liver sandwich, with lettuce, and pickle was her favorite lunchtime sandwich when she was growing up.  So we were excited to sit down to lunch, with our goose liver and Fritos, topped off by the sharing of a Pepsi.  We were already suffering from finishing 62 hours of Breaking Bad so the logical thing to do was watch the El Camino, a movie that was supposedly a sequel to the series, following Jessie after the death of Walter White.  We watched the first hour of the film and decided to save the last half for the evening.  It's not up to Breaking Bad standards but still worth watching if you liked the series.

The afternoon went quickly, as we hunkered down inside, watching the gentle snow, watching some TV, napping, and reading.  Around 3:30 I went outside and shoveled the parking area and walk once again, trying to keep up with the snowfall.  We were having meatloaf for dinner, so Evie had it ready to plop in the oven and I washed some red potatoes and put them in the oven to bake.  While the meatloaf and potatoes baked, we were transfixed by the snow falling on a rapidly darkening sky.  Just before the meat and potatoes were ready, Evie steamed than roasted some Brussel sprouts and made a salad so we had another throwback to childhood feast, meatloaf, potatoes, and salad, not Brussel sprouts because I hated them when I was a kid.

We finished the movie, El Camino, watched some of the latest news, always depressing, never uplifting, so we turned to another series we have loved, The Americans, and watched the first episode.  It looks like we have another series to watch again over the next couple of weeks.  It's funny how much we don't remember about The Americans, a series that we loved.  The same was true of Breaking Bad.  We knew the overall themes but forgot the details, at least many of them.

Morning Blizzard

7:18

8:49

Well, it's now 8:00 and I have been up for an hour, watching fat snowflakes fall, the winds whistle, the yard filling with snow.  I can see just about to the water's edge, the lake a vast whiteness of falling snow. We probably have six inches so far with more forecast for tomorrow.  On a positive note, Shane our plow guy has cleared the road early. Now all I have to get out there and shovel or rather push the snow around.

Yesterday was mostly listening to the weather alerts about the coming lake effect snow.  It didn't start, however, until late in the evening so the day was fine for doing things.  I went to yoga at 10:00, a good class and a fun discussion of surfing because Jen, our teacher, surfs three or four times a week on Lake Erie off of a Presque Isle break.  She's an intrepid gal to be out there in the cold.  I skipped coffee but stopped at Sav A Lot to pick up some ground chuck for a meatloaf sometime this week.  Both of us were hankering for a good meatloaf and mashed potato and gravy dinner, perfect for a snowy evening. 

Lunch was heating up when I returned home, the leftover meatballs and spaghetti from Sunday.  Evie was dressed and ready to head out to her hairdresser, for a trim and hair coloring, then a quick run through Wegman's to pick up a few staples to prepare for the blizzard.  So I was home alone for a few hours.  I watched Laker/Pelican game during lunch, then to a great nap, one of those where you wake up wondering if it's the morning or afternoon.  It was afternoon.  I then returned to my book, Richard Powers The Overstory, a different kind of fiction for him, made up of a series of short stories, all revolving around the character's relationship to trees, the diminishing natural world, and its interconnectedness.

"A tree is a passage between earth and sky."

Evie was back around 3:30 and because we were close to finishing our series, Breaking Bad, we watched an episode before adjourning to the living room for some wine.  Around 6:00, Evie got busy in the kitchen, making the rice, tossing the salad, sauteeing the garlic spinach, and roasting the salmon filet which had been in a marinade much of the afternoon.  Dinner was great, interrupted and diminished, however, by a Trump press conference.  We are drawn to it like spectators at a car wreck. After our Trump fix, we got back to Breaking Bad, finishing the series.  We had forgotten how violent the last two episodes were, what a monster Walt ends up becoming.  It made us wonder if we had wasted 62 hours (that's two days and 14 hours) of our lives, watching all five seasons of the series over the past couple of weeks, sometimes three or four hours a day. 

NORMAL PEOPLE: SALLY ROONEY

Connell and Marianne are teenagers in Ireland when we first meet them.  Connell is popular and cool, Marianne, friendless and withdrawn.  They connect, however, quietly, unbeknownst to their peers. The relationship, like this novel, is intense, as we follow them, their ups and downs through their college years where their roles are reversed.  They change, break up, get back together, never quite boyfriend and girlfriend.  Both end up depressed and isolated at times.  Both misunderstand and misinterpret each others' words, pauses, and motives. Both love yet break each other's hearts. Both change the other. It's an intense, interesting, complicated relationship, worth the effort to read. 

A Woolen Sky

8:35

Not much color out the window this morning, more like a black and white photograph except for our flag and green lawn, now bare of snow.  It's 34º and the Winter Storm Warnings are out, as it looks like we are in for a lake effect snow, perhaps up to a foot or two of snow in some areas. 

Ice Fishing In Fog

Yesterday was back to normal after Monday's road trip to Cleveland. It was nice to be back in a routine, early morning coffee, write the blog and then, in no hurry, drive to yoga class. After class,  I stopped for a coffee, talked with Dave for a while then drove to Wegman's to do our shopping for the week.  It was crowded because it was 5% Tuesday for us retirees and with the stock market dropping each day, we need to watch our pennies.  The aisles and check out lines were busy but I cooled it, convincing myself that I need not be in a hurry.  Lots of breathing. 

I was home by noon and we quickly put away the groceries.   I was hungry because I had a light breakfast of Baba toast, so Evie made me a quesadilla to go with the leek and potato soup.  Both hit the spot whatever that means and we watched an episode of Breaking Bad.  I then napped briefly and was determined to finish my book in the afternoon, Normal People.  It's an intense read and I was really into it.  It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won various other awards in England.  It's hard to describe so if interested, check out my blog where I attempt a precis. 

Around 4:00, Evie got busy in the kitchen, putting together our dinner, a favorite of my parents, called Santa Fe chicken.  It's basically chicken thighs, with hominy, sweet potatoes, green chilis, garlic,and a green chili sauce.  Once the chicken is browned, the other ingredients are added and its left to bake for an hour and a half until everything is done.  While it cooked, with enjoyed our box wine from Trader Joe's.  I am discovering that we drink more when we have a box wine.  Just push the button and we have a glass of wine. 

Dinner was great as we devoured it, along with cornbread made from a Trader Joe package.  It's quite good and was a perfect accompaniment to our stew.  We taped the debate, then watched an episode of Breaking Bad, then some of the debate until we got fed up with the fighting, then back to another episode of Breaking Bad before it was time to start my new book, Richard Powers THE OVERSTORY, the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.  The first chapter chronicles the tragic disappearance of the chestnut forests in the United States, a result of an Asian bark fungus.

Our Mighty Sugar Maple

A Poem From This Morning's The Writers Almanac:  A Portrait Of Our February Days

The New Year of the Trees by Marge Piercy It is the New Year of the Trees, but here the ground is frozen under the crust of snow. The trees snooze, their buds tight as nuts. Rhododendron leaves roll up their stiff scrolls. In the white and green north of the diaspora I am stirred by a season that will not arrive for six weeks, as wines on far continents prickle to bubbles when their native vines bloom. What blossoms here are birds jostling at feeders, pecking sunflower seeds and millet through the snow: tulip red cardinal, daffodil finch, larkspur jay, the pansybed of sparrows and juncos, all hungry. They too are planters of trees, spreading seeds of favorites along fences. On the earth closed to us all as a book in a language we cannot yet read, the seeds, the bulbs, the eggs of the fervid green year await release. Over them on February's cold table I spread a feast. Wings rustle like summer leaves.

A Veil Of Fog

8:09

It's warming up, a balmy high of 43º today, thus the fog on the lake, the absence of any ice fishermen.  We should get rain later in the day and flood warnings are out on the weather apps.

Yesterday was a different day for me because I was heading to Cleveland. to University Hospital, for a calcium scan, a ten-minute scan of the chest for heart disease.  It's free to anyone and gives the patient some idea of the risk of a CV event.  It's sponsored by the Harrington Heart Institute. Interestingly, the Harringtons were friends of ours in Hudson, and I taught their son Ron.  My appointment wasn't until 2:30 but I decided to make a shopping day of it so I left at 10:00 for my first stop at Trader Joe's on Chagrin Blvd in Cleveland.  I was surprised at how busy it was, the parking lot full, as were most of the aisles.  It's always fun to shop there, lots of things that we don't need.  I loaded up first on wine and chocolate, drawing comments from a fellow shopper suggesting I was going to have a fun afternoon.  I ended up with a few types of cheese, their Applewood bacon, box wines, and chocolate after perusing all the aisles. I then walked around the Apple store, just for fun and browsed the aisles of Northface.

Afterward, I drove to Penzey's Spices, bought some cracked pepper and Vietnamese cinnamon before stopping at my favorite deli in Cleveland, Corky and Lennys. I sat at the counter, ordered the matzo ball soup and half of a corned beef sandwich.  The soup was good, the sandwich to die for, a couple inches thick with delicious corned beef.  It put the corned beef sandwich I had at Primanti Brothers deli in Erie to shame.  While I sat at the corner, a guy walked up and thought he knew me.  This is the third time in the last couple of months that someone thought they knew me. Strange.  I have eaten at Corky And Lenny's many times, mostly when they had a deli on Cedar.  Because I had some time left until my appointment, I did a quick run-through TJ Maxx and picked up a pair of running pants which proved to be too short when I returned home.

I drove to University Hospital in Concord, arriving at 2:15, registered, and had the CT scan and was back in my car, heading to the lake in 15 minutes, easy and quick.  On my way home, I decided to stop at Ortons Vegetable stand in Northeast, hoping to get a gallon of Pot Of Gold milk.  Unfortunately, the new owners are still experimenting with the quality so I will have to wait another month.  I ended up buying a still-warm homemade cherry pie, however, Evie's favorite. 

I was home around 4:30 and was happy to be able to relax until dinner time.  Evie sauteed some mushrooms because we were having New York strip steaks for dinner.  Before grilling them, we opened one of the box wines from Trader Joes and enjoyed a glass or two as I described my day in Ohio.  By 6:30, we were hungry, the baked potatoes were ready and Evie grilled the steaks on our cast iron grill pan.  Our steaks were a bit tough but tasty, the rest of dinner fine.  We watched the news, some home improvement shows and of course, a couple more episodes of Breaking Bad.  We only have a few episodes left in the series.  Walt just shot a fleeing Mike, surprise. 

OUR SOULS AT NIGHT: KENT HARUF

Haruf is one of Evie and my favorite writers and we love his three Plainsong books.  Here, Addie Moore, a 70-year-old woman pays a visit to her long-time neighbor, Louis Waters.  Both are widowers and she has an interesting proposal.  She wonders if he might be interested in sleeping with her each night without sex.  They don't know each other well but through their nights, they get to know and like each other. They just talk in the dark and know the physical comfort of each other.  Of course, the town gossips and Louis's daughter complains but why should they care what others think.  That, however, is easy to say, hard to do.  It's a wonderful book, like his previous three novels Evie and I have loved.  It's set like all his books, in the small fictional town of Holt, Colorado. His themes, lack of decency and small-mindedness, turn up in all his books.

Winter Sunshine

6:50

7:36

8:-05

It's 7:30 and the sun is in full bloom, its rays reflecting on the lake, filling our living room. The ice is beginning to melt although a few ice fishermen are out on the lake.  And as I woke, I could hear the groans of the lake, as it begins to shift, prior to a big melt. 

Ice Fishing On A Bucket

Sunday continues the great weather we have been having if you like the sun and blue skies.  It was cold early but by the time we had finished our coffee, wrote the blog and cleaned up the kitchen, it was in the 30's and we wanted to get out and enjoy the weather.  So we drove over to the Chautauqua Institution for our walk, thinking the roads would be clear of ice. They were and we had a good walk around the empty grounds, snow in the yards, but the walks fine.  It was great to be out, breathing in the cold air, sucking in some of the sun's rays. 

We were energized by the walk and hungry for our big breakfast, so Evie got busy, fying up the bacon and eggs, toasting the sourdough bread from Wegmans.  We watched another stellar CBS Sunday morning as we ate. This show always leaves us feeling good about the world, perhaps because it avoids politics for the most part.

We then did little the rest of the afternoon.  I am thick into my book Normal People, who don't seem so normal and we treated ourselves to one more episode of Breaking Bad, something we don't usually do in the afternoon.  I also managed to get in a nap, then both of us sat in lounges in our side yard, protected from the wind, enjoying the sun. 

Blue Skies, Well-Traveled Path

Around 4:00, I had enough sitting around and went for a walk in the Woodlawn/Victoria woods, through paths of crunchy snow, some leaf-strewn as the snow had melted.  I ended up walking out on the ice, but it was not fun walking, worrying about falling so I came back into the shoreline.  If there had been some snow, I could have been out there skiing although it does not seem to bother my neighbor who was out, cross country skiing down the middle of the lake, fearlessly.

Chautauqua Lake

Earlier, we pulled Evie's homemade meatballs out of the freezer, added some tomato sauce and we had an easy spaghetti and meatball dinner, with a salad.  It had sounded good to me and it was a tasty choice.  We watched a few of the news programs either singing or bemoaning the success of Bernie in the primaries. We then watched a Colbert, an On The Grid, then finished the night with another Breaking Bad as we are on the final season where things have changed dramatically.  Gus is dead and Walt and Jessie are now cooking on their own, with Mike's help.

Family Day On The Frozen Lake

The Good Life On The Lake

7:17

7:30

It's after 8:00 and I have been up for an hour, just missing the sunrise.  At the moment, the sun is hidden behind the clouds, the sky partly cloudy, the lake mottled.  It's 28º and should warm up appreciably today, into the '40s. I had a bad night sleeping, thinking about Bernie, how his chances of beating Trump are near zero.  He's an ideologue, an independent, an outlier, out of touch with most Americans, even his party.  Next to Bernie's often radical ideas, I can see why many Americans are more comfortable with Trump. A Real Clear Politics poll shows only 15 to 18 percent of the electorate are Bernie supporters. And the Never Trumpers might also be the Never Bernies.

Bridge Over Frozen Waters

Yesterday was a perfect winter day; I cannot imagine it being nicer.  Blue skies all day, brilliant sunshine, and temperatures around 30º.  The lake was a virtual playground, filled with hundreds of fishermen, snowmobiles, families, and hikers.  It was wonderful to see and made me wonder what it would be like if this kind of day were more common, the normal.  For us, we had a long morning coffee, watching the lake fill up with ice fishermen.  We didn't get busy until 10:30 and decided that after a trip to the Transfer Station, we would go for a walk around Bemus, thinking it would be the safest place to walk, without fear of ice.  So we dropped off the trash and walked the neighborhood and lakefront before stopping at the Bemus Grocery, to pick up some hot dog buns for dinner.

The View From Bemus Point

We were home by 12:30 and Evie made me what my grandchildren called Baba toast, basically sourdough toast, with feta cheese and jam. Yum.  We watched a Breaking Bad episode, then I took a nap, read, and wished I were outside cross country skiing but the lake was too icy.  So it was a long afternoon for both of us, having gotten our walk in earlier in the day. I read and watched the weekenders having a great time on the ice.  It looked like one family actually made a camp out on the ice, with tents, a couple of snowmobiles, and kids.  They taxied back and forth between the ice fishing tents and Chestnut Hill, where they would zip up the steep hill on their snowmobile, to pick up supplies or someone else.  I am sure it would be no exaggeration to say there were hundreds if not thousands of people out on the lake enjoying the weather, the sun, and blue skies.  Only we were sitting inside, watching, like sitting in front of the boob tube.

Dusk

Around 4:00, we both worked in the kitchen, putting together leeks and potato soup to go with our hot dogs, easy dinner for a Saturday night. Around 5:30, we had cocktails and Evie made some crackers with cream cheese and red pepper jelly for an appetizer, taking us back to our first year at Reserve when the DeGrays and Armontouts introduced us to this appetizer.  The good old days.  Our hot dogs tasted great, just what we wanted, as was the potato leek soup.  We watched a Colbert, then a couple more episodes of Breaking Bad, as we are nearing the final season, alas.

A Rare Sunny, Winter Morning

9:09

The lake is a village this morning of ice fishermen, the sun's glare off the ice so bright that I have had to move two or three times in the living room to avoid it.  Such problems.  It's still cold out, 23º but the temperatures will start to rise, of course, into the high 30's today, the high 40's tomorrow. Winter comes and goes.

Yesterday was a strange day, a typical morning, a disaster of an afternoon.  I had my coffee, wrote the blog and drove to yoga by 9:00.  I stopped for coffee but there was a line so I ended up talking with Bob, the bookstore owner for 15 minutes and never did get a coffee.  I was home by noon and Evie made me a couple of chicken sandwiches, with tomatoes and mayo and I heated up a ramen soup from Trader Joe.  We watched another episode of the 4th season of Breaking Bad before I read some and took a brief nap because we were driving to Erie for Evie's doctor's appointment at 3:45.

When we arrived, we noticed the parking lot was not very full.  Evie walked up to the desk and was told her appointment had been canceled, that they had called earlier in the day to let her know.  They hadn't because there was no phone call on her phone.  And they were not very apologetic nor helpful making another appointment.  I felt like screaming at the receptionist but Evie kept me calm.  So we drove an hour for nothing but to schedule another appointment in three weeks.  We had planned on stopping in a restaurant in Northeast, PA, the Skunk and Goat but it was too early so we went to a great Wegman's, to assuage somewhat our anger.  It's a great store and we took our time but ended up with three canvas bags full of groceries.  We then took the long way to Northeast, along Rt. 20, through Erie and Wesleyville, to the restaurant.  When we walked in, we knew we would not find a spot at the bar.  Not only as it packed, but so was the restaurant at 5:30, a result of a father/daughter's dance.  So we lingered for five minutes, hoping something would open up but left, knowing it wouldn't happen.

So we decided to drive to Westfield, another half hour away, hoping to find a seat at Brazil's bar.  We were lucky, finally, as two couples slid over a couple of seats so we could sit at the bar, finally, a place to relax and enjoy.  We were not staying for dinner, so we ordered two appetizers calamari and an onion cheese flatbread, to go along with a couple of beers.  We struck up a conversation with a couple who live in Bemus Point and used to own the clothing store, Skillman And Wright.  They are the Wright's, now retired and sold their interest in the store.

A Couple Of Incorrigibles At Larry's

After our appetizers and beers, we made the mistake of stopping in at Larry's Bar, a certifiable dive around the corner from Brazils, our third bar Friday night.  We had never been there although friends have said they have the best wings around.  We decided to see what it was like, found a couple of seats at the bar and felt right at home with the locals.  We talked with a guy whose kids went to college in Ohio, at Kent State and John Carroll.  We ordered beers but neither of us could finish them as we were still full from Brazils.  It was enough of a dive for us to want to come back and we liked the bartender, the beat-up run-down ambiance, our style.  Nothing had been done to fix it up in years.

We were shocked that it was only 8:00 when we got home but then we realized we left at 2:45.  We settled down in our TV room for a couple more Breaking Bads before going up to read and sleep, the end of a discouraging day,

17º And Partly Cloudy

7:40

8:27

It's 8:00 and I have been up since 6:30, listening to MSNBC and now a Bill Simmons podcast looking back at the Oscars from the last five years, much better than the depressing world of politics. Simmons and two buddies discuss many films from the past which I have never seen.

Yesterday was cold and still icy on the roads, walks, and trails so I didn't even think about going out for a hike or walk.  My morning started with breakfast in Lakewood at Schylers because our usual spot in Bemus Point has closed for three weeks.  I was home by 9:00, in time to finish the blog, then drive off to a Yin Yoga class back in Lakewood, still surprised by how cold it was.  I skipped coffee and instead, got my car washed and dropped off a couple of returns for Amazon.

When I got home, Evie had been busy, organizing the refrigerator, getting rid of bottles of stuff that had been there for a couple of years.  For lunch, I had some leftover pizza and lentil soup and we watched, what else, Breaking Bad, Season Four, episode three.  Much of it is unremarkable, even boring before an amazingly violent sequence that wakes you up and keeps you wondering what Walt or Jessie will do next.  I then napped and finished my book, Long Bright River by Liz Moore which I ended up enjoying, a police procedural set in the Philadelphia suburb of Kensington.

Around 4:00,  I had enough sitting around so I texted my buddy Ron, to let him know I was going to shoot some hoops at Turner and he met me there, two old guys reliving their youth, except we can't jump or move much anymore.  Still, it felt good to be out on there on the court, moving and grooving at least in our heads.  A few other guys our age showed up and wondered if we were there to play but we had to say no since we are in no shape to play, a good decision although we were both tempted.

Before I left to shoot hoops, we discussed what to have for dinner.  Since I had bought another cabbage on Wednesday, Evie decided to put together a cabbage lasagna with mushrooms.  So when I returned home, the lasagna was in the oven, baking and it was time to enjoy a glass of wine and hope we liked out dinner.  Dinner was decent, not great and we still have quite a bit of the cabbage lasagna left.  Evie had also heated up some slices of chicken breast and made a salad to finish off our meal.  We watched Colbert although we are getting bored with him for some reason.  Then, we watched a Hometown and two Breaking Bads before going upstairs to read.  I started a new book NORMAL PEOPLE, by Sally Rooney, a book I started a few months ago but put aside and forgot to pick it back up.

Chilly And Partly Cloudy

9:10

It's 7:20 and I am listening to how last night's debate was basically a slugfest, candidates hitting each other but ignoring the true bad guy.  Ridiculous.  It's now 9:10 and I have just returned from breakfast, as usual, a breakfast sandwich and coffee. 

Winter Colors And Clouds

The days are beginning to get monotonous for me.  I need to gather or find some mojo to change them up.  I was up early, wrote the blog, had breakfast and went off to yoga, so nothing changed.  And of course, I stopped for a coffee, talked with Dave and went home.  That was it.  Lunch was soup and a sandwich, the leftover sub, the last of the ratatouille and an episode of Breaking Bad.  I then read, napped and then wished I could have gone outside to either hike or ski but it was so icy in both our yard and lake that I was afraid of falling. So I stayed in perhaps wisely, but around 5:00, I saw our neighbor out skiing on the lake. I should have gone out.

Late Afternoon

We were looking forward to going out to the Viking Club for dinner because we have not been there in weeks.  We crossed the bridge as the sun was setting, a splendid sunset. The Viking was not very busy so we found seats at the bar easily.  We started talking with the bartender, then John, the dock builder until our friends, Doug and Dawn, walked in.  Fortunately, there was room at the bar so we sat and talked with them until 9:00, closing up the bar.  I had the cajun spiced wings, Evie a  burger, and we both were happy, with our food, beers, and getting to talk with old friends. 

At The Viking Club With Doug And Dawn

We were home in time to watch most of the debate but I could only take it for so long, as the candidates seemed to crucify each other.  It was politics, I guess, but I did not much like it.  They ignored the issues, concentrating on personal attacks.  I find it hard to believe that the debates changed anyone's mind.  Bloomberg was the main target and he looked as if he had never been challenged before.  He was not a happy warrior up there, taking the slings and arrows, mumbling poorly thought out responses.  I was happy to get back to my book.

Let There Be Some Light

7:26

8:01

8:53

It's 7:15 and I have been up since 6:45, a few dashes of light in an otherwise gray sky.  A few intrepid ice fishermen are out once again, after yesterday's hiatus in the morning.  They were back out in the afternoon.  It's 26º as our yard, the green grass is beginning to reappear as another melt has been taking place. 

Waiting For Summer

Yesterday was another lazy day for both of us, with no walks, hikes of skiing, alas.  We both need to find our mojo.  The day started with fog, rain, an enveloping grayness that must have infected the house.  We did manage to get the blog up before I drove off to yoga.  After class, I wasn't sure if I should stop for coffee, feeling guilty because I had been there the day before but I stopped and got another free coffee as someone had paid it forward. Nice.  I then decided to drive to Brigiotti's, a local grocery, to get their great French feta cheese, some vegetables, and an Italian sub sandwich for lunch.

When I returned, we were both hungry so I heated up the lentil soup and we split the sub sandwich, as we watched, yep, another episode of Breaking Bad.  It was a bad one as Walt, obviously losing it, spent much of the episode trying to kill a fly before they continued their baking of meth.  Bizarre.

I started a new book by a writer I had never heard of but was recommended, Long Bright River, by Liz Moore.  It's another police procedural set in Philadelphia. Mickey Fitzpatrick, a female beat cop, searches for her sister, Kacey, who has been missing for months.  So far so good.

Around 4:00, instead of going for a walk or hike, we settled down in the TV room and watched another episode of Breaking Bad.  It's becoming a part of our day, a temptation we cannot ignore.
After the episode, we had our wine, commented on the fact that a few guys were back out on the ice despite the melt.

We had the leftovers from Sunday nights dinner, the lamb chops, ratatouille, salad and mashed potatoes for me. For some reason, it tasted better than it did on Sunday.  We decided to show some discipline and watched a Colbert and Maine Cabin Masters before a couple of more episodes of Breaking Bad.

A Miserable February Morning Rain

7:46

It's 8:00 and gray outside, the raindrops on the window, gutters dripping. It's warming up, unfortunately, 34º at the moment but will get up to the mid 40's late in the day.  For the first time in a couple of weeks, there are no ice fishing shacks out on the lake.

Yesterday was decent, some sun, fairly mild temperatures for February.  I wrote the blog, had breakfast and went to another good Yin Yoga class on President's Day.  We needed a few things from the store so I stopped at Walmart to pick them up, milk, a rotisserie chicken, some Bob Evans mashed potatoes, for our dinner Monday night.  I also stopped for coffee, a crowded place because of the holiday and they were giving away free coffee to the regulars. So I enjoyed a coffee, talked with Dave before heading home.  

Evie had been taking it easy, having had a bad night.  For lunch, I heated up the leftover beans and potato soup, the Slovenian sausage with sauerkraut, both still tasty.  We watched an episode of Breaking Bad, as we are heavy into Season Three, as Walt tries to put the drug cooking behind him to no avail.  

Fishing On President's Day

I was tempted to get outside, perhaps hike or ski, but I was too lazy, alas, so I stayed in, envying those who were out enjoying the afternoon, the many ice fishermen, and instead, I read and napped until it was time to start thinking about dinner.  We had a glass of wine first, waiting for the last fishing tent to close, then decided to have dinner.  

Enough

Evie cut up the chicken, fried up some zucchini, heated up the mashed potatoes and made a salad. That was dinner as we decided on a Breaking Bad marathon.  It's a sad commentary on the present when the world of druggies, narcos, and violence is preferable to listening to pundits discuss Trump, his enablers, and their fascist tendencies.  Less you think I exaggerate, see the definition of fascism below:

Fascism:

- a political philosophy, movement, or regime (such as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.

- a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.