"With Malice Toward None; With Charity For All"

Lake Life, Late Autumn

7:02

8:24

This quotation struck me this morning as the only way forward for both Trumpers and anti-Trumper's.  If Lincoln could say this after the Civil War, we ought to be able to say and practice it after this election. I will never understand why 70 million people voted for such a childish, reckless, and despicable autocrat,  but I will try not disparage them for doing so.  We are in this democracy together and must not let our beliefs tear us apart. 

Kayak Morning

It's 8:20 and I paddled for only 35 minutes, the usual route, on a gray lake under a gray sky, flushing mostly mallards as I paddled.  It's 34º, little if any wind, and should be like this the rest of the day,

Chautauqua Creek

Creek Empties Into Lake Erie

Yesterday was a miserable day weather-wise, flurries, sleet, drizzle, all part of the day here at Chautauqua Lake.  I did get in a paddle before the sleet turned to rain.  It was great to get into a warm, cozy house and enjoy breakfast while writing the blog.  We were not sure what to do with our day but decided that since Evie was to get a blood test, we would drive to Westfield for her test, then walk somewhere.  Before going, however, we put together a soup from Lidia Bastianich, with potatoes, chard, day old bread, spinach, and sauteed garlic.  The house was filled with the smell of garlic when we left. We arrived about 10:30 in Westfield and Evie was fortunately in and out in ten minutes, and they were careful to keep people separated and avoid waiting in a line or a waiting room.  

Lake Erie

Walking A Beach Of Stones And Rocks

We then drove down and parked in the area next to Chautauqua Creek and hiked down to Lake Erie, the creek filled with deadfall as well as the trail.  Lake Erie was also a mess, no beach left, just a narrow corridor of rocks and stones, with masses of deadfall collected above the path of rocks.  I am sure last winter created much of the damage but the windstorm this past weekend brought much of the deadfall.  We were out walking for 40 minutes, returning in a drizzle.  Still, it felt good to get outside despite the weather.

Deadfall And Driftwood

We were home by 1:00 and I settled down in the TV room with a piping hot bowl of soup, happy to be home and comfortable in our warm house.  Evie had a test scheduled for 2:30 in Jamestown, so she was there and back by 3:30.  I did the usual, napped and read and waited for her to come home.

Around 4:15, we put our dinner in the oven, pork ribs and sauerkraut and at 5:00, enjoyed happy hour as the ribs and sauerkraut cooked.  Just before the ribs were done, Evie whipped up some mashed potatoes, a must for me if we are having a pork dinner.  We love this dinner and wonder why we don't make it more because it so good and easy to make.  We watched the news until 7:15 then started a new series, Season Two of The Tunnel and we discovered a new way to watch a series. Watch episode two first then realize that you had not yet watched episode one.  Then go back, watch epsiodoe one, then three and you can finally figure out what is going on.  We like the series, too.