One Fine Morning

6:15

6:15

8:31

For some reason, I am fat and happy this morning, a nice sunrise, a cool 59º, and a placid, almost empty lake.  I got in a good hour on the lake, spotted a couple of lanky herons, and the best part, it's now 8:50 and Evie's still sleeping after a busy couple of days.

Kayak Morning

Long Point Fishing Dock

Among The Reeds

I missed kayaking yesterday because of the heavy fog, but I had breakfast at the Bemus Point Inn with a couple of friends so that was a plus.  And after breakfast and the blog, I went to another crowded yoga class.  And, again, it was fun to see some of the regulars from past years return after a long Covid hiatus for some.  Afterward, I did a quick run-through of Wegman's looking for a couple of things for our dinner Thursday night with new friends but to no avail.  I did pick up corn from a stand that I think has the best corn around, just off of Hunt Road on Holly Lane.  I picked up a dozen and had an ear for lunch along with leftover mushroom man pizza from the Ashville Country store.  When I got home, Evie had just finished cutting the lawn and our yard and her garden both look amazing after all the rain.

Since we were having company, we were busy as always, with both of us cleaning, Evie mostly prepping our dinner.  I cleaned both porches, read, and napped and Evie made baklava, tomato sauce, and Turkish koftes for grilling.  No matter who we have for dinner or how many, cleaning and prepping for dinner seems to take up a good part of the day.  It also forces us to have a clean and neat house, a good thing I guess.  We did get to relax some mid-afternoon before showering and getting ready.

Jackie's Painting Of Purple Martin Fledglings

Jackie and Rick arrived at 6:00 and this was the first time for our meeting other than communicating on the blog or texting.  We first were aware of them when Jackie dropped off an amazing painting on our porch of our purple martins in December 2020.  We were not sure who dropped it off but finally found out it was Jackie, a regular viewer of our blog.  We got in touch with them before Covid but had not had a chance for them to come over until last night.  They both grew up in the area, either around the lake or in Fredonia, where Rick's father was the basketball, soccer coach, and AD at Fredonia State College in the 1960s.  They lived in Painted Post, NY near Corning, NY, until recently when they sold their house and moved to a house on the lake near Celeron.  So they will be almost our neighbors.  

Jackie And Rick

Evie asked if they had any food requests and they mentioned that after reading the blog, they would love to try Turkish food, so we had lentil soup for an appetizer on the porch along with gin and tonics.  I grilled the koftes around 7:30 and Evie put together Iskender kebabs, with pita bread, topped with spicy koftes, tomato sauce, and a dollop of yogurt.  They brought a couple of bottles of Cabernet from Finger Lakes vineyards and they were superb.  Both have traveled extensively in both Europe and the Far East so it was fun learning about their lives.   They left about 9:30, with a box of baklava to go and we vowed to get together again soon.  It was a fun night.  After they left, we put everything in the dishwasher, turned it on, and relaxed with some TV before bed.