A Calm, Gray Morning

8:00

It's 8:30 as I start this and I have only been up since 8:00, a miracle since Evie was up before me. I woke too late to kayak if I wanted to go to yoga so I missed that on a windless lake. It's a chilly 33º and should we should get a high of 40º this afternoon, a harbinger of what's to come.

Yesterday was another open Monday for both of us, overcast and drizzling on and off during the day. It was raining hard when I got up so I skipped kayaking once again. So we had a long coffee time together until around 10:00 when I drove off to Lakewood, to Ryders Cup for a coffee with my friend, Paul. I then stopped at the bank, then drove over to the Kia dealer, and got another refresher course on all the bells and whistles in our Kia Sportage. Of course, I have forgotten half of what I learned already. I then stopped at Peterson's and picked up some veggies, a cauliflower, and Concord grapes for Evie.

Lunch was the last of the soup and hummus and veggie wrap and I watched my show. Because of the weather, we literally wasted the afternoon, with me reading or napping and Evie puttering around the house, rebounded, and watched a little TV.  No prepping dinner because we were going out. We finally made plans for our trip West to visit our kids so that took a load off my mind. 

Diane And Jack Celebrate Ava's Victory

We left the house just before 6:00 and drove to Chautauqua Lake School to watch our friends Jack and Diane's granddaughter play volleyball. She is a senior, the team leader, a spent a couple of weeks in Australia on a US volleyball team. Fortunately, they won in three close matches so it was a fun evening for all. We drove to Westfield for dinner at Colarco's Italian restaurant, about the only restaurant open around this area on a Monday night. We were one of three tables. We stayed until 8:30 and then drove home in the dark, keeping an eye out for deer. It's that time of year. We watched some TV, some football before going up to bed early, tired from a day of doing nothing. 

Colarco's Italian Restuarant, Opened In 1933

A Nasty Morning

8:51

It's drizzling again, for at least the next three or four hours, making it let's stay in the house weather. It's 43ª like yesterday. Surprisingly, we just saw a boat race by, making us wonder what he was doing out on the lake. 

Yesterday I was able to kayak in between drizzle so I was happy. Once again, it was not a day that made you want to be outside. So we stayed in and had a typical Sunday morning and afternoon. We enjoyed a leisurely coffee after my paddle and once we were finished, Evie made a pumpkin pie for later in the day. 

Since we were going out to dinner and taking a walk around Lily Dale, we passed on our usual Sunday walk around the Chautauqua Institution. I read some, then, but by 1:00, I was enjoying a menemen and toast and watching the first NFL game of the day. I soon got bored and decided to do what else, read and nap. Meanwhile, Evie was engrossed in a classic film from the 1950s, The Bad Seed.  That took up a good part of the afternoon. 

Drive To Lily Dale

By 5:30, we were both ready to go out and drove 20 miles to Lily Dale, a small hamlet considered the hub of spiritualism on the shores of Cassadaga Lake. We have been there before but not this time of the year. It was kind of spooky because of the dreary, gray sky, the often decrepit homes, and the Halloween decorations. Still, we enjoyed our walk, taking photos of some of the more interesting homes. Lily Dale was founded in 1789. The core belief of Lilly Dale is spiritualism which believes in the existence of the afterlife where the soul resides. Many visit the grounds to speak to the dead through certified mediums who live on the grounds.  

Cassadaga Lake

Homes Of Lily Dale

Lily Dale Museum

After our walk, we drove to the Whiskey Hill Saloon, famous for its Halloween decorations. We assumed it would be crowded but we easily found a seat at the bar. And we were disappointed in the decorations as it was not as crazy as usual. The bartender agreed and said because they are short of staff, they were unable to decorate as usual. Evie ordered their famous 'charred garbage wings', sticky and delicious, and I ordered a steak burrito, both recommendations of a guy who obviously knows the bar well. He has homes in the area and Florida, loves to hunt and fish and travels all over the US for his job. It was fun talking with him. We left around 8:00 and drove home in the dark on mostly deserted roads. 

Whiskey Hill Saloon

Once we returned, we quickly changed and Evie made some homemade whipped cream for our pumpkin pie and we were both happy. We watched a couple episodes of the new series on AppleTV Lessons In Chemistry, based on the best-selling novel that we both have read. Evie then went up to bed and I watched a few minutes of football before joining her.

A Dismal Sunday Morning

Kayak Morning

8:10

I woke to rain and chill as I stepped outside while my coffee was brewing. We got close to an inch of rain overnight and it's getting colder, 43º at the moment. It doesn't look like a kayak morning either, alas. Well, I was able to find a minute gap without drizzle or wind and paddled down to Sandy Bottom and back, the only guy on the lake. It was great to be out there with the Mallards.

Paddling By The Reeds

Yesterday was a long day for me with no paddling or yoga, just a trip to the Transfer Station, twice! I was up too early and because of the drizzle and rain, I stayed in, not venturing out on the lake. We had a leisurely coffee before getting busy getting some things done which have been bothering us like changing the water filter, and gathering up all the trash so I could take off to the Transfer station. Once that was done, Evie kept finding things to do while I relaxed on the couch until lunchtime when I microwaved the chicken parm and watched my show. 

Late Afternoon

It drizzled off and on during the afternoon so there was no chance of mulching the leaves despite the fact the lawn was once again covered. I have been having trouble with my back so we changed the mattress pad on the bed to see if it helped.  I then napped and read until 4:00 when I went for a walk up the hill and back, just to get some fresh air. While I was gone, Evie prepped our wok dinner, getting the veggies, chicken and spices ready for our dinner.

5:45

Woking It

We relaxed with a glass of wine and listened to NPR until 6:00 when we got busy in the kitchen. We basically worked together, adding various veggies to compliment the chicken in hot bean sauce. We served it over rice and it was the best wok dinner we have made in quite a while. We started a film on Netflix, a raunchy comedy called No Hard Feelings which we thought we would hate. We were right and after 15 minutes we switched to Real Time With Bill Maher and some HGTV shows until we went up to bed.

7:26 PM

Morning Rain

8:59

It's a wet, gray overcast morning, not exactly kayaking weather.  A few fishing boats are out on a 60º lake morning.  I have been up since 6:45, hoping the rain would stop. It's 9:15 as I finish the blog up. I was about to go kayaking when the wind picked up and it started to rain again and Evie convinced me to give it up. 

Yesterday was the last (maybe) of porch days. The day began with a long paddle, my usual route, over to Long Point, across to Sandy Bottom, and home. I was rewarded with a photo of a heron, probably the same one I spot almost every morning. He has a routine like me. It had rained some overnight so we decided not to mulch the leaves, again, until the afternoon. I had to pick up some prescriptions at Wegmans so I was off by 10:30 and didn't stop for a coffee at Ryders Cup. Wegmans was unusually empty so I was in and out quickly to my surprise. When I returned home, Evie had made a pot of soup with ramen noodles and bone broth, a new twist on her veggie soup. I had a bowl for lunch along with a great wrap of hummus, cucumbers, tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs. Yum. I watched another episode of The Wire then napped for a half hour. I then read some on the porch, wanting to be outside as much as possible after four days in a hospital room. 

I then raked some leaves from the bushes and around the dock pieces, then mulched them, fruitlessly, our front yard. After 15 minutes, I took a break and Evie took over and we shared the mulching the rest of the afternoon until the lawn was green again (but not for long). I then did some cleaning of gutters on the garage, cut down some tree branches, and took a pile up the hill to the wood pile. I finished my Walter Mosley thriller, Down The River Unto The Sea, and started Alias Emma, set in Great Britain's M16 world. 

Afternoon Fishing

An Autumn Afternoon

By 5:30, we were ready to relax on the front porch and enjoy the changing view as the sun peaked in and out on the eastern shore and the moon appeared in the eastern sky. We never get tired of our view from the porch, of Long Point which only changes with the seasons, the changing sky, and the water, often littered with waterfowl. Lots of Canadian geese are still out in large numbers in front of our house and we are fairly sure we saw a couple of loons, as they motor by, their heads in the water looking for weeds.

Good Night, Moon

We had BLTs for dinner, quick and tasty, and watched a fairly new film on Netflix called Pain Hustlers with Amy Blunt and Chris Evans. It's an old story now, about the greed and selling of pain medication without a conscience and the damage it does to patients as a result. We ended the night with Bargain Block and a few minutes of the NBA. 

Just Another Day At The Lake

Better Together

7:37

It's 6:47 and I have been up since 5:30, alas, and it's still pitch black outside and drizzling. Once it gets lighter, I hope to be out on the lake kayaking, whether it's drizzling or not. It's unseasonably warm, 59º, and may get up to 70º later in the day. Well, it's 7:00 and I finished writing the first draft of the blog but it's still dark out and drizzling so no paddling yet. Sunday the time changes so I will be out at this time. 

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

South

Same Guy, Say Tree

Male Mallard

Mallard

Yesterday was a great day and it was so good to be home doing something. I paddled for a half hour and was able to find a great blue heron hunkering down in a tree, his usual spot, and took a photo of him. After breakfast and the blog, we decided to clean our back porch and put up our winter curtain. It's something we do every fall, taking it down every spring. It seems to be a fad around here especially at the Chautauqua Institution where almost every house has a winter porch curtain, some 20 or 30 feet high. It took us about an hour to give the porch a good cleaning but only ten minutes to put up the curtain. 

Once that was done, Evie made me a cheese sandwich for lunch and I finished up the veggie soup from last week and watched The Wire. I tried to nap to no avail and spent a leisurely afternoon reading on and off. We decided the lawn needed mowing, really the leaves needed mulching, so I mulched part of the front yard for 15 minutes, and then Evie finished it up. By dinner time, it was filled with leaves once again and we will mulch it one more time today.

Happy Hour On Our Porch

Dusk

We had our happy hour out on our front porch and it was what the photographers call the Golden Hour, perfect light for photos. So we sat out for an hour, enjoying a good cheese and crackers as well as hummus and veggies and wine. The geese were swarming, the moon came out, and the sun lit up the opposing shore so were happy. 

6:42

Canadian Geese

A Bevy Of Geese

October Moon

Dinner was the leftover chicken parm and spaghetti and even better than the night before. We watched Stephen Colbert because his guests were one of our favorite groups, The Talking Heads. It was the 40th anniversary of their great concert film, Stop Making Sense. Evie and I took two vans of Reserve students to the Cedar And Lee Theater in Cleveland Heights, Ohio,  to see the film back in the 1980s. It's been remade in 4K and is showing in Imax theaters. We would love to see it once again. We ended the night watching the first half of the Bills win over Tampa Bay on Prime. 

Home Again

8:57

What a delight to wake up in my own bed, have coffee on my couch, and have a wonderful view of the sunrise and lake, something I take for granted too often. It is later than usual, 10:17 and I was able to both go to breakfast in Bemus and go for a 25-minute paddle but skipped yoga so we could get some things done around here this morning.

Kayak Morning North

Woodlawn/Victoria

Through The Reeds

My Heron

Yesterday ended up being a great day since I was able to come home from the hospital. My day began early, at 7:00, with a wake-up but no coffee or breakfast. By 8:30, I was being taken down to the first floor to be cardioverted, basically zapped to get my heart back in rhythm. This is the third time in six months that I have had this procedure so I am becoming a pro at it. Basically, they put me to sleep for five minutes, zap me, and I wake up in a sinus rhythm. I was then taken back to my room to await the next procedure, a  nuclear stress test to make sure my new medicine would be safe. It took about an hour, six or seven minutes on a treadmill to get my heart rate up to 130, then MRI of my arteries to make sure they were clear. 

When I got back to my room, Evie had arrived and I ordered lunch. By 1:30, I was told my stress test went well and I could go home. Once my discharge papers were ready, a nurse undid all the cords and ducts and I was on my way home, through the brown and gold of Interstate 86. I was a happy boy. 

Fall On # 86

Once I returned home, Evie unfortunately had to drive to Wegmans to pick up my new drugs so I tried to nap but was too happy to be home and asleep and kept going outside to feast on my new freedom after four days and enjoy the beauty of a sunny fall afternoon. I sat on the porch as well, reading, just wanting to be outdoors until Evie came home around 4:30. 

6:00

Mid Afternoon

We enjoyed our usual happy hour as the day waned and Evie had made our dinner yesterday morning, chicken parmesan and spaghetti. So along with a salad, we feasted on the chicken parm and I loved it after mostly roast beef sandwiches and fruit cups at the hospital. We watched the final episode of Beckham and the breaking news, about a shooting in Maine before going up to bed. 

Day Four

 

This Morning  View of Roofs  At 8:00

Tuesday At 6:00 PM

It's 7:45 and it's a busy place around here. So far I have had my vitals checked and an EKG and guys were ready to take me downstairs for a cardioversion but had to wait because of the taking of my EKG. They said they would be back. I am off. It's 9:25 and I just had my cardioversion and my heart rhythm is back to normal. I was asleep the entire time, maybe for five minutes. Just had the second EKG of the morning and it was normal. Yea.

Presque Isle Not Long Point( Notice Oliver Hazzard Perry Monument)

Yesterday was more of the same although I had no more tests, just the usual checking of vitals and an EKG. My day consisted of spending time on my three devices, phone, computer, and Kindle. The day is broken up with ordering meals, trying to figure out what looks good, and waiting for it. Evie came around 11:00 and didn't leave until 5:00 which was nice. I talked with my sister Ellen in the morning and my daughter Beth late afternoon which was great. 

Erie

Because I did not eat much of my breakfast, Evie smuggled me a bagel with egg and meatloaf. Yum. While she was here, we would walk the halls every half hour, breaking up the monotony. We didn't watch much TV for some reason but had it on much of the time. 

Lunch was a roast beef sandwich, with a fruit cup and baked chips. Dinner was a chicken salad sandwich with chips as well. Once Evie left, I watched more TV and read some until the NBA games went on at 7:30 and I watched them until 10:30 when I thought I was going to bed. I fell asleep but was wakened at 11:00 because they wanted me to take a shower and wash myself carefully with a special soap. Why they waited for 11:00 I am not sure. And I had to trade my sweats for a gown, getting ready I suppose for this morning's test. And that was it or Tuesday. I am hoping to go home sometime today.

One thing I will say is the nurses are great. 

Day Three

This Morning at 9:22 With Presque Isle In The Distance

Well, I was awakened by a nurse at 6:00 to take a med that I no longer take, alas. I was more or less up but tried to get back to sleep. By 7:00, I tried to order coffee but was not allowed so I ordered camomile tea with lemon instead. It looks like another beautiful day here in Erie and I look out my window across the bay to Presque Isle, with its great beaches. I like to bike its 13.5-mile bike paths which surround the peninsula.

Yesterday was a long day as expected. I found out early that I would be staying until at least Wednesday when they hope my heart is back to normal.  Evie came around 11:00 so I had someone to talk with although the nurses are in and out quite often. I think I am the healthiest-looking dude in the ward, still dressed in sweatpants and a long-sleeved tee shirt. So I am a perfect specimen for nurses to learn how to take vitals. Many nurses are in training and they have come in, often with a mentor, four or five times during the afternoon. I don't mind because it breaks the monotony of it all. 

My lunch arrived at 1:00 just as they were taking me down for another test to see if I had any blood clots in my lungs. It lasted about an hour, two parts, one where I breathed into a device for five minutes, another where they took pictures from four different angles of my lungs, twice, once with an infusion, once without. It turned out normal.

I came back, ate my lunch, and talked Evie into heading home by 3:30. I then actually napped until I was awakened for another taking of vitals. I try to walk the halls every hour or two but draw strange looks because I don't look sick, don't wear a gown, and don't look like I belong. Much of the day, I am either on my computer, phone, or Kindle or watching TV, usually ESPN.

I had dinner around 6:45, beef stroganoff over noodles, chicken noodle soup, and bread pudding for dessert. It was better than breakfast. I then spent the next three hours watching Monday Night Football until 11:00, then turned off everything and slept fitfully until being awakened as I mentioned at 6:00. 

I just talked with the cardiologist and the plan is for me to be cardioconverted tomorrow morning, take a nuclear stress test, and then if everything is back to normal, I can go home. Obviously, this blog is boring, no kayaking, no yoga, like my day but at least writing this gives me something to do each morning.