Humid And Warm

10:15

I woke later than usual, at 8:30 to my surprise. The sleeping pill I took must have helped along with being awakened around 4:00 by our smoke alarms for some reason, shouting 'Fire, Fire," That was fun. It's 9:15 now and I have yet to kayak on a gray morning but I may yet. It's 10:25 as I finish this after a short 25 minute paddle, the lake too windy and choppy to be enjoyable.

Kayak Morning

North

Mostly Gray

Yesterday was a day to remember because it basically rained most of the day, clearing only in mid-afternoon. We received three inches in that time, precluding any working in the garden and a paddle in the morning. By 10:00, then, I was off to Wegmans to get a few things Evie needed for a couple of dishes she was making and then freezing for our kid's arrival on July 11th. The store was busy despite the rain and it was raining so hard when I came out, that I used one of their umbrellas sitting just outside their doors. When I got home, the kitchen was a mess and Evie had a couple of things going at once, both main courses and appetizers. I decided to help by cleaning up the dirty dishes and that took me 20 minutes. By noon, I was ready to drive to the Transfer Station to get rid of the trash. 

When I returned, Evie had heated up a couple of leftover Italian sausages so thats what I had for lunch and I watched another episode of Tennison. I couldn't wait to lie down and take a nap since I hardly got five hours of sleep Friday night. When I got up, I helped clean up the kitchen and then the two of us fell on couches, exhausted from our day. 

View Of Diane And Jack's Farm, Hawthorne Hill

At 4:00, we realized we were supposed to be at my friend Jack's Open House by 5:00, so we hurriedly showered and got dressed and made it to Jack's just after 5:00. Fortunately, the rain had stopped and the sun came out so that Jack and Diane's friends could celebrate the 50th anniversary of buying their farm in the sun. 

Long Time Friends, Diane, Tom, And Wendy

Three Graces: Jane, Evie, And Julie

We stayed for an hour, talking with the few friends that we knew before driving back to Mayville, to Linda and Ron's for dinner. We sat on their front porch, enjoying appetizers and wine, talking about the debate, the future of the Democratic Party and the possible reasons for Biden's disastrous performance. Around 7:30, Ron put steaks on the grill. He's a master at cooking them medium rare so they were just right. A salad and fried potatoes completed another great dinner. We ended the night with lemon parfaits and didn't get home until 9:45 when we collapsed in bed, exhausted from work and fun. 

Dining At Linda And Ron's Home

Rain, Rain, And More Rain

6:34

7:36

I woke up to the sound of rain for the first time in weeks.  And according to the weather apps, it may rain all day. It's a pleasant sound as I sit on my couch looking out of a window of raindrops, an empty gray lake. It's 66º and I can feel the humidity as I sit here writing the blog at 7:30. It's 8:20, Evie's awake and I won't be going kayaking and we have already gotten an inch and a half of rain. 

Thanks to our friend and handyman, yesterday was a good day because lots was accomplished. I  started the day as usual with a forty-five-minute paddle and photos of a couple of birds. Just as I paddled home, our guy arrived, ready for work. So in the next four hours, he trimmed the privets at the lake's edge, on a ladder, an area I could not get on my own. He then painted five metal chairs and a table, helped me move, clean and firm up a picnic table, and then moved to our porches, painting the railings and the columns. All this was done in four hours, and we appreciated his hard work. The fact that we would have done this ourselves ten years ago was not lost on us but we were happy to have him do it instead. 

Once he finished and left for his next job, I had lunch, a couple of chicken salad sandwiches on a bagel and watched another older series on PBS called Anikka. I think I watched a few episodes before but could think of nothing else to watch. I then read but fell asleep and took a good nap, at least an hour since I had a bad night. Around 3:00, Evie fired up the mower and mowed the lawn and I worked on our privets for a good forty-five minutes, cutting out the vines and weeds that had invaded it, filling up a garbage pail with the cutting. Both of us worked up quite a sweat and we were happy to relax in our chaise lounges for a bit after finishing. 

Before wine time, Evie did some prepping for our wok dinner and then joined me on the porch to enjoy the late afternoon, something we look forward to each afternoon Around 6:45, I fired up the wok, cooking the veggies and mushrooms first, then the chicken in hot bean sauce and garlic, adding the veggies and s sauce to finish off the dish. We served it on rice and Evie loved it, either because it was tasty or I did the cooking. We then watched the pundits discuss whether Biden should step down or not (he won't, alas). His hubris, (overseeing self-pride) won't let him, the flaw of all tragic heroes that leads to their fall. Then, we started another film we thought we might like but bagged it after half an hour. We are sure hard to please, not. We finished the night with Jeopardy and My Lottery Dream Home. 

Partly Cloudy And Cool

 

6:39

8:28

It's 7:15 and I have been up since 6:30, to a 555º morning. The lake is quiet, not a fishing boat in sight, no motors, just a few birds. It should be a fine day, high around 78º and no rain. It's 8:30 and I was out for forty minutes, as the wind picked up and shot a hawk and heron before returning home.

Kayak Morning

Hawk

Heron's Balancing Act

Thursday was a busy day despite not having yoga. I had breakfast at 8:00 in Bemus and the cafe is getting busy unlike the days of winter. I came home by 9:15 and it was windy, the lake choppy. We both then did some work outside. I began sanding and wire-brushing three, old metal chairs we picked up somewhere because we are going to paint them. The rust came off fairly easily with a wire brush and then sandpaper. I also wrote a couple of letters that needed to be done so that takes a couple of things off my mind. Who writes letters anymore when you have email or messages. 

Lunch was a couple of hot dogs, compliments of Evie, with Stadium Mustard, compliments of Barb and Jim's visit to Cleveland. I then read, and finally finished my book which became ridiculous but I stuck with it for some reason. After my nap, I drove to Walmart to pick up a few grocery items and Rust Oleum but Walmart only had it in spray cans. So I had to drive to Home Depot to pick up a quart for the metal chairs. When I got home, I gave the metal chairs another sanding and washed them so they were ready to paint today. By 4:00, we were relaxing in our side yard in our chaise lounges, alternating between being too hot when the sun was out, and too cool when it hid behind the clouds. 

Dinner was rotisserie chicken, the leftover broccoli and cheese sauce, on baked potatoes and a salad. We anxiously awaited the debate and watched an episode of Presumed Innocent on AppleTV+ and some of the lead-up to the debate on various channels. As for the debate, Biden was painful to watch, the whole hour and a half depressing, the good man looking old and often mumbling, the con man telling lies. It was hard to watch and I wonder if Biden will stick with his decision to run again. I hope not because last night was a disaster for him and the Democratic party. 

What A Day

Yesterday's two inches of rain cooled it off here, so it's a chilly 60º morning with a brisk northerly wind and a choppy lake. I was up at 6:30 and was off to breakfast in Bemus at 7:50. It's now 9:20 and we are listening to Michael Smerconish set up the possibilities of tonight's debate and it's too choppy to go kayaking. 

Thursday was an interesting day, especially the afternoon. The morning was our usual although we did not get much done, either inside or outside because we were driving to Euclid at 1:00, to see my sister with a stop at Trader Joe's. So I got in a good paddle, with a couple of great shots of osprey and a heron. The rest of the morning we did little things, like the laundry for Evie and leveling the privets for me. I had the leftover cheesy broccoli and baked potatoes for lunch, showered, and briefly napped.

6:45

7:24

We left at 1:00, stopping at Trader Joe's first and the trip started fine. Just as we were getting to Erie, it started to drizzle and by the time we passed,  it poured, then became torrential and lasted for the next forty-five minutes until we got to Painesville, Ohio. We kept our emergency lights on the entire time and twice, the road slowed down to one lane. We could barely see the trucks in front of us and often were going 35 to 40 mph in a 70-mile zone as trucks roared by in the passing lane. It was the worst driving experience I can remember and I even thought about turning around and driving home. It let up, however, as we neared Painesville and just drizzled so we continued on to Trader Joe, on Chagrin Blvd. It was raining as we parked so we ran in and shopped in a very crowded store. Obviously, it's a favorite store for lots of Ohioans. I bought three cases of two buck chuck, now a little less than six bucks a bottle and Evie added a cart full of goodies.

We left in a light rain and couldn't get our fix of Slovenian sausages because Azman's on 200th Street was closed on Wednesday for some reason. It was great to see my sister Linda and her husband Rich since we had not seen them since December when they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. We caught up on all their kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids, except they have two! We love their house, with its view of Lake Erie and we sat around enjoying a glass of wine until Rich went outside to finish barbecuing ribs. 

A View Of Lake Erie

I joined him, holding the umbrella as it was still drizzling. Their eldest son, Richie, joined us for dinner and it was good to see him. His youngest son just graduated from Dayton and his oldest is back from a couple of years piloting yachts in Florida. Dinner was great, the ribs tender and juicy, along with potatoes and coleslaw. Dessert was strawberry shortcake, a perfect end to our dinner.

By 7:30 I was starting to get tired so we bid them adieu and thanked them for the great dinner. We drove back to the lake, wondering if we would hit rain again. Fortunately, we didn't but thunderstorms hit the Chautauqua area a few hours before us because the roads were wet and our rain gauge showed two inches. It turned out to be both a frightening day and a good one. We were exhausted when we got home, unloaded the car and both of us went to bed. 

Overcast And Humid

A Fierce Looking Osprey

6:31

It's 7:30 and I have been up for an hour and it's close in here, no breeze to speak of, and humid. Rain is forecast for midafternoon and the temperatures should get up to 80º. I just looked up to see a great blue heron fly by, like a miniature 747. It's 9:11 and I paddled for forty-five minutes and took a couple of great photos of ospreys and a heron. 

Kayak Morning

North

Osprey

Great Blue Heron

Yesterday was a bit of a respite from the heat, at least it felt that way until mid-afternoon when the sun came out and I could feel its heat. I started the day with a long paddle, over to Warner Bay and back. I skipped yoga again and felt relief. I did not have to hurry, nor have to leave the house. Evie did have plans, however, to clean the front porch. I wanted to get started, so around 9:45, I started taking the chairs and tables off the porch and set up the hose for the electric pressure washer and Evie's become a fan. Once the porch was cleared and vacuumed, Evie washed the porch down, and then I did all the furniture and tables in the yard. Pressure washing the porch does not take long and it makes a difference. Once that was done, we let everything dry until early afternoon. After the porch, Evie worked some in her garden and I used the hedge clippers along the privets and red twig and both needed a shearing.  Around 11:00, I drove into Lakewood to Sherwin Williams with a ten-year-old can of paint to see if it was still usable. The clerk put it in the machine, shook it up for five minutes, and viola, I did not have to buy a new gallon of paint for our porch. I then stopped for the first time at a rib place, across from the plaza, and brought home a couple of ribs for dinner, then stopped at Sav A Lot to pick up a few goodies, like chips and dip.

It felt good to relax after a busy morning with a couple of cheese sandwiches, thanks to Evie. I started a series called Clipped, about the Los Angeles Clippers, especially its racist owner, Donald Sterling. It's not very good but I will stick with it for a while. The afternoon went quickly, napping and reading, then helping Evie put the porch back together. Before the happy hour, Evie put together a sauce for baked ziti and our dinner, cheesy broccoli over baked potatoes and ribs. 

Late Afternoon Sky

It turned out to be another fine night for a libation, chips and dip and once again, we thought about how fortunate we are to have this home. Who would have thought it 59 years ago when we got married. Dinner was ribs and cheesy broccoli over baked potatoes, a perfect combination and we watched our usual shows, Jeopardy, Colbert, and the news before bed. It was a productive day. 

One Fine Morning

6:58

9:25

It's 57º, a bit of a chill in the living room and overcast outside and hardly any wind. It may get up to 80º later in the day but this week should be nothing like last week's heat. In other words, we can enjoy working outside. It's 9:30 and I paddled for an hour. We live on the west side of the lake and I paddled over to Warner Bay on the eastside and was surprised by a new house going up in place of a modest ranch that used to be there. It must be nice to be able to afford to buy a house, tear it down and build something new. No interesting birds this morning, just lots of turkey vultures, on the Bathhouse beach, in the trees, and soaring above as I kayaked. 

New House

Kayak Morning

Yesterday was a busy day for both of us, especially outside for Evie. For me, I got in a brief paddle because of the heavy winds and waves. I then took my time with breakfast and the blog because I do not have yoga on Mondays. By 10:00, however, my bike was strapped to the car and I drove to a street, just south of the Chautauqua Institution. I then rode my bike to the CI gate, got a library pass for the morning and rode my bike to the Amphitheater, parked it and walked around to the garden just outside the fence, found a seat on a bench, and was ready to hear the first speaker of the year, Jon Meacham, biographer of George Bush, the 41st.  He spoke for an hour, mostly about presidents, past and present, their abilities, character, and lives and he never mentioned Trump. Still, in his discussion of what makes a great President, it was clear he sees Trump lacking in all the four qualities necessary for greatness: curiosity, candor or straight talk, empathy, and humility. He also suggested that we get a president that mirrors its voters which ought to scare all Trumpers. Do you embrace his character, ethics, and ego? I hope not.  Would you want your daughter to marry someone like Trump! Never. The venue was packed, over 5,000 people I would guess and they loved him. He answered questions for about 15 minutes, then would sign books later in the day. I rode my bike back to the car and drove home, happy with my morning. 

Enjoying The Lecture

Amphitheater

Meanwhile, Evie had been working in her garden and as I drove up she was starting to mow the lawn. She suggested I heat up a chicken pot pie for lunch so I was happy, finishing up my Shaq documentary. I then read some and tried to nap but was too hyped up from the lecture. Around 3:00, Evie started on mowing the lawn for the second time, so I felt guilty sitting inside doing nothing and went out and week-wacked around the bushes and flower beds, then weeded around our two trees, the red maple and tulip tree, and finished up by cleaning out the garage and putting a few things up in the attic to tidy up the garage. Once Evie was done with the lawn, we both watered the garden, filling up the watering cans with water from the lake. 

We were enjoying wine on our front porch by 5:30 and occasionally changed the hose as we watered a few brown spots in our front yard. Our grandson Nick Face Timed us and had his month-old son Rhys on his lap so we got to ooh and ahh and he got to see his great grandparents for the first time on Facetime and even seemed to smile at us. He is a cutie and Nick loves being a father, like his Dad, Tom. What a treat. 

Great Grandson, Rhys

We could not have planned dinner better because Evie was exhausted from mowing and gardening. We had shaved roast beef sandwiches from Wegmans and a salad, tasty and just enough. We watched the last three episodes of Seaside Hotel and loved all 10 seasons. I highly recommend it. Give it a chance and it will grow on you as you begin to enjoy the eccentricities of each of the characters over the 10 seasons. We went to bed happy, with our day, our dinner, and our PBS series. 

Relief

6:52

8:49

A Heron In The Morning

How amazing to wake up to a windy but sunny 57º morning! The flag is blowing, the lake is choppy and I am sitting comfortably in my living room, no heat, no humidity, no, fan, a good morning. It's 8:58 and I paddled for only 18 minutes because of the wind and waves, making it difficult to paddle home. I am glad I paddled south a short distance so I could make it home easily into the northern wind and chop. 

Kayak Morning

Into The Waves

Sunday seemed to be day of waiting, waiting to go out to dinner. It was another hot one, with intermittent showers and sun. I got in a forty-minute paddle, shot a photo of an osprey so I was happy. After I returned, I had a relaxing breakfast and wrote the blog because neither of us was in a hurry. Looking back at our morning and afternoon, I can't remember much, probably because neither of us did much other than sit around, read or watch TV until 11:00, when our neighbor's grandchildren, Arlo and Louie, texted to see if they could come over and play with Evie and the fun began. I, of course, retreated to the bedroom, to relax and read while the boys raced upstairs to get toys from the attic, to Evie's delight I might add. They love coming over, going through the treasure chest, pulling games from the bookshelves,  and jumping on the rebounder in our bedroom, even jumping from the rebounder to our bed. Just a couple of energetic boys. 

Da Boys

They left, reluctantly, around 1:00, just in time for Evie to make me her special scrambled eggs and toast for lunch. I enjoyed my lunch, watched some TV, then read and napped, waiting for the Caitlin Clark game to go on at 4:00. First, I showered and got gussied up, then watched the first half and third quarter before driving to pick up Linda and Ron. We were going to the Bark Grill in Westfield, braved a three-minute downpour before arriving at the restaurant. It was not busy so we easily found a table. It's one of the few restaurants open on Sundays and is a real family-run restaurant, as the family and their kids and grandkids were all sitting at a table, enjoying the afternoon. We had calamari as an appetizer and I had fried walleye and Evie a chicken dish and both were good. The gals shared a bottle of wine, the guys a couple of beers and it was a fun evening, as we celebrated Linda's birthday a week late. We were home by 8:15, in time to watch an episode of Seaside Hotel before bed. 

Dining Out

Overcast, Warm, And Showers

Evie's Garden

7:00

9:10

It's later than usual as I start this, 9:15, and I was out paddling for just a half hour and spotted an osprey. We expect most of the late morning and afternoon to rain, which we hope will cool off. 

Kayak Morning

Osprey

Yesterday was another hot, miserable day so we did not get anything done outside, nor much inside. And fortunately, we were having appetizers and drinks at our neighbors so Evie did not have to worry about dinner. So after my kayaking for forty-five minutes, we finished the blog and then our plumber arrived to get a few things done. He put in a new galvanized pipe from our boiler to the roof. Then, he hung a fan in our TV room and went upstairs and put another outlet in the bathroom for Evie. He said he would be back to clean the dryer vent on Monday or Tuesday.  Well, around 1:00, we got a call saying a job fell through and he wondered if he could return and finish the job. So at 1:30, he was in our crawl space to clean the dryer vent which traveled from one side of our house to another. What a guy. While he was doing most of his work in the morning, I drove to the Transfer Station and dropped off the trash before a quick trip to a very busy Wegman's and Evans Wines. When I got home, I made a couple of cheese sandwiches with Evie's help and watched my show. And that was it for me and Evie for the rest of the afternoon. It was too hot and humid to go anywhere or do anything so we hung out with a fan or air conditioner on, trying to keep cool.

By 5:00, had both showed and walked over to our neighbors, Jim and Barb's house and sat out on their front porch, enjoying heavy appetizers, and strawberry margaritas, perfect for a warm afternoon. We sat around feasting and enjoying our drinks until almost 8:00 and it was a lovely way to spend the later afternoon, early evening, and they are great hosts. We were home by 8:00 and watched another episode of Seaside Hotel and some news before going up to bed early. It ended up being a good day despite the heat.

A Happy Grandpa And Content Grandson

And The Heat Continues

6:03

8:20

It's warm already this morning, at least for me. It's hazy and the sun is up and the lake is busy as the bass boats woke me at 6:30, racing out of the marina. 

Kayak Morning

A Great Blue Heron

Still Hanging Out

Practicing Yoga

Yesterday was not much different from the previous four or five days, ungodly warm for much of the day, so warm we felt like doing nothing. Early, I did get in a forty-five minute paddle, before it got too warm. After breakfast, I was going to go for a bike ride but hung out here in our living room, with the fan on, reading instead. It was just too hot. Finally, I decided to get something done so I spent a half hour gathering the dead privet branches that I cut yesterday and left on the lawn and carted them up the hill, working up quite a sweat. I decided then to check on my boat, make sure the battery was charged, and go for a swim. Well, the boat started and I let it idle for ten minutes but the lake was awful, filled with seeds/algae so that I did not go for a swim. Because of the weeds and seeds, the lake has become a hassle. I hope its a result of this heat wave and it will get better once it ends. 

Amish Families Love To Fish

Lunch was a delight, tuna melt with tomato and cheese, and the Shaq documentary. I am finally into my book, Under Pressure by Robert Pobi. I read the first in the series a couple of years ago and liked it enough to try this. The afternoon went slowly, mostly because of the unrelenting heat. So we spent most of the afternoon inside, fan on, napping or reading. Unfortunately, Evie decided to start mowing the yard and after 15 minutes, she came in with the shakes and had to sit down before she recovered.  And that was it at an attempt to do something outside. And just now, Evie mentioned there was no way she would finish cutting the lawn today, a smart gal. 

Nice, Icy Manhattans, Tumblers Compliments Of College B-ball Buddy, Paul

We both showered to cool off around 5:00 and it was cool enough to sit out on the front porch again with a libation and Boursin cheese and crackers for at least an hour. And because of the heat, we had an easy dinner, Slovenian sausages and beans. We watched another episode of Seaside Hotel and some Colbert and Jeopardy before bed.