Windy, Gray, And 60º

Bald Eagle

7:37

Well, it feels good to be back routine, sitting on our couch, looking at the lake, listening to the honking of geese. We had a great weekend in Ohio, a gathering of family and friends for my sister and brother-in-law, annual clambake. As I mentioned, we have been doing this since the 1950s when my Dad would have clam bakes in our backyard. It's 9:40 as I finish the blog and we are listening as usual to Michael Smerconish on POTUS. I did get in a windy, 35-minute paddle, and took a couple of great photos of a bald eagle and heron, still hanging around the lake. 

Kayak Morning

Great Blue Heron

We woke in Ohio Sunday morning, to my sister and brother-in-law starting breakfast. What a great way to start the day! We always look forward to Rich's breakfasts when we spend the night. A couple of their sons came over and cleaned up the yard. And my sister Ellen's family from Virginia came over with her two grandchildren so it was a wild and crazy morning. We had breakfast for probably twelve, as one Grandson brought bagels from Cleveland Heights. Along with the bagels, we had pancakes, bacon, sausages, Evie's Portuguese custards, and juice, a smorgasbord of deliciousness. Around 11:00, we said goodbye to Anna, Luke, and their parents who were driving back to Alexandria, VA. 

Clam Bake Gang Listed

By 12:30, we were ready to head back to the lake, with a stop of course at Trader Joe's. We said our goodbyes and thank yous for a great weekend and arrived at a crazy Trader Joes around 1:00. I thought it would be quiet on a Sunday but no, we could hardly get through an aisle because it was so packed with shoppers. We hated it, and did not linger or browse but got our wine and goodies and got the heck of of there.

We stopped at Love's on the Ohio line because gas is 50 cents cheaper a gallon than in New York and we couldn't pass up a couple of double cheeseburgers, fries, and a coke for a late lunch. They tasted good and made the drive to the lake go quicker. 

By the time we unpacked the car and put things away, we were exhausted and we really didn't do anything this past weekend but enjoy ourselves, our family, and a clambake. So we sat around watching football, had Sloveniaa sausages for dinner, and were shocked by the Bills' loss to Baltimore. We both couldn't wait to go up to bed early, an end to a fun weekend.

My Sister Ellen's Family

 

Clambake Saturday

Lake Erie

The Bake Master, My Brother In Law, Rich

Evie And Anna

The Siblings

Evie And Niece, Julia

Linda, Rich, And Hampton

I am sitting in my sister's living room, overlooking a vast Lake Erie compared to our Chautauqua Lake.  Four of us are up, my two sisters and brother-in-law, but Evie's still sleeping. We are waiting for the Virginia family to arrive for our big breakfast, sausage, eggs, pancakes and bacon, always made by my brother-in-law, Rich, a great way to start out Sunday.

Yea

With Harrison And Julia

Loving The Treasure Box

My Sister Ellen And Grandaughter Anna

Anna, Molly, And Luke

Yesterday began with my usual paddle for 35 minutes, then breakfast and a blog. We were leaving for Ohio by 11:00, so we were busy getting the trash, and then packing for our overnight. I left for the Transfer Station just after 9:00, which was a good time because few were there that early. When I got home, Evie had showered and packed, so I showered as well and we were on our way by 11:15. It's an easy drive, just under two hours. We stopped at Azman's meat market to get Slovenian sausages. They had just come out of the smoker but we got a couple of dozen, We had a great talk with the owner, a distant relative of Evie's who remembers Evie's Dad well. It was a fun talk.

Richie And Dan Serving The Clams

Father And Son Shucking Chautauqua Corn

Tradition: Pregnant Meg Pours Beer Into The Bake

Adding The Sweet Potatoes

We arrived by 1:15 and were lucky to have some quiet time with my sisters and brother-in-law before the crowd arrived. We helped some with the set up for the bake but most was done with the help of grandchildren who live nearby. We were excited to see my sister Ellen's daughter and her family from Virginia as well as our our nieces and nephews and their kids. Family, friends, grandkids, girlfriends, and others started arriving at 4:00 when the appetizers were pulled out. The four youngest were excited when I brought in the Treasure Box and they spent a good half hour taking it apart, grabbing one toy or gift after another. Evie had a hard time limiting Luke, Anna, and Molly to two or three presents and finally gave up as they kept pulling something new out and playing with it and getting something else. Who cares, they loved it. 

The Gals And Harrison

Dinner For The Guys

Helping Mom Shuck Corn

Enjoying A Libation

Matt, Meg, And Kevin

Sally, Richie, And Girl Friend

With My Sister And Her Daughter, Julia

We sat down around 6:00, filled out plates first with chicken, corn, sweet potatoes, and a bite of crab legs, then walked outside to get a bag of clams from the pot. The clams were great, tender and tasty and we went through 55 dozen, a record. We were lucky with weather, hardly a drizzle, and after the bake, we enjoyed dessert, the Mayor's cheesecake topped with blueberries or strawberries or peanut butter brownies. Most stayed until 9:30, either going for a swim, sitting around the fire, enjoying another libation or two before slowly saying goodbye and heading home, The five us then sat in the living room, talking about what a lovely and lucky evening we had, no rain, lots of friends and grandkids. It's such fun to see how much the grandkids enjoy coming over to their grandparent's house, not just for the clambake. How lucky Linda and Rich are to have a family so close. 

Son In Laws

Brother In Laws

Pat And Grandson Harrison

Body Surfing

Dusk On The Dock

A Slash Of Morning Color

7:38

7:41

7:46

I woke to a gray sky at 7:00 but now, at 7:30, some color has appeared over the southeastern sky as the bass boats roar around Long Point, as a tournament begins. It looks like rain later in the day but I should be able to get in a paddle. It's 9:20 and I got in a forty-minute paddle, fighting the southerly wind, coasting home. 

Kayak Morning

North

Yesterday began with a 35-minute paddle and photos of two herons for the first time in a few days. I thought they may have migrated along with the ospreys. I couldn't decide whether to go to yoga or not and decided to put on my 'do something' tee shirt and go to yoga. The last two times I went to class on Fridays I was the only one but fortunately, there were three others. It was a good class, not too rigorous but lots of movement of various body parts. After class I stopped at Sav A Lot picking up a few things Evie needed.

When I returned home, Evie was busy organizing the treasure chest for our visit to Euclid for a clambake with family and friends. I read some before lunch, a bagel with cream cheese and tomato, and watched my show. Afterward, I decided to nap, of course, and told Evie I would clean up the kitchen after my nap which was filled with dirty dishes because she was busy baking a few things. I napped briefly and read my new book, "The God Of The Woods, set at a coed summer camp. I then did the dishes, started the dishwasher and decided to do something so I went outside and mowed the side yard. Typically, the electric mower which died every time I started it the last time I used it worked fine. 

By 5:30, we were both exhausted and slumped on our couches with a glass of wine. We were going to order out but decided to have our usual last-minute go to dinner, fried potatoes, eggs, and a salad. We listened to Kamala's impressive speech in Arizona as she seems more and more confident. We then watched a new film on Netflix, His Three Daughters, about three estranged daughters who gather because their father is in hospice. We both really liked it and great performances by all three women. Evie went up to bed and I watched another episode of the adaptation of Tony Hillermen's novel, Dark Winds, with Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. I remember being into the novels back in the 1980s, reading most of them, set in southwest USA.

Partly Cloudy

Heron Morning

7:49

It's  7:50 and the sun just popped up above the clouds, a welcome sight after days of gray skies. It's 59º, will get up into the 70s with little sun, mostly clouds and no rain. We did get an inch of rain Wednesesday, much needed. The lake is quite low and green from an algae bloom as I mentioned yesterday. I paddled for 35 minutes and was rewarded with photos of two different herons so they are still hanging around the lake. 

Sun's halo

Hanging In Sandy Bottom

Thursday was a busy day for Evie as she celebrated her birthday with her kindergarten class. She had goodies for the entire class and they had a grand old time, with cupcakes, and bags of goodies, the stickers and friendship bracelets, their favorite. While she was having fun, I had breakfast in Bemus with Jack, back from a trip to the Badlands and a houseboat on the lakes in Minnesota. After breakfast, I did get in a 35 minute paddle but it seems that the osprey have left, maybe even the herons because I have not seen either in the past couple of days. 

Kinney's Run

I did not feel like driving off and hiking somewhere so I walked the WoodlawVictoria woods for the first time in months. It took me a half hour, up Kinney's Run, across the creek, then through the woods and back down to Victoria. It felt good to walk it even though much of the woods were devastated by a clearcut last spring by Pine Hill, a tragedy. 

Fallen Leaves And Green Trees

Victoria

For lunch, I had the last of the broccoli soup, watched my show, and read until Evie arrived home with lots of stories about her day. It reminded me of Art Linklater's show where he talked with kindergartens. I then took a brief nap and finally finished my book, Spirit Crossing by William Kent Krueger. Evie was whooped from not sleeping well and her party so she just wanted to relax until dinner, with a glass of wine or two. Dinner was from Wegman's, cod filets on veggies, and all we needed to do was pop it in the oven for a half hour, easy. We watched the excitement of the weather people as they got to talk about the raging storm about to hit various parts of Florida and beyond. We also watched a Colbert, then 15 minutes of football before going up to bed.

Fall Dahlias

Pink

 

A Calm, Gray Lake Morning

7:44

10:27

Well, it's later than usual, 10:30 as I start this. I had breakfast at 8:00, returned home at 9:10, went for a forty-minute paddle and here I am, ready to write the blog. It was a neat morning, not a ripple on the lake, with mostly a gray sky. The only bummer is the lake's turning green from an algae bloom, the curse of many lakes.

Kayak Morning

Long Point And Looking North

Yesterday was another one of those days where I just didn't feel like doing much. Other than a paddle, I mostly hung out in the house. After breakfast and the blog, Evie drove to Jamestown for a doctor's appointment and then did some major shopping for the Treasure Chest at Dollar General and Aldi's. I got fed up sitting around the house and walked our neighborhood, talking to the guys bringing in a neighbor's dock. We will have ours out in another week or two, a sure sign that winter is coming. 

Once I settled on the couch, I heard a knock on our door and had to sign and prove my age for a couple of packages. One was amazing, a jar of Katz's Deli chicken soup from our good friends, Ron and Vicky, who live in Maine. They realized both of us had COVID-19 and sent chicken soup. We loved it. The other package was from our daughter Jill and we finally figured out why we had to prove we were 21 and sign for it. It was a box of 12 small packs of Roadie, a combination of blood orange and cardamon, along with 2mg of THC and 4mg of CBD, thus the age requirement. Our daughter Jill sent it, thinking Evie might try it instead of a glass of wine each night. Add it to sparkling water, lemon, and lime, and it's a good way to relax and calm down, after a trying day in kindergarten. 

I had the chicken soup for lunch and the last half of a chicken salad sandwich. I watched my show, Justified, then read and napped, what else do I do in the afternoon. When Evie returned, I helped her bring in all the goodies. Because she is celebrating her birthday with her kindergarten class today, she spent the next hour organizing goodies for each kid, starting with a cupcake, hat, and bracelet. They should love it.

Once that was done, we relaxed before frying up some pork chops and potatoes for dinner, along with a couple ears of sweet corn. We watched Jon Stewart, then the Indiana Fever game. Evie went up to bed at half-time, and I watched the second half, then some news before joining her.