|
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 |
So wonderful to see you! Great blog post ☺️
ReplyDeleteTom, I knew about the clambake from Ellen so I logged on hoping to see photos. Thank you, thank you!!!! I loved seeing everyone. You all look wonderful! Planning a visit with Ellen tomorrow. I love following your Chautauqua life from time to time.
ReplyDeleteKathy Franz (Netschke)
DeleteHi Kathy, glad to hear from you and that you enjoy the blog occasionally. I know you have fond memories of Chautauqua Lake, especially Maple Springs.
Delete