Another Thaw, Getting Ugly

7:33

As the lake and yard thaw, winter's worst begins. It's 36º, reaching a high of 48º later in the day, as the glory of snowfall melts. I may even be able to kayak tomorrow if the temperatures remain in the 40s. 

Sea Gulls On Ice

Yesterday was another football Sunday, as we watched the Browns lose to the Chiefs and the Bills defeat the Lions in an offensive slugfest. The day, began as usual, with our routine of coffee, blog, and breakfast and listening to the news. By 10:30, I was fed up with sitting around, and put on my shoes with crampons, and drove to the Chautauqua Institution for a walk. Most of the roads were snow-covered and beginning to melt so it was safe walking. I walked up and down a couple of streets, the porches of most houses covered with canvas, and was out for an hour, two and a half miles. When I returned home, I felt righteous since I hadn't walked in over a month. 

Thunder Bridge

Tiny Church

Bestor Plaza

Brick Walk

When I returned, I relaxed until 1;00 when we had breakfast, sausages, eggs, and an English muffin. We then watched the Brown's first quarter, a boring game, so I decided to read some and nap. After my nap, we watched the last quarter of the Browns, looking forward to the Bills game. We had the game saved so we could pause it to get some wine, or later, to make our dinner, pork chops, homemade applesauce and baked potatoes. By 7:30, the game was over, all was well in Western New York because the Bills had won. We then watched two more episodes of Season Six of House of Cards. Francis is dead and Claire is now President and it's boring without Kevin Spacey. We will stick with it to the end. 

Windy And Gray Skies

8:35

It's after 9:10, and we slept in until 8:15. The flag is flying high on a 29º morning, warm compared to yesterday's 6º. So far, no ice fishermen have ventured out, probably because of the warning from the Bemus Point fire department that the ice was not safe. 

Saturday was cold and windy, so going outside was unpleasant unless necessary. We spent the morning sitting around, making a shopping list because we were going to a party Saturday night and wanted to take a couple of appetizers and Monday we are having friends over for dinner. By 11:00, we had the trash gathered and I had a shopping list on my iPhone, ready to head off to Wegmans. It was not as crowded as I thought so I made good time although looking for items like tapioca flour was a pain. Thank god for Wegman's apps which tell the aisle of an item and where in that item it's found. I know Evie helps people when she shops, using the app. I breezed through check out and was home by 12:15, ready to kick back the rest of the afternoon. Lunch was a favorite, chicken salad sandwiches on brioche buns and veggie soup. I watched my show but am getting bored with it, tired of the prosecutor and Lincoln lawyer arguing their case, episode after episode.

A Solitary Seagull On Thin Ice

I was happy to get back to my book, Conclave, with its struggle for power, hypocrisy,  and malice. I napped of course, then helped Evie clean up the kitchen after making a couple of appetizers. We both relaxed until 5:00, when we showered and were ready to leave by 6:00 but our daughter Jill called so we left just after 6:00. We drove the 100 yards because of the ice and appetizers, wine, and slippers! We were greeted by Barb and Jim, our hosts, and two other couples who spend much of their winters here at the lake but are not permanent residents. We had a panoply of appetizers and lots of wine or beer and Jim made cranberry gin and tonics for anyone who wanted one. We are lucky to have such good neighbors, and fun to be with. We stayed until 9:15 and were the first to leave but both of us were tired, ready for bed like a couple of octogenarians, alas.

Moon Rising At Dusk

Sunny, Blue Skies, And 11º

8:18

8:19

Long Point

It's a beautiful morning, with lots of sun, a mostly frozen lake, and Arctic temperatures, 6º early morning. Neither of us is in a hurry to start our day so we are just sitting here, on our devices, enjoying our coffee, the silence, the sun, and the sky. 

Friday was a day of rest. We did not do much except hang out most of the day. I skipped yoga because I had no mojo and Evie had no school. We had a long coffee, listening to Michael Smerconish but by 10:45, I gathered up my mojo and went out and cleared the drive of four or five inches of glorious light snow, the kind that falls when it's frigid out. It took me only ten minutes before I was back in the house getting warm. 

I knew the mashed potatoes from a couple of nights ago were still in the refrigerator, so at my suggestion, Evie made potato pancakes and eggs for lunch. Yum. I still have an episode or two to go with The Lincoln Lawyer before I can start on the next season. I am into my book, Conclave, so I spent most of the afternoon on the couch reading it, occasionally falling asleep. Evie spent much of the afternoon looking at photos to make a photo book for our great-grandson, something she had done when our grandchildren were infants. 

Yesterday at Dusk

We both were looking forward to happy hour but before it, I volunteered to drive to Tops in Mayville to pick up some goodies for happy hour and our party tonight at a neighbor's house. Unfortunately, they did not have what Evie needed so I will be heading to Wegmans later today after dropping off the trash. We had our manhattans with chips and listened to both news and music, but mostly talked about Evie's kindergarten class, many of whom I am getting to know through her stories.  For dinner, we had the leftover stir fry from Thursday night and Evie had Cheerios. We watched a couple more episodes of House Of Cards, and Francis has finally resigned, rather than being impeached and Claire is now President. 

15º And More Snow

 

This Morning's Snow

8:55

9:40

It's 9:00 as I start this. The lake's starting to freeze, the sun's out, and we got another five inches overnight. It's a beautiful morning with the snow on the tree branches. The snow should stop sometime this morning and abate for a couple of days. From the news, it looks like the suburbs of Buffalo really got hit, although not much of the city, typical of lake-effect snowfall. 

Thursday we both had things to do in the morning but were worried about our road. Fortunately, the plow guys worked at it so we had no trouble getting in and out. Our early morning was typical, no hurry because we didn't have to leave until 9:30. So we had our coffee, read the paper online, wrote the blog and had breakfast before heading off, me to yoga, Evie to school. It was bitterly cold out, a surprise, but yoga class was nice and toasty and crowded with regulars. 

After class, I stopped at Aldis and picked up a couple of racks of lamb and some chops so we are ready for the holidays, either here or with our daughter Jill in Virginia. I was home by 12:15 and heated up the leftover pasta with mushrooms and veggies from Tuesday night and watched my show. I am getting into my novel, Conclave, by Robert Harris, about the politics of picking a Pope. I also napped for a bit, but spent most of the afternoon reading and waiting for Evie to return.  Much of the afternoon, seagulls, 800 to 1000, floated in the middle of the lake, a mass at least a half mile long, amazing. 

Seagulls

Floating By

Evie was later than usual because she stayed for the kindergarten Christmas show. She loved it of course and I have to mention another story. Their teacher let the class know that she had to go to the office for a few minutes and one of the kids, yelled, "Yeah, Grandma Evie is in charge", and the whole class stood up and cheered. Fun.

She got home around 3:30, exhausted from the day but happy and relaxed with her show, and talked with my sister Ellen until 5:30 when she put together our dinner, a chicken and broccoli curry over rice. We enjoyed it with our show, House Of Cards, and we watched three more episodes until we were thoroughly depressed with politics, its ugliness, lies, hypocrisy, and desire for power. Evie went up to bed and I watched the first half of the NFL game, then went up to bed to happily get immersed in the dirty politics of the church as it picks its Pope. 

Parly Cloudy And A Dusting Of Snow

7:41

8:05

It's 7:45 and we are both up on a cold, cold morning, 16º and windy. The lake is frozen in front of where I launch my kayak so I won't be on the lake. We saw hundreds of birds flying south but were unsure what they were, perhaps seagulls. It's 8:15 and blue skies and sun have just appeared even though we are in a Lake Effect Snow Warning. Fortunately, we seem to have escaped it.

Trumpeter Swans

Yesterday began with a paddle, my first in three or four weeks. I was not out more than 25 minutes but it felt good to be back on the lake. After breakfast, then, and the blog, I decided to see if any of my friends would be at Ryders Cup for coffee. Paul replied he would be there until 10:30 so I was on my way by 9:30. As I walked in, another friend, Neal, also walked in so there were three of us until Bob, joined us. We talked for a good hour before Paul left for the workout but then Bob's wife arrived so we talked until 11:30  It was a fun morning, catching up with their lives.

When I returned home, Evie had been busy making a pumpkin pie and a pot of her vegetable soup. There was still some cauliflower soup left so I had that for lunch along with a egg bagel. I forgot to mention that the other day our road was so icy that I stopped the mail truck from coming down our road and delivered the mail for her. Let's hope the plows were here yesterday to get rid of the ice. After lunch, I napped of course, gave up on my book, too depressing, and started Robert Harris's Conclave, now a motion picture in most theaters. 

Neither of us ventured out or did much the rest of the afternoon, other than cleaning up the kitchen. We had our wine at 5:00, listened to the depressing news and had the leftover pork, sauerkraut and mashed potatoes from a few days ago. It tasted good, especially the kraut and mashed potatoes and we binge-watched three more episodes of Hosue of Cards. It reminds us too much of what the Trump presidency will be like so we go up to bed, uneasy, making it difficult to go right to sleep. No wonder we need gummies. 

Waiting For the Next Snow

Kayak Morning

8:15

It's 8:20 and mostly gray out, no rain but some snow is expected around noon and a blast of snow starting at 4:00 if the weatherman is correct. It's 9:15 and I was out kayaking for 25 minutes on a gray lake morning and surprisingly, few if any waterfowl.

Loving Being Back On The Lake

South

Long Point

Northern Gray

Woodlawn

Wednesday was a busy day for Evie, with a return to school so she was up at 7:00. I joined her soon after and we had our coffee, took photos and wrote the blog. She left for school at 9:30 and I drove the car up the Woodlawn road, slipping and sliding because it was so dangerous with snow and ice. Once she left, I went out to the garage and jump-started my Outback again and drove it to Ray's Keystone to get a new battery, hoping that solves the problem of my car not starting. They checked out the car for any battery draw, put in a new battery, checked the tires and I was on my way by 11:30.

The Hood

Victoria and Woodlawn

I made lunch a 12:30, a toasted cheese sandwich with jam and another bowl of cauliflower soup. I watched my show, read some and napped, my usual routine. Evie meanwhile shopped at Wegmans and Walmart so she returned home at 3:30, with a car full of bags. Once everything was put away, she prepped dinner and then zoomed with her sisters 

I really enjoyed our dinner, a pasta with mushrooms, zucchini, chicken stock, and other goodies, something new and it was surprisingly good. I hate to admit it but we binged watched another three episodes of House Of Cards, ending our night at 9:45, exhausted from the viewing and ready for bed. 

Morning Fog

7:28

8:17

8:23

We are both up early, Evie because of school and me because I just woke up at 7:15. It's 37º, may rain later with a high of 44º. I guess we better enjoy it because tomorrow afternoon is another winter storm watch "with accumulations in some areas of a foot."

Mallards

Long Point

Monday was a day I dreaded because I was getting a wisdom tooth pulled. The day started as usual: getting up after 8:00, having my coffee, writing my blog, and having breakfast. The only difference was that I skipped my Eliquis, a blood thinner I take. My appointment was at 10:40, but I waited for a good 20 minutes in the waiting room and another half hour before the procedure. Since my tooth did not hurt, I wondered why I was having it removed so they checked with my dentist and had her send x-rays to make sure it was needed. The procedure went smoothly, with hardly any pain, just a cracking noise as he pulled it out. They put gauze on my wound, then gave me a printout with instructions for the day. I drove home, took out the gauze after a half hour and it's been fine since then, no pain, no bleeding.

Cardinal

By 1:30, I was enjoying Evie's cauliflower soup and watching my show, happy to be home. Despite getting up late, I was tired so I took a nap and woke refreshed. I kept ice on my cheek on and off during the afternoon to keep the swelling down and it worked. I forgot to mention I intended to drive the Outback to the dentist but the battery went dead overnight so I am going to the garage this morning and getting a new battery and hope that's the problem.

Once again we marveled at the waterfowl, floating in our front yard as we listened to the news during happy hour. For dinner, Evie made potato pancakes from the leftover mashed potatoes and a couple of fried eggs and I was happy. Once again we binge-watched four episodes of House Of Cards and didn't finish until 9:40. We have two seasons to go, 73 total episodes. I watched about five minutes of the NFL game before going up to read and sleep. I started a new book and I think I will stick with it called Then She Was Gone. 

Gray Skies And Rain

8:16

9:34

It's 8:48 and it's a dismal-looking day, with gray skies, rain, melting snow, and temperatures in the 40s. Once again, duck hunters woke me, their gunshots echoing up and down the lake. I am not looking forward to today because I am getting a wisdom tooth pulled. 

Cardinal

Kingfisher

Sunday was more productive and more fun than Saturday because we had dinner at Linda and Ron's, which gave us something to look forward to. However, the snow is still too deep for me to get to my kayak, although the lake is now open. We both lingered over our coffee and strangely, listened to no news, a quiet Sunday morning. By 11:00, I decided to do something even though I preferred to sit on the couch. So I put clampons on my shoes, which made it safer to walk on snow and ice and walked around the neighborhood for 15-20 minutes and it actually felt good to get in some walking. I then decided to see if I could get the Outback started knowing the battery was probably dead. I bought a small battery charger a couple of months ago. I attached it to the battery and viola, the car started. I let it idle for a few minutes then pulled it out of the garage, making tire tracks through the snow, then drove it to Stow and back, hoping that was enough to keep it charged. 

I joined Evie around noon and by 12:45, I was having breakfast, an omelet and a bagel, waiting for the first NFL game of the day to start. I watched the first quarter of the Browns/Steelers game before returning to my novel and taking a good nap. I am getting so much sleep these days it begins to worry me. After my nap, Evie gave me a good shearing and now I look like a young boy! We both enjoyed reading much of the afternoon and marveling at the hundreds of various waterfowl, feeding in front of our house: mallards, geese, swans, mergansers, seagulls, and buffelheads. Around 5:00 I showered, getting ready for our night out and Evie followed. We were on the road by 5:45 and arrived at Linda and Ron's at 6:00.

4:54 In The Afternoon

We had not seen them in three or four weeks so it was fun to get together again. We had our usual wine or beer and appetizers, two kinds of cheese with crackers and watched the Bills lose to LA, a bummer. We caught up on what it was like to be snowed in for a week and we regaled them with stories about our great-grandson, Rhys. Dinner was delicious: scallops, rice, and a salad, a treat. We ended up watching the Chiefs first half in the TV room,. Dessert was a carmel pie, a perfect end to a great dinner. We left for home just before 10:00 and drove on empty roads to our house. Neither of us could wait to get into bed we were so tired. 

Sunday Dinner

The Sun, The Sun

7:51

7:51

9:51

It's 9:00 and a toasty 35º, with lots of sunshine and blue skies. I went to bed listening to the sounds of Canadian geese and woke up to duck hunters, blasting away. It may get up to 40º, creating the the big melt of snow, on roofs, cars, lawns, and driveways.

Squirrel

Squirrel

Sparrows

Various Water Fowl

Yesterday was a day of large leisure as neither of us had much mojo and didn't feel guilty about it until this morning, when we realized we missed Empty Bows and the Xmas parade in Jamestown. C'est la vie. I slept in Saturday, at least for me it was sleeping in. We both had our two cups of coffee and thought about how nice it was to have to do nothing. So we didn't. Around 10:30, I shoveled the five inches of snow off the car and driveway and Evie gathered the trash. I was off to the Transfer Center at 11:15 and home by 11:30. 

 Winter Boating

Duck Hunters

We didn't want to fuss for lunch so Evie made me a cheese sandwich to go along with a bowl of cauliflower soup, made even better with the addition of a sweet potato. I watched my show, a bit of football before finishing my book, Matthew Richarson's complicated but interesting spy thriller, set in Great Britain called The Scarlett Papers. I highly recommend it. I started a new book, Hunted by Abir Mukherjee but am not sure if I will stick with it. 

Trumpeter Swan

Around 2:00, I took a half-hour nap, then watched some football for a while before returning to my book in the living room, with Evie, as we enjoyed the changing sky and wildlife. Earlier, we put up a bird feeder in our front window and birds have already found it. 

We enjoyed a libation or two at 5:00, along with nachos that Evie made. It was another classic evening for us, snow, dark skies, a mannie, but no Garrison Keeler. By 7:00, we were ready for dinner, so we microwaved the stir fry from Friday night and enjoyed it while watching a couple more episodes of House of Cards. We both were in bed by 9:45, exhausted from our day of large leisure. 

Classic Photo Of Our Great Grandson