A Day Of Snow Shoveling

6:46

6:59

7:46

It's 7:44 as I start this, and the sun is just starting to peek above the tree line. I have been up since 6:30, coming downstairs in the darkness, making coffee, and reading on my computer. The lake is frozen again, probably halfway across to Long Point, because I can see some ducks still floating. The bird seed is frozen in our feeder, so the birds are having a hard time enjoying breakfast. 

Ducks Floating In The Open Water Of Bemus Bay

Early Morning View From My Couch

Thursday, we were both up by 7:00 because I had breakfast at 8:00 in Bemus and Evie had to leave for school by 9:30. By 8:00, I had shoveled a path to my car, cleaned off the snow, scraped the ice off the windows, and driven to the Lake Life Cafe for breakfast. I met my good friend, Jack, just back from a great week of hiking in Costa Rica. He regaled me with his trip, the hikes, the monkeys in the back yard of their cottage, and the humid, 80+º weather. It sounded good. I was home just after 9:00 and spent 25 minutes clearing our parking area with my cordless snow shovel. Evie took off when I finished and I had the morning to myself. Because I had a prescription at Wegmans, I drove there in the snow around 10:30 and picked up a few things for our dinner. It was surprisingly crowded despite the bad weather and snow-covered roads. I took my time coming home, driving around 30 mph on #394. It was good to get home. 

By noon, three or four more inches had fallen, so I shoveled the parking area once again, using both my cordless snow shovel and a regular one. I wasn't that hungry after breakfast, so I used up the last of the ham, made a sandwich with mustard and pickles, and watched another episode of Prime Suspect. Evie surprised me by coming home early, around 1:30, because the kids were watching a film and she didn't stay for it. Around 2:00, I went upstairs to read, and because I was up early, I took a good nap, not waking until 3:40. By then, more snow had fallen, so I went out and shoveled our parking area once again. Fortunately, the snow was light, so I used my old snow shovel. It was a wild late afternoon on the lake, with winds, waves, and lots of wildlife.

4:15 PM

Wind And Waves At 4:49 PM

4:50 PM

By 5:15, we were enjoying spicy tuna rolls from Wegmans, pretzels, hummus, and a Manhattan. Before happy hour, Evie had grilled a couple of salmon filets in the air fryer, and after our Manhattans, made a great salad topped with the salmon, our favorite way to enjoy salmon. We watched another episode of our show, then The Colbert Show because he interviewed Taylor Swift. It was a great interview, and she comes off as a real person. I ended the night with a quarter of football and an episode of Prime Suspect. 

Windy, Gray, And 20º

7:14

9:20

It's 7:20, and we are both up, surprised that the lake has opened in front of our house, although much of it is still frozen. I have breakfast at 8:00, and Evie has class, so I will be off around 7:50, after clearing the snow off the car and doing some shoveling, so Evie can leave at 9:30.

Lake Is Open

Long Point And Ducks Floating

Yesterday was a stay-at-home day for both of us, the first in a long time for me. I was up early for no reason and waited for Evie to get up for a couple of hours because she could sleep in. We had our coffee, finished the blog, and I had breakfast, all by 10:00. I knew I had to do some shoveling and was not looking forward to it because of the wet snow. So I used my battery-powered snow shovel and it takes quite a bit of effort to clear the snow, especially when it's wet. It's not a solution to my snow shoveling problem, but I will test it again today because we got three or four inches overnight. So it was quite a workout, but I got it done. Afterwards, I decided to do some yoga rather than go to class, so I turned on some yoga music and practiced for half an hour. While I was busy, Evie was upstairs putting together 18 Christmas bags for her kids, with goodies. 

I read until lunchtime when Evie made me a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and I finished off the tortilla soup. Since I was up so early, 6:20, I was ready for a nap by 12:30, so I went upstairs and read for maybe ten minutes before falling asleep for an hour and a half. I was groggy when I came downstairs, read a bit, then decided I needed to wake up put on my boots and crampons, and decided to go for a walk, a bad idea. The woods were wet and slushy so I stayed on the road, which was mostly slush and turned around and came home after five minutes.

Late Afternoon Melt

I read until 5:00 when Evie brought me a glass of wine, and we listened to fake news on CNN until dinner time. Dinner was tasty, the leftover orzo and hamburger, with added spinach, along with a salad. We watched All Saints until Evie went to bed, and I started a new series, which I have watched at least once, Prime Suspect, with Helen Mirren. 

A Cosy Evening Snowfall 

Wet Snow Falling

7:10

7:28

8:00

It's 7:43, 33º, with snow falling. I have been up since 6:30, alas, watching the sky lighten. The lake is half frozen, the frozen part covered with snow. When I went out to take a morning photo, I could hear the ice groaning as well as the honking of geese off in the distance. 

Tuesday was not much of a day for me, a good one for Evie at school. We were both up by 7:00 and didn't have to be on our way until 9:30, so it was an unhurried morning, with coffee, the blog, breakfast, and getting ready. Evie left for school at 9:30 in the Outback because I was taking the Kia in, again, for an appointment at 10:00. I stopped at the post office on the way and mailed the modem back to Kinetic. I arrived at the dealer at 10:00 and sat there for 2.5 hours while they tried to figure out why my air flaps weren't working. Finally, around 12:30, they needed to take the front end apart and wondered if I would come back later in the week when they could have a loaner available. What could I say but yes? Fortunately, whatever they do will be covered under warranty. I drove into Jamestown, picked up some gummies for Evie, and stopped at the Viking office to renew my Viking card for another year. And that was it for me for a Tuesday. 

I didn't get home until 1:00, had soup and a ham and cheese sandwich, and finished up my series, Millennial, and highly recommend it. I then read and napped until Evie returned around 3:00 from school. She relaxed with her show and something to eat. I should have gone for a walk but was too lazy. Instead, I put together our dinner, Ground Beef Orzo With Tomato Cream sauce. It was quick and easy to make and was done by 5:00.  Evie zoomed with her sisters, and all are doing well.

Late Afternoon Colors

We enjoyed our wine, listening to the news, and more of Trump's lies about affordability and inflation, of course. By 6:30, we were ready to eat and heated up the orzo, added a couple of cups of spinach and lots of parmesan cheese, and served it with rolls and a salad. We both liked it enough to make it again. We watched three more episodes of our obsession, All Saints, before Evie went up to bed, and I tried without much success to find a new series to watch. I started on Luther, which I have seen before, and stopped after half an hour, and went up to bed to read and sleep. 

Sunny And 9º

7:50

7:23

7:17

It's 8:20, and Evie's been up since 7:00 because it's a school day. I slept in until 7:45, and because the lake is frozen, I won't be kayaking, probably for a while. I take my Kia in for a problem with the air flaps, again, and hope it can be solved. The first one hundred yards of the lake is frozen, beyond that it's open. 

Yesterday was a cold one, so neither of us wanted to do much outside. For Evie, it was a day to relax after a busy weekend. I had my typical morning: writing the blog, coffee, and breakfast. I found a recipe I wanted to make today so Evie did not have to worry about tonight's dinner. We made a quick Wegman's list, three things, and I was off by 10:30, stopping at Ryder's Cup. One of my coffee buddies was there, Neal, so we talked for half an hour, mostly about his grandson's hockey games, in Buffalo or Canada. Since I needed only three things at Wegman's, I was in and out in ten minutes. Since we have a new coffee maker, I stopped at Ollie's, a discount store, and bought some K-Cups by Caribou, hoping that we would like them.

I was ready for lunch when I returned and had the leftover chicken and noodles dish from a couple of days ago, still tasty. I continued with my series during lunch, then started a book, James Patterson's Along Came A Spider, one of his first popular novels. I napped of course, while Evie spent a good amount of time making Christmas bags for her kindergarten kids and getting Amazon returns ready for me to take to Michaels. Around 4:00, I decided to get in a short walk and did the Woodlawn circuit, which took 25 minutes. I put on new crampons on my boots and easily navigated the frozen, icy road. 

Afternoon Glow

The Woods

We had our wine at 5:00, and by 6:30, Evie had heated up the leftovers from Sunday night's dinner, lamb chops and scalloped potatoes, and made a salad. So we had a quick and easy dinner and watched three more episodes of All Saints. We have watched around 160 episodes so far and have over 300 more episodes to go. Only one of the characters is in all 493 episodes. I watched about 15 minutes of Monday Night Football and was happy to get back to my series. The TV series, based on the novels, is called Millennial is on Prime. 

10:16

From A New York Times article on "How To Resist"- It describes me and most of my friends. We don't know what we can do, so we do nothing. 

“It is strikingly easy to shrug off one’s responsibility for the country where one pays taxes, contributes to the public conversation, and at least nominally has the right to vote. If that country is the United States, it seems one can just say ‘Not in my name’ and continue to enjoy the wealth and the freedom of movement one’s citizenship confers.”

Lake Begins To Freeze

7:39

7:59

It's already 8:30, and I have been up for an hour. I hate to admit it, but I was glad to see the temperature was 12) and the lake was starting to freeze, so that I couldn't kayak. The lake is frozen in patches, mostly along the shoreline, extending out maybe 15 yards to open water where the ducks were frolicking. 

Frozen Shore And Open Water

Sunday was a stay-at-home day, watching football and prepping our Sunday night dinner. I did get in a 50-minute paddle, down to where Sandy Bottom was frozen and back home. We have a new coffee maker, so we've been experimenting with various features and blends to figure out what we like best. This is our third or fourth one so I hope we like it. So after the blog and breakfast, we were busy prepping dinner and giving the living room a quick cleaning and vacuuming. By 1:00, we were ready to relax and watch the Bills/Bengals game, and it was a thriller, right down to the final minutes, with the Bills winning 39-34. 

We both showered in the afternoon, then set the table, got out the wine glasses and were ready by 6:00 when Linda and Ron arrived. We enjoyed our wine and Asian shrimp cocktail in the living room for at least an hour. We caught up on Thanksgivings with family and started planning for Christmas and New Year's, depending on whether we travel or not. 

Friends For 16 Years

By 7:15, we were enjoying lamb chops, scalloped potatoes with gruyere cheese, salad, brussel sproutsand rolls, all delicious. For dessert, we had a lemon tres leche cake, a perfect ending to our dinner. They left around 9:15 to light flurries. Evie was exhausted because she only got six hours of sleep so she went straight up to bed, and I cleaned up the kitchen as usual and watched some of the Chiefs lose to the Texans, alas. It was a fun evening with good friends.

A Gray Winter Morning

9:16

It's 9:20, and we are both up. Evie's been busy, getting ready for our Sunday dinner, and I was out paddling for 45 minutes, down to the frozen in Sandy Bottom and back. It's a bit warmer today, 25º, and little if any wind so it was a pleasant paddle.

Kayak Morning

 Lake In Front Of Sandy Bottom Is Frozen 

North

Hunters Gathering Ducks

Saturday was typical, beginning with a great 50-minute paddle. We were in no hurry to get busy, so we listened to the radio, had a couple of cups of coffee, finished the blog, and then I had my breakfast. Evie was happy because I was in no hurry to get to the Transfer Station.  We needed a few more things from Wegman's, so Evie made up a list on the app. Once the fridge was cleaned out, the trash gathered, I pulled the Outback out of the garage, filled it with trash and Amazon boxes, and drove to the Transfer Station to drop off the trash. I then went straight to Wegman's on a busy Saturday. Despite the crowd, I used the self-checkout, which wasn't crowded. I then drove to Dunn Tire to get an estimate for new brakes on my Kia, then put 50 bucks worth of gas in my Subaru. 

Lakewood's Frozen Lake

While I was gone, Evie was busy in the kitchen. It was after 12:00, so I heated up the mushroom pasta for my lunch and watched my show. Neither of us had much planned for the afternoon so we either watched some TV, read, napped, or surfed on our devices. For some reason, I had no interest in a walk or hike, so it was a lazy day overall for me. I did finish my book, Buckeye, and started looking for something new to read. 

We had our wine at 5:00 and planned an easy dinner, Evie's tortilla soup and hot dogs. As usual we watched All Saints before Evie went to bed. I then watched the first half of the Ohio State/Indiana game before returning to Lisabeth Salander. I stayed up until 11:00 watching the fourth episode. 

A Waming 22º Morning

Heading Home In The Snow

Another Photo By Evie

7:43

It's just hit 9:00, and we are both up, about ready to listen to Michael Smerconish on CNN. I got in a great 45-minute paddle and just as I was returning, it started to snow, and I loved it. I tried to paddle down to Sandy Bottom, but just as I got beyond the reeds, the lake was frozen, so I had to turn around and paddle back along Woodlawn, where at the northern end, a hunter was standing in the water, next to a fallen tree, blasting away at ducks.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Goose On Thin Ice

Thin Ice

Victoria/Woodlawn

Mostly Woodlawn

Duck Hunter

Beginning To Snow

Hauling In My Snow-Covered Kayak

Finished Paddling, Looking South As It Snows

Friday was another leisurely day, during which neither of us had anything we had to do. I didn't get in a paddle because of the 8º morning. By 10:30, however, Evie had put together a Wegman's list, and I volunteered to go shopping. I skipped a coffee, had a quick trip through the store, and was home by 11:30, ready for lunch since I only had a banana for breakfast. While I was gone, Evie put together the fixings for a tortilla soup and left it in the slow cooker for eight hours. For lunch, I had the leftover stir fry and devoured it, even having second helpings. I finished up the part of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and then went up to read and nap. I am almost finished with my book, Buckeye, and am ready for something new. 

12:48 PM

When I got up, I read some while Evie was putting together our dinner, using leftovers and veggies and putting her own spin on the chicken, veggies, and cream sauce. I decided to go out for a short walk, but it turned into a 35-minute walk through our woods. I am glad I did it, but I am sore all over from walking in the foot-deep snow. 

Woods

Woodlawn In The Afternoon

Since Evie had dinner already made, we were able to have a leisurely wine time and listen to the depressing news. We loved the chicken-and-noodle concoction and watched three episodes of All Saints. We cannot seem to watch anything else -- it's a well-done soap opera. Once Evie went to bed, I went back to my series, following Lisbeth Salander. 

December Moon

8:54

I made the mistake of listening to a podcast featuring scholar Anne Applebaum. She explained that the Trump White House has basically ignored the diplomatic corps, putting in place his billionaire cronies or family. In the peace negotiations, Wittkotf and Kushenr, according to the Wall Street Journal, are throwing Ukraine under the bus and instead, making sure to benefit the US, especially Trump's billionaire friends and family. How upsetting.