Another Gray Tuesday

7:53

It's 8:30 as I start the morning, and I have been up for an hour. Evie is showering and getting ready to head to Lakewood for her kindergarten class. As I sit here, two guys are pulling a tent out on the ice, but that's about it for ice fishing this morning.  Before I got up, Evie was able to take photos of a crazy squirrel, trying to get to our bird feeder. So far, he has not made it. 

Squirrel In The Window

Yesterday was a boring day because yoga was canceled. Neither of us had any plans so it was a good day. We were in no hurry to get our day started, relaxing and listening to Michael Smerconish. I had planned on stopping at the bank after yoga. I needed to stop there so I drove into Lakewood, stopped for coffee with Neal, then went to the bank. On my way home, I stopped at the Iron Works in Mayville, to pay for six of my dock pieces, then at the Lighthouse for a chicken salad hoagie and ground chuck. I was home by noon and ready for lunch, the lentil soup, and a half of my hoagie. 

Coffee At Ryders Cup With Neal

Our afternoon went as usual, with me taking and a nap and reading and Evie getting a few things done and watching some TV. By 4:00, I was fed up with sitting around and decided to walk our woods. I was surprised at the depth of the snow, making it a workout to follow the trails.  I finished by walking on the lake, a mistake because it was melting, icy and slippery. I was careful to take my time and use my poles.

Melting Lake

Snow Covered Woods

Woodlawn

Thawing Lake

We enjoyed a glass of wine, listened to the news until 6:30. Dinner was the last of Sunday's moussaka and a salad. We watched more of the Grammys which we had taped, along with a couple of HGTV shows. Evie went up to bed around 9:00 and I stayed up till 10:00, watching basketball and my show. I am into my new book, The Devil In The White City, a classic. I have wanted to read it for years, and I finally got to it. 

A Mostly White Morning

7:37

8:24

It's 8:40 and I have been up since 7:15, watching the sky lighten as the day begins. Evie's up as well and we are sitting here, enjoying seeing our cardinal at the bird feeder along with the finches and a woodpecker. Occasionally, a squirrel tries to jump to the feeder from the rhododendrons but always fails.

It was a strange Sunday with no football, and also welcome. So we had a day with nothing to do except try and fix our dishwasher. First, we had our usual Sunday morning, coffee and the blog and the news until we had to turn it off it was so depressing. Then, Evie watched videos on YouTube, telling her how to fix a dishwasher that won't drain. None of the solutions worked so I went down in the crawl space, rolled over to where the drain hose connected to the septic, and undid it to see if it was clogged. Nothing. So that's how we spent most of the morning. Time to call the plumber.

Late Afternoon Ice Fishing

Walking The Dog On The Lake

Lunch was easy, the lentil soup with croutons and we watched Sunday Morning, always a relief from the Sunday news programs. After the program, I took a good nap, wondering if it was morning or afternoon. Wow. The rest of the afternoon I read and finished my book, The Note, and watched TV with Evie until 5:00, time for a glass of wine. Dinner was a salad and the leftover moussaka, always seemingly better the next day. We then watched some of the fashionistas discuss the participant's dresses until we got bored with the commentary. We hoped to watch the Grammys but were unfamiliar with most of the music and groups. We ended up watching two episodes of Hometown before Evie went up to bed. I watched some basketball and my series until 10:00. It was a different kind of Sunday. 

Back To Gray And Cold

7:51

It's 8:30, 16º and quite a few ice fishermen are out, mostly crowded around Long Point. Yesterday's sunshine has disappeared and cloudy skies and wind return. 

Early Birds

Saturday was a typical weekend for both of us. We were up early, surprised by the sunshine but happy to have a house filled with light. After our coffee and breakfast, we got busy getting organized for dinner with Linda and Ron. Evie had  done most of the cooking on Friday, so it was mostly giving the downstairs a good cleaning. I manned the vacuum and Evie the dustcloth. By 11:00, we were mostly done so I gathered the trash and dropped it off at the Transfer Station. 

Frozen Lake Saturday Morning

Cross-Country Skiing Tracks

Lunch was the leftover hoagie from Hogan's Hut and I watched the 25th episode of Person Of Interest. It's decent, not great but something to watch. I also watched some basketball before napping and reading the rest of the afternoon. Evie could relax, too, just getting a few more things done like setting the table. Unfortunately,  mid afternoon , Evie discovered that the dishwasher was not draining, so we spent a good half hour trying all sorts of solutions, many suggested on YouTube, to no avail. 

Dusk

We had showered and were ready at 5:30 when Linda and Ron arrived. We quickly got our wine and appetizers and enjoyed the last of the sunset. After chips and dip, we had mugs of lentil soup, hot and delicious, perfect on a cold evening in the teens. For dinner, Evie had put together a Greek favorite, moussaka, with eggplant, squash and lamb. Despite not being in Greece, it was perfect for a Saturday evening dinner on the lake, and we all devoured it, along with a salad and French bread. Dessert was healthy, pears, brie, and a wedge of dates and nuts, reminding Evie of her favorite dessert as a child, a date and nut cake from Cleveland. By 8:30, the house was quiet, with Ron and Linda heading home, Evie ready for bed and I was in the kitchen washing dishes because our dishwasher was not working. I stayed up until 10:00 watching some basketball and an episode of my show. 

Saturday Night Dinner

Back To Winter: Sunny And Cold

7:38

8:06

When I woke up and pulled back the curtain, I was surprised to see blue skies after yesterday’s dreary, rain-soaked day. It’s 13º at the moment, the sun is shining, and the lake is dotted with ice fishing huts.

Getting Busy

A Lonely Goose

Yesterday was a miserable winter day—gray skies, steady rain, and lingering drizzle. We were both up early, starting the morning with our usual coffee while listening to Michael Smerconish. 

The Lake

Mostly Slush

Around 10:30, I took a walk through the neighborhood and out onto the lake. The rain had turned the snow into thick slush, making cross-country skiing impossible. When I got back, I decided to do some shoveling, chipping away at the ice on our brick walkway. Meanwhile, Evie was busy prepping dinner. Later, I drove to Lakewood to drop off five bucks' worth of returnables at the Can Man.

Workers At Busy Can Man

For lunch, I picked up a hoagie from Hogan’s Hut—an easy and satisfying lunch. I watched my show, then happily got back to my book, The Note, which is becoming more intriguing. With most of our work done in the morning, we spent the afternoon in a relaxed state, reading and watching TV while the gray, wet weather continued outside. At 5:00, we poured some wine and listened to the grim news of yet another plane crash in Philadelphia.

Dinner was chicken kapama, enhanced by Evie’s touch to make it even more flavorful. Unsure of what to watch, we fell back on our reliable favorites: Colbert and Everybody Loves Raymond. We really need to find a new series.

Winter Rain

8:40

It's a gray morning, with rain expected much of the day. We are up listening to the Laura Coates show on Sirius Radio, waiting for the Michael Smerconish, our morning fix. It's 36º at the moment with a light drizzle. 

Ice Fishermen Back On The Lake

Woodlawn

Thursday is always a good day because Evie has kindergarten and I have breakfast in Bemus. So we were both up at 7:00 and I was in Bemus at 8:00, having breakfast at Lake Life Cafe. By 9:10, I was home finishing the blog so Evie could edit it and head to class by 9:30. I wasn't sure what to do with my day but decided to get in some cross-country skiing. So I went out around 10:00 and was out for a good forty-five minutes, skiing down to Sandy Bottom and back. Again, the lake was slush at the north end of Woodlawn for some reason, so I stayed away and skied with the wind to Sandy Bottom.  When we have a few warm days, the cracks appear in the lake and we hear the lake moan. They are not dangerous at least not yet as the ice is still six of seven inches thick if not more, Although it was not a sunny, blue sky morning, I still loved being out there. 

Cracks On Lake

Scary But Safe

I drove off to Mayville at 11:45, to pick up a prescription for Evie, stopping at the hardware store for some Ice Melt and then at Tops for a few things. I stopped at the lakefront where volunteers were building the ice castle for the Mayville Winter Festival. It was neat watching them cut ice from the lake, then placing it on a device that sends it up to the shoreline where they can set it on the castle. I talked with one of the guys who raved about the students from BOCEs who were helping out. BOCEe is a public organization, created in 1948, "From culinary arts and automotive technology to nursing and computer science, BOCES programs provide students with hands-on learning experiences and industry-relevant skills." 

Building At Ice Castle

Volunteers 

Pulling The Ice Out Of The Lake

When I returned home, it was 12:45 so I had the second half of my veggie burrito and watched my show. I started a new book, The Note, by Alafair Burke, and fell asleep while reading. By 2:30, I was putting together our dinner. It was a Greek Chicken dinner called Chicken Kapama. It has lots of onions, garlic, tomatoes, cinnamon, wine, and brandy so it sounded good. I put it all together and then let it simmer for an hour in the oven so it was ready when Evie got home.

She was really tired from school so it was a good thing she did not have to make dinner. She relaxed until happy hour at 5:00 and we made the mistake of listening to the news, raising Evie's BP. We ate earlier than usual, at 6:00, and served the chicken kapama over spaghetti. Unfortunately, it was mediocre at best, tasteless, so I don't think I will make it again. We made the mistake of watching  Trump's news conference on CNN. "Our" President, blamed the crash on DEI and Biden and Obama, lying and politicizing his response.  After that, it was a relief to watch three episodes of a new series on Hulu, Doc, and I really liked it, Evie not so much. I ended the night watching some basketball as usual before going up to read and sleep, 

Orange Sky in The Morning

7:15

7:23

7:23

It's 7:30 and we are both up with our coffee and silence, watching the sky change from orange to pink.to lavender, Yesterdays wind gusts have ebbed and the temperature has dropped to 14º, with a toasty high of 35º later in the day. It's 9:15 and I just returned from breakfast in Bemus as the sun is just coming out and the ice fishing tents are on the lake. 

Wednesday went quickly because I was up early and off to the dentist for a crown at 9:00. On my way home, I stopped for veggie wrap at the Labrinth Press Coffee shop, at Sav A Lot to see if they had spumoni ice cream but failed. It was strange to be home at 11:45 knowing I would have to leave again at 12:30 for my eye appointment.  I had my veggie wrap at noon, watched my show then drove off to Jamestown for my annual eye appointment. All's well with my eyes and I didn't even need a new pair of spectacles.

I was home by 2:00 and I decided to see if I could nap. By 5:00, we were both getting ready to go out to the Viking Club, meeting Linda and Ron at 6:15. We took our time because the road still had some snow on it and were surprised at how empty the Viking parking lot was. Linda and Ron already had a table so we sat in the bar, and ordered our beers in cans because the taps were out of order. Our neighbors also walked in so Woodlawn was well represented. Both Evie and I hankered after wings, so we got to orders and they were really tasty. I finished mine and Evie took some home for lunch. 

We were home by 8:30 and because Evie has school today, she went up to bed, leaving me to watch TV alone. So I watched my usual, a combination of basketball and my noon time show until I was tired enough to go to bed. It ended up being a good day.

Wednesday

8:00

Why Walk When You Can Ride

It's early 7:00 and supreisisngly warm, 30º although with the wind the weather app says it 16º. For the first time in a couple of days, an ice fisherman is out in the middle of the lake.  Today's not going to be my favorite of days, because I get a new crown in Jamestown at 9:00, then have an eye appointment at 1:00.

Yesterday ended up being another good day. I was up early, around 7:15, followed by Evie an hour later. I had an appointment with my mechanic at 9:30 for an inspection. He mentioned that several people have said they were stopped by the police because their inspection was out of date. Now I am legal and can safely drive my 2023 Kia. After my appointment, I stopped at Ryders and talked with Paul and his wife Ellen for a good forty-five minutes. They head to Myrtle Beach tomorrow for three weeks so I was lucky to see them before they left. After coffee, I stopped at the bank to cash a check, then for gas and finally, came home. 

Untouched White

Sking In To Blue Skies

It was only 12:30 and another beautiful lake day so I strapped on my skis and went out again for a good half hour. Once again, I had the lake to myself, no tents, no ice fishermen and best of all, because of the snowfall overnight, the lake was untouched by skis, hikers, or snowmobiles, just an untouched sheet of white. Of course, as the photos show, I ruined the canvas with my skiing, carving cross-country ski trails down to the reeds and back. 

Woodlawn

North

Shadows On The Lake

Evie made me a wrap with nard-boiled eggs and veggies to go along with chicken noodle soup. I watched another episode of my show, finishing when she left for a doctor's appointment in Westfield. After my series, I read, and then decided to take a brief nap. Evie came home around 2:45, after stopping at Tops for some pork chops for our dinner. Her appointment went well and he is modifying her prescriptions, hopefully helping lower her blood pressure some more. As usual, it is always at its best when he checks it in the office which is the opposite of most people.  I read the rest of the afternoon and watched a hawk harass our bird feeder, flying into our window. At  5:00, Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters.

On the way home from the doctor's office, Evie picked up a couple of pork chops from 'Tops and breaded them. At 6:00, she browned them, then put them in the oven for 20 minutes and we had delicious pork chops with salad and baked potatoes. We started a film we didn't like, and, surprise, then spent the rest of the evening watching the SNL Music Show. We loved it, as they literally followed the trends in music since 1977, featuring all the big-name groups and singers. When they moved into the 90s, with the beginning of Rap and Hip Hop, I felt like my Dad, brought up with Big Band and Dixieland, who never liked Rock and Roll. I like Big Band and Dixieland!

Another Winter Snow Advisory

7:36

Buddha In The Snow

12:24 PM

It's 8:15 and I have been up for an hour, to a couple more inches of snow overnight. It's 20º and may get up to 30º later in the day. Once again, no ice fishermen are out as the wind whips up the snow on the lake. 

Cross Country Skiing

Southern Sky

Yesterday was a busy day for both of us. We were up at 7:00, had our coffee and breakfast and Evie showered so by 9:30, she was on her way to kindergarten. I soon follow for my Melt Yoga class at 10:30 in Lakewood. After class, I stopped at Wegmans to pick up some chicken soup for Evie and other things.  It was a beautiful sunny, blue sky day so when I returned home at 12:30, I couldn't resist the lake and went out cross-country skiing for 35 minutes. It was amazing: the sun, the lake's whiteness, and the blue sky's brilliance. I skied down to Sandy Bottom and back and as I looked around, I realized I was the only one on the lake. I had my lunch, soup and chicken salad on toast and watched another episode of Person Of Interest. Evie returned home around 2:00 and I had enough reading and decided to take a good nap since I was up early.

Woodlawn

Woodlawn

Snow Mobile Tracks

Southern Sky

We had our glass of wine at 5:00, listened to the always depressing news, and Evie regaled me with stories from her kindergarten class. For dinner, we had chicken pot pies, compliments of our generous neighbors, and they were delicious.  We had brussel sprouts as well as beets, so we were happy. We watched Hometown and the last episode of Harlan Cobens Missing You, and wondered why we stuck with it because it was so stupid. We ended the night with SNL's 50 Years Of Music, a three-hour extravaganza and it was amazing. We only got through an hour but cannot wait to watch the rest tonight. If you are a music buff, it's a must see.