An Ugly Lake Morning

8:19

It's windy, gray, and drizzling as I sit here, moaning the fact that once again I can't kayak. It's 8:10 and I have been up for an hour, and Evie's up early as well. We are watching a man stand up in his fishing boat, float by, and worry about him falling into the water. 

A Lone Fisherman

Friday was also a blah day; I didn't get to go kayaking early, but I was able to get in a bike ride around the Chautauqua Institution after a long morning of coffee, breakfast, and blogging. It was windy, but I was prepared, and I was out for close to an hour, stopping for coffee at Common Ground Cafe, open most mornings during the winter and free. After my ride, I drove to Tops and picked up a few things for dinner before driving home, arriving after noon. Evie had been busy, cleaning our front porch's cushions and getting the porch ready for winter. 

Thunder Bridge

Chautauqua Institution's Bell Tower

For lunch, I had the leftover chicken cacciatore and watched another episode of Lone Wolf before going upstairs to read and nap. After my nap, it was a lazy afternoon for both of us, reading my book, My Friends or watching TV, waiting for wine time at 5:00. Evie had potatoes baking until 6:00 when she seared a couple of pork chops, then finished them off in the oven. We had the chops with applesauce, baked potatoes, and a salad, and I  watched a couple more episodes of our show, All Saints. Once Evie went to bed, and watched maybe ten minutes of the North Carolina/Kansas game on ESPN, now available on Disney+, and ended the night with Lone Wolf. 

Windy And Overcast

7:01

7:02

8:02

It's 7:53 and I have been up for an hour, perusing the internet and just read David Brooks' essay on wolves, human ones like Putin and Trump. Not an uplifting way to start my day, but it's too windy to kayak. The sun just popped out above the cloud bank, and I may have to move my chair.

Thursday Morning Photo By Evie

Thursday was different in that we didn't meet for breakfast, and due to the wind, I had a short paddle. It left me lots of time to finish the blog, have breakfast before going to Yin Yoga at 10:00. The Class was crowded with the usual group of gals.  After class, I stopped by Ryder's Cup for a coffee, then returned several packages to Amazon at Michaels. Since it's next door to T.J. Maxx, I perused their store and ended up buying a pair of sweatpants, which I will return since they are too short. I ended up doing a quick run through Walmart and picking up a few goodies for our wine time.

I was home by 12:30 and made myself a salami and cheese sandwich and finished up my series, The Terminal List. I was happy to get back to my book, Old Friends, and nap.  I woke around 2:45, and Evie was back from school, happily enjoying some lunch. I had a few things I needed to get done for the winter, so I raked and mulched the leaves that tend to gather around the back of the garage and sides, and it took me over an hour to get it done and take a couple of barrels of deadfall and leaves up the hill to the woodpile

Last Night's Moon At 6:37

Around 5:30, we enjoyed our wine along with nachos with cheese and salsa. Dinner was easy: the last of the hot dogs, some beans, and a salad. We watched a couple of episodes of All Saints, the last one bringing both of us to tears as a major character dies. It makes me wonder if the producers wanted to kill her off or if she wanted to leave the series. After Evie went to bed, I watched a few minutes of the NFL but started the sequel to The Terminal List called The Lone Wolf.

Moon

Threatening Clouds And Occasional Sun

Evie's View This Morning

7:34

8:28

It's 8:25 and I just returned from a rough, windy half-hour paddle. Due to the wind and waves, I didn't get far, as I knew it would be tough going back into it. The clouds were spectacular as I looked both north and south, so it was worth it to be out there. My podcast was an interview with Farid Zakaria. He talked about Trump's tariffs, which have basically turned most of our friends against us, like India, and pushed them closer to Russia and China.

Kayak Morning

Northern Blue And Gray

North

Yesterday turned out to be a stellar day until early evening, when winds and a storm hit the area and lasted into the night. The day, however, was mostly sunny, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s. I kayaked for fifty minutes and returned home with the vow to do something. So I drove to Dobbins Woods, about a ten-minute drive, and hiked the trail clockwise, something I have not done since I started hiking the trail 15 years ago. It's like walking an entirely new trail! I was out close to 40 minutes, then stopped by Keystone, my mechanic, to make an appointment for the annual inspection. 

Fallen Leaves

Where's The Trail

When I returned, despite being busy, Evie offered to make me lunch, ham and cheese sandwiches on brioche buns. Yum. I watched my show, took a brief nap, and was on my way to the Kia dealer because I had an appointment at 2:00 to check out why a couple of lights were on the dashboard. The problem was the air flaps, and they had to order the parts. Fortunately, it's covered under a 60,000-mile warranty. Strangely, it took almost two hours to figure that out so I walked over to Tops to pick up a few items for Evie.

5:00 PM

I was home by 4:20 and read some since my book, which had expired, was now available from another library, so I can finish it. I belong, by the way, to three libraries. We enjoyed our wine at 5:00 as the storm and heavy winds moved it, even blowing out the fire in our fireplace. Dinner was a Wegman's special, chicken cacciatore in a bag. All you needed to do was put it in the oven for an hour, and it was done. We had it over spaghetti noodles, and it was a B, decent but not great. We watched, of course, All Saints until Evie went to bed. I watched my show and a few minutes of the NBA before joining her. 

Overcast, Some Sun, Rain Later

7:01

8:15

It's 8:24 and I have been up since before 7:00, to a 40º morning. I wasn't sure about kayaking due to the southerly wind of 12 mph with gusts up to 20mph, but it wasn't bad, even paddling into the wind. The lake was a bit choppy, and I was out for 50 minutes, the only boat on the lake as usual this time of the year. I listened to The Prof G Pod, featuring Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov from Fox News' Five. She said something that struck a chord: that "A budget is a moral document." If that's true, who does the big, beautiful bill generally benefit (the haves) and who does it harm (the have-nots)? And so it goes.

Kayak Morning

The Reeds

In To The Sun

Yesterday was a strange day because I was not feeling 100% for some reason. It did not stop me from a great paddle, a striking photo of a bald eagle. I was back by 8:15 and had lots of time to finish the blog, eat, and help Evie get ready for school. She left around 9:30, and I decided to get in a bike ride. I made the mistake of not wearing my windbreaker so once I started to ride in Bemus, the wind was so strong that I fought it much of the way, as well as being cold. I cut my ride short, just to the end of Lakeside Drive, and turned around and biked back to my car, about a forty-minute ride.

Biking Lakeside Drive

Blue Skies, Rocky Beach

When I returned, even though my stomach was uneasy, I mowed the front yard, wanting to get it done before lunch and my nap. I wasn't sure what to have for lunch and settled on a bowl of soup before showering and getting ready to drive to Jamestown for a teeth cleaning. The office is in downtown Jamestown, and an older house has been turned into an office. The dental hygienist was substituting for the usual gal, and she was very talky but fine. I was in for forty-five minutes, then drove home, arriving around 2:15. I was tired and decided to take a nap despite the fact it was after 2:00.

Late Afternoon Moon Rising

Evie was home around 3:00 when I came downstairs, and I decided to finish mulching the side yard. It took me only 20 minutes, and for at least a few hours, the lawn looked devoid of leaves. Evie had her Zoom all with her sisters at 5:00, and I read and watched some TV until 6:00, when we enjoyed a glass of wine and were surprised by the moon rising at 5:00 in the afternoon. Dinner was the leftover eggplant pasta and a salad, followed by my apple pie ala mode. We watched three more episodes of All Saints, then Evie went to bed, and I watched my show, The Terminal List, before bed. 

Clear Southern Skies And Sunshine

Bald Eagle In a Tree Above Whitney Bay

7:01

8:56

First Cardinal Of The Fall At Our Feeder

It's 8:30 and both of us were up at 7:00, Evie for school and me because I woke at 6:40. I was out on the lake just after the sun rose at 7:05, for an hour, down to Whitney Bay and back. I listen every Tuesday to a podcast on China, and it's concerning how much we depend on them. Approximately 97% of rare minerals originate from China, and 700 drugs rely on at least one ingredient that is only found in China. Trump may talk big, but China has the big stick.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Eagle

Same Guy

Yesterday was a great day; both of us felt energetic, and I got in a paddle and bike ride and Evie was busy most of the day. I was up at 6:00 and paddled down to Sandy Bottom and back for close to an hour. After breakfast and the blog, I drove off to Lakewood, parked my bike outside Ryder's Cup and rode for close to an hour down to Celeron and beyond for an hour. I stopped in Ryder's Cup for a coffee, then drove to Wegmans to pick up a few things for our dinner the next couple of nights. When I returned home, the smell of an apple pie filled the kitchen. Yum. Evie had been giving the living room a deep cleaning and reorganizing it somewhat. 

Harbor House Hotel, In Celeron

Celeron Lighthouse

Celeron Waterfowl

Lunch was the broccoli and cauliflower soup and the leftover chicken with mushrooms and artichokes. We tend to like leftovers. I watched my show, The Terminal List, then tried and succeeded in a good nap. Around 3:30, I went out and picked up more deadfall, then got out the bird feeders. Evie cleaned them and I filled them with bird seed and hung them, one in our front window, and two off of the kitchen window. It will be interesting to see how long it takes for the birds, not the squirrel, to find them. It took this morning, while I was kayaking, for the first bird to arrive, a cardinal, and Evie to take his photo.

Long Point In The Afternoon

Bemus Farm

We had our wine time at 5:00, and since Evie had prepared our eggplant pasta dinner earlier, we had an easy dinner: boiling noodles, making a salad, and serving it. We loved it, one of our many favorite dinners and we watched three episodes of All Saints. Evie went to bed at 9:00, and I watched some football for a few minutes, then my show. We are back in our routine a,nd I have to admit it feels good.

A Quiet, Boring Day

Heading To The Bills/Chiefs Game

6:56

7:00

8:03

It's 8:10, and I have been up since 6:30, on the lake by 7:00 for nearly an hour. The sun rose as I began my paddle into the blinding sun, then hid behind the clouds on my way back from Sandy Bottom. When I returned, Evie was up after a great night of sleep, close to eleven hours.

Kayak Morning

Northern Colors

Kayaking Into Heavy Clouds

Woodlawn Eagle

Same Guy

Yesterday began with a paddle for me since only Drew was up. When I returned, the rest were slowly coming downstairs for coffee and a bagel, packing, and making sure they had not forgotten anything. We bid them aloha at 9:00 and thanked them for an amazing two and a half days of fun. We are so lucky they wanted to visit, although the Chiefs game might have had something to do with it. Once they left, we both collapsed, sort of, especially Evie, who had a bad night of sleep. I wanted to get in a bike ride before the football games began, so I drove to Mayville, rode both Webb's Trail, around the Mayville Cemetery and Rails To Trails, which goes all the way to Fredonia and beyond. I was out for an hour and came home ready to relax.

Webb's Leaf Strewn Trail

Which Way?

No Longer A Trail

Rails To Trails 

Neither of us did much the rest of the afternoon, although I picked up a bucket of deadfall when I returned from biking. Evie made me a menemen for lunch at 1:00, and I watched some of the NFL game, but soon got bored and knew I would be watching the Chiefs/Bills game at 4:30 so I went up and napped. We watched the Chiefs game through the first half, had dinner, Evie's soup, and the leftover koftes with tomato sauce and yogurt. Midway through the third quarter, Evie had it and went up to bed, hoping to get in a good night's sleep. She did. The Bills ultimately won by seven, but it was tight right to the final play. I felt sorry for our kids that the Chiefs lost, but it looked as though they had a great time tailgaiting with the Bills fans before the game.

Great Afternoon For Football

I watched some of the Sunday night game, but had had enough football, so I started a new series recommended by my son-in-law, Drew, called The Terminal List, and I liked it and watched two episodes before going up to bed around 10:00. What a long weekend of fun.