Getting Ready For A Road Trip

Our Son Tom And Great Grandson Tommy

7:03

8:10

I am up early, alas, before 7:00, to a chilly morning. I was out on the water by 7:15 for forty minutes, on a spectacular morning, with clear skies and brilliant sun.  As I paddle south, the sun was rising but hidden behind the trees, so it was not blinding until I turned around and paddled home. 

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising Behind The Trees

Victoria/Woodlawn

Buffleheads

Into The Sun

Yesterday was another football Sunday, even though the Bills didn't play. The day started with lots of gray, but I still got in a good hour paddle and, just as I was coming home, the sun tried to burst through the clouds. Evie was up when I returned home at 9:00, and we sat around for an hour, listening to the radio, on our devices, finishing the blog, and having a light breakfast. We were in no hurry to start our day. Around 10:30, I left Evie the onerous task of packing for a road trip, and I drove to Mayville. I wanted to walk Webb's Trail. It was interesting because I usually ride on the trail, and I kept wanting to hurry up. Finally, I settled down, got used to walking, and enjoyed the trail, the fallen leaves, the landscape on either side of the trees and walked close to two miles. It felt good to be out there, always invigorating. When I returned home, I gassed up the KIA for our trip and cleaned up the inside.

Webb's Trail

Nearing The End

Second Part

Field And Sky

Walking A Dog

I was home around noon, and Evie was in the living room, taking a time out from packing. By 1:00, we were in our usual Sunday spot, the TV room, watching the Chiefs play and enjoying scrambled eggs with tomatoes and cheese and toast. We stayed there for most of the next three hours, as the Chiefs' game went into overtime. Just as they were about to win, the channel changed because we recorded the game and forgot to add extra time. 

We seemed to be stuck in the TV room and ended up watching more football for an hour. By 5:30, Evie was putting together our dinner: squash, sausage, zucchini, and mushrooms, with a tasty sherry sauce. Evie boiled some noodles and let them marinate in the sauce with the squash, sausage and mushrooms. We ate of course, in the TV room and had enough football, so we switched to our series, All Saints, and watched three episodes before Evie went to bed. I then watched my show till 11:00, Unforgotten, and then went to bed after eight or nine hours of watching the boob tube. 

Sunday Of Mostly Gray

7:51

9:26

It's 9:20 and we are both up, listening to Jake Tapper, on a  Sunday morning. I was out for an hour kayaking, and came in just as it started to drizzle. I am still surprised at how few migrating ducks are around, and I only see a few buffleheads, often known as Butterballs.

Kayak Morning

Northern Gray

Wading Canadian Geese

Changing Sky

A Touch Of Blue

Southern Light

A Glimpse Of The Sun

A Male Bufflehead And His Female Court

We had a fairly relaxing Saturday once we had all the trash gathered and the fridge cleaned out. Before that, I had a forty-minute paddle on the usual route, which is getting boring, but I don't want to chance crossing the lake at this time of year. By 10:30, I was on my way to the Transfer Station. After dropping off the trash, I stopped at Ryder's Cup, but it was too crowded, so I skipped coffee and stopped first at Walmart to return the router I bought on Friday, in case we needed it for the Internet. I then went to Wegmans to pick up a prescription for Evie and a few other items, and of course, a jelly donut for Evie!

I was home by noon and was happy to have lunch, chicken soup, and a hot dog while watching my series. How nice to have the Internet back and working. I have not been able to get into my new book, so I started Buckeye, another fairly new novel, and so far, I like it. I did nap briefly but came downstairs, thinking I should get out there and rake the leaves. It's becoming an obsession with me. So I filled another pail with wet leaves and took them up the hill to the woodpile. And that was it for the day as far as work goes.

When I walked in the house, the aroma of a pot roast in the oven filled the kitchen. Evie chopped all the fixings in the morning and seared the roast around 1:00, letting it slow cook for three or four hours.  By 5:00, we were listening to the 'breaking old news' and enjoying a glass or two of wine. Dinner was great, lots of gravy and mashed potatoes, and enough left for another dinner. We watched the usual, All Saints, and after Evie went to bed, I watched a few minutes of the NBA before turning to Unforgotten on Prime.

Light Winds And Partly Cloudy

7:39

8:48

It's 8:55 and I just returned from a 50-minute paddle, down to Sandy Bottom and back. The sky was of interest, since the only waterfowl were mallards and seagulls. Evie's up now, and we are planning our day and our trip to Jill's for Thanksgiving, leaving on Tuesday. 

Kayak Morning

Southern Sky

Taking Flight

Well I am proud to announce we are no longer in Internet Purgatory. This ended yesterday morning around 11:30. After a paddle, we waited anxiously for our Spectrum guy to arrive between 9:00 and 10:00. We started to get nervous when he didn't arrive. Still, he sent a text saying he was behind and would be here around 10:30. Whew! It took him an hour to get things set up. Before he left, he gave us a quick tutorial on how to use the new remote and had to go over it a couple of items. By 11:30, we had Internet and could now listen to our Sonos in the morning as well as watch various TV channels during the afternoon and evening. 

I had the leftover chicken pot pie for lunch and was happy to once more be able to watch my show while I ate my lunch. The rest of the afternoon was typical, enjoying a nap and a book and around 3:30, we both adjourned to the TV room and watched another episode of All Saints. Of course, we had trouble opening up the various channels, hitting all the buttons on the remote before finding the right one. After that, I took a shower and we both got dressed because we were going out to dinner with Linda and Ron.

Great Friday Night Dinner At Brazil's Bar

We picked them up at 5:50 and drove to Westfield, to probably our favorite restaurant, Brazil's on Main. We were lucky to find a parking spot on the street, and we had four seats reserved for us at the great bar. The bartender, Brandon, the owner's son, was great and quickly brought us beers and menus. 

Short Ribs On Mashed Potatoes

We had coconut shrimp for an appetizer, and I ordered short ribs on mashed potatoes, a dish I always order, and the rest had the salmon. It was a fun night sitting at the bar, as everyone was in a good mood.  

We left around 8:00 and were home by 8:20. Evie decided to go up to bed so I was left trying to figure out how to find my shows on the new remote, Eventually I did and watched some NBA games, then I started a new series recommneed by Ron, Unforgoetten, and realized that I had watched a good part of the first seasaon before but I stuck with it since I couldn't remember much of it. 

Westfield Square Christmas Lights

A Gray Friday Morning

9:04

It's 9:15, and both of us are up, me at 6:45, Evie around 8:45. For me, it's been a busy morning. We are expecting Spectrum this morning to set up our Internet. I was afraid that our routers might not be working, at least that's what Kinetic surmised over the phone, so I drove to Walmart and picked up a router, stopped at Ryder's Cup for coffee, talked with Dave, came home, and kayaked, all before 9:00. 

Kayak Morning

Northern Gray

Our Maple Tree 

Yesterday was a strange day for me because I didn't feel like doing much, although I ended up having a typical day. I had breakfast in Bemus at 8:00, returned by 9:00, then kayaked for 40 minutes, arriving home in time to see Evie off to kindergarten at 9:40. I then finished up the blog, still using my phone's 5G because we have no Internet. By 10:30, it was published and though I didn't feel like it, I went for what I thought would be a short walk, but I ended up walking for forty-five minutes in our woods. 

Looking North

Pine Tree Dominates The View

Long Point

Attempts To Keep Detritus Out Of The Lake

Blue Skies

I wasn't very hungry since I had an omelet for breakfast with toast, so I finished up the mushroom barley soup and listened to a podcast in the living room. I had a Kia appointment at 2:00, and I spent an hour and a half in their lounge, finishing up the job they had started a week ago. I then drove to Community Help Hands, on Water Street, and dropped off clothes and various household items. Unlike the Salvation Army, they don't charge people for the items, although I wonder how it works because I saw a mountain of plastic bags filled with stuff in their warehouse.

I didn't get home until 4:00, then filled up both cars with washer fluid, making sure they are ready for the winter, and came in and enjoyed a glass of wine with Evie at 5:00. It's strange not having Internet and having to listen to the news on our phones. Dinner was a chicken pot pie I picked up at Walmart and a salad. The pie was edible, but I don't think we will buy it again. Evie went to bed around 8:15, just as the Bills game was starting. I watched the first half on my computer, then went up to bed and finished my novel, What We Can Know, and started a new one, The Loneliness Of Sonia And Sonny by Kiran Desai. 

Ten years ago, we arrived in Dallas to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter Beth's family, and we ate that night at a drive-in called The Velvet Taco,.

Another Special Lake Morning

7:20

7:31

7:31

10:20

It's 7:45 and I am off to breakfast in Bemus in five minutes. Both Evie and I have been up since 7:00. After breakfast, I hope to kayak before finishing up the blog. For the past 24 hours, we have been without Internet, but I have been able to get on via my 5G iPhone. To say we are upset with Kinetic would be an understatement. It's 11:00 as I finish the blog, and I have already had breakfast in Bemus and just returned from a 45-minute paddle down to Sandy Bottom and back. We still have no internet, so I am using my phone's 5G.

Kayak Morning

Kayaking Into The Reeds

Sandy Bottom

North

Yesterday began like today, with a placid lake, no waves, wind, just some sun, although today it's often hiding behind the clouds. I was out for close to an hour, loving such a great day in November. For a good part of the rest of the morning, Evie spent on the phone, trying to get our Internet back and getting no straight answers as to why it was down. She was on the phone for close to an hour. I couldn't sit around listening, so I went for a walk around the campground for forty-five minutes on a fine morning, with blue skies and sun.

Chautauqua Campground

Chapel In The Woods

Sea Gulls

Lunch was toasted pita with cheese and tomatoes, and barley mushroom soup. I ate while listening to a podcast because we had no Internet, making me wonder what it was like when we never ate in front of a TV.  Evie had a hair appointment at 1:15, and I dropped her off and waited for her to finish at Ryder's Cup. By 2:00, we were talking to Jessica, our healthcare advisor. We started out thinking our Medicare Advantage plan might cost a lot more than we had in the past. I am not sure if she was trying to scare us or sell us an expensive program, but by the time we left, we had an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan costing about the same a month, with basically the same benefits as our Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, so we left feeling fairly good about our plan. We celebrated our new plan with a Manhattan, but also bemoaned the fact that we had no Internet. We had an easy dinner, pasta with mushrooms and tomato sauce, a salad, and Nutty Buddies for dessert. We relaxed in the living room after dinner, with both of us on either on are phones or, in my case, my computer because I was able to watch the Cavs game using my 5G. We went to bed early.