Windy And Overcast

 

7:06

It's 8:00, and I've been up for an hour. I paddled for 15 minutes but had to return because of the heavy winds and waves. It's 48º and it looks like an overcast day, with the possibility of some rain. 

A Brief Kayak Morning

Friday began with a nice, long paddle and a couple of great photos of herons. I was back home, enjoying a coffee by 7:30 when Evie got up. Evie wanted to give a deep cleaning to our dining room, so before I left for coffee and grocery shopping at Wegmans, we moved the furniture into the living room. I met the guys at 9:30, had my coffee and then went to Wegmans, stopping on the way home to get my car washed. When I returned, Evie had been busy cleaning despite an annoying cough and cold. She wanted a couple of things done, so I went outside and cleaned and washed the dining room windows, then installed screens, something we hadn't done in years. We started putting things back around noon, after Evie had dusted or washed down the blinds and furniture. One room down, more to go.  Before lunch, I sprayed Ortho Home Defense around the porches and the foundation of the house. Hoping it will keep the spiders and other pests away.

Lunch was the leftover chicken and rice, and I started a new series, Department Q, which just dropped on Netflix. By 1:30, the dining room was back in order and we were able to relax for much of the afternoon. I am reading the first Jack Reacher novel, Killing Floor, again, and I also took a nap. It felt good to relax the rest of the afternoon, either reading or watching some TV. 

We enjoyed happy hour with sushi from Wegmans, and dinner was steak, mushrooms, and home fries. We watched the final episode of Our Neighbors and Friends. It felt like the writers decided to end the series and things were abruptly resolved and they all lived happily ever after. Ridiculous. After Evie went to bed I watched another episode of Netflix's Department Q. 

Another Great Morning On The Lake

 

8:24

It's 8:40 and I was out for over 50 minutes, down Woodlawn, across to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom, and home. And I was lucky to shoot a couple of ospreys and a heron, sunning himself in a tree.

Kayak Morning

Into The Sun

Osprey

Great Blue Heron

Copping Rays

Airing Out

Thursday began with breakfast in Bemus at 8:00, home by 9:00 where I finished the blog. Evie left for the Midway Fun Park, where she would meet her class for the day and enjoy all the rides. After she left, I decided to go for a paddle since I hadn't had time before breakfast. I wasted the rest of the morning reading and talking with my boat guy. It sounds like I will need a new lift motor because the engine will not move in and out of the water. More money!  I had lunch around 12:15, watched my show until 1:00 when Evie returned home, happy but tired.

I had a doctor's appointment 1:30 so I left f or Westfield at 1:00, talked with my doctor, had some blood drawn and was on my way home by 2:00. I stopped at Tops to pick up some veggies for our dinner and was home by 2:45, ready for some reading and perhaps a nap. 

Evie is still fighting a cold and cough so we had a brief wine time and dinner was baked potatoes and chicken thighs grilled in the air fryer. We are still looking for a series to watch to no avail so we stuck with Colbert and the usual before Evie went up to bed early, hoping to get a good night's sleep and I watched the first half of the Knicks' defeat of the Pacers. 

A Calm, Overcast, 58º Morning

7:14

It's 7:30 and I have been up for only 15 minutes and am enjoying my coffee with Evie. I am off to breakfast in twenty minutes so I better get this done. It's 9:15 and I just returned from breakfast with the guys, a good way to start the day. Well, I was able to get out for a forty-minute paddle around 10:00, the lake was great, calm and gray, and I shot a couple of photos of osprey.

Kayak Morning

Osprey

Same Guy

Yesterday was back to normal, sort of, although I skipped kayaking because of the wind, waves and rain. I did attend a rigorous yoga class, although I wasn't excited about it. Evie encouraged me to 'do it' so I did it and felt much better, in a better mood, after class. After class, I went to Walmart to pick up some chicken thighs for dinner and a couple of other things we need. I am alway shocked by how busy it is, any day, any time. When I got home, the air conditioner guys had put up a tent in the side yard because of the rain and seemed to be making progress. 

Evie had gotten out some frozen pizza for lunch so along with the pizza I had another bowl of lentil soup and watched the second half of Tuesday night's NBA game. Because of the guys, I didn't nap but relaxed on the couch, reading and dozing off, waiting for them to finish up. By 2:30, they were showing us how to work the remotes for the splits, which was kind of cool. They both warm and cool. One will be back today to finish up a few small things, and then we will have a partially air-conditioned house. It will probably be a cool summer, right? 

Despite being sick with a cold and feeling miserable, Evie managed to prepare our dinner, chicken piccata, and rice before we sat down to enjoy a glass of wine and listen to the news about TACO Trump's tariffs. TACO stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out." I love it. Dinner was the best, something I had been aching for it. We watched some Hometown and Jeopardy Masters before Evie went up to bed, and I watched an episode of Young Wallender before the first half of the Thunder's easy defeat of the Timberwolves, clinching a place in the finals.

Wind And Rain Return

7:00

7:54

It's a dismal morning here on the lake: a howling wind, rough lake waters, and rain, a good day to stay inside, grab a book, and relax. Of course, I am not happy sitting around, so I may go for coffee, or to yoga, or shopping. 

Yesterday was an interesting day as the air conditioning technicians arrived and spent the day both inside and outside, installing a ductless mini-split air conditioning system.  Luckily, I kayaked early, leaving before 7:00, returning before 8:00 when they arrived. I stayed home, and Evie went off to kindergarten. They were in and out of the house, in the crawl space on ladders, and will return today to hopefully finish up the job if the weather does not get in their way. While they worked, I spent most of the time in Evie's garden weeding or on the couch reading. It's strange having someone in your house for the day, so you don't feel as comfortable as you usually do. 

For lunch, I made a turkey and cheese sandwich, watched the end of the NBA  game, then read until Evie returned, around 2:00. The guys finished up around 3:30 and said they had another six hours before they finished. It was nice to have the house back to ourselves, to be honest.

Evie is fighting a cold and uncharacteristically fell asleep on the couch for an hour or so as she was also whopped from school.  We skipped happy hour and dinner was easy because Ron stopped by with some of Linda's baked beans from Sunday night. And Evie was happy to have a couple of hot dogs so it was an easy dinner. And for dessert, we had Linda's ice cream cake. Nothing like leftovers.  Evie went to bed after dinner and I watched the first half of the Pacers/Knicks game before going up to bed. 

Early Morning Sun

7:42

It's 8:20 and I was up at 6:20, out on the lake by 6:40 for close to an hour. I paddled north this time, down to Whitney Bay and back, seeing nothing of note. Our doorbell rang at 8:00, and finally, the guys arrived to put in our split air conditioning units, just a few days late. 

Kayak Early Morning

Into The Sun

Monday, Memorial Day, was not memorable except for the yard work. I got in a good paddle early, like today, and we were not sure what to do with our day because it was so nice, lots of sun and warming. We finally decided to work on Evie's garden, removing weeds since it had become overgrown. We got a late start, around 11:30 and worked for a half hour, then took a time out, and were back for another half hour of more. I did quite a bit of turning the soil, getting it ready for some flowers. Around 12:30, I had the leftover spaghetti and meatballs for lunch and watched the end of the Knicks' victory over the Pacers.

By 1:30, I was tired out and decided to read some, then nap but for whatever reason, I hardly napped and was wide awake, wanting to do something. So I decided to mow the front yard. While I mowed, Evie continued with weeding, and by the time I got the front yard done, I took a short break and then did the side yard as well. We were both done by 4:30 and had accomplished quite a bit. We then FaceTime our son Tom and his son Nick, and his family. We love seeing our great-grandson Rhys who is now walking and becoming great at imitating sounds. 

Memorial Day Dinner

By 5:30, we were both showered and ready to head over to our friends, Linda and Ron's for dinner. It was warm enough to sit outside with our drinks and appetizers for the first time this Spring. As usual, Linda had a great dinner for us: a pork roast, accompanied by cornbread, baked beans, salad, and a frozen banana split cake for dessert. We are so fortunate to be their friends. We talked quite a bit about their trip to Spain and France and Linda read some funny anecdotes from their trip's journal. We were tired by 9:00, from the yard work, I am sure, so we headed home. Evie went up to bed and I watched some basketball for a half hour before joining her, also tired from the day. 

A Spectacular Memorial Day Morning

Sunset In Florence

8:17

9:51

It's 10:00, and I have been out paddling for over an hour, starting in fog and ending in sunshine and blue skies. For the first time, lots of bass boats are out, and I photographed an osprey.

Kayak Morning

The Fog Rises

North

Osprey

Saturday began with a decent paddle and some sun. It was cooler than usual for this time of year, and we had to wear fleeces outside and wrap ourselves in blankets inside. Neither of us had anything we had to do and the weather was not great so we got some things done in the house. I did some trimming of the lilacs before driving off to Home Depot to pick up some cement blocks and dropping off deadfall at the wood pile up the hill. It was not the day to shop because everywhere was busy, the stores, the roads and I am sure the coffee shops. When I returned home, I was hungry because I skipped breakfast, something I have done lately for some reason. So I heated up the lentil soup and the Cuban and had a great lunch. I started a new series, Young Wallander, and am not sure I will stick with it. Typical.

I then read some, napped, and because neither of us did much inside and out, the afternoon went slowly. Evie had a long phone call with our daughter Beth, who just finished up her school year. I walked outside a couple of times, to the dock, and bailed out the three inches of rain in our rowboat. We had our wine time at 5:00, of course, then had dinner at 6:30, the leftover pasta and meatballs, and a salad. We watched another episode of Our Neighbors and Friends but were a bit bored, as not every episode has to be good. I remember feeling that way about Mad Men. When Evie went to bed, I watched the first half of the Knicks/Pacers game. The Pacers had a big lead at halftime but I wasn't confident that they could hold it. And this morning, I discovered that was true as the Knicks overcame the 15-point Pacer lead and won the game. I will watch the second half today. 

Final Day In Italy

Finally Some Sun But Cool

I

8:29

I woke at 7:15 to sunshine and a 43º morning. Evie was up as well. I decided to kayak before the wind picked up so I was out for 50 minutes, across to Long Point and back to Sandy Bottom and home. 

Kayak Morning

Northern Blue

Yesterday was another boring day because of the inclement weather, basically, it was too cold. I was up early, kayaked for 20 minutes because of the wind. By 9:15, I was off to Ryder's Cup for a coffee. It was packed the entire time I was there, but Paul already had a table so I could sit down and eventually get a coffee. I was there for forty-five minutes and then drove to a busy Wegmans to pick up a few things that cost me eighty-five bucks. Unbelievable. When I returned, I was welcomed by the aroma of a pot of lentil soup, simmering on the stove. I was hungry since I skipped breakfast, so I had a bowl of soup and half of the Cuban I bought on Friday in Ashtabula. I started a new series, The Chelsea Detective but am not taken with it. So I went upstairs to read and take a nap. Unfortunately, I forgot that Caitlin Clark was playing at 1:00 and missed it because I was napping, then reading in the living room.

Canadian Geese Goslings

Not much happened the rest of the afternoon other than the fact that we were both cold for some reason, wrapping ourselves in blankets and fleece and turning up the heat. Mid-afternoon, Evie made our dinner, a tomato sauce and meatballs, so we could relax during happy hour, enjoy a glass of wine, and some sushi from Wegmans. We had spaghetti and meatballs around 6:30 and finally watched the Bob Dylan biopic on Hulu, A Complete Unknown. After the film, Evie went up to bed, and I watched the first half of the NBA playoffs, as the underdog Timberwolves destroyed the Thunder, 143-101. 

Overcast, Windy, And Cool

8:17

It's 8:30, and I have been up since 7:30. I was out on the water by 7:45, but because of the wind and waves, I stayed out for only 25 minutes. I was lucky enough to get a decent photo of a great blue heron, hanging around the mouth of Woodlawn Creek, despite the boat rocking, a result of the waves.

A Wavy Kayak Morning

Great Blue Heron

Same Guy

Yesterday was not the best of days. First, we never heard from our plumbers despite the fact that they were supposed to put in the air conditioning. Fortunately, Evie was home, supposedly waiting and calling them to find out what was going on, to no avail. I had an appointment for a CT Scan in Ashabula, so I left for the 12:30 appointment at 10:45. It's a hour and half drive, and I was in and out by 1:00. On the way home, I rewarded myself with a Whopper meal, getting home by 2:45. Our good friends from Hudson, Mike and Barb stopped by for an hour and it was fun catching up with them, especially their winter which they spend at Jackson Hole and volunteering in Yellowstone as cross country ski guides. Like Chautauqua, they had an excellent winter of snow. 

Around 5:00, Evie grilled some chicken thighs in the air fryer and made up some guacamole for an appetizer to go along with our drinks. It was a strange late afternoon as the sun would occasionally pop out of an otherwise cloudy sky. We had the chicken things, salad, and mac and cheese for dinner and watched Colbert and a few home improvement shows before Evie went up to bed. I finished my series, and because I watched the series a couple of years ago, I had a gut feeling from the start who the killer was, and I was right. I then watched the first half of the Pacers/Knicks game, won by the Pacers.  I am reading a new novel, Trespassers, set in Belfast during the violent 1980s.

Enjoying A Vineyard In Tuscany

Overcast And Rain

Photobombed In Italy

7:36

It's a gray morning, and I was up way too early at 6:30. It's a chilly 45º and windy, so I won't be kayaking this morning. 

Yesterday was a boring day for me, a fun day for Evie because her kindergarten class had a dance party to Danny Go videos.  I was up early, went to breakfast in Bemus with Jack, and came home to wait for the guys to arrive to put in our split air conditioners. Unfortunately, they never came and never called, pissing both of us off. My day was ruined because I sat around waiting, and couldn't ride my bike or go for a walk. It was also nasty out, cold and rainy, so I couldn't get anything done in our yard, so I spent the day on my computer, watching TV or reading, not even napping, because I thought they might come in the afternoon. 

Lunch was a turkey sandwich with tomatoes, and I watched my show. I tried to nap on the couch but couldn't, and Evie was home by 2:30, wondering where the guys were. She called them but got a voicemail mail so we don't know why they never came. We grumbled the rest of the afternoon until wine time, when we felt a bit better. Dinner was a coho salmon salad, my favorite way to enjoy salmon. We watched Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever play on Prime, but it was a boring game, and Caitlin seemed to lack mojo, not her usual energetic and forceful self. Once Evie went to bed, I switched to the NBA game for a quarter, then watched The Killing, and I have one more episode to go. So today I will find out who the killer is, although I think I know. 

Gentle Rain

7:25

It's 7:30 and it's raining, like yesterday morning, in fact, most of the day and today. It's 50º with practically no wind, unlike yesterday. It's 9:15 and I just returned from breakfast in Bemus, and Lake Life Cafe is getting crowded.

Tuesday was a long day because it rained on and off during the day, making it difficult to get outside to work in the yard or walk. So I decided to go to yoga class at 10:00. There were three of us and it was another rigorous class. We had to hold poses like downward-facing dog and plank. Interestingly, Tara, our teacher, mentioned that planks are a good way to increase your ability to persevere. I had to take a couple time time-outs so I won't be increasing my ability to persevere.  After class, I went to Aldi's and picked up a few things for our dinner this week and their version of Fritos, which are much cheaper. 

Evie had decided to take a day off, so she was on the couch, relaxing. She did, however, make me avocado sandwiches on cheesybread sticks, somehow figuring out on to get the avocado in between slices of sticks. I watched another episode of my show and didn't realize I still have five more to go,  The afternoon went slowly, alas, as we both more or less waited for wine time by reading, napping, or watching TV. We had our wine and Evie didn't feel great because of a headache, so we forgot about a salmon dinner. I baked four or five potatoes for an hour, Evie then fried a couple of eggs, and we had dinner. We watched Jeopardy Masters, then some Colbert before Evie went up to bed early. I then watched another episode of The Killing and the first half of the Knicks/Pacers game, won by the Pacers in overtime. I will watch the end today because I had it saved. 

Granddaughters Halle and Marlena in Italy

Granddaughter Hayden In Italy

A Morning Of Wind And Rain

8:21

No paddling this morning because of the weather and the unheard of fact that I didn't get up until after 8:00, unusual for me. It's warmer than yesterday 39º, a toasty 51, and the fishing boats have yet to get out there. 

Yesterday was back to normal in some ways. It began with a good paddle, coffee and writing the blog as usual. Because yoga starts at 9:30 on Tuesdays, I have to get organized quickly because I have to be off by 9:10. Evie didn't leave until 10:00 because her class was taking a bus to the Audubon Nature Center, a 20-minute drive. Yoga was interesting and different as we never stood. After class, I quickly ran through Wegman's and was home by noon. 

Lunch was what else, leftover Cincinnati chili, and I watched my show. I still don't know who the killer is after 14 episodes. I am into my book, also about a killing, called The Whisper Man, and I get it mixed up with my TV series, The Killing. I napped, and when I woke, Evie was home, tired from her trip to the Audubon, but she and he kids seemed to have a good time.  After my nap, I checked out to make sure my Weber Grill was still working after sitting outside in the winter, and then cleaned it up with Comet. It's ready for summer.

Some Of Evie's Kindergartens

We skipped wine time because we were going out to dinner at Steener's Pub with Linda and Ron. They picked us up at 6:00 and drove over to Greenhurst. We easily found a booth, ordered beers and the steak special, two filets or delmonicos for thirty bucks. Then we spent the rest of the time listening to Ron and Linda regale us with their two-week trip to Barcelona, the south of France, and Paris. It sounded amazing but expensive, especially since the dollar has weakened because of Bozo's tariffs. We left around 7:45 and were home by 8:00. Evie went to bed soon after, and I watched some basketball, a WNBA game with Caitlin Clark, and then some of the NBA game and my series, The Killing. I am getting my fill of basketball.

Cold But Sunny With Blue Skies

7:43

It's just 8:00, and we are both up, on our devices, enjoying coffee. I paddled for 50 minutes, down to Sandy Bottom and back, and saw no waterfowl, just a few seagulls diving into the lake. It was 38º when I started to kayak, so we avoided a freeze.

Kayak Moroing

Into The Sun

Monday was a different day in that neither of us had anything we had to do. I did get in a good paddle before 8:00, as I was up early. Since I had no yoga, I decided to fill my morning with coffee at Ryders Cup at 9:30 and spend an hour with the guys. Paul is always there, and Neal occasionally is. Both were there yesterday, and we talked about our lives abroad and basketball. After coffee, I stopped at Walmart because I needed a pump needle to pump up a couple of buoys I just bought. I was going to look for a chuck roast for Memorial Day but the entire meat section was empty, not sure why  So I purchased my pump needle and then to drove Tom and Julie's to pick up a couple of bags of sauerkraut. They live on 67 acres just outside of Mayville. They have a pond and mostly woods so we took a walk around their property before I headed home with four bags of homemade sauerkraut. Yum

Good Friends, Julie And Tom

I was home by 12:30, ready for lunch, so I heated up a chicken pot pie and watched another episode of The Killing. Then, as usual, I read some and napped until 2:30 just as Evie fired up the lawn mower and started cutting the grass. I read until she took a break and went out and cut for 15 minutes until she returned and finished up. Everything looks so green this time of the year, especially the lawn. After mowing, I worked on filling some low spots with topsoil and sand, topped it with grass seeds, roughed it up with a rake, and watered it. Let's hope it makes a difference.

We had our wine time at 5:00, listened to the big news, Biden's cancer diagnosis, and the analysis by the pundits before dinner. We had little fuss because we pulled the turkey chili out of the freezer, warmed it up in the microwave, boiled noodles, and had a tasty Cincinnati chili, topped with cheese. We watched a Hometown, some of the news, channel surfed until Evie went up to bed at 8:30. Since there was no basketball on Monday, I watched two more episodes of The Killing, and I am getting close to the end. I stayed up until 10:30, late for me and then went up to read some before sleeping. 

Back To The Lake On A Cold Morning

Our Gals Enjoying Florence, Italy

7:28

It's 8:40 and I paddled for close to an hour, on a 45º morning. The wind picked up on my way back, alas, but I was able to find and shoot an osprey down at Sandy Bottom. It's striking how different living on Lake Erie and its vastness is from Chautauqua Lake, with land always in sight and hardly a white cap.

Surveying Our Lake 

Kayak Morning

Northern Gray

Osprey At Sandy Bottom

We spent the morning in Euclid yesterday, mostly because my brother-in-law Rich is the king of making a big breakfast. We always stay for it, eggs, home fries, bacon, English muffins, literally all you can eat. By 10:30, we were both full and packed, so we said our good byes and thank yous and drove off to Trader Joes, to blow a couple of hundred bucks on wine and other goodies for the summer, It was not as crowded as last time, so Evie was able to meander and enjoy looking at the aisles while I took a coupe of cases of wine out to the car, We were on our way home by 11:30, stopped at Love's for gas, 50 cents cheaper than Chautauqua and were home by 1:45. 

For some reason, I was exhausted, so I took a good nap while Evie relaxed after putting away four bags of goodies from Trader Joes,  Around 4:30, I was was tired of reading and went in to the TV room and watched the first half of the Nuggets/Thunder game which I had saved so I could zip through the annoying commercials. We had our wine around 5:00, and I watched the third quarter, foregoing the fourth because the Thunder were ahead by 25 points. 

Dinner was the leftover pork and cabbage struedel and watched another episode of Friends And Neighbors on Apple TV, then some of our usual before Evie went to bed around 8:45. I stayed up and watched my show, The Killing and even though its the second time I watched it, I still am enjoying it, I highly recommend it, both the Danish version and the American which we also have watched twice. 

Finally, our daughters and granddaughters are spending 10 days in Italy, celebrating their college graduations and careers.

Granddaughters Halle and Marlena