All Quiet On Chautauqua Lake Front

7:10

8:16

It's 8:30, and I was up at 7:00 and on the lake for close to an hour by 7:15. The house is deathly quiet without Rhys, our great-grandson, brightening our morning. Still, we were fortunate to have six days with him and the rest of our family.

Kayak Morning

On Neighbor's Dock

Tuesday was a day of goodbyes. I was up early, along with Audraya, Beth, and Rhys, and got in my Rhys fix, having him sit on my lap, looking at Shutterfly photos of our family. By 9:00, everyone was up, packing and making sure they left nothing behind. 

Jill And Her Girls

Jill's family was the first to leave. At 9:30, a car picked up Tom and his family and took them to the airport. And fortunately, their flights seemed to be on time. Once everyone left, we relaxed and had breakfast with Beth and Mitch, who would leave for the airport at 2:30. By 10:00, we were busy, all four of us thankfully, taking sheets off of beds, moving bookcases, extra beds, and blankets into the attic. Mitch helped me with the heavy stuff and Beth helped Evie with much of the rest, so by 11:30, our house was literally back to order. The only chore left was washing towels and clothes. 

Heading Back To Kansas City

Around noon, just as we were eating lunch, we got a scary phone call from Jill. They were in an accident just outside of Altoona, PA, were sideswiped by a truck and spun out, damaging the car. Fortunately, no one was hurt. After a couple of hours of help from police and firemen, their car was deemed safe and they were able to drive home. What a relief for them and the rest of the family. 

Beth And Mitch

Once Beth and Mitch left, we both collapsed, sort of, and I took a nap and Evie did some laundry and relaxed as well. After my nap, I joined her on the porch, and in no time, we were enjoying a glass of wine on the porch, just the two of us, alas. It was another beautiful afternoon, and we remarked on how lucky we were with the weather when our family was here, just blue skies and sun.

Dinner was what else, leftovers, the ribs and coleslaw. We watched our series, The Resident, and some of CNN, the first time we watched TV in a week. Evie went up to bed early, around 8:15 and I followed around 9:30, both of us tired from the day. It was a fun week. 

A Note On Colbert's Firing: Like most, I thought his firing in 10 months was mostly political until I listened to a Scott Galloway podcast. The show costs 100 million to produce each year and loses 40 million. Two hundred people are needed to produce the show, which has been losing its audience and advertising over the last couple of years. When Colbert leaves the show, he will probably get a podcast, just as popular, need maybe 12 people to help produce it and make just as much money as on CBS. I am sure politics had something to do with it, but the main reason was financial. And I think its a harbinger of the end of late night TV.