Warming Up To 1º

7:18

Long Point

Fishing Huts On Warner Bay

Another extremely cold morning, and light snow is falling—the beginning of a Chautauqua weekend. I slept in until 7:00, so I have only been up for a little over an hour. It was strange to come downstairs and find it already light out, not the usual darkness when I wake at 6:00. It's after 9:00 and I count at least 9 fishing huts out on the lake. 

Friday was a long day for both of us. I was up early and tried to fill the morning with the usual: reading a couple of newspapers (depressing), taking morning photos, and writing the blog. Then, deciding on what to have for breakfast—the usual yogurt with good stuff, or just a banana. All that was finished by 9:15, and I had the rest of the morning to fill until 12:30, when I was going to drive to Jamestown for my friend Paul's visitation at Lind's Funeral Home. So I read, finishing my book, Theo of Golden, and started a new one, recommended by my granddaughter Marisa, Listen for a Lie, only to discover after starting it that I had already read it a few years ago. Idiot. So I downloaded another book, The Island, set in Crete, in which a young woman visits and discovers her family's past, including a leper colony. I showered around 11:00, put on a good pair of pants, a button-down shirt, a tie, and a sweater, and had lunch: Evie's soup and pizza on pita bread. Evie had a busy morning, making a large pot of chili, then putting together our dinner of pasta and meatballs.

I arrived at the funeral home at 1:00, and a few visitors were already there. I was able to visit with a couple of Paul's relatives before spending time with his wife, Ellen, whom I had gotten to know over the past year or two. When I left, there was a long line of visitors, so it was a good thing I went early. 

Ellen And Paul At Ryders Cup In November

I stopped at Farm Fresh Foods and picked up donuts—their specialty sourdough glazed. I was home by 2:00, tired from my drive to Jamestown. I grabbed my Kindle, went upstairs, and read, then napped briefly. After a busy morning, Evie was happy to spend most of the afternoon relaxing.  When I came downstairs from my nap, I was tempted to go out for a walk but was too lazy. This weather is getting in the way of my hiking because it's too cold to be out hiking safely for any period of time. So I sit in the house, often bored, wishing I could hike Long Point or Webb's Trail.

Anyway, we enjoyed our wine time at 5:00, listening to the never-ending bad news. By 6:30, we were enjoying our pasta and meatballs and watching another episode of The Pitt. We are still not fans. We were looking forward to Colbert having Bad Bunny on his show, but it was not so much an interview as Stephen asking him a series of questions, supposedly helping us to get to know him. He asks the same questions of just about any famous person who comes on his show. 

Spotlight On Yard At 6:30

Evie went to bed around 8:30, and I watched some basketball, then happened upon a series from 2017 called The Good Doctor. It's about a brilliant young doctor who suffers from autism. It's melodramatic, cheesy and soap opera-like, but I watched it and may continue. My motto: crappy but cheap.

Trump's Unprecedented Lawsuits: 

"The president is demanding that the federal government pay him at least $10 billion over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns during his first term."

"President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him."

If he wins, guess who pays: US taxpayers. 

Guess who decides if we pay: The Sycophants he nominated to head the IRS and Justice Department.