5º And Overcast

7:00

It's 7:05, and Evie just came downstairs for coffee, so she will be going to school today. I was up at 5:45 and witnessed the miracle of dawn, beginning with headlights on a snowmobile around 6:00. At the moment, four tents are sitting out on the lake on this frigid morning. It's 9:20, and I just returned from breakfast in Bemus with the boys. Today, I  think I will drive up to Chautauqua Creek in Barcelona and hike out to Lake Erie. 

Thursday turned out to be a spectacular day, with lots of sun and blue skies. Unfortunately, I did not take advantage of it. I was up early, perused the newspapers, wrote the blog, and had breakfast, all by 8:30. I spent the rest of the morning deciding when to head to Erie for an appointment with my cardiologist. Should I leave at 1:00 for the 2:00 appointment, or leave at 12:15 and have lunch at the Turkish Bakery on Fifth Street? I chose the latter, so after a short walk around the neighborhood and spending some time reading, I left for Erie. I arrived at the bakery around 1:20 and ordered lentil soup and a börek with spinach and feta cheese. I wanted to be at the doctor's office around 1:50, so I thought I had plenty of time. After 15 minutes, I mentioned I was in a hurry and got the börek. Ten minutes later, I still had not gotten my soup, so I cancelled the order and bought a mille-feuille to take home to Evie. I left wondering how long it takes to ladle lentil soup into a bowl and serve it. I won't be back.

My appointment was a waste of time. Other than an EKG, I asked a few questions, and the PA had little to say other than that I seemed to be doing well. She had no idea if shoveling snow or hiking in sub-zero weather was dangerous. I guess not. I left under blue skies and stopped at Orton's Fruit Stand in North East and picked up a berry pie and chocolate milk for Evie. By the time I returned home at 3:00, I was tired, so I went upstairs to read but fell asleep for maybe 20 minutes, waking refreshed.

Blue Skies At 3:49

Looking For The Sweet Spot

We had our wine at 5:00, listened to CNN—creatures of habit—until it was time for dinner: Slovenian sausages and chips, easy and unhealthy but tasty. We decided to watch an old PBS series called Grantchester and watched two episodes before another episode of The Colbert Show. I ended the night with my new series, The Diplomat, and couldn't wait to get back to my book and sleep. The book is due in two days, so I'd better get going with it.

Trump was mentioned more than 38,000 times in the latest batch of the Epstein files released in late January/early February 2026, according to a New York Times review.