More Of The Same: Overcast And Drizzle

Summer, 2016

8:00

It's 9:10, and we're both up, watching the sky and lake change,  enjoying our coffee, and wondering what the day will bring. A trip to the Transfer Station, for sure. I didn't wake until 7:45 — a small miracle — and didn't get out on the lake until 8:00. I kayaked north, into the wind and waves, and was out for only 35 minutes. The wind picked up as I paddled, so I turned around before getting very far.

Kayak Morning

Waves And Wind

Woodlawn

Yesterday began with a great paddle down to Sandy Bottom and back. Evie was up when I returned, and we listened to Michael for most of the morning while getting a few things done. I cleared up some matters I'd been putting off, things that had been preying on my mind. Once I'd settled them — more or less — I felt free and ready to move. It was raining and overcast, though, so I spent most of the day inside, reading or on my computer, idling away time on Reels and the like.

5:15

Evie offered to make me lunch, but we had leftover pasta, so I heated that up and watched my show, finishing the first season of An Unsuitable Job for a Woman. It's a bit dated, but I enjoyed it. I took a good nap and read through much of the afternoon, but by 3:30 I was going stir-crazy, so I walked the loop in the rain and collected the mail. Not much of a workout, but it felt good to get outside. We had our wine at 5:00 when the sky began to lighten, and by 6:30 we were hungry, so we both worked in the kitchen and put together a stir-fry of eggplant with hot bean sauce and other condiments, served over rice. It was delicious — we both wished we'd made more, since we each went back for seconds. We watched a couple of episodes of Doc before Evie headed up to bed, and I caught the last quarters of two NBA games, both wins — Detroit and Toronto.

Overcast And A Light Rain

6:41

8:02

First Loon Of Spring

It's 8:30, and Evie just came downstairs and is making coffee.  I've been up for a couple of hours and paddled for fifty minutes before a light drizzle sent me home. It was a lovely morning when I set out — a band of golden light stretched just above the horizon — but the clouds gradually rolled in, and the drizzle followed. The paddle, however, was exciting because I was able to take a couple of great photos of a loon. He was about 20 feet away, screeching, then diving for five seconds, then surfacing, and screeching again. 

Kayak Morning

Mergansers

North

Woodlawn

Loon

Loon

Yesterday was a productive day, despite rain throughout much of the morning, which kept me off the water. Since it was Thursday, I didn't mind skipping the kayak, as I had breakfast in Bemus with friends at eight o'clock. It was good to see them again after a month away. When I got back, Evie and I enjoyed a leisurely morning coffee, listening to Michael Smerconish and putting the finishing touches on the blog.

I needed to get to the bank, so Evie put together a short list, and I was out the door by 10:30 — stopping first for a coffee at Ryder's Cup, then on to the bank. Since I was already in Lakewood, I made a quick run through both Wegmans and Aldi's, picking up a few treats: sushi from Wegmans for an appetizer and a pasta sauce from Aldi's, which came highly recommended.

I didn't make it home until after noon. Lunch was light — leftover chicken noodle soup, stretched a bit further with some added broth and rice. I watched my show, charged the Kia, then settled in with a book and a nap. I've started Peace Like a River, one of the many recommendations that finds me through TikTok, and it's already pulling me in.

The rain had stopped by late morning, and by 3:30, the sun came out, blue skies and puffy clouds dominated, and the lawn looked dry enough to mow. I pulled out the mower, loaded two batteries, and got to it — forty minutes and a couple of short breaks later, the yard was done. It felt good to accomplish something outside.

5:50

Around five o'clock, we settled into the living room, put on Jake, and enjoyed our sushi and wine. Before happy hour, Evie had prepped dinner: meatballs grilled in the air fryer, mushrooms sautéed to a golden brown, and Aldi's tomato sauce folded into both. By 6:30, the pasta was boiling, and we soon sat down to plates of spaghetti topped with meatballs, mushrooms, and sauce. Neither of us thought Aldi's sauce was anything remarkable. Evie turned in after a couple of episodes, and I closed out the night the usual way — a little basketball, then the final stretch of my series on Prime.