A Bright Sunny Monday

Evie, Louie, and Arlo, neighbors' grandsons

8:46

It's Monday morning at 8:53, and we're both up with our coffee. I was up around 7:30, went out for a good forty-five-minute paddle, and got a decent photo of a heron. The southerly wind was fairly strong, so I paddled into it on the way out and had an easy ride home. I was thinking about when my morning kayaking began, and looking back at the blog, it started in 2017. If the lake wasn't frozen, I was usually out for a morning kayak — even if it was snowing.

Paddling In The Snow: 12/2017

Kayak Morning

Great Blue Heron Above The Reeds

Sunday was another good but busy day, starting with a long paddle before 9:00. We listened to CNN, and I wrote, and we finally published the blog around 9:30. I had a few things I wanted to get done, so I put on my bathing suit in case I felt like going for a swim and got busy. First, I grabbed the wheelbarrow and strapped the 12-foot dock poles to it to haul them back to the garage. Once that was done, I raked the area where the poles had sat — where I'd stored the dock over the winter — then went over it again with the lawn mower. I'll reseed it later today or tomorrow, but I need to make a Home Depot run for grass seed first. That took a good part of the morning. Around noon, I decided to mow the first half of the lawn before lunch. It took a good half hour and I worked up a sweat, but it was too cool to swim. While I was outside, Evie was enjoying time with our neighbors' grandsons, Arlo and Louie, who love her and love coming over to visit. They have a whole routine — bringing games and blocks down from our attic, Evie making them piggies (rolls with cinnamon and sugar) that they enjoy with milk, and the three of them ending up on the porch reading Calvin and Hobbes.

Peony

Peony Bud

Evie made me lunch — tuna and egg salad sandwiches — and I watched my show before deciding to try for a nap. I read for a bit and managed a short one. I also finished my book, Butcher's Crossing, and am a little surprised I stuck with it. After that, I mowed the rest of the yard and decided to move the grill closer to the house to make it more accessible. I cleaned it up after its winter under the pines, then took a shower and got ready to head to Linda and Ron's for dinner. 

Rocky And Me

We left just before 6:00, and it was great to see them again after being away for over three weeks. Linda made artichoke hearts with cheese as an appetizer, and we sat on their front porch enjoying wine and catching up on their trip East — stopping at various cities, winding through New York and  Vermont to Portland, Maine, before heading home. Dinner was a sheet pan dinner of chicken and veggies, really yummy, along with a salad, and dessert was a peach crisp with ice cream. It was a perfect evening. We stayed until 9:15, then headed home tired but happy. We were both wiped out — Evie went straight to bed, and I watched a few minutes of TV before joining her.

Another Sunday Night Dinner At Linda And Ron's