Partly Cloudy And Occasional Winds

I just returned from a 45-minute paddle, and it's 8:00. Obviously, I was up early and out on the lake before 7:00. It looks like a decent day, mostly sunny with highs in the 70s. I have yoga at 9:30, and that's about it for the day, other than reading my book, These Truths, a history of the United States. I have vowed to read it for at least half an hour every day.

6:38

7:49

I woke yesterday morning to rain and a wet yard, as we'd received at least an inch of rain in the previous 24 hours, and we needed it. I couldn't kayak because of the stormy weather, so instead I had a prolonged coffee and listened to Michael Smerconish along with Evie until 10:30. By then we had a list for Wegmans, so I drove off, stopping for coffee, then shopping. Monday is usually a good day because most shoppers wait for 5% Tuesday, although some things still haven't arrived from the warehouse, like red potatoes, in the past couple of weeks. I was home just before noon, and Evie and I put away the groceries.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Blue Skies, Clouds, And Waves

Great Blue Heron Among The Grasses

When I left for Wegmans, Evie was hard-boiling eggs, so I was looking forward to egg salad sandwiches for lunch. While I started making kuru fasulye, basically a white bean stew, Evie made me sandwiches. Since we couldn't get the pressure cooker to close properly, I had to simmer the beans for a couple of hours. So I had lunch, watched my show, then read and napped until 1:30. Then I got back to the fasulye, sautéing uncured pancetta before adding onions, garlic, tomato paste, cayenne pepper, and Aleppo pepper. After that, I added the beans and water and let everything simmer for another hour, until the beans were tender and the flavors were right.

Great Blue Yesterday Afternoon

By the time I was done, the rain had stopped, and though the sky was still overcast, I went out for a half-hour paddle to get some exercise. While I was on the lake, Evie put together our dinner, a ham and potato casserole, and had it in the oven baking when I returned. By then it was 5:00, so we relaxed for a good hour and a half with wine before watching some TV and enjoying our dinner. For some reason, we really enjoyed the casserole and wondered why we don't make it more often. We watched a Harlan Coben thriller but got bored with it and ended the night watching Caitlin Clark and Indiana defeat Phoenix. After the game, I was ready to read and go to bed.

These Truths: The book's essential question feels crucial today and to democracy, with Trump attempting to govern like an autocrat:

"Can a political society really be governed by reflection and election, by reason and truth, rather than by accident and violence, by prejudice and deceit?"