A Morning Of Wind And Rain

8:21

No paddling this morning because of the weather and the unheard of fact that I didn't get up until after 8:00, unusual for me. It's warmer than yesterday 39º, a toasty 51, and the fishing boats have yet to get out there. 

Yesterday was back to normal in some ways. It began with a good paddle, coffee and writing the blog as usual. Because yoga starts at 9:30 on Tuesdays, I have to get organized quickly because I have to be off by 9:10. Evie didn't leave until 10:00 because her class was taking a bus to the Audubon Nature Center, a 20-minute drive. Yoga was interesting and different as we never stood. After class, I quickly ran through Wegman's and was home by noon. 

Lunch was what else, leftover Cincinnati chili, and I watched my show. I still don't know who the killer is after 14 episodes. I am into my book, also about a killing, called The Whisper Man, and I get it mixed up with my TV series, The Killing. I napped, and when I woke, Evie was home, tired from her trip to the Audubon, but she and he kids seemed to have a good time.  After my nap, I checked out to make sure my Weber Grill was still working after sitting outside in the winter, and then cleaned it up with Comet. It's ready for summer.

Some Of Evie's Kindergartens

We skipped wine time because we were going out to dinner at Steener's Pub with Linda and Ron. They picked us up at 6:00 and drove over to Greenhurst. We easily found a booth, ordered beers and the steak special, two filets or delmonicos for thirty bucks. Then we spent the rest of the time listening to Ron and Linda regale us with their two-week trip to Barcelona, the south of France, and Paris. It sounded amazing but expensive, especially since the dollar has weakened because of Bozo's tariffs. We left around 7:45 and were home by 8:00. Evie went to bed soon after, and I watched some basketball, a WNBA game with Caitlin Clark, and then some of the NBA game and my series, The Killing. I am getting my fill of basketball.

A Blast Of Sunshine

Amen

7:41

7:46

7:52

7:52

It's 9:00 and I paddled for forty minutes on a chilly morning despite a brief blast of sun earlier in the morning.  Now, it's a completely overcast sky, a gray lake to match with a northwesterly wind.  I paddled into the wind down to Magnolia and back, making sure I did not have a struggle on the way home.

Kayak Morning

Yesterday we battled the post-Thanksgiving blues and did well.  With nothing to look forward to, we managed to enjoy the day, make something fun out of it.  We started as usual, with a paddle, blog and breakfast finally deciding on driving to the Audubon Community Nature Center. 

Driving Miss Evie

Crossing the Wetlands

It's a half-hour drive through pleasant fields and farms.  We arrived about 11:00 and walked close to three miles through woods, fields, next to ponds, a variety of landscapes that makes for an interesting hike.  We passed three other hikers during our walk, so we had the woods mostly to ourselves.  

Beaver Damage

Deadfall

A Hemlock Trail

We ended up at the Center and renewed our membership before driving to Jamestown, stopping at the Labyrinth Press Coffee shop, for a burrito to go and a latte for Evie.  We did not get home until 1:30 later than we thought but, hey, we had nothing we had to do.  I enjoyed my Havana burrito, with black beans, veggies, and sour cream, while watching my series.  I then read and took a great nap, not waking until after 3:00.

We relaxed until about 6:00 when Evie popped some popcorn and I made us Manhattans, our usual weekend treat.  We listened to music until at least 7:30 before heating up or dinner in the microwave, the leftovers from our turkey dinner. It was a treat, turkey, stuffing and gravy, a much as we could eat.  We watched a Colbert, some news and ended the night with the finals of The Great British Baking Show and the winner was who I predicted but I won't ruin it for a reader if you have not yet watched it.  I was tired after the show and was happy to get back to my book.