O What A Day

Good Golly, Miss Molly

7:53 AM

Sunset

7:10 PM

Cleveland At Dusk

It's 7:30 and I have been up for an hour, sitting in my sister's living room, looking out the family room window at Lake Erie, its vastness dwarfing Chautauqua Lake. I can still see the moon high in the sky on a clear morning. It's 57º and will get up into the 70s like yesterday. 

Saturday morning was our usual routine, beginning with a long paddle and photographing of herons who were still hanging around. Once the blog was done, breakfast was enjoyed, and we got busy because we were leaving for Euclid at noon. I gathered the trash and drove to the Transfer Station while Evie got things ready for our visit. We left at noon and it was an easy two-hour drive to Linda and Rich's home. We stopped, however, to pick up a couple dozen Slovenian sausages at Azmans, to take back to the lake today. 

Both Rich and Linda had been busy, setting up the yard for the clambake for 22 family and friends.  We sat around and talked and got a few things done, readying the bake and libations for later. Earlier, Rich picked up the bake from Euclid Fish, purveyors of clambakes since the 1950s.  My dad used to take me with him to pick up bakes when I was in my teens. Most arrived around 3:30 or 4:00 and the fun began. Evie brought the Travelling Treasure Chest so Molly had a delightful time pulling out the presents, ending up with a backpack.  

Sophie, Molly, And Evie

Miss Molly And Mom

Claire And Molly

The fire was started earlier, so once the water was boiling, we added the clams, potatoes, corn, and chicken. So for the next couple of hours, we sat around drinking and enjoying my nephew Pat's appetizers on charcuterie board. 

Nieces And Nephews

The Family Holz

The Bake

Appetizers

Rich, Corey And Lobsters

A Family Tradition: Pregnant Claire Pours Beer Into The Bake

First, we had clam chowder, and then broth as the bake was about to finish. The finishing touch was the addition of King crab legs and four huge lobsters, compliments of Corey, for the last twenty-five minutes. 

Then, Corey and I spent 15 minutes cracking the lobsters and crab legs and pulling on the meat, and once all was ready, everyone grabbed their plates, piled them with chicken, salad, corn and potatoes, and lobster, and then were served a bowl of clams from the bake by Rich. What an amazing bake and evening, the sun setting, the temperatures in the 60s, and all the clams we could eat. Once we had enough clams and sides, Rich's daughter, Kirsten pulled out the desserts, cheesecake, lady locks, and apple streusel. 

Linda, Kevin, Kirstin, And Rich

Dusk

Kirstin, Kevin And Kids

Enjoying A Fire

Evie And New Friend, Molly

Smores And Darkness

Everyone then helped clean up and once that was done, we finished the day with smores while sitting around the fire as the evening waned. By 10:00, everyone was gone and we did a few things in the kitchen before going up to bed. 

7:00

Fog Rising

6:10

6:58

It's 7:00 and the fog is just beginning to lift.  I have been up for an hour, on my computer, of course, reading about Afghanistan, all the mistakes we made.  It's hard to argue with them. Both parties, all four Presidents share the blame for our noble but fruitless attempt to create a democratic Afghanistan. And so it goes. It's 8:48 and the fog which seemed to have lifted returned as I was out paddling for an hour and I came home soaked from the mist.  

Kayak Morning

A Heavy Mist

Woodlawn Heron

Long Point Heron

It was, however, a good morning for birding, with a couple of photos of herons.  And I also was able to get a cormorant, on a buoy, with a fish in his mouth,  and after having gulped it down.  Amazing.

Cormorant

With A Fish

Quite A Mouth Full

Yesterday was another muggy day, with occasional drizzle that never really cooled off the yard.  I had a busy morning with quick kayaking, breakfast, and then Yin Yoga with Danielle.  More women are wearing masks in class which is good to see. After class, I did a quick run-through of Walmart, looking for a couple of folding outdoor chairs but they were either cheap and frail or expensive and heavy so I bought neither and we will stick with what we already have beach chairs.  When I got home, Evie was on the front porch couch, suffering from the humidity, wanting to do something but lacked the energy.

For lunch, I made myself a chicken sandwich, with Buffalo chicken, and a bowl of ramen.  I watched my show, Captiani, then started a new book, called The Liar's Girl, another serial killer book.  I napped, of course, watched some TV and Evie read as she is fast into a Carol Shields book. I thought we ought to get out of the house, maybe go out to dinner, and suggested we try our favorite restaurant, Forte, which just opened last week after a year-plus hiatus.  Evie liked the idea of an air-conditioned car and restaurant, so we both showered and were off by 5:30.  I dropped Evie off, parked the car and she, fortunately, was able to get the last two seats at the bar. 

An Evening At Forte In Jamestown

It was a busy place, with people constantly arriving, everyone happy to be back at Forte.  We ordered beers and appetizers, two were great, the Korean ribs and Caesar salad, the two sushi rolls were not so great.  We loved being there, at a bar once again, and were happy to see the owner and wait staff were the same.  We lingered until we felt we were taking someone else's seats and left around 7:30, happy with our choice to go out and the fact that Forte was doing well.

When we returned home, we turned on the fans, the air conditioner in the TV room and relaxed, watching Colbert, then started two new series, neither of which we liked, and turned them off after 15 minutes, alas. It was already late by the time we left the second series so we went up to bed.

With Family At Last!

With Dallas Family. Finally

It's a bit different this morning, waking up in Highland Park, a Dallas suburb, enjoying coffee with Beth as Rami gets ready to fly to Atlanta for business, returning however in time for dinner, Marisa just woke and is getting ready for school via the web,  And Mitch in the Engineering Master's Program at the University of Texas, is still sleeping, here for a couple of days to see us. 

We left Little Rock at 8:00, as expected, and had a busy Sunday drive, the roads filled with truckers all the way to Dallas.  We took our time, stopped once for breakfast and Mickey D's and only when we got to Dallas was it white knuckle driving.  We are just not used to city driving, to six lanes filled with drivers all in a hurry to get somewhere. We made it in five as planned.

Marisa!

Hanging Out With Marisa, Mitch, And Kaia

It was wonderful to finally hug our daughter and grandchildren, for the first time in 17 months. Hallelujah. It's strange how within minutes, it was like we had never been separated.  We sat out by the pool and just enjoyed being together. We caught up on mostly Mitchell and Marisa's lives because we have not communicated with them much because of Covid.  Both are doing well, Marisa excited about matriculating to Vanderbilt in the fall, Mitch having an internship this summer, finishing his Master's in Structural Engineering in June 2022.  And Tyler,  our oldest grandchild, who lives and works in Boston, has decided to pursue his Masters in Engineering at UCLA next fall so there are lots of changes in the Albarran household. 

Mitchell And Rami

a

Mitchell And Milena

Rami and I ran out to the Container Store for an hour while the girls started prepping dinner.  Mitch picked up his girlfriend, Milena at 4:00 and she stayed for dinner.  She just graduated from UT in nursing and is working full time at a hospital in Dallas.  She is really neat.  Beth made her shrimp pasta with a tomato, basil, garlic, lemon, and shallot sauce, a family favorite  Everyone loved the dinner, with salad and a warm baguette.  We sat around talking until we had enough room for apple pie with ice cream.  By 9:00, we were all tired and by 9:30, our room was organized and we were all in bed, tired from the long day.  

LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND: RUMAAN ALAM

 

Another apocalyptical novel, this time set on Long Island. A couple and their children rent a summer house on Long Island.  After a couple of days, the owners of the house knock on the door having fled  NYC for reasons unclear, ask if they can stay. Unfortunately, cell phones and TV don't work.  And so the story begins.

CHERRY: NICO WALkER

Interestingly, much of this novel is set in a suburb of Cleveland Heights, Ohio, near my hometown. The novel is part autobiographical and written from prison where Walker was serving an 11-year term for bank robbery. He narrates his life as an affluent high school drug user, a much-decorated Iraqi War Vet, and finally, a victim of the opioid epidemic.  It's not a pretty story but realistically illustrates the destructiveness of the opioid crisis. The film, based on Walker's novel, will be digitally released on March 12th on AppleTV+. 

THE FOUR WINDS: KRISTIN HANNAH

This is the third novel by Hannah that I have read, the other two, The Nightingale and The Great Alone.  What I like about her books is that they are so different from each other, with The Four Winds being no exception. This novel follows the depressing life of Elsa Woolcott who grows up in the Great Plains during the Great Depression when drought and duststorms destroy the livelihood of once-prosperous farmers. Elsa's husband abandons her with two young children, leaving her the difficult choice of staying or setting out for California, the land of promise.  What she finds instead are back-breaking days picking cotton to support her family, living in camps, near-death poverty, and landowners taking advantage of the poor.  She lives, however, by her grandfather's final words: "courage is fear you ignore" and she finally stands up to the owners, organizing and leading a strike to gain liveable wages. It reminded me of John Steinbeck's great novel, The Grapes Of Wrath.   

White Nights: Ann Cleeves

Cleeve sets this group of novels in the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland. This is the second in the series, the first being Raven Black. The island is a tourist trap in the summer and Detective Jimmy Perez hunts down a killer of three, one a tourist, two, locals. Cleeve's modus operandi is to give the reader brief biographies of practically everyone in the novel, making it difficult to figure out who done it till the end. 

Transcendent Kingdom: Yaa Gyasi

Like her best-selling Homecoming which I loved, Gyasi mixes autobiography with fiction to tell the story about a Ghanian family in Alabama. The narrator is a fifth-year candidate in neuroscience at Stanford University, She seeks answers to her brother's death from drugs both in her science and the evangelical religion of her youth. It's a portrait of a Ghanaian immigrant family ravaged by poverty, addiction and grief.  I did not like it as much as her first novel, Homecoming but am glad I read it. 

The Dry: Jane Harper

 

A different cop book set this time in a drought stricken farming community in Australia.  A family of three is found murdered and Federal Police Investigator Aaron Falk reluctantly returned to attends the funeral of his childhood friend. As questions mount, he ends up staying to help solve the murder.  This is my first novel by Jane Harper and I like it enough to get another.  

The Children's Bible:Lydia Millet

 

A group of children, contemptuous of their parents' habits and attitudes, feeling neglected and suffocated, decide to run away when an epic storm devastates many parts of the US.  Lots of biblical parallels, allusions to global warming, and the world's neglect of the natural world.  I wanted to like it but didn't. And so it goes

Homeland Elegies: Ayad Akhtar

 

A Pakistani family drama, set in the world that 9/11 made.  Part autobiography, part fiction, part social commentary but ultimately about a father and son, one born in Pakistan, the other in the United States.