Overcast Skies, Calm Lake

6:41

7:56

Well, I was up in time for this morning 6:27 sunrise but there was none because of the heavy cloud cover, just gray on gray.  It's cooled off, 48º, after yesterday's high of 85º, not quite a record high but close.  No rain forecast but cloudy much of the day and the rains come in over the weekend.

Purple Martins Have Returned To A Duct Taped Home

Yesterday was not the best of days for either of us. I had a dental cleaning in the afternoon and knew that there was going to be bad news, like two new crowns.  And Evie had an appointment with a physical therapist who thinks she can be of some help with her TMJ which is good news.  So like many of our retired friends, our day was organized around doctor/dentist appointments, alas.  I did start my morning with a good yin yoga class and we spent most of the morning working on the back because most of the women are gardeners.  My back felt great after class, too. When I got out to my car, Evie had texted that a truck was stuck next door and she was worried about being able to get to her appointment on time.  Fortunately, they were able to get the truck out of the ditch in time so she could make her appointment at 12:15.  I was home just before noon, had a final lunch of gruel and a bagel, watched some SPIRAL, then took a quick nap before driving off to the dentist at 1:30.  I had to wait 45 minutes of course before I got a cleaning and heard the bad news.  What a way to spend the afternoon.

I got home around 4:00 as storm clouds were gathering.  Earlier, I had bought some grass seed with fertilizer added, so we both went outside and worked on the bare spots where our huge maple had once been.  This is about the third or fourth time we have tried to grow grass in this area and this is the last time I will try.  Let the weeds grow if the grass won't.  By the way, everything is beginning to bloom around here.  The daffodils and tulips are spectacular, the lilac tree is close to blooming and I even saw variegated shoots from the hostas.  Spring has sprung.

Dinner was easier than usual as Evie had picked up a rotisserie chicken at Sam's, cut it up along with lots of veggies and added an Indian Simmer sauce from Trader Joe's, made some rice, and we had a tasty Indian dinner.  We watched a recent film, NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, with some trepidation because we knew it would be violent.  And to our surprise we both liked it and were riveted by the dual stories despite the bizarre artistic license taken by the director, Tom Ford, whose goal is often to shock, like the opening nude scenes.  What it had to do with the story that followed is questionable although I am sure there are critics out there who have explained it.

A Few Days Of Sunny Spring Weather

6:14

6:15

6:53

7:18

Kayaking at 8:00

I was up at 6:15, to an overcast sky, the sun unable to break through the clouds.  It's a gray day for now on the lake, with the sounds of martins in the distance, none in our house so far.  A few Canadian geese are floating by, like small boats, honking and always annoying.  It looks look a good day, lots of sun and coolish, with a high around 58º.  It's 7:30, Evie's still asleep so I think I will go out for a paddle.

Morning On The Lake

Yesterday was a typical Easter, lots of changeable weather, at times welcoming, at others sending us inside.  After a leisurely morning coffee, we decided to go for a walk around the Chautauqua Institution.  It was a mistake because by the time we started our walk, we already realized we were overdressed and both of us were uncomfortably warm, even starting to sweat.  It made us cut our walk short alas but at least we got in some exercise and were able to see how far along the Amphitheater had come.  After our walk, we drove over to Linda and Ron's, to see if they were home and get another walk through to see the the progress on their house.  I was hoping Linda was home because she always makes us coconut cream filled chocolate eggs for Easter.  Fortunately, she arrived from church as we were going though the house, so we got our eggs.  The house is coming along but they still have lots of decisions, in fact, Linda is meeting Evie today at noon to go to Sherwin Williams to help pick out paint colors for the inside walls of their house.

Torrential Rains At 1:30 pm

We had our usual breakfast when we got home, eggs, bacon, and this time, my homemade bread toasted, so good.  We watched CBS Sunday morning and then spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about working outside but a torrential rain storm which lasted about a half hour ruined our plans.  I was content to stay inside, reading and napping and Evie watched some TV before getting back to working on the photo album on Shutterfly.   I watched the NBA game, Golden State and Portland and both teams looked so much better than the Cavs.  It was a fun game to watch.  Afterwards, I went outside because the sun had come out and did some useless weeding, as it never seems to make a difference even though I spend hours out there, like the old days, with a basket and my weeding tool, pulling them out one at a time.  It's my kind of mindfulness.

For dinner, we were going to a have lamb but decided to make it easy, so Evie got out some frozen meatballs and pasta sauce and we had dinner, with a salad and bread.  We watched the movie LION and both of us loved it, a true story, of a young poverty stricken Indian boy who is adopted by an Australian couple after he gets lost and is put in an orphanage.  The last half of the movie tells the story of his attempt to find out where he came from and reunite with his birth mother.  It reminded me some of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIARE, the other wonderful film set in India.  We ended the night watching the political show on Showtime called The Circus, perfectly named for what's going on in the political world, not only in the States but also in Turkey, where Erdogan, Turkey's president has consolidated power, literally making him an Islamic dictator or mullah.  Sad and Scary.