Minus Six Degrees and We Head to Bristow,VA

A beautiful clear morning, with a brilliant pink/orange sky off to the East as we get ready for our road trip.  I hope the weather is decent, perhaps a bit of snow but no ice or freezing rain.  We hope to be off by 8:00 so we should arrive around 3:00.  We cannot wait to see the Bissell's, especially Hayden and Halle.  Nothing like grandchildren.

We arrived in Bristow around 3:00, an easy ride of just under seven hours (350 miles) and we were lucky to have pretty good weather, no snow, no sleet, no rain but it's coming supposedly.  They are predicting a severe storm for a good part of the states but it looks like Virginia may just be on the edge and get freeing rain and ice, not snow.  We will have to see.  The girls got home around 3:45, happy to see us, and we played around with them until dinner time.  We had spicy glazed chicken thighs, a new recipe for Jill and it was really tasty, as you put a thick syrup like sauce over them to give them a great flavor.

I just put Halle down and, as usual, she is quite a talker at this time.  When you tell her a story, she interrupts half the time and talks about things that the story suggests, how it reminds her of something from her life. Tonight, instead of a bad boy story, I told her about how I loved to go to Mr. Goudy's farm, drive his truck, row on his pond, and hear the crazy stories he told about his neighbors, like the guy who smoked in bed and burned his house down.  I am sure they were all apocphral but I believed them all.  And, of course, that's where the idea of the treasure began, as Ella, his wife, would bring it out just as we were to leave and we got to choose something.  It was a great memory.  While I took care of Halle, Evie and Jill went out to return a bed covering we got at Costco and wanted to return.

Getting Ready for a Road Trip to Virginia

I am up a bit later than usual; it felt good to sleep in and wake to light, a white lake, and not darkness.  It's about 20 degrees though it's going to get colder over the next couple of days. We are leaving tomorrow to babysit for Jill and family rather than Tuesday because the weather looks much better on Monday.  One of the advantages of being retired---no time table, you stay or go when you want.  I mentioned that we walked Long Point yesterday and have included a couple of pictures from that foray into the cold.  I also finished Patti Smith's memoir JUST KIDS yesterday, a National Book Award Winner, and I liked it well enough though it wasn't the kind of book you could not put down.  It's the story of her early years, trying to make it as an artist along with her mate, the controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, in the New York city of the late 60's and early 70's.  There friendship was extraordinary.  Not much else on the agenda for today other than packing, getting the car ready, hitting the library and enjoying the day, a bit brighter than usual though still overcast.

It's warming up, almost 25 degrees and I see some blue sky, a miracle in this land of gray.  It perks up the mood of all, a harbinger of spring perhaps, or just a respite from the winter.  I'll take it.

Snowy Saturday Morning---What Else?

I woke at 6:00, to a darken sky, now so gray-white that I can hardly tell the difference between the lake an the shoreline towards Bemus, as all blends together.  A solitary light near Long Point, a fisherman, is the only beacon in this ocean of gray. I can just make out the outline of Tom's Point though the  trees in our front yard, loom large and daunting, the only shapes visible this morning.  It's 22 degrees, about what it's been for the past three or four days, and the snow flakes are wet, not fluffy and large as we like.  We know it's Saturday because our day is informed by our trash drop off, at he North Harmony transfer station, always a fun trip, as we get to see some of our neighbors, as they too come out of their weekly hibernation.

We watched SOUL KITCHEN last night, a film by a Turkish/German film maker Fatih Akin, who has made a couple of films, usually about Turkish immigrants to Germany and their problems--HEAD-ON and THE EDGE OF HEAVEN. This time, he sets it in a German restaurant, the major characters are Greeks (hardly a Turk in the film) and it never moves beyond the German city.  The plot revolves around Kazanazakis's attempts to make the restaurant a go.  Many conflicts arise, his girl moving to Shanghai, his brother in jail, his site coveted by a German entrepreneur. All's well that ends well but we never much liked or care about any of the characters and the plot needed a silly deus ex machina to resolve.  Go back to your Turkish roots and stories. please.

We drove over to Long Point around noon and walked out to the tip of the point.  The entire bay off of Long Point was filled with fishermen, at least 100 I would say.  We walked out and talked to a couple

A Walk in the Chautauqua Institution

A strange morning, as Evie was up before me by about 15 minutes. It's now 7:45 and another gray day, though the glow of the lake a half hour ago always pleases me.  For now, it's a calm, steady soft gray, even though the far side gives a slight hint of black.  And as has been usual the past four mornings, two fisherman, slight stick figures from my view, are out in the center of the lake, the only silhouettes on the white lake. Today they have no tents and seem to be sitting on buckets as  they wet their line,

In Sundial I learned that the winter moon often is in the sky for 14 hours, lighting everything on a moonlight walk. This past Monday night would have been the time to walk, as it was really cold, with a clear sky.  The moon even blocks out most of the stars because of it power. It's supposed to snow a couple of inches a day, so we can expect a nice white cover of snow, hiding some of the dirt/mud created by the cars and snow plows.  A little colder today, 24 degrees, and supposed to get up to the high 20's.

Wednesday night's terrible snow storm wreaked havoc on commuters. It took Walt, my brother in law, six hours to get home and eventually he parked his car in Herndon and walked home because the roads were so bad.  From Drew's Facebook page, I could see he was stuck too, and it sounds like it also took him  close to six hours, arriving home around 11:00.  Cars were abandoned everywhere; where did the people go, how did they get home, and if not, where did they stay?  I wonder if all theses winter storms for the East Coast are just flukes or harbingers of the changes in weather that are to come, either part of a natural cycle or, I know I am going to sound alarmist, global warning.

We watched a really touching movie last night, THE STATION AGENT, written by Tom Mc Carthy, who also wrote one of our favorites THE VISITOR.  Very little significant happens as three very different people, a man suffering from dwarfism with a love of trains, a women, recently divorced who lost her 7 year old son, an a young Cuban, who sells coffee from a truck.  The three come together as Finn, the dwarf, inherits a train station, when his best friend, the owner of a model train store, dies.  His arrival at the train station and moving in, begins this touching developing relationships between the three. None of the glitz, sex, violence, or hand held camera of the modern film, more like the slow moving and developing European films that I  love.  I highly recommend it.  And we just finished the firsts season of MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE on Netflix---I cannot believe we didn't watch it last year.  It's amazingly good and apt.

We just got back from a short walk through the CI, a beautiful day for a walk, as the snow was falling lightly and the trees were still frosted with the snow in most parts.  As usual, we stopped at the library, returned a book, and stopped briefly at the bookstore before heading back to our car.  If we take a walk around the entire CI, it takes us close to an hour; we can also snow shoe when there's lots of snow or cross country ski but today, the plows were already out and the roads were best for walking.  We do usual have cramp-ons (spikes) on our shoes to keep from slipping and we both have become accustomed to using poles when we walk, for stability and we supposed use 40% more calories/energy if you use them vigorously.  I have grown to like them quite a bit and use they even if we walk on asphalt roads; I just put the rubber tips on for walking on hard surfaces.

Almost Half Over

According to my almanac, April is only nine weeks away, winter waning.  Looking out at the lake, it's hard to imagine this vast whiteness will gradually change, that the lawns will become green, the trees begin to leaf.  For now, I am happy with the this frozen tundra in my front yard, the cold mornings, the biting winter air, the snow flakes filling the windows, and the crunch of snow on cold mornings.  Both Evie and I enjoy winter, perhaps because we enjoy getting outside, walking, snow shoeing, or cross country skiing.  And we like the isolation of winter, bundled up in our house, few people around, just us and the winter.

This morning it's relatively warm, 26 degrees, though that maybe the high for the day. We have gotten little snow in the past few days, though the East seems to have been inundated with snow, getting as much as 16 inches in parts of CT and NY.  I know that in northern Virginia, where Jill lives, they were expecting up to 8 inches from this storm.  A strange year, weather wise, for the East coast.  We are used to 300 inches of snow around here; the East is not.

We have been watching Masterpiece Theater's Downton Abbey the last couple of weeks, a wonderful look at Great Britain in 1913, just before the war begins, before the modern world of class consciousness, feminism, and socialism change the way the aristocracy of Great Britain live.  A bit like the Upstairs/Downstairs series from the 70's, we see the struggles and conflicts of both the master and servant.  Wonderfully photographed and written.  And we continue to enjoy MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE.  We both love it, its writing, subtlety, and insight into the psyche of ageing men.  I wonder if it appeals only to a mature audience, say anyone over 40?  None of my kids watch it from what I know, only friends my age.

Another lazy day, mostly sitting around watching TV, reading on my computer, playing around with Iphoto, and reading.  Evie worked out at the gym, inspired by our talk with Dr. Berke, especially his emphasis on the rowing machine.  I think she wants to keep up with Tyler.  I did take a couple of walks today, in the snow, and it felt good to get outside and do something physical.  I was supposed to wait a week before getting back to doing some exercise, though I cannot ski for another week.  I really miss being outside the most, just sitting in here, like a fish in a fish bowl, wondering what it's like beyond the walls.

Darkness at Morn

It's warmed up a bit, 26 degrees this morning, but pitch black outside, no shadows, no stars, hardly a house light on the Bemus side.  I am listening to MSNBC analyze Obama's speech last night and predictably, the liberals liked it, the right criticized it.  It was not as inspiring as his speech in Tucson but he said the right things, with a call for working together to save the country.  He always seems so reasonable among the irrationality of the right but I get the sense he still thinks they can work together for the common good.  The one controversial line was his vow to raise taxes for the wealthy.  It's about the only time the Republicans really disagreed with what he said.  The republican response by Paul Ryan, the rights fiscal tiger, was pretty good, I thought, as he outlined the problem, a deficit that may eventually cripple our country, but from then on, he was the wolf in sheep's clothing, generalizing, talking about the constitution, never mentioning his real proposals: to get rid of entitlements, including Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid. I was impressed by his style and can see why he is a rising star.  This summer, my neighbor down the street, spoke in glowing terms of Ryan, which made me aware of him for the first time.  Like many of the successful older retirees, he is a avid fiscal conservative, but only too happy to take his social security and medicare checks.  To paraphrase a quotation I have always liked, 'we judge a society by the way they take care of their poor and elderly.'  So far, so good I think but if Ryan gets his way, forget it.  Fortunately, even the republicans know they would risk losing their seats if they go after retirees.  Thus, they only want to change social security for those under 55.  Time will tell if this  Congress gets anything done.  Our local paper asked the Jamestown citizens if they were going to watch last night's speech, and 89% said 'no way,' usually followed by some unprintable epithet. I am always amazed on the underclass, those who depend on government, vote against their self interest.

The eastern sky is just beginning to take on a dark blue glow, as the sun begins to light the sky.  Sunrise is an hour away but the sky's first light glows when the lake is frozen.

Evie's working out and I am listening to the pundits debate last night's speech while I read JUST KIDS. The lake looks the same, white frozen lake with a gray sky of various hues, and a couple of fishing  shacks dot the far side.  What is different is the lack of birds at the feeder today and yesterday, most likely a result of a predator nearby, perhaps a hawk.  This has happened before and they eventually return because the food is so available.  Perhaps the fact that the feeder was empty when we were in Cleveland may also have been a cause.  At 1:00, I check in with my local physician, making sure my wounds are healing, my vitals are normal.  I usually see his nurse practitioner but today its Dr, Berke, a legend around here, I have heard, doctor to most of my friends and famous for competing in iron man competitions.  We have been told he is very social, so make sure he checks you over first before socializing.  I have had this happen before, with Dr. Litman and Mac Callum.  I assume they get tired of just examining and trying to make sense of the symptoms, and enjoy the talking.

Well, the gossip was right, Dr. Berke is a talker.  He was about a half hour late then proceeded to tell us all about himself, his triathlon, his various injuries, his interests, taking up I would say a good half an hour.  Very personable, social, a type A no doubt, a pretty good doc I think if you can keep him focused on the problem. We tried hard...fortunately I received a very thorough going over from a med student who is following him as part of his course and he seemed very knowledgeable.  We bemoaned the state of our schools, of English language, and he told a couple of stories about some of the things his patients have said to him...a triple negative as he explained. He even talked about rowing, since he has a machine in his house as well as working ou at Turner gym.

Summer's Here!

It's 27 degrees out this morning, 37 degrees warmer than yesterday, a bit of a change.  I kind of liked it when it was so cold though I didn't really venture out side. Borland's SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS interestingly talked about the distinctive crunch of the snow when it gets really cold out and when Evie came in, she said how amazing the crunch of the snow was.  As usual, it's gray, not the amazing sunrise from yesterday morning, when the sky was clear, the air polar, the lake brilliant white.  Another day of sitting around, reading and watching TV, as I recuperate from my procedure.  I can start walking some on the treadmill on Thursday, and by the following Thursday I can resume all exercises.

Evie is off for the weekly shopping run...thank goodness I am staying home. She's hitting Bon Ton, Sam's, Wegman's and maybe Brigiotta's.  I am usually pretty good for two stops, but Bon Ton usually puts me over the top. I think it must be psychological because too much standing around as someone else shops puts me back in my childhood, as I sweated and became nauseous, as my mother shopped at a department store.  I am sure I was still bundled up in a winter coat and between that and the heat, I felt sick.  I still feel that way after more than a half hour or so at TJ's, especially if I am through looking at things.  Bizarre.

Reading Patty Smith's JUST KIDS, makes me want to wander the streets of New York, as she does in the late 60's, though it was more run down then, with large pockets of abandoned buildings and apartments, lots of street crime and drugs, much different from the affluent Manhattan of today.  It's amazing how poor she and Mapplethorpe were, rarely haven't enough money to feed themselves or pay for a room somewhere.  Somehow they managed to scrounge enough to get buy but forget visiting a doctor or going out to eat...a realistic picture that debunks the romance of the starving artist.  They were starving but the act of creation seemed to sustain them.  They ended up staying in the Chelsea Hotel, where they were able to meet fellow artists and this was the moment where both of their careers began to settle down.  This hotel is famous for the people who stayed there and they have tours of the rooms they used, artists like Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan.  It's still a functioning hotel, a block or so from Greenwich Village and relatively cheap, 140 for a double.  I have no idea what it's like inside  but I assume it's still bare boned and appeals to the young hungry for 60's memorabilia,