Friday Morning With the Bissells

7:47

Fishermen Heading Out on Foggy Lake

Drew and Coco Out On A Morning Walk

Opening the Treasure Chest

Up at 6:45 and Drew, Halle, and Coco, their dog, are already up, as the sky, pink and blue, begins to lighten.  Drew is on his Ipad, snuggling with Halle and the dog.  They arrived yesterday around 8:30, after a rough drive through PA, lots of fog at night, making the going slow.  The girls piled out of the car, ran and gave us hugs, then Jill with Coco, then Drew, then Hayden ran back, and pulled out Selena, her miniature Chinese hamster in a cage.  So, the entire family came, pets and all.  We had a light dinner, of soup and pizza, and sat up talking until 11:00.  Evie helped the girls get their room all nice and cosy before they went to bed.  I sat with Halle as she read me a book; Hayden was on her Itouch, texting a friend back in VA.  I guess Selena spends the night walking on her treadmill, loud enough to be annoying until you get used to it.  Selena's about 3 inches long and she will take treats from Hayden's hand, a low maintenance pet I guess.

Yesterday was spent, once again, getting the house and everything else ready for Drew and Jill and the girls.  At 10:00, I went off to yoga and it was crowded, 16 people, so we were packed in like sardines.  It was easy compared to the previous evening as we held poses for three to five minutes.  I did get some suggestion about how to avoid straining my lower back, which bothers me after a session.  We had Turkish lentil/wheat berry soup and foccacia pizza for dinner.

Right now the girls are madly going through the Treasure Chest, trying to find the perfect gift.  Jill's up, getting coffe, and Drew's out on the lake with Coco, taking a walk on the ice.  It's cold enough that there's a layer of ice on the lawn and car but I am afraid it won't stay long.

We are not sure of the program for the day; it depends on the weather.  I know we will be out on the lake, perhaps walking, or Hayden will try skating if it's safe enough. We may even try ice fishing.  We also will go to the CI's library, a fun stop for the girls.  And tonight, we are having the girls' favorite dinner, Juicy Lucy's, a double burger with cheese in the middle.  Right now it looks like it's going to be a sunny day, alas, no snow but at least it's not wet and gray like the last few days.  Time for breakfast.

The Bissell's Arrive Later Today

Drew, Jill, Halle, and Hayden

Another blah day outside, three in a row, wet, gray, some snow left, in the 30's, no snow fall in sight unfortunately, as the girls were excited to enjoy the great snow we usually have here at the lake in the winter.  It looks like we will be playing inside more than out unless the weather changes.

Yesterday was spent getting things ready for the girls;  Evie did most of the work with me as her helper. The girls room is ready, new pictures on the walls to make it look for 'girlish', some dolls and playthings for them to keep busy and most importantly, we turned on the heat upstairs so that all the Bissell's can enjoy sleeping.  We tend to like it cold, in the low 50's but most people like the temperature around 70.
Evie also made three soups, a couple of loaves of bread, and lemon squares, to compliment the peanut butter M & M's, a must when the girls come.  So, we finalize things today; Evie is making foccacia pizzas for dinners, with her soups, because the Bissell's will not arrive till 7:00 or later, depending on when they can get away and how the roads are.

I decided to try Vinyasa Yoga last night at 6:00, with a more rigorous group of practitioners.  And it was more difficult, as the leader moved more quickly and most of the people knew what they were doing.  I could keep up with most of the poses but did not move as quickly as others.  I returned home around 7:45, for a dinner of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and a few episodes of Mad Men before we went to bed.

This morning I am off to yoga again at 10:00, then to Sam's and Weggies, to pick up a few extras for the  week, bon filet for our fondue on Saturday, some fresh veggies, things like that.  It's going to be a long day, waiting for them.  We cannot wait.

Getting Ready for Hayden and Halle

One Year Ago

The Girls Are Coming (san Coco)

Another dull morning outside, gray, mild, with a threat of rain, about 33 degree, not the kind of weather we wanted for the girls.  There is snow on the ground, about two inches, but the roads are wet a and dirty, from the sand and it does not look as though it's going to snow or get much colder over the weekend.  I read in the paper today that the last time the area had a winter like this was in the 1950's.  The paper also mentioned that snow mobiles have had only two days this winter, unheard of  for this area.  I guess we have to be happy to have had the past two winters, both of which were wonderful, lots of snow, cold, and occasional sun, just the way we like it.  The Ice Festival in Mayville is this weekend; they had to cancel the ice castle as there's not enough ice on the lake to make the castle.  And they are adding various activities to make up for the lack of snow, like a funny pet costume contest.   There will be a polar plunge, an outside dance, and music of course but it won't be the same without hundreds of snow mobiles in the area (maybe that's a plus).

Yesterday was shopping day, as Evie had a huge list of groceries to get for the Bissell's arrival.  We hit both Sam's Club and Wegman's, came home loaded with food and it took quite awhile to put all the goodies a way.  Sometimes shopping can be exhausting, both physically and mentally, so when we got home, neither one of us felt like walking.  So, we didn't, just hung out, got organized, watched some TV, made dinner, chicken, Brussels sprouts and potatoes, and watched TV, Smash and the last two hours of Mildred Pierce, a very unsettling film, set in the 1930's, which centers on the troubled relationship between a mother and her daughter.  Kate Winslett is wonderful, as usual, but the movie is hard to watch because it's not a very happy story, as we kept predicting what awful thing would happen next, a death, some infidelity, bankruptcy, and revenge.  Sometimes you wonder why movies are made, what makes the film makers think a story is worth turning into a film.  Clearly, Mildred Pierce received critical acclaim but I am getting tired of gloom and doom.  I am ready for some sunshine, a happy movie.  Just one!

Lots of cooking today for Evie, three soups for the weekend, and that's just the beginning.

ONE DAY: DAVID NICHOLLS

Spoiler Alert on Review

I loved this book...there, I said it.  Perhaps I'm a sucker for romance,  but this book swept me away,  then dropped me so abruptly that I had a difficult time recovering my equilibrium. Rarely have I  felt so emotional about a book.  It reminded me at the start of those great TV dramas like Cheers and The Office, where the give and take between Sam and Diane, Jim and Pam becomes the center of the show.  Nicholls is the master of this kind of dialogue, yet it rings true.  Emma or Em has just graduated with double honors in English and History from Edinburgh.  Graduation night, she meets Dexter (Double two's in Anthropology), the campus fop and Lothario at a party.  They end up getting drunk, spending the night together mostly talking, playing around some, but never consummating the relationship.  The next day, though both don't want to admit to being smitten with each, they make a pack to be 'just friends,' much like Harry Loves Sally.

And the novel begins, alternating back and forth,between each characters point of view.  It follows the early difficulties Em faces, not being well connected, coming from a middle class home, as well as being an aspiring writer.  To support herself, she ends up being a waitress, then teacher, eventually becoming a success in her 30's writing young adult fiction.  Dexter, in contrast, because of his charm, connections, good looks, and luck, ends up becoming famous as a presenter on television, hosting silly game shows.  For awhile, as Em struggles, he's a success.  But as he ages, as his audience becomes younger, as he becomes more and more dissolute, his success begins to fade just as Em's begins to rise. In my mind's eye, I picture the actor Dudley Moore in the 1980's movie Arthur playing Dexter.   Through all of this, they remain friends, taking trips together, writing letters (Em), postcards (Dexter) and talking to each other on the phone.  Whenever one has a problem, they can always count on the other to be there.  It's clear that Em loves Dexter, warts and all, but she never admits it to him.  And Dexter longs to talk with Em, to be with her, though he doesn't know it, as he's often drunk, on drugs, or chasing the ladies.  They both have lovers, Em has Ian, a stand up comedian that she doesn't find funny.  And Dexter after many years of debauchery, ends up marrying Sylvie, of his class, has a child but ends up divorced within the year.  He of course turns to Em for solace and though she vows to stay friends, they end up with each other, living in a garret apartment in Paris for a few months.  They return back to London, end up living with each other, and slowly Dexter realizes that he has never been happier and Em begins to have enough confidence in herself and Dexter to contemplate marriage.  They end up getting married,to their  friends knowing smiles.  They begin their life together, like all couples, happy in their middle age lives, as things slow down, activity as well as passions, but they are content.  The one thorn, Em's inability to have a child quickly enough, seems to be there only problem.  After going over the despair of this one morning, they kiss and make up.  Both go off to their jobs, Em as a writer, Dex to his job as owner of a gourmet food store/cafe f.  They happily agree to meet at 5:00 for dinner.  After doing some writing, paying some bills, Em hops on her bicycle, heads home through the rain and is hit by a car and killed.  I still find it hard to write!

The last section describes Dexter's mourning, his spiral into drunkenness and self pity.  He is saved by his ex wife, his father and, Ian, Em's old boyfriend, who writes Dexter a lovely letter about how he felt when Em left him but he 'continued on' and eventually found love and a family.  Dex is rescued, finds a female friend, but each year, on the date of Em's death, he calls his friends and talks about her.  In this section, Nicholls cuts back in time, fills in the details of their first day together after graduation, and they are reunited, at least in the readers' minds for a bit.    They picnic, climb a mountain, have lunch, return to Dexter's apartment only to find his parents are waiting for him.  "And then it was over.  'And so I will see you around, he said walking slowly backwards away from her.  I hope so, she smiled. And I hope so too, Bye Em.  By Dex.  Goodbye.  Goodbye Goodbye." And it ends.

Em and Dexter, their characters, are the center of the book.  You like both of them,  Em more at first but you can also see why she likes Dexter.  Beneath the fop there's a good guy, compassionate, unhappy and confused.  And you never stop loving Em but with Dexter, the affection slowly develops as you see his struggle with his demons, finally overcoming them as he becomes a warm, loving human being.

It's being made into a movie with Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess, to come out in May.

Tuesday Blahs

*;45

Skating Pond

Up at 7:15, to 28 degrees outside, no sunrise to speak of, just grays and more grays.  The lake is still frozen, with a layer of snow, some fishermen are already out on the ice over towards Long Point, and I have finished my second cup of coffee as I write this, listening to Morning Joe on Sirius Radio.  The pundits are blabbering about Obama's budget.  No one seems to like it; I am not sure why the democrats don't but I don't have the patience to listen.  I am tired of the news, of politics, of the polarity and lack of action of our politicians, like most Americans.  I remember reading a poll where 85% of Americans would, if they could, get rid of all of Congress and start over with an entirely new membership.  Sounds like a good idea but it wouldn't take them long to be like this current group---a new Harry Reid or Mitch Mc Connell would arise to screw things up.

We went into Lakewood yesterday, Evie to the YMCA, me to Yoga.  I am making some progress with my mindfulness because I hardly thought about the time.  I am getting  better at paying attention to my breath and forgetting about what's on my mind, of being 'empty and marvelous', my goal.  My lower back bothers me some, but I am not sure if it's from yoga or our mattress.  Later in the day, I walked at the CI and went to the library to pick up some DVD's that my granddaughters might like.  The roads were icy and snow covered, so it was not much fun walking though mild, getting up to 47 in the early afternoon.

We had more chicken curry for dinner, even better than yesterday and I have been eating some mango pickle along with my curry.  It's a favorite of Indian food aficionados, at least in the novels I have read.  Beth gave me a jar for my birthday.  It is very strong tasting, sour and hot.  It is, at first, a disagreeable taste but like many foods/drinks (Manhattans, beer, wine, hot foods), the more you eat it, the more you like it.  I put just a taste on my fork along with the curry and yum, I like it.

We watched Downton Abbey, the next two hours, and the Spanish flu hits the house, infecting all.  It's moving quickly and in unexpected ways.  Also, hints of infidelity are squelched, Bates is married, then arrested for murder, Sybil declares her love for the chauffeur and Matthew's fiancee dies, complicating the affections and marriage plans of Mary.  It's getting more like an afternoon soap but still delicious fun.

An Arizona Sky of Sun and Clouds

Fighting A Lake Effect Blizzard

7:05

7:45

Up at 7:00, to a clear sky, some clouds in the distance, and 17 degrees.  Watching the sun rise this morning was amazing, pinks and blues, then an orange disk beginning to peak out of the clouds, then a sphere, now a full sun reflecting on the lake, blinding me as I sit here on my couch.  Unfortunately, it is supposed to get warmer during the day and week, with highs in the 30's, making the weekend with the Bissell's with snow less than ideal.  I think we will have some snow but it could be wet as well, a mixture of rain and snow, alas.

Yesterday morning, we went cross country skiing on the lake, in a blizzard of snow, our favorite condition for skiing on the lake.  By the time we got out and went as far as the Giarizzo's, we decided to head back because of the wind and just ski along Woodlawn.  Unfortunately, our skis began to freeze up, gathering an inch or two of ice or snow, making it impossible to ski.  So we waddled home, like a couple of penguins, took off our skis and came in the house and had my favorite meal of the week, fried eggs, two strips of bacon, and toast.

That afternoon, Evie made her black bread and the two of us put together a chicken curry I came across in one of Indian cookbooks, fairly simple but you do make your own curry sauce.  And you cook the chicken in the sauce and together with brown rice, we had a feast.  I forgot to mention we did head off in late afternoon to another trail behind Boxcar Barneys, to try cross country sking but the trail was run rough shod by snow mobiles, so we quit after about 30 minutes.  It just wasn't the same as last time, when we were on virgin snow, with no noise.

We watched the Grammy's from begining to end; not much doubt there as Adele won everything.  She is an amazing singer and song writer and deserved it.  Bruce Springsteen was average, Paul Mc Cartney weak, but the Foo Fighters were great, energetic and bold.  It seems like the moves popularized by The Four Tops and groups like that are back, though modernized by Bruno Mars.  He is refreshing and original, much more interesting and talented than a Chris Brown.  Taylor Swift's country song, with the band dressed in 1930's Appalachian garb, was also a highlight. A fun night.  We didn't get to bed until 11:30.

A Cold Snowy Sunday Morning and Hiking the The Southern Part Overland Trail

8:05

Dusk on Saturday

Up at 6:40, to a cold house, 55 degrees, so I have lit the fire place, with my remote, and now the room is nice and toasty.  Evie's up as well and we sit comfortably enjoying the dawning morning, the lake white, covered with snow, the shore line just visible off of Long Point, and gentle snow falling, hardly visible.  It's 19 degrees outside, the coldest it has been in a few weeks though it won't stay as it supposedly will warm up into the 30's during the week, alas, as we want it snowy and cold when Hayden and Halle arrive on Thursday.

Yesterday morning, we met with three hikers from the Chautauqua Hikes group in Panama at 10:00 to walk the Westside Overland Trail.  We car pooled to the southern most part of the trail, where it begins on Front Line Road.  We then headed off in snow, through an amazing pine forest, for a five mile hike.  It was fairly easy, actually, and most of it was through forests of pine, various hard woods, even cherry.  The walk took us almost three hours, with a stop for lunch, and it was only difficult towards the end, when we walked through a windy, snowy open field, from one part of the forest to the other.  Though it was in the 20's, we were never really cold, perhaps overdressed at times, though the whipping wind turned Evie's face beet red and my beard was frozen with ice.  It was a great way to spend a morning and we got back home around 2:00, taking our time on slippery snow covered roads.  Two of the guys live near Holly Loft in Jamestown, Jerry(he leads kayak tours in Colorado during the summer) and Tom the leader, from Ohio. Jack, a retired National Grid worker, is from Fredonia.  All three were easy going and fun to get to know.  We all hope to do this again soon, perhaps the next leg of the trial.  Tom has walked the entire 28 miles, camping for two nights.  He also has walked the entire Chautauqua Creek, also camping, from Lyon's Road to Westfield.  They are inspiring.

Beginning our Hike

Amazing Forests of Pines

Tom, our leader, TD,  Jerry and Jack

A Snowy Stop for Lunch

A Break

An Abandoned Cast Iron Maple Sugar Furnace

For dinner, we made a great stir fry/fried rice combo, with pork and lots of veggies.  We devoured it, then sat back and watched three more episodes of Mad Men.  We are on episode 35, have to get to 50 before the series restarts in March.

Today, we hope to make our new favorite, a black bread, then  cross country ski on the lake, as it's been cold enough to freeze the lake and there's a nice layer of snow as well.  I just hope it's not slushy underneath so our skis freeze.