Forty Seven Months

7:13

8:17

8:20

 It's a bright, shiny morning, not a cloud in the sky, a sun so bright I have had to move my seat from the couch to a chair..  The lake is a vast bowl of glass in front of our house though it's open in other parts of the lake.  It's 30º out and should be a nice day, lots of sun, warming temps.

Thunder Bridge Selfie

Yesterday was another unusual February day, warm weather and lots of sunshine.  I guess I should not complain.  We decide to walk the Chautauqua Institution after listening to a few of the morning news shows.  When we got there, it was obvious that many others had the same idea as we passed groups of people, out enjoying the spring like day, walking the streets of the CI.  It felt good to be out, to have some sunshine, even if nothing yet was in bloom, still a very winter landscape.  It takes us little over  an hour to walk the three mile loop. And, yes, the Amphitheater is on schedule.   We then stopped at the Lighthouse Grocery to pick up some of their homemade country sausage.

Rising Amphitheater

Amphitheater Innards

When we got home, Evie fried up four patties of the sausage, toasted some bagels, and made a Turkish omelet called a Menemen, with tomatoes and feta cheese.  As we ate, Evie kept saying this was the best breakfast she's ever had.  I tend to agree.  We watched CBS Sunday Morning, a favorite Sunday show because of its eclectic segments, and its never just straight political news.  The rest of the day we did not do much.  Some cleaning up, organizing, but mostly reading, watching TV and late afternoon getting ready to go out to dinner with Linda and Ron at 5:00.

A Pine Junction Sunday Dinner

We drove the 15 miles to Pine Junction near Findlay Lake, through farmlands, their fields still dusted with a cover of snow.  We were shocked to see the parking lot full, only one table available when we walked in.  What was up?  It was a Sunday night.  Then we realized that Monday was President's Day, thus the large number of families with kids.  Ron and I ordered burgers with our beers, the girls chicken with their beers.  It was a good decision to go out on a Sunday, and we enjoyed everything about it, the busyness, the good food, the beer, and good friends. We drove home in the utter darkness of the surrounding farms of Sherman, getting home around 8:00.  We watched another episode of THIS IS US, then Homeland, which was on at 9:00.  I have to admit I was a bit bored with it early on but it is getting intriguing, as we try to figure out what's up.  Who is the bad  guy?  My gut feeling tells me it might be someone government related, or at least an American, not a terrorist from abroad.

A Splendid Chautauqua Lake Dawn

6:50

6:53

6:57

6:58

I was up at 5:45, got my coffee, walked outside to see how warm it was, 45º, saw the stars and moon through the tree branches, and came in and listened to C-SPAN listeners talk about Trump's assertion that the 'media is the enemy of the people.'  Interesting and varied response though predictable.  And the C-Span just mentioned yesterday's enthusiastic crowd at our Congressman's Town Hall in Ashville, New York.  We keep making the national news here in our tiny village of Ashville.  I also trotted outside numerous times, listening to the echoes of the ice cracking and taking one photograph after another of the morning sunrise.  It was splendid.

7:34

8:26

Yesterday was a very different Saturday for me, as I attended a lively, passionate town hall meeting with our Congressman, Tom Reed. I wore my American flag hat, a Special Ops T shirt (given to me by my son in law, Drew), to show that liberals are patriotic, too.

Ready To Get Involved

The town hall was to be held in our senior center but because the crowd was so large and the weather was temperate, we were able to have it outside.  I had to park a quarter of a mile away because so many people attended.

The Road To The Town Hall

It was clear that the anti Trump, anti Republican crowd was aroused and they dominated the meeting, asking questions, screaming out slogans, and generally being disruptive when Reed said things  they disagreed with.  I loved it, the passion of the locals, who are finally waking up to the reality of the present.

Passionate Voters

Because they were not expecting such a crowd, it was very difficult to hear what was being said, either by Reed or the crowd which was too bad.  I stood in the background, trying to hear what was being said, next to a group of older guys, most likely Trump supporters, who were laughing and making fun of the passionate and what I assume they thought were the irrational outbursts of women. And one of the guys looked at the others and said,  "They probably drive Subaru's." I loved it since I, too, drive a Subaru but never thought of it as a liberal car but I guess around here it is.  Reed handled his angry constituents as well as possible, never losing his cool, appearing to listen to their concerns. It made be see why I would never want to be a politician.  I finally left about three quarters of the way through his talk as I was tired of not being able to hear the speakers.

Truth Matters

Pussy Hats Unite

When I got home, Evie was watching the town hall being streamed on New York Times live.  We watched until the town hall was over and went about our business .  I gathered the trash, went off to the Transfer Center, and came home to see Evie watching MSNBC on the TV.  Once again, they were filming the town hall and I said I was somewhere in the video.

Our  Four Term Congressman

They then cut to a number of reporters interviewing Tom Reed and there I am, standing behind Reed, tall and reserved, like the old man in the sea, trying to hear what Reed was saying. I was in the background of the video for two or three minutes and we laughed thinking that none of our friends were watching it because few watch MSNBC.  Then Evie said, 'Maybe our good friends from California, Rick and Carolyn, might be watching since we have similar political views." And then the phone rang, I picked it up and it was Rick, calling from California, to ask if that was me On TV. What a riot.  We talked and laughed about the coincidence and bemoaned the recent Trump antics.  And on Facebook, one of my Turkish students, who lives here in the States also mentioned she had seen me on TV.   I  guess it was my two minutes of fame.

Our day then took a predictable turn, as I had soup for lunch and Evie made me a great quesadilla with cheese and guacamole. After lunch, it was so nice and sunny outside (in the low 60's), that I got a lawn chair out of the garage for Evie and she was able to get a good hour of sun in our backyard. While she enjoyed the outdoors,  I watched the Kansas/Baylor basketball game, falling asleep at half time, but I woke in time to see the end where Kansas won in the last minute.  Around 3:30 we made ourselves go for a walk along Lakeside Drive in Bemus, so we could live with ourselves.  We are getting too lazy and comfortable and don't want to leave our house!  So we did it but neither of us like our walk much even the it was a sunny afternoon.  I think we needed snow and cold weather to be happy.

Around 6:00, we had our Saturday night cocktail hour, with a manhattan, good cheese and crackers although it was semi ruined by our listening to Trump's redundant and thin skinned speech in Florida. Like any narcissist, he needs constant adulation and he certainly got it yesterday. We finally went to Apple music and were able to enjoy our drinks and appetizers in peace.  Dinner was easy; Evie put the leftover schnitzel, potatoes and broccoli on a pan and heated it up in the oven and we had dinner. We watched the most recent episode of Real Time With Bill Maher and as usual, he did not disappoint us. He is not afraid of speaking his mind and I know he infuriates many people because of his views on religion as well as Republicans and especially his dislike of Trump.  His show could only be on a network like HBO because it is so outrageous at times.

A Jet Stream Sky Morning

6:59

7:00

7:48

It's 7:40 and I have been up since 6:30.  It's been another amazing morning sky of jet streams, cloud groupings and blue skies.  Evie's up now as well, and we both just ran outside to our front porch to take pictures of a fox (coyote?) walking, then running in the middle of the lake, a rare occurrence.  It was exciting, a good start to the weekend.

A Solitary Fox

Trotting Off From Long Point

Yesterday, Friday, the beginning to a warm weekend, was much like Thursday.  I did go to yoga with Julie and we talked some about the meeting this morning with our local representative to Congress, Tom Reed who is addressing our county at the Senior Center at 9:15.  I am going to hear him speak and it should be interesting because the natives are getting restless.  After yoga, I shopped at Wegman's, picked up a half pound of shallots for a chicken recipe I came across on the New York Times which sounded good.  It will probably be tasteless and average but I want to give it a try, or rather, with Evie's help will give it a try.

When I got home, I decided to have an easy lunch, black bean soup with a bagel and I watched TV for a bit before deciding I preferred a nap.  Evie meanwhile was taking it easy as well, taking a short break from the Y.

Woodlawn Creek

And, like Thursday, I went cross country skiing in our woods despite the worsening conditions, the wet snow.  I was able, however, to follow my tracks from yesterday and I had a good workout although much of the snow on the trees had melted.  It's always great to be in the woods, however, so I enjoyed myself, and worked up a sweat.  This may be the last time I get to ski this year.

Dusk

We had thoughts of going out to dinner but it sounded too good to just hunker down in our living room with a glass of wine, watch the sky slowly darken and have an easy dinner of eggs, bacon, home fries, bagels and salad.  So we did it.  Nothing like a good breakfast for dinner, right.  And we love our Applewood bacon from Trader Joe's.  We pick up two or three pounds each time we go there, and Evie cuts it up in quarter pound packages and freezes it for evenings like last night.

Ellery Farm At Dusk

We are really into THIS IS US (thanks to our son Tom's recommendation), so we watched two more episodes before another episode of Vice News, which lets us know about what's going on in the rest of the world.  Trump so dominates our news that we like most people don't know what's going on in the rest of the world, like the terrorist attack in Pakistan which killed 80 pilgrims at a Sufi shine.  And the government's responded by killing over 100 militants.  It's things like this that we learn from Vice News and is ignored by our Trump Centric News Channels.

The Final Day Of Winter?

6:35

6:59

7:00

7:22

An amazing morning sunrise, as the clouds are starting to dissipate and we may actually have a sunny day.  The snow has stopped and the temperature, alas, will begin to rise, so that tomorrow, Saturday, it will be in the 50's and stay that way for the next week.

7:25

7:58

Yesterday was another wintry day and we loved sitting in our warm house, watching the snowflakes fall on and off during the day.  We did not do much different from any other day.  I did go to yoga at 10:00, the most well attended class of the week.  And I stopped at Sav A Lot, hoping to pick up some shallots but walked out instead with a 12 pack of Southern Tier Beer.  When I got home, Evie was taking it easy, enjoying just doing nothing for a change.  I had an easy lunch, of black bean soup and leftover sub from the Lighthouse.

And I was ready to watch one of my shows or take a nap when the unexpected happened:  Donald Trump gave a press conference and we were glued to the TV set for the next couple of hours. He came out listing his accomplishments(with no details) but soon reverted to the usual, bragging, name calling, exaggerating, lying, thin skinned, still nursing wounds from the campaign. And he continued to blame the media for all his problems, whining about the purveyors of fake news. One reporter described it as 'a verbal equivalent of a tweet storm,' And Trump "loved it. I am having a good time." We would have, too, if this were a reality TV show, not the President.  It's scary that someone so ungrounded, unhinged,  almost manic, is the President of the United States! Unbelievable! The best part was the reaction of Congress...most Democrats found his press conference terrifying, scary while most Republicans 'did not have time to watch it'...they were too busy! I love it. Wimps. And then there was Rush Limbaugh:  "This was one of the most effective press conferences I have ever seen. The press is going to hate him even more after this." True. And no doubt the 25.5% of eligible voters who voted for Trump are happy.

Majesty Of Winter In The Woods

After that, I needed something mind bending,  physical, so I went out and put on my cross country skis, intending to just take a short jaunt.  The woods, however, with white frosting on every tree limb, were too inviting so off I went.  There were no trails so I had to bushwhack most of the way through almost a foot of snow.  It was glorious, if I can use that word, and nature is my religion...'that's what arouses those feelings of wonder and mysticism and gratitude in me."  What a panacea to the press conference.  I was out close to an hour, taking lots and lots of photographs, one view seemingly better than the previous.

Victoria Verticals

It was equally nice to come home to a warm house and sit down with Evie with a glass of wine as the long day waned.  For dinner, Evie had gotten out a pork tenderloin, sliced it and pounded it thin, and we had a great pork schnitzel  dinner, with broccoli, baked potatoes and salad.  We watched some of the pundits dissect the press conference until it became too depressing.  We then watched two more episodes of THIS IS US.  By the time we finished, it was time to watch part of CNN's History of Comedy.  This particular episode focused on the changing role of women in comedy from Lucille Ball, Gracie Allen and Moms Mabely to Joan Rivers, Gilda Radner, Mary Tyler Moore.  It was really good, fun to watch.

Another Half Foot Of Snow Overnight

7:37

It's a snowy morning, all is quiet and white outside, the way it should be in February.  It's cold again, 21º and although no snow is predicted over the next few days, we will enjoy what we have, a lovely wintry morning here at the lake.

Despite the weather report that suggested we were to get less than an inch of snow, it rarely stopped yesterday, so we ended up with at least six inches in the past 24 hours if not more.  I know I shoveled the driveway twice and yet this morning, I will be out there again, with at least four or five more inches overnight.

Woodlawn In The Morning

We started our day early as it was Evie's turn for a doctor's appointment in the ongoing quest to figure out why her ear remains blocked.  Of course, this has lead her to seeing a specialist.  We were home by 9:30 fortunately and had thought we might either walk or go out for breakfast but just getting home sounded best.  It was too late for me to get to a yoga class, so we both spent the morning doing what we do best, very little.  I did realize that we had eaten up all of Evie's vegetable soup so I decided to make my easy, go to black bean soup.  Just saute some onions and garlic, add tomatoes and beans and lots of cumin and black pepper, and it's ready for the coup de grace, some sun dried tomatoes in olive oil.  It's ready within a half hour and great with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt on top.

I had to return a book to the Smith Library, so I drove there around noon, dropped off my book and because I was near the Lighthouse Grocery store, I picked up a sub for lunch since we were out of ideas for lunch.  When we got home, I heated up the soup, ate half of the sub, Evie a quarter and we watched the depressing news of the day.  When isn't it depressing, full of lies, innuendos, and name calling?  And CNN seems to have breaking news every half hour, with Wolf Blitzer popping up out of nowhere to announce it.

I had enough after a short time, went back to the living room, to the couch and read then took a great nap.  Nothing like a nap where you wake up rested and oblivious to the fact that you had just had a nap.  Evie seemed happy to just relax, take a day off from going to the gym but I wanted to get outside, to ski some in what seemed to be a blizzard outside.

Woodlawn In Late Afternoon

So I put on my skis and fought my way through the snow and wind as far as Magnolia, skiing through the campground to its end and back.  It was fun for the first five or ten mintues, but the wind blowing snow in my face got to me after awhile so I turned around and went home, happy enough with a half hour jaunt.  I then shoveled our parking area again, thinking that would be enough for the next couple of days.  Wrong as I will have to shovel again this morning to get our car out of its parking area.

Early in the afternoon, Evie had gotten out some salmon fillets, so around 5:30, she made up a picata sauce with white beans, capers, garlic and lemon juice for the salmon, then relaxed with me in the living room with a glass of wine. And we watched it continue to snow, wondering where it had come from since we were supposed to get an inch.  After our wine, Evie pan seared the salmon, sauteed the spinach, and made a salad, so we had salmon picata, salad, and spinach for dinner.  Cool beans, too.  We watched a couple older episodes of THIS IS US and we are really getting in to it.  It's a clever show, about a family of triplets, their lives growing up, and their lives in the present, as adults.  We then could not resist the temptation to return to the news, like junkies, and learned once again what we had heard on and off during the day, that Flynn had resigned or been fired, that he was, according to Trump, 'a wonderful man.  I think he has been treated very, very unfairly by the media as I call it, the fake media in many cases.'  Well, if the news about him was fake and he's so 'wonderful,' then why fire him?  A conundrum Donald but you don't know what 'conundrum' means.  Bed comes as a welcome respite from reality.

A Dusting Of Snow Overnight

6:53

7:21

Up at 5:45, looked outside and our green lawn from yesterday is once again white, as an inch or two fell overnight.  It's 30º out and we may have some flurries during the morning.  Listening to the news is  far from comforting, as the chaos of the past four weeks never seems to let up.  Is there anything else happening in the world other than the chaos and post truth/fake news and dissembling/lying/prevaricating of the Trump White House Gang?  George Will, Republican and Conservative columnist, best described it as 'immunity through profusion.'  He explains: " By keeping the molten lava of falsehoods flowing, the volcano that is Donald Trump can inundate the public and overwhelm his auditors' capacity to produce a comparable flow of corrections."  Typical Will syntax, but I couldn't have said it better!

Yesterday was not the most fun day as we were both up early because I had to be at the hospital at 6:30 for an endoscopy, one of those fun things of life in the 70's.  I was out and on my way home by 8:00, a bit woozy but fine.  Everything went well, my tubes seem to be in order.  When we got home, Evie made me buttermilk pancakes which tasted amazingly good.  I then rested on the couch and fell asleep for at least an hour, whooped from the morning and the drugs I suppose.

Evie wanted to go to the Y, so just as I was having lunch, she drove off to Lakewood to do some shopping as well as workout.  I watched some TV, the end of the Kansas/West Virginia basketball game from the previous night and took a brief nap.  I then spent much of the afternoon at sixes and sevens, not wanting to watch TV or read, just bored with the afternoon.  I wanted to get outside but I was supposed to take it easy for the day.  Evie finally got home around 4:00, her car loaded down with groceries from Wegman's.  Helping her empty the car and put away groceries gave me something to do.  I also cleaned up the kitchen to keep busy.

5:38 PM

We then relaxed with a glass of wine around 5:30, which was enjoyable, as the sun came out occasionally, lighting up the eastern shoreline and lake.  Evie has to use some creativity for dinner. She took the innards, the spinach and mushrooms, from our deep dish pizza, warmed it up and then put eggs on top and baked it in the oven.  She also fried up a leftover baked potato, made a salad and we had a dinner.  We watched the last two episodes of BROADCHURCH.  We continued to have trouble understanding the accents but we ended up liking the series.  And I liked the ending, the banishment rather than a killing, like the Greeks who looked upon banishment as the severest of punishments for an individual.  We then watched the latest episode of HOMELAND.  I am sure like most viewers, the ending of this particular episode was a shock.  Evie fell asleep and missed the ending before going up to bed.  I followed soon after.

A Bright, Sunny, Blue Sky Winter Morning

9:00 a.m.

We are both up early,  5:00, a cold, clear morning here at the lake.  We like it that way, just wish we had more snow on the ground.  Perhaps our good friends in Oxford, Maine, could Fed Ex a foot or two or snow as it sounds like they will be snowed in for a couple of days.  In a moment, we are driving off to Jamestown because I am having a procedure, an endoscopy, at 8:00 and we have to be there at 6:30 for some reason.  It's now 9:30, we are back from Jamestown and all is well.  And I just finished six of Evie's buttermilk pancakes, a good way to start my late morning.

Yesterday neither of us woke up in a good mood for some reason.  I guess it just happens.  So I did not feel like going to yoga and Evie had no interest in working out.  But after my coffee, after I started to wake up, I began to feel guilty about missing yoga,  so got on my yoga togs, a pair of sweat pants and a t shirt, and headed to Lakewood, a good choice as my mood seemed to disappear during class.  I stopped for a coffee, talked for a bit with Dave, the regular, who lives just up the street and basically lives in the shop during the day.  He doesn't drive so he relies on picking things up along Main Street, an interesting guy, about my age, with a white beard like me.  When I got home, Evie was still couching it.  I had my lunch, ramen and a leftover meatball sandwich and by the time I was done, Evie had her workout clothes on and made herself drive to the Lakewood Y.  I watched part of a new series on Netlfix called Terriers, a typical cop show set on the West Coast which I had never heard of.  I think I know why...it's not very good.  Evie didn't get home until around 4:30, happy to have worked out but she never got into it.

We were going to watch a Chautauqua Lake basketball game at 7:30 so we picked up Ron and Linda just before 6:00 and drove to the Lakeview Bar/Restaurant in Mayville, for a burger, beer, and fries, health food.  We got to the game just as the JV game was finishing.  Chautauqua Lake has only lost one game and have a really good junior player, averaging in the 20's.  It was fun to watch, a fairly good crowd and the home team won by 11 points .  We were home by 9:30, in time to enjoy some TV before going up to read and to bed.  Not so bad of a day after all.