A Slow Deliquesce

Yea, Marlena And Mary Are Here

This Morning At 7:45

9:00

I am up too early to mention, so I will just say it's still pitch black outside.  An occasional easterly wind sets the wind chimes off and the weather is warming, as the snow melts, the grass appears. 

Cousins

Yesterday was another good day as we added a granddaughter and her Mom to our family.  We started the day with a long coffee hour as no one had much energy, preferring to either sit around on our devices or sleep in, as did the grandchildren.  By 10:30, Beth and Marisa were up and ready to drive to Buffalo to pick up Marlena and Mary who were flying in from Kansas City until Sunday.  Nick and Tommy are skiing in Colorado so the girls came to Chautauqua.  While they were gone, the boys awoke and we spent some time straightening up the house, picking up after the boys mostly.  No surprise. Around noon, Tyler went to work out and I heated up the leftover rib roast and gravy for lunch.  There was enough not only for me but also the boys.  Nothing like a roast beef and gravy sandwich on bread, a diner special in the old days. 

Marisa And Her Granny

We were eagerly waiting for the arrival of the girls and they drove in just after 2:00, the roads to and from the airport were fine.  They had good flights, no turbulence and on time, a Christmas miracle.  We quickly got everyone settled, caught up on all the news from Kansas City and just hung out most of the afternoon.  By 4:00, however, the girls had decided to make up some cookies, crushed Oreos and cream cheese balls, dipped in white chocolate. Like their Granny, they like to cook, especially cookies. 

Cookie Time

We decided earlier in the day that we had enough prepping dinners, doing dishes so around 6:00 we drove off to Steener's Irish Pub for wing night.  It was crowded as others had the same idea, going out for dinner the day after Christmas. 

Checking Out The Menus

Granny And Her Girls

To our surprise, a table for eight opened up just as we walked in so we were quickly seated, had our drinks and orders in within ten minutes.  Just about everyone had wings of various flavors and heat and a couple of baskets of their hand cut fries.  The wings were great, so good the boys ordered another basket.  It was a good way to spend the early evening, filling up on health food after a rib roast dinner. 

Tyler And Me Enjoying A Lager And Wings

We were home by 7:30 and the kids wanted to watch a new film on Netflix called BIRD BOX, somewhat reminiscent of THE QUIET PLACE.  Both find families attempting to survive in a Post Apocalyptic World. In this one, Sandra Bullock must navigate blindfolded down a river and rapids with her two children.  Spoiler alert: she makes it.  By 10:00, most were tired and went up to bed, leaving the boys to watch whatever they wanted. 

New Shirt, Texas Hat

The Day After

A Couple Of Lovelies

Mountain Man

MitchThe Rapper

The Old Man And The Snow

10:00

Up early again, by 5:15 for some reason, perhaps the excitement of Christmas was too much for me or the thought that it's another year away.  Either way, I need more sleep, the lament of most in their 70's and above. It's an exciting day for us because our granddaughter Marlena and her Mom are flying in from Kansas City until Sunday.  Her Dad and brother are off skiing and she gets to come to the lake.  Yea.  It's 7:30 and I have finished writing as the lake is just barely visible, with islands of white where the snow landed on the ice.

Yesterday was a very different Christmas morning from what I remember a few years ago when we celebrated Christmas with our grandchildren.  First, the adults were the first ones up, not the kids.  And they slept in and in and in, not getting out of bed and coming downstairs until 10:30 or so.  And once down, they seemed in no hurry to open their presents.  In fact, Tyler demanded we have breakfast first, putting off the opening. So we did.

Lemon Sweet Rolls

Evie had made the lemon roll dough the night before, so she put the rolls together and baked them by 10:00.  They were ready for breakfast for all of us by 11:00 and we had them with scrambled eggs and bacon.  Finally, we started opening present around noon although if Tyler had his way, we would have waited. The grandchildren are at the age where they no longer want gadgets and it's almost impossible to buy them something they want or would wear.  So we have given up on presents and just give money, a cop out but they seem to like it.  Beth, however, is good at buying for her kids, so they had lots of presents to open, mostly clothes, jackets, tee's, and fleeces and they all seemed happy with their Christmas.  We miss the excitement of having young ones around but as they say, things change.  Our grandkids are all grown up for the most part.

Mom And Daughter

Getting Cozy And Crocheting 

We spent the first part of the afternoon just hanging out after cleaning up after breakfast and straightening the living room after the disarray of opening Christmas presents.  I can remember Christmas's when we tried to save the wrapping paper or bows for next year.  Not this year, as all ent in the trash.  Evie and Beth did some prepping for dinner while the grandkids played games with each other on either their iPhones or computers.  It seems to be addicting as they spend an inordinate amount of time on their devices, just like us I guess.

Hiking Long Point With The Family

Around 3:00, however, all six of us bundled up, some reluctantly, for a hike out to Long Point and back. So we drove over to the Long Point State Park Marina and parked our car and started our hike.  The boys immediately, like a couple of puppies, started throwing snowballs, climbing trees,  and playing in the snow.  It was not exactly a strenuous hike and we ended up waiting for them to finish their playfulness and just walk with us.  We did make it to Long Point and we all agreed that it felt enervating to be outside in the cold, but not for too long as toes and hands were cold by the time we returned to the car.

Victoria/Woodlawn

Lenny's and Davis'

We were back by 4:30 in time for Evie to put the prime rib in the oven and start prepping dinner.  The boys were hungry so she grabbed up some hanky pankies from the freezer, always a hit and she and Beth started to prep the sides, Brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, salad, and of course, the group favorite with prime rib, popovers.  We relaxed with beer or wine while the prime rib was roasting and did not sit down to eat until 7:00, much later than we thought.  Dinner was great.  How could it not be with prime rib, popovers, mashed potatoes, and gravy?  We did a pretty good job on everything as hardly anything was left, just a bit of prime rib for hot roast beef sandwiches for today's lunch.

We ended the night in the TV room watching the most recent Mission Impossible movie with Tom Cruise.  The kids seemed to like it but after an hour, Evie and I went up to bed, hoping to get a good night's sleep.  The others followed much later I assume, with no worries about whether they would sleep or not. Ah, Youth.

A White And Merry Christmas Morning

Loving The Snowfall And Cold

7:43

Well, it's still pitch black outside and I have been up since 5:15, fire blazing and fortunately, Santa has already been here.  We received three or four inches of snow yesterday afternoon in less than an hour and then it stopped. leaving behind a lovely world of white.

Snow Begins at 12:30 PM

Three Of Four Inches by 1:15 PM

As usual, the adults in the room were up first, Beth around 7:00 and both Evie and I followed at 8:00, having slept in for the first time, at least for me, since college (fake news).  The boys were next, then Marisa but by the time she was up, the boys, Beth and I already had our breakfast of crepes, with jam or sugar and lemon, with scrambled eggs on the side, a good way to start the day before Christmas.

We then hardly budged from our home until early afternoon.  Tyler was playing a game, Mitch working on a project for his architectural engineering class, and Marisa was on her iPhone snapchatting, or playing a game with Rami who is in Florida visiting with his Mom.  Since we were having a "classic" Christmas Eve dinner, chicken tikka masala, Palak Paneer, spinach with paneer cheese, and homemade naan, Evie was busy in the kitchen prepping the chicken and dinner and Tyler was putting together the dough for the naan, his specialty.  Beth was upstairs for at least a couple of hours, wrapping presents, getting the stockings ready just in case Santa does not come.

The Chefs

Around 1:00, a couple of us finally found some mojo, so Marisa and Tyler drove off to the gym for a workout.  Evie made matzo ball soup for lunch and Beth finished up her wrapping.  When Tyler and Marisa returned, we enjoyed the warming and filling soup and were ready to relax until 4:00.  By then, it had snowed at least four inches, so Evie talked the boys into going for a walk through the Victoria/Woodlawn woods, just behind our house.

Hiking With Her Grandsons

It was a gorgeous late afternoon, trees frosted with white, trails untouched except for an occasional deer track.  We were out for forty minutes, just enough to work up and appetite and feel good about ourselves, having gotten in some exercise.

The Woods

Mitch Keeping Warm

When we returned, Beth had gotten out all the makings for Bloody Mary's, so I made four of them, with horseradish, hot sauce, vodka, celery salt, pepper, lemon, and a stick of celery.  They were so good that both Beth and I had two although Evie kept taking sips of my second one.  We gorged on two kinds of cheese, the unexpected cheddar from Trader Joe's, and a Castello, which is brie with blue cheese, another one of our favorites.

Grilling Naan In The Snow

Around 6:30, we started to get dinner ready.  The chicken tikka masala was already made, just heating up in the oven.  So Evie made the Palak Paneer while Tyler and I fired up the grill and baked the Naan as it was snowing, pretty cool.

Evie And Her Helpers

We were able to have the hot naan with our Indian dinner and by the time we were finished eating, only a few pieces of naan were left.  Our traditional Christmas Indian dinner was a success.

Christmas Eve Dinner, Indian Style

We ended the night with some of us watching what Tyler called a Christmas movie, DIE HARD because it was set on Christmas Eve. No laughs or silliness, no ELF or CHRISTMAS VACATION for us, just Bruce Willis's grimaces and lots of shoot'em ups.  Needless to say, Beth, Evie and I went to bed early.

As I finish writing this, the house is still quiet, the lake dark, at 6:55.  Time for me to take a nap.

We're Dreaming Of A White Christmas

Merry Christmas

Fishing Early

Well, hallelujah, both Evie and I slept in until almost 8:00, worn out by our rambunctious grandchildren.  When I came downstairs, the coffee was on and Beth was up, enjoying the morning and crocheting.  A winter advisory is in effect for a lake effect snow so we may get between 3 and 5 inches, inshallah.

Yesterday was a busy and fun day since Beth and her three kids have all arrived safe and sound.  Mitch, who arrived around 2:30 on Saturday night was the first one up, around 10:00 whereas Tyler and Marisa slept in until close to noon, recovering from their flights.  When everyone was up and awake, Evie made all of us a big breakfast, fried eggs, lots of peameal bacon, and bagels, just what Tyler ordered.

Tyler At Play

Mitch Is Happy

Early afternoon, we hung out, the girls making up more grocery lists, Tyler playing Minecraft on his computer, Mitch, taking an online architecture course.  I might as well add Marisa because she was on her phone as well, looking at recipes, Instagram and Snapchatting.  The "girls" left for the store around 1:30 leaving me at home to take a nap, Tyler to work out at the gym and Mitch to relax with his computer and videos of him snowboarding down the mountains in Colorado, really cool. You can view it on YouTube at the following link: https://youtu.be/0zpclvS8hBQ

The girls were back by 3:30, the car filled with more stuff and we all wondered where to put them.  We finally decided to use our back porch, a cooler out there, since the temperature was in the low 30's but not freezing.

Beth And Boys At Big Inlet

While Evie and Marisa stayed home, putting together our dinner, Turkish koftes with spices and pita bread, Beth, the boys and I drove off to the new farm brewery in Hartville, The Big Inlet Brewery.  We were fortunate to find a spot to park, even more, fortunate to find a table for four. We decided on trying two flights of four beers each, all four of us trying them to see which we liked.  We decided on the Cream Ale and Frolic Smash Ale.  Besides the beer, a couple of acoustic guitars were playing as well as a guy on a banjo, so everyone was enjoying the music as well as the beer.  We were home by 5:00, to a house, smelling like Turkish spices.  We sat down and enjoyed a guacamole appetizer along with a libation of our choice.

Enjoying A Couple Of Flights With My Grandsons

At 6:00, I braved the cold, fired up the grill and ten minutes later, the boys and I cooked about twenty koftes.  When they were done, Evie plated our dinners, first toasted pita, then the koftes, then a tomato sauce, topped with yogurt.  This is one of our families favorite dinners, not actually Christmasy but tasty.

Sunday Dinner

We then spent a good hour trying to decide what movie to watch until Tyler came across a 'supposed teen classic' called HEATHERS.  So we watched it even though it was pretty bad and definitely dated.  I had enough and went up to bed at 10:00, Evie followed with Beth but the kids stayed up for a while. How times change, adults in bed early, kids staying up.

Granny And Her Grandsons

The Good Life...Family, Snow, And Cold

I'm Baaaack

8:24

It's almost 8:00 and Evie and I have been up early, of course, at probably the only quiet time of the day since three of our grandchildren are here, not that I am complaining, just observing.  We received a dusting of snow yesterday but we may actually get a few inches over the next 36 hours so we might have a white Christmas.

Christmas Selfie 

We had a fun morning since our irascible twenty-two-year-old grandson, Tyler, flew in late Friday night.  He's always fun, difficult, and loves to bug his Granny.  He also loves to bake so between the two of them, we will be eating well.  Beth and Marisa were flying in from Dallas at 2:00 so Tyler and I drove to Buffalo to pick her up.  The two flights from Dallas were fine, even on time on a busy holiday weekend.  On our way home, we could not pass up stopping at Portage Pie and picking up the last pie, a mixed berry of blackberries, rhubarb, raspberries, and blueberries.  And, as we drove by The Lighthouse Grocery, Tyler mentioned how he loves their peameal bacon, so we stopped there, picked up the bacon, a couple of six packs of beer, and Eggo waffles for Marisa.  I love how these grandkids identify Chautauqua, our house, with so many goodies (not the waffles).

Evie had been busy while we were gone, prepping dinner, chicken marsala so that she could enjoy wine time.  We ended up settling in the living room, listening to music, talking, enjoying a glass of wine or beer, cheese, and crackers.  Marisa fell asleep on the couch, having been up since 4:00.

Three Generations

We did not sit down to dinner until 6:30 and the chicken marsala was great, Tyler loving it, his first home cooked meal in a month.  After dinner, we sat around talking, watching some TV or playing video games (Tyler) until 8:30 when we all dug in the pie, adding ice cream.  Everyone was tired from their travels, so we were all upstairs by 10:00 except for Tyler, who always stays up late, no doubt a habit started in college. Mitchell flew into from skiing in Denver early this morning, his plane arriving in Buffalo at 12:30, so no one waited up for him.  He's now fast asleep on the couch in the TV room, not having the energy to go upstairs to his bed.

Wintery Gusts And Light Snow

8:20

It's 7:30 and I have been up since 5:30 for some reason, waiting for some light.  At the moment, the sky is overcast, the winds gusting up to 20 mph, and the lake choppy, having unfrozen overnight.  We may get more light snow this morning, some overnight but not much accumulation. Tyler, our grandson arrived sometime last night about 2:30 from Boston, his flight delayed an hour.  I expect I'll see him around noon.

Tyler's Here

Yesterday was back to normal weather-wise, with clouds and drizzle after two days of sunrises and sunny afternoons.  I won't complain.  I did make it to yoga at 9:30, enjoyed class and stopped for a coffee before driving home.  Evie was putting the finishing touches on the baked ziti and was in the process of making our grandson's favorite coffee cake.  While I made my lunch, avocado sandwiches with tomatoes, Evie drove off to do our final shopping at Wegman's although nothing is final when it comes to shopping.  It was strange being home alone since Evie has not gotten out much since her operation.  As usual, I watched my TV show, NARCOS, ate lunch, read and napped briefly before Evie arrived home with a full car of groceries, making both of us wonder where we were going to put the stuff.  It took us a good half hour to get things put away, the kitchen and pantry organized.  Just as we were almost done, our good friend Barb from Hudson, stopped by to say hello and we caught up on all the news in Hudson.  And best of all, they will once again be spending a couple of months in an isolated cabin 15 miles outside of Jackson Hole, their private Idaho (Wyoming), and a 15-minute drive to Yellowstone,

Mrs. Snavely's Coffee Cake  

We had a glass of wine while Evie prepped dinner, frying up some eggplant slices and bacon, making sandwiches for our dinner.  It was easy and good, along with our new favorite, Capt Cod potato chips.  We watched the exciting news, the countdown until the government closes, no surprise as neither Trump nor the Democrats seem willing to give in.  I hope for once the Democrats don't cave and act like Republicans.  The shutdown does not affect most people so I am not sure of its consequences other than to further scare the plunging markets.  We watched more of the news than usual, then Colbert, then The Great British Baking Show before going up to bed 

Winter Begins...47º And Rain

8:0

Seagull On A Still Frozen Lake

It's 7:45 and I have been up since 7:00.  Evie, however, was up earlier and when I came downstairs, she was already catching up on the wash.  Our grandson, Tyler, arrives late this evening, so she wants to get the house pitch perfect for him and the rest of his family who arrives on Saturday.

Mallard's Ice Dancing

The lake was frozen yesterday morning so no kayaking.  I did have breakfast at 8:00 with the guys and as a joke, I had a photo made of our group, framed it, Evie put 'reserved' on it,  and we gave it to Julie, our waitress, along with our usual Christmas tip.  She loved it, showed it around to everyone and Laurie, the owner, thought it was just the cutest!  It was a fun way to start the day.  After finishing up the blog, I drove to Yin Yoga and even though I was there early, I could hardly find a spot for my mat as the Christmas visitors have arrived.  After class, I made a quick stop at Aldi's to see if they had the tenderloins in and voila, I scooped one up along with some nuts for baking and was home by 12:15, in time for lunch, the leftover ham balls, rice, and another episode of NARCOS.

Long Point Late Afternoon

Evie was her usual self, finding things to do around the house, always busy, a marked contrast to me, usually on the couch reading, on my computer, or taking a nap, ready to help, however, when called, a good husband.  Of course, the big news during the afternoon was the Trump tantrum, as he reversed course and won't budge if he doesn't get his wall.  What a jerk.  Sorry, not sorry.  Around 4:00, I had enough of the nonstop news and went for a walk through our woods, the snow mostly melted, the floor covered with matted leaves, a floor of brown.  Despite the clouds, there was as always a beauty to the woods, to the iced-over lake, to the grays and browns of winter.

The Woods

Fox's Tree

We had our glass of wine in front of the fire as we received the news of Mattis's resignation, clearly a result of Trump's impetuousness, especially on foreign policy.  Finally, someone is speaking out about this disgrace in the oval office.  The New York Times called Mattis's resignation letter 'an extraordinary rebuke' of the President.  It's about time. I highly recommend reading the letter.  We were going to go to the Viking Club for their special Swedish dinner but ran out of mojo, so Evie pulled leftover pizza out of the freezer, warmed it up, made a salad and we had dinner.  I poured the Pepsi over ice to finish off a pretty good dinner.

We watched Colbert, the news until the repetition drove us to Netflix where we watched The Great English Baking Show, the best cooking show on TV bar none.  It's delightful, both the hosts and the contestants.