Another Great Lake Day

A Lazy Day On The Lake

6:23

It's 6:38 and I slept in until 5:45....yippee.  Right now the house and lake are filled with sunshine, the sun having risen around 6:20.  A few bass boats were out earlier but now it's quiet on the lake, the only sound, a bunch of martins singing their morning song.  I paddled down to Whitney Bay and back, listening to The Doors greatest hits. 

Marisa, An Exhausted Girl

Yesterday was not a typical Friday here at the lake because there were ten of us, not two.  I was up way to early, got in a good paddle though and came home to a quiet house as only Evie was up.  It gave us a good forty-five minutes to get the house and kitchen together, the yard and for Evie to make a huge bowl of pancake batter. As usual, the house awoke in some order, first adults, then kids although Jill usually is last up but not yesterday. The buttermilk pancakes were great, with real maple syrup and the kids devoured them, me too.  

Buttermilk Pancakes

We made up a shopping list and fortunately, Tom and Mary volunteered to hit Wegman's after working out at The Fitness Bunker.  In the old days, I used to take the girls to Ryders Cup to get a frozen hot chocolate but not anymore.  They jumped in Jill's car and Hayden, our soon to be freshmen at West Virginia University drove them to Lakewood, saving me money I guess but it's sad how things change.  Get used to it!  When they returned, they wanted to play some bean bag so they got out the boards and bean bags and played a couple of games before having some lunch, leftovers mostly, ziti, pork chops, ratatouille, rice or Evie made some quesadillas and heated up some hanky pankies for Hayden.

Mat Time

King Of The Hill

Jilly Bean Relaxing

Hayden And Seth

The rest of the day, then, most of the afternoon was spent on the dock, sunbathing or trying to toss one another off of the floating mat.  At times there were nine on the mat, as I was the only one the dock, taking photos of the group having fun.  The mat was a smart purchase.  It was fun to see everyone enjoying the lake rather than sitting inside on a device.  I don't think we have had the TV on yet since the gang arrived.  

Granny And Three Of Her Girls

Everyone came in around 5:00 and either had showered and washed their hair in the lake or took a shower.  We ended up on the porch, squeezing all ten of us on it, enjoying libations and looking for appetizers.  Around 6:30, we all were hungry, so the girls husked the corn, Evie and Mary and Jill made a salad, got out the fixings for our juicy lucys and Tom and I grilled the burgers on the outdoor barbecue grill.  It was the perfect late July picnic dinner, burgers, salad, coleslaw and lots of fixings so that the burgers were tall enough that we needed two hands to eat them.  

Dinner Helpers And Juicy Lucys

Then Seth and the girls quickly cleaned up the kitchen and Seth made up a five-team bean bag tournament, with a losers bracket.  We then all went outside and played for a good hour and a half, until it was dark and we needed the spotlight on so that Tommy and Marisa would defeat Jill and me 15-13 in the final, a good way to end the day.  

Tommy And Marisa, Bean Bag Champions

Granny Takes On Marisa

Tommy And Me

Earlier we had been talking about funny movies and AIRPLANE came up and some of the girls had not seen it.  So we watched it on Amazon Prime in the TV room as it was more gross and vulgar than I remember and I cannot believe we watched it with our kids in the 80's.  I have to admit, though, it's still funny,  Once it was over, we were tired so most of us went to bed.  

Fun Day On The Lake

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Halle's Treasure Chest Finds

Sun Rising At 6:07

6:20

I was up too early to say but it's now 6:15, the sun has risen, everyone but me is sleeping soundly and I am listening to Morning Joe on Alexa.  It's 56º out, not a boat or kayak in view and it should be another great day on Chautauqua Lake with our family.  It's 8:25 and Evie and I are the only ones up.  I just returned from a paddle over to Tom's Point and was able to get a shot of an osprey, cool.  I listened to the Talking Head's Stop Making Sense Album from 1984.

The Grands

Marlena

Marisa

With Their Favorite Granny (in Chautauqua)

Yesterday early did not change much for me, up early, write the blog, take some photos of the sunrise, then go for an hour paddle.  On my way in, Tommy was out for a paddle as well, enjoying the morning and I ran into our neighbors, Jim and Tina, also out for a paddle and Kathy and Joyce, our next-door neighbors.  It must have been a good morning for a paddle.

The gang got up in shifts, with Marisa being the first, then Tom and Evie,  then the rest in some order with Jill last.  No one had much energy early so we sat around, with our devices, figuring out what to do with our day until Evie made crepes for the girls who were hungry.  After breakfast, the girls dug into the Treasure Box, for some the sixteenth time if not more.  It's always fun to watch them go through the box and they always end up with something they like, whether a two-year-old or seventeen-year-old.  Around 10:00, Tom, Mary and Marisa went to Lakewood to work out in The Fitness Bunker, a local gym which they like. 

Floating Mat

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Relaxing Marlena And Halle

Halle's Tree Pose

Cooling It

Rumble On The Mat 

Seth's Harem

When they returned, Tom and I got out the new floating foam mat I bought from ChillMats, 6 feet wide, 16 feet long, able to hold up to 1300 pounds of grandchildren.  We tied it to a buoy and from then on, it was fun on the mat, whether playing king of the mat, doing cartwheels, or just plain hanging out.  It was not cheap but watching them have fun was worth the money.  Around 1:00, we came in for a break and lunch, sandwiches, leftover, ziti, or chicken tenders, enough to hold us over until dinner.  We then spent the rest of the afternoon on the dock, swimming, sunbathing, or playing on the floating mat.

Cruising With My Granddaughters

By 5:00, we had enough sun and came in, changed into dry clothes, then went for a booze cruise in our boat, over to Bemus Point, back along the shore and home, while sipping drinks, munching on Fritos and pretzels, as Evie took photographs.  It was a perfect late afternoon for a boat ride, neither too chilly nor to warm. 

Enjoying A Bonfire

Jilly And Marlena In The Dark

Marisa And Mary

When we returned home, it was time to get busy with dinner.  Evie had most everything ready to go, the 16 pork chops marinating in teriyaki sauce and the ratatouille already made.  So while she put together a salad, made some rice, and microwaved a couple of potatoes, Tom and I grilled the pork chops.  Dinner was more than enough as everyone devoured the chops, the salad, and the ratatouille although only Tom and I had a second chop.

The girls cleaned up the kitchen while Tom, Seth and I set up the fire pit along the lake's edge and started a fire with kindling, paper, and logs.  It was a good night for a fire, a bit chilly so we could ring the fire pit and roast marshmallows and make smores.  We stayed out talking and eating smores until 10:15 when we all pooped out and decided to go in the house and either go up to bed (the adults) or stay up a bit longer talking (the kids).

Ready

Set

Go

Splash

The Quiet Before The Storm

Morning With Marisa

6:17

6:19

I awake at 5:00, came downstairs at 5:30 to probably the only quiet of the day as what was once just the two of us is now ten for a week, eleven after Tyler arrives on Saturday.  It's a fine morning, a pink sky with a long slender gray cloud hanging over Long Point.  It's 6:15 and the sun is just beginning to rise, filling the outdoors with its light and the day officially begins. 

First Heron Of The Morning

My Son, Tommy, Out For A Paddle 

Heron Along Victoria

Yesterday was another busy morning as we worked at getting the house ready for our kids.  It seemed as if our preparation would only end when they arrived and that's an accurate statement.  To be honest, I cannot remember what we did but we were busy all morning until lunch.  I had a quick lunch of chicken, relaxed a bit then drove off to Buffalo to pick up the kids.  Unfortunately, their flight was delayed over an hour and because I had an appointment at Apple's Genius Bar at 3:15, I had a lot of time before their arrival.  I am about to transfer 500 gigabytes of photos from Aperture to Photos because Apple will no longer support Aperture, I got help with it but will still have to do it with a phone call to Apple. After my appointment, I walked the mall, window shopped, stopped at the Lululemon store and was happy to have bought a pair of shorts for yoga at Walmart for six bucks rather than a pair from Lululemon for eighty.  I may not be cool but I saved seventy-four bucks.

Back To The Lake

Jill, The Girls, And Seth

Halle And Moi

Marisa And Marlena

Halle

Tom, Mary, Marlena and Beth's daughter, Marisa, arrived at 5:30, excited to be on their way to the lake.  We arrived at the lake just after 7:00 and Jill, Halle, Hayden, and her boyfriend, Seth were already there, having driven in from Virginia. Unfortunately, her husband, Drew was unable to come because of work. 

Looking At The Newest Photo Album By Evie

Sisters In Law

The Groovy Four

Porching It

Evie took lots of photos before we ended up on the porch talking, with either a glass of wine or beer.  By 8:00, we were happily devouring Evie's baked ziti as everyone was hungry from their flight or drive.  We ended dinner with brownies, ice cream, and chocolate sauce.

Ziti For Ten

We then figured out the sleeping arrangements, blowing up a couple of air mattresses but most had beds, as the girls decided to share the two beds among the four of them.  Everyone was tired by 10:00 from their travels so most of us went up to bed.  I know I was ready and Evie soon followed.  Whether the girls stayed up talking or on their phones, probably.