Warming Up For A Day

It's actually raining outside, the temperature is 35 degrees, and its supposed to be like this most of the day, though by tonight, its to turn to ice, sleet, then snow, and lake effect snow is forecast from tonight till Tuesday.  Of course, we are heading in to Euclid, for dinner with the Holzs, and we may have to fight our way back tomorrow, depending on the severity of the lake effect snow.  It could be no problem or it could be like last week, which is why I might consider heading up tonight, not tomorrow, just to make sure we miss the worst of the snow.  Ah, uncertainty, the bane of our lives...if only I could be certain, about anything, like there is a God!  I am slowly reading a book called SPIRITUAL ENVY, a book by a dorm mate of mine from Ohio University, Michael Krasny.  He is a well known radio talk host called Forum, that has become national on Sirius for the last five years.  I did email if quite awhile ago, and he wrote me back a nice email, remembering me, suggesting we get together if I am ever on the West Coast.  This book is an exploration of agnosticism, some one who lives not believing in God but also not saying its impossible.  He is  constantly seeking, exploring, and learning, never saying NO to anything unless there is proof, data, hard facts to support it.  His writing, his journey, so far parallels my own thinking.  I like his quotation from Julian Barnes book that traces a similar quest: "I don't believe in God but I miss him."  O, the beauty of certainty that the faithful evidence (I think).  He likens faith to that feeling one had as a child, when your world seemed simple and secure---your parents took care of you, there was a God, and Santa Claus answered your list.  Ah childhood.

A Touch of Pink

The usual Saturday morning, listening first to Car Talk, then Only a Game, then Saturday Edition on NPR.  Not much changes in my morning routines, as this has been going on for years, listening to these three every Saturday at Chautauqua. It's 22 degrees out, with a touch of pink on the horizon but its mostly a gray blue.  The lake is a checkerboard of irregular patches of snow, ice and further out, water with birds still floating, perhaps awaiting the final freeze before heading south.

We had Ron and Linda over last night, a good night of good food and talk.  They had had a tough week, with Ron's procedure on Monday but they seemed happy to finally be at the lake where they could relax a bit and take it easy.  During dinner, Marlena called last night to tell Evie she had tried two new foods, mozzarella sticks and plain pizza!  What a cutie...she was so excited because Evie had been trying to get her to just try things and she did it.

We are off shopping today, to hopefully finish most of our shopping.  Yippee.

A Partly Frozen Lake

Patches of ice, reaching out at least a hundred feet, form a patchwork of open water and ice, with mostly sea gulls and buffle heads floating in the open waters, but not for long.  It's 22 degrees, getting warmer today, though little snow is forecast.  Ron and Linda are coming over for dinner; we are having Ninette's chicken tikka massala, or butter chicken would be a closer translation.  It's partly cloudy though not as overcast as usual.  Maybe we will have some sun.

Dinner is almost done, it's almost 11:00 and we are heading over to CI to workout.  The lake is filled with wild fowl, geese, sea gulls, ducks, and even crows  It's bizarre to see them floating, then walking on the ice, as it's frozen out to the middle, then open.  I am not sure why there are so many today other than the fact that at least part of the lake is still not frozen, so they can still float and dive for food.

We worked out from 11:30 to 1:00  though I spent a good deal of my time shooting hoops or rather I should say shooting the b-ball breeze with Pete, a 70 year old retired banker, who still plays ball in a league in Jamestown and participates in 3 on 3 tournaments all over the US.  He's about my size, played for Syracuse, and loves basketball.  He is a talker and every time I try to bring up something about my basketball experiences or my family, he's off talking about something revolving around him.  I think I must attract this kind of person.  Anyways, we must have shot and talked for 45 minutes before he had to leave and I went and put about 15 more minutes in on the rowing machine before we left, stopped at the library and I picked up three more Jack Reacher novels for our trip, unless I end up reading them all first.

Evie has spent most of the afternoon getting things ready for our dinner with Ron and Linda tonight; it's amazing how much time it takes to get things ready and she started doing things last night.

There Is A Sun

Unbelievably, the eastern sky is pink, with gray blue clouds, but it's the first morning since we returned where a partly sunny sky was evident.  As a result, I think, it's also much colder this morning, 17 degrees, the coldest its been this month.  I am off to the breakfast club at 8:00l, my first time with four guys who all used to work for CI.  When I return, Evie is off to the mall, to get her hair done and shop, both grocery and presents, so she won't be back till mid afternoon.  I am very happy to be staying home!  I would go crazy and drive her crazy as well.  Sunrise is at 7:32 today.

It's 11:30, the house is quiet, as Evie's off getting her hair done and shopping and I am busy getting caught up on email and things like that.  Breakfast was quite tasty, my favorite, corn beef hash with two poached eggs and toast.  Everyone was there, so it was fun to see Dick, Charlie, and Stan, and meet Joe Johnson, another CI executive who, unfortunately, is about to start a prostate radiation.  So, much of our time was spent talking about our illnesses, advising Joe, as Stan had already had an operation and Dick's wife may have leukemia, though it's not clear how serious it is.  So, not the most fun but I think I will fit in and they are all good guys.  They have the common interest and knowledge of everything to do with the CI and its residents, so I am at a bit of a loss when they talk about it.  Still, we are meeting next Thursday before many of us take off for the holidays

The pictures were taken at sunrise because its the first morning of sun since we returned from Tommy's house in KC two weeks ago.  Quite a span of gray skies, cold and snow.

It's 4:00 and Evie, having left at 9:00, has not come home yet, so shopping hard, I hope, so most of it will be done!  I have been on the phone with Apple for close to an hour, trying to get my apple email account working.  The helper tried everything and eventually closed down my account and reopened it and it finally works.  He also helped with some other simple things that I was having trouble with, like sending more than ten photos in an email.  It's been partly sunny all day, with no a trace of snow, a relief but most likely not for long.  Another storm is coming this Sunday, just as we head in to Linda and Rich's for the dinner and an overnight.

Still Snowing

Stay gray, still snowing, and we expect another 5-8 inches over the next 12 hours.  Welcome to Chautauqua Lake weather.  It was bit cold this morning, so we turned on the fireplace, making it cosy.  We had pork cutlets last night but the Rotmos, a Swedish specialty were tasted last Saturday at Peterson's Farm was the success, basically a combination of two pounds of rutabaga to one pound of potatoes.  Cook the rutabaga for 30 minutes, the potatoes, for 20 or til tender, and add milk and butter.  The authentic version cooks the rutabaga in a ham hock stock.  It was still good without it though we did use some chicken stock.

Early this morning I went off to get some gravel for our road, where potholes have appeared, a result of the cold weather, the water, and the snow plow that has come in over the past few days.  I hope it makes a difference because it is a hassle to get into our house.

Just got back from a long walk, over an hour, through the campground and houses beyond, walking in 18-24 inches of snow at times, as it was snowing the entire way, a beautiful walk, especially through the woods in the campground.  I fell as went made our way through a large drift, much to Evie's delight, and it was hard to get up until I got my feet around and pointed them down hill.  Then I could push myself up.  This is the type of day we love, little if any wind, constant snow falling, a warm house, fire, a good dinner already made, and the possibility of a couple of Manhattans, in fact, I would say that was a certainty after our workout today.  Picking your feet up and wading through 18 inches of snow is a good work out, on all parts of your party, especially if my soreness is an indication  It's almost 2:00 and I am going to have pork cutlets sandwiches for lunch and dip back into my third or fourth Jack Reacher novel.  He's the man, as Patsi says.

Late afternoon, more tundra swans and lots of geese until the Marshall got out her gun and fired at them, scattering them.  It's snowed most of the afternoon; I have been out at least three times, shoveling the walk and cleaning off the car.  I cannot remember having so much snow, day after day, but last winter was our first and supposedly a mild one.  This year, so the veterans say, it's supposed to be much worst though I am not sure what that means.  More snow?  Rain and snow?  Cold, then warm, then cold and slushy?  We'll see,  One thing I noticed: ice is begging to form, at first on the edges but now their are large sections out in the lake, with floating ice or slush, not yet completely solid but getting there

Snowed In--- Almost

We have had snow now for 24 straight hours, with more expected today.  At least a foot has fallen if not more, though the howling wind has died, at least this morning.  I was awake at 4:30, got up about 5:15 to utter darkness.  It's now a few minutes before 7:00 and the eastern sky is just beginning to lighten, though off towards Bemus it's threatening.  SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS entry was about the chickadee, the most numerous bird at our feeder.  They weigh less than a half an ounce and their heart beats up to 700 times a minute, a buzz if you were to listen to them, and they eat their weight each day during the winter to keep their body heat at 105 degrees.  Interesting facts about the chickadee, a small gray bird, with a black cap, white face.

Depending on the weather, we hope to drive over to Long Point and snowshoe through the park, as it would be virgin snow, no snowmobilers yet, just us and occasional hikers, most likely people walking their dogs.  Last night we experimented with a deep dish pizza, from King Arthur Flour, and it turned out really good, thought the directions were vague and not much help.  As usual, the dough did not rise much, perhaps it's too cold, but it did not seem to make a difference in the pizza.  You bake the crust for about ten minutes before pulling it out, layering the mozzarella, then the sauce, then sausage and mushrooms, then grated Parmesan before putting it back in the oven for about 25 minutes.  You let it sit for 15 minutes, to consolidate, then eat.  We ate only half, so it will make a great second dinner, or a couple of lunches.

Just got back from snow shoeing over at Long Point.  We forced ourselves to do it, as we were feeling lazy, but it was worth it to get outside and in the woods.  It snowed a bit but was mostly just cloudy and  gray, though even that has a beauty of its own, especially at dusk.  A few had been on the path, mostly cross country skiers, but we were basically alone.

We also saw a few more tundra swans just out in front of our house, dipping and diving, looking for weeds, as they head south.  Because they were closer to house, it was easier to see how big they actually are.  Three were a dull gray, I assume the young, but they could have been females, too.

Blizzard Monday

We have gotten close to 12 inches over night, with the possibility of another 12 or more over the next two or three days.  In fact, snow is forecast for the next seven days.  Winter seems to have arrived in the past twenty four hours.  We did head off this morning to get our teeth cleaned, with Wally, our new dentist who plays country music on his boom box as he works on our teeth.  Evie liked but I am not sure.  We will just have to see.  We then worked out at the gym for an hour, as I shot baskets as well.

Last night we went to the Mc Kibben's Christmas party; they live just outside the Institute and they both have a house in South Euclid.  It was a nice party, about 20 people I would say, most of them part of Evie's Ladies of the Night group, so she knew most of the wives but not the husbands.  I can tell right off that our politics are not going to agree, as they were talking about taxes, unions, things like that.  And the democratic candidate, who lost recently lost for a seat in the state house, was invited, though the host had to qualify her coming by saying even though she's a democrat, he has worked with her on various committees and likes her.  Like you have to explain to me why you like a democrat.  I think I made it clear, however, that I voted for her, so I think most people get the idea; we are liberal atheists and they are all Christian republicans.  Just before dinner, we all held hands and Anne Jackson's father, Stan's father in law, said grace, as he's a retired minister  I liked them all and I don't think politics or religion should get in the way of our friendships.  I especially like the Heinz's, Wendy and Charlie, she's a minister and he works for the Institute though he's retiring soon.  He invited me to there breakfast club on Thursday mornings at 8:00 in Bemus.  Four guys, all who used to work for the Institute get together and shoot the breeze.  Stan is one of them, as is Dick Redington, who I have known for 25 years, as his kids went to Reserve.  He's a good guy and we had them over for dinner last spring.  Stan's going to pick me up at 8:00 and we'll head over to Bemus.  I am beginning to feel like a retiree, going out for breakfast seems so typical.

I just got a phone call from Faruk Cagan, one of my BJK teammates, from Istanbul.  He wanted to say he loved the article in the NBA magazine, that he's still a playboy, which is how I described him in the article.  He also mentioned that one of my best friends, Ates, is recovering from prostate cancer and asked me to not tell anyone, as no on is supposed to know.  I suppose it's something that most male Turks do not want to have others aware of this problem.  He wants to know when we are returning, he wants to plan a program for southern Turkey. I am ready.

It's 3:30, Evie has the deep dish pizza dough and fixings ready to go for tonight, so we are relaxing until dinner, watching the wind blow snow around.  Our front windows have six or eight inches of snow on them, a result of the blowing snow.  It has hardly let up all day.

We went out for a walk up the hill around 5:00, in the dark, and swirling snow.  It wasn't pretty because it was so dark but at the same time, exhilarating to be out with the wind whipping your face with snow and you are the only ones out in this weather.  We are sick!  But there is a strange beauty in a snowstorm as long as you have a warm, cosy house to come home to.  The plow came by for the second time today, to clear our road and parking area...Shane must be counting his money.  I don't blame him as it's the first real snow storm of the year in the Chautauqua area.  Early in the day, Joe Bergen, our neighbor was up  briefly as he often has work here, and he lives in Buffalo.  He said this past weekend, his yard was totally green, from the  grass, yet six miles away people had more than 24 inches of snow and parts of Buffalo are still bailing out from the huge mounds of snow created by plows.