Steam Rising on an Early Morning at the Lake

6:48

Riverwalk in Jamestown

At Dow Park in Jamestown

Enjoying dinner at Viking Club

Cruising Chautauqua Lake at Sunset

Halle's cosy room

Bright and shiny morning, 54 degrees, with steam rising from the lake, a great night for sleeping as well.  It looks like another week of great weather, warming up, but not the oppressive heat of the past week.

Yesterday was a perfect day at the lake, and I know I have used the word perfect quite a bit in my blog this summer.  But I love cool, clear Chautauqua days, the kind where the high is in the 70's, warm enough to swim but also cool enough to hike, walk, or ride a bike. The girls slept in yesterday, Halle till 8:30 and we had to wake up Hayden at 10:00, as we were going off to Jamestown for Evie's blood test.  While she got her blood test, the girls and I took a leisurely stroll along Jamestown's Riverwalk, a asphalt path of about a half mile, along the Chadakoin River.  A few families were sitting on the banks fishing, but other than that, we were the only people out for a walk.  We then went to Dow Park across the street from the James Prendergast Library, had our lunch and the kids played on the swings. The park itself had a interesting set of bronze sculptures described as follows in the Post Journal:

 The tableau, located at the corner of Washington and Sixth streets, Jamestown, is a diorama composed of three life-sized bronze figures commemorating Jamestown's participation in the Underground Railroad. It honors Jamestown's most notable Underground Railroad participants: Catherine Harris and Silas Shearman, with the third figure an anonymous fugitive slave representing all the fugitives who came through Jamestown in pursuit of freedom.

We then spent a half hour browsing the library, and both girls got out books, and by the time we left, Hayden had read six chapters in her book.  They could not wait to get home to go up to their cosy new rooms and read.  Hayden could have stayed there all afternoon, but Halle was down within a half hour.

We spent the rest of the afternoon outside, reading and fishing on the dock, doing some swimming, and working some upstairs, getting it back to normal, moving out the sleeping bags, the air mattresses and rearranging the furniture.  The girls are always read to help I might add.

For dinner, we decided to go to the Viking Club, for Ruebens and Cubans, so we called Linda and Ron to see if they were interested.   The jumped at the chance, came over around 6:00, and we decided to boat over as it was a beautiful evening on the lake.  We sat outside at a picnic table, as the sun was setting, drank a couple of pitchers of beer, talked with the girls, watched them play on the playground equipment, and ate our cubans, ruebens, and a chicken salad croissant.  Not a lot of people though they seemed to dribble in, but a picturesque evening on the lake.  We took our time going home, cruising along Maple Springs, the shore line all the way to and beyond Long Point before docking at home, around 9:15.  We were thinking about a fire but everyone seemed tired so Linda and Ron went home, and we watched the Olympics till about 10:00 when the girls went to be.

Crisp and Clear, A Sunny Morning

6:44

Hayden Bissell, almost eleven

Halle Bissell, seven years old

Making friendship bracelets with Baba's help

Dining al fresco, in fact, every meal the past two weeks has been alfresco

At 6:40, I awaken to a quiet house, a blinding sun, a cool 55 degrees, such a change from the heat and humidity of the last few days, a traditional Chautauqua morning, the kind I remember from our first few years here at the lake in the 1980's, before Global Warming.

Yesterday we saw the departure of the Albarrans, a sad day for Marisa, as she left behind her two cousins Halle and Hayden.  After a breakfast of their favorite local treat, pea meal bacon from the Lighthouse, they packed up and left about 9:00.  And as I mentioned yesterday, the first words from Halle were, "Can we clean our rooms now?"  So, after another breakfast of pancakes with chocolate and maple syrup, Evie and the two girls went upstairs, the girls picked out bedrooms, and together, they moved their belongings from our bedroom into new bedrooms, vacuumed, straightened and organized, so by the end, they had their own personalized bedrooms, with pillows, animals, and other knick knacks they had brought from home.  This took a good part of the morning and they never seemed to tire.  We still have a lot of cleaning up to do today to get the house back in shape and I know they will be a big help.

We took it easy in the afternoon, staying inside as we had close to an inch of rain, something we dearly needed.  In fact, yesterday was the first day we did not go swimming, just relaxed and stayed inside, reading, watching some TV, and making friendship bracelets, the new passion for the girls.  Around 3:00, Evie took the girls shopping at Wegman's.  They then stopped at Johann Fabrics to get more supplies for their bracelets.  While there, Hayden, who will turn eleven in a few days, picked out one of her birthday presents, a case for her supplies of yarn. She was so excited when she got home, with new yarns,  a case, and being the good kid she is, she shared lots of her supplies with Halle.  The two set to work making bracelets which took up the rest of the afternoon.

For dinner, Evie put together a traditional fifties dinner, ground beef casserole, made with Campbell's tomato soup, a staple when I was a kid, something we thought the girls would like.  They did, sort of, as they ate it but did not devour it, as we thought.  Probably they were not hungry from all the snacks they had been eating.  As we were about to sit down to dinner Hayden, the 6th grader said:  " What do you and Granny do when we(the grandchildren) are not here? It doesn't seem right now; you ought to have girls running around yelling, being chased by the boys"  How true.  What do we do here at the lake without our grandchildren around?

We watched some of the Olympics, had ice cream with peaches for dessert and went to bed around 10:00, both girls very tired, as were Evie and I.

Aloha Sunday

6:10

Jill, Drew, Halle and Hayden Bissell

Tom, Mary, Marlena, Nick Davis

Beth, Ramiro, Mitchell, Marisa, Tyler Albarran

Braiding hair

Halle making bracelets

It's just after 6:00, quite warm for a morning on the lake, 74 degrees, cloudy though off towards Long Point, streaks of pink and orange paint the sky.  It is supposed to rain today, certainly its cloudy now, but looking at the weather map, it looks uncertain.  The southerly wind has been with us for a couple of days though I rarely remember rain coming from that direction, always seemingly from the west of here.

The Albarrans are departing this morning, leaving us with just two grandchildren, Hayden and Halle.  It's going to be solemn around here about 9:30 when they leave.  The two girls already mentioned to Evie that when the Albarrans leave, they want to move into their own rooms, clean up the house and get it organized.  They definitely are Evie and Jill's daughters.  So, like we usually do when the family leaves, we clean and straighten up.  At least we will have two helpers today.

Yesterday, especially last night, was as uncomfortably warm a day as I have seen at the lake.  Hot, warm, humid, and often windless, making it very unpleasant unless you were in the lake or upstairs in an air conditioned room.  We sat last evening in the living room, kids and adults with three fans on trying to keep cool.

Yesterday was a first for me, as I had to make two trips to the Transfer Station, always a pleasure.  In the morning, Rami  biked twenty six miles, Beth shopped for fudge, gifts, and picked up dinner at the Lighthouse, while the boys and girls enjoyed the water with Evie.  I watched the US Men's volleyball team lose to Russia, very disappointing, as they won the first two games.

In the afternoon, we just relaxed outside or on the porch, the girls making bracelets outside in the yard out of plastic strings this time, a gift to them from our neighbor, Joyce Leonard.  They love doing things at this age.  They also worked on sketching with Beth on the front porch, taking time out from swimming with Evie.   Mid afternoon, Tyler and Rami played 18 holes at the Chautauqua course, a warm day for golf.

We had juicy lucy's, home made french fries, corn and salad for dinner, played chase the balloon after dinner with the girls, and enjoyed being outside in the early evening, as it was cooler than the house.  For dessert, Beth bought a peach/blueberry pie, which we enjoyed with ice cream before going to bed, all tired from the day.

PS---Halle's first words as the Albarrans drove away: "Can we clean now?"  Classic!

A Sad Saturday, As Bissell and Davis Families Depart Until Next Summer

6:35

Making Friendship bracelets

My sister Linda and her husband Rich stopped by

The Girls are Wired

Mac and Beer

A hazy morning but a good one to watch the warm orange globe rise over Long Point, now almost hidden by the trees limbs, as its 6:47.  Another hot day in store for us, 70 degrees already and going up to the mid 80's later in the day, in fact, the next few days are supposed to be in the 80's and then cool off, to a more Chautauqua like high in the 70's.  We cannot complain as the past two weeks have been great for the families, especially the grandchildren, as they swim at least three or four times a day.

Jill and Drew left yesterday morning around 9:00 as they have lots of work being done on their house this week, Jill at home supervising, and Drew has to work, flying off to Wyoming for a few days.  Fortunately, we get to keep Hayden and Halle for a week, an up side to their leaving.  And my son Tommy and his family leave early this morning, 7:45, to catch their flight back to KC at 1:30 in Cleveland.  It's been a great having all three families here, something we have done almost every year since the grand kids appeared.  In fact, I think everyone of the grandchildren has spent at least a week here at the lake every year of their life, lots of good memories and stories for when they are old enough to tell their children stories about the summer's at Granny and Baba's lake house.

After the Bissell's left, Beth and I went off shopping to Lakewood, once again, to pick up a few things, and we got home just in time, as Linda and Rich, my sister and brother in law, stopped by on their way back from Saranac Lake, where they spent a few days with their kids.  They had a good time, but are glad to be getting home.  We had a great lunch of my sister Linda's sloppy joes.  The kids devoured the sandwiches, like they had never had sloppy joe's before.  They stayed for a couple of hours, then drove home to Euclid, and we spent the rest of the day in the water, playing various rough house games with the kids.  It was a particularly warm day, high 80's, and it was most comfortable in the water, though fine outside when there was a breeze.

The kids took over the kitchen for dinner, allowing Evie a few hours of leisure, and we had another Davis favorite, one of many, barbecued chicken, with egg noodles cooked in the chicken broth, sweet corn, and salad. Yum.  Nothing was left.  For dessert, Evie finally made her famous sticky buns, thirty four of them, and as of this morning, there were three left.

As I mentioned, Tom and family leave today, the Albarrans tomorrow, so we are down to nine people for meals, soon to be four, on Monday, just Evie and I, and the two girls, Hayden and Halle.  How boring, easy, and quiet it will be.

Saturday (Oops, I mean Friday) Sunny and Heating Up

6:20

The Painting Rocks 2012

Rock Painting

The Artist

A Rock from Lake Thompson, Maine

Halle and The Old Man in the Sea

The Magnificent Six

Making Crispy Creme Donuts Again!

Making Cupcakes for Dessert

Up at 6:20 to a quiet house, though my son in law Drew, got up about 15 minutes ago.  I sat and watched the sun rise above Long Point, deliberately, steadily, filling the lake with its reflection.  My neighbors went skiing by, as is their wont on weekends, and it looks like a warm day.  Already it's 63 degrees, highs in the 80's.

A leisurely Friday, for the most part, as we all seemed exhausted from our workouts on Thursday and the gathering that night.  Only Tom, Mary and Nick went out for a run.  And Drew and I went shopping in Lakewood, to Sam's to pick up salmon and chicken thighs for the next two nights, then Wegman's, for other goodies and Drew grabbed the last fire pit since he really liked the one he bought for us.

It was a big frying day, however, as we began after breakfast with crispy cremes, starting off the day with a sugar high.  We alternated cooking or baking, then, during the day, with playing Wipeout with the grandchildren in the water, or Escape, or tag, you name it, we played it.  Besides crispy creme, Evie and Nick put together the peach meringue dessert and Tom and Mary made snickerdoodle cupcakes.

In mid afternoon, we had our second annual rock painting.  During the year, I pick up interesting (to me) looking rocks, from hikes or even travels.  For instance, I brought home a rock from our good friends, the Armontrouts house, on Lake Thompson, in Maine.  Each grandchildren paints a rock, of their choice, and they are free to design it any way they wish.  After they are done, I spray them with a shellac, to hold the colors, and we put them along our driveway or in other places, like Evie's garden.  They were particularly good this year and it was fun to watch how patient some of them were with their painting.

We had another cooking extravaganza for dinner, making it a manic Friday night to say the least. To begin, the boys and Tommy did most of the frying, starting with sweet potatoes and zucchini tempura.  We had two dipping sauces too, a chipotle and marinara.  After the veggies, we had our favorite, calamari, dipped in a batter, and it went quickly.  For dinner, Tom grilled sockeye salmon to go with garlic spinach, salad, broccoli, and dessert, of course.

We ended the night, watching the Olympics, though Beth drove to Buffalo, to pick up Ramiro, who was flying in from JFK at 11:00.  The girls, no doubt on sugar highs, did not get to sleep until after 11:00, when Evie and I were so tired we told them we were through taking and were going to sleep.  They finally settled down.

Sunny and Cool, as a Fog Bank Rolls In

6:45

It Takes Four Men to Grill a Hot Dog

Making Friendship bracelets

Tyler and Mitch, with their Nemesis, Jill

Enjoying the afternoon

The Youngsters

The Old Smoothies

Up at 6:45, to sun but also a huge bank of fog off over Long Point and Bemus Bay.  It's now 7:30 and the fog has rolled in obscuring Long Point and Tom's Point, a cool, dampness filling the living room as I sit, still the only one up, an unusual experience when the family is here.  Another fine day on the agenda, in fact, that's all we have had since the gang arrived, one great day after another.

Yesterday, as always, was filled with fun, play, and some kind of physical activity.  We had a light  breakfast, so we could work out and then return to a brunch, of our favorite morning meat, pea meal bacon from the Lighthouse, two pounds of it, and farm fresh eggs.  The thought of it was enough to get us out doing something aerobic.  Jill, Drew and I drove over to Bemus, road our bikes along the Lake Road, through the park, to Warner's Bay, then back out to the tip of Long Point, and home.  Tom, Mary and Nick ran the Lake Rd. in Bemus, about three miles, and Beth walked up Woodlawn Rd numerous times.  Evie stayed home with the girls and boys, swam, and when we all got back, Tommy cooked the pea meal, Mitch fried over a dozen eggs, and we all pigged out on breakfast.

About 1:00, the guys, Evie, and the girls, jumped in my boat, and we went over to Midway Amusement for a couple of hours.  The lake was quite choppy both ways, the girls wrapping themselves in towels and sitting on the floor to avoid the waves, to little avail as all got wet with the spray.  We stayed at Midway for less than two hours as the kids are starting to get too old for the rides.

While we were at Midway, Beth cooked up the bratwurst in beer and Jill made her corn. tomato, herbs, and vinaigrette salad, and Tyler frosted his carrot cake.  Ron and Linda, the Leonards, and Pat Jones arrived about 5:30, every one bringing a dish.  So, while we played bean bag and talked, we had great pupus, clam and salmon dip from Pat, hanky pankies from Evie.  It was a beautiful night on the lake, a nice breeze, sunny, a perfect temperature, low 70's.  The girls sat on a blanket, making friendship blankets while we played bean bag.  About 7:00, I put the brats, Italian sausages, and hot dogs on the grill with the help of Tommy, Drew, and Ron.   It takes four to cook a brat.  Dinner was really great, the sides, Linda's potato salad, Jill's corn salad, and Joyce's baked beans, perfect accompaniments for the sausages. Most everyone went back for seconds.  For dessert we had Tyler's carrot cake, with nuts, raisins, pineapple and coconut, and the cream cheese frosting and Linda's Lemon cookie cake, both amazing.

After dinner, we had entertainment from the girls, a dance/gymnastic performance they had been working on, to music of course.  Then, Marlena sang a solo of an Adele song, and Tyler played a Pink Floyd song on the guitar, with Nick accompanying him, as Tyler had taught Nick how to play background on the mandolin.  We ended the evening sitting around the fire until about 10:00, as a full moon rose off to the south east.  Evie ended the evening with Nick, making a meringue, the kind you put in an oven at 450 degrees, turn it off, and leave it sit over night, the beginning of Nick's peach meringue dessert, my sister Ellen's recipe.  A full day.

Cloud Banks Over Long Point, Clear to West

6:45

At Play in the Bedroom

Looking at Evie's photo albums from year's past

Beginning of the Big Dessert Competition

Nick relaxing

Mitch's Tres Leche cake 

Early morning with Drew

Up early with my son in law, Drew, around 6:35 on a 64 degree morning, some rain yesterday but none last night. Lots of clouds off to the east but it's supposed to be nice today and it better be, as we are having the Mc Clures, Leonards, and Pat Jones over for dinner along with our tribe.

Another typical Tuesday at the lake, with family, as they are all starting to blend together.  We stayed home for the day, except for a grocery shopping expedition by Tommy, Jill and Mary...thank goodness I did not have to go! While they shopped, the rest of us swam, Evie cut the lawn, and the boys did odds and ends.

Late in the morning, Tom, Mary, Jill and Nick went for a run the the campground. While the family was running, I met with the CLA at Stow ferry, as we talked about their attempt to map where the invasive weed, the water chestnut was located.  There were about forty people in attendance, and each of us was given a portion of the lake to map.  I was to explore Bemus Bay and Woodlawn.  If you located the species, you were to call a cell phone number, and they would speed over by boat, map the location, then come back later in the week, I think, to eradicate it.  It was nice to see so many people willing to give up a morning to help eradicate invasive weeks.  Beth helped me look for weeds, kayaking along the shore lines, as we took about an hour,  finding no evidence of the week fortunately.  By the way, Beth had already taken Ramiro to the airport, leaving at 4:30 so it was a long day for her.  When we got back, the boys were off on a bike ride to Stedman, and Drew had just returned from riding to Mayville and back, quite an athletic group of children and grandchildren.

Much of the afternoon was spent putting together Mitch's Tres Leche cake, and getting the first couple of layers of Tyler's carrot cake made.  Today, we finish Tyler's cake, and Drew is making his famous pecan bars for tonight's mega extravaganza.  While the cake's were being made, and Tom and Jill and Mary were at the store, Drew and I escaped for an hour, with a cooler of beers, and sped off, sort of, in my boat, down the lake, to cruise around the CI and other parts of the lake, a great ride as it was just after the rainstorm, so the lake was calm and empty.

We relaxed in the yard before dinner, playing bean bag, Tom and Mary the winners, then we had Evie's spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, with garlic bread, and salad.  We were all really hungry for some reason, and it tasted great.  Lots left for lunches, too.  After dinner, Drew built a fire in our new  fire pit and we had Mitch's cake around the fireplace, quite a success.  About 9:30, we went in to watch the Olympics, Phelps win another medal and the women's gymnastic team win gold.