Monday Blues and Rock Paintings

7:10

Rocks Painted by Grandchildren

 Up late for me 7:00, to deafening silence, just the coffee pot perking, and Evie out, walking on the dock, welcoming the morning sun.  Both of us feel like we have moved into a new house, no kids, no grandchildren, no clutter, no laughter, an empty kitchen. It's like we are living in a model home.

By Mitchell Albarran

Long Point by Beth Albarran, Tree by Mitchell Albarran

Yesterday, Beth and family left about 8:00 and both Evie and I got right to work; I went out into the disgusting algae infested water(it started the day the kids left), and pulled in all of the floats and rafts, deflated them and spread them out on the lawn to dry.  Once they dry, I fold them, climb the ladder in my garage, and put them away up in the garage attic for another year, along with all the other toys, balls, bats, and things the kids might like to use.  It took an hour and I easily worked up a sweat. While I worked outside, Evie worked inside, cleaning and reorganizing the kitchen, picking up and straightening the living room, not that it was too bad as we had done a lot yesterday.  I also wheel barrow-ed all the painted rocks out to our drive way, arranging the smaller one's on a table for show for a couple of days until we decide what to do with them.  You can see most of them on this blog.

 Beth Albarran

Mitchell Albarran

BJK by Nick Davis, Happy by Mitchell

Nicolas Davis

After I finished outside and Evie the kitchen, we went upstairs to clean, and I began by deflating all the mattresses in various bedrooms.  I stripped all the beds, and Evie began washing and drying the towels and sheets, something that took her most of the day and is continuing this morning.  We tackled our bedroom, vacuumed, cleaned, and rearranged it so now it's back to normal. clean and orderly,  with no little girls sleeping on mattresses, alas.  So, the downstairs was clean, the floats were in, up in the garage, and one bedroom was done.  Enough.

Tyler Albarran

So, around 1:00, we went out on the dock and spent the rest of the day relaxing, mourning the exodus of our family.  Fortunately, it was pleasant to sit on the dock, to sun bathe, something Evie has not had time to do for a couple of weeks.  Lots of traffic on the lake, of course, it was a Sunday in August, the most popular time to visit the lake.  The algae was bad early morning, but later in the day, the lake looked more normal.  I checked to see if any beaches had been closed and none had yet except for a couple on Lake Erie, in Dunkirk, which have been closed all summer for some reason.

We had the left over Iskender kebab for dinner, with left over coconut cream pie and peanut butter pie for dessert and got back to our routine, watching an episode of The Killing but also realizing that we had not taped the last two episodes so we will most likely get them from Itunes tonight.

Mitchell

The Chautauqua Institution's theme this week is Turkey: Model for the Middle East.  I plan on going to hear a couple of the lectures but today, I want to get back in my morning routine of yoga, coffee, and library.

Empty Nest, Once Again, As Fall Looms

Final Swim With Girls

6:20

Up at 6:10, to a cool, fall like morning of 52º, with a sunrise so brilliant over the steam rising on the lake that it chased me inside, to my couch, to sit and talk with Beth on her last morning here.  I love to watch the fog rise, slowly move across the shiny lake.  A few boats out this early, in fact, a kayak just paddled by, a great morning to be on the lake.

Yesterday was Part I of the great Exodus, as two families, the Bissell's and Davis's had to head on home, alas.  The girls were up early, for them, a bit sad but still in great spirits as always, enjoying each other's company.  A good part of the morning was spent packing the cars, which always takes longer than you think.  The hardest part, taking apart our bedroom, to look for anything that the girls forgot in our bedroom.  Evie found all kinds of things,  books, chargers, necklaces, clothes, all hidden beneath mattresses and blankets.  To make sure everyone had what they brought, we had to literally take apart the living room and TV rooms, so  I ended up vacuuming both, to start getting things back in order. Evie made a final grand breakfast, of pea meal bacon, now an all family favorite, and we went through close to two dozen eggs, as everyone was starved.  Evie, the girls and guys took one last swim, just as the heavy algae was coming in, so it was perfect timing for all.

Lull Before The Exodus

Halle Chilling

Tom and His Girl

Both families left around 12:30 and it was very hard for all of us to day good bye since we had had such a fun week together, and we knew it would not happen again for a year.  The girls were all hugging and kissing each other, promising to keep in touch by text, email, or Facetime.  After many good byes, they were off and it was a quiet house, with just Evie and I and the Albarrans for the day, like not going 'cold turkey' but having an extra day with some of the family around to make up for the loss.

Tyler's Peanut Butter and Whipped Cream Pie

We did not do much the rest of the day.   Beth enjoyed sunning out on the dock while the boys and Marisa hung out inside with Evie and me.   Tyler talked Evie into making one more pie, this time a peanut butter and whipped cream pie.  They first had to make a pie crust, bake it, then out together the filling, a custard with peanut butter, then put it together and let it get cold.  Mid afternoon, Beth went to the Artist's Loft with Mitch and Evie and Tyler put together the Turkish meatballs or spicy koftes, for another one of our favorite meals, what they call Iskender Kebab in Turkey.

Tyler and Granny Making Turkish Koftes

Last Supper

When Beth returned, we all sat outside on a splendid Chautauqua afternoon, at the picnic table, and painted more rocks.  We spent close to two hours painting, until it started to cool and dusk approached. Tyler and I then grilled the egg shaped koftes outside and Evie got things ready inside for our final meal as a family.  To make the Iskender kebab, first Evie browned pieces of pita bread; we then put some on a plate, added two or three koftes, covered both with tomato sauce, then added yogurt, and you have an extraordinaire meal, a little like a meatball sub I suppose except the kofte's are heavily spiced.  For dessert, we had Tyler's peanut butter pie, light and creamy, definitely worth making again.  The boys then packed most of the car before we finished the night playing Telefunky, having taught Marisa to play and she caught on quickly.  We stayed up later than we thought playing so Marisa did not get to bed till 11:00.  The end of another good day.

As I finish this blog entry, the Albarrans are on the road, the house is empty, sadly so,  and Evie has started the long day of getting the house back in order, a psychologically comforting task, keeping our minds off the departure of our family. Work, the great anti depressant!  What a grand two weeks we have had!

Yesterday, What A Day!

6:20

Beth Administering Reiki to Halle' Headache 

It's a fine morning on the lake, as I sit inside because the porch has become art studio for now, as the rock painting took place on the porch because of yesterday's rain.  A mostly clear morning, some puffs of clouds off to the east, 58º and it's supposed to be sunny and pleasant all week end long, though not particular warm, highs in the 70's, just right for me.

Halle and Marlena Mixing Pancake Batter

It rained early morning yesterday, was overcast until about 3:30 when the sun came out and it became a great day on the lake.  After the girls arose, they, along with Evie, made pancakes, in various shapes, for everybody, quite a chore feeding fourteen of us, as they were at the griddle seemingly endlessly, feeding the pack of boys.  And Tyler wanted banana syrup, so Evie helped him make it, with butter, brown sugar, water and cut up bananas.  I have to admit it's tasty, worth making. And on and off during the rest of the day, various kids painted rocks, at their leisure, as the piles got bigger and bigger.

Front Porch Turned Into a Painting Studio

Lazing Around, Waiting For Breakfast

After breakfast, despite the overcast skies, the girls wanted to go tubing, so I went off to Hogan's, got gas, corn, and ice, gassed up the boat and off they went for a half hour,  Tom driving, the girls loving it, of course, even though the boat has little speed.  We had a lunch of leftovers, ate up most of the cabbage rolls, and lots of sandwiches for the kids.  It always feels like breakfast had just finished when we start getting together lunch.  Mid afternoon, the jocks took the boat over to Bemus, to go for a run, including Hayden.  Marisa, Marlena, and Halle stayed behind and worked on a new gymnastic routine. Evie went off shopping by herself, to Topps, and Beth and I stayed home, helped the girls, cleaned things up,

Deep Frying the Calamari with His Girl

Calamari

Scallops, with Butter, White Wine, Parsley and Shallots

When the athletes returned, it was about 4:30 and everyone went for a swim.  It was about this time that I had a hint that something was up...one of the painted rocks said 'Happy 70th birthday.' So, I learned, we were going to celebrate my 70th birthday early with a special dinner, including appetizers and dessert.  How cool.  So, everyone but me got cooking, pulled out the special wines, beer, and mixed drinks, and the fun began.  Tom and Mary cut up and fried the calamari on the back porch.  Jill and Beth made three sauces for it.  Evie and Drew got the shrimp ready; Evie put some hanky pankies under the broiler, and we also had cheese and crackers.  Once the calamari was done, we adjourned to the front yard, on a sunny afternoon, and had a feast.  The appetizers were filling, like a main course, so we put off dinner till about 7:00.  About 6:30, the cooking began again, for dinner, browning scallops in butter, adding white wine and shallots, one of my favorite dinners,  Tommy and Evie did the cooking of the scallops, Drew  grilled marinated shrimp on skewers, and the girls got the rest of the meal together, sweet corn, a salad, an a broccoli and cheese salad that Evie made.  Fortunately, everything had dried up nicely outside, so we could eat dinner in the yard.  It was a cool night but with a sweat shirt or fleece it was perfect, as were all my favorite foods.  We sat outside as the lake darkened, finishing our meal, our wine, laughing about the day's preparation,

Getting Dinner Ready

Helping Out In the Kitchen

Dusting the Calamari

When it got dark, we went inside and sang Happy Birthday before digging into the ice cream cake, and two pies from Portage Pie in Westfield, a mediocre peach pie and a scrumptious coconut cream, my choice for the night.  After that, the kids pulled out the gifts.  Each grandchild had painted me a special rock, for example, Nick painted the Besiktas banner, my basketball team in Turkey, on a rock.  And I received some cool things from the kids, Merino glasses, two artistic birds, made out of wire from the American Folk Art Museum in NYC and an overly generous gift card to Amazon, to buy what I like.  O, yea, I forgot, they also purchased  two ten dollar raffle tickets for a boat, sponsored by the Bemus Point Yacht Museum.  Both Evie and I feel were are going to win it on September 1st when they have the drawing.

Tyler and Mary, Doing Dishes

The Birthday Boy, Up Close

After all the fun, the girls went up to bed, very excited by the party and lots of cake,  The boys watched Shark Week, Tom and Drew the Kansas City Chiefs game on Tom's IPAD, and when Shark Week was over, the boys and Drew, Jill, and Evie played another game of Telefunky to round out the evening.

Today is going to be a sad day as at least two families have to leave for home.  Tommy and his family fly back to KC, from Cleveland, at 5:00 so they will have to leave around 12:30 for the airport.  Jill and Drew and the girls will head back to Virginia about the same time.  Hopefully, they can enjoy the morning before taking off.

More Rain, More Clouds But The Grandchildren Are Still Here!

Mermaids of Chautauqua Lake

6:20

Just after 7:00 and I have been up for forty five minutes, sitting out side, listening to the rain on the roof, the lawn soggy, the sky gray, the lake misty, everyone else sleeping, the only quiet time for me in the day.

Guys at Work

Before

After

Yesterday was a work day, mostly because Drew, with minimal help from me, put up bead board and a chair rail on our kitchen wall.  After a quick trip to Home Depot to pick up the primed chair rail and caulk, we started around 11:30, finished around 3:30 to the raves of everyone, just what Evie wanted. Drew brought his mitre saw, to make 45º angle cuts and I actually had a hand held jig saw my father in law had given me, so we could cut the bead board.  Most time consuming was cutting the bead board to fit, a painstaking process, as Drew had to cut it three or four times, taking off perhaps a quarter of an inch each time so as to make it fit perfectly.  As any project would have it, something always takes longer than expected.  In this case, it was the last thing, putting the switch plate back on the bead board.  It had to be raised, making it difficult to screw it back in the wall.  Finally, it was finished and we could admire our work.  As I said, it's nice to have handy son in law's, especially those who are willing to take on a task on their vacation.

Nick Skying

Hayden Flies

Girls Get Silly

While Drew and I worked, Jill and Beth went shopping and out to lunch, and they were gone for close to four hours.  I cannot imagine shopping anywhere for four hours, especially at the Chautauqua Mall area where the stores are not exactly top flight. For me Wegman's would be the flagship store, with T. J. Maxx coming in second.  Anyways, they had a good time, I assume and brought home more groceries, much needed when you are feeding fourteen people three times a day.  Tyler and Nick went to work out at Turner and Evie and the girls swam for, conservatively, two hours if not longer.  They just love making up games, doing jumps, dives, rating them.  The latest, Evie was offering five bucks to anyone who could, while jumping, throw their flip flops (we called them Tokyo's in Hawaii forty five years ago) and hit Leonard's dock.  They are infinitely imaginative in what they come up with.

Five Guys Cooking Burgers

Sitting Inside, Raining Outside

It rained some late afternoon, so the girls brought their rocks back onto the porch and worked on them. Tom and Mary arrived backed from the PGA golf tournament around 4:30 and brought all the guys PGA tee shirts, mine is baby blue!  Dinner was easy (for dinner) as we had cabbage rolls (made two weeks ago), sauerkraut, with mashed potatoes, sweet corn, salad, and grilled burgers for those who might not like cabbage rolls.

And just as it was getting dark, Beth and I took out the kayaks, for a night paddle, on an overcast but lovely night, the lake like oil, glossy and smooth, not a boat in sight.  Evie, at the urging of the girls, took them on what might be the final night of skinny dipping.  As Beth and I paddled, we could hear the screams of delight and laughter of the girls as they shed their suits and jumped in the lake.  Nothing like being 'buck naked.'

For dessert, Beth made brownies, so with ice cream, we were set for the night, until Evie brought out more chips, popcorn, and pretzels, while playing Telefunky, a game my Mom taught the grandchildren which they enjoy. Evie, Jill, and Mary and the three boys played till close to 11:00, while Beth put the girls to bed and the big guys watched some terrible pre season NFL games.  It's hard to believe football season is starting.

It's supposed to clear up today, so we have to fill it with dock and tubing time, as this is the last day we will all be together as Tom and family fly home tomorrow; Nick has soccer tryouts on Monday, their school starts on Wednesday I think.

Fishing, Early Morning

Overcast, Heavy Rain Last Night, and Warm

Halle, Beth, Marisa, Woodlawn Creek

Cairns

Beth's Stones

I was up at 4:30 because of the heavy rain (close to a half inch) last night, checked the windows to see if it was raining in, then went back to bed, slept, sort of and got up at 7:00.  Drew got up shortly after me and we talked about his work with the Nuclear Regulatory Industry, which is who he has been working with over the past two years.  Sounds like thunderstorms on and off during the day, a high of 78º.

Yesterday turned out to be a really fun day though we were not sure what we wanted to do at the start. The girls had their usual 'leisurely morning' upstairs in our bedroom before getting up to have breakfast.  Hayden and Marisa wanted to go tubing, so about 10:00 Mitch and I took them out for a spin on a windy, choppy morning and they loved it, getting  their fill since they were the only ones tubing.

Beaching It at Barcelona, NY

Halle, Marisa, and Jill

The Girls Searching For Rocks

At Jack's Barcelona

Since we painted some rocks yesterday, we decided to drive up to Lake Erie, to Barcelona, with the gang, enjoy the beach, swim, and look for more interesting rocks to paint.  Although it was overcast part of the day, the kids loved the beach, loved swimming in Lake Erie, even wanted to come back one more time before leaving.  Beth and I spent most of the morning looking for rocks; Beth loves it, found mostly heart shaped rocks to paint, whereas I looked for shapes that were uniform, and different colors. We spent a couple of hours at the beach, then went and had lunch at Jack's Drive In, sat outside under umbrellas, and most of the adults had fresh perch sandwiches, with tartar sauce and home made curly fries, all excellent.

One car drove straight home, mine with the girls, the other went shopping at Topps and came home with mega junk food and groceries. Topps was having a sale...buy two of an item and get three free, so they came home with five half gallons of Friendly ice cream, five bags of Lays potato chip, Twinkies, cream soda, and a cherry pie from Portage Pie.  You could tell Evie, not me, was in this car, the one doing the shopping!

Evie, Marlena, and Hayden

Nick's Batman

Nick and Mitch

Halle, Marisa and Beth

Painting Rocks

We got home around 3:00 and Beth and I spread all our rocks out on the picnic table to see what we had.  Slowly, the girls and boys came out to see, and they all ended up sitting at the picnic table till about 5:30, picking out cool rocks, coming up with a design, then painting the rocks in various ways, from lady bugs, to American flags,  to turtles or kitties, fish with bubbles, Batman, to Inspirational Words like 'Dance,'  Mitch designed one in graphics for me, with the words 'Let Go' though Evie preferred, 'Go Away,'  All of them showed an amazing originality, rarely asking for help.   We only stopped when they all decided to go for a swim with Granny while the adults got dinner ready.

Swimming Before dinner

We had Slovenian Sausages for dinner, another favorite of our kids, which we get from Azman's Meats in Euclid, Ohio, a family who has been making these sausages for at least sixty or seventy years.  When we go in to buy them, the guys behind the counter always remember Evie's Dad, tell stories about him. We had chips  along with a barbecued beans, and a huge salad, all we needed to have a good and easy dinner.  Fortunately, Drew was able to get back in time for dinner from his meetings at the Limeriick nuclear plant,  south of Allentown, PA.

The girls went up to bed early, after ice cream cones, again with the promise that if they could have an hour of leisure, they would go to bed on time.  Fat chance.  By the time I went to bed at 11:00, they were still up giggling with Evie.  Unbeknowst to the little girls, the rest of us had the cherry pie, with Friendly's ice cream of course, and then most of us watched Shark Week.  They had a countdown of the ten most dangerous sharks to humans, along with the number of attacks each made on a person.

We all went to bed around 11:00, tired from beaching it, painting, swimming and tubing and eating, of course.