Chores Are Done, So Let It Rain

Wintry Sky at 6:55

It's 6:30, a cloudy gray sky, the lake, too, and wet outside, definitely a winter looking sky.  It looks like a good day to stay inside, rain even snow forecast for some reason though the highs will be in the 40's.

Yesterday as predicted was a good day to be outside, partly cloudy during most of the day, the rain holding off until about 6:00.  I decided to go to yoga, thinking it would be good to get my body moving after a day in the car.  I brought my camera along to take a picture of the view from Hardscrabble Road and wouldn't you know it, it was overcast, the colors washed out, not like the previous weeks.  Class was small, the way I like it, only three of us so we all got lots of attention.  We worked up to a shoulder stand, with lots of props to make it so that we did not endanger necks.  We had blankets stacked against the wall, sticky mats, and a chair with a sticky mat on it.  It's hard to describe how these props were used but I decided it was something I was not much interested in trying, so I only went so far.  Still, class was good,  I felt energized and awake after it.  I stopped at Johnson' Pharmacy in Mayville to pick up a couple of prescriptions and at the Smith Library, to pick up a book I read about by Bill Russell, the Celtic basketball great, on leadership and a winning culture.  It sounded interesting.

When I got home about 1:00, Evie already had both yards cut and mulched and was half way through cutting them again.  I had lunch, read some, then went out to do a few chores on my list, raking the leaves in areas around the garage, to make sure the water did not get in.  We filled two large plastic bags with leaves, another garbage can with more, and I worked up quite a sweat as it was warmer than  I thought.   Anyways, by 3:00, both yards looked great, the leaves were raked and taken up the hill.  We both went in and relaxed, read some, watched TV before taking showers to get ready to go out to dinner with the Mc Clure's.

A Couple of Happy Gals, Ready To Dig Into The Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie

They picked us up at 6:00 and drove us in rain, over to a practically empty Seezurh House, typical I guess for a Wednesday evening in the off season.  It was fun to be there, however, to be together with the McClure's, just like old times (a week ago), and talk about their trip to Boston, ours to Jill's home in Bristow.  They had the ribeye special on the chalk board, up a dollar from last year, now 10.99 and it was great, one of the more tasty and tender steaks  I have had in awhile, plus you get a salad and potato of your choice.  We all enjoyed our meals and I was still hungry at the end so I ordered their special pie, a chocolate peanut butter ice cream pie and the four of us shared it.  It was huge, and it was definitely a good idea to share it with them.  We got home about 9:00, in time to watch Stewart and Colbert, then go up to bed to read.  I am starting the fourth book in David Downing's Berlin series, this one called Potsdam Station, set as WW II is just about ending, April of 1945.

It's now 7:10, the sky is getting light enough to take a photo, Evie's up and we both are wondering what happened to the birds.  When we left, we had lots of them at our two feeders and the past two days, nary a bird.  My theory is the osprey must have scared them off for awhile.  I hope them come back because we just bought 50 pounds of sunflower seeds.  Time to get ready for breakfast in Bemus Point.

"Back In The Saddle Again" --- Gene Autry

6:16

6:54

7:13

Up at 6:15 to a increasingly spectacular sunrise off towards Tom's Point, on what looks like a great fall day, warm with the temperatures in the low 60's, lots of crispy leaves to mulch later in the day, then dinner out at our fav, the Seezurh House, where they have reinstituted their Wednesday night special, a 10 oz. ribeye, with salad and potatoes.  The good life...with the McClure's, of course.

We said our farewells to Jill, Hayden, and Halle yesterday morning around 10:00, as we were in no hurry to get home and wanted to spend some time with the girls in the morning.  Evie made them a breakfast of french toast,  readying them for their day off from school but both have long afternoons and evenings of either dance (four hours for Hayden), and gymnastics (two hours for Halle).  It was a fine day to drive back to the lake; we just put the car on automatic pilot and go as we know the way by heart.  The colors are no longer at peak, so most of the way, we were treated to rust brown looking trees off on either side of the road, with patches of green pines for contrast.  It felt like winter was nearby.  And on the roads we take, avoiding the PA turnpike except for a 13 mile strip, we have little traffic, going mostly on back roads.  We got home about 4:30, as expected, unpacked quickly as we really are learning how to bring less and less on our usual four night stays at our kids homes, just right for them and us.

Evie brought some of her vegetable soup back to the lake, pulled a couple of Sahlen hot dogs out of the freezer, and along with a salad and Stadium Mustard of course, we had an easy dinner.  It seemed like we had been away longer than four nights for some reason.  We settled in our TV room with our dinner and caught up on our missed TV episodes, both the Daily Show and Colbert, plus The Good Wife and Masters of Sex.  None were particularly interesting, compelling, as either we are becoming more and more curmudgeonly and critical or the shows are not as good as they have been.  I did finish my third David Downing book, Stettin Station and I really enjoyed it. Set in Berlin just as America declared war on Germany, John Russell, the protagonist, is forced to flee Germany, a suspenseful, nail biting end to the novel.  Cannot wait to start the next one Potsdam Station, and ordered the final two from the local libraries.

It looks like a yoga morning at Studio Panterra in Westfield, then an afternoon of mulching leaves, as most have fallen from both Leonard's and our trees.

Returning To the Lake, Alas

Halle and Granny Starting Out

Finished A Three Mile Hike

Up at 6:20, to a cloudy sky, an empty house as Drew is flying off to Jacksonville for a few days and the rest of the family is still asleep.  It looks like a decent day for our drive home, some clouds but also sun with highs in the 50's both here in Bristow and back at Chautauqua.  We are in no hurry to leave this morning, just so we get home before dark or at least close to then.

Yesterday, around 10:00, Jill went off to work for five hours and we were left at home with Halle, so we all decided it would be fun to pack some snacks and go for a hike in the nearby Conway Robinson State Forest, about 15 minutes from their house.  It's just off Lee Highway in what probably used to be 'the sticks' but now there's developments everywhere except for this 400 acres of forests, with various intersecting trails.  We talked with a couple who walk the Forest with their dog and the suggested the blue trail, the longest, about 3. 2 miles, so that's what we took.  Most of it is through woods, lots of the common Loblolly Pine, an important source of timber, as well as common deciduous trees.  Most of the leaves were off of the deciduous trees, blanketing the ground and except for the pines, the woods was mostly a winter like brown.  Halle was a trooper, never complaining, observing everything as we walked, finding interesting looking leaves, baby Loblolly pines, deadfall that reminded her of Butterfinger candy bars. Midway we stopped for a snack of cheese and crackers and water, a welcome rest for all three of us. Evie's Nano kept track of our steps, 8600 which Halle loved hearing, and we walked for almost two hours, a great way to spend a morning.  It was chilly walking, so we had to put a extra sweat shirt on Halle when we started and we never did work up a sweat.

An Arcade of Loblolly Pines

Bark of Loblolly Pine

We had a quesadilla for lunch along with Evie's vegetable soup and at 1:30, Evie picked up Sarah, a friend of Halle's who came over for the afternoon.  Both girls play well together, mostly in the basement, and both ended up helping Evie make the fresh pasta dough, before going outside to play on the trampoline.  We then went for a walk with them, in the back woods, along the creek that's about fifty feet from the Bissell's backyard.  It's about twenty to thirty feet wide, and there's a rough trail that follows it for a good distance though when the water from the Manassas Dam is released, everything gets flooded, even the trail. After the walk, Drew and Jill both came home, as well as Hayden after an hour and a half dance practice.  Evie and the girls finished the fresh pasta, making fettuccine to go alone with the vodka shrimp sauce.  Dinner, with garlic bread and salad was great, none left, and the girls devoured the noodles, plain or with the sauce, it didn't matter.  Since the girls have no school tomorrow, they wanted to stay up and watch a movie and since we could not find anything appropriate that they had not seen on Netflix, we watched the new Monsters Inc film on demand.  I am not sure any of us watched it with great attention; I read some, Evie played Words with Friends, Jill went up to bed, Hayden looked bored and only Halle and Drew seemed to be watching it.  Anyways, we all went upstairs to sleep or read by 10:15, after a fun day.  Today the girls have no school because of Election Day but both also have dance this afternoon and this evening.

Walking The Broad Run Creek Path With Sarah, Halle's Friend

The Boys Planting Dogwoods

Below Freezing In Bristow But Sunny

Dinner with the Bissell's and Bottiny's 

Awake at 5:00, as Drew is up early for his forty five minute drive to work to Fort Belvoir, just outside of Washington, DC.  Traffic around the city is terrible unless you leave early or return late. Fortunately, I was able to sleep in till about 6:30 and it looks like another cool but sunny day in Virginia.  When we arrived on Friday, it was in the high 70's.  This morning it's 29º, quite a change in three days.  It's 21º in Chautauqua, so winter is no doubt on its way, even here in Virginia.

A Happy Halle Bissell

Backyard Trees in Fall

Yesterday was another fun day, lots of sun, granddaughters, and warm enough to just wear a fleece, though we did not spend much time outside, other than a walk with Coco around the neighborhood. We lazed around the house much of the morning though I did go to Safeway to get things for last night's dinner.  There are two shopping areas less than ten minutes away, and one, Gateway Center has just about every store and fast food restaurant imaginable and just opened a new section with theaters, high end restaurants and condo's starting at 300,000.  This area is obviously blooming, as is the traffic.

The Barbecue Guys

Around 11:30, Jill, Evie, Halle and I went off to Merrifield Nursery, an amazing place, with acres of trees, plants, gardens, rocks, slate, patio stones, as well as an indoor area with Virginia wines, a cafe, and just about anything else that has to do with the outdoors, from gardening, to pots, to birds, to wind chimes and the like.  But best of all, they have free popcorn, to enjoy as you shop.  While we were browsing, Drew went off at 12:15 to BW-3, the wing restaurant, to get seats for the Kansas City Chiefs football game at 1:00.  After the nursery, Jill and I dropped Evie and Halle off at home, and we then we met Drew for a couple of beers and some wings.  Drew was sitting with a couple of buddies from his high school days, and got there early enough to save us seats.   Sundays at BW-3 is a almost religious happening, with hundreds of fans dressed in their teams football jerseys, with just about every team represented, but mostly Redskin and Baltimore fans.  We stayed for the first half, then went home, drowsy and full from our afternoon repast of wings and beer, the polar opposite of  the five hour energy drinks for sure.

Getting Religion  at BW-3's On A Sunday Afternoon

I went home and fell asleep on the couch watching football, the manly thing to do on a Sunday afternoon.  But I was energized afterwards, fortunately, as my sister Ellen and her husband Walt arrived around 4:00 for dinner.  They live in Herndon, about 30 minutes away from Bristow.  We had not seen them since our last visit to Bristow in late June.  We had fun catching up with the lives of their kids, of course, and we had a great dinner of teriyaki pork chops, rice, and Brussels sprouts. We did have a good laugh around 5:00,  as Drew took Halle over to his sister's house for a birthday party but called shortly after he arrived to say no one was at home.  Jill quickly checked the calendar, only to realize the party was next Sunday.  She will have a hard time living this down, as the Bissell family, for sure, will not let her forget it.  At least we got to have Halle with us for dinner and after.  Ellen also brought her photo book she had made of their trip to Maine, filled with amazing photographs she took of their trip in October.  They left around 8:00 and we put the kids to bed and watched the next episode of Homeland, still not as compelling as the past two years and confusing, as we are often not sure what's going on.  And where's Brody?  And thank goodness annoying Dana may be gone for good, as she just upped and told her Mom she could not live at home any longer.  Her mother acquiesced, gave her money, and off she went to who knows where.  I hope off the program.

Planting Dogwoods As Bristow Cools Off

The Bissells Heading Off To Bonefish

Almost A Teen

I am up at 6:00, really 7:00 using yesterday's time, so I am happy to have 'slept in,' sort of.  It's starting to cool off here and I think Chautauqua is supposed to have snow today.  Our high in VA will be in the 50's, a clear day, however, a great day to be outside.

Yesterday was a busy day, as we relaxed a good part of the morning though I did take Coco for a walk, but around 11:00, Drew and I drove off to two nurseries to pick up a couple of dogwood trees that they had bought a couple of weeks ago. Traffic around here is always heavy so it took us quite awhile as the weekends on the road seem just as busy as the week.  Drew had borrowed a friend's truck, so we had no trouble getting the three trees back here to the house.  We then spent a good part of the afternoon figuring out exactly where to plant them, with the help of Jill and Evie.  Once that was done, Drew got out his tractor and cart, put the trees in it, and drove it to the back yard.  We then dug three holes, and it was not as bad a job as we thought, though the soil was rocky and mostly clay.  It took about an hour and a half to get all three in but they look fine and will add to the attractiveness of their huge backyard. Everyone was happy with the result, so Drew and I celebrated with a beer and watched some football.

A Stern Hayden From The Trampoline

Halle On Trampoline

We decided to live it up for dinner, so we decided to go to Bonefish, Jill's favorite restaurant around Bristow.  We made reservations and got their about 6:30, had to wait a few minutes but we found seats in the bar so we all decided to just eat there at one of the tables, a good choice as it was busy and lively. We started off with a couple of orders of 'bang bang shrimp' and good bread with olive oil for dipping. By the time we finished both, the edge to my appetite was off.  We ordered various dinners, from ahi tuna, to steak, to a kobe burger, my choice which I really enjoyed.  All our meals were great, as was the service, so it was a good choice.  The girls even seemed to enjoy sitting around listening to the adults talk.  We were home by 8:30, tried to watch a couple of movies that the girls might like but no luck.  So we watched a couple of their shows, talked, surfed the net on our computers before going to bed around 10:30.  Evie stayed up with the girls for another 15 minutes, being silly but all of us were in bed by 11:00, a busy but fun day.  By the way, pictures from yesterday would have been better but when I downloaded them, an error occurred and I lost all of the them.  Bummer.

A Tired Coco

Another Saturday in Bristow, VA

A Beautiful Drive to Virginia

Up early, at 6:35, and Drew is already up, drinking coffee, watching the news of the LAX shooting from yesterday.  I obviously was out of the loop because I knew nothing about it.  Why would anyone have a grudge against the poor guys who work for the TSA.  What a world.

We left the lake yesterday morning around 7:30, and it was overcast and wet, not the kind of weather for a seven hour trip.  By Warren, however, there were brief flashes of sun and when we got to Berkley Springs, it was fine.  We are always amazed by how beautiful the ride can be, through the Allegheny Forest in PA, the mountains of central PA, then the final hour drive through the VA countryside, of manicured farms, estates, wineries, the like as you get closer to Washington, DC.  It was warm when we arrived, tee shirt weather, and Hayden was already home, supposedly under the weather, and Halle came home right after we arrived.

We talked with the girls about school, sat outside on their great porch as it was easily in the 70's, and Drew was home early as well, so we had the whole gang.  The girls look so grown up, Halle especially seems much taller since when we last saw her.  We enjoyed some wine before dinner, and Drew and I drove off to Safeway to pick up some garlic bread for dinner.   Hayden is into Starbucks, a chocolate chip coffee drink, so she came along so she could buy one.  We had the lasagna Evie made for dinner, along with salad and bread, and the girls entertained us through dinner with their talk.  They both can be real talkers when they feel like it.

We did not do much the rest of the night, relax, play with the girls, talk with Jill and Drew, and finally all of us went up to bed around 10:15.  Evie and I were really tired from the drive, so it was good to get into bed.

Doing Homework

Granny and Hayden, Chillin

Halloween Stash

The Maid Sweeping The Deck

The Lake To Bristow, VA For A Few Days

7:30

A Wet October Morning

Up at 6:00, to another wet morning, high winds, with trees down, electricity off in parts of Buffalo but so far, not bad around here.  We want to be on our way by 7:00 or 7:30, arriving in Bristow, VA by 3:00, just in time to see our granddaughters arrive home from school.  It's an easy, pretty drive but the rain may compromise the drive.

Yesterday it rained all day, a good day to stay inside, to get things ready four trip, pick up our car at the garage, and do lots of cooking for Evie.  Our granddaughter Hayden just loves Evie's vegetable soup, so Evie was up early making sou, letting it simmer on the stove top for a couple of hours, so the flavors of all the vegetables blend.  Since we also had half of cauliflower, she made one of our favorites to freeze, an Indian cauliflower soup from Madhur Jaffrey.  And just to make sure she kept busy, she put together a lasagna to take to Jill's, for dinner one night.  This took a good part of the morning and early afternoon.  I was the clean up boy, washing and drying the dishes as needed.  The rest of the day we just relaxed, with some TV and reading.  I did take an early morning walk before the rains came, through Woodlawn/Victoria woods, unseasonably warm for late October, the highs in the 60's.  Very little action the the lake other than birds, seagulls and herons, as the fishermen seemed smart enough to stay in today.

Autumn Colors

Kinney's Run

Victoria Woods

For dinner, we had leftover Slovenia beans and potato soup and sausages with sauerkraut, still good after sitting in the refrigerator for a couple of days.  In fact, soups seem to just get better.  Once again it was hard to find anything worth watching on TV.   We started an older series called Brothers and Sisters, with Sally Field, but it got too silly, predictable, as one crisis and coincidence followed another, the goal to constantly keep the audience emotionally connected I suppose, but we just shook our heads and laughed so now it has become a comedy for us.  We wonder who are the directors, the writers, that allow this kind of schmaltz on TV.  With a bit of editing, it could have been decent.