A Morning Fog Heralds A Sunny, Warm Day

Three Stooges

A Blue Heron Looking For Breakfast

Woke at 5:00, got up at 6:00, to a cool living room because we left the windows open. A blue heron was standing on our lawn, looking for food, then slouched off to the next yard.  Rami also was up and has just taken off for Buffalo, where he will fly to NYC for a couple of days, returning late Wednesday. It's now 6:50, quiet except for NPR on Evie's new Sonos music system.  I think it was a great  present for her (me).

Kayak Morning

Yesterday stayed dry much of the day, enshallah, though a brief thunderstorm hit Woodlawn around 1:30, but by late afternoon, it was sunny and warm again, as we took advantage of it, enjoying the lake.  Beth and I began the day with a long kayak paddle to Bemus Bay, then Wells, and back, taking advantage of the morning sun.  Rami went for another long bike ride in the morning, the girls stayed upstairs, coming down about 9:30, to cereal.

A Special Girl With Her Granny

They immediately wanted to kayak and swim, so Evie did both, taking Halle for a kayak ride, then swimming with the girls when she returned.  Drew picked up more ice and beer, a new kind, Coors Summer Citrus, which everyone seems to like.

For lunch, Beth made tuna sandwiches for the gang, either toasted or on bread, with the fixings, tomato or cheese, and everyone devoured them, having had a light breakfast.  We relaxed on the dock till the storm clouds drifted in and it began to rain.  So the girls went upstairs to their bedroom, to read, and Jill, who had been researching rental homes in Top Sail, NC, narrowed our choices for the next 4th of July to three amazing places, all on the beach.  Today we decide which one to rent to celebrate our 50th anniversary next summer.  If you don't plan a year in advance, you don't get a place I guess.

Rami In Summer Rain

Around 3:30, because it was so cloudy, threatening rain, Jill and Beth decided to do another mega shopping run so we would not have to do it today, which is supposed to be sunny.  While they were gone, it cleared up some, so Tyler and Mitch, the girls, and Evie and I went swimming for forty five minutes, playing in the water, on the rafts, having a good old time.  And, miracle, the sun came out to warm us as we swam.  A great way to work up an appetite.

Balancing Marisa

Three Cuties

Spaghetti and Meat Ball Dinner

For dinner, Evie pulled out the meatballs she had made mid July, added tomato sauce, and we were ready for a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.  I forgot to mention she also madehome made pasta, along with Mitch and Tyler, complicating the meal, but in the end, it's always worth it, as we all love fresh pasta.  We went through over forty meat balls, lots of sauce and pasta, as well as salad, corn on the cob, and sourdough bread.  We were all hungry!

Paddling With Granny

After dinner, the girls wanted to go kayaking, so Evie put Halle in it, Marisa on the front of the kayak, Hayden on the back, and paddled off, followed by Tyler, lonesome in his single kayak.  They were out till it started to get dark. Then, of course, the girls wanted to have a last swim, in the dark, so Evie went with them.  Needless to say, they love swimming at night.  When they came in, we all had ice cream sundaes, sat around till 10:30, then we all went to bed, the girls tired, went to bed easily, no begging for a story.

Polka Party With Aunt Jill

A Quiet, Overcast Morning After (Heavy Thunderstorms and Rain)

Granny With, Sadly, Only Two Of Her Granddaughters

Halle Girl

6:55

It's 7:30 and I have been up for a half hour though Beth has been up since 5:30 and Drew just got up. Beth and I have been looking at houses in Top Sail, NC, where we hope to rent a large beach house next 4th of July, to celebrate Evie and my 50th wedding anniversary.  Jill and Drew spent a week there in July, loved the quiet vibe, with houses right on the beach.  It could be a great getaway weekend for all of us.

Yesterday was a day to recover from Friday's Evie extravaganza, and we all did little other than enjoy our leisure.  No trips to the store, just a SUV loaded with trash for the transfer station, then a stop at Hogan's for ice.  That's it for shopping.  Tom and Mary left for home around 9:15, a sad parting as we had great fun with their family, Nick loving the wake boarding, Marlena hanging out with the girls.  It's amazing how well the cousins get along, no fighting, always busy, happy, ready to do something, either jump in the lake, tube, paint, or just relax in their bedroom, which they all did yesterday afternoon for at hour, reading.  Love it.

Tubing Madness

Evie did get the lawn cut, and I got rid of the trash, so we had a few chores done.  But for the most part, we hung out on the dock, enjoyed the sun, the blue skies, swimming and relaxing all late morning and early afternoon.  In between, the girls and Drew did some tubing, and the girls and Beth painted rocks for awhile.  But we all enjoyed the dock the most yesterday, just being in the sun.  Around 4:00, heavy clouds started to move in, so we cleaned off the dock, the yard, belted up the house and garage, as the torrential rains came, about as heavy and hard as I can remember.

The Bissell Girls

Marisa Goes Hollywood

Jill And A Happy Halle

Granny And Halle Hanging In The Water

Huge puddles filled our yards, and next store, at Pine Hill, it looked like a small stream of muddy water coming down their road, from the yards to the north of the road.  It went on for a good hour or more, and today's paper said the water was waste deep in the Chautauqua Mall parking lot.

Heavy Thunderstorms

It let up a bit around 6:30, so we decided to stick to our plans, avoid making dinner, and go to the Seezurh House for dinner.  It was a good choice as the rain did let up, we had a table for eleven reserved, so we were able to sit down immediately.  And though we did have to wait for at least a half hour for our food, the kids were fine and we did have some appetizers, of mozzarella sticks and a load of french fries, filling up, unfortunately, Mitch and Hayden.  Our meals were quite good, fish fry's, burgers, the usual fare, but the piece de restance was the chocolate peanut butter ice cream pie, a slice about ten inches high, devoured by Mitch and Tyler, with help from Rami, Beth, Evie and Jill.

Baba And Jill

Humongous Fish Fry

We were home by 9:00, and everyone was surprisingly tired, so that the girls were ready to go upstairs to bed, read and relax, and listen to Evie Joy stories.  Marlena called, however, from Kansas City so the four of them talked on Face Time for about twenty minutes.  It was 'almost' like she was still there but not quite.  We all went up to bed around 10:30, the boys staying up to watch FARGO, the great Coen brothers film.

It's now 7:50, Evie just came down for coffee, the sky and lake are still gray though it is not raining. It's a cool 63º, 98% humidity, with rain expected on and off during the day. We better get our swimming and boating in while we can.

An Extravaganza For Evie As We Celebrate Her 70th Birthday

Husbands and Wives, Sons and Daughters

Tom, Mary, Nick and Marlena

Party City With Granny and Grandchildren

It's 6:20 and I have been up for a half an hour, another rouge sky, little wind, a chilly 61º, at least it felt that way when I walked outside.  It feels strange to be alone for a bit, especially with fourteen people still asleep upstairs, soon to wake. want coffee and breakfast, ready for the day.  It is a sad day, however, as Tom and family leave for home, after a wonderful week at the lake.  We will all miss them.

Yesterday as the title suggests was Evie's day, as the kids planned all the meals, the gifts, the day so all she needed to do was enjoy her grandchildren.  The day started with Beth making a blue berry coffee cake for everyone, moist and filled with lots of blueberries.  Rami rode off early, on his bike, to circle the lake.  The girls hung out early, the kids started prepping for lunch and dinner.  Around 11:00, everyone was up so we decided to give Evie her gift from the the three families.  We went outside, and I pulled my car up to the house, knowing that Evie would think we had bought her a new Honda mower.  She opened the door, and to her surprise, found a shopping bag with three wrapped presents. Perhaps you have to know Evie to get the joke, as she loves to cut the lawn.  We went inside, and she open what turned out to be a Sonos Sound system, two speakers and a bridge.  If you are unfamiliar with it, it's an amazing sound system, controlled by either our computers or iPads, which allows you to play your record library, Sirius Radio, Pandora, and any station we want, all managed while sitting on a couch.  The sound from the two small speakers is also amazing.  What a great gift and Evie will enjoy it as she listens to music and the radio all day long.

Nick Cutting The Wake

Pretty in Pink

Marlena Bright Eyes

Nick Painting Rocks

"Ken and Barbie"

Tom, the boys and I then went off to rent a wake board for the day, while Rami set up the Sonos system, taking about a half an hour to get all the passwords and music stations set up.  Chautauqua Marina had one wake board left, fortunately.  On the way back, we stopped at the Lighthouse for seven pounds of thinly sliced Delmonico steaks, which we marinade with home made teriyaki sauce, then grill quickly over a fire, a favorite from our days living in Honolulu, Hawaii, back in the 1960's, what seems just yesterday but is really ages ago.  When we got home, Jill was making twice baked potatoes, Beth was getting sloppy joes ready for lunch, and Drew had taken the girls out tubing, then swimming, along with Evie, who was enjoying her day (we think) out of the kitchen.

Tubing Girls

Captain Drew and Halle

After lunch, we spent the afternoon, either on the dock, or in the water, wake boarding or tubing, depending on the time.  The girls love tubing, the boys wake boarding, so that was a main focus while the adult children watched or were in the kitchen prepping for dinner.  At 4:30, Tyler returned from Lakewood with a huge plate of sushi from Fuji Sushi Steak House in Lakewood.  That gathered the family once again, outside on the picnic table, and we devoured the sushi along with hankies pankies, Evie's appetizers that were frozen.  Around 5:30, the dreaded picture time arrived, where we get the annual family picture, and family pictures.  This time it went surprisingly well, as their were few complaints, few sour looks, which was great.  The kids must be growing up.  We also took some out on the dock because the light was so perfect, as was the late afternoon.  We were will still stuffed from sushi, so Tom, Mary and I took Nick out wake boarding one last time.  Beth got out the rocks, and most of the grandchildren spent some time painting rocks, another one of our traditions here at the lake, guided my Beth's artistic touch.  We all just relaxed or worked on dinner until about 8:00.  Then Tommy and Drew grilled the teriyaki steaks, the twice baked were cooked, along with some rice, and a caprese salad, and we then ate outside, as the sky darkened, but never rained.  Dinner was so good, everything and believe it or not, not an ounce of the steaks was left, of anything to be honest.  We were hungry obviously.

Prepping Garlic Spinach

Styling 

The Old Smoothies

Around 9:30 we had cake and ice cream and all of us sat in the living room as Evie opened the rest of her presents.  The highlight was a drawing/sketch/painting from Beth, a painted rock made to look like an ice cream cone from Halle, a Scrabble E cushion made by Marisa, some hemp coasters and trivets by Beth, other gifts from the group, a vase, the Sonos of course, and finally, a bottle of Fireball, a cinnamon flavored whiskey, which we immediately opened as served over ice.  It tasted just like Evie's favorite candy, fire balls.  By 11:00, we were all tired from the day though the little girls showed little sign of tiredness...scary since they sleep in our room.  But they settled down by 11:30, and all were in bed but the boys, who stayed up watching a movie, I assume until 1:30.

Happy Birthday Granny

Yum

It's now 7:00 and I a still the only one up.  Tom and Mary and family have to leave by 9:30 to catch their flight from Cleveland so I assume the gang will start waking soon.  I am dying to try Evie's Sonos radio.  It's so cool, as we can have one station playing on one speaker in the kitchen, another station playing on the other speaker in the living room, again, managed by iPads. I just played around with it and have Car Talk on quietly on the speaker sitting next to me, now done by my computer.  I think I will enjoy 'Evie's Gift' as much as her.

A Hazy, Rouge Morning Sky

Happy To Have All Our Family Together At The Lake

6:30

Up at 6:15, to what looks like could be a sunny day here at the lake, at least until mid afternoon.  The lake's quiet, no clouds, just a hazy, lazy morning here in my living room.  At the moment it's 7:00, and both Drew and Ramiro are up as well, both on their iPads or iMac's, doing what we all do in the morning, from grown ups to kids, checking email, browsing the web, skimming Facebook, then talking, if there is time.

Tommy And The Girls

We were lucky yesterday as the weatherman called for scattered thunderstorms but we had neither, just a sunny day, with puffy clouds, perfect for enjoying the lake, doing what you liked.  We did get a slow, slow start, as all seem slow in waking up, preferring to leisure over coffee or breakfast, rather than getting up and taking advantage of the morning.  Hey, it's everyone's vacation, so who am I to complain if we get started late.  After breakfast of sorts, of cereal, granola, bagels, cinnamon toast and such, Tom and Drew took the girls tubing for the first of three times, a perfect, calm morning on the lake.  Then Drew and I ventured up Woodlawn Drive, found some dead wood, and Drew cut out his chain saw and cut it up for our fire pit, an easy job.  Around noon, Beth, Mary and Jill, drove off to Lakewood, to hit the Elephant Gallery in Lakewood, T. J's to pick up some duds for the girls, then a mega shopping trip at Wegman's, what else when you are feeding 15 people three times a day.

Hayden and Marisa

While they were gone, the boys went off to Turner to workout, not my idea of a vacation but it's nice to see them want to say in shape.  The rest of us decided to have a picnic on the boat, so Tommy grilled twelve hot dogs, Evie got the drinks and chips, and off we went for a leisurely cruise on the lake, a gentle wind at times, a sun playing peak a boo. The girls entertained themselves by trying to decide which house I should buy along Bemus as they ate,  (ultimately deciding that ours is the best) then wrapped themselves in blankets or sat on the front fishing chairs, as we cruised, a great afternoon lunch.  When we got back, they wanted to tube so off they went with Tom and Evie again, then swam, and practiced their jumps with Evie.

Marisa Flies

Marlena Jumps

Halle Cheers

Hayden Tucks

Around 3:00, the girls and Evie and I went off to pick blueberries, a the berry patch off of Carpenter Pringle Road.  We have been going their for a number of years now, so that Margaret, who owns it, has come to know us and the girls, mostly because they always come in matching outfits. She was tickled to see us, insisted on getting her camera so she could take a picture of all of us.  Great people. We picked berries for about forty five minutes, fourteen dollars worth at 1.65 a pound, a deal.

Blue Berry Girls

More Blue Berry Girls

With Baba

Everyone was back by 4:00, so some of us sat on the dock drinking beer, others enjoyed sitting on the porch, some were in the kitchen getting dinner ready, and Tyler, Nick and Evie made a huge blueberry crisp for dessert.  It was a nice afternoon to just sit on the dock, at least for me, grab a beer, talk and watch the girls swim or jump in the water to cool off.  At 4:00, the guys drove off to Southern Tier Brewery, where we bought two flights of their beers, to see which we like the best (none really, too hoppy), but we came home with a growler of their IPA, the one we disliked the least. It's a great pub, however, we outside seating as well.

Introducing Tyler To Flights At Southern Tier Brewery

Around 6:00, we started dinner, Evie making homemade pasta noodles once again with the boys and Tommy, this time wide, Dutch type of noodles, cooked in chicken broth.  Nick and I grilled twenty four chicken thighs, with Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, and Jill cooked the corn.  We laid out the goods on the table outside, so everyone could help themselves, so we feasted on another one of our favorite meals, barbecued chicken with noodles, coleslaw and corn.  There are three or four meals that everyone associates with summers at Chautauqua and this is one of them.

Kitchen Staff

Adult Table

The Grandchildren

After dinner, we decided to forego the fire pit because the girls wanted to go tubing one more time, so off they went with Evie, as light began to fade.  When they came in, we had our blueberry crisps with ice cream of course, and none was left.  Rami drove in about 9:30, from a quick day trip to Chicago, and Beth made him a plate of chicken and noodles and corn.  The girls ended their day with Dunking Doughnuts (code for skinny dipping), a tradition started by their granny a few years ago.  They love it, of course, especially the shallow, half moon dive, and Marlena said it best: "This feels so good." Some went to bed around 10:30, others stayed up watching American History X in the TV room.

Today we are celebrating Evie's 70th birthday because everyone is here.  It's her DAY, to relax and do nothing, letting everyone else worry about meals, keeping the girls happy and so forth.  It's going to be difficult to keep her out of the kitchen, but we will do our best.  We have a dinner extravaganza planned.  I cannot wait.