Finally, Winter Returns...Snow And Frigid Temperatures

7:30

It's a cold morning out there folks, 10º and getting colder over the next couple of days.  We have had around 8-10 inches over the past couple of days, nothing we could not handle by shoveling on and off.  We probably got another two or three inches last night, 3-5 inches forecast today. Our snow plow guy, Shane, just cleared the road for the first time in a couple of weeks so we will be ready to go.

It snowed on and off both coming and going to Yoga but as long as I took my time, it was no problem and the plows were out clearing the main roads.  Yoga was fine, lots of twisting exercises, getting all those internal organs moving.  It's nice when we focus on different parts of the body.  Afterwards,  I drove to Hollyloft, our local ski and bike shop and got both sets of cross country skies hot waxed. Fortunately, the guy was able to do it immediately, so I waited ten minutes and headed home, after a stop at the library, and some coffee.

Because of the weather, the forecast of doom and gloom, Evie was ready to drive to the YMCA, anticipating the worst.  Fortunately, the snow was light for her, like for me, so she had no trouble driving to Lakewood.  I had my lunch, watched some TREME, took another brief siesta, read, then went out and shoveled the parking areas once again, easy because there were only a couple of inches.  Evie was home by 3:00, and we relaxed the rest of the afternoon until 5:00, when we showered and got ready to go to our friends, Charlie and Wendy Heinz's home for dinner.  We originally were going to drive to Findlay Lake, to have burgers and beers at Pine Junction, but because of the weather forecast, Wendy called and invited us for dinner at their house, a good choice because it did snow on and off the rest of the night.  We had a great time with them, wine and appetizers, and a delicious Gumbo for dinner, with shrimp, sausage and green peppers over rice.  We had not seen them in awhile, so we had lots of talk about, the usual, our kids and grandchildren, health, and books.  Wendy and Charlie are both extraordinarily hospitable, so we felt right at home, enjoying a meal and their company.  We both wondered why we don't do it more often.

Wendy and Charlie Heinz

We arrived home around 9:20, in time to watch a cheesy episode of The People vs. O. J. Simpson, focusing mostly on his boring Bronco ride which transfixed America.  I do remember watching it in real time. We were in bed by 11:00 as usual.

BLACK WATER RISING: ATTICA LOCKE

My first novel by award winning African American crime novelist, Attica Locke.  Set in Houston, in the 1990's, we get to follow Jay Porter, struggling attorney, former Black radical in Houston in the early 1980's.  His flame in 1981, Cythia Maddow, white, just happens to be Houston's Mayor in the early 1990's.  The novel opens with Jay celebrating the pregnancy of his wife Bernadine by taking a boat ride down one of Houston's rivers, with champagne and fancy foods.  Unfortunately, as they begin their celebrations, they hear gun shots, then a woman staggers into the water, looking as if she is in trouble.  Jay jumps in, rescues her, and they then return to the dock and Jay drops the woman off in front of a hospital, assuming she will be checked out.

She isn't and so begins this thriller set in Houston.  Central to the novel is this woman, whether she's a victim or perpetrator as the next morning, a man is found dead, shot in the head by the river.  There are other threads, which at times, overtake the story, a dock worker's strike which Jay gets involved in, oil companies sinister machinations, as well as the racism that Jay faces, for having been an innocent accused of inciting violence back in his college days.  He gets drawn into the mysterious woman's life, is trailed by a white hit man in a 'town car,' and has to confront the mayor with choices, none of which she likes.  His paranoia, however, is key to the novel, as he feels inept, out of his bailiwick most of the time and misreads and misunderstands various happenings, especially the drowning woman's fear.  As you can imagine, the novel does not end well though Jay survives to live another day, in another novel just published called PLEASANTVILLE.

Feeling The Bern But A Carny Also Wins

7:25

It's 7:30 and I have been up for an hour.  I walked outside to get the paper in a couple of inches of fresh snow, more to come over the next couple of days.  And it's  getting colder, 21º at the moment, down to zero this weekend.

Yesterday was another Chautauqua gray day, with a few snow flakes later in the day though no accumulation of any account.  I was one of four in yoga at 9:30.  I then drove off to wash my car at a self washing establishment, just before Wegman's.  I am not sure it will do much good but the car sure looks, even feels better clean.

 Pileated Woodpecker

Making A Mini Cave

When I  got home, Evie spent a part of the morning watching and photographing a woodpecker peck holes in a tree, then put together an Indian spiced chicken dinner ready to heat.  And she was ready to drive off to the YMCA, iPhone in hand.  She can hardly wait to get to the gym to start her music and workout.  Without music, there would be no workout for her and true for many others.  I had the last bowl of vegetable soup for lunch, along with a bagel with tomatoes and the rest of our rotisserie chicken.  And I watched another episode of TREME, still not taken with it but I soldier on.

I am halfway through Martin Walker's THE DEVIL'S CAVE, another Bruno the Police Chief novel. They are great fun, especially Bruno, who is basically happy, so unlike the depressed Swedish and Norwegian detectives that are more well known like Wallender and Harry Hole.  Evie was gone for over two hours, having done some shopping.  I meanwhile was happy to read, cosy on my couch, experimenting with our new Apple Music library.  It's amazing...just type in the name of a song or group, and up comes their music.  Thanks, again, to our son Tommy.

Around 4:00, despite the gloom and gray of late afternoon, I drove over to Bemus, parked my car, and walked Lakeside Drive, windy as usual, with sleet hitting my face on my way back.  It still felt good, invigorating to be outside, so I did not mind the weather.  And I met a couple of hardy women, out like me for a walk.  I was home in time for wine time though I had been hankering for a Bloody Mary, so I ended up making myself two, with lots of horseradish of course, a fine way to end the day,

A Brilliant White Lake,  Late Afternoon

We had a version of Butter Chicken for dinner, on rice, with a great salad, made special with hard boiled eggs.  And we watched the end of the terrible Bernie Madoff mini series though Richard Dreyfuss, as Bernie, was good.  We then watched some Stephen Colbert, waiting to hear the speeches by Bernie and Trump.  Bernie's was longwinded but heartfelt, intelligent, and well thought out, explaining his vision for American.  Trump, sounding like a carnival carny, pontificated, appeared unprepared, full of bombast and hyperbole and did the impossible: he made George Bush sound articulate and thoughtful.  That people vote for Trump or Cruz seems to me incredible but it just shows how far my beliefs are from the Republican mainstream.  I could live with Bush or Kasich, perhaps Rubio, but Cruz or Trump? Heaven help us.  Cruz is scary, Trump a loose cannon, and his only virtual is he's not much of a traditional Republican, certainly not a strict conservative as the National Review has argued.

THE DARK VINEYARD: MARTIN WALKER

A new series, this time set in France, in the small village of St Denis, surrounded by vineyards and threatened by big business, in this case one of the giant wine families from the US.  American wine mogul Fernando Bondino descends on St. Denis to buy up the vineyards for his wine production. Bruno, like most of his villagers, has mixed emotions as it means a vast change in the small vineyard wine making in the area.  And it would drastically change the small town nature of St. Denis.  So Bruno is skeptical but willing to wait and see how things develop.  The mayor, of course, is hot to trot, thinking only of the taxes the development might bring in.  When a young friend of Bruno's, a talented wine maker named Max, is found floating in a wine vat, things get more serious.  Who is behind the murder and has it something to do with the fact that Max opposes the plans of Bondino, and he has just inherited a vast plot of land which the American had hoped to buy.  And it does not help that Max is part of the Green Party and has lived on a commune, started in the 1970's, on the outskirts of San Denis, where a group of hippies still live and prosper.

Bruno is by no means a recluse but a bon vivant,  and has a girlfriend who, unfortunately, has just moved to Paris,  complicating his love life.  He is wedded to his life in this small town, where he knows just about all of the inhabitants.  Bruno, of course, is a gruff, no nonsense sort who eventually sorts things out.  He discovers that Max and his girlfriend had a tryst, got drunk, and Max's death was accidental.  And the truth about Bondino's plans are made clear: he wants to turn St. Denis into a center for his wine, by buying up all the land and changing the texture and life of the town.  He obviously fails as Bruno makes Bondino's plans clear to the town.

Not Much Of A Snowfall

7:30

8:10

It's 7:40 and I am already tired of all the pundits predictions for the primaries in New Hampshire. Let's just make Donald Trump President and get on with it.   There must be other news out there.  Not much of a winter day so far, 30º, with a pathetic attempt at a snowfall.  It will come.

Yesterday may have been the ideal couple's retirement day, at least according to some.  The morning began with my taking off for a good yoga class at 9:30.  Lots of pigeon poses, which kill my knees. Then a stop at Ryder's Cup, which is becoming like family, as I am getting to know all the regulars, the owner, Joyce, her parents, her kids, her sisters, and now grandchildren, as well as a couple of locals...a place where everyone knows your name!  When I got home, just around noon, Evie had gotten my lunch together and was ready to take off to mail her last batch of Valentine cookies and for the gym.  She was excited to workout because on Sunday, our son Tom called to say he had just subscribed to Apple Music and he was able to include five other devices in the service, including us.  This means we can virtually play any song or album on our Sonos system, or on Evie's iPhone.  So she couldn't wait to try it out during her workout.  After she left, I heated my soup, made my chicken salad sandwich, watched some TV and took a too brief siesta.  It was a cloudy day so it felt good to stay inside for the early afternoon.

When Evie returned home, it was 3:30, so we switched places, and I drove off to the Chautauqua Institution for a long overdue walk of the grounds.  I needed some fresh air, wanted some exercise and to stop at the library.  So I was gone for an hour and a half, a good walk, checking on the two new houses going up on the grounds.  Both are well on their way to being finished by late June.  As for the amphitheater, it now has at least 30 steel support bars in the interior, obviously needed to support the aging roof.  And the controversy over its rehabilitation or demolition and starting anew should be decided on this Thursday.

A Few Of The Support Bars At Amphitheater

I was home at 5:00 and Evie already had dinner ready for the oven,  portobello mushrooms stuffed with garlic spinach, tomatoes and cheese which she had put together in the morning.  So we both grabbed a glass of wine and sat down to enjoy each others company for the first time in the day.  We always remembered the story of a retired couple that rarely saw each other during the day even though they both were retired and lived together but always met before dinner, the beginning of their evening together.  This rarely happens for us, yesterday was the exception although Evie usually has her mornings free when I go to yoga and I have a couple of hours alone in the afternoon when Evie goes to gym.  The best days, however, are when we can do something active together, like a long hike in Allegheny State Park,  kayaking in the morning, or like Sunday when we hiked the French Creek Preserve, then had pancakes and sausage at Red's Pancake House.

5:44

Dinner was great as always, healthy and filling, and we watched Billions, on Showtime, which wants us to feel sorry for a billionaire who is being harassed by the authorities for illegalities.  Then we watched Bill Maher's Real Time.  He makes me laugh, and we like him even though he can be outrageous at times.  Because he's a comic, a satirist, he gets away with saying things that anyone else would be pilloried for.  And he's always been known for being vehemently anti religious and pro marijuana, which are the hallmarks of most of his shows.

ROGUE LAWYER: JOHN GRISHAM

This is Grisham's 30th book, and he still is able to tell a good story, create an interesting character, in this case, Sebastian Rudd, a lawyer who has so aggravated everyone, both perps and cops, that his office is a mobile van, driven by his bodyguard, a former client he defended and won.  The book at first reads like a series of short stories; the first case involves a tattooed and despicable punk, accused of murdering two young girls.  The cops want him convicted, the judge and jury would like to see him put to death but one thing stands in the way: the fact that he's not guilty and he's defended by Sebastian Rudd.

After this case, we move on to a couple other cases and in most of them, just like the Netflix documentary MAKING A MURDERER, the cops don't come of well, to be kind.  As Sebastian says after one of his cases,  "A lawyer like me is forced to work in shadows. My opponents are protected by badges, uniforms, and all the myriad trappings of governmental power.  They are sworn and duty-bound to uphold the law, but since they cheat like hell it forces me to cheat even more."

The most egregious case involves police overkill; they invade the home of a retired couple, thinking they are drug dealers (in reality, it's the kid next door, using their WiFi).  They storm the house, in riot gear, and the husband, thinking his home is being invaded, gets his gun and starts shooting.  In the melee, his wife is gunned down and he is later indicted for shooting a police office, facing life in prison.  Sebastian, of course, takes the case and makes fools of the cops, the court system, and the judge.  Reading this book does not give you much faith in our legal system, especially if you are not wealthy or connected.  The average Joe always seem to get screwed.

The book ends with Rudd, because he's famous for taking the cases of losers, being suckered into the orbit of a serial killer.  Again, the cops, not the serial killer, appear more dangerous.

Not So Super Bowl Sunday (Red's Pancake House)

7:35

Sunday Afternoon at 5:00

It's 7:30 and I have been up for awhile.  It's a lonely morning, with a gray, desolate lake, a wife upstairs sleeping, no birds or squirrels to speak of and only the talking heads on MSNBC to keep my company.  The skies are gray, the yard green as most of the snow has disappeared.  It's 34º, unseasonably warm, but as the week progresses, it gets colder each day, with the weekend of the Mayville Winter Festival and the Viking Club's Polar Bear Plunge, predicted to be 4º.  Now that's what I call winter.

Another Great Hiking Preserve

Ready For Bear

Snow Covered Woods

We had a clear idea of our day bright and early, take our time with our coffee, reading the paper and get a few things done, like get the chicken wings ready for later, then get dressed and ready for a hike.  It was a beautiful day, a blue, cloudless sky, lots of sun, temperatures in the 30's.  We decided to be adventurous and hike an area our neighbors, Barb and Jim Fox,  told us about last weekend, the French Creek Preserve in the Clymer area.  We knew it was supposedly hard to find so we plugged it into our GPS and found it easily, 18 miles from home.  It turned out to be a great hike, through open fields, then woods that skirted high above French Creek for a good part of the way.  We made the mistake of going the wrong way on the trail, so all of the markers for the trail were on the other side of the trees, so we constantly had to look back to make sure we were on the trail.  It was an easy hike though not very well kept up with lots of dead fall on the trail.  But it was well marked if you hiked it the proper way, counter clockwise, by the way.  We were out just under an hour and walked about a mile and a half.

Evie's Ready For Buckwheat Pancakes At Red's

Enjoying Red's Pancake House

We had a destination, however, at the end of our walk, something we were looking forward to since Saturday...Red's Pancake House in Sherman.  This was probably our sixth time, spanning that past five years and it never gets old.  It was surprisingly quiet, perhaps because it was Super Bowl Weekend, but the owner quickly recognized us as did our waitress so we felt right at home.  We must have been hungry because both of us felt the pancakes and sausage (from the Lighthouse by the way) were about the best we have ever had.  I even had seconds on the buckwheat cakes, made from a mix from New Hope Mills, since 1826.  By the time we finished, we were the only patrons left quite different from the usual packed house.  We drove home through Sherman, stopped at Mack's Market to pick up a bag of Utz chips for halftime of Super Bowl.

We did not get home till 2:00, so I quickly got out my book and took a quick nap.  Evie, however, was busy, making chocolate chip cookies for our grandson, Tyler, at Dartmouth, the only one to not get Valentine cookies.  Evie used a new recipe, big soft cookies with lots of chocolate and walnuts, and I could hardly leave them alone they were so good.

Around 6:00, we had our dinner, chipotle/maple flavored chicken wings.  By the  time we finished them, I was full and did not really want any pizza.  At half time, however, we brought out the Utz chips and dip, just to assuage that craving for salt and dip.  I cannot say we much enjoyed the Super Bowl (boring and long with too many stupid, infantile commercials) but stuck with it till the end.   The second half both of us spent most of the time on our devices, surfing and reading, laughing at the many posts on Facebook making fun of Ted Cruz...better than the game.

I am looking forward to the next few days as winter, snow, and cold weather return.