We Got Rain (some)

Our Hayden

Our Marisa

Our Halle

7:05

I woke at 5:40, to a sticky house, looked outside and by gosh, the walks were wet, even the windows. I thought at first it was just humidity but no, it actually rained some during early morning.  It's still warm this morning, 71º, so the rain has not cooled things off.   At least I  can sit out on the porch and not worry about the sun rising, blinding me as I sit, so I have to get back inside the house.

Hayden and Her Dad

Sunday was a carbon copy of Saturday, hot and humid, with little breeze to keep us cool, with warnings of thunderstorms that never came until early this morning.  The group did rise earlier than usual for a Sunday, mostly because Hayden wanted to get a run in before it got too hot.  This meant that Drew, Hayden and I drove over to Bemus Point around 10:15.  It was crowded with cars and people as the floating dock had a Praise The Lake service.  We parked our cars and took off, Drew and I, riding our bikes, Hayden following along.  Fortunately, despite the heat, it was shady much of the run along Lakeside Drive.  Hayden was about to quit after a mile and a half out but hung in there and ran through the park as well, before we headed back to Bemus, to Wired, the coffee shop, a iced coffee waiting for Hayden as a prize for hanging tough.  She ended up running close to six miles after wanting to run only four.  What a good girl.  We relaxed on the coffee shop porch before I headed home and Drew and Hayden did some shopping, picking up a couple of cool Chautauqua Lake t-shirts at Skillman and Wright.

When I got home, guess what, Evie and the girls were in the lake playing on the floats, keeping cool and Jill and Beth were hunkered down in the semi-air conditioned house, trying to get up enough courage to hit the dock.  We needed more drinks (beer), so I drove off to Save A Lot, picked up ice and beer and 'saved a lot.'  When I got home, I started to fill up the cooler only to discover Drew had also bought ice and beer so it looks like we are set for the week and through the weekend when my son Tom and family arrive.

Rockin' the Dock

Baba With  Granddaughters

When the cooler was packed with pops and beer and water, it was time for lunch so Beth was making beef and cheese quesadillas, with the leftover chuck roast from last night.  And I have to admit, despite my unhappiness with the previous night's meat, the quesadillas were great, the meat tender, as Beth must have the magic touch.  Everyone enjoyed them, some like me with the first beer of the day. We then spent time alternating on the dock, first Evie and the girls, then me, then everyone was inside cooling off.  Then, Jill and Drew went out, I soon joined them and when I went in everyone else came out to enjoy the late afternoon, most drinking a beer, so I went back out and had a beer and swam.

Halle and Granny

Drew and Jill

Baba And Beth

By that time, it was close to 5:00, so we decided to take another pop/beer cruise down to Prendergast Point and back, taking our time, enjoying the late afternoon, the cooling breeze from the boat.

Prepping Dinner

We were back around 6:15 and Evie had already prepped most of dinner, chicken parmesan along with spaghetti and Italian sausage.  Yum.  The girls helped me shuck the corn, keeping most of the shuck on the cob so I could grill it outside.   Jill put together a salad, Evie baked the garlic bread and everyone helped get dinner on the table.  We were hungry, having snacked some during the day but had no big meal.  Dinner hit the spot, especially the chicken parmesan as the girls loved it, even had seconds.

Dinner Ala Dining Room

After dinner, the Evie and the girls wanted to play some bean bag, so Drew and I sat outside and watched a couple of roaring games, the girls getting better and better as they played.  After their games, all four of them went for a swim, as the rest of us boring adults sat inside and had Wegman's Chocolate Stampede ice cream, Drew's new favorite ice cream.  I had another helping of peach/blueberry crisp, with ice cream to finish the night.  The girls came in, happy with their swim, and all then went up to their bedroom to watch shows on their devices and then sleep.  Everyone else was up by 10:00, except for Evie and me. We watched a half hour of TV, relaxing and winding down from the busy day.

I am not sure what today will bring, perhaps some yoga or a trip to the Gorge, depending on the weather.  The one thing we are sure of is dinner at the Vikings.  We don't want to miss out on the Rubens and Cubans.

Summer Fun

Now THIS Is A Relaxing Vacation

5:50

6:15

I was up at 5:45, went out on the porch for my coffee and turned off the fan it was so chilly.  Hard to believe I was chilly after yesterday's heat and humidity, a drippingly hot day at the lake.  Today should be about the same, with a chance of rain tonight and tomorrow.

A Happy Halle

Dad's Rule

Saturday we were in full family force, girls up and at em' surprisingly early (for them), the rest of us up sipping coffee, planning the day by 8:30.  Evie and I were out blowing up floats, after having patched a couple, hoping they would hold their air.   I swam them out to our ring of floats, now numbering four, with three auxiliary seated floats for those who don't necessarily want to swim or get entirely wet.  Anyways, it's a small flotilla of sorts, ready for the girls and any courageous adults.

I took my weekly trip to the Transfer Station, lots of trash, and started my daily routine of stopping at Hogan's Hut to pick up a large, 20 pound bag of ice.  When I got home, Evie had filled our standing, outdoor cooler with pop, beer, wine and water, and I filled it with ice, and we had ice cold drinks for the day and kept the refrigerator for food mostly, no drinks, making it easier to navigate the kitchen for everyone, keeping the drinks outside.

Granny And Her Girls (we miss Marlena!)

A Pensive Hayden

Summer Fun

All of us then spent the rest of the morning and afternoon on the lake, roasting on the dock, cooling off in the water or on the floats. Drew and I took the girls tubing on a particularly choppy lake, from wind and other boats and it was almost too much for them.  And we had a few minutes of panic as the motor wouldn't start and we thought we would have to be towed in.  After about ten minutes of trying, I finally got it going.  It must have been flooded at least I hope so.

Hey, Baba

A Couple Of Airheads

Hanging Out

We all took a brief hiatus for a lunch of leftovers, pork, chicken, noodles and two soups, lentil and corn chowder.  We just about finished them off so we are going to have to be creative for lunches in the next couple of days.  The rest of the afternoon was sun bathing and swimming time until we had enough and went in to the cool house, as we have put an air conditioner in the living room, keeping the temperature at a decent 74º.  The girls and Evie played on the floats on and off the rest of the afternoon, Jill and Drew and I took naps, and around 4:30, I got out my wheel barrel and filled it a couple of times with dried lake weeds.

Loving Couple

At 5:00 the girls wanted to go for a booze and pop cruise, so we all piled in, made sure we had the requisite number of life jackets and cruised for an hour, over to Bemus, along Lakeside Drive and back home.  Everyone was hungry, so we got dinner going.  Evie had marinated three chuck roast for 24 hours, so I grilled them outside while the gang inside got the rest of dinner ready while sipping their wine.  I was determined to get the meat done just right, medium rare, took out  two thermometers to check the meat.  Both said it was not even rare but I brought them both in anyways and it was over done for the most part and tough.  This may be the last time for a chuck roast.  The rest of dinner was great, however, the roasted cauliflower, salad, and baked potatoes.  Beth had put together a peach and blueberry crisp for dessert, so we ended our day with a great crisp, topped with vanilla ice cream, a sure sign it's in the middle of summer.

Scrubbing Potatoes For Granny

Dinner Inside, Alas

I forgot to mention that much of the afternoon and evening was spent trying to save the life of a purple martin baby.  The girls found it paddling madly in the water.  I scooped it up and put it on the dock and they watched it attempt to fly back to their nest.  It fell in the water again so I rescued it and put in on the lawn.  The girls tried to feed it worms and grass but it did not seem to want it.  They left it inside a shelter overnight and when I looked this morning, it was gone, we hope back to its nest but I doubt it.

A Lost Purple Martin Baby

This morning, Hayden's going for a run early over at Long Point and some of us will follow her on our bikes, the start to another sunny and warm day at the lake.

It's Florida In Chautauqua

Bissells Arrive

6:14

6:16

A close, hot, humid morning here at the lake, with more heat and humidity to come.  I was up early, of course, at 5:45, in time to catch the sunrise about 6:10.  It's another hazy, crazy day of summer, unusual for this area.  It looks like that heat dome I mentioned is sticking around for a couple of days.

Cousin Love

Yesterday was another 'waiting for family' to arrive and getting everything ready for them.  So Evie and Marisa worked on the upstairs bedroom because both Hayden and Halle were coming and we needed to create a third bed for Halle.  So they got an air mattress out of the attic for her, rearranged the closet, moving everything out so the girls had a place to put their clothes.  Meanwhile, after I cleaned up the garage and did a few other things, Beth and I took off for a mega shopping day, stopping briefly at Michael's and TJ Maxx, picking up a few things before floundering around Wegman's, the two of us trying to be efficient with only one list, on Beth's iPhone.  I would go off one way, Beth another, and we would then meet to find out what was next on the list and cross off what the other had picked up, kind of like the Two Stooges.

We got home around 1:00, to a very warm lake house.  Evie was out having cut some weeds and was swimming with Marisa.  They both came in and helped put away the stuff.  While we were out, Evie had made up the marinade for today's chuck roast, getting organized for the weekend.  Beth and I made a quick lunch of leftover pork schnitzel, with corn chowder.  Evie meanwhile was working on two of our floats that have hard to find leaks.  We had picked up some crazy glue so she was spreading it around some of the seams hoping it would work.  We will find out today.

We then adjourned to the dock, staying out for an hour or so, before coming in to get out of the heat.  It was pleasant in the water, floating around on the rafts or water chairs but uncomfortable on the dock.  Both Evie and I got bored just sitting so what else to do but cut weeds, pile them up on our dock and hope they dry enough to take up the hill.  Jill texted that they would arrive at 6:00, so they literally drove in at 6:00.  The girls bounced quickly out of the car to give us hugs and we quickly helped them unload the car.

A Full Porch

They decided to just hang out and swim after dinner, so all of us sat on the front porch, enjoying a libation, the afternoon, and being together for the first time in eight months.  It's fun to see how much the cousins enjoy being with each other.  Around 7:00, we got busy with dinner.  Evie had already par boiled chicken thighs, so I took them out and with Drew's help, barbecued them for ten minutes to get a char from the sauce.  The gals set the table outside, cooked the local corn, boiled the noodles, made the coleslaw and dinner was ready.  It had cooled off just enough to enjoy the outdoors as we ate and dinner was great, especially the corn, chicken and noodles cooked in chicken broth.  This meal makes it feel like summer with family because we have it every summer, sometimes twice.

Eight Is Not Enough

After dinner, we quickly did up the dishes, so the girls and Evie could go for a swim as the sun was setting.  They stayed out frolicking in the water for a good half hour before coming in and getting their pj's on.  We then sat around until about 10:00, laughing and enjoying the silliness of the girls and then all of us went up to bed early, tired from the day of driving and getting ready.  

Early Morning Thunder And Lightning But No RAIN

6:05

7:12

8:00

I woke at 6:00, to rolling thunder off in the distance.  I turned on the coffee and walked outside to get a photo, gray and overcast to the north, some color off to the south.  It's a lot warmer this morning, 71º, compared to yesterday's 56º.  Rain is forecast for the rest of the morning, then it will clear up and get hot again, the high later in the day in the mid 80's.  It' maddening to sit here, pulling up the weather map, watching the storm clouds veer north and south of us, not that I want a heavy storm, just rain.  It's clearing up across the lake but behind us, the clouds are gathering.

Yesterday would have been a beach day if we were a beach.  Instead, we had a Chautauqua Lake day, spending most of the day outside, enjoying the warm and humid day, perhaps the most uncomfortable day because of the high humidity.  The day began with breakfast for me at the Bemus Point Inn with with two of the guys.  We ended up talking about politics, the Republican convention and Trump, wondering who sitting around us was a Trump supporter.  It's hard to tell. I had one of my two usuals, poached eggs on hash, with wheat toast.  When I got home, the gang was still sleeping, so I jumped in the lake, lovely and clear, and brought in a raft that was losing air, took out another one that I had just pumped up with air.  I came in and Beth was up, frying up some pea meal bacon and eggs for her breakfast, her favorite.  Marisa was sleepy but up, enjoying a bagel with cream cheese.  Evie was thinking about what to have for dinner, and starting a shopping list for the next four days as Jill and family arrive early evening today.  I was tempted to go for a hike through Long Point but found no takers, so I went for a hot and sweaty kayak paddle instead, off to Long Point and back, followed by a dip in the lake.  Meanwhile, Evie was gathering up some of the weeds that were gathering along our lake wall, as this is going to be a continual problem if the lake stays so low.

The Hard Work Of Lake Life

By noon, everyone was out on the dock or water, neighbors as well, ready for a afternoon on the lake. Beth, Evie and Marisa hung out in lake chairs, Marisa on the floats, and I sat on the dock reading until it was to hot, so I swam, then came in and had lunch of soup and leftover lamb chops and potatoes.  I watched some of the lead up to the Republican convention, read, took a nice nap in our cool house compared to outdoors.  I went back out around 3:00, joined the dock club until we decided to go for a boat ride around 5:00, hoping to cool off.  It was pleasant to be out on the lake, so we cruised down to the Chautauqua Institution and back on a surprisingly empty lake but then, it was Thursday not a weekend.  When we got back, Evie and I swam, and I put the cover back on the boat, a move that almost guarantees it won't rain.

Ready For Dinner

For the next 45 minutes, Evie, Beth and Marisa put together our dinner.  Marisa and Evie worked getting the schnitzel ready, Marisa flouring the cutlets, Evie dipping them in egg and breadcrumbs. Beth washed the potatoes and put then in the oven, and Evie put together a quick salad.  Dinner was great, as it's hard not to like pork schnitzel, with lemon, butter or applesauce.  We did not finish up with dinner and the dishes until 8:30 and though Marisa was tired, she insisted on playing a couple of games of Pounce, basically a competitive solitary.  By 9:30, Beth and Marisa went up to bed and Evie and I watched about two minutes of Trump's speech, then switched to something more salubrious, like James Corden and Michelle Obama doing Car Karaoke.  What an amazing woman and First Lady, talented, funny, smart, hip and fun.  She broke the mold of the conservative, stay at home, First Lady.  Not that the previous First Ladies did not have much to admire.

Today will be getting ready for the four Bissells day, shopping, cleaning, and enjoying the lake in between chores.  We cannot wait to see the gang.

It's now 7:30, I am still the only one up, and the rain looks as though it will avoid us once again.

Heat Dome Cometh

6:12

6:14

I'm up just in time for the sunrise at 6:10, fog rising on the lake, a single fisherman off towards Tom's Point and that's it.  It's a chilly 54º although the 'heat dome' is coming, according to the NYTimes, a front of heat that just sits, extracts the moisture from the corn (corn sweat or evapotranspiration), making it even more humid.  Can't wait.  Actually, it will get into the high 80's today, perhaps rain tomorrow, with the next week or so in the 80's which does not sound so bad.

We had another fine day at the lake yesterday, lots of sun, of swimming, enjoying both the dock and the water.  For breakfast, Evie made buckwheat pancakes from a mix that our favorite pancake house here in Chautauqua County, Red's, uses.  Unfortunately, they were not anywhere near as good as Red's, no fault of the cook.  They just were not the same, heavier and denser than Red's.  Evie followed the directions, just add water to the mix, so what could be easier or more accurate than that. Yet they just weren't as good as her famous buttermilk  pancakes.  Afterwards, we went for a swim, and I brought in one of the rafts that had a leak.  Then, Evie got out the patches and fortunately knew where the leak was and attempted a patch.  We will find out this morning if it works.

One of Marisa's Chautauqua favorites is a stop at Ryder's Cup for a frozen hot chocolate drink.  I had promised to take her the first day she arrived, so I was a day or two late, but Beth, Marisa and I drove into Lakewood.  The frozen hot chocolate was just as good as she remembered, Beth and I had iced coffee and I picked up another dozen organic eggs.  We then stopped at the grocery and picked up a couple of chuck roasts, another one of our favorite summer dinners, which we marinate for 24 hours, literally char on the grill, then cut in slices.  Yum.  When we got home, Marisa was full from her drink and none of us were that hungry, so we had a cup of soup and Evie made a cheese sandwich for Marisa and me.

Comfy New Lake Chairs

Lolling Lake Gals

The rest of the afternoon was spent on the dock and in the water.  Our neighbors also came over to enjoy the floats and Beth and Kathy caught up on their lives.  Evie loves having kids to play with in the water so she was happy, happy.  We had bought a couple of floating chairs and the kids and Beth love them because they are comfortable and you don't have to get totally wet.  By 4:30, after a warm afternoon, the wind picked up and the swimmers and sun bathers were getting cold, so everyone headed in but me.  I stayed out and read for another hour, finally jumped in the water, washed off and came in to get ready for dinner.

A Couple Of Swingers

Upside Down Swinging

We drove over to Bemus Point, to enjoy the Wednesday night steak special at the Seezurh House. Our kids all like the Seezurh House because they grew up coming there for burgers and fish fries.  Evie and Beth ordered the steak special, Marisa a burger and I got a fish fry.  All dinners were up to snuff so we were happy.  Evie talked with Robin, the manager and she said the new Ellicottville Brewery is hurting their business and also the Italian Fisherman is way down.  She hopes they can make it through the year, especially fall, winter, and spring when they are the only game in town.

Split Hand Stand At Bemus

Bent Hand Stand

We were home by 8:00, in time for the birthday party next door for both of our neighbors' grandchildren.  We had ice cream and birthday cake, played lots of bean bag, then sat around the fire pit talking and watching an amazing moon rise over Tom's Point, 'huge and yellow.'  We were home by 9:30, most ready to  go upstairs to read or watch some of the night talk shows take on the Republican Convention.

Sunny And Cool

6:15

GO PRO Marisa

Tin Tin At Dusk

Beth Chilling On The Dock

It's just about 7:00 and I was up in time for the sunrise at 6:08 or thereabouts.  It's mostly clear morning with an exceptional cool 56º, the high later in the day, perhaps 80º.  Evie just got up, the other two Texans are sleeping in.  It looks like another great day at the lake.

Kayak Morning With Beth

Yesterday was warm and windy, surprising us because it looked like a hot day, not that it mattered much as we had a great beach day even if it was a dock, not a beach.  I was up early, waiting for the gang to arise.  All were up by 10:00, so it was time to begin activities,  just like a camp.  Beth and I went for a pleasant (what else) kayak paddle, to Long Point and back, wondering about the 'widening gyre' of Turkey vultures, flying over Long Point.  And while we were out, Evie and Marisa went for a dip in the sea, I mean ocean, no lake of the day, the beginning to a fine day.

After paddling, Marisa and Beth had breakfast and I got busy, taking down the various water floats that I put up in the garage attic last August.  It's a yearly task, the taking down and putting up of summer things.  I had forgotten how many floats we had, seven for now, three others came yesterday compliments of Amazon and another one comes today, from Dicks.  I think we have enough for a fun three weeks.  Anyways, I pumped up six floats and found that one was losing air, so we put it aside for later, perhaps finding the leak and fixing it.  I then took some time to figure out the proper order of rafts/floats, how to string them from our buoy back to our dock.  After much thought, I tied them loosely together and swam them out to the buoy.  I am sure this is only the first of many configurations of floats, like a string of 'huge' Christmas lights.  The joy of them is that the grandchildren then love to jump from one to another, playing tag or "wipe out."

String Of Floats

After I was done, we all sat down to enjoy a lunch of soup, bagels, pita with hummus and leftover burritos.  We actually did not finish eating until 2:00 as the morning had slipped away with our getting ready.  And I forgot to mention that Evie and Marisa pumped up the two floats, or rather plastic chairs, which allows us to sit in the lake, with feet up, avoiding getting wet.  Early afternoon we relaxed either in or out; if in, mostly reading or playing games on our devices or taking a nap, both Beth and me.  All of us were out on the dock, enjoying the afternoon by 3:00, with Evie and Marisa carousing on the rafts only to discover, unfortunately, that another one had a slow leak.

A Happy Marisa

Helping Granny

All Aboard Granny

We were hoping to go for a booze/pop cruise but it was windy.  Finally, we said the heck with it and gathered up drinks and pretzels, and jumped in the boat and cruised off towards Long Point which protects us from the wind.  And it was for the most part, a nice cruise, as we just took our time and no one got wet.  Marisa was excited because she had gotten an early birthday present, a water proof Go Pro Camera, so she spent most of the time filming our cruise.

Mom And Daughter

Booze/Pop Cruising

We were back from Bemus Point by 7:00, and time to get going on dinner.  Evie had prepped two racks of lamb, so as seared then roasted them, she put together egg, feta cheese, mint zucchini fritters, light and tasty, and rosemary potatoes.  We decided it was best to eat inside, alas, and dinner was great.  Rack of lamb is one of Beth's favorite dinners, so we were all happy, even Marisa, who had a hot dog.  We cleaned up the kitchen and because Marisa wanted to get a film of the sunset with her Go Pro, we cruised up the lake, towards the north end around 8:40 and we out just in time to see the sun dip beneath the shoreline.

Setting Sun At 8:40

Full Moon Rising at 8:50

We then took our time coming home, and were treated to the full moon rising above the eastern shore line.  I love slow cruising on the lake at dusk, as the lake settled, most boats are docked, and the sky is vast and the moon rising.  We did not get back until 9:30, so we sat around for a half hour, going through the photos or filming of the day.  By 10:30, all of us were ready for bed except for Evie who stayed up to watch some of the highlights of the Stephen Colbert show.

A New Think: "The Internet is the greatest masterpiece of civilization.  As an idea it rivals monotheism.  And we are living through a revolution." Virginia Heffernan from Magic and Lost