Road Tripping To Virginia

6:05

7:00

A muggy, overcast morning here at the lake.  It's 70º and will get up to the 80's later along with some rain.  In other words, it's a good day to be on a road trip in an air conditioned car for seven hours or so I try to convince myself.  

Yesterday's yoga was a first, four guys and a gal.  Not sure where all the gals were but we had a good class with Jen.  After class, I stopped for coffee, picked up some fresh eggs, then picked up a few things from Wegman's, so we are prepared for our road trip and return.  When I got home, Evie was busy prepping for our families visit in ten days, making a huge batch of sloppy joe's, to be frozen and used for lunches.

And it was an easy lunch for me, just steal some of the sloppy joe's and slap them on a couple of buns with a dill pickle.  I was not sure what to watch during lunch, not wanting to start a series because I won't be able to stick with it for a couple of weeks, so I watched the first episode of House Of Cards, just to see what I thought of it.  It was great, setting up everything, so much better than this past season of confusion. But, then, that's the way many series go...a great start before they begin to lose direction, then often find it again.  I know it was that way with MAD MEN.  We almost stopped watching it at times but stayed with it because it would suddenly get good again.

The rest of the afternoon until 4:30, we would get something done, then relax, either reading or watching some TV until the heat and humidity got to us and we went out on the dock.  It was not much better because there was little wind, just heat and humidity.  I solved the problem by jumping in the lake occasionally to cool off.  By 6:00, we had enough and went inside and sat on the porch for awhile with a glass of wine and chips and dip.  It was much cooler on the porch, with the fan, so we sat there until 7:00 or later.  Dinner was already made, the leftover chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.  All Evie had to do was pop it in the oven and make a salad.  We watched some Vice News and Stephen Colbert, along with channel surfing between the big three, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX.  By 10:00, we had enough and went up to bed.

Gentle Rain

7:52

Kayak Morning

Sitting here on my front porch, something I rarely do and I don't know why.  When I woke at 6:30 it was raining and now, at 7:45, it's stopped.  The lake is like a pane of glass and I just saw a kayak paddle by.  I should be out there as well.  It's gray on gray this morning, yet it has a beauty of its own, with wispy clouds moving slowly above long point.  Well, I went out there, got as far as Long Point in my kayak before it started to rain and I had to hurry back.  Still, it was nice to be literally the only one on the lake.

Long Point

Long Point

Yesterday was somewhat of a waste.  I did little other than go to yoga and get a cup of coffee from Ryders.  When I returned home around 11:30, Evie was out for a good part of the day, getting her hair done cby her new guy, Jaret, then on for a mega shopping afternoon at Sam's, then Wegman's, preparing for the arrival of our kids and grandchildren next weekend.  While she was shopping, I had lunch, tuna sandwiches, watched some TV and was basically a slug much of the afternoon until Evie returned, about 3:30.  I helped to put things away and then we both decided to hit the dock for the rest of the afternoon.  That was a highlight of our day, enjoying the alternating heat, then breeze of a 78º afternoon on the lake.  We stayed out until 6:30, enjoying a beer the last half hour before jumping in for a swim, to cool off before dinner.

Stow Ferry Unleashed

Evie had picked up a rotisserie chicken at Sam's, so dinner was easy, made some mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, a salad and we had a fine dinner, just like a Sunday.  We had a giggle as we watched both CNN and MSNBC give wall to wall coverage of Donald Trump Juniors emails, while FOX NEWS talked about anything inane except the Trump news.  No wonder Fox News viewers are still in love with the Donald.  We ended the night with the final episode of HOUSE OF CARDS and it was nice to see Claire is just as villainous as Francis, a Lady Macbeth. I went up to read and I finally found a book I liked, Brad Thor's THE FIRST COMMANDMENT, a thriller.  My literary tastes have definitely declined.

A Gray Morning With Blue Herons

6:42

7:30

Mr. Elegant

A Heron Dance?

It was overcast and wet when I got up at 6:25 and now, at 8:05, it's gray and wet and may be like this the rest of the day.  It's 66º outside, the air heavy with humidity (93%).  It seems to have discouraged the fishermen as I see no boats on the lake other than our neighbor's ski boat.  And, as you can see, I spent a good amount of time photographing two herons, fishing off our neighbors' dock.

Fishing

Got It

Breakfast

Dropped It

Monday went as usual, with a good yoga class for me, some yard work for Evie.  I was home by 11:00 and Evie wanted to beat the rain and cut the lawn.  So for the first time, we pulled out the new Honda mower and after some fiddling with the new controls, she took off and cut the lawn in no time. The mower seems to cut better than our old mower, two mulching blades and they are sharp.  So Evie was very happy.

I had a lunch of the last of the vodka pasta, finished up the fourth and final season of SPIRAL, alas, tried to read something but failed, then got ready to drive into Jamestown for a dentist appointment.  It was merely a five-minute check up, to make sure the gum surgery from six weeks ago is doing well.  It is.  I then stopped at Prendergast Library because I cannot find something that I want to read.  I have started three or four books but after a half hour, I put them down either because I think I have read them before, they are boring, or I just am not in the mood for a book.  So I picked up three thrillers, light reads, and hope they will interest me.

When I got home, Evie was out in the water, swimming with our neighbor's grandson, getting ready for when our grandchildren arrive in ten days.  I wasted the rest of the afternoon although I did get rid of the lake weeds from Sunday.  Around 5:00, Evie took a final swim, I showered and we were picked up by Linda and Ron, in the rain, and we drove to Bemus Point.  We always try to have a beer on the Hotel Lenhart porch and even though it was raining and gray, we sat on the porch with two other couples. No great sunset but it still was pleasant.

Linda And Ron At The Lenhart Hotel

The Dude And His Girl Friend

We then went to our standby, the Seezurh House, for dinner.  It was packed, as crowded as we have seen it.  We quickly decided on what we wanted, our waitress took the order but we then waited almost an hour for our food.  Either our waitress forgot to put in our order because others who came in after us were served before us, or the kitchen was disorganized.  We talked with Robin, the manager, who said one of the workers walked out on the kitchen.  It still did not explain why we were served after everyone else.  And we are the regulars!  We still had a good time, talking about all the fun we are going to have when fall arrives and Linda And Ron are in their new home.  We were home in time to watch the penultimate episode of HOUSE OF CARDS.  Francis is in rare form, doing a Zoey on the Secretary Of State.  He does not mess around.

Monday, Monday

6:07

6:08

6:15

6:30

It's a partly cloudy morning although when I got up at 5:45, there was a huge diagonal cloud bank off to the south, open skies to the north.  It's a cool morning, 58º and was good sleeping weather as long as we kept the windows open.

Yesterday was another classic summer day at the lake, sunny, temperatures in the 70's, variable winds, perfect for boaters or sailors.  I got an early start, off kayaking by 7:00 since I was up, down to Whitney Bay and back, with a wave to our Viking Club friend, Greg, who lives in Magnolia.  When I got back, Evie was up and ready to pick out the photographs for the blog as I wrote it.  It's our morning routine, getting out the blog with photos in a timely fashion.

We then got a slow start on our morning, taking it easy, not wanting to get busy with a chore.  Soon, however, Evie got bored with doing nothing and decided it was time to get back at cutting weeds.  I needed, then, to dispose of the dried weeds from Saturday, so I got out my wheel barrel and took three garbage cans of weeds to my car and disposed of them.  We hope they will eventually make good compost.  Evie then was free to cut weeds and take them over to our dock to dry.  Fun.  By the time she was tired, around 1:00, it was time for lunch, eggs, bacon and toast.  Evie decided to forego breakfast and went back out to enjoy the sun.  I had breakfast and watched part of the last episode of Spiral, keeping most of it for today at lunch.

Afternoon Cotton Candy

After reading and a nap, I went out to join Evie and put in a good forty minutes, cutting weeds out in the deep waters, some of them six feet long.  By 4:00, the dock was once again covered with drying weeds.  We decided to do something fun so I took the cover off the boat and we went for a wine cruise with our neighbor, Kathy, down past the Viking Club and home, on a surprisingly choppy lake.

Wine Time With Kathy

We were back by 6:45 so I decided to pack up the weeds from the dock in pails and take them up the hill some time on Monday.  After gathering them, putting the cover on the boat and taking a cooling off swim, dinner was ready, the leftover vodka pasta with shrimp.  It was after 8:00 by the time we sat down to eat.  We watched CBS Sunday Morning, with a neat episode on the Erie Canal and ended with mystery novelist Lousie Penny.  Both were really fun.  We then watched Frank Underwood's well deserved slow fall from office.  I assume this may be the last episodes of the series.

Chilly

5:47

6:06

6:07

I was up at 5:45, walked outside for a bit and waited for the sun to rise.  It rose about 6:05, so I had a bit of a wait on a 53º morning here at the lake.  And just before 6:00, a gaggle of boats came roaring around Tom's Point, not the usual Long Point, and six settled down around the reeds, just past Victoria.  The lake is calm, just a few ripples from boats, the sky, absolutely clear, not a cloud in sight, a rare morning on the lake.  I just got back from kayaking, left at 7:00 and cruised down to Whitney Bay and back.  The only others on the lake beside fishermen were our neighbors, Nancy and Jeff, out for an early skiing.

Kayak Morning At 7:11

Newer Homes Along Magnolia

Yesterday started out cloudy with early morning rain but just after my sister Ellen and her husband left for home, it began to clear up and we had a nice Saturday afternoon, perfect for cutting weeds. Evie could not wait to get out there and start cutting, as I had lunch, a cheese sandwich and the rest of the cauliflower soup.  And since I have been getting up so early,  I took a cat nap and read before getting out the other rake and joined Evie.  By the time we were done, we had our dock covered with weeds.  We seem to be the only people crazy enough to cut weeds but then, we do have a pretty nice weed free swimming area for our kids.  We then sat on the dock, admiring our work until I went in and got us a celebratory beer and some chips.

Lake Weeds Drying

Oddly enough, we came in because we were getting cold, either from the changing air or for having been in the water for so long.  We both took nice warm showers and then sat out on our front porch for a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers.  Again, it seems as if we have not done this very often this summer, so we really enjoyed it, just kicking back, watching the lake activity wane, the begins to lose its color.

We had an easy dinner, leftover koftes and tomato sauce on pita bread and a salad.  We watched some of House Of Cards, but were not too excited about it, so we switched to Diners, Drive Ins And Dives, more appropriate for our moods.  We were both really tired after our Key Lime Pie for dessert, we went up to bed, hoping for a good night's sleep

Thunder, Lightning And Rain

Crazy At Lakewood's Wegmans

6:49

6:58

7:16

9:08

It's an interesting morning sky, lots of threatening clouds, some rain and thunder, and now, at 7:00 the sky behind is clearing up, the lake blue rather than gray. The rain (a half inch) has kept any boats off the lake; I am tempted to kayak but I will wait until I am sure the thunder and lightning have stopped. And the haze has disappeared as the shoreline is washed clean, in clear focus. It's now 7:40, 64º and I am listening to Only A Game as it just started to rain again after seeming to clear up.  Only A Game had an interesting story about Tom Meschery, a Russian emigre in the 1950's, who became an NBA All-Star and now writes poetry.  I remember his name, his feisty play.

Yesterday most of us got a slow start with the day.  I, however, was up and at em, blogging and photographing early, then out on the lake kayaking by 7:00.  When I got back, the second pot of coffee was on and all were up, Evie, my sister, Ellen and her husband, Wally.  We were not sure what kind of weather the day would bring so we decided on a trip to Lakewood in the morning, hoping to enjoy the sun and lake in the afternoon.  It turned out to be a good choice.  We drove to Ryder's Cup around 11:00, to get a cup of coffee and introduce Els and Wally to Joyce, the owner.  She is always welcoming and friendly.  We then hit our favorite grocery store.  Ellen has a great super Wegman's in near Herndon, VA, putting our tiny Wegman's to shame.  But we still had fun, as you can see, taking a silly selfie near the vegetable section.  We also ran into our good friend, Barb and her daughter, up for the 4th of July from North Carolina.  The guys went their way, looking at micro beers, the girls picked up the shrimp and fixings for dinner.  We got separated of course and I did not realize that the girls had already checked out so I was wandering around the store looking for them.

Eggplant Sandwiches For Lunch, Again

We hurried home, taking the back road to Ashville, quickly put away the groceries.  Evie then heated up the cauliflower soup, made four more eggplant sandwiches and guacamole and we had lunch outside, a mistake because the sun came out and it was getting humid.  We did not linger.  We then took a time out, to read or nap or sun but Evie stayed in the kitchen and put together a vodka pasta sauce, getting it ready for dinner and making pasta dough for later.   By 2:30, Wally and I were busy trying to figure out how to hang a magnetic screen door on our porch.  After a couple of wrong turns, we managed to get it up and swinging.  For now, it seems like a good idea; time will tell if it lasts, especially when the grandkids arrive and dash in and out.  It's held in place by velcro so we will see how well it holds.

Patsi And Beau, Cruising Chautauqua Lake

We then relaxed on the dock, swimming and floating some and Evie and I worked for a half hour on cutting weeds which are really disgusting in some of the areas in front of our house.  We need the weed cutters to bring their machines and cut them.  Around 6:00, we gathered drinks, Evie heated up hankie pankies (an appetizer) and we went for a nice booze cruise over to Bemus Point, along Lakeside Drive and home.  It was sunny but a nice breeze made our cruise comfortable.

Making Fresh Pasta

When we got home, Evie got out the pasta machine and after showing Wally and Ellen how to use it, they made enough pasta fettuccine to feed the four of us and some.  Once they were done, Evie grilled the shrimp, heated up the pasta sauce and I cooked the fresh fettuccine in boiling water for about five minutes.  We mixed the noodles, with the sauce and shrimp, let it marinate for about 10 minutes.  We then had a glorious dinner al fresco again.  We had more than enough Vodka pasta, and with a salad and sourdough rolls, we were happy campers.  It was a perfect night to eat outside.

A Vodka And Shrim Pasta Dinner

After the dishes, we then sat out on the porch until it became too cool and about 9:30, we got out Wegman's key lime pie, and had our dessert before we were tired enough to go up to be around 10:45, the end of a good day.

A Fine Morning For A Paddle

Floating Sisters

6:10

6:16

6: 

It's 8:00 and I have been up since 5:45, in time to catch a muted sunrise because of the haze. And a lakefront filled with geese, feeding on the weeds.  When I walked out to take a photo, they paddled away.  It was too nice to sit in and write my blog, so I went out for a paddle, hoping to see more herons.   Alas, I did not see any, only saw and heard the chattering of kingfishers.

Paddling To Infinity

Weed Watching For Herons

Yesterday was another busy morning as we were expecting my sister Ellen and her husband, Wally late morning.  We had not really been organized for company, partly because of weather, lots of rain and our trip to New Hampshire.  So while Evie got things ready inside, including eggplant sandwiches for lunch and Turkish koftes for dinner, I swept, vacuumed, and washed the front porch. And we had yet to really use our outdoor furniture much preferring to sit on the dock or porch.  So I got our chairs, our round metal table for eating and some lounges.  I first sprayed them with my new high powered nozzle, to get rid of spiders and such, then wiped them down.  By 11:30 all was well in our house and yard.

Lazy Afternoon Lunch

Ellen and Wally arrived just about noon, and like us, they were hungry, so Evie quickly made up eggplant, tomato, lettuce and mayo sandwiches along with a cup of cauliflower soup and we had lunch al fresco for the first time this year. It was pleasant to sit outside and the weather cooperated as the sun hid behind the clouds, so it was not too hot.

After lunch, we all decided it was time for a siesta, either on the dock, floating on a raft or on a couch of chaise lounge.  I preferred the couch, everyone else went out on the dock to enjoy the warm and sunny afternoon.  I soon joined them and Evie and Ellen floated on lounges for a good hour or two while Wally and I read, talked, napped or swam.

Wally At Rest

We were hoping to go for a boat ride but it clouded up so we decided to enjoy cocktails and appetizers in the yard.  We then sat out in the yard, enjoying our wine and cheese and crackers until around 7:00.  I then grilled the koftes and Evie made up a tomato sauce and browned the pita bread squares for our Turkish Iskender kebab.  We all enjoyed out Turkish meal, salad, and the cooling evening, not going inside until after 9:00.

A Turkish Dinner Al Fresco

We quickly did up the dishes and watched two Vice News episodes because neither Ellen nor Wally had watched it before. They like it as much as us.  By 10:30, we were ready for bed.