50º In August

6:19

6:21

6:27

6:28

6:37

6:50

A chilly morning, fleece weather when I got up around 6:20, just in time to see the sun rise over Long Point, on its journey towards Tom's Point in December. Clouds continue to obtrude but the sun seems to be winning out, at least for now.  And for a Sunday in early August, the lake is unusually quiet at this hour, the same yesterday.  I just returned from a long hour and a half paddle, over to Bemus, along the shore and back, a good way to start my morning.

Kayaking To Bemus Point's Shoreline

A Private Weed Eater/Cutter/Dredger? Along Lakeside Drive - SOlitude Lake Management

Swimming The Lake With A Kayak Escort

Yesterday we got busy, the way we should have on Saturday, as it was time to put the house back together after a few weeks of family fun.  It began with Evie stripping the beds and washing sheets, something that went on much of the day but by 5:00, the upstairs beds were made, clean sheets the order, ready for our next visitors.  I, of course, gathered all the trash, the detrius from the past few weeks, including a few dead rubber floats and took them to the Transfer Station, always a good feeling to get rid of useless stuff.  When I got home, despite the 60º weather, I jumped in the lake and dragged out our floating island, with Evie's help, washed the algae off the bottom, deflated it and let it dry until late in the day when we tried to fold it up and put it back in the box.  It seemed to still hold some air so we put off stuffing it in the box for a bit.

Good Morning

Just Opening

Around 11:30, I drove off to Lakewood, to Sam's Club because they were having one day sale, an attempt to drag us in to buy something other than what we came to buy.  It worked as I bought a Ninja blender, for smoothies which I probably won't make, along with other things I most likely don't need. But it was a form of therapy, taking the place of yoga for the day.  I also stopped at Ryder's Cup and on my way to Sam's, I took a photo of the new hotel going up in Celeron.  It's happening much to my surprise as Celeron is not exactly a crown jewel of the lake.  Let's hope it's a success.

I got home around 1:30 and I made another schnitzel sandwich for lunch, finishing up the leftover pork cutlets.  As I was eating, I heard a knock at our door and our neighbor's grandchildren were wondering if they might get something from the Treasure Chest, something they have done over the past couple of years.  We invited them in and they along with Evie went through both boxes before heading home happily, with three treasures each.  What cuties.

Looking For Treasure

We both did stuff on and off during the rest of the day, getting something done, then sitting down to relax, read, play on our devices, or try to nap in my case.  Evie always seems to be much more busy than me and I never can figure out why and I plan on keeping it that way.  By 5:30, the house, the upstairs, was in order, the bedrooms done and it was time to think about dinner.  I got out a bottle of sauvignon blanc, poured a glass for both of us and Evie got busy making salmon cakes and a salad for our dinner.  Finally, around 7:00, Evie could sit down and relax and enjoy dinner and TV.  My sister Ellen and son Tom both recommended the new show on NETFLIX called OZARK.  It's a story about drug money laundering gone bad, as the major protagonist is forced to relocate his family to the Lake Of The Ozarks and look for ways to launder money.  The lake is beautiful, with hundreds of miles of spectacular coastline, which seems to contrast starkly with the red neck residents, mostly trailer park sorts.  We watched three episodes and our response is lukewarm.  It's not up to the best of NETFLIX like HOUSE OF CARDS but what is.  We will most likely stick with it unless it gets too predictable.

Feeling Lost

A Farewell Photo Of Beth And Marisa

7:06

7:06

7:07 Filtered

7:14

7:20

An interesting sky when I got up around 7:00 but now at 8:00, it's gray, a light rain mist on the lake. It's a quiet morning, in fact, it will be a quiet day, week, month, almost a year until our grandchildren return for a week.  Sad making.  Anyways, it was a busy often exhausting but fun three weeks, with a couple of weeks thrown in, in early June with Beth's family.  So now, what to do?  A good question but fortunately, the Gowanda Slovenian Club is having their polka party tomorrow Sunday and since Evie's a member, we hope to go, weather permitting, an hour and 15-minute drive from us.

Driving To Buffalo

Yesterday started out fine, a sunny day, an easy drive to the Buffalo Airport to drop off Beth and Marisa for their flight home.  We hugged them good bye, they went into the terminal and we drove away but decided, at Beth's suggestion, to stop at Target to do some clothes shopping for Evie.

Car Selfies With Marisa's Granny

We spent less than a half hour inside and walked out into a vicious storm, heavy winds, sleet, and hail, a blinding rain, just about the time Beth was supposed to take off.  We quickly texted her; they were fine their flight delayed until 2:00, an hour later than scheduled.  We decided to hang around the Galleria Mall, five minutes from the airport until we were sure they had taken off, so we browsed some of the stores we have not thought about in years, like Pottery Barn or The Loft.  Finally, we saw that they were on the runway, then departed, in between storms.  Their flight to Atlanta was fine but they barely made their connecting flight to Dallas, arriving just minutes before the last boarding.  So we were able to relax, drive home, knowing they were fine.  We did not get home, however, until after 4:00 after leaving at 10:15, a long day.

We must have gotten some of Buffalo's rain because our gauge showed close to an inch by the time we got home.  Neither of us felt like doing much, which is not the usual case as we are usually busy beavers after our kids leave, a form of dealing with the sadness of their exit.  So Evie did some fishing but it was not the same without Marisa and I read and took a brief nap

Around 6:00, we decided to assuage are depression with a Manhattan, cheese, crackers, and a bowl of guacamole on our porch.  As we sat, it got darker and darker, began to rain lightly, then more heavily, followed by thunder and lightning. We loved it, watching the sky and lake change.  Around 7:00,  we got word that Beth landed safely in Dallas, so we felt much better about the evening and decided to have a second Manhattan.

7:51 PM Filtered

By that time, the Bemus shore was gray and obscure and it kept raining and raining.  Let it rain, softly I thought, no storms, just a gentle rain. As we sat, we took mega photos of the threatening, constantly changing vista.  Our night was made complete when we discovered an afternoon voice mail from our good friend Vi, who talked about how much she loved looking at pictures of our kids and grandchildren on the blog.  It made our evening so much better.  What a great friend.

After three weeks of prepping dinner, Evie toasted some sour dough bread, added mayo, a tomato and a leftover pork schnitzel cutlet and we had dinner.  It's my favorite lunch by the way.  We watched a couple of past episodes of Vice News on TV before going up to bed early, at least for us, at 10:00.

Clouds And Perhaps Some Rain

5:48

7:25

I was up at 5:45, to a gray sky with splashes of orange.  Because of the overcast morning, there was no sunrise to speak of,  just some ribbons of light off to the north.  It's 7:00 at the moment, 68º and today at 10:30, we take Marisa and Beth to the Buffalo Airport, for their flight home to Dallas, a sad making day for all of us.

A Dahlia In The Morning

Yesterday was our final day of sunny weather, at least this morning's cloudy skies seem to suggest it.  Beth and I went to yoga for the fifth consecutive day, again an extremely crowded class but we were smart enough to get there early and find a spot for our mats.  It was a Yin Yoga class, an easy morning after Wednesday's difficult flow class.  We skipped Ryder's Cup, having had enough coffee for the week and instead stopped at the Reverie Creamery, just up the road from our house.  Not only do they make cheese but they import great and expensive cheeses from Europe.  We tasted three or four different cheeses before settling on from Wisconsin, half sheep's milk, half goat's milk, with a trace of a grape vine down the middle.  

When we got home, Marisa was just finishing her run and about to start her workout on a mat.  Beth, having skipped breakfast, fried up her favorite breakfast treat, peameal bacon from the Lighthouse. and fried an egg.  By the time she was through eating, everything smelled so good that I fried up an egg as well to go with some peameal.  

We then spent the rest of the afternoon either inside, trying to stay cool as it was another hot and sticky day, or our on the dock, fishing, lots of perch for Marisa, sunning, or swimming.  I did both, reading in the house and on the dock, and swimming, enjoying our last day on the dock with our granddaughter, Marisa.  And I went for a paddle with my fishing rod, hoping to have Marisa's luck but to no avail, just a nibble.

Off To Catch A Big One

 Evie began prepping dinner around 5:00, pounding flat the pork tenderloin and breading it, getting it ready to fry.  Once that was done, we got out the cheese, popped the baguette from Reverie in the oven for 10 minutes and went outside to enjoy our wine and bread and cheese, as Marisa worked at perfecting her back flip.

Backhand Spring #1

#2

#3

Unfortunately, tiny gnats seemed drawn to the cheese and baguette, forcing us to sit on the porch. Around 6:00, we decided to have our sixth game of bean bag, to see if Marisa and I could even the score at 3-3.  We failed miserably getting whomped by Beth and Evie, 21-15, leaving our record at 2-4.  Needless to say, Beth and Evie were happy,

After the game, Evie fried the wiener schnitzel in peanut oil, with its high heat capacity and pulled the potatoes and cauliflower out of the oven when they were done.  Beth made the salad and we decided to eat inside for the first time all week because of the gnats.  Dinner was good, and we polished off the salad and potatoes but had lots of schnitzels left because Evie used two pork tenderloins, the leftovers great for another dinner or lunches. We then watched the rest of the movie we started the night before, QUEEN OF KATWE, a feel good family oriented movie, a good way to end our two weeks together.  After the movie, everyone got moving, Beth and Marisa packing and organizing for today's flight before going to bed.

It's 7:30 and I am the only up, the sun has come out, blue skies reign, for the moment.  Time to go for a paddle before everyone gets up and starts moving.  It's now 8:50 and I had a 45 minute paddle, seemingly the only boat on the lake...love it.

A Sad Bye Bye

Waiting For Some Rain Day #2

Beth's Rock Painting Of Evie's Garden

6:23

6:26

6:47

7:12

Up just after 6:00, like clockwork, to a partly cloudy sky, then a bright sunrise although at the moment, it's hidden behind a cloud cover.  A comfortable 63º,  it most likely will get up into the high 70's with 50% chance of rain.  Fat chance.

Yesterday was another fine day, similar to those before, what else, with a difficult flow yoga class for Beth and me.  Our usual teacher was absent so she was replaced by Kim who offers only flow classes which are rigorous with little resting in between asanas.  In fact, downward facing dog, not an easy pose, is a resting position.  Anyways, I survived class, enjoyed it actually when it was over. Afterward, we had a special lunch planned, so we drove to downtown Jamestown to have lunch at The Labyrinth Press Company, a coffee shop and a vegetarian restaurant on 4th street.  I have been there before but they have really expanded their menu, so both Beth and I wanted to try it.  We were not disappointed as I had a Havana burrito, filled with beans, seasoned rice, almonds, spinach onion, hot sauce, and spices and Beth had an African peanut burger with homemade apricot jam and a fried egg, also excellent.  We shared a delicious bowl of Tuscan tomato soup as well, spicy and thick. The servings were so ample that both of us took a half of our sandwich or burrito home.  

Another Perch

When we got home, Evie and Marisa had already been fishing and Evie was cutting the lawn, expecting it to rain either yesterday or today.  Beth and I were tired for some reason, either the yoga or a big lunch, so we read and napped.  Meanwhile, Evie and Marisa drove off to Lakewood, to Ryder's Cup, to look at the Ryder's Cup hoody for Marisa and get her a frozen hot chocolate.  Marisa decided she liked the one at Skillman's in Bemus Point so they drove there and got a nice one for Marisa to take home in Dallas.  While they were out shopping, Beth got out the paints, picked out some rocks and started to paint them, mostly scenes of the lake or Evie's garden.  I decided to try my hand at it, picked out a couple of things to paint and ended up changing them to something else because of my lack of skills.  I am good at mashing colors together to form something interesting, a la Jackson Pollock!  Beth worked on it for a couple of hours.  It also rained briefly, hardly wetting the ground but it was enough to make me run out and put the cover on my boat.  By the time I finished, blue skies appeared and the sun came out.  Cause and effect or chance? 

More Painted Rocks By Beth And Moi

When Marisa and Evie got back, they went out on the dock to fish and I joined them around 5:00. Both were having fun, especially Marisa who ended up pulling 15 pan fish out of the lake before throwing them back.  It was fun to watch her get excited so we sat out there until 6:30 when Evie went in to start dinner.  Marisa and I stayed out for another half hour before heading in.  I quickly set the table outside, Beth made the salad and Evie broiled the salmon, sauteed the garlic spinach, green beans and made some rice.  Marisa is not a fan of salmon so she had leftover sloppy joes.

Salmon, Garlic Spinach, And Rice

It was another beautiful night to eat outside, in the shade, comfortable temperatures, and good food. It makes me wonder why we go out to eat?  To give Evie a break I guess.  After dinner, Beth and I did up the dishes while Evie and Marisa fished for another half hour before coming in to start our fifth bean bag game of the week.  It went on forever, neither team able to go out exactly at 21 until Marisa and I finally triumphed, but we are still trailing 3 games to 2.  Tonight we will have a chance to tie them.  We then decided to start a movie Marisa wanted, QUEEN OF KATWE, a Disney movie, based on fact, about a nine-year-old girl from Kampala, Uganda, who becomes a champion at chess.  It's a predictable but fun movie although the scenes of life in the slums of Kampala are difficult to watch.

Waiting For Some Rain Day # 1

Two Beauties

6:21

6:23

7:15

7:24

7:29

Well, it's 7:20 and the sun has just risen above the clouds, flooding the living room with light.  It tried to break through at 6:24 but clouds blocked its rays, so it was a mostly gray morning until now.  A few ski boats are out, a jet ski, and a single fishing boat despite another stellar morning on the lake.  Just as I finished writing, the weed guys arrived, took away both our and our neighbors weeds.  So I decided to go for a paddle, now that the weeds were done and I went out just as our neighbor, Kathy, was coming back in.  Obviously, it's a great morning for a paddle.

Kathy Paddles Into The Sun

The Weed Removal People

Yesterday was a good kayak morning, so I went as far as Whitney Bay and back, then had my breakfast as Evie finished up choosing photos for the blog.  Beth and I left for yoga at 9:10 with Julie, a good class of nine.  Lots of instruction for the neophytes, not much need anymore by me, a veteran so to speak of four years if not more.  We were going to skip coffee but could not resist the temptation so we stopped at Ryders Cup, to fortify us for our shopping at Wegman's on Senior Citizen Day.  Surprisingly, it did not seem as crowded as usual and we got in a line with only one person in front of us.  Wegman's must be waking up to the fact that Tuesday is their busiest day and they need more cashiers.

We didn't get home until 12:15 and Evie had already made Marisa pancakes, a blueberry crisp for dinner and was out in the water raking more weeds as the cutters were coming to pick up our piles of weeds later in the day (they never came). So I put on my bathing suit and joined her since the CLA was supposedly going to pick up our weeds and I worked in front of our dock, pulling out weeds sometimes five feet long, a satisfying rake when it happened.  Marisa spent an hour on her every other day workout so we all got in our exercise before noon.  About 1:30, I went in for lunch, a leftover half of Cuban from the Viking.  Marisa also had a part and Beth made herself a sandwich with sourdough bread from Wegman's, a favorite.

Around 2:00, I finally got Marisa to go out on the dock and rescue Evie from herself and go fishing. The two of them then fished for the next hour catching one perch or sunfish after another, a good feeding day for the fish.  Marisa, however, caught the prize bass of the day.  I joined them and we sat on the dock, enjoying the sun, jumping in the lake, relaxing on the float until about 4:30.  We went in and started to get some things done in the yard.

Rocks

More Rocks

We had quite a few painted rocks from the previous week, so Beth put a coat of sealer on them, Evie cut the back yard by the garden, and I did some weed whacking, getting the edge of the driveway ready for rocks.  All four of us worked at it, so we were able to get the rocks in place so that we could sit out on the dock with a glass of wine until 6:45.  It was surprisingly warm so we welcomed an occasional breeze.

Dinner With Our Granddaughter, Marisa, And Her Mom

Dinner outside was easy, just warm up the sloppy joe's Evie had made a couple of weeks ago, get Marisa to shuck the corn, Beth to make a salad, and me to set the table and we were ready to sit down around 7:15 on another nice night on the lake.  Marisa loved the sloppy joes and I had three ears of corn.  After a quick clean up, we went out and played another game of Bean Bag and Marisa and I lost for the second night in a row, 21-20, close but no cigar.  We then went in and had our blueberry crisp with ice cream and watched two more episodes of The Office, Niagara 1 and 2, where Jim and Pam get married, again, two classic episodes.  We finished around 10:15, time for all of us to settle into our nightly routine.

Another Splendid Morning

Cruising With Granny And Marisa

5:59

6:20

6:23

Lots of sun this morning, as I was up at 6:00 and had to wait for the sun to rise at 6:20.  Hardly a cloud in the light blue sky, 64º, with lots more sun to come.  The lake is basically empty although our neighbors skied by around 6:30, their daily early morning exercise.  It's now 7:00 and they just went by again.  I just got back from kayaking to Whitney Bay and witnessed a merganser, a rare sighting in August, taking off, a beautiful water fowl/

Merganser Rising

Yesterday began, for me, with a paddle across the lake at 8:00.  Beth and I then left for Yin Yoga at 9:10 getting to class just in time to squeeze into space as we had a record number of yogis, twenty-nine of us.  A good class which is why it's so crowded I suppose and Danielle had to lead class while standing because of lack of space.  After class, we got a message from Evie to pick up some worms because they were running out of them fishing on the dock, so we stopped at Hogan's Hut for them and I filled up two five gallon gas cans for the boat.

Perching

When we got home Evie and Marisa were still out fishing, so Beth took out the worms and I got on my bathing suit, put the two five gallon cans of gas in the wheel barrow and wheeled them out to the boat.  It may not be the most efficient way to fill up my boat but it works for me and buying gas at a gas station rather than a marina saves me a dollar a gallon.

Around 1:00, Marisa and I split the leftover vodka pasta from Saturday for lunch, and we took it easy in the cool house, getting up enough oomph to go out on the dock on a sunny and hot afternoon.  We finally joined Evie around 2:30 who had been weeding the lake for the past hour, filling the dock with more weeds for me to carry up the hill.  She's insatiable.

Lake Weeds

For the next couple of hours, the four of us read, sun bathed, swam, weeded and Marisa did her hand stands before falling into the lake.  And we wished we would have had perfect lake days like this last week when all the family was here.

Marisa

Beth

Crusing To The Viking

Around 5:00, we came in and got dressed for our cruise to the Viking Club for dinner.  It was a fine night for a boat ride but as always, it was windy as we headed north so we had to take our time or risk getting wet.  We found the last spot at the Viking Dock, tied up and walked through the club grounds and found a nice table on the patio in the shade.  I got the beers and wine and Sprite while Evie ordered us a couple of Cubans and a Rueben.

8:24 Sunset

It was a pleasant and busy night at the Viking, with a number of Monday night regulars in place, even someone from yoga class.  Marisa and Evie split a Cuban, I ate half of mine, and Beth shared a couple of bites of her Ruben with the rest of us.  The sandwiches, as always, were excellent, the reason so many of us make Monday nights at the Viking part of our summer routine.

Before and after dinner, Marisa did gymnastics at the Viking playground, a tree filled area with tables and a playground for the kids.  With its covered pavilion, it reminds me of Evie and my youth at Euclid Beach when we attended Lincoln Electric picnics for the employees.

We took our time boating home, as the sun set in the Western sky and we took lots of photographs. There was little action on the lake, so we were in no hurry to get home.  We docked around 8:45 and Evie quickly got out the bean bag boards and we had another competitive game but Marisa and I lost 21-19.  We went in and had a bowl of ice cream with blueberries and watched at Marisa's request a couple of episodes of The Office.  Our favorite is The Dinner Party which we must have viewed at least six or seven times but it always makes us laugh and Marisa knows the dialogue.  By 10:30, we headed up to bed to read or watch something on our devices.