2019 Really Begins

7:33

7:45

7:46

8:23

I slept in some, until 7:00, awakened by the wind chimes.  It's a gusty morning of 26º, with rain or ice pellets, a wintery mix,  predicted for later in the day.  So no kayaking or hiking, probably just yoga and some shopping today.

Snowless Winter Woods

Blue Sky Beyond The Trees

Yesterday we began the day with energy. It dwindled, however, as the day progressed so that by 2:00 we hardly moved from our couches, spending far too much time in front of the TV.  I did wake with a desire to get outside, so by 9:00, I was hiking our woods, the snow gone, just mud and leaves and barren trees accompanied my walk.  I ran into our neighbors, Charlie and Grovey, up for the weekend and caught up on their lives.  When I returned home, I busied myself with taking down our tree while Evie worked on the orange room, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning and putting on clean sheets.  By 11:30, the tree was gone, the room clean, the downstairs vacuumed and picked up. 

Sunday Morning At 10:00 PM

We have not been Kondoizing like Evie's sister Elaine, just putting things back in order.  I mention Kondoizing because Netflix had just added a new series called Tidying Up With Marie Kondo and a couple of our friends have been spurred on by her series to Kondoizing their homes.  I have tried to follow some of her suggestions, like folding my tee shirts and boxers into rolls and putting them in drawers but found it's easier and quicker to just lay them on top of each other.  Of course, the tee shirts ended up being so wrinkled that I can't wear them so I solved the problem by putting them on hangars, problem solved if you, like me, wear lots of tee shirts. 

Around 1:00, Evie put together our big breakfast, potatoes, bacon, eggs, and toast and we watched our CBS Sunday morning, as we quickly have gotten back into a routine.  Manhattans on Saturday, big breakfast and CBS Sunday Morning on Sunday.  We watched some football for twenty minutes before I returned to my book and napped.  Around 3:00, we decided to really waste the day and watched an afternoon movie, THE RAINMAKER with Matt Dillon, something we rarely do.  The movie was not great, predictable, but it was a good way to waste the afternoon. 

Evie had earlier put together our dinner from Zingerman Guide to Good Eating, a cookbook from a famous delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Basically, you roast a spatchcocked chicken on a bed of caramelized onions and celery, layered on thick pieces of thick bread.  Unfortunately, despite falling the directions, the chicken was dry, the French bread somewhat burned.  It was edible but not as good as the last time we made it with chicken thighs.  We watched some football, then a couple of episodes of The Great British Baking Show, and ended the evening with the Golden Globe Awards. 

Windy Morning, Choppy Lake, Partly Cloudy Skies

7:49

8:06

8:31

It's 7:40, dawn has more than arrived, as the gray lake and sky dominate the vista.  A few puffy white clouds hang over Long Point, a stark contrast to the gray that surrounds them.  It's 36º and wet out, from some rain last night, the snow finally melting.  No paddling with the mallards this morning even though some blue sky is beginning to show. 

Yesterday felt empty, as we were once again alone in our home after a couple of weeks of family.  To stave off the depression, we usually get busy and yesterday was no exception.  We did, however, decide to be sensible about it and do one room at a time.  So after our coffee, breakfast, cleaning out the refrigerator and trip to the Transfer Station, we decided to tackle the front bedroom.  I took off the sheets, Evie washed them, then we both went upstairs and gave it a deep cleaning, Evie washing the radiators, baseboards, and blinds as I vacuumed and put things away.  By the time we were done, the sheets were washed and dried, so we made the bed and we had one bedroom back to its best, ready for the next visitors.  I have to admit before I retired, I never thought about keeping a bedroom clean.  It was always something Evie usually accomplished but now that I am retired, we both tend to be involved although I have to admit Evie seems much more adept and passionate about it.  I just follow her lead. 

Breaking Ice

By noon, then, we had one bedroom down, three to go for another day.  Since I had just a banana and yogurt before lunch, I was hungry so Evie made me a toasted cheese sandwich and I was happy.  I then read some, took a nap and then watched the movie SPOTLIGHT, with Evie.  We had seen it before, liked it and marveled at how a newspaper's discovery of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and the Church's hiding it, could be such a riveting film.  It also emphasizes the importance of the press, its power when used correctly.  Because of the Boston Globe, abuse by Priests has been uncovered literally worldwide. And the Pope has apologized: 'we showed no care for the little ones; we abandoned them.'  Without the press, this might still be going on,

Around 5:00, we watched a bit of football before deciding to enjoy a Manhattan and cheese and crackers around the fireplace and listen to music.  Neither of us were very hungry and did not worry much about dinner because we had leftovers from the night before, a few lamb chops and baked ziti.  So after our mannie and cheese and crackers, Evie heated up our dinner, made a salad and we were back to normal, sitting in front of the TV, eating our dinners, trying to figure out what to watch on TV.  We started with the NFL but quickly decided to watch the last two episodes of The Great English Baking Show before going up to bed. We agreed it's more fun when there are ten or twelve bakers, rather than two or three.  If you are interested, Rahul was the top baker, beating out Ruby and Kim Joy. 

Just The Two Of Us

Mom And Daughter

A Sad Making Friday Night

7:05

It's 7:00, morning is just beginning to awaken, the sky filled with streaks of light and dark.  I have been up since 5:30, mostly because both Evie and I were up at 3:30 to see both Beth and Marisa off to the airport.  Their flight home to Dallas leaves Buffalo at 6:30, thus the need to be up early and on the road by 3:45.  It's 8:50 and I just returned from a paddle, winding my way around ice floes, making sure I didn't get stuck out in the ice.  It was a chilly 27º but spectacularly sunny morning on the lake.  I love it. When I returned to the shore,  I could hear the crunch as a boat slowly broke through the ice over by Long Point.

Kayak Morning

Paddling Into The Sun

Yesterday was our last with Beth and Marisa.  We managed to get through it, however, with Beth and I going to an instructive yoga class with Julie who took some extra time with Beth which was nice.  We then stopped at Ryder's Cup, talked with both Joyce and Dave for ten minutes before driving home.  Marisa was up and she and Evie were thinking about what to make on her final day here at the lake. 

Happy To Be Baking With Her Granddaughter

They settled on a recipe for Hellriegal Inn's cinnamon rolls.  Our good Finnish friend Vi was able to get the priceless recipe from the granddaughter of the woman who made the rolls each day for Hellriegals. She found it cross stitched on a quilt in the Finnish Museum in Fairport Harbor, Ohio.   Our high school used to have sports banquets at Hellriegals in Painesville, Ohio, and the highlight of the meal was their cinnamon rolls. So Evie and Marisa put the dough together after lunch and let it rise till later in the afternoon.

A Dazzling Duo And Delicious Dozen (minus 2 for tasting)

Beth and I had our other half of sandwich from our lunch on Thursday at the Labyrinth Press Cafe in Jamestown. I also finished the matzo ball soup while watching more of NARCOS on Netflix.  Beth and Marisa spent part of the afternoon packing, making sure they had everything.  Around 3:00, they drove off to Webb's to get their famous fudge for the family but found that Webb's was no longer making fudge because of a lack of customers.  They will start again in February.  I guess because of the lack of snow, visitors are way down and shops and restaurants are hurting.  They did manage to find a box of turtles, however, my favorite candy.

Kayak Afternoon

While they were at Webb's, I decided to kayak since the lake was quiet and calm the sky beginning to turn blue and the sun was out.  I decided to paddle north and west as far as Whitney Bay and then back, hugging the shoreline.  As always, it was great to be on the lake, the sun warming me this time before it started to drop behind the trees.  I was not the only one on the lake as I saw a fishing boat or two, anchored off of Long Point.

A Rosy Fingered Dusk

Long Point at 4:45 PM

We relaxed with a glass of wine until 6:00 when we got serious about dinner.  We were having two racks of lamb, so I seared both in olive oil, then placed them in a hot oven of 450º for twenty minutes until their internal temperature was 125º.  Evie had also pulled out a baked ziti from the freezer and heated that up as well so we had a great dinner, lamb and baked ziti, salad, and a bottle or two of red wine.  And of course, we had Hillriegal's cinnamon rolls to complement the dinner, filling us up so we could hardly move.  They are hard to say no to. 

Friday Night With Marisa

We didn't get through with dishes until 8:00, so we watched two more episodes from The Great British Baking Show.  Both Beth and Marisa also finished packing up, making sure they had everything and brought the bags downstairs before going up to be around 10:00, hoping to get some sleep before their 3:30 awakening.  I don't think either of them slept much, typical if you have to get up so early.  Fortunately, they will be home in Dallas mid-morning so they will have the day to catch up on their sleep. 

Warming With Some Sunshine

7:12

7:20

7:52

When I got up at 6:15, Beth was already up and downstairs, the coffee made.  So we both sat on our couches, with our devices, occasionally talking as the sky began to lighten, even turn pink.  The lawn still has a dusting of snow, and the lake is open except for along the shoreline, its wrinkled surface reflecting various colors this morning.  And I just saw a fishing boat round Long Point, out early for a catch.

Looking Back At The Holidays and Disorganized Selfie

Yesterday was another day of Chautauqua gray and surprisingly cold, probably because of the dampness in the air.  I had no desire to kayak and instead, went for breakfast with three of the guys at the Bemus Point Inn.  Our numbers are dwindling as some head South for the next three months.  After breakfast, Beth and I drove to Lakewood for a Yin Yoga class. We left early and it was a good thing as lots had the same idea, start the new year off with a yoga class.  It was a class of twenty-five and we spent too much time on hip openers.  We were going out for lunch so before we ate, we decided to do some shopping, stopping at a local grocery store called Brigiotti's to pick up some vegetables, a store we like to support.  And because we were passing by Farm Fresh Foods with their own bakery, we stopped there and picked up various donuts for the day, mostly glazed.  We ended up at the Labyrinth Coffee Shop for lunch.  It's a vegetarian restaurant as well as coffee shop and both Beth and I love their food, especially their soups and wraps.  Beth got a mug of beer/cheese soup and we both ordered wraps although they were so full that we saved half for today's lunches.

Beth And Me

On the way home, we stopped at the new Harbor House Hotel in Celeron and walked around inside, seeing the cozy bar, the restaurant. both with great views of the lake.  It was not very busy, alas, a fear most of us have, that it won't be able to make a go of it.  When we arrived home, both Evie and Marisa were out shopping.  Beth checked her iPhone and saw that they were in TJMaxx shopping.  We both commiserated with Marisa who was having to let Granny have free rein shopping.  Eventually, we were able to tell they had gone for lunch at Olive Garden, a fun way to end their shopping therapy.  They got home around 3:00 and Evie bought lots of things that I didn't know we needed (like more pillows and wine glasses) but I guess we did.

The Shoppers

Because all four of us had eaten lunch out and nibbled or devoured a donut or two in the afternoon, we decided to put off a rack of lamb dinner and instead have something easy, Slovenian sausages and roasted potatoes although Evie finished off the pork chops and sauerkraut from our New Year's Day dinner.  We watched another episode of The Great British Baking Show then started a series Beth and Marisa really liked on Netflix called ATYPICAL.  It's about a family of four, a son with autism, an often ignored teenaged daughter, and parents struggling with their relationship as well as their love for their children.  It's pretty good, reminding Evie and me of Parenthood which had a similar theme.

The Gang 'Was' All Here

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Everything's All White

Granny And Marisa At The Viking Club

7:50

It's 7:00 and I have been up for close to an hour.  When I walked outside to see if the paper had arrived, I was surprised by an inch or two of snow, turning what had been a muddy and leaf-strewn yard white.  I doubt if it will stay for long but at the moment, it's a delight to the eye.

Kayaking Wednesday Morning

Mallards Among The Icy Reeds

Yesterday began for me with a kayak paddle, as the lake was calm and inviting, despite the gray and overcast sky.  It was starting to ice over in a few spots but I was able to paddle down to Wells Bay and back without a problem.  I was able to photograph a couple of mallards, the only wildlife seemingly left on the lake, at least in front of our house.  When I returned, Beth and I left for yoga at 9:40 and enjoyed our class with Jen, heading home around 11:30, skipping coffee for once.

Victoria Reflections 

Pat And Dave's House

Marisa had just gotten up when we came home and Evie was making her breakfast.  She needed a good sleep in.  Beth felt like toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches, so Evie pulled out the griddle, toasted the sandwiches after having made a pot of matzo ball soup.  We decided to watch a movie during lunch and Marisa picked it out, a film called SET IT UP.  I lasted through the first half hour but kept falling asleep so I went up to read and took my usual nap. 

Around 4:00, Evie, Beth and I went for a walk in the Chautauqua Institution, stopped in the bookstore and enjoyed just being out in the cold.  The CI is practically empty of anyone except for construction guys.  The restaurants are all closed and only a few hundred residents remain.  It's a great place, however, for a walk.

Walking The Chautauqua Institution's Grounds

We decided to do something different for dinner, so we drove over the bridge to the Viking Club.  It's open on Wednesdays for what they call 'Wings and Things.'  It's usually well attended but last night it was practically empty and we had an easy time finding a table.  It's not fine dining as our appetizer, 'loaded tater tots' suggests.  Evie and Beth ordered burgers, Marisa chicken fingers, I had an order of wings.  We left around 8:30 full and happy, ready to get back to our comfy TV room and watch TV.  We decided it was too late for a movie so we watched a couple of episodes of The Great British Baking Show before going up to bed.

And Another Year Begins

Nick In Vail

Mitch In Banff

While we have been enjoying our families the past week here at the lake, two of our grandsons and their fathers have been off skiing, one in Colorado, the other in Calgary.   It looks amazing in the mountains, with the blue skies, perfect for skiing or snowboarding.

7:58

I was up just after 6:00, to a frosty morning, the car and sidewalk covered with ice.  At the moment, it's 7:30, Beth and Evie are up as well, and the lake is calm, mirror-like, with shadows from the shoreline.

Yesterday really didn't feel like New Year's Day although I am not sure how New Year's Day is supposed to feel.  I guess football games might be one characteristic, another, pork and sauerkraut, so if they are the measures, it should have felt like New Years Day.  It was a typical morning, the five of us, Beth, Evie and I up early, Tyler then Marisa to follow.  I was ready to do something by 9:30 so I spent a good hour in the yard, picking up the deadfall from the previous night's wind and doing some raking of leaves, filling up a couple of barrels and taking them up the hill.  Although it was gray, the rain held off so that it felt good to be outside.  I also filled our bird feeders.  For some reason, the various birds have disappeared from our feeders and we wondered if our feed had gone bad.  This has never happened before.

When I finished up, Evie was busy making Tyler his breakfast, doting on him because he was flying home later in the day.  So she made him his favorite, peameal bacon, fried eggs and toast.  By the time he finished, Marisa was up so she made her breakfast as well.  What a granny. 

The rest of the late morning and early afternoon involved Beth and Evie making sure Tyler was packed and all his clothes were washed and folded before he left.  He's notorious for leaving things behind so all four of us checked and doubled checked to make sure he was packed and ready to leave for the airport at 3:00.  I had a late lunch, corn chowder and a leftover chicken thigh while all this organizing was going one. 

Beth left for the airport with Tyler at 3:00 even though his 5:30 flight was delayed until 6:30, then 7:30 and finally 6:50.  Fortunately, the roads were fine, no ice, rain or snow so she was back by 6:00.  While she was gone, Evie and Marisa watched an old romantic comedy we both had seen before, MAID IN MANHATTAN with Jennifer Lopez, a good way to spend a cold, wet afternoon.  I, however, had enough sitting in the house and reading and went for a forty-five minute walk through the woods.  As always, it felt great to be outside, to feel the cold air, and be in the woods despite the fact that the snow had melted and all seemed brown except for the gray sky. 

The Woods

When I returned home, I made myself a bloody mary and watched the first half of the Ohio State game before sitting down around the fireplace with the girls for a glass of wine.  Evie had already seared the pork chops and peeled the sweet potatoes, covering them with an egg wash, so all she needed to do was put them in the oven to roast and we had dinner.  Beth, meanwhile, put together a salad and we had a typical New Year's Day dinner.  We were at sixes and sevens as to what to watch and decided on one of our favorite films, A MAN CALLED OVE, a sad but wonderful movie about a curmudgeon who eventually finds his humanity.  I highly recommend it.  It's a Swedish film with English subtitles on Amazon Prime.  Once it was over, I was happy to get back to my Greg Iles novel and the world of Natchez, Mississippi. 

A Healthy New Year To All

New Year's Eve

Evie And Her Oldest Grandson, Tyler

I was up at my usual, around 6:20 to heavy winds buffeting our house since midnight.  Fortunately, no large branches are down, mostly twigs.  It looks like an overcast day, surprise, a slight chance of rain with temperatures in the 30's. Today Tyler flies out of Buffalo at 5:38 so we will be down to just the four of us until Saturday. 

7:54

Yesterday, New Year's Eve, was about as miserable a day out as it can get, cold and rainy most of the day, no sunshine, and pouring rain into the evening as the heavy winds began to shake the trees.  So even though it was wet and cold, Beth and I bundled up and went to yoga for the first time in a couple of weeks.  It was a good choice, as both of us felt good after class and Beth found a sweatshirt she liked so it was worth the effort to get up and go.  We stopped for coffee, of course, wished the locals a Happy New Year and were home by noon.  When we returned, everyone was relaxing in the living room, on their devices, occasionally talking.  I was hungry so I warmed up the leftover chicken and noodles for lunch.  Beth got busy making a couple of loaves of banana bread, Tyler's favorite, and he drove off to the gym alone because Marisa had literally just awoken at noon.  Lucky girl.

Fivesome Braving The Rain At 2:00 PM

We did not do much during the early afternoon, as Tyler returned, had his lunch and we then settled in the TV room to watch a movie, THE INFORMANT, with Matt Damon, the story of ADM's price fixing and the crazy employee who worked for the FBI for a couple of years as an informant.  It was pretty good, even funny at times and worth watching, a good way to spend a rainy afternoon.

We started getting dressed up for our big dinner out around 4:30, timing showers to avoid any problems with our well.  We took selfies in front of the Christmas tree at 6:15, then drove to the Landmark Restaurant in Jamestown in pouring rain.  Miraculously, we found a parking spot in their lot, so we were able to walk in without getting wet.  Linda and Ron were already at the bar, saving us a seat for Evie.  We enjoyed a beer at the bar, talking until our table was ready just after 7:00.

Fine Dining At The Landmark Restaurant, in Jamestown, NY

Our server was efficient but a bit too cheery but she knew we were hungry so we got our appetizer, calamari, salad bowl, and bread right away.  The restaurant did not seem as busy as the last couple of New Year's Eves.  Everyone seemed to enjoy their dinners, mostly seafood entrees except for Marisa who had tournedos.  We were tempted by dessert but everyone was full, so we headed home around 9:00, again in the rain. 

Only Tyler managed to stay up till midnight although we watched TV with him until 11:00 when we decided to go to bed, leaving him to his shows.  I wish we could have stayed up until midnight but it was not to be.