Sunny. Blue Skies, And 6º

7:52

7:52

Well, I did it.  I slept in until 7:45, awakened by a bedroom full of sunlight. I came downstairs, made the coffee and was surprised by how cold it was.  And there are a couple ice fishing tents out on the ice by Long Point.  The sun at the moment is so blinding that I will have to find another seat and the ice is so smooth and clear that I should be getting out my ice skates.  Maybe when I get younger.

Dragging Their Sleds Out To Fish

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Sunday, cold but with blue skies.  And the fishing guys were out much of the days on the ice, braving two inches of ice.  We had our usual quiet morning, reading the various newspapers online, listening to NPR, thinking about what the day would bring.  Around 10:30 I decided it was too nice out to stay in all day so I hiked the woods because my cross country ski boots gave me a blister on Friday.  The walk was quite vigorous because of the snow as I had to bushwhack through close to a foot of the white stuff.  It was fun, however, and felt good to be out in the cold with a blue sky and sunshine for once.  I was only out for forty-five minutes but that was good enough.

Sunny And Snowy Sunday

Around noon, Evie put together our Sunday breakfast of eggs, home fries, bacon and a bagel.  Sunday breakfast rarely changes.  We watched CBS Sunday morning, always interesting and then I took a brief nap while Evie cleaned up the kitchen and watched some TV.  Around 2:00, Evie and I then watched the NFL game, as the Patriots and the amazing Tom Brady pummeled the Chargers. 

Ice Is Getting Crowded

Around 4:30, we drove over to Bemus, to a friend's house for cocktails and appetizers, a nice way to end the afternoon.  Afterward, Evie talked me into driving to Steeners' Irish Pub for dinner, a short way down the road.from our friend's house.  It was practically empty when we arrived, so we easily found seats at the bar although it began to fill up after 6:00.  Neither of us was that hungry so we shared a burger, fries and onion rings, a healthy Sunday dinner.  We watched the Saints/Eagles game on TV and left for home midway through the third quarter an watched the rest of the game at home.  I like Drew Brees so I was happy the Saints won although Evie was rooting for the Eagles, Michael Smerconish's team.

We ended the night watching a British series on Amazon Prime called INFORMER.  It's pretty good, about a young man from Pakistan forced to become a snitch for the British intelligence.  We watched two episodes before going up to bed.

First Ice Fishermen Of The Year

7:34

7:34

7:35

7:37

7:38

8:10

I was up just before 7:00, to another cold morning of 16º.  The ice looks like a skating rink this morning, smooth and shiny where the sun hits it.  A couple of guys are out on the lake, just off of Long Point, sitting on their sleds, fishing for walleye and bass.  And I just noticed another guy out in the middle of the lake, about twenty-five yards from Tom's Point, either brave or stupid.

Ice Fishing Off Of Long Point

Ice Fishing Off Of Tom's Point

We missed the sun yesterday as the weather returned to Chautauqua gray after a day of sun and blue skies.  It felt like back to normal actually, cold and gray.  So I was in no hurry to get moving in the morning, taking a long coffee hour, reading the paper, both local, NYTimes, and Washington Post.  We began moving around 10:00 and I wanted to make a dinner I read about in Bon Appetit.  It combined white beans and Italian sausage with tomatoes and sounded interesting.  By the time I put it together, I realized it was not much different from a white bean chili.  Big deal.  It's supposed to be served over parmesan toast, a real peasant dish. 

I drove to the Transfer Station later than usual, around 11:30 but still had to wait for a couple of cars to move on.  I am always surprised at how much trash the two of us can accumulate in a week although I admit that we did spend a good amount of time tidying up, getting rid of 'stuff.'  Lunch was leftover pancakes from Thursday night's dinner.  I just popped them in the toasted, pulled them out, added butter and syrup and I had a breakfast like lunch. 

Tailgating Cuties

Around 1:00, we started getting text and photos from intrepid kids, Tom and Jill, who were already in the Kansas City Chiefs parking lot, tailgating with thousands of other Chiefs fans.  We spent the afternoon waiting for the game by either watching TV, reading or in my case, napping.  Around 4:00, I gave the cross country ski a try but I had developed a blister skiing on Friday say I did not get far, just to the mailbox and back.  Game time was around 4:45 and Evie made us some guacamole and chips to go along with a beer.  It was a great game if you were a Chiefs fan and our kids seemed to have a great time, cheering on the Chiefs in snow and cold weather.  I have to admit I was happy to be watching the game in our cozy TV room, with food and drinks and not worry about fighting the traffic on the way home from the Chiefs game.

Chiefs Win!

After the game, Evie made us dinner, a salad with the leftover salmon and hard-boiled eggs.  It was just right along with a Portuguese roll from Wegman's  We ended up watching the first two series of the Cowboys/Rams game but then reverted to routine, watching Friday night's Colbert and another episode of The Great British Baking Show. 

Baby, It's Cold Outside

7:36

7:42

7:43

It's just after 8:00 and I have been up for little over an hour, to cloudy skies, a frozen lake and another cold day.  Yesterday was the coldest day of winter as I mentioned, with temperatures getting down to single digits.  It's 18º at the moment so it's warming up! The lake is frozen, look like a vast ice rink and I imagine if temperatures remain in the teens, we will see ice fishermen out on the lake soon.

Yesterday, as I mentioned, was cold but I did not let it stop me from going to yoga class with Julie, always a good class.  There were just four of us, so I had no worries about finding a place for my yoga mat.  After class, I stopped for coffee before heading to Wegman's to do some shopping.  Unfortunately, I walked out of the house without a wallet, without my phone.  I do keep some extra cash hidden in my car for reasons like this, so I ended up doing some shopping, hoping I could remember most of the items on Evie's list.  I didn't.  But most of the items were not necessities so I was redeemed.

When I returned home, Evie had been worried that I was looking for my phone and wallet, not realizing that I left it at home and had called the yoga studio.  So she was surprised that I did go shopping, without a list, without a credit card or phone but I am resourceful.  Lunch was easy when you like leftovers which I do.  I warmed up the leftover spaghetti, mushrooms, and sausage from earlier in the week and watched another episode of Friday Night Lights.  I know I have watched this season before but I hardly remember a thing about it.  I finished up my Bosch novel, not my favorite but still pretty good and am now looking for my next book. I have a couple in mind, two saved on my Kindle and one hardback given to me by a friend.

Snowy Woods

Friday afternoon was strange for one reason, it was sunny, with blue skies.  I could not pass up this aberration, anomaly, so I gathered up my skis and poles, popped them in the Outback and drove over to the end of Lakeside Drive, just outside of Long Point State Park.  It was a good decision as the woods were frosted with snow although the trails were surprisingly rutted, most likely from guys with fat tire bikes.  Clearly, they have discovered the park and its trails.  I stayed in the woods, deciding to avoid skiing out to Long Point.  I did come across two teenagers snowshoeing and a couple of women, skiing like me with their dogs.  Obviously, others wanted to enjoy the day like me.
And even though the temperature was in the teens, I was never cold because the woods blocked any wind.

Trail At Long Point State Park

For dinner, we were having a salmon recipe Evie had just found from the New York Times called Maple and Miso Sheet-Pan Salmon With Green Beans.  Evie prepped it and we then were able to relax in the living room with a glass of wine.  Around 6:30, she got busy and within 20 minutes we had a delicious dinner, probably the best salmon dinner we have ever had.  It might have been the salmon but also the recipe, especially the soy/miso/maple syrupy salmon.  This will become our new go-to salmon recipe.  We decided to watch A MAN MOST WANTED, a film that both of us thought we might have watched before. We watched it, however, because of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, one of our favorite actors.  It's a spy novel, based on a John LeCarre novel and yes, we had watched it a few years ago.  Afterward, we watched a Colbert, part of an episode from The Great British Baking Show, sandwiched between the breaking news of the FBI's inquiry into whether Trump was secretly working for Russia.  That's not breaking news; it's old news.  

Our daughter Jill and her husband Drew, both Kansas City Chief fans, flew to KC yesterday.  They will be going to the Chiefs game this afternoon with our son Tom and his wife Mary, mega Chief fans. 

Crazy Kansas City Chiefs Fans

Lake Freezes...Again On A Blue Sky Morning

7:15

8:15

8:00

It's 7:40 as I begin my blog as the sun breaks through some clouds and rises in the southeastern sky.  There's some blue sky this morning, some puffy clouds, and some sunlight over Bootey Bay.  It's a crispy morning outside, a chilly 18º, perhaps the coldest morning since winter began in December.

Yesterday was another snowy day, mostly in the morning, and cold.  Our plow guy came through twice, early morning and late evening, clearing probably a foot of snow.  I did lots of the shoveling on Wednesday but also on Thursday.  I was out cleaning off the car by 9:30 so I could get to yoga easily even though the roads were still icy.  And, fortunately, we canceled our breakfast, which gave me time to clear the parking area before driving off to Lakewood.  I was assuming class would be small because of the snow but Lakewood had much less snow and the sun was out.  So class was crowded as usual on Thursdays.  By the time I drove home, the roads were fine, the snow had more or less stopped except for a few flurries.

Evie was driving into Jamestown at 1:00 for physical therapy, so for lunch, I heated up some soup and warmed up some leftover pizza from last night's dinner (thanks Ron).  I watched another episode of Friday Night Lights as East Dillon won their first game of the year, with the freshmen quarterback getting some playing time, to the delight of his father, dismay of Coach Taylor who is getting pressure to play this kid more and more.  While Evie was out, I cleaned up the kitchen, did some reading, took a nap, the usual.  She was home by 3:00 and thought the PT was disappointing, mostly an interview and little physical therapy.

Around 4:00 I was tempted to walk the woods but was discouraged by a foot of snow and I did not have the energy to trek through it, to bushwhack without snowshoes so I relaxed with a glass of wine instead with Evie as we contemplated what to have for dinner, salmon or pancakes and sausage.  Pancakes won out, so Evie quickly put together the batter and I got out the griddle and we had dinner by 6:30, a good choice, buttermilk pancakes, maple syrup from our good friend DC, and sausage.  We then had a night of variety as we watched Colbert, an episode of Escape From Dannemora and ended the night with an episode of The Great British Baking Show.  By 10:00, I was ready to get back to my Michael Connelly book.

Winter Redux

8:12

It's just about 8:00 and I have been up since 6:30, to a wintry morning, a wonderland of white and still falling snow.  We must have received close to ten inches over the past 12 hours and our plow guy has just cleared the road.  I shoveled our parking area four times yesterday but still have 6-8 inches to shovel this morning if I want to get the car out. The lake looks like chunky soup, as it begins to freeze over so there will be no kayaking this morning.

Yesterday began our winter, again, as it snowed on and off all day.  As I mentioned, every time a couple of inches fell, I shoveled.  I decided to skip yoga and go with Evie to Jamestown at 10:30 for her dentist's appointment at 11:00.  I dropped her off just before 11:00 and went to the Labyrinth Press for coffee.  I brought my computer along, so I enjoyed my coffee and surfing the internet as I waited for Evie.  I ran into John, the ower of Lakewood Furniture and we talked about winter escapes.  He's going to Cancun for a week in February. I ordered a burrito to go for lunch, then went back to the dentist's office, waited for ten minutes, and then Evie and I drove to do some shopping at Aldi's.  Evie's beginning to like Aldi's, a cheap version of Trader Joe's,  It does have some good things and most staples are cheaper than Wegman's.  It just takes too much time to go to both, so if we have a choice, we usually go to Wegman's because it has so much more than Aldi's.

We did not get back until 1:00.  So as I shoveled the driveway, Evie heated up some soup and the two of us split the burrito, had soup and watched the first episode of Season 3 of Friday Night Lights on Amazon Prime.  Lots of complications as football season begins and Coach Taylor feels the pressure of another season of state playoff expectations. We then took it easy the rest of the afternoon because our friends, Linda and Ron, called and asked if we wanted to meet them for dinner at Andricaccio's, a restaurant three miles away.  Evie quickly agreed, no doubt liking the idea of not having to think about dinner.  Around 4:00, I went out for the third time and shoveled the parking area before we went out for dinner.

We met our friends at 6:30 and for most of the evening, we were the only patrons crazy enough to go out in the blizzard for dinner.  It was a good thing the restaurant was so close or we might have begged out.  Service was fine, of course, and we enjoyed our dinners, a beer or two, and catching up on all the gossip from the past week.  We are getting pretty good at going out to eat at restaurants that are practically empty this time of the year.  For the past couple of years, we would go to the Seezurh Hosue in Bemus on Thursday's for their steak special and we would be the only ones there.  It's easy to see why it's so hard to run a restaurant in the area.

We were home just before 9:00 and I shoveled one more time under the lights before going in and watching some TV with Evie before bed.  The forecast was for six to eight more inches overnight and for once, the weather guys are correct.

A Touch Of White

8:32

Well, Evie beat me up this morning as I slept in until 7:10. Whoopee.  Last night, despite the winter storm warning, we received maybe two inches of snow if that, perhaps more to come over the next twenty-four hours.  Outside, it's a mass of gray, clouds and lake, with an occasional patch of white along the shoreline, with seagulls circling over the lake.

Yesterday was another Chautauqua gray day except for a few minutes of sunshine in the morning.  It was enough to get me out on the lake for a paddle although it quickly started to drizzle as I got as far as Sandy Bottom, so I turned around, headed back, dodging ice floes and the rain let up of course.  Tuesday is my day off from yoga and it always feels special, not that I don't like yoga but that I have the luxury of not having to do anything, like weekends.  So to be honest, I don't remember much of doing anything other than putting together a soup I came across that included quinoa, a grain I first tasted when I visited Peru for a couple of weeks with my good friend Senor and some students from Reserve.  It was fairly easy, tasted like almost any vegetable soup except it had some gains of quinoa in it.  Evie, for once, also seemed to enjoy a morning of leisure and got a few things done in the blue room but it still needs some work.

Before we knew it, it was lunchtime so Evie made me a quesadilla with tomatoes, cheese, and avocados and I helped myself to a bowl of my soup and I was happy.  I finally finished up Netflix's NARCOS and now must find another series to watch.  There are lots of choices, of course, so I am not worried.  I did notice that Amazon Prime has just added FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, a series I rewatched a year ago but just as I was getting into Season Three, Netflix got rid of it.  So I may start it up again.

Since I finished my Natchez, MS novel by Greg Ailes, I picked up the newest Bosch and Ballard novel by Michael Connelly, DARK SACRED NIGHT.  So far so good and adding a female detective, Renee Ballard, allows Connelly, clearly influenced by the #Metoo movement, to include the prejudice females put up with in police departments.  I napped then took off for the Chautauqua Institution, to get in a walk and it started to drizzle as I walked down to the lakefront, cutting short my walk.  And like my morning paddle, when I turned around, headed back to the car, the rain let up.

The Rushing Creek At The Chautauqua Institution

I was home by 4:30 and Evie asked me if I would rather have pizza for dinner rather than pancakes, so I said pizza and drove over to Bemus and picked up a pizza for our dinner, making it easy for both of us, no prepping for Evie, few dishes for me.

We ate our pizza, watching The Great English Baking show, although anxious to hear Trump's thoughtful, sensitive, carefully crafted, and emphatic 10-minute talk on TV.  It was enough to make us return to The Great English Baking Show, then to Stephen Colbert for a laugh, a welcome antidote to Trump's words.

A Spring Like Morning In January

8:00

8:02

8:03

When I walked outside to pick up the paper, the heavy winds from last night had died down, the temperature a pleasant 43º, quite a contrast to yesterday's high of 26º.  I then checked the weather and I was shocked to see a winter storm warning for tonight through Thursday in which we might get up to 15 inches of snow.  It's now 8:00 and I am hurrying up to finish my blog so I can kayak as we just had a minor miracle, the sun peaked out from between the clouds.  I just returned from another amazing morning on the lake, dodging pieces of ice, braving an occasional drizzle, as the sky constantly changed colors.

Kayak Morning

Woodlawn/Victoria

Kayak Morning

Yesterday I began the new year with the usual, Yin Yoga, coffee at Ryder's Cup and shopping at Wegmans's.  I ought to get a life.  After writing the blog and having breakfast, I drove to Lakewood, to a very crowded Yin Yoga class, all women, many with new year's resolutions to get back to yoga.
The class was fine, lots of emphasis on the back, a welcome relief from last week's hip openers.  This probably doesn't mean much to most unless you have taken a yoga class.  After class, I stopped for a coffee then returned a carload of plastic and glass bottles and cans to the can man, walking out with ten bucks.  I then drove to Wegman's, surprisingly quiet for a Monday and picked up quite a few staples, like Nutty Buddies and flowers for Evie, a good husband, really a smart one.

Mallards, The Only Wild Life On The Lake, Dodging Floating Ice

When I returned home, Evie was busy working on the blue room, especially the closet, filled with paint cans and slides from our years in Hawaii and Turkey.  About ten years ago, I had all of them digitalized so it did not make much sense to keep them.  So we looked at a couple of boxes to make sure they were the ones we digitalized and decided to throw them out along with the Kodak carousels, which used to hold slides so they could be used on a projector.  Check one more thing off our bucket list of things we don't need but are reluctant to throw away.

Lunch was easy, leftover over chicken and stuffing from Sunday night's dinner and some of Evie'soup.  I watched another episode of NARCOS but it doesn't end well for Kiki.  I guess I am getting close to the end of the series.  I then finished up my Greg Iles novel, briefly napped, then helped clean up the kitchen.  Evie spent a good part of the afternoon relaxing after a busy morning.  I decided to go for a walk around 4:00, despite the cold and winds.  It was fine in the woods, however, not even windy and I enjoyed it, the solitude of the woods, the quiet, and the colors of the sky through the trees.

Leaves, Trees, And Sky

When I walked in, Evie was busy sauteeing both mushrooms and sausage for our pasta dinner.  Once the sauce was done, we enjoyed a glass of wine before boiling up the pasta, making the salad and warming up some garlic bread.  We enjoyed having the pasta, a change from our 'big dinners' during the holidays and we watched a heart-wrenching film with Steve Carell, the story of a father and his son's addiction to drugs, specifically, crystal meth.  Both Carell and his son are amazing, so believable.  The film is hard to watch, however, as the son goes in and out of rehabilitation, driving the father mad with love and desperation.  By the way, crystal meth addiction is so lethal that the recovery rates are in the single digits.  Scary.  We ended the night watching the first half of the college football playoff before going to bed.