Almost Zero

7:26

8:00

8:01

A windy and extremely cold morning, below zero on the weather apps. 1º at our home.  I didn't think anyone would be out fishing this morning but a couple of guys just trudged out into the middle from Victoria.  Madness.

Heading Home At 8:10

 It's 8:00 at the moment and the sun is breaking through, filling the sky with snow filtered sunlight.  I forgot to mention that the birds, specifically the cardinals, are back at our feeder.

Cardinal Perching

Up Close

In His Element

Painting-like Photo

Yesterday we woke up to over a foot of fresh snow.  So after our coffee and reading or listening to the news, both Evie and I put on our warmest clothes and went out and spent a good half hour pushing the snow off of our parking area.  It was actually enjoyable being outside and doing something active.  We made sure to avoid lifting the snow, just pushing so as to avoid a pulled iliopsoas muscle, something I seem to do each winter.  As always, the house felt warm and comforting after our shoveling.

We knew that we would be snowed in, so we planned on having some good food for the day.  After our shoveling, Evie got out the crock pot and put together a beef stew so that it would be slow cooking most of the day, filling the kitchen with its aroma.  Once the stew was cooking, it was time for our big Sunday breakfast, eggs, bacon and bagels, my favorite meal of the week.  We watched CBS Sunday morning, creatures of habit.  I then took it easy, reading and taking a nap, watching some football while Evie went crazy in the kitchen, making a German Chocolate Cake for our dessert.  It took awhile but the end product was worth it.

Good Neighbors

Around 4:00, our neighbors, Jim and Barb stopped over for beers and appetizers.  They are in the process of moving to Woodlawn full time and are getting their home in Cleveland ready to put on the market.  We have not seen them to talk since before the holidays so it was fun to catch up on our their travels and news.  They left around 6:00 so Evie boiled up some potatoes, mashed them and served the stew on top.  I am a mashed potato and gravy fan so I was happy, going back for a second helping of stew.  We had the Chiefs/Patriots game saved, so we watched the entire game, ending after 10:00 with a very disappointing Chiefs loss in overtime.  It was a depressing football Sunday overall as we also wanted the New Orleans Saints to win but they lost in overtime as well. My takeaway....Brady, and Bellicheck,  the best quarterback and head coach ever.

Canadian Geese

Finally, during the evening Evie stepped outside and heard very loud honking geese,  an unusual sound at this time of the year.  And this morning, when I walked out on the porch to take a morning photo, I noticed black shapes out in the middle of the lake.  I was not sure what it was until I pulled out my binoculars and realized it was a gaggle of Canadian geese, perhaps over one hundred, hunkering down in the cold, in the middle of the lake.

Looks And Feels Like Winter

Happy To Be Hiking Long Point State Park With Evie Once Again

7:30

It's 8:00 and Evie just came down for her coffee and I have been up since 6:45, watching the morning wake.  It's 11º out and we must have gotten six to eight inches overnight so it's a winter wonderland out on the lake.  Because of the snow and cold, I see only two intrepid tents out on the lake.  Yesterday at this hour, there must have been ten to fifteen. At the moment, big fat snowflakes are dropping drowsily in front of our window.

Yesterday was a  day of intermittent snow so I ended up shoveling three times during the day with Evie's help in the afternoon.  We had our usual morning, relaxing with coffee but then Evie got busy making her Turkish wheatberry soup, straight from the Ottoman's cookbook.  About 10:00, I gathered the trash, not much for once, and drove off to the Transfer Station.  The roads were snow covered but not dangerous even though the plow had not been out yet.  At 11:00, we decided to brave the cold and wind and drove over to Long Point State Park.  It was as we expected, cold and windy but still, it felt good to be walking in the woods.  We passed three or four fishing guys ending their day, dragging sleds with canvas sides, to hold all their fishing gear.  Be prepared, no doubt their motto. When got to the tip of Long Point, we did not linger because of the wind and headed back to our car.  We stopped at the Bemus Point Grocery to pick up a few items because Evie was thinking about making a German Chocolate cake on Sunday.

The Beauty Of Hemlocks In The Winter

The soup was ready when we came home, so I had a salami sandwich to go with the wheatberry soup, thus the classic soup and sandwich for my lunch.  I started watching some basketball but if I don't know the players, I soon get bored so I watched another episode of Friday Night Lights, always a trip down nostalgia lane.  I finished my book, US AGAINST YOU and started a book called BITTERSWEET, about a young girl who comes to New York and ends up waiting tables and working in an upscale New York restaurant.  It was also made into a series on Starz I think.  I also downloaded on my Kindle another Daniel Silva Gabriel Allon thriller just in case.  I always have to have another book ready to go.

Dusk

Around 4:00, we both went out and shoveled, knowing we would be getting quite a bit overnight and we wanted to get a start on it during the daylight.  Of course, Shane, our plow guy has been by twice since then, creating a nice two-foot barrier of snow along the road. We did, however, enjoy a nice cocktail hour, watching the snowflakes fall, the sky darken, the fishing tents close up.  And because I woke up Friday morning thinking tacos,  Evie put together the meat sauce Saturday morning, so dinner prep was heating up the meat and getting out the fixings for our tacos.  We usually make taco salads rather than filling tacos, which always hit the spot to use a cliche.  We were excited to realize Real Time With Bill Maher was back on HBO, so we watched that, then a Colbert and some news.  Maher was not as good as usual perhaps because he started off by interviewing the insufferable 'know it all' former governor from Ohio,  John Kasich.  We get tired of his schtick (I have all the answers and its easy).

Snowy, Snowy Morning

7:32

I woke up late again, at 7:30, came downstairs and Evie was already up, sitting by the fire and the coffee was made.  We are trading places, with me sleeping in and her getting up too early.  It's just about a whiteout towards the lake, as Long Point and the fishing tents are just gray blurs.  We got a couple of inches last night and the snow should begin in earnest around 10:00, dropping 10 to 20 inches depending on where you live.  Winter on.  And when I walked out on the porch to take a photograph of the morning, instead of the sounds of bass boats roaring out of Long Point, I hear the buzz of augurs, drilling holes in the ice. 

7:33

Yesterday was TGIF for most people but us.  We don't particularly like Friday because it means another week has flown by with hardly a notice.  Tempus Fugit.  It was, however, a typical weekday for us. I was up early, got my blog written, said aloha to Evie and went to yoga class at 9:30, another good class with Julie. When it was over, I skipped coffee, as I had enough for the week, and drove to Aldi's to see if the salmon I wanted was available and it was.  We will see if it's just as good as the last time I bought it and whether it was the salmon or the marinade which made the difference.

When I got home, Evie had cheese and tomato sandwiches ready to broil and of course, we had a pot of cauliflower soup from Thursday.  She then drove off to Lakewood, to walk on the treadmill at the YMCA and return (and buy) some items at T. J. Maxx.  I have my routine down, of course, lunch, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, read and take a nap.  Evie was back earlier than I expected, around 3:00.

We then took it easy, watching TV or reading until 4:00 when I decided to go cross country skiing and get in some exercise.  It had snowed a couple of inches so I thought the skiing would be better than it was.  I went as far as Sandy Bottom but the ice was crusty under the snow so that I had to constantly pay attention to my balance rather than slide and glide the way I like. 

A Fishing Village /Cross Country Skiing Afternoon

I was out just over a half hour, having had enough of the rough choppy ice.  It did not bother the fishing guys because there was literally a village off of Long Point, stretching in both directions.  When I came in, I noticed three guys were squatting about 30 yards off of our lakefront, fishing. 

Squatter # 1

# 2

Around 5:00, we had our wine and appetizers, as the fishing huts gradually disappeared as it got dark, with one or two crazies staying out with lights  Dinner was the leftover chicken marsala and noodles.  All Evie had to do was pop it in the microwave and make a salad.  We were not sure what to watch so I picked out a film I thought we might like but after 10 minutes we stopped it as we had no interest in the characters.  So we started another film I thought we might like called IS THAT YOU.  It's an Israeli award winner and we really liked it.  I thought we would.  It's about Ronnie, a sixty-year-old film projectionist who goes in search of Rachel, his girlfriend from forty years ago.  He flies to the US, hooks up accidentally with a young female filmmaker, and together they go in search of his first love. As they move from one city to another, she is filming various people they meet, asking them if they 'have any 'regrets in their lives.'  It's a quirky, feel good movie available on Amazon Prime, and I highly recommend it.  Alon Aboutboul plays Ronnie, extremely charming and charismatic, has been nominated for many best actor awards in Israel.  We ended the night as usual, with Colbert to laugh and Vice news to weep,

It's A Coming

7:36

Long Point, Early Friday Morning

It's just after 8:00 and I have been up for forty-five minutes, sleeping in a bit.  We received a couple of inches of wet snow last night but the snow, at least 6-12 inches, is coming Saturday and Sunday, with Monday supposedly sunny.  The fishing huts are out, lots of them like they have been the past week.  The walleyes are biting and a friend came home with a 23 incher on Tuesday.

We had a good day yesterday even though the weather was blah, gray and cold.  I got to yoga, found a spot and had a good class. Afterward, I went to Aldi, hoping to pick up their vacuum packed salmon but they were gone.  I picked up a few other items, waited in a long line and marveled at how fast the check out gal moves your items.  She literally fires them into the cart since Aldi's does not use bags.

When I walked into the kitchen, I was met by the amazing aromas of cumin, coriander, and ginger as Evie had made a pot of Indian cauliflower soup, using sweet potatoes this time instead of white potatoes, giving it a sweet taste.  I loved it of course, with a salami sandwich, with tomato and dijon mustard.  While I watched another Friday Night Lights, Evie got ready to drive to Mayville for another PT appointment.  She was cross-examined by her therapist as to why she went to Jamestown last week and not him.  She fudged her answer to make him feel good.

I took advantage of the empty house, read, napped and felt guilty for watching another episode of Friday Night Lights but admit to it.  I also felt guilty about not putting on my cross country skis but I just didn't feel like skiing.  When I returned, Evie talked with her sister, Jean, in Texas for a good hour.  I don't know how they do it because a five-minute call for most guys is too long.  When she got off, it was 5:00 and Evie did not much feel like cooking.  So we made the decision to go out, spontaneously, which is not our usual modus operandi. Of course, we were not sure where to go but I came up with the idea of the Stockton Hotel, really just a restaurant, which we always seem to forget exists.  It's a twenty-minute drive but the roads were fine at dusk.

Before we walked in, Evie wondered if a couple of our friends from the Viking Club, Randy and Karen, would be there because we had seen them there before.  I said probably not but when we walked in, they were sitting at the bar and greeted us warmly.  We squeezed in at the end of the bar but eventually moved down so we could sit next to them.  They are both snowmobile enthusiasts, have been for years, and at this time year, they usually ride to restaurants or bars. They are looking forward to Sunday when the trails will open for the first time this year.  It was fun talking with them about their experiences because they ride all over Chautauqua and Cattaraugus County, sometimes putting sixty or seventy miles on their snowmobiles in a day.  We ended up ordering burgers and fries, and they were great, some of the best we have had so we were happy.  The road was clear with little traffic on the way home which was nice.

Burgers, Beer, And Fries With Friends

We watched two episodes of a new series on Amazon Prime, BLOOD, which was recommended to us by my sister, Ellen.  It's a different sort of murder mystery, as the police are hardly involved, just family.  We ended the night as usual with Colbert and some 'always breaking news,' before going up to bed.

Chillin On A 7º Morning

Old Man On His Skiis

7:27

7:28

7:30

It's 6:30 and I have been up since 5:45.  So much for sleeping in.  It's still pitch black outside and according to the Weatherunderground, the skies are clear,  thus the 7º outside.  Evie has just joined me so it must be a full moon, something like that to get us up so early.  It's now 7:00 and the ice fishing tents have appeared despite the cold.  And when I went out to take a photo, I could hear the fishermen talking.

7:40

Yesterday was a good day despite the gray skies, the snowy, sometimes slick roads.  It took me a few minutes to get the ice off my car windows but I was able to get to yoga on time, at 10:00.  There were just five of us and  I continue to wonder why one class is so popular, the other not so much.  Both are really good.  I stopped for coffee, then made my bi-weekly trip to Wegman's as we are stocking up for what may be a winter snowstorm, with up to a foot of snow.  I also filled up my car as I like to have a full tank just in case of an emergency, a careful boy. 

When I returned home, Evie had the vegetable soup heating up for my lunch.  She then drove off to the YMCA, for a spin on the treadmill while I had the rest of the sub sandwich with my soup.  I watched another episode of Friday Night Lights and Matt has just been told the freshmen phenom will take over his position as quarterback, always trouble, trials, and tribulations for East Dillon football.  I am reading an interesting book by Swedish novelist Fredrik Backman, known for A MAN CALLED OVE.  This novel, US AGAINST YOU, is set in a small hockey crazy town in Sweden.  Jobs are disappearing, rivalries are turning violent, as a winning hockey team takes on too much importance, dwarfing other more human concerns.  I took my nap and was up just as Evie was returning from her inaugural workout, a good one.

Cross Country Skiing, Late Afternoon

Around 4:00, the gray outdoors lightened up a bit, so I got out my cross country skis and skied out on the lake for the first time this winter.  There was hardly enough snow when I headed south, in fact, it was too icy so I went back the other way and it was much better, the snow a couple of inches deep.  I had forgotten how different skiing on the lake was from skiing in the woods.  On the ice, the wind is either in your face or on your back, rarely so in the woods.  I was out for forty-five minutes, getting a good workout, joining the crowd of ice fishermen, enjoying the afternoon on the lake.

After skiing, we had an enjoyable wine time, with Trader Joe's 'Unexpected Cheddar,' our most recent favorite cheese.  Evie had spent part of the afternoon making dinner, chicken marsala set on a bed of noodles.  So it was keeping warm in the oven as we had our wine.  Dinner, then, was merely plating the delicious chicken on garlic spinach and we were happy in our TV room, watching the finals of The Great English Baking Show, Colbert, and Vice News.  It was a good way to end the day. 

An Icy, Cold And Cruel Morning

Whiteout At 8:30

Done For The Day

I was up at 6:45, walked outside to a frozen, icy morning, my car windows totally iced.  It's an ugly, gray morning, without a hint of sunlight but the fishing tents have been out since before 7:00.  And it looks like we might get quite a bit of snow at the end of the week.  Because of last night's dusting, I might be able to cross country ski on the lake since its now white from the snow. At the moment, it's 8:30 and there's a whiteout, as Long Point has disappeared in the snowfall.

Hiking To Lake Erie

Yesterday was a back to normal weather day, quite a contrast to Monday's sun.  I don't usually go to yoga on Tuesdays, my day off so to speak, so we had a long morning, dragging out our coffee, breakfast, and writing of the blog. And we waited and waited for Evie's Virtual Appointment with the Cleveland Clinic at 9:30, a follow up to her surgery.  By 11:00, however, we gave up on the call, and I  convinced Evie to go for a walk along Chautauqua Creek in Westfield, out to Lake Erie.  So like a reluctant puppy (Evie's words), I had to drag her out of the warm, comfy house, to our car.

To The Creek

Chautauqua Creek

We went the long way, along Hardscrabble Road with its view of the snow covered vineyards, with Lake Erie in the distance.  We pulled into the parking area, just next to the creek.  The creek was partially frozen, but still rushing toward Lake Erie and path to the lake was free of ice and snow making it easy for Evie to walk.  It was cold and windy, especially when we approached the lake.  The delta formed at the mouth of Chautauqua Creek was riddled with driftwood, piles of it, a foot or two deep.

Driftwood 

A Gravel Path Along The Creek

I walked down to the shore, but we did not linger as it was uncomfortable because of the wind.  We were back in the car in a half hour, happy to be on our way home. We stopped at the Lighthouse to pick up a sub sandwich for lunch and Evie picked out two bags of Utz chips.

Village Of Fishing Huts

We split the sub for our lunches and I heated up the last of the quinoa soup.  I watched Friday Night Lights, of course, before reading and taking a nap.  I was awakened by a phone call on my iWatch and was able to answer it with my watch.  Cool beans.  We then watched some TV, did some cleaning up the kitchen and house until I decided to cross country ski in our woods.  I gathered all the cross country skiing stuff and made my way up to the woods, looking for the least difficult way.  I managed to get to the trail I usually walk by bushwhacking through the woods and made sure to avoid any steep downhills.  I do not want to fall.  I was out for forty-five minutes, enjoyed it, and even worked up a sweat.

After I came home, I had a beer and some assorted nuts for an appetizer as we enjoyed our libations in front of the fire as the sky darkened.  Dinner was leftovers, the sausage and white bean stew we had eaten Monday night.  This time we had it over rice to stretch it for our dinners.  We decided to watch EIGHTH GRADE, a film we had been avoiding because we knew it would be hard to watch.  And it was, as Kayla struggles with connecting with others, with trying to be part of the cool girls.  It's a fair, accurate but heartbreaking view of what many of our teens go through as they move through school.  We ended the night with the usual, Colbert and The Great English Baking Show.

Back To Chautauqua Gray

7:50

Sitting On A Bucket In The Bay

Both Evie and I are up and it's 8:30.  I slept in again, until 7:45 and Evie soon followed.  It's a gray day on the lake, a sad contrast to yesterday's brilliant sunshine.  The guys are back out on the lake fishing.  I counted at least eight tents and a few guys sitting on a bucket.  It's warmer than yesterday's 6º, a toasty 22º.  It's 9:20 and Evie's been waiting for the past 30 minutes for her virtual appointment with the Cleveland Clinic, a follow up on her back surgery in October.  It's much better than a drive to Cleveland in January.

Noon On The Lake

Yesterday was as nice a winter day on the lake as I can remember, at least 8 hours of sunshine, blue skies, light wind, and temperatures in the 20's.  It was a crime to stay inside.  I did, however, in the morning, drive to yoga at 9:30, then stopping for coffee at 11:00.  I talked a bit with Dave, the regular, who grew up in Lakewood and reminiscing about his youth when he drove his snowmobile into the lake, one of 3 o4 4 times he fell through the ice.  It's a miracle he's still here.  I stopped at the carwash on the way home and the guys worked for five minutes trying to get the ice off of the wheel wells, a problem with this Outback.  Finally, because the tire pressure light was on in my car, I stopped at my garage and they put air in all four of my tires.  I thought it was just the cold but I guess I was wrong; they needed more air.

Fishing Huts Off Of Long Point

When I returned home, Evie had been busy of course and I was hungry, having had only a banana for breakfast because the car was iced over and I had to spend ten minutes cleaning it off.  Evie left for the doctor's office at 12:30, to see if they can help with her annoying cough which she's had for at least ten days.  It seems like a cough is just part of every winter for both of us.  I heated up the quinoa soup and made two tuna sandwiches, with pickles and watched another episode of Friday Night Lights.  Then, because the house was so quiet, I took a nap, waking when Evie returned from the doctor's office, with steroids for her cough.  At least her lungs are clear, no fear of pneumonia.

A Groomed Trail

I then read until 3:00 when I decided I needed some exercise.  So I got ready to go cross country skiing which for some reason is always an onerous task, finding the right socks, the ski boots, spraying silicon on the skis, things like that.  I decided I would ski Webb's Trail, in Mayville, an old abandoned railroad track that's also a snowmobile trail.  It was a good choice as it had obviously been groomed by the snowmobile club and was perfect for skiing because there were no snowmobiles.  I could not understand why I was struggling on the way out until I started back and realized the trail was a slight uphill on the way out, an easy glide on the way back to my car.  I was out for about forty-five minutes and worked up a good sweat.

Sun Begins To Set On The Trail

I relaxed with a beer, Evie a glass of wine before dinner, kind of winding down from the day.  Dinner was the sausage and white bean dish that I had put together on Saturday morning.  Dishes with tomatoes in them always are better after sitting in the refrigerator for a day or two.  The stew was decent to good, perhaps too much sausage and not enough beans but filling, with a salad and rolls.  I was happy and full.  We were not sure what to watch so I suggested a film mentioned in the Golden Globes which was on Amazon Prime.  So we viewed a much-discussed film called FIRST REFORMED, about a minister struggling with his doubts.  Ethan Hawke plays him perfectly, a divorced, dying, alcoholic who tries to answer the question: 'Can God forgive us for what we have done to his world."  The theme of global warming and environmental destruction is contemporary, his struggles with doubt ancient.  I mention two words, both keys to the understanding of the film, perhaps spoilers,: levitation and kiss.  Watch it.