A Pink And Azure Sky

6:52

7:04

It's 6:50 and I have been up for a half hour, the sky pink at the horizon, waiting for for the sun to rise, the sky clear, a light blue above.  It's a chilly 28º, the ducks are floating by, and the lake is finally open, clear of ice.

Yesterday was almost normal for me, still sick bay for Evie alas.  We were both up early, before 7:00, having our coffee and working on the blog.  It was done by 8:00 and I had a good hour before driving to yoga so I grabbed my paddle and was on the lake in five minutes, paddling into the blinding sun because I could not find my sunglasses. 

Kayak Morning

I was able to paddle down to Sandy Bottom because most of the ice floes had melted and was surprised to see stubs of reeds poking above the water.  It was good to be out, however, as I turned around and started home, the wind picked up and I had a battle to get home, with gusts that nearly knocked the paddle out of my hand.  When I walked in, Evie told me there was a wind advisory...no kidding. 

Open Water, Blue Skies

I left for yoga at 9:40 and joined the class with the usual gang of Wednesday night ladies who were happy to see me back in class.  Our teacher, Jen, always ready for a challenge, told me that later in the day, she was going surfing off of Presque Isle.  What a woman.  I took it easy in class because I had been sick with a cold but was able to enjoy the class.  Afterward, I stopped for coffee but there was a line of gals ordering complicated coffees so I forgot about it and drove to Wegman's, to do some shopping for the next few days.  Wednesday is always a good day because 5% Tuesday is when most of us golden agers shop.

A Pesky Squirrel At Our Window

When I returned home, Evie had pulled a couple of quarts of her vegetable soup out of the freezer and they were on the stove, ready to serve.  I got my leftover sub out of the refrigerator, ladled soup into a couple of bowls and I settled down in the TV room to watch more of Ozark.  After lunch, we both just wanted to curl up on a couch and take it easy.  Evie was still suffering from coughing fits and I was tired from my busy morning of paddling, yoga and shopping.  So I took my nap, read some then made tea before driving back to the drugstore in Mayville to pick up an albuterol inhaler for Evie that the doctor previously prescribed, hoping that will help her stop coughing. 

I had the leftover pork chops and baked potatoes and applesauce for dinner. Easy, just heat them up in the oven.  We watched Colbert, then finished the fourth season of CATASTROPHE which we liked mostly for its sense of humor, about married life, raising children, work and sex, lots of it but always funny.  Both actors, one American, one British, also wrote all four seasons. 

And The Sun Also Rises

Kayak Morning

7:00

7:13

7:15

It's 7:30 and I have been up for forty-five minutes and Evie joined me 15 minutes ago, in time to see the sun pop up above the horizon and now disappear behind a cloud.  It's a fine morning here on the lake and I am already wondering if I can get kayaking in before yoga.

Paddling Towards The Ice

Yesterday began as usual with coffee, the blog, and breakfast.  As I finished the blog, however, the lake though partially frozen, looked inviting so I got my paddle out of the garage, put on my high boots and went for a 25-minute paddle, down to the reeds where the ice was still frozen, then back and down Woodlawn.  Mallards, buffleheads, and mergansers were out floating around but would fly off whenever I got near.  I assume I was the only one out on our lake, the first crazy kayaker of the year.

Partially Open Lake

Ice 

Earlier in the morning, Evie had decided to see the doctor in Mayville so I dropped her off at 10:45, parked the car and went for a hike on the Portage Trail, the trailhead across the street from the health center.  The trail was snow covered in some areas, soggy and muddy in others so I was only out for a half hour.  The doctor felt Evie had a sinus infection, so she is on antibiotics and steroids.  On the way home, Evie picked up the prescription while I picked up a couple of things at Tops.  We also stopped at the Lighthouse Grocery for pork chops, our dinner, and a sub sandwich for lunch.

Portage Trail

After a morning which for us, was busy, we relaxed the rest of the afternoon.  I had the sub and soup for lunch and watched part of an episode of Ozark.  I then read and took a nap while Evie hung out in the TV room, popping her steroid pills and antibiotics.  And that's the way it went the rest of the afternoon.  I was tempted to go for a walk but it felt too good sitting in the house, reading and drinking my camomile tea.

Around 5:30, Evie put five baked potatoes in the oven, browned the pork chops and put them in the oven and by 6:30, we had dinner, her classic breaded pork chops with applesauce, baked potatoes, and salad.  We watched a Colbert, then four episodes of CATASTROPHE, saving the last two episodes for tonight.  I had enough TV and wanted to get back to my book, so we went up to bed around 10:30.

Calm, Quiet, And Partly Cloudy

6:44

6:45

7:02

7:12

I was up just before 7:00, in time to witness the sky turn red, then sunny and now at 8:00 overcast, with a gray sky, gray lake.  It's 31º and should get up into the 40's later in the day.

7:18

We began the week as we ended it, with hacking coughs, annoying but not debilitating.  Evie was able to get some things done in the morning but she hit a wall by noon and did little the rest of the day.  I was not much better, sitting around most of the day, reading and wishing I had some mojo and had gone to yoga.

Our morning was then doing laundry for Evie and other misc. tasks, my helping when needed.  It was a splendid morning on the lake, lots of sunshine but chilly and I almost got out my paddle and kayaked but the lake was still frozen off towards the reeds. Besides laundry,  Evie also put together a dish she came across on Google, white beans, with fennel, a stew more or less, a side for our chicken dinner.

Noon came quickly, so we both had some cauliflower soup and Evie made me a couple of quesadillas with tomatoes, cheese and avocados.  I decided to go back and start watching the second season of Ozark which I had begun but never finished a couple of months ago.  Our afternoon was leisurely, watching some TV, reading, and napping.

Bald Eagles

A Juvenile Bald Eagle

We were excited midafternoon at our first sighting of a bald eagle pair, perched on the ice, devouring a fish.  As you can see below, we watched they fly away then, later, return to the ice in front of our house but were not quick enough to get their photo.

Eagles In Flight

In Flight

Earlier in the day, we had thought we might go for a walk but didn't.  By 4:30, however,  I felt guilty and went to get the mail but ended up walking for 25 minutes in the woods, a start at least at getting back to normal.

A Lawn Of Leaves

Woodlawn

For dinner, Evie roasted a couple of chicken breasts and we had her bean and fennel stew as a side.  We enjoyed our dinner, just right, and we went back to our series, CATASTROPHE, so we must obviously like it, mostly the humor.  We ended the night with Bill Maher's Real Time and Home Town, a fixer-upper series we like.

Light Snowfall, Blue Skies, Dark Clouds

7:22

7:22

7:23

Well, Evie beat me up this morning as I didn't come downstairs until 7:15.  She was up at 6:30 but had a good night.  I was surprised by the sunshine, brief as it has been and the blue skies.  It was chilly outside when I picked up the paper, a 22º but it made me want to go for a hike in the woods.

April Fool's

Sunday was another sick day for the both of us although as the day progressed we both started to feel better and this morning, we both are not quite perky but we both feel like doing something today, a good sign.  In fact, Evie has already done a load of wash as I sit here writing the blog.  Yesterday, after the blog, we started putting together a shopping list so I was off to Wegman's by 10:30, iPhone and Wegman's app in hand.  I stopped for coffee, then was surprised that Wegman's was busy, perhaps the after church crowd.  I picked up the basics, a couple of slices of pizza for dinner because Evie didn't want to fuss with dinner.  I was home by noon and because Evie was starting to feel better, she made us a big breakfast, eggs, bacon and bagel and we watched CBS Sunday Morning for the first time in a month and it's just as good as ever.

Hooded Mergansers

The rest of the afternoon we watched TV, read and took it easy.  We watched most of the first March Madness game, as Auburn to my delight, upset Kentucky.  It's hard to root for one and done teams.  And that's why we rooted for Michigan State to defeat Duke.  Like the Virginia game the day before, it was back and forth for forty minutes but Michigan came out on top by one point.  Thus three of the top four seeds are gone and teams like Auburn and Texas Tech have never or rarely been part of the Final Four.  It was an exciting weekend for basketball fans as all four games were nailbiters.

Dinner was salad and pizza slices for me, chicken soup for Evie and we watched SNL when the games were over, then four or five episodes of CATASTROPHE.  We almost gave up on it but stuck with it, although we still have mixed emotions about it.  It has its moments, just not enough.  Evie went up to bed early and I soon joined her, happy to get back to my book about the Narcos.

A Spring White Morning

7:19

I slept in until 7:00 having stayed up until 11:30 watching the classic March Madness thriller, as Virginia beat Purdue in overtime.  What a thriller and neither team should have lost.  As you can see, we did get some snow overnight as the temperatures dropped from the '60s to the 20's in 12 hours.  Ah Chautauqua! The lake is a gray mass of floating ice and open water, constantly changing, with small islands of snow.

A Lake Of Floating Ice Floes

Yesterday was a carbon copy of the previous day, with both of us still suffering from colds, especially Evie who took a turn for the worst, coughing and feeling terrible although she has no temperature.  We just have to be patient and it too will pass but I don't like it.  Evie did sleep in till 8:00 but I was up to my usual, around 6:30.  The morning seemed to go on forever with nothing to do.  I finally set aside my computer and started to read some until it was time to gather the trash and drive off to the Transfer Station.  Thankfully, there was something I had to do.

Scavengers Are Back

Once that was done, Evie and I had some of her vegetable soup and I had a quesadilla with cheese, tomatoes, and avocados.  By the time we were through with lunch, I was tired of doing nothing so I read more about the narcos and fell asleep.  I did not dream of a Big Mac.  When I woke, Evie was watching an old noir, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, so I watched most of it with her.  It's so dated, so overacted, at times silly, that it was almost funny yet a classic.  The rest of the afternoon went slowly, reading, watching some TV, waiting for dinner time and the start of the basketball games.

Evie passed on dinner and, fortunately, I just had to heat up the leftover Indian chicken and rice.  We watched another Bill Maher's Real Time, some Trading Spaces before settling in to watch basketball.  We watched most of the terrific first game between Texas Tech and Gonzaga, a nail biter down to the very end.  Then I stayed up and watched the Virginia/Purdue game, as good a college game as I have ever seen.  Lots of lead changes, great plays, amazing three-point shooting, a miracle shot to send the game into overtime, then an eventual winner, Virginia.  It's the first time all season that I have watched an entire game, college or NBA.  There's nothing like the Elite Eight games as I remind Evie every year because I played in one for Ohio University in 1964, beating Kentucky, then losing to Michigan.  Sorry for the bragging.

Ohio University Bobcats Elite Eight, 1964

Still Gray, Still Wet, Still Dreary

7:37

I was up at 6:30, dreaming about a Big Mac.  Go figure!  It still surprises me how dark it is at that hour when I walk outside to get our paper, The Post Journal.  It's warm, with temperatures in low 60's later in the day but snow still predicted for Sunday morning.  The lake is still mostly frozen although there is an alley of open water along our shoreline where the ducks can float by or dive for weeds.

Life is sure boring when you are not feeling well.  Both Evie and I are suffering from colds but mine seems to be getting better, Evie's worst.  Hopefully, today we both start our climb back towards normal.  As a result, neither of us felt like doing much yesterday.  Dinner was already made, the leftover moussaka from Wednesday as was lunch, a couple of soups.  Along with soup, Evie made me an avocado sandwich, gathering enough mojo to make it.  Perhaps our biggest act of the morning was to take a shower which made both of us feel better for an hour or two.

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent on couches, usually with Evie in the TV room watching something on TV and playing Words With Friends.  I was on the living room couch, reading the third book of Don Winslow's POWER OF THE DOG trilogy, which describes in detail the consequences of the War On Drugs, begun in the 1980's, the appetite for heroin, marijuana and cocaine in the States, the violence in Mexico as the cartels battle to fulfill the American appetites.  I just finished THE POWER OF THE DOG, having read THE CARTEL earlier.  And I am now into the third volume, THE WALL.  Each novel is thick, over 600 pages.  All three remind me of the Netflix series NARCOS. They are good reads and though fiction, Winslow has done amazing research on the drug wars.

First Bufflehead

We did gather in the living room around 5:00, to have a spritzer and we were able to view our first bufflehead duck, to go along with the mallards and Canadian geese, all three on their way north.  Dinner involved heating up the moussaka in a microwave and making salad although neither of us was very hungry.  We watched an old Real Time with Bill Maher, another Home Town, before Evie went up to bed, leaving me to watch some basketball until 10:15 when I had enough and went up to bed as well.

A Dreary, Wet And Gray Morning

8:30

Not much of a morning sunrise, just a gradual slide from darkness to gray.  The rain is actually welcome in Chautauqua County because I just read in the local paper that there have been brush fires because of dry conditions and needed the fire department.  Well, we should have rain today and tomorrow and they are calling for maybe 1-3 inches of snow Saturday night and Sunday. Today's weather aptly fits our mood as we are both fighting colds.

Snoozing On Ice 

Cruising

Yesterday was a miserable day especially for me.  I spent the day coughing, blowing my nose, and taking Advil.  Evie, too, was dealing with cold symptoms so we did not do much, get much done.  I made the mistake of saying I would go to breakfast yesterday morning.  I went but should have stayed home.  The rest of the morning I sat around drinking peppermint tea, sucking on lozenges, trying to find a panacea for my cough but nothing seemed to work. 

Sea Gull Feeding On Ice

Evie made me a good lunch, soup and avocado toast since I still have an appetite.  It tasted good and for a while, I forgot about my cold.  I must sound like a baby, having a cold and complaining about it. Get over it!  I took a good, long nap and could have slept even more.  The afternoon was like the morning, drinking tea, reading some, coughing, waiting for dinner time.  Evie had put together an Indian dinner, with chicken, mushrooms and broccoli earlier in the day.  So we were able to have wine time although I had a beer which actually felt good on my throat. 

6:00 PM

Dinner tasted really good to me, chicken with a spicy sauce on rice.  I always put a dollop of yogurt on top which makes it even better.  We watched another couple of episodes of CATASTROPHE but we are quickly losing interest in the series, too much of the same and may bag it.  We then watched Colbert and some basketball, and we were able to watch Purdue's exciting victory in overtime before going up to bed.