Frosty Paddling On A 27º Morning

7:45

8:21

Wow, it's almost 10:00 as I start my blog, later than ever.  I did sleep in till 7:00 and was in no hurry to get out on the lake because it was so cold out.  I waited for Evie to wake, then gathered all my stuff for a paddle, even mittens, and a stocking cap to stay warm.  I was out for 50 minutes, down to Wells Bay and back.  Paddling towards Wells Bay, into the bright sun, is blinding, as it's impossible to see anything along the shoreline because of the sun. Heading back, however, is great, the sun warming my back and the shoreline lit up by the sun.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Friday we ended up having a good day although we started the day without plans.  Around 10:00, we decided to defrost the refrigerator, one last time, and then we are getting rid of it.  We put lots of stuff on the porch, knowing it would stay cold.  Once that was done, we decided we needed to get in another walk so we headed to Mayville to walk the Recreational Path because we knew it would be dry, unlike our hike in the woods on Thursday. We were practically the only ones on the path and it was longer than we thought just about three miles and it took us close to an hour.  It was a beautiful late morning, lake and sky blue, with picturesque clouds in the distance.  

Hiking Sky

More Leaves

Lunch in the mess of the kitchen because of defrosting, Evie mad me a burrito with eggs and ham, something different and I watched my show of course.  We then had to decide what to do for dinner and neither of us felt like doing anything in the kitchen.  So after a leisurely afternoon of reading and napping, we showered and left to watch the District Final Volleyball game in Brocton, NY, a thirty-minute drive north.  

Ava

Our good friend Jack's granddaughter, Ava,  sets for the Chautauqua Lake team, and we had watched them win a week ago.  It was fun to walk into a gym, packed with enthusiastic fans, all masked by the way.  Chautauqua Lake won in four, the girls charging the floor after the winning point.  It was an exciting game, with both teams taking advantage of the momentum, as the games went back and forth.

VICTORY

We then left and drove to Westfield where we met Jack, his wife, Diane, and Jack's sister Sally for dinner at the Bark Grill. It was busy when we arrived but we closed up the place.  Evie and I had the Codfish fry and the others had steak salads although Diane had delicious scallops with amaretto sauce, the hit of the evening.  

A Victory Dinner At The Bark Grill

We did not get home until 9:00 after stopping at Mc Donald's for take-out hot fudge Sundays.  We ate our sundays and watched another Colbert, happily back in the saddle again, the end to another surprisingly fun day. 

Paddlling Into The Sun On A Frosty Morning

Into The Sunrise

7:24

7:36

8:03

It's later than usual as I start the blog on a spectacular morning of sunshine and a placid lake.  I paddled for close to 50 minutes, into the blinding sun until I headed home when I got to Wells Bay and it was a fruitful morning for birds, as I shot a couple of herons, a kingfisher and cormorants. 

Kayaking To Long Point

Heron In The Fog

Victoria Creek Heron

Cormorants

Kingfisher On Dock

Thursday turned out to be a good day even though I skipped kayaking to go to breakfast.  When I returned, I hurriedly finished the blog and drove to Yin Yoga in Lakewood. I am still only one of two to wear a mask, in a typically all-woman class.  I did not get out of class until 11:20, later than usual and drove to Aldi's to do some shopping for our dinner. I was not home until 12:30 and had a lunch of leftovers from Wednesday's lunch, cauliflower soup, and a sweet potato galette, both still delicious.  I watched my show, Foyle's War then read and tried to nap to no avail.

We were at sixes and sevens as to what to do about dinner but eventually, the thought of homemade french fries won us over and we decided to drive forty miles and hike one of the trails in the Allegheny State Park, one of our favorite spots to walk. Unfortunately, the trails were muddy and wet from the previous night's snow, so it made walking less desirable, as we had to avoid puddles and mud. We stayed out for an hour, however, enjoying the colors still on many of the trees and we ran into two women, walking six or seven young dachshunds. They were happy to see us, playfully surrounding us to their owner's dismay.

Daschund Daze

Walking The Muddy, Leaf Covered Trail

First Snow Of November

We then drove twenty minutes to one of our favorite restaurants, the real reason for our hike, the Horseshoe Inn and its homemade french fries.  We found our usual seat at the far end of the bar, ordered beers, double fries for Evie, and a Horseshoe burger and fries for me.  It was worth the forty-mile drive and muddy hike.  We stayed for an hour, enjoying our dinner, then took our time driving home in the dark because the owner warned us about the prevalence of deer on the roads in this rural area.

In The Woods

We were home by 8:00, happy to be back and snug and warm in our TV room, watching a couple of our shows.  Jeopardy saw a new champion and Colbert was his usual amusing self as he interviewed the always cheerful Andy Cohen.  It was an end to a good day. 

A Brisk Morning

8:01

8:06

It's 7:12, the morning sky is developing slowly, lots of dark clouds, a vanilla middle.  It's 34º and not as a whisper of wind.  It's too dark still to kayak and I have breakfast at 8:00 so I won't be out on the lake this morning.  It's 9:25  as we finish this and I am off to Yin Yoga in a few minutes

8:15

Yesterday began as usual, with a bizarre paddle, as it sleeted briefly and rained, with a rainbow off to the north. After the blog and breakfast, we did little other than take a walk around the neighborhood.  Evie also did some prepping for lunch because a good friend from high school was stopping by on his way home to Massachusetts.  Mike and Maryanne arrived just as they thought, 11:30, after a brief lake effect snowstorm on #86, a typical welcome to Chautauqua.  They had visited their granddaughter at Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio, and a friend in Euclid, before heading our way. Mike and I grew up together, played basketball in high school, and he was the best man at our wedding. This was the first time since the late 1990's that we have gotten together.  Like me, both Mike and Maryanne taught at various schools, so we have quite a  bit in common, and we have stayed in touch via email, usually about sports.  We had a tasty lunch, cauliflower soup, and a sweet potato galette and had lots of laughs as we reminisced about the good old days growing up in the late '50s and early '60s, and caught up on our kids and grandchildren.  It was so good to get together that it made me wonder as it always does,  why we don't see old friends more often.  Once we get together, it feels like we just start up again where we left off years ago.  Unfortunately, they had to leave by 2:30 as they were spending a couple of days with their son, his wife, and grandchildren in East Amherst, a suburb of Buffalo. 

Friends

The visit took any ambition out of us so that we spent the rest of the day enjoying the large leisure afforded us by retirement.  What a gift. I am enjoying my new book by Amor Towles, The Lincoln Highway.  The extent of my afternoon exercise was to pick up the mail and that was enough.  

Dinner was easy, just heat up the previous night's man-pleasing chicken with rice and we were happy. Our streaming was acting up so we had to stick with cable TV and watch the usual, Cobert and Jeopardy, no Netflix or Prime Video.

A Dusting Of Snow

Rainbow Morning

7:26

8:05

9:17

9:18

I just returned from a chilly paddle, choppy on the way back from Sandy Bottom as usual.  The weather is constantly changing, the sun hiding behind clouds at the southern end, storm clouds, and a rainbow as I look north.  And just as I paddled in, it started to sleet so my timing was good on a 34º morning. 

Kayak Morning

Victoria and Woodlawn

Paddling North

Our Cosy Abode

Yesterday was not a fun day although we did get some sun in the afternoon.  I had teeth cleaning appointment at 10:00, one of those things that tend to ruin a morning when I could have been at yoga or walking,  The good news, Mom, is that I have no cavities.  I stopped at Wegman's basically to get my flu shot and did a bit of shopping before getting home around noon.  

Evie had been busy making a cauliflower soup and putting together dough for today's lunch because a good friend from high school is stopping by around noon on his way back to Northern Massachusetts.  Lunch was easy, just heat up the scalloped potatoes and ham from Monday night's dinner.  I watched my show but was looking forward to my new book, Amor Towles The Lincoln Highway.  I fell asleep while reading, as usual, woke somewhat energized and around 3:30, I went for a walk around our neighborhood woods, through Victoria and Woodlawn and home.  It felt good to be outside, to get some fresh air.

An Afternoon At Woodlawn

Golden Leaves

A Few Leaves Left On The Trees

Evie had her Zoom call with her sisters at 5:00 and we enjoyed a leisurely happy hour after the call until 7:00.  Earlier, Evie had made Man Pleasing Chicken and once that was done, the rice ready, the salad made, with had dinner.  We were at a loss as to what to watch, so stuck with Colbert, Jeopardy, and an HGTV show before bed.  

Dark Skies, Bursts Of Sunshine

Morning Sun

8:05

It's 9:00 as I start this and have been out on a cold 37º morning kayaking for 50 minutes.  I was the only boat on the lake and scared off a blue heron but was able to spot and photograph a hawk, a good morning,  And it began to sleet for about a minute before the sun came out again.

Ready For Winter

Kayak Morning

Red-Tailed Hawk

Monday was a busy day for Austin, our very handyman, who arrived just after breakfast and the blog, to accomplish various things around the house.  He's a great guy, a hard worker, quiet, and able to fix most things.  He changed out our kitchen light and added a fan with a light to Evie's delight.  He also fixed our bifold doors, ajar since the floor was redone and h did quite a bit of painting, our pantry, kitchen wall, and door,  He stopped only for lunch with us, ham and cheese sandwiches and leek and potato soup.  He worked until 3:00, also helping Evie dig out her dahlia tubers, and then was on his way.  We were happy and excited about the work and we will have him back in a couple of weeks to clean the gutters and do a couple other things if available.

While he was here, we both helped when we could but basically, we watched, relaxed, read, or napped in the afternoon.  Around 4:00 we decided the leaves needed mulching so we fired up the mowers and Evie cut our front yard and I mulched our neighbors although you would not know this morning that had mulched the yards yesterday. 

For dinner, Evie made scalloped potatoes and ham casserole and served it along with Brussel sprouts and a salad.  We have enough casserole left for my lunch.  We watched another episode of The Morning Show, a boring, over-written and over-dramatic episode, making us wonder what the writers were thinking.  We ended the night with Jeopardy, a new four-day champion.  The Great British Baking Show, and some football. 

Top Of The Morning

7:59

8:07

8:07

It was nice to sleep in again but even better to have some sunshine this morning after a week of overcast skies. The colors are spectacular right now and we have to get out and do some hiking this week if the weather persists.  

Kayaking On A Choppy Morning

Looking North

Yesterday was another busy day for Evie because we were having Linda and Ron over for dinner and it's never quick or easy to have a dinner party even if it's best friends. So after the morning of kayaking and writing the blog, Evie got busy making a leek and potato soup and baking black bottom cupcakes and I helped a tad with the dishes.  Once they were out of the oven, we decided to go for a walk before it rained and drove off to the Chautauqua Institution.  We got in an hour walk, enjoying the changing colors, and just as we returned to our car, it started to rain.

Thunder Bridge

Finally, Some Sun

For lunch, Evie made me a Turkish omelet with toast and I watched, unfortunately, the first half of the Browns and Steelers game.  Neither team played well, especially the Browns so I had enough and read and napped, forgetting about the rest of the game, a good choice since they lost.

Much of the rest of the afternoon Evie spent in the kitchen, putting together the dough for a butternut galette.  She also had a fun talk with Tom and Mary that went on for close to an hour.  And we finally finished the bookcases so the living room looks great, back to normal. Around 5:00, Evie put the ham in the oven, and Linda and Ron arrived at 6:00.  

Sunday Dinner

We had bloody mary's for starters to the evening, then adjourned to the table for the leek and potato soup.  Sweet and sour green beans, my Mom's recipe accompanied the delicious ham, galette, salad with blue cheese dressing and rolls.  Everything was delicious and we enjoyed our dinner so much so that we opened a second bottle of wine.  We ended up with the dessert, cupcakes with ice cream in the TV room, and watched the World Series until 10:00 when Ron and Linda left for home.  We cleaned up the kitchen, or rather Evie did most of it before watching some TV and then going up to bed.  What a great evening.

Halle And A Silly Granny