Here Comes The Sun

7:31

7:31

It's  7:49 and once again, the living room is filled with sunshine and soon, I will be moving to another chair because it is so bright.  It's warmed up some since yesterday, 10º, but may get up into the low 30s later in the day. Ice fishermen are out along Long Point and before I forget, Thursday afternoon we saw a single great blue heron fly by and land near Victoria, a first sighting in the winter months. 

Woodlawn

Saturday was another cold day, with flurries in the morning and lots of sunshine in the afternoon.  We did not do much because of the cold and stayed in on Saturday night because of the high rate of Covid in our county. So we ended up with a semi-busy morning, with Evie making a big pot of minestrone soup for our lunches and I gathered the trash and went off to the Transfer Station after cleaning the snow off the car once again and doing some shoveling of our parking area. 

Woodlawn

By the time I returned, the soup had been simmering on the stove for a good hour. It was lunchtime by then and Evie made me a couple of toasted cheese sandwiches to go along with a couple of bowls of minestrone. Once I was finished eating, our afternoon went, as usual, reading, watching TV, and falling asleep for a bit. By 3:30, however, I could not resist getting out in the cold, sunny air and put on my skies and skied around our neighborhood, avoiding the woods because the snow was so deep,  I ended up testing the lake and skied comfortably until I headed in and found a soft, wet spot, freezing up a part of my skies,  It was great to be out, however, and lots of hikers were out as well, snowshoeing to Long Point and back. 

Cross Country Skiing On The Lake

Blue Skies And Shadows

Making Tracks

Hiking on Long Point

We then relaxed with a libation until it was time to make dinner.  Earlier, Evie had pulled scallops out of the freezer so once they were defrosted, she seared them and made a sauce of garlic, lemon, and wine, boiled linguini, and we had a great Italian dinner. We watched a lousy film, so bad I cannot remember its name. And ended the night with a hilarious Jack Reacher, a new series on Amazon Prime.  It's not supposed to be funny but I have read all the Reachers and this series is a hoot, as I predicted just about every fight where he takes on five or six guys and drops them all. As my sister Ellen would say, "You're no Jack Reacher."

Saturday Afternoon On The Lake

A Blanket Of White

7:17

Adirondacks

7:30

9:15

It's 7:20 and I can hardly make out the lake as the sky, lake, and snow blend into one vast curtain of white. It's chilly again this morning 7º, and although it's snowing (a couple of feet at the moment), there is no longer a winter storm warning.  And best of all, we may get some sunshine later today. 

A Couple Feet Of Snow

Friday was not the best of days, mostly because our only exercise was to get out and shovel our parking area a couple of times.  For some reason, I was not excited about cross country skiing because the snow would have been deep in most areas, making it tough going.  So my only exercise in the morning was to practice Yoga With Adrienne for forty five minutes.  Evie was like me, happy to stay cozy and warm in our house, get a couple of things done and we were satisfied with that.

I had a choice for lunch and went with BLT's, about as good a lunch as I can imagine.  Only a bowl of Evie's soup would have made for a better lunch. I watched my show, The Sopranos and read briefly before I had to be on my way to Lakewood, to pick up my new glasses.  It took five minutes to get them fitted and I was on my way home, stopping, however, at Wegmans to pick up a few things.  I also got my car washed and the kid spent a good five to ten minutes, hosing down the snow and ice on my car before sending it though the car wash.  

A Bright Red Tent

Afternoon Delight

We both were excited about dinner, burgers with all the fixings and a salad.  So after a glass of wine, Evie fried up the burgers, heated the buns and made a salad.  We are always happy to adjourn to the TV room with our dinners, kick back, and enjoy our burgers and some TV.  We watched a Real Time With Bill Maher, always fun, then the usual, Jeopardy, Colbert and The Good Fight. 

Still Snowing

7:19

7:24

It's 7:45 and we have had lots of snow over the past 24 hours, probably 15-18 inches.  It's gotten cold once again, 15º and at the moment, no ice fishermen have appeared on the lake.  The snow should end sometime this morning and we should have lots of sun over the next five days, with sub-freezing temperatures.

Braving The Wind And Snow

Thursday it snowed most of the day, a windy, cold day.  I shoveled our parking area five times, the last time last night at 9:30, trying to keep up with the snow.  I started the day with coffee, then cleaned the snow off the car and had breakfast in Bemus Point.  The roads were snowy but I took my time.  When I returned, we finished up the blog and decided we wanted to get out in the snow.  So while Evie got some things done, I practiced Yoga With Adriene until 11:30, when we drove over to Long Point, thinking we would walk the woods but ended up skiing/snowshoeing out to Long Point and back because the road to the Bathhouse was blocked by snow mounds.  We went out to the point in a virtual blizzard which we would not have minded had it not been wet snow. We weren't out long, just over a half-hour but it was enough to make us feel good about ourselves.

Long Point Road

The rest of the day was one of relaxation, occasionally broken up by my going outside and shoveling the parking area. I had lunch, watched The Sopranos, then finished my Laidlaw novel and tried to nap some. Evie had no worry about prepping a dinner because we had lots of leftovers from Wednesday night's dinner. 

Blizzard Conditions 

We decided to enjoy a long happy hour, with a Manhattan and good cheese and crackers. It was a good night for it, the snow falling as we listened to music and enjoyed our drinks and appetizers. Around 7:00, Evie warmed up the beef and gravy and served it over bread, along with a salad and twice-baked potatoes. Yum.  We watched the usual, Colbert, Jeopardy and The Good Fight, not wanting to start a film or new series.  We seem stuck in a viewing rut at the moment.  

Happy Hour At 5:47 PM

A Few Inches Of Wet Snow

Captured By Evie 

7:30

It's later than usual as I start this, 9:15 because I just returned from breakfast in Bemus at the Lake LIfe Cafe. We were the only ones at the cafe which was nice considering that Covid is still rampant in our county.  And even though the snowfall is light, I shoveled our parking area twice, hoping to keep up.

Woodlawn Road This Morning

Yesterday was another busy day for Evie, less so for me.  We were having our friends, Linda and Ron over for dinner so much of her day was taken up with prepping and putting up with me.  Evie likes to have things done so that little is to be done when our company arrives which means prepping on and off during the day.  I helped of course, especially in the morning till 10:30 when I took off to Mayville to cross country ski the Webbs Trail since the snowmobile trails are closed until Monday because of the need to groom the trails. It was a two-mile jaunt,  a mile out, a mile back, easy-going because of the packed snow and it just felt good to be out in the woods. 

A Nicely Groomed Trail

Turn Around

When I returned home, I had a lunch of leftovers, beans and potato soup, and mac n cheese.  I watched my show, napped, and continued reading my Laidlaw novel.  Evie was able to relax as well because most of the prepping was done by noon.  We both showered and were able to relax with a glass of wine until Linda and Ron arrived at 6;00.  We enjoyed a good brie with blue cheese, crackers and a beer until it was time for me to carve the beef roast. Along with the beef and mushroom gravy, Evie had made twice-baked potatoes, sweet-sour green beans and a salad. We enjoyed a bottle of Malbec compliments of Linda and Ron along with a great dinner.  Everything was eaten up except for the roast beef and enough is left for hot roast beef sandwiches on white bread for tonight's dinner. Yum.

Dinner With Friends

Dessert was special, Evie's idea, Russian Napoleons, and a Black Russian cocktail to complement the Napoleons.  The dessert was sinful, especially the custard-filled Napoleons. They left in rain at 9:45 and we did up most of the dishes before going up to bed, happy with our dinner and day.

Warming, Windy, And Rain Late Afternoon

6:59

7:06

7:06

A colorful, partly cloudy sky, fills this morning's windows,  with temperatures already in the high 20's.  The ice fishermen are out, of course,  and the rain should not arrive until mid-afternoon. And characteristically of Chautauqua weather, we may get up to ten or more inches of snow tomorrow, Thursday. 

7:30

7:40

7:40

Yesterday was a busy day, as we hit the road a couple of times.  We had a leisurely morning, actually, in no hurry to head to Wegmans to do our shopping.  It's nice to not be in a hurry so we did not drive off until 11:15.  I dropped Evie off at Wegmans then drove to do a quick walkthrough Walmart, looking for a couple of things we could not buy at Wegmans. I returned to Wegmans and helped Evie finish up her big shopping day.  We left with a cart overflowing with groceries and a big bill. At least we got our 5% off, saving us probably eight bucks. 

For lunch, I had the last of the chicken curry over rice and it was still tasty. I am into Season Two of The Sopranos and just realized I have four more seasons to go. It should keep me happy during lunch till Spring. I then relaxed with my book, napped, and helped Evie in the kitchen until 3:00, when she left for a doctor's appointment in Westfield. I knew she would be gone for a couple of hours so I decided to check out the weather, put on my skis, and headed south on the lake until I realized it was ridiculous to ski into a twenty mile an hour wind.  I turned around and with the wind at my back, I skied down to the campground found a spot to ski up to their road, and skied home, protected from the wind from homes and trees. When I got home, I did not feel like reading so I plopped myself down in the TV room and treated myself to another episode of The Sopranos.

Cross Country Skiing On The Lake At 3:37

Evie was home after 5:00 and promptly jumped on a Zoom call with her sisters until 5:45. We then relaxed in the living room with a glass of wine as our dinner warmed up, the Slovenian sausages, sauerkraut, and beans and potato soup. We finished up the sausages but there is enough soup left for my lunch today.  We then watched a Colbert, ending the night with a must-see film on HBO Max called THE FALLOUT, starring an amazing young actor, Jenna Ortega. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 92% and I don't want to give away what it's about other than it revolves around a couple of teenage daughters, their family, and high school friends.  Watch it.

A Bright Morning Sunrise

7:12

7:19

7:19

7:39

7:39

It's warming up some as we are no longer in single digits because it is a toasty 20º as I begin this at 7:51. A few ice fishermen are out but not as many as I would have expected.  It will get up into the 30s later in the day and we may even get some rain either tonight or tomorrow. I looked out at the lake just after 8:00 and saw a cross country skier, with a backpack, and he looked as if he was going to ski the length of the lake.

Monday was a strange day because we realized that one of the hot water heat zones in our upstairs bedrooms was not getting heat.  So we called our plumber and he came over by 8:30, spent 15 minutes checking things out, and thought a pipe was frozen in our attic.  Why it froze if the pipe supposedly had antifreeze in it and the boiler should be pumping hot water through the pipes as the temperature dropped he could not answer.  Anyways, we put a heater in the attic, pumped up the heat upstairs, kept doors open and by 5:00, when he returned, we had heat upstairs. Go figure out why the pipe froze. 

That problem influenced our morning and we did not get much done as a result, other than the obvious, the blog and breakfast.  It was too cold out to cross country ski in the morning so I did some yoga and Evie kept busy in the kitchen doing some baking. I also finished my Louise Penny and finally, I found out who the killer was. It's amazing how she can hold off telling the reader, explaining why any one of the five or six people could have done it.  

Lunch finally arrived and I had the last of the lentil soup and a cheese sandwich and watched my afternoon matinee, The Sopranos. Afterward, I started a new crime novel, another Laidlaw novel called Tne Dark Remains, written by William Mc Ilvanney and Ian Rankin.  I assume Rankin helped write it or finished it because Mc Ilvanney died.  So far, it does not read like the there previous Laidlaw novels but I will stick with it.  

I napped of course and by 3:00, the sunshine, blue skies, and white lake were beckoning me.  So I strapped on my skies and skied for forty-five minutes, down to Sandy Bottom and back, loving being on the lake for the first time in 2022.  It was easy going most of the way with a few spots where my skis sunk and seemed to hit moisture but they did not freeze up and I was able to move on. It felt good to be out there, the sun bright shadows gradually moving out onto the lake. 

Cross Country Skiing On The Lake

Northern Blue

Beginning Shadows On The Lake

We were able to then enjoy a glass of wine as Evie prepped an easy dinner of leftover chicken curry, along with broccoli and a salad.  The curry was just as good as the first night and we watched a movie on Hulu called Second Best, with William Hurt.  He plays a shy, kind 40-year-old postman who wants to adopt a child.  We would give it a C, worth watching but not great.  We ended the evening with a boring Jeopardy and The Good Fight. 

This morning's Facebook brought back memories from 1975 when my basketball team, Besiktas, won the Turkish Championship for the first time.  Occasionally, fans will post a photo from that time, and below are two from this morning.  Great memories. 

Newspaper With Photo Of Me Being Carried Off The Floor

Champions