A Perfect Morning

A Noble Osprey

6:45

7:43

I cannot think of a better morning, waking up at 6:30 to the bright sun, walking downstairs to a smooth lake, a blue sky, and bit of a chill in the air, 46º. It's now 8:24 and I paddlee for 40 minutes, the usual route and took a couple of great photos of a osprey so it was a good morning.

Kayak Morning

Into The Blue

The Clouds, The Clouds

Paddling North

Osprey

Yesterday was just one of those days although it started out fine. I had a fine paddle, breakfast, the blog done by 9:30 and we had the day ahead of us. I was supposed to get a blood test in the next couple of days so I decided to get it over with and drove to the Quest lab in Westfield, about a twenty-five-minute drive. I go there because it's usually fast to get in except for yesterday when they had appointments all the way to 1:45 and as a walk-in, I would just have to wait. So I decided the heck with it and drove home, got on the Quest website and made an appointment in Jamestown for 12;40. I had enough time to make an appointment before I had to drive to Jamestown, to their new lab in a strip mall. Fortunately, I was able to get my blood test although the technician could not find my appointment but they were not busy. The only good part to the day was next to the lab was a take-out Chinese restaurant so I ordered a lo mein with shrimp and chicken, brought it home and it was enough for both Evie and me to have lunch. We then had a fun Facetime call with our grandson Nick, his wife Aundraya, and our new great-grandson Rhys. He's a doll and it's great to see them so happy. 

Happy Seventieth, Jimbo

While I was gone, Evie started her dahlia tubers in yogurt containers. She will keep them in the containers, water them, give them sun until the first of June when there is no fear of a frost. I was tired from my trips so I read and napped as usual, then went out and did some weeding around our hydrangeas for about forty five minutes. By 4:00, we were both pooped and went in and showered because we were going to Jim's 70th birthday party at 5:00. It was a fun early evening, eleven of us, enjoying drinks and appetizers on their porch, then wings, burgers, sausage, and salads for dinner. We are lucky to have such fun neighbors, and such good friends.  It turned out to be a great day. 

Morning Haze

Good Day, World

7:32

It's almost 8:00 and I start this day as the sun tries to break through the haze. The sky and lake are mostly gray on a 54º morning, the lake quiet, a few birds at our purple martin house. I think I am going to pause the blog and go kayaking, finishing it after my paddle. It's 9:30 as I start this again, after a forty minute paddle over to Long Point and back, a boring paddle because of the lack of birds.

Yesterday was a strange Sunday for me. I woke up tired, got in a paddle, finished the blog, had my breakfast, and then, decided to go back upstairs and read and nap. It was good timing because our neighbors brought their two grandchildren over for the treasure chest and they stayed and played with Evie for a good hour. They love the rebounder upstairs because they can bounce on it and jump onto the bed. Evie's idea I am sure. 

When they left, I felt better and Evie made me lunch and I watched the beginning of the Cavs game until I decided to nap and read. I must have needed it because I slept for an hour. It was one of those naps where you wake more tired than before you napped. Fortunately, I gained my mojo back, helped Evie set up her table for getting her dahlias started, and then went out in the lake and replaced the leaning tower of a Purple Martin pole with another one. I then pulled the martin pole out of one pipe, put it in the new one and viola, it was stable and standing straight. Unfortunately, my waders lea so I found a novel way of getting rid of the water, by laying on my back, putting my feet up in the air, and the water flowed out, all over my back. I ordered new waders from Amazon before dinner.

Evie worked on her dahlias until 5;30 when I put everything away and we relaxed with a glass of wine,  watching the purple martins circle the house. Around 6:15, Evie put together a turkey meatloaf and cooked them in the air fryer which only took 20 minutes. We had a great dinner along with a Bob Evans four cheese mac n cheese. We decided to watch the number one series on Netflix, Baby Reindeer, and two episodes was enough. It's not our cup of tea. We watched Hometown, some news, and once Evie went up to bed,  I watched the last quarter of the Cavs win over Orlando. 

Nick, Aunt Marlena, And Rhys

A Mellow Boy

Sunday Morning Drizzle And Gray

Rhys Cole Davis With His Dad

What A Cutie at 8.5 lbs

7:56

Despite the gray skies and drizzle, it's an exciting morning because we became great-grandparents for the first time on Saturday morning. Rhys Cole Davis was born to our grandson Nick and his wife, Aundraya. Both are doing well and Rhys and his Mom should be coming home today or tomorrow. It's later than usual as I finish this because I did not get out on the lake until late and was only out for 25 minutes because of the drizzle. 

Kayak Morning

Osprey

So yesterday began with that good news after I came back from a fifty-minute paddle. We then finished the blog and I had breakfast before we got busy cleaning up the kitchen and gathering the trash for my run to the Transfer Station. After that, I stopped at Ryders Cup, met my friend Paul and was introduced to a neat couple, the husband from Italy, and the wife from France. They have three kids and are working here for the next couple of years. After talking with Paul and his friends, I drove to Wegmans to pick up a few things, as usual and also stopped at Home Depot before coming home. 

Lunch was chicken salad sandwiches, compliments of the rotisserie chicken from Walmart which Evie carved up and made Saturday morning. I watched my show, read some, and took a good nap because I was up early and had a restless night. I must be guilty about something. Around 1:30, our neighbors brought over their nephew's kids, Tucker and Pepper, to go through the Treasure Chest. They were excited and fun to watch, as they emptied it and liked just about everything. Evie was in heaven of course. Once they headed home, Evie was busy much of the afternoon with the garden and by 4:30, she also had mowed the entire lawn, a good choice because the rains were coming. I helped a bit! 

We did get in a brief happy hour before I made our dinner, Szechuan eggplant, a favorite. It combines cooked eggplant slices, with ground pork, hot bean sauce, garlic, and ginger, with a sauce made of soy, sesame oil, and chicken broth, all cooked in a wok. It's saucy and spicy, the way we like it, served over rice. We watched Bill Maher's Real Time on CNN for some reason along with a couple of other shows before bed. I stayed up and watched the second half of the Nuggets and Timberwolves game which I had saved. 

Morning Gray

6:54

It's 7:35 and I have been up for over an hour, enjoying sitting out on the front porch and drinking coffee. I put up the Purple Martin House yesterday afternoon, and a couple of Martins seem to be checking out the house. I wonder where they have been or did they just arrive from the south. It's 9:15 as I finish this blog and I was out paddling for 55 minutes, across to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom, and home. 

Kayak Morning

Common Merganser

Osprey

Yesterday was a strange day for me, no yoga but a full morning for both of us. After a paddle and breakfast, Evie took off for school at 9:30 and would not be back until 2:00. So I had the morning to fill. I had some things I wanted to get at Walmart so I first stopped at Ryders Cup for a coffee, then went to Walmart and picked up a few crazy things, cupcakes for Evie, liquid nails, a rotisserie chicken, ground turkey and zucchini. What are we having for dinner? Why do I need liquid nails? I then did a quick run through Runnings, to see if they had waders and how much they cost.  Too much as it turned out so I will have to do with my old waders that leak.

When I returned home, I heated up the leftover pizza in a pan on the stove and burnt the crust but it was still edible. I watched my show, Ridley, decent, and then returned to my book although I am not happy with it because I finally recognized that I have read it before. So I started looking for something else. Evie was home just as I finished my brief nap at 2:00. I then started to get ready to put the Martin house up in the lake. It went fairly easy as I first pounded a pipe in the lake with a sledgehammer, then set the Martin pole inside the pipe. Once it was in, I raised the house, three poles, each one within the previous one, and viola, it was ready for Martins.

By 5;30 we celebrated the news that our daughter-in-law was in labor with our first great-grandchild although as of 7:30 this morning, we assume she's still in labor. Evie made some popcorn and I made a couple of Manhattans and we toasted both Nick and Audraya. Dinner was fried potatoes and rotisserie chicken and we watched some HGTV shows because we couldn't find anything else. I ended the night watching the Cavs lose to the Magic. Bummer. 

Just heard, that we now have a great-grandson, both Mom and baby are doing well. 

Back To Routine

6:51

8:03

It's 7:30 and I have been up for over an hour on a bright sunny morning. I was joined by Evie at 7:00 because she has school this morning and gets up early on school mornings. The wind is picking up as I look out at the lake but not so windy that I will skip kayaking. It's just 9:00 and I was out for forty five minutes, paddling down to Sandy Bottom and back. With my binoculars, I saw a couple of eagles perched on Tom's Point but knew if I paddled over to photograph them, they would take off just as I got there. I also ran into a neighbor, Roman, out for a paddle. It's starting to cloud up unfortunately and may be that way through the weekend.

Kayak Morning

An Overcast Northern Sky

Yesterday's procedure went well and by that, I mean quickly. For some reason, once I got there, they were in a hurry to get me in so the prep, the questions, were hurried. So I was out of there in maybe and hour and a half total, with a clean bill of health. On the way home, Evie needed to stop at Walmart for garden stuff and we went home with dahlias and a few other garden items. I was tired when we got home so I didn't do much before lunch although Evie was busy getting her dahlia and perennial beds in shape. 

Late Morning Porch Time

I had a light lunch, scrambled eggs, and had a hard time eating a bagel, a result I suppose of the endoscopy where they stick a scope down your throat. I tried to nap but had trouble sleeping, so I just read and wished I felt like doing something. Finally, around 3:00, Evie fired up the lawn mower, cut half of the lawn and I went out and helped her finish it up. Lawns never look better, greener and healthier than this time of the year, especially if we have had rain. 

Relaxing After Weeding

We sat on the porch for a good hour or more, enjoying the late afternoon colors, a blue sky and a dark blue lake. Evie had a glass of wine and I enjoyed a nonalcoholic beer from Athletic Brewing. Dinner was easy, a pizza from Walmart that we heated up in the oven. It was much cheaper than pizza from Coppola's and  tasted like it. The salad, however, was great. We started to watch a much-admired film, Poor Things, but had enough after a half hour and will return to it later.  We were just not in the mood for a fantastical film. Instead, we watched the usual junk TV, a home improvement show and tried to watch a few things on Netflix but it keeps cutting out, driving us nuts since we are paying for it. Evie went up to be around 9:00 and I watched some of the Knicks/76ers game but was soon bored and joined her. 

Early Rising

 

6:10

6:24

It's 6:10 when I start this and the sun has yet to rise. I am up so early because I am having an endoscopy in Jamestown and I have to be there by 7:30. I have had one before so I know what to expect, with no prep.

Yesterday was a beautiful, warm day, and it felt like spring for the first time, probably because the temperature rose up into the mid-70s. I got in a long paddle, over an hour which was a great way to start the day. Evie wanted to get things done in the garden, so after breakfast and the blog, we decided to get out there and get busy. So that's how we spent the morning, Evie weeding and turning the soil while I dug up the dahlia beds, turned the soil, then raked it fine so that it would be ready for the dahlias in another three or four weeks. It's not hard work but the kind that bothers my back, the bending over as I work. So I took occasional breaks, which seemed to help. I also mounted my four purple Martin gourds so they are ready to be hung once I get out in the water, pound a pole in the lake and hang them.  

We took time out for lunch, and Evie made me a couple of turkey sandwiches with tomatoes, and I started a new series from PBS called Ridley. It's not bad so I will stick with it for a couple of episodes. I then took a brief nap and read some and Evie relaxed as well. We went back out around 2:30, did some weeding but were tired out from the morning so we quit by 3:30.

The Viking Crew

We showered around 5:00 and by 6:00, we walked over to our neighbors for a ride to the Viking Club for dinner. It's become a weekly event for the neighborhood because there were nine of us enjoying our beers, food, and watching the sunset. No one won the drawing so I assume we will be back next week to try our luck. Because it was a busy night, we had to wait over an hour for our food so we didn't leave until after 9:00 as it was getting dark. It was a fun way to end a very busy day, with good friends. Evie went up to bed but I watched a few minutes of basketball before joining her. 

At The Viking Club

8:07

Good Morning Sunshine

6:23

A brilliant sunny morning, not a ripple on the lake, not a cloud in the sky. It's chillier than yesterday, 46º when I woke at 6:15 but should get into the 70s later in the day. It's just after 9:00 and I was out paddling for over an hour, over to Long Point, then home along the shoreline. It was a beautiful morning and it finally felt like Spring, sun, blue skies, and trees beginning to green.  

Kayak Morning

Bridge Over Calm Waters

Tom's Point

Wood Duck

Yesterday was overcast much of the day and surprisingly warm so I got in a good paddle before breakfast. I decided to skip yoga this week and it felt good not having to hurry and be off to yoga by 9:10. Our major effort in the morning was to change the water filter, something we do every three months or sooner, depending when the blue light comes on. Before we knew it, it was close to noon and I had not done anything so I decided to get in a walk around the Victoria/Woodlawn woods. It was a good choice, as the wild flowers were out, and the path was beginning to turn green as well as the trees. It felt  good to be out walking, taking my time and I was out for only a half hour, just right. 

Victoria Creek

Looking North

Greening Of Trails

I decided to make lunch easy for Evie and popped a chicken pot pie in the microwave and six minutes later I had a tasty lunch. I watched my show, Shogun, but am still not taken with it. Our afternoon was typical, no surprises, as I read and napped, and Evie, feeling better, still relaxed and enjoyed a leisurely afternoon. I know Evie is a Whopper fan and I have been threatening to drive to Lakewood and pick up a couple of Whoppers and fries for dinner. Well, yesterday, I did it. While she was on a Zoom call with her  sisters, I drove to Lakewood, picked up few things at Wegmans, then a couple of Whoppers and fries for our dinner. Needless to say, Evie was in heaven, said she could have eaten a second one. I think this may become a tradition, like Taco Tuesday. 

Afternoon Clouds

I had read about a highly recommended Wim Wenders film called Perfect Days, set in Japan. It follows a man who cleans the public toilets in Tokyo. We follow his routine, waking and enjoying the sunrise, putting away his sleeping mat, brushing his teeth, spraying water on his plants, buying a drink for breakfast, driving to work while listening to American music on his cassette like 'Sitting By The Dock On The Bay." He then cleans the toilets, making sure they are squeaky clean, has a sandwich for lunch, heads home, stops at his usual bar/restaurant, comes home, sets out his mat, reads, and then falls asleep. And this is repeated for over two hours with little change. No matter what happens, the main character manages to find joy in small things, letting nothing, not even routine, upset him. I wanted to like the movie more than I did but it was too long.