How Boring...Another Sunny Day

6:22

Painting Rhododendrons

Fredonia State Modernist Dorm

Fredonia State President's Home

Fredonia Victorian

Fredonia Queen Anne

Up just as the sun rose, about 6:15 and like yesterday, in fact the past three or four days, sunlight fills the living room, forcing me to sit on the couch instead of my usual chair.  Tough life.  There's dew on the lawn and it's 50 degrees, going up to the 80's later in the day.  I expect this to be a busy day on the lake despite it still being spring.  Usually, the lake doesn't heat up till mid to late June.

We took off for the Harvest View Farm Market early yesterday morning, a huge nursery, a few miles west of Fredonia, in Pomfret on Rt. 20.  We had been there a week ago, thought it had an amazing collection of annuals and vowed to return the following week.  We picked up petunias, potato vines, cosmos, zinnas, and various herbs.  We drove the backroads, through the beautiful countryside, mostly farms, avoiding the busy roads, a beautiful day for a ride.

Before we went to the nursery, we decided to walk around Fredonia State University.  We parked just off it's main street and walked about a half mile along the main drag, leading to the campus entrance, a parade of interesting and mostly well kept Victorian homes.  Fredonia, unlike a number of other towns, has because of the University, a wealthy enough community to keep up these homes.  We walked around the University, somewhat of an anomaly because it's architecture is 1960's modern, huge cement structures that remind me of something out of the Soviet Union.  I am not sure but Herman Kahn may have designed some of the buildings, at least it reminds me of his style and the centerpiece of the campus is the Rockefeller Arts Center.  It is an interesting complex of modernistic buildings, library, dorm, art center, student center, but it lacks the trees and old world look of most college campuses that I have visited.  As we walked back to the car, two people were in a yard, painting a garden.  We ended up stopping, talking with them and one was a teacher, the other a student.  The teacher mentioned an art tour the following week, gave us info about it.  He teaches a group for 150.00 a person, two three hour sessions.  Flowers and large landscapes seem to be his forte.  I am tempted to call him and ask how much he might charge to paint Evie's garden in mid summer, when most of the perennials are in bloom.  We hope to go back next weekend when the tour takes place,

We then drove west to the Westfield Nursery, picked up a couple of large pots and potting soil but when we got home, we realized we had left the pots behind.  "I grow old, I grow old, I wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled."  Fortunately, Evie called and they will just credit our visa so we don't have to ride back and fetch them.

We spent the afternoon outside, Evie planting the perennials, me helping, and then relaxed for a couple of hours on the dock, just enjoying the lake and sun.  Even at 6:30 there were few people around and we have to remind ourselves it is still spring, not the middle of summer, which it feels like.  It's also the first time we noticed the roar of speed or bass boats on the lake.  Summer is coming.  For dinner, we had portabello mushrooms stuffed with spinach, on buns, a nice change from a  burger.

Sunny and Clear and Warm

6:20

Fog Rising Over Lake

Up at 6:20 to a brilliant sun, blinding, as I came downstairs.  Forty five degrees, with a warm and sunny weekend ahead, temperatures getting in to the eighties on Saturday or Sunday, alas.  We liked yesterday, where the highs were in the sixties, like it should be this time of the year.

I went to yoga yesterday, as I only have a week left and I don't think I will go this summer, just an occasional stop.  I picked up a few things at the hardware store, stopped at Ryder's Cup while Evie stayed home because she wanted to work in the yard, weeding mostly, the side beds.

The rest of the day we spent outside, either working in the yard, sitting on the dock, braving the winds and trying to read, or enjoying the cool air.  We wanted to sit on the dock for our sundowners, but it was too cold.  When the sun drops behind our trees, the temperature on the dock drops appreciably.  So, we sat in the side yard, enjoying a  beer, some pistachios, as the long sun filled day waned.

More spaghetti for dinner, with a salad and garlic bread, and I made the mistake of watching the film based on a book I really liked called ONE DAY.  I knew it would probably be terrible but I was curious about how the film maker could ruin a delightful book.  They tried to stuff everything from the book into the film, which gave the viewer little time to get interested in the characters.  It all seemed rushed, silly, and stupid.  I kept watching, just to see how bad it could really get until I could stand it no longer and we turned on American Idol.

Fog Rising on a Cool Spring Morning

6:08

6:05

  

Prepping for Dinner

The Guys Enjoying Being Outdoors

Up at 6:00 to a spectacular lake, fog rising off in the distance, sun just beginning to peak over the horizon, a few geese squawking and a cold 36 degrees.  It could be a fall morning except for the spring green of the trees.  It looks like a great day, high in the 60's, just the way we like it but it will get increasingly warm towards the weekend, with highs in the 70's or 80's.

Not much to report from yesterday, as I can hardly remember what I did.  O, yea,  we had a great kayak paddle early, off to Long Point, around to the marina, back across to Wells Bay, then home.  More and more docks are appearing on the lake, as everyone is getting ready for summer.  It was great to be on the lake, the only boat that I could see.  It's like our own private lake. I also had to drive to Mayville, to renew my boat trailer registration.  Not only did I have to pay twenty seven bucks to renew the registration, but I also have it inspected, each year, for another twenty five to thirty bucks.  I drive it about five miles twice a year!  Get that government off my back!  On the way home, I stopped at the Light House  to pick up a hoagie and Utz chips and ran in to Ron Mc Clure, picking up the meat for last night's dinner with them.

Evie worked in the yard, cut Leonard's lawn, and tried to enjoy reading on the dock, but the winds picked up, the sky darkened, and she had to come inside though, of course, it never did rain though we needed it.  Yesterday was also Mitchell Albarran's fourteenth birthday, hard to believe.  We are anxious to know how he liked his present; besides a couple of books and a tee shirt, we picked up a jaunty hat for him from the skateboard shop.  Either he will love it or hate it, one or the other.

I also took a killer nap, maybe two hours, the kind where you are out like a rock.  What a great sleep but perhaps it's the reason I had a restless night, unintended consequences of such a long nap.  Halle's also been texting Evie the last couple of days.  She's so cute, asking what we are doing?  Text me? She must be bored.

We went to Linda and Ron's for a cook out, the first of the spring, the beginning of summer.  It was great, of course, tenderloins perfectly cooked by Ron and a wedge salad, with bacon, tomatoes, and blue cheese dressing.  It took us back in time, when that salad was the rage.  It was a perfect night to cook out, too cold to eat outside, but crisp and clear, the skies filled with stars when we left about 10:00.  Another good day at the lake.

ALMOST: A LOVE STORY BY ANNE ELIOT

This book, a young adult novel, was recommended by one of my former students, Julie Rotshchild, as a must read for her 9th grade son.  I am not so sure. It centers on 'almost a rape' of Jess Jordan, a precocious 9th grader at the time of the incident.  Although it's a young adult novel, the subject matter, though treated with intelligence, is mature.  The novel opens three year's after the attempted rape, at the end of  Jess's junior year.  Since the incident, she has become a recluse, the school weirdo, withdrawn, friendless, though a straight A student.  She's seen psychiatrist's, tested various drugs, but cannot avoid terrible nightmares, bits and pieces of the memory of that night.  Her parents, clearly, fear for her life, as does her younger sister Kika.  Jess figures out how to avoid the nightmares; she does not sleep at night and finds places to take naps during the school day.  Every other chapter is told by Jess, the other chapters are told by Gray Porter, also a junior, handsome, outgoing, a jock, with many friends, the cool guy in the school, the antithesis of Jess.

The novel begins when both Jess and Gray find themselves the final two candidates for a summer job.  Gray recognizes her though she does not know him.  In order to get permission to apply to college, Jess must prove to her parents that she can hold a summer job, thus it's must for her.  For Gray, he needs the money, eight thousand dollars to go to college.  Jess, afraid Gray will get the job, offers a deal...he can have the money if they both offer to do the job.  Gray agrees and part of the agreement is that he will be her part time boy friend, proving to her parents that she is normal.  Gray agrees to this for two reasons; one, he know about her 'almost rape,' in fact he stopped it from happening though he feels some guilt.  And he has been in love with her since freshmen year.  He wants nothing more than to spend his summer with her. And because he is aware of her rape and psychological problems, he vows to do everything he can to help her, to never do anything that might hurt her.  From this point, the novel evolves into an intense, often realistic picture of a teenage romance, albeit a chaste one.  During their summer of love, Jess never realizes Gray's feelings are real, that he's not acting.  Nevertheless, she too falls for him.  Slowly, they get closer to each other, though neither knows for sure the whole story.  Finally, Gray tells her the truth, that he was there the night of the rape, that he rescued her from a senior, but left her despite her pleas when the police came.  She blows up, leaves him in anger for his lies, for not telling her the truth when they first met.  She returns home, in tears, and that night the entire episodes comes back to her, including Gray's role.  This memory is cathartic, as if all she needed was to face the truth, something her parents never told her.  They felt it best to not tell her about the rape since she did not remember it.  Jess, angry at her parents for not telling the truth, and at Gray as well, finally recognizes that no one is really at fault, including herself.  With this realization, she rushes over to Gray's house, the two kiss and make up, return to Jess's house, as a couple, to the relief and happiness of both families.  All's well that ends well.

I have to admit liking the book; a teenage romance is so appealing, so intense, so fraught with emotion, which is why love stories like  Romeo and Juliet are still so popular.  Both Gray and Jess are appealing,  Gray with his empathy and selflessness, Jess because of her neediness and honesty.  What the book makes clear, however, is the terrible consequences of anything close to a rape on a young person.  For this reason alone, most teens should read this book as a cautionary tale, male and female.

Sunny and Clear...It Feels Like a Summer Morning

6:22

Evie's Hanging Basket

Hostas

Up at 6:30 to a living room filled with sunlight, an empty lake, families of geese next door at Pine Hill's Beach, and the chirping of birds, mostly purple martins, happily creating their nests.  It looks like another beautiful spring day, perfect for almost any activity, from kayaking, to hiking, to just hanging around the house and working in the garden or cutting the lawn.  Perhaps we'll do all three.

Yesterday, probably a  carbon copy of today, was spent mostly in the yard and out on the dock for the first time this year.  Evie worked in her garden, while I made a new screen for her filtering of compost.  Later, she cut the grass, while I cleaned up the compost, moving the various sections, getting it ready for the summer.  It was a splendid day to be outside and we took full advantage of it.

Part of the morning was spent watching the tree service take down our neighbor's trees.  They lost a huge limb during the snow storm, so they took down the rest of the diseased tree. We watched a tree climber, like an acrobat, climb the tree and cut it down so efficiently our neighbor thought he could  get a job with Cirque de Soleil.  We had the boss over to look at trimming some of the dead wood out of ours but he was so expensive I am getting another quote from an Amish guy I have used before.

Big Foot Sitting on the Dock

We relaxed on our chaise lounges and read out on the dock a good part of the afternoon. Evie's into Almost, a YA novel I read and really liked.  Ironically, there was one fishing boat on the lake, docked about twenty feet off our dock!  Typical...the guy has the entire lake and he anchors off the only dock on the lake with people sitting on it.

For dinner, Evie made up a great mushroom pasta sauce.  While it was simmering, we had a glass of wine out on the dock, enjoying the quiet and the changing colors of the lake.  It's so good to be out on the dock again, just enjoying the water and view.  It's been over seven months.  We, then, enjoyed  our pasta sauce with salad and garlic bread, and watched the last episode of Smash, the story of the making of a musical in NYC.  It was an interesting series, going inside the ambitions and conflicts involved in the making of a musical, as we watch the producer, director, song writers and actors all inter acting, trying to make a successful musical.  And we finished up The Killing, a series set in Seattle.  They keep you guess until the very end, which made it fun.

Heavy Fog on a Tuesday Morning

Morning Fog at 5:53

Long Point at Dusk, 7:51

I can hardly make out the purple martin house, as I sit here this morning.  I was surprised by the fog, as the weather seems about the same as yesterday,  55 degrees at the moment.  the fog is too thick for boats and it's only gotten thicker since 6:00, when I awoke.

Yesterday was a lost day for me, as I went in to Cleveland for my annual check up with my cardiologist.  Everything seems copacetic, which is good but I have to go back in mid June for an MRA, something I get every two or three years.  I left about 9:30, stopped at Trader Joe's at 11:30, browsed and shopped till 12:30, then went to my appointment at  1:00.  I got out of the office around 2:00, stopped at a Mc D's for lunch, and got home around 4:30, a boring and tiring day, mostly driving obviously.

Evie spent the day working in the yard (it looks great) and earlier, in the morning, she took our neighbor Mary Ann Miller to the YMCA because she is interested in their programs and wants to join.  She's a bit unsure of the roads, so Evie made sure to help her understand how to get there by the back roads as #394 is closed just before the YMCA.

For dinner, Evie put together a beef stew, something we rarely have, and it tasted quite good, even healthy with lots of vegetables and a rich gravy like sauce.  We watched a couple of more episodes of The Killing, and we have just two to go.  Then, we watched Sunday night's episode of Mad Men.  In this one, we get to see Betty again, Don's ex wife.  She's just had a baby, feels fat and ugly, especially around Don's hot new wife.  Many of her scenes are at her weight watching group, as they weigh in and commiserate with each other.  Don's passiveness and willingness to subjugate his ego to the young Turks disappears, as he jettisons their idea in place of his own, winning the client but upsetting his young advertisers.  Rodger remains cool and distant, a changed man, letting little upset him though he's becoming more interested in his job, courting clients, then turning them over to the others to do the grunt work.  We also see Sally, Don't daughter, who always seems to create conflict, with her unwillingness to remain ignorant.  In this case, she wants to know why she didn't know about Don's first wife in California.  This show is unpredictable, which makes it fun to watch.  You are never sure of what will happen, who will be the focus of the show, though the rough outlines hold it together, money, power, women, and success.

Docks In...Bring on Summer

5:35

6:14

Our Favorite House and Garden at CI

Up at 5:30, overcast and still, not a ripple on the lake, fifty one degrees, and only the chirping of birds breaks the quietness.  No rain yesterday, none in sight for the next few days, so things are beginning to get dry around here.  Of course, I did some patching of our lawn last week, hoping we would get lots of rain, which we didn't so I will have to start watering the lawn some if I want the new seeding to take.

It was such a beautiful morning yesterday that we decided to go kayaking down towards the campground.  We were literally the only one's on the lake, no fishermen or pleasure boats, mostly neighbors in their yard enjoying the morning or working in their yards.  Strange as I would have thought lots of fishermen would have been out since it's a perfect morning. Perhaps they are in church.

After our kayak ride, we wanted to get a walk in before breakfast, so we drove off to the CI and walked the rim, a little over three miles.  Again, there was not much activity and we saw hardly another walker.  It is much busier during the week with all the construction crews,  It is fun to see the gardens beginning to take shape, as crews have been in many of the yards, weeding and mulching, spiffing up the front yards of the homes.  Neither Evie nor I like mulch much (anathema) though it's almost de riguer in most yards.  And we dislike the smell as much as the look.  It is a great venue for a walk, any time of the year and we always see something new (or forgot from our last walk).

We worked some in the yard during the afternoon; I finally finished the YA book Almost (I will write about it later today or tomorrow).  And around 3:00 Billy and Chris came over and put in our dock.  It's often like watching the three stooges as they never seem to have a method. Dock pieces float away, they end up standing in the water up to their necks chewing the fat, in no hurry but they got the job done, finally, as we have been waiting for a couple of weeks.  We are the first of their customers to get our dock in this year, the rest of Woodlawn will go in during the week.

Breaded tilapia for dinner, with salad and sweet potato fries and we watched a couple of episodes of The Killing, set in Seattle.

Today, I have my annual appointment with Dr. Hayek, my cardiologist, so I will be gone most of the day, stopping at Trader Joe's to pick up a couple of cases of wine for the summer and other goodies before heading home to the lake.