Docks In, Boat's Stored

7:19

It is a depressing morning on the lake, gunmetal gray sky and lake and a house a mess as the guys are ready to put the first coat of a stain on this morning.  We will have to be out of the house at times today and tomorrow as the various coats dry. It's 9:06 and I have been up for three hours and did get forty-five minute padde in despite the gray skies and chilly weather. Right now, as we finish the blog, the guys are back sanding the last of the hallway, the deafening roar of the sander filling the room. 

Kayak Morning

Paddling North

Great Blue Heron

Yesterday turned out to be a decent day for the most part.  I did get in a paddle before the guys arrived and were off to yoga by the time they started to finish the floor.  Evie kept busy by cutting our neighbor's lawn and I pulled the batteries out of my boat along with life jackets to store for the winter. After yoga, I came straight home and Evie had made me lunch, two goose liver sandwiches because we were not going to be able to get in the kitchen.  She also offered to make Jonathan and Graham grilled cheese sandwiches but as she walked into the kitchen she realized our oven is in the middle of our living room.  So resourceful Evie got out a cast iron skillet, turned on the outside grill and made four good looking sandwiches.

Jamestown's Riverwalk

Storm Cloud Above A Marsh

Jamestown's Chadakoin River

I had an appointment at 1:30 at the Subaru dealer for an oil change, tire rotation, NY State safety check, and 12 point inspection.  I planned on being there an hour but they always find something that needs to be fixed so I did not get out until 4:00. Fortunately, I took out a warranty when I bought the car and it's still in effect saving me some money. The dealer is located at the beginning of Jamestown's Riverwalk so I did get in an hour's walk so my wait for the car was not all a loss. I made it back to the dealer just as the heavy rain started, raindrops pelleting the mostly empty dealership parking lot.  

Happy Hour

The Day Wanes

I picked up a pizza in Bemus Point after leaving the dealer for our dinner since we would not be able to use the kitchen and did not feel like going out for dinner.  Evie was on the front porch, having put up with a couple of floor sanders for a good hour or more,  At least by 5:00, the floors were ready to be stained, the guys were gone and all was quiet even the lake, not a boat in sight. We enjoyed a happy hour out on our porch as the daylight waned.  We had pizza and a salad for dinner and watched Jeopardy and Nine Perfect Stangers, and ended the night with a quarter of the Browns game.  

House Is A Mess On Partly Cloudy Sky

6:59

7:11

7:33

7:47

It's 7:30l as the sun is about to rise over Bemus. Our living room is a mess, with the stove sitting next to the dining room table, the kitchen flooring partially laid, lumber stacked in the hallway. Things should be much better by the end of the day, with the floor sanded and a couple coats of stain put down.  At least that's the plan and we all know what happens when you plan.  God laughs. 

Kayak Morning

Long Point

Heron Hanging Above The Reeds

Because of the floor being done, our usual day was disrupted from 9:00 on, with the whack of a nail gun, the sound of a saw, as the guys fit various pieces of hickory down on the floor, I had my usual day, with an early morning kayaking, then the blog and breakfast.  We spent much of the day when we were around either in the living room, on the front porch or in a bedroom.  Around 10:00, I drove to Mayville to get in a bike ride.  I rode Webb's Trail, Sea Lion Drive, the Mayville Recreational Trail, and the Mayville Cemetery, all told just over ten miles. It was stellar weather, little wind and in the low 60's so I really enjoyed it.  

Rails To Trails

When I returned home, Evie took the car and drove to Westfield for her annual mammogram while I had lunch, the leftover Asian food, and watched my show while the guys took off for lunch.  I read and tried to nap with little success and wasted much of the afternoon, looking for something to do.  Evie was back by 3:00 and both of us were at sixes and sevens, with our house a mess and we could do little about it. Finally, Evie decided to mow the lawn, mulch the leaves, giving her something to do as I sat on the front porch and watched and listened to the nail gun and saw.  The guys finished at 5:00 and sat out on our dock, enjoying the view and a Pepsi before they left.

Sun Set At 6:19

Beers On Viking Club Porch

Earlier, our friend Linda called, wondering if we wanted to meet them at the Viking Club for dinner.  Since we had planned on going out because of our kitchen, we agreed and met them there at 6:00.  We ordered beers and sat outside until the sunset, then came in and had a fried food extravaganza, fried picked, french fries, and burgers all around. By the time we were through, all four of us had enough of fried foods for a while.  We were home by 8:15, in time to watch our shows and another episode of Nine Perfect Strangers which is getting a bit strange.  We went to bed, serenaded by the sounds of a leaf blower. Pleasant. 

Flooring Specialists, Graham And Jonathan

Not A Cloud In Sight

7:14

7:43

7:45

It's 7:30, the sun has yet to rise, the sky's a light blue, the shoreline pink, waiting for the sun to rise in ten minutes. It's warmer this morning, 51º compared to yesterday's 38º.  And best of all, the wind has died down so it will be great kayaking on the lake. I had a great paddle, 50 minutes except for the fact  I left my mug of coffee at home.  I kept reaching for it, and it made me realize how addicted I am to coffee in the morning, even on my paddle. 

Kayak Morning

Cloudless Northern Sky

Woodlawn

Heron At Woodlawn Creek

Tuesday was an anomaly for me, as after kayaking, my friend Stan picked me up and drove us to Erie, to Bob Evans, for breakfast with high school basketball buddies from the Cleveland area.  We manage to get together a couple of times a year, usually in Erie, convenient for all four of us, sometimes here at Chautauqua in the summer. We spend our breakfast reminiscing about the good old days, talking about basketball players we knew, the college days when we played, summer's on municipal courts, and later years, when we played just for the fun of it in local leagues.  It's always fun and we inevitably hear a new story, a result of one of us talking with an old friend. All four of us are close to eighty and it's sad to see we can no longer dunk or go to our left!!! 

We talked for a couple of hours closing up the breakfast morning for Bob Evans and did not get back to the lake until 12:30.  Evie was gone by then, to do some shopping at Wegman's and other errands so I had a bowl of soup and watched Foyle's War before reading on the couch and falling asleep for a nice nap.  Evie didn't get home till after 3:00.  I helped putting away the groceries and then decided I needed some exercise. So I drove over to Bemus and took a nice bike ride through Bemus to Long Point State Park and back, an hour ride and close to ten miles, mostly through woods.  

Long Point State Park

It was crisp out, perfect weather for a bike ride.  When I returned home, Evie was on a Zoom call with her sisters so I rewarded myself with a blood mary and watched some of the Bills came which I had saved from Monday night.

Zooming With Sisters

Once again, we had an easy dinner because we both enjoy leftovers and had both pork and sauerekraut and a wok dinner to choose from.  I had the pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes and Evie had the Asian food.  We are back to our TV routine, with Cobert, then Jeopardy, Nine Perfect Stranges, ending the night with an HGTV show with Nate and Jerimiah, two gay guys with interesting taste and are fun to watch. 

We also were awed by an Autumn moon, rising over the Bemus Shore.  I took one photo after another until we got some worth bloggling.

6:38

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Why I Kayak Every Morning

7:07

7:43

I woke at 6:00 to a 38º morning, no longer wondering why it seemed chilly in bed.  We need to get out another blanket.  It was dark until 6:45 and now, at 7:15, I make out a blue sky, a layer of orange above the horizon, and fog halfway out the lake on a so-far windless morning. It's 8:30 and I was out for a half hour on a spectacular morning paddle, in the fog initially, towards the sun rising, then back as the shoreline cleared up enough so I could get a shot of a heron. 

Kayak Morninng

Keeping Warm

Monday was another windy day, white caps on the lake, the wind whistling as we walked in the woods.  I did get out on the water briefly, too choppy and windy to enjoy.  We got a few things done around the house but by 10:00, we had our hiking boots on and were off to the Audubon Community Nature Center, a half-hour drive. It was great weather for walking, sunny and cool.  There were quite a few cars in the parking lot but we never saw anyone during our two-mile walk.  It always feels good to be in the woods, usually just the two of us, the leaves underfoot, wet not crispy because of the overnight rain. We have walked this trail many times over the past ten years but it never fails to please us with its variety of landscapes, 

 The Audubon

Teepee

On the way home, we stopped at Wegman's to pick up a few things for our Asian dinner, even some sushi for an appetizer.  For lunch, Evie made me a healthy and delicious wrap on Joseph's flatbread, filled with veggies and hummus for a spread.  We still have a pot of mushroom barley soup so I had a bowl to go with my wrap.  I started a second episode of Foyle's War, a good choice for an afternoon serial. 

Victoria Boat Lift And Dock Destroyed By Wind

We then wasted much of the afternoon, something that is happening too much lately, spending the afternoon on a couch or lounge outdoors.  I did finish my book by Anthony Horowitz after a nap and started another called People Like Them. I am not sure about it. Around 4:00, we both got busy and I went outside and got a few more things done, getting our yard ready for the dock, putting away some chairs, things like that.  And Evie prepped all the veggies for our wok dinner.  We had happy hour inside because it was chilly out until 6:15 when it was time for me to make dinner.  I usually cook the veggies first, then the chicken in hot bean sauce, garlic, and ginger, finally adding the cooked veggies at the end and thickening it with corn starch, adding some sesame oil and soy as needed.  We serve it over rice of course.  It was good, not great despite the dollops of hot bean sauce, it was not spicy or hot enough. Not sure why. We started Nine Perfect Strangers on Hulu and liked it enough to watch three episodes.  We ended the night watching the first half of the Bills/Titans game which, I found out this morning, Buffalo lost, sad making.