Freedom

6:38

7:16

7:27

What a different morning sky, with lots of bits of clouds and color. It's 7:13 as I start this, and both Evie and I are up. She has kindergarten, and I have breakfast at 8:00. It's too dark to kayak, so I'll wait until I return from breakfast for a paddle. It's later, 10:05, and I have had breakfast in Bemus at 8:00 and kayaked for 20 minutes around 9:30, when I returned home. 

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Looking South

Yesterday felt like freedom: no prep, no procedure, and I could do what I wanted. Wait, I forgot. I had a PT appointment at 10:30, but no big deal. I was up early and got in a good 50-minute paddle, then wrote the blog and had breakfast with Evie. I left for my PT appointment at 10:00 and went through a series of exercises to strengthen my left calf, which seems to have atrophied over the years. It has started to affect both my hip and my balance. I'll go once or twice more, but basically I can do everything he showed me at home, and he wrote it all out. Now I just have to do it, which is the hard part.

I stopped for coffee at Ryder's Cup and had an interesting talk with Dave. I didn't realize he was a Vietnam vet, and he told me about his experiences, including his escape from Viet Cong prison. Amazing story. He is one of the few who does not regret his experience and has never suffered from PTSD. I was home by noon and not very hungry, so I made myself a ham and cheese sandwich, finished up the ham, and watched an episode of Lioness before finishing my book, We Begin at the End, which I ended up really enjoying.

I napped briefly and basically wasted the rest of the afternoon, with little mojo. It did feel good to have a glass of wine before dinner and listen to the news with Evie. Around 5:00, I got a text from Chris saying he was coming by to pick up my boat. He took it to Prendergast Point, where he had the trailer, so one more winter task is done. Once the guys take out the dock, my last job for the fall will be to mulch the leaves every few days. Dinner was easy: just leftover pot roast and rolls, heated up. We watched our usual TV until 8:00, then Evie went up to bed and I finished the second season of Lioness before joining her.

Another Stellar Autumn Morning Of Sun And Blue Skies

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6:29

8:27

It's 8:30, and I've been up since 6:30 and out on the lake at 7:15 for 70 minutes. It was a chilly 45º when I started, just as the sun was rising. It felt great to be out there after skipping yesterday morning. I wondered when I started my morning routine of kayaking and looked back at the blog, and I started kayaking most mornings unless the lake was frozen, since 2017. 

Kayak Morning

Into The Sunrise

Northern Sky

Through The Reeds

Along Bootey Bay

Caught Him

The Big Swallow

Head of An Eagle

Among The Reeds

Tuesday was not a fun morning. We were both up at 7:00 and off to the hospital at 8:00. I was having two procedures, both of which I have had before: a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. Since they put me under, it was over before I knew it. We had to wait an hour and a half before they took me away. I woke in my room with Evie. The doctor stopped in and said all was well and I could go home in a half hour. We left around 11:00, and because I had not eaten since Sunday evening, we stopped at Burger King and took Whoppers, fries, and a root beer home. We sat in the TV room, watched an episode of ER, and loved our Whoppers and fries, the best fast food in this area. At least we think so.

Sunny Morning Drive To Jamestown

By 12:30, I was wiped out from everything over the past two days, so I went up and took a good nap, waking up feeling pretty good. Neither of us wanted to do much the rest of the afternoon, so I mostly read, taking a break to walk around the neighborhood. We had our glass of wine at 5:00 and listened to the news until it was time for dinner. Evie made one of my favorites, fried eggs over mashed potato pancakes. Along with corn on the cob, we were happy. We watched TV until we were tired and went to bed earlier than usual. I'm glad my day was over, and I look forward to getting back to my routine of kayaking, hiking, yoga, or biking.

Hunkering Down On Our Dock Yesterday Afternoon

Fog Rising On A 39º MorningI

6:51

7:01

7:23

\

7:36

It's cold out there, but it's a lovely morning, with increasing fog. I'm skipping a paddle because I have to be in Jamestown at 8:30 for a couple more tests. It should get up to 56º later today.

Yesterday was busy but not much fun, because I was prepping for a colonoscopy. If you've ever gone through this, you know you can't eat, and you have to take various drinks and pills to clean out your system. I did get in a good paddle before starting the routine, and I could have coffee with sugar, no cream. When I got back, I wrote the blog, and Evie proofread it before she left for kindergarten. Then I read the newspapers, but I wanted to do something. I checked the front yard, and the grass seemed dry, so I got out my electric mower and cut it. It took around 20 minutes, and it felt good to accomplish something.

Since I couldn't eat anything, I warmed up some chicken broth for lunch, then read and napped, bored with my day. Around 1:30, I mowed the rest of the yard because the grass had dried out. Evie was home by 2:30 and had a fun day at school. This year's class seems well-behaved, and the kids all seem ready to learn. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading and listening to Evie tell me about her day, always fun.

Dinner was a couple more cups of chicken broth, and we watched some TV until 8:00, when Evie went up to bed. I watched a bit of Monday Night Football, then went back to my series, Lioness on Paramount+, before heading up to bed. Not much of a day.

Dramatic Clouds And Sunshine

6:55

7:30

8:34

It's 8:43, and the sun keeps peeking in and out of the clouds. I spent 50 minutes paddling on a spectacular morning of clouds and sun. As I started out, the sky to the southeast was blue, with a blinding sun, while to the north, amazing banks of clouds hung over the lake.

Kayak Morning

Kayaking North

North

Long Point

Great Blue Heron

Sunday was another wasted day, except for my morning paddle, which lasted close to an hour. I was back by 9:00, and Evie already had our dinner made—a pot roast in the slow cooker. After finishing the blog, we sat down and made a list for Wegmans. I had my usual breakfast of yogurt and granola, then went for a walk around the neighborhood.

Victoria/Woodlawn

When I returned, we finished the shopping list, and I drove to Wegmans, leaving around 10:30. As usual, it was crowded, but since I didn't have much to buy, I was in and out quickly. I then stopped at Walmart and picked up a couple more pairs of sweatpants, which I like, for $17.95 each.

Looking Northwest

When I got home, I was hungry, and Evie made me eggs and bagels just as the Buffalo Bills game was starting. And that began hours of watching football.

Wow

The Bills played poorly and lost to the New England Patriots. The Chiefs, our second-favorite team, beat Las Vegas, but it was close. Afterward, we had dinner at 6:00: pot roast, vegetables, and mashed potatoes. Yum.

After dinner, we watched football until 8:00, when Evie went upstairs to bed. I watched another half-hour of Sunday Night Football until I'd had enough for the day, then watched another episode of Berlin ER before going to bed.

I think I must have sat on the couch for at least seven hours on Sunday, watching football on TV like most males in America. Sad-making.

What A Morning Sky

6:50

6:55

7:25

Cardinal In The Morning 

I was up at 7:00, and the sky just kept getting more and more spectacular. Right now, at 8:50, the sun is filling the lake with its light and the sky is mostly cloudless. It was 47º when I started paddling at 7:20, and I was out for close to an hour on my usual route. I listened to a podcast interview with a well-known historian on Superpower Suicide: how Trump's two years have basically destroyed the alliances built since WWII and embraced anti-democratic ideas, cozying up to Putin, Orban, and Xi Jinping while alienating allies like the European Union, Canada, and others. How depressing and accurate.

Kayakk Morning

Morning Sun

Victoria/Woodlawn

Saturday I took it easy, although I did get in a decent paddle and returned to finish up the blog and have some breakfast. The only task for the day was a trip to the Transfer Station. Around 10:30, after a long coffee, we gathered the trash, and I drove off, dropped it all at the Transfer Station, then stopped at the Amish Wagon for a dozen ears of corn, across the street from the Ashville Country Store. While I was gone, Evie was busy catching up on laundry and changing the sheets on our beds. I was home around noon, and Evie made me quesadillas for lunch. I watched some college football until 1:00, then went upstairs hoping for a nap and managed an hour. I came downstairs and watched the Ohio State/Iowa game for a while until I got bored, then joined Evie in the living room for a glass of wine. Before wine time, Evie put together our dinner: chicken thighs, corn, potatoes, spices, and tomato sauce. We ate around 6:45 and watched some TV until 8:30, when Evie went to bed. I watched more football and started a series called Murder in a Small Town. I'd give it a C-, but it was something to watch.

What A Night

Rhys Is Happy To See Tommy

6:45

7:27

8:35

It's 6:20, and I've been up since 2:30. Yep, 2:30. According to my watch, I got three and a half hours of sleep. I'm not sure why I couldn't get back to sleep. Perhaps it was the drugs from yesterday's procedure, or I was overtired from getting up so early on Friday morning. Anyway, it's going to be a long, tiring day. It looks like a fine morning for a paddle, but I'm not sure I have the mojo to get out there. Well, I did kayak, leaving around 8:00 for 50 minutes on a glorious morning, with brilliant sun and blue skies. I love it.

Great Blue Heron

In The Reeds

Kayak Morning

Paddling Into The Sun 

Yesterday wasn't much better. I got up at 5:15, had a procedure at UPMC in Jamestown at 9:00, and we got home around 11:00. We were both tired and hungry from the early start, so Evie made us breakfast: eggs and bagels. By 1:00, I was wiped out and went upstairs for a really good nap, maybe an hour and a half or more. When I came downstairs, FedEx had just delivered two Apple packages. We knew something was coming, and we were excited when we realized that Tom had sent both of us the new Apple Watches. We had talked about the newest model because Tom had just gotten one and loved its new features. We quickly opened the always amazing Apple packaging and began syncing our old watches and iPhones with the new ones. We're luddites at this sort of thing, but after an hour and many wrong turns, we had both watches up and running. Now we'll spend the next couple of days learning all the new features.

Neither of us did much during the day, putting things off until today. About the only things I did were charge the car and read my new novel. We did relax with a glass of wine from 5:00 to 6:30. Then Evie made us sandwiches with chicken tenders, tomatoes, lettuce, and mayo. Easy and delicious. We watched some TV, but both of us were having trouble staying awake. Evie went up to bed around 7:30, and I forced myself to stay up watching TV until 9:15, when I, too, went up to bed.