U.S Open Starts

   Two weeks of tennis on TV coming up. Both Canadians are playing today and one is through to the second round quite convincingly. Fingers crossed for the other!

   Bridge this afternoon - Pinky and I couldn't get any good cards but did manage to take some hands with skillful strategies. However, Marie and Diane were the overall victors.

   Leftover chicken for dinner. I will fry up the roast potatoes with some onion, and cook a corn cob. Easy peasy!

   

Still Summery

   The day started out cool but warmed up considerably as the day progressed. A set of tennis with Susan, Kathy and John - Susan and I were the victors today but it was close - 7-5. Cut the grass before lunch, requiring a swim after. The water is still on the chilly side but, as we are forecast 30C by Tuesday, it should be a warm week. Probably the last this summer.

   Watched the last day of the IAAF Championships from Beijing this afternoon. Canada did quite well this year with 7 medals, two of which were gold (in Pole Vault and High Jump). Of course, The U.S. and Jamaica dominated the short distance events and Ethiopia and Kenya dominated in the long distance events.

   Leftover salmon for dinner tonight. I cooked a whole chicken yesterday and had it cold again for lunch today, so don't need a big dinner.

  

Healthy Eating and Exercise

   Lots of exercise in the last two days but no swimming as the nights have been much cooler, resulting in a drop in the pool's temperature. We have a hot weekend coming up so that should extend the swimming season by a few days.

   I am trying to finish a very thrilling book that is due back at the library tomorrow (no renewal privileges as it is reserved for someone else). It's called "A Desperate Fortune", by Susanna Kearsley and I highly recommend it if you like historical fiction and adventure. I will have to re-order it as there's no way I will finish it by tomorrow, but I certainly want to know how it ends! 

   Tennis this morning and home by 11:30 but, since then, just a bit of gardening, roasted a red pepper for my lunch sandwich, and baked a rhubarb bread. The latter, using the last of the rhubarb from the garden, will go in the freezer until next Tuesday when I will take it for treats at Don Mills. I am substituting for Jasmine as court monitor so won't get on the court very much. The last two days have been ideal for tennis - a bit of cloud cover and pleasant temperatures.  

   I have a nice salmon steak for dinner and have wrapped it in foil with a base of kale and a topping of chutney to bake in the oven. I will just have a corn cob on the side followed by a minneola orange for dessert. I will feel very virtuous! I had lunch at Canyon Creek restaurant yesterday with the RODEO (retired old dames eating out) ladies from Probus, so am trying to be slightly abstemious in the food department to compensate for the Thai chicken salad I had. It was delicious but only marginally healthy. Since I only eat out once or twice a month, I manage to keep my weight pretty stable.

P.S. Oops!! Forgot to put dinner in oven so it will be another half hour until I eat. I will be famished by then!

At the Coffee Bar

   It was a quiet day at the Senior's Centre today as many of the regulars were off on a day trip to see "Singing in the Rain", preceded by lunch. However, I did get to chat with a few who stayed behind for the exercise classes while pouring their coffee.

   Did some chores that have been hanging fire for a few weeks. First I finished weeding the back grass and cut it. Soon I will throw some new grass seed on the bare spots. Then I fixed the downspout with duct tape. That was a bit tricky but I think it will work better now. Next I filled the car with gas ($1.04 a litre - bargoon!) and returned $5's of empties to the beer store. Finally I stopped in at the liquor store for my favourite 6-pack of cooler. So now I am enjoying one with some spinach dip. I have nearly eaten the whole tub!

Feels Like Fall

 ....but the grandkids went swimming anyway! I had the pool heater on all morning and the water actually felt warmer than the air. It only got up to 21C today with just a blink or two of sun. After lunch we headed to the park for a stint on the tennis courts but the kids didn't last long so Judy and I hit for half-an-hour.

   I brought in the last big tomato today, another sign of Fall. Usually there are still green ones on the vines when the first frost threatens but it doesn't look like I will have any ripening indoors this year - very strange! One year I was still eating some tomatoes I brought indoors in December! I had a good crop of cherry tomatoes but they are all but finished too.

   After Judy and the kids left I cleaned the pool for (hopefully) the last time, and did a bit of weed pulling. The lawn on the north side of the house has been so inundated with weeds that I was loathe to cut it until they were all removed. One more go at it should do it, but meanwhile the grass looks like a hay field! Luckily, only the pool guy is ever back there.

Usual Monday Activities

   Still haven't got my printer connected but I did manage to upload some photos. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to add them to my blog but at least they are saved in my picture file.

  A quiet weekend with mostly chores and watching tennis and athletics on TV. The tournament from Cincinnati was exciting with Roger Federer winning the men's and Serena Williams, the women's. A couple of Canadians did well in the World Athletic Championships from Beijing so that was worth watching.

   Bridge this afternoon and we finally decided to keep score. Pinky and I won both rubbers so we were highly pleased with ourselves. Sami always bids too high and goes down most games she and her partner play.

   A wasp stung me on the ear this afternoon as I was gardening - it doesn't hurt too much but I will keep an eye on it as I had an allergic reaction once before from what I thought was a wasp sting. It isn't showing any signs of swelling yet.

    I have a nice salmon steak for dinner tonight and will have it with quinoa and peas. No need for dessert as I have been snacking too much today!

Summer is Slowing Down

   To make up for only playing one set of tennis on Tuesday, I played 4 today! Truth to tell they are not whole sets which could be anything from 6 to 12 games plus a tie-break. Because it is a social, we only stay on the court for 8 games regardless of the score and most of the sets I played today ended up 4-4 or 5-3. There was a good turnout but the waits between sets were still quite brief, just enough time for coffee and a cookie.

   It is much more pleasant today. In fact the morning was quite overcast (perfect for tennis) with a few sprinkles of rain. The afternoon was sunny but didn't get above 25C and no humidity. I had the windows open overnight and the house cooled to 19C.

   After getting back from tennis I cut the front grass - first time in a couple of weeks. There are lots of brown patches so I had to pull up weeds - they seem to survive the dry weather better than the grass. However, it does look better and should green up quickly now that we have had some rain and cooler temperatures.

   I defrosted some shrimp tonight and had them with some bruschetta and a glass of wine. I won't cook anything else but just heat up yesterday's cauliflower casserole. It turned out really well with the addition of some kale, lots of cheese, tomatoes sliced on top  and a further topping of breadcrumbs and parmesan. I am trying to use up everything in the fridge before I grocery shop tomorrow. Hope the farmer with the fresh corn is parked on Birchmount when I go out tomorrow. His corn is so sweet and tender!

Rogers Cup

   Spent the last week at the newly named Aviva Centre at York University. Unfortunately, since loading Windows 10, I haven't been able to upload any photos, so that will have to wait. I also have been unable to connect to my printer, so if anyone out in Blogland knows how to sort these problems, please let me know!

    It was an interesting, but hot, week of tennis watching but I am glad to get back to my usual routines - much less tiring! I got my hair cut today as it was particularly annoying in this heat (29C again today). I have had the AC on pretty continually since the weekend and it doesn't look like cooling off any time soon. I only managed one set of tennis yesterday as I was dripping with sweat after only one game. The humidity isn't quite as high today, thankfully.

Catching Up With Chores

    As I will be volunteering at the Rogers Cup every day this week I have been trying to get ahead of the chores today. I did manage a set of tennis this morning but, since then, it's been go-go-go. First I cut the grass then, after a rest, vacuumed the pool. This took me to lunch time and a quick swim (I was very hot and sweaty) followed by a well deserved nap!

   Since then I have cleaned up the kitchen, got a load of ribs in the oven (so that there's some food when I get home from the tennis), swept the floor and polished the glass tables while watching a tennis match on TV. I also trimmed the grass by the bench, which the lawn mower can't reach, and watered the hanging baskets. I will have an early start tomorrow so am not leaving anything to chance.

   In a bit I plan to give the ribs a quick browning on the barbecue, and have some of them with a corn cob and roast potatoes. Speaking of which I had better get the potatoes in the oven!

Camp Treetop, Golf and Sushi

   In a nutshell, that's how my day went today. I set off for Markham around 8:15 to go with Judy and the grandkids to their day camp. I got the guided tour and was suitably impressed.

   Next Judy and I were off to Bushwood GC for a round on the Executive (9 hole) course which, unfortunately, was inundated with young golfers. However we did get round the 9 holes without too much delay and then drove into Markham for lunch at Main Sushi, and very tasty it was too.

   On the way home I stopped in at the Village Grocer for a few items, then Valleyview Garden Centre to check out their perennial sale (I bought three) and finally, the bank ATM. Then home for a nap, a swim and a bit of gardening. The new plants are safely ensconced in the rockery and should do well there although it doesn't get very much sun.

   Not feeling the need for any dinner yet but may have something light later.

First of the Local Corn

   Coming home from Bridge today I noticed the farmer was back in his usual spot with a truck full of corn. It really is the freshest available, far exceeding the supermarket variety, and the cars were lined up to get some. I just bought 3 cobs but that will do me a few days.

   Tennis was very pleasant this morning as we started early and were done by 10:00 a.m. I didn't play very well and was on the losing side in both sets. Kathy P. was the top scorer today! Now I am watching tennis from the Washington tournament but only one Canadian left in the mix.

   I will light the barbecue in a bit and cook some chicken drumsticks. It has been getting a good workout this week! I used a new ingredient in the bruschetta tonight - chopped green onions. Still lots of tomatoes ripening quickly so it will be my "go-to" snack for the time being.

Very Pleasant Temperatures

Seems to be cooling off - it was quite chilly when I went out this morning with the green bin. However, the sun was shining until later this afternoon when we had quite a bit of cloud float in - no rain today, a pleasant 24C and I managed a swim. The pool guy was here today to check the chemicals and do a back wash, a chore I hate. He is well worth the price as the pool has never looked better.

   Worked at the coffee bar this morning. It was very quiet as one of the instructors was sick so all her classes were cancelled. This meant I was able to join the ladies (who had turned up for the early class) for coffee and a chat, while keeping an eye out for any newcomers wanting to be fed.

   Dug up the rock garden this afternoon, removed all the weeds and repositioned the stones. It looks much better and I might buy a couple of perennials to tuck into the spaces. I plan to look for some that attract bees and butterflies.

   Replaced the batteries in my smoke and carbon monoxide alarm. It had been beeping at me for the last few days to the extent that I got up in the middle of the night last night and removed the old batteries just to shut it up!
  

Mixed Weather

   Sunny and pleasant this morning but dark clouds and a couple of rain showers this afternoon. This is becoming a pattern. At least the garden appreciates it and I did get in the pool a couple of times and did a bit of garden tidy up between showers.

   Tennis this morning - I was strangely lethargic even after I had a coffee, so didn't play very well. Hope that is just a passing phase. But it was nice to sit and chat after playing - not a big crowd today which made it pleasant.

    Although I still have some steak left over from the other day, I am eating fish In a cheese sauce for dinner tonight - my stomach needs a rest from red meat. I plan to cook a cauliflower and kale casserole and oven fries to go with the fish. So, must be off and start cooking.

Simcoe Day

   Bank holiday today so a special event at Don Mills TC. There was a shocking site when we arrived  - the strong wind last night had taken down part of the fencing so some of the courts were out of commission. However, by 11:00 some of the younger guys got the fence temporarily up, enough so that we could use all the courts.

   Although the day started cool and overcast, it turned out quite hot. I played several sets before lunch and another after we ate (not a good idea!). Lunch was a real treat. The club supplied hamburgers and hot dogs, coffee and punch, and the members brought pot luck, so there was an abundance of food. Salads, quiche, chili and samosas (both quite spicy) and devilled eggs were some of the treats. And the desserts! I tried to have one of everything but there was just too much! No dinner for me tonight although I did make some bruschetta to have with a beer earlier.

The baguette: I toasted a few slices and returned the rest to the freezer for another day.

 

The tomato from the garden: I didn't even need the whole thing, it was so humungous!

 

The bruschetta ready to eat:  chopped tomato, some chopped basil leaves, garlic and olive oil - and a few shavings of parmesan cheese on top. Yum!!

Passed the 5,000 Mark

   I have now had over 5,000 views so obviously someone is enjoying my posts!   A funny day weatherwise - hot this morning on the tennis courts but I did manage almost three sets. I had to quit before the end of the third set but Cathy and I were ahead, so we counted it as a win. Kathy and Susan were not pleased! 

   This afternoon clouded over around 4:00 p.m. and a strong wind came up. This was followed by heavy rain and thunder. Can't complain as the garden definitely needed the moisture. Luckily I had a swim right after I got home from tennis.

   I cashed in some Air Miles at Metro this afternoon and got a steak, some Oka cheese and a baguette virtually free. I am saving the baguette to make bruschetta from all the tomatoes that are on the cusp if ripeness. When the rain stops I will barbecue the steak and serve it with fried onions and cremini mushrooms and mashed sweet potato. Thank goodness the BBQ is on the front porch where it is dry!

An "At Home" Day

   I did do a grocery run this morning but, other than that, have had a restful day at home. Quite heavy rain for a short while this afternoon with thunder rumbling in the distance, but it is now sunny again. Temperature a pleasant 25C and the pool is back to a refreshing 78F.

    I trimmed some leaves from the tomato plants to help ripen the tomatoes and pulled up the lettuces which had shot up wildly. I also picked the last of the raspberries - just a few small ones but enough for dessert with some blueberries.

   I treated myself to a crispy bacon sandwich for breakfast this morning with fried mushrooms and tomatoes. More cherry tomatoes with my lunch - it's either feast or famine here when the fruit and vegetables start to ripen!

Almost ready to be harvested.

Back to blue skies and fluffy clouds after a heavy rain shower.