First BBQ of the Year

    This was at the Seniors' Centre and I was helping out in the kitchen - didn't actually have anything to do with the BBQ but got a burger, coleslaw and potato salad from what was left over. I even managed to snag a burger and bun to bring home for tonight's dinner!

   The crew in charge of things served over 60 meals to the seniors who had ordered either beef, chicken or veggie burgers in advance. We had many compliments about the food and the (relatively) reasonable cost of the meal  - $8. This also included an ice cream bar for dessert. 

   I was pretty pooped by the time everyone had been fed and all the numerous, greasy utensils and trays had been cleaned and stored away, so came home for a nap. Since then I have been reading (I'm into a Cormoran Strike novel by Robert Galbraith, aka J.K. Rowling), pottering in the garden and just generally relaxing. Tomorrow the car goes in for its bi-annual service and one of the pool guys is coming over to check my pool pump as it's not working as it should. Both things may put a hefty dent in my savings but I am keeping my fingers crossed it won't be too expensive.

   There should be at least three more BBQ's there over the summer and I may host one here as well. It's the perfect weather for al fresco eating!

Feeling More Like Summer

     Lunch with the Wine-Knows was fun but I wasn't too impressed by the meal. The last time I was at that particular restaurant I had a very nice piece of salmon but it wasn't on the "pris fixe" menu this time. I had a very huge Caesar salad, pork and veal tagliatelle (also huge so I took most of it home) and finally, a delicious peach panna cotta and a cappuchino. Of course, there was wine (I chose a Valpollicello which went very well with the meal) so it was a very jolly afternoon and we didn't roll out of there until 4:00 p.m. We did manage to set up our next wine tasting which will be at Suman's condo in September - looking forward to seeing her place and tasting her wine choices.

   Things have been quiet since Thursday (just tennis on Friday and a quick trip to the grocery store) but I did pick up some tomato and Swiss Chard plants and got them into the ground. The weather has been gorgeous - sunny but not humid and cooling off at night. I could take this kind of weather right through until September. I have been in the pool several times and it's still May. Whoo-hoo!

First Dip of the Summer

    I forgot yesterday to get up at the crack of dawn (actually 7:00 a.m.) to sign up online for my weekly fitness class. So, now I am on the waiting list and just hoping someone doesn't show up so I can get in. I'm not too worried about missing it as there are lots of opportunities to exercise outdoors now that the good weather has returned. Today we had blue skies and a very pleasant 26 degrees.

   Late this afternoon, after cutting the back grass, I was hot and sweaty so decided I needed a cooling plunge (and the water was cool, just on 70 F). I swam up and down the pool for 10 minutes and sat outside to dry off for another few minutes, but by then the temperature was dropping so had to come indoors. Tonight it is to go down to 12C so it may be a few more days until the water heats up enough for me to get in. However, I am glad I managed my first dip before May ended. That's not always the case. 

    Tomorrow the "Wine-Knows" (the wine-tasting group I belong to) are meeting for lunch and, no doubt this will involve some wine. We are meeting at a restaurant rather than someone's house as this is more of an end-of-season celebration rather than an actual wine tasting. We won't meet again until the Fall as quite a few members spend the summer months on vacation or at cottages. My vacation spot is my back yard with a pile of books and a cool drink on hand.

Rain Stopped Play

    A rainy, blustery day and not much on the agenda. It's been another busy week so I am quite happy to relax indoors with a good book. I never did get to take my first dip in the pool yet as the weather is most un-May like at the moment. Hope it improves soon.

   Tuesday was the monthly lunch at Qssis - not very exciting, a plentiful salad followed by meatloaf (I could make that myself) veg and mashed potatoes but we had coffee and ice cream dessert for afters so not a complete disappointment. Our regional president swore in next year's executive and extolled the virtues of volunteerism. Most of us volunteer at something or other now we have so much free time so she was "preaching to the choir" in more ways than one.

   Thursday was Probus club with an interesting speaker (for once) followed by Book Club. I won't recommend the book  (The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern) but we had a lively discussion and the presenters had gone to a lot of trouble to set a suitable atmosphere. One more book to discuss before we break for the summer. 

   I played tennis for an hour on Friday morning and it was a good workout as my opponents were pretty challenging. That's not always the case as it's mostly the geriatric group who show up for the drop-in activity. But I had a good partner so we did OK.