Rain (Almost) Stopped Play

    Still hot here but, unusually, rainy and overcast. We had a violent downpour this morning while I was making a quick run (by car, fortunately) to the grocery store and library. I got quite wet but by the time I was finished shopping it had stopped. Since then it has been sprinkling intermittently but is now back to sunny and hot. 

   The family were to come over for lunch and a swim and decided to stay with the plan despite the weather. They were all (but one) in the pool as the water was still pleasant and we were able to stay sheltered under the awning to eat lunch. Judy brought salads and barbecued sausages so it was an easy meal to prepare. By the time they left around 3:00 the sun and the heat were back full force and now everything is drying off

    I waited until they were gone to have a swim and have since been watching sports on TV, too hot to sit outside. Canada went down to Morocco in soccer but there is still one Canadian left in singles at Wimbledon and one in doubles. I had run out of reading materials but managed to find a good book at the library so am all set for the rest of the weekend. Nothing on the agenda until Tuesday.

Canada Day

    A bit of a scorcher today for our national holiday. The temp in my car was at 37C when I drove home today. I had been at the tennis social but, like several others, didn't set foot on the court because of the heat. I couldn't even venture on to the practice court to hit a few balls, felt quite dizzy and sick.

    I did manage to eat the nice lunch they provided, BBQ hot dogs and green and potato salads with coffee and a special Canada Day cake for dessert. And prizes! I was lucky enough to get a new tape for the grip on my racket. Then we sang "Oh, Canada" just because of the special day.

   Since then I have been hiding indoors, watching the last few matches at Wimbledon (the time difference means we only get it until mid-afternoon), napping and reading. My current book is good, "Whistler" by Ann Patchett if you are looking for an engaging summer read.

   I will go out later and water the plants in the back yard which seem to fade in the hot weather. The front yard has to look after itself!

 Thought you might enjoy this flash from the past.

Strawberry Fields Forever

    I had today free as the Seniors centre, where I am usually on a Wednesday for my fitness class and kitchen duty, was closed for their annual Spring clean. So I checked out the website of our local "Pick Your Own" strawberry farm and was happy to see the strawberries were ready. 

   I headed there early to beat the crowds and managed to have my basket filled in little over half an hour. The berries were huge and very ripe and it is an excellent, well maintained facility with helpful staff. So this afternoon was spent making jam and eating the occasional berry that made its way into my hands rather than the cook pot. I added a cup of chopped rhubarb as it is plentiful at the moment. I got 8 jars of jam for the cost of $16 for the berries (I only used about half of them) and $10 for the sugar and Certo. Probably works out to a bit less that $3 per jar, quite a reasonable price. Plus I know it is just pure fruit and sugar, no preservitives.

   Steve came over today, on his way to somewhere else, and fixed my fence which has been wobbly since last week's strong winds. I had fixed a pasta casserole in case he came at dinner time but he was long gone before then so that's tonight's dinner!