Tennis and Dim Sum

     This week I have spent quite a bit of time watching the tennis championships at Toronto and Montreal. Only one Canadian remains in the draw and most of the top men have been eliminated but the play is still pretty spectacular.

   This afternoon the women were rained out here in Toronto but the men were still playing in Montreal. Now the rain has moved on so the games here have resumed. Hopefully it won't cause havoc with the play in Montreal which is in the path of the storm!

   Today, the "Ladies Who Lunch" (aka Retired Old Dames Eating Out or RODEO) met at a Dim Sum restaurant and shared a plethora of delightful treats for the princely sum of $14. This is one of my favourite ways of eating, also known as "grazing". I couldn't tell you what each dish was but, luckily, we had our very own guide to pick items we would like. A couple of my favourites were fried Lotus Root cake, spring rolls and stuffed eggplant. Now I will know what to order next time I go. There was also lots of rice and noodles and a couple of sweet treats to finish. And gallons of green tea! I didn't have breakfast this morning and will just have a light dinner if I get peckish later.

Commonwealth Games

    I have been glued to the TV this week for a couple of hours each afternoon, watching the games from Glasgow. Our national broadcaster is just showing highlights that feature Canadians but it is interesting nevertheless.

   According to them, Canada is in second place (by gold medal count) but really they are third behind Australia and England. Australia is doing amazingly well, way ahead of everyone else. It is interesting to see they also give time for the Para athletes. Usually they are an after thought at international competitions. 

   It's another hot sunny day here, I've been in the pool twice to cool off,  and no problems with the air quality, so Mr. Trump can stop complaining that we are polluting his air! The forest fires are still burning and are being gradually brought under control, until the next one starts up. Still, I think we are doing better here than the European countries who are really suffering. Rain is sorely needed everywhere!

Day Trip

    I had signed up (and paid for) a bus trip today but the weather forecast was atrocious! Thunder storms and constant rain right through the day. We were travelling a bit north east but the weather there was to be equally awful. My friend bailed but I decided to go anyway and so did most of the other seniors who had committed weeks ago.

   The trip was a cruise on the Severn canal to see the lift locks, one of which is quite unique in the world. I was totally impressed with the mechanics of raising boats up to 4 metres, we went through two locks and then returned through them again. There are over 40 locks on the canal before it reaches Lake Ontario so a major piece of engineering. So glad I have seen it.

   The weather didn't spoil things too much. We didn't get rained on  while moving from bus to boat to lunch spot and back again although there were several showers while we were on the boat. There were two decks, one enclosed and the other quite adequately covered so we stayed dry and could still observe the lock gates opening and closing. After the cruise, almost three hours, we headed to a local joint, Jack's Fish House, for fish and chips which was delicious. Having breakfasted early (our bus departed at 8:30 a.m.) we were all ravenous so the food really hit the spot. It was followed by Coconut Cream Pie, which was to die for, and coffee. 

   On the return trip we were scheduled to stop at an Ojibwe (local Indian tribe) craft shop and museum but, when we arrived it was closed. Later we learned there had been a tornado warning in the area and everyone had been advised to shelter in place. As an alternative, on the way home our driver stopped at a country store which held an abundance of locally made food and crafts so we were able to satisfy our shopping urge. Home by 6:30 and by then the sun was out. No need for a proper meal, just a small snack and  glass of wine after a busy and eventful day.

Air Quality

     I woke up this morning to a very strange sky. The sun was a barely visible orange ball and the sky was quite dark with a weird brown colour. Turns out this is air pollution from forest fires in Northern Ontario. This has lasted all day but yesterday's awful heat has fortunately dissipated. 

    I haven't been affected by the poor air quality but several people did say they were having trouble breathing and not too many were at Fitness class this morning. We just need the wind direction to change a bit - it was from the north west most of the day and is now WNW.

    I have all the windows open and the house has cooled down considerably. Yesterday was really unbearable even with the AC working overtime. At one point my car temp gauge registered 37C. Currently it's 22C. but tomorrow it is forecast to get up to 29C. We are due some rain by the end of the week which will also help to clear the air.