Wine Tasting

    The Wine-Knows met again on Saturday afternoon - just 8 of us this time as some are still vacationing - but it was a jolly time and I had to be careful with the wine consumption as there was more to go around. Five interesting wines, 1 white, 1 rosee and three reds. My favourite was one of the reds and it also happened to be the one that scored the most points. We judge the wines on appearance, aroma and taste and that one had a very distinctive bouquet. There were also lots of nibblies so I didn't need dinner when I got home, just a late night snack. The meeting was at one of the member's condo which was on the 17th floor with a spectacular view of the city. I wouldn't mind living there!

    Still desperately trying to stay ahead of the tomato crop. The cherry and grape tomatoes are still going strong and the heirloom tomatoes are beginning to produce large specimens. I've had three already (they are a meal unto themselves) and there are still several at the green stage. I'm sure they will ripen before too long. So every meal has to contain tomatoes in some form. Tonight it's chicken parmigiana with eggplant casserole and corn kernels.

Labour Day

    Gorgeous day today - sunny with a few clouds, not too warm, around 24C. The tennis club always puts on a social on holidays so I left here around 10:00 a.m. for some light tennis and a BBQ lunch, all very pleasant and a chance to socialize. 

   I just played two short sets (we were time limited for the maximum number of people on the courts) with some new faces and I acquitted myself respectfully. Lunch was juicy chicken souvlaki skewers, Greek salad and potato salad, cake to follow with water melon for those that preferred something refreshing. And, of course, coffee on tap!

   Home by 1:30 and, after a nap, I cut the back lawn and did some garden tidy up. By then I was hot and sweaty so had a swim and dried off on the patio for half-an-hour. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the U.S. Open tennis, no particularly exciting matches but interesting nevertheless. So it has been a busy and productive day and I will sleep well tonight with all that fresh air and exercise.

Grocery Shopping While Hungry

   Last Thursday we had a pot luck lunch at the Seniors' Centre - just the volunteers who work in the kitchen and everyone brought something special. There was enough food to feed an army and of course I wanted to try everything. I had made sausage rolls and there were quite a few left (plus some other people's food, lasagna, onion cakes, noodles and marinated eggs) so I brought home enough for dinner that night and Friday.

   I wasn't starving when I went to the grocery store on Friday but had only had a banana and yogurt smoothie and a granola bar before my tennis game so must have worked up an appetite. It's not the best time to shop anyway as the store is always quite busy. Last week I witnessed a fight over bargain corn cobs to which the store manager had to intervene!

    Anyway, my stomach was ruling my brain and I purchased a huge cauliflower ($1.99), a beauty of an eggplant ( just because it looked so glossy and shiny) and a pack of reduced chicken drumsticks without thinking that I already had leftovers to eat this weekend and I am eating out Monday and Tuesday. So what to do?

    Yesterday I ate up the last of the sausage rolls and made a cauliflower gratin. Today it was eggplant parmesan and and half the pack of drumsticks. The rest went in the freezer and the eggpplant dish will also go there, probably five portions. That still leaves more cauliflower and some of the chicken which I will pick at for the next two days depending on how hungry I am. Monday is a BBQ at the tennis club and Tuesday is brunch with my retired teacher friends to celebrate NOT having to start back to school!

Another Milestone

     Today was my car license renewal appointment and another opportunity to try out the hearing aids. This was the third time since I reached 80 that I have had to take the test and the hardest part was finding the Service Ontario centre where it was held. I had to navigate a part of town where a new tram line has just been opened with confusing road signs but I managed to get there on time. First there was an eye test followed by the cognitive portion (drawing a clock face showing the time) and that was all. After just 10 or so minutes the clerk congratulated me and declared me good to drive for another two years. Yay!!!

   My current home project, which I started last week with the help of youngest grandson, is to remove the carpet in the family room. It is badly stained and doesn't even look good after cleaning. It was in place when I bought the house so is at least 30 years old, so it is time for it to go. Last weekend James cut up a portion of the carpet and rolled it up to go out for the garbage pickup. Next job was removing the wooden strips that the carpet was attached to, not my forte but he was good at that! Lastly, my job, was to remove the underpadding which had completely decomposed and was stuck to the wooden floor underneath. That has been the worst part of the job and is proving a problem to dispose of as it is extremely sticky and heavy. One load went out for garbage pickup yesterday but there are many more to go before we are done. Luckily there is no rush to get it done and James will help me again this weekend. The wooden floor underneath will look good once we have got all the gunk off it. Never a dull moment chez moi!