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.

Life in Retirement is Busy!

    I had to go back to my calendar to see what I was up to last week, how time flies when you're having fun!

   On Tuesday I got out on the tennis courts in the morning, then later in the afternoon I filled in as a host at a pre-retirement workshop for teachers. There was a huge crowd (so many intent on leaving the profession, unfortunately), the presentation was excellent and I was able to answer some of the questions the participants had. There was quite a selection of food (and leftovers to bring home) so that made the time commitment worth while.

   On Thursday I was on a bus trip to south Ontario (Grimsby, Beamsville and points in between) where we enjoyed High Tea at a fancy garden centre and later toured a winery. All in all a fun day and I brought home lots of leftovers.

   On Saturday the pool guys were here to take the cover off my pool - it's still rather green and the water will need to warm up a bit but I bet I will be in by the end of the week. It's turned very warm in the last few days!

    Another busy week coming up so stay tuned. I am babysitting two cats for a few days so life will be anything but dull, for sure.