Starting to Feel Like Fall

    It was really cool this morning (12C) and I was well bundled up in layers for tennis. I did warm up eventually and got one layer off but nothing like our normal temperatures. I do hope this isn't the end of the lovely summer weather! The tennis courts will still be open for another 3 weeks and we will keep playing until the nets and wind screens are taken down. There was a strong wind from the north today which made playing a bit tricky.

  The pool guys were here yesterday to close the pool for the season - boo hoo! It's been a good year but the nights have been so cool recently that I hadn't swum for the past week. Sometimes I'm able to swim until almost the end of September but not this year, sadly. It looks so different with the pool cover on but now it is safely tucked away before the nasty winter weather arrives. Now I just have the job of getting the garden tidied up but I still have two or more months until the snow arrives to do that. 

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!