Changing of the Seasons

   Big weekend coming up as it is Thanksgiving. Lunch with the family on Sunday and another social at the tennis club on Monday with more food. 

   We had a couple of frosty nights recently and I brought in most of my outdoor plants. They have done well over the summer as they seem to like the big outdoors. They always seem to die back a bit over the winter - less sun and dry conditions - but will perk up again once Spring rolls around.

   I am still picking tomatoes although I have removed three of the plants after picking a tray full of green ones. I knew they wouldn't ripen outdoors any time soon but they will keep for another month or so.

   It's still warm enough to sit outside most days and we are still getting lots of sun. However, I have started switching over to more seasonal clothes and packing away the summer outfits. The pool is closed for the season so no need for my swimsuit!

An Update

    It's been a couple of busy weeks, thence no posts. I can't remember if I mentioned the winery tour I went on recently (it was fun with a lovely lunch and wine samples, but I fell asleep on the bus home and felt awful when I woke). Then we had two lunches and a brunch which wreaked havoc with my diet so I am trying to cut back this week and have some simple meals.

   The weather has turned distinctly cooler, the pool is all wrapped up for the winter and I have got out some woolly sweaters for lounging around the house. My little home improvement project is just about finished bar some small painting repairs but I have still to get the paint. It looks way better than before and should add to the price of my house when I decide to sell. Another project for next Spring!

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.