Dizzy

    The room was spinning when I woke up this morning but, despite feeling off colour all day, I have managed to carry out my usual Saturday chores. Still headachy and a bit queasy so have taken it easy. I think I may have got a touch of heat stroke when I was picking strawberries yesterday.

   It is still blazingly hot so have stayed indoors all day except for a quick run to the grocery store as everything will be closed tomorrow and Monday for Canada Day. I was in the pool twice but came back indoors almost right away as it was too hot and humid to dry off outside.

   I got a batch of jam made this afternoon - thank goodness for air conditioning - but still have enough strawberries left to make a pie and freeze some. I used most of the very ripe berries so, hopefully, the others will last a couple more days in the fridge.

    

Picking Strawberries

   A blistering day - 33C with the humidex registering 39C - but I decided it was my last chance to go strawberry picking!
  
   The first problem was that my favourite farm had gone out of business (they had decided it was more profitable to sell to a developer than to stay in the farming business) so I had to find a new spot. After searching online I found a couple of places fairly close by but spent almost an hour driving around to check them out. It was very hot in the strawberry fields so I only picked about two thirds of my usual crop but have enough to make a batch of jam and a couple of pies, as well as just eating them fresh with loads of cream!

    Two dips in the pool today but since then have been hiding out indoors with the A/C on. I did manage two sets of tennis this morning but faded fast as the heat increased, as did everyone else. We were done by 10:30. More heat tomorrow!

Pizza Party

   Not my favourite meal but when it's free I wouldn't turn my nose up at it. The event at the tennis club was postponed from Saturday when it was rained out. 

Now I am stuffed and happy I don't have to fix any dinner tonight. Also it was a chance to socialize with some folks I hadn't seen in a while. It's amazing how the offer of free food brings people (and not just me) out of the woodwork!

Gorgeous day after a rainy weekend -sunny and low 20's, very pleasant.

Celebrating Lives Well Lived

   I have to attend two "Celebrations of Life" this week, one for a friend who died after suffering a massive cerebral hemorrhage, and another who was the victim of a vicious attack. If you live in the Toronto area you probably heard of it - he was pushed into the path of an approaching subway train. I know him from my tennis club and all who knew him are quite devastated by the news. He was quite a special person and didn't deserve this fate. So, it will be a sad week for me and many others.

Tonight's Treat

Treated myself to a glass of wine (Black Tower, I haven't had that in ages) and an aperitif of cream cheese, smoked salmon and avocado slices. Do I still need dinner? Well, yes, but much later.

    And there's my current library book, if you haven't tried Donna Leon you really must - a window into life of a Venetian Commisario and his family, good mysteries and oodles of food descriptions. His wife is a stellar cook of Italian staples.

Celebrating!

   Oldest grandson's Grade 6 graduation ceremony yesterday and I was on babysitting duties while Mom and Dad attended. He received the Citizenship Award, photos were taken (not with my camera so will have to wait until they are sent to me) and we had a special cake to celebrate. James made lemonade so it was quite a party.

   After a very hot weekend, the weather has been perfect - low 20's and cooling off nicely at night. I have been swimming most days after an afternoon of gardening. Lots of tennis on TV - start of the grass courts season leading up the Wimbledon so plenty to keep me occupied!

Hot, Hot, Hot!!

    Very hot right from sunup today - didn't last long on the tennis courts. Washington and I were soundly beaten, 5-2, by Susan and Tamara but, honestly, I wasn't giving it my best - just too hot and sweaty.

    My outside thermometer was reading 39C this afternoon but I think it was just around 33C. I tried to do some gardening (while still cool from a swim) but had to give up after half-an-hour, just gave the thirsty garden a good watering. The pool has been well used today. The water started out at 72F this morning but was 76F by the time of my last dip, very comfortable.

   The air conditioner kicked in recently and I might leave it running overnight so I get a decent night's sleep. I was late to bed last night, having been at the White Heather Ball, but was up at my usual time, so feeling a bit sleep deprived!

   

After The Storm

   Still windy this morning - it was a real struggle to keep the ball in play on the tennis courts - but we seem to have missed the real storm. Hydro out in many places, flooding and trees uprooted. Kathy and John won the first set and we ended play at 2-2 in the second as I had errands to run, plus we were all pretty exhausted.

   Judy and I had a nice lunch and chin wag. It's hard to keep a conversation going when the grandkids are around so this was a rare treat for us. I cooked the salmon in the toaster oven and made two salads - quinoa with mint and cranberries and a regular green salad with Boston lettuce from the garden.

   After she went back to work I had a short nap before leaving for Book Club. The book we were discussing (which I didn't finish), "Do Not Say We Have Nothing" by Madeline Thiem, was not a popular choice despite having received several awards. We tried to decide what criteria the judges had used to assess it but were a bit flummoxed. Only one person said they would recommend it , and only to someone interested in that particular historical era. It was set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Maoist regime.

Cleaned the skimmer in the pool when I got home - it was jammed with debris from the storm - and did a bit of a garden tidy-up. Won't need dinner tonight but will eat some of the leftovers from lunch. That should suffice.

Wild Weather

   Very windy - clouds chasing each other across the sky and debris from the trees flying into the pool - a bit of rain this morning but a decent day otherwise. I walked there and back to the Senior`s Centre, did my fitness class and served coffee for a couple of hours. so I should sleep well tonight

    Daughter coming for lunch tomorrow so must remember to take some salmon fillets out of the freezer before I go to tennis. Now I need to search for a recipe for quinoa salad. Both of us are trying to cut back on carbs so lots of filling vegetables will be required.

Warm But Windy

    Very windy this morning, making things tricky on the tennis court. Susan and I came up 6-4 after a slow start against the two Cathys. We were 0-3 at one point so very chuffed with ourselves. It was quite a challenge to adjust to the wind every time we changed ends. When I got home I watched the Men's Final at the French Open - Rafa triumphed once again!

    The rhubarb is going great guns so I picked some today and made rhubarb and ginger jam. It thickened up nicely without having to add lemon juice or Certo although I never did manage to get it to the "setting" temperature of 105F. Maybe my candy thermometer is wrong.

   Nothing much on TV tonight but, luckily, I borrowed a movie from the library so that's what I will watch.

Lots of rhubarb left - maybe a pie next week?

A Special Surprise

   Received my Ontario Trillium Benefit deposited in my bank account today - just once a year and a not insignificant amount. A nice surprise!

    Birthday celebrations at the tennis club today as Carol turns 90 tomorrow! And still playing tennis - she is a role model to us all! We had cake and lemonade as well as the usual coffee and it was a perfect day for tennis, sunny but not too hot or windy. Home by 12:30 and straight for a nap after lunch as I was tired after a busy morning. I've just been gardening since then (trying to tackle the weeds). It will be a quiet evening in front of the TV and early to bed.

A Long Morning

   We sat through a very long, tedious RTO meeting for three hours this morning but rewarded ourselves with a nice lunch at Boston Pizza. I had chicken quesadillas with Caesar salad - yummy! I announced at the meeting that this will be my final year as Secretary and they should start looking for someone to train to replace me. I came into the job cold and it was a very difficult first year so wouldn't wish that on anyone.

   Nasty scare yesterday - got an e-mail from the government saying they hadn't received my tax payment! My lunch buddies told me it was probably a scam but, one short phone call later, it was all cleared up. The payment had gone into the wrong account (the one I use when paying tax in installments). Not sure if it was my fault or the government. Regardless it's all sorted now and the agent who helped me was very kind and said it's not an uncommon mistake. Phew!!

   No dinner tonight as I am still stuffed - maybe soup or a sandwich later.

In the Vegetable Garden

   I have been picking leaves off the lettuce plants for the last week already, but the raspberry bed is a disaster area! Full of weeds and only a dozen canes showing any sign of growth. Berries will be very late if at all. The tomato plants have very few flowers - hope they put on a burst soon!

Most of last year's raspberry canes don't seem to have survived the winter

Plentiful Bounty

   Rhubarb cake last week and a rhubarb crumble today - maybe it's time for a batch of jam. I usually wait until the local strawberries are ready as I like the combination, but the rhubarb is coming on gangbusters.

   A bit cooler today so no swim, and we had heavy rain this afternoon. The garden benefitted from a good soaking. Luckily I had cut the grass yesterday as it will be growing like crazy again.