Getting Back in the Groove

    I have finally got myself motivated to resume attending the Scottish Country dance group I belong to. It is on Monday evenings and I rarely go out at night any more so it was a real effort to get there. Once there I usually enjoy myself and am glad I went. They have been going since late September but last week was my first visit. Our teacher, Nigel, and his wife Lourdes, have made every effort to keep it fun and enjoyable. 

    I found dancing in a mask very bothersome but loved to see most of the familiar faces. I found I was quite out of shape and breathless after each dance despite getting lots of exercise over the summer. We aren't able to have our usual "tea break" but Lourdes has been supplying home baking at break time. Catherine brought herself a flask of tea so maybe I will do that next week instead of my bottle of water. Here is one of the dances we learned last night, "Pinewoods Reel". This is NOT us dancing, you can tell as they are not wearing masks!

Another Treat

    A miserable day and I haven't set foot outside, in fact I have no plans to go anywhere until Monday. It seems too early in the winter for us to be having sub-zero temperatures and my body just hasn't adjusted to the change. At least no snow yet.

    After my request for more no-bake recipes, sparklingmerlot (see my sidebar) sent me a recipe for Lemon Coconut Squares. They turned out really well and are stored in the freezer for when I want some comfort food. Now I am on the lookout for something chocolatey, maybe a chewy chocolate brownie!

They were pretty easy and I had most of the ingredients on hand.

No-Bake Baking

   Since I am still without an oven it has been difficult (though not impossible) to keep myself provided with sweet treats to nibble on in the evenings. But today I dug out my friend Cathy's no-bake recipe for energy balls. They turned out well, I think the secret was to chill the mixture well before trying to roll it into balls. 

It's probably too small to read but you get the idea. Cathy's helpful comments included.

Here they are ready to go in the freezer from which I will extract one a time for a snack.

   Granddaughter's 14th birthday yesterday so I was summoned to join the family party. It was lots of fun and a nice meal besides. No cake but we had Creme Brulee (Natalie's choice). I am now officially the smallest person in the family. Beside my tennis friends I feel quite tall as two are shorter than me, but around the grandkids I feel like a shrimp!

A Special Treat

    I treated myself the other day to a special cheese and some new (to me) crisps. They went perfectly together and the veggie chips were just the right size for digging into the cheese. It doesn't take much to make me happy!

Despite being full of vegetables the chips were not particularly healthy but, boy, did they taste good!

Something to Cheer About!

    It may be gloomy and wet outside but, in my house, the blooms are still coming!

Both hibiscus plants loved being outdoors for the summer and are rewarding me with these gorgeous blooms after being taken indoors.

   Second raking done this week but there are still leaves to bag up and dispose of. Some will go in the composter but it already is almost full.

Saying Goodbye at Rosemary and Thyme

    You will be tired of seeing the same four faces in my photos but, truthfully, these are the only people, other than family, I am seeing at the moment. Things are very slowly opening up here and we are ultra cautious about venturing out. The masks only came off when we sat down at the table. Brunch was lovely especially the endless coffee. Cathy and I had Eggs Florentine and the other two had different breakfast specials.

This was our final get-together of the year as we go our separate ways now that tennis is over. My first meal out since I was treated to a meal in a restaurant for my birthday in September 2020!

    Cathy (in red checks) will be playing tennis in Florida come January but the rest of us will be on hiatus from tennis until April at the earliest. After this taste of "life after Covid", I am excitedly looking forward to the family Festive Special outing at Swiss Chalet next month! We had to miss it last year for the first time in about 10 years.

Catching Up

    Just dropping in to say I am still in the land of the living and haven't succumbed to any viruses! Nothing happening here - tennis over for another year although I was invited to play indoors this week. Still no working stove but fingers crossed the new part is installed before Christmas. It will be touch-and-go!

   More leaves to rake but it was too cold today. Although parts of the country have had snow, it has passed us by for the time being. All good!

The Plum Pudding

      It is 5:30 and it is already dark!  The clocks went back last night so we will be spending more time indoors with the lights on, I guess. There has been lots of talk of stopping Daylight Savings time but I like the lighter evenings in Spring and Summer.    

   The Christmas plum pudding was steamed today and turned out well. I soaked the fruit overnight (I am not usually well enough organized to do this) and that made the actual preparation much easier. Now to pack it away to mature for a few weeks!

One last rose from the garden. There is another bud but I don't think it will survive the frost long enough to  open.

Returning to Normal

    I had an overnight guest (actually two nights) this week - my DIL from Victoria who stopped off in the city after a holiday in Newfoundland. That is where she is from and still has many friends there. She was busy while with me, seeing friends here too but we had to make sure to stop in to see her niece and nephews (my grandkids) before she left. We had a nice family dinner with them and got caught up on everyone`s news.

  Other than that it has been a quiet week. On Thursday I had two Zoom meetings to attend which ran a bit too long. Usually I find Zoom meetings can go quite efficiently but that was not the case this time - too much to discuss, I guess! We had to decide when to start up activities again although nothing was settled. It will probably be 2022 before we can get back to our normal schedule, just waiting for the go ahead from Head Office and the Health Department.

   One piece of good news! The Probus club I belong to is planning an in-person Christmas lunch which will be exciting. I haven`t eaten in a restaurant since my birthday in September 2020! It will depend on whether sufficient people are interested as we need at least 50 to sign up. I got my name in right away. Fingers crossed it`s a `go`!

   

    

My Most Recent Reading

    These are going back to the library tomorrow. Both kept me guessing until the last page, "The Blame Game " was quite suspenseful. I have ordered the next book by each author.

   Lots of these around on the ground now but I haven't started raking yet.

Will It Never End?

 .....the saga of my stove, that is. The oven is still not working but another new (expensive) part has been ordered. At least this time I was not charged for labour and I can still use the stove top and the broiler. 

    My major worry is that the part will take 4 to 6 weeks to arrive and that will be almost Christmas - I am supposed to be cooking the Christmas meal this year. Then another week to get the technician here to install it. I have forewarned my daughter that she may have to pitch in with her oven or even take over the whole meal. It will be the first time since 1970 that I won't be cooking the Christmas feast. I will, however, be able to steam the plum pudding which grandkids were rather worried about.

   Tuesday's tennis was another chilly experience but we are determined to keep playing until they lock up the courts. Just praying there will be no snow before then!