Still Struggling With Technology

    A pretty decent day, especially the late afternoon while I was working in the garden. I even managed a dip in the pool and, fortunately, the sun stuck around until I dried off. I used some leftover chicken in a salad for dinner, nice and easy and tasty too!

   I used my new credit card at the drug store this morning but it wouldn't give me my PC points. Another long wait on the phone didn't accomplish anything so I will have to try again tomorrow. At least I know it is activated and I will be able to use it from now on.

A Quick Update

    Heavy rain this afternoon so have spent the rest of the day reading and will return to binge-watching "Happy Valley" this evening. It is gruesome but, oh so riveting!

Three Generations

    Today we lunched at "Fishbone at the Lake" which is a short drive into the country north of here. The food was delicious (though quite pricy but, what the heck, I wasn't paying!). It's on the shore of Musselman's Lake which is surrounded by some grand homes, more modest cottages and a couple of trailer parks. The restaurant overlooks the lake but it was a rather cool, overcast day so not much to see. 

Natalie had shrimp linguini and Judy and I had seared tuna and mango salad. Both meals were beautifully presented and tasted wonderful!

It was surprisingly busy for a mid-week lunch hour but Judy had made a reservation so we got seated and served right away. I expect quite a few of the diners were people on vacation. After lunch we went across the road to a charming curio shop where we browsed for a while then sat outside with our desserts - a butter tart and coffee for me and ice cream for the others. The rain stayed away until we were just about to leave, just a few sprinkles. A very pleasant outing with the three generations.

A (Wednes)Day in the Life Of........

    Wednesday is my day at the Seniors Centre but first I do my weekly shop as soon as the store opens at 8:00 a.m. This is a holdover of the pandemic years when shopping early, when the stores was relatively empty, was advised. After putting away the groceries I have breakfast, usually oat bran cereal, and do a few kitchen chores.

   My fitness class starts at 10:15 and today we got a good workout with Brenda. It's a pretty big class (about 24 today) but she manages to give some personal instruction where required. After the class I usually buy a  coffee, my first of the day, and have it with a snack. Today I brought a slice of my own zucchini bread to have something fairly healthy.

   My shift in the kitchen starts at noon but I usually start a bit before that so that the morning volunteer can get home for lunch. Today we had a run on meat pies and will probably be out of them by Friday. There should be another delivery next Monday. Luckily tomorrow is BBQ day so those who have bought a ticket ($3 for a burger and potato salad) will be able to still get lunch. I have other plans or I would be eating there too!

   I did some more digging when I got home around 3:00 but not too strenuously as it had been a busy day. This evening I signed up for a week's free trial with Acorn TV and have bookmarked several shows I think I will enjoy. Whether or not I actually sign up for the membership will depend how much I actually watch this week and whether the service is reliable. So far it seems to be worth the $9 monthly fee.

Nasturtiums

    These are the only things I grow from seed and they are doing particularly well this year. I just wish I had stuck a few more seeds in some empty spots as they really do fill up the gaps in the borders.

    More digging today, just hoping my back holds up. So far, so good and that's on top of a couple of sets of tennis this morning!

This, That and the Other

    Missed yesterday (I'm trying to blog every day) as there really wasn't anything worth talking about. I did use up some more of the gigantic cauliflower and will be eating it again tonight. And we played tennis in the morning, it was nice and cool for a change. We have decided to go back to a 9:00 a.m. start next week so an extra hour in bed - yippee!

   Today was a slow start - I worked out for an hour (gently!) and had a late breakfast followed by a wallow in the tub. Then off to Bridge with a light packed lunch. More gardening when I got home and a swim after as it was sweaty work. I am trying to clear a bed which has got very overgrown. Here's the progress so far.

    I am hoping to transplant an evergreen shrub there once it is cleared but it is hard slogging! There seems to be a very dense root system down there.

Stocking Up on Books

    The weather has improved today as the wind has changed direction and is no longer blowing from the north. I did very little today aside from pottering around the house (laundry, kitchen tidy-up, etc.), picking up some new library books and cutting the back grass. I needed a swim after that as it was hot, sweaty work. The water was on the cool side but so refreshing!

   I am now well stocked up with reading material (I'm not a very fast reader) so these three books should last me a couple of weeks. I hate to run out of books!

   I can't wait to get into the Kate Morton book as I am sure I will enjoy it. I have read several other novels she has written. This one is set in Australia and the small section I read this afternoon sounds intriguing!

Quite a Turn in the Weather

   It was on the cool side today, just the high teens, and a very strong wind, but we played tennis for a couple of hours anyway. Fortunately, the wind screens on the courts cut down some of the wind. On my way home I stopped in at Metro (the only one near me where the workers are not on strike!) to pick up a few groceries and still had time to do a bit of gardening before lunch. A productive morning.

    The weather continued to be miserable after lunch (it was positively chilly and some rain) so I got to work in the kitchen and made a pot of cauliflower soup, a zucchini loaf and breaded chicken with roasted vegetables for my dinner. Having the oven on really warmed up the kitchen.

    That should be it for zucchinis for this year, I am just relieved I managed to use them up as they appeared. Some seemed to grow to full size overnight! I gave three away but used all the others. There is one small one left that will be fritters in a day or two.

   Watching tennis from Cincinnati on TV this evening and quite a few of the seeds have fallen already. Semis tomorrow and the Finals on Sunday so I have my TV watching all arranged.

RODEO (Retired Old Dames Eating Out)

     An early start at the tennis courts - supposed to be 8:00 a.m. but all four of us were late so we didn't really get started until 8:20. We were done by 10:00 when the next booking started and felt we deserved a rest, then Cathy invited us to her place for a light lunch - hamburgers, bean salad and rhubarb cake with a small glass of wine. I nipped home to change first and have a cooling swim, then grabbed a jar of homemade jam and a bottle of wine as a hostess gift.

    Unfortunately, I forgot my camera but we had a lovely time eating and putting the world to rights. I was the lucky recipient of the leftover bean salad which will be tonight's dinner. I certainly won't need anything else!

My Wednesday Schedule

    Wednesday is my day at the Seniors Centre but first I did a quick grocery shop, for fresh fruit and veg. The grapes were so nice today (sometimes they're not) and I bought a small bunch - $3.00 yikes! I also got a humungous cauliflower, a much better buy, for $2.99. It will do me several meals and a pot of soup. I'm sure!

    The Seniors Centre was buzzing with activity as usual and I sold lots of coffee, cookies and pies. There were Fitness classes, Belly dancing. Line dancing, Snooker and Art classes. I take the "Stretch and Strength" class at 10:15 then, after a coffee break, start in the kitchen at 11:45. I meant to get a photo of me in the kitchen but my camera battery died.

    It was "Fruit Day" and we all took full advantage of the treats. Also tried for a photo of the Fitness class but, no luck there either.

   Since coming home I have been in the pool and enjoying the sun in the back yard. I find it's better to wait until early evening as the water has warmed up a bit and the sun isn't as strong. We had a high of 27C today and mainly blue skies.

Getting Back to Daily Blogging

    Yesterday at Bridge our missing member sent news that she will be available in September. So I have decided to step back from the Monday group to make room for her. I will still be available as a "spare" as things do come up to prevent people from attending. My other Bridge group (which is a bit more challenging) starts up again next month on a Tuesday so I will attend that.

   Today started off with a couple of hours of tennis but since this was the "drop-in" group I didn't rush over. I had two sets and was home by 11:15. After a brief respite I cut the front grass as rain was threatening and it hadn't been cut in over a week. The weeds are pretty bad too but I will wait until there's a good soaking to get to work on them.

   There is tennis on TV this week from Cincinnati so I watched that for a while. After lunch I had a brief nap then got a loaf of bread started in the bread machine. While it was chugging away I got to work on the glut of tomatoes and made a vegetarian sauce to go in the freezer. The bread turned out well!

   When it has cooled I will slice it for the freezer. It tastes really good for lunch with some cheese and chopped tomatoes - my "go-to" lunch while the tomatoes are in season! 

Harvesting and Volunteering

    I have been absent from blogging for the past week as I was volunteering at our local tennis tournament. It was a 1000 level ATP event so was well attended by players and fans so it was a busy week. After the final yesterday the volunteers were treated to a party with lots of good food, drink and prizes, and I received the MVP award for my committee (mainly because it was my 18th year as a volunteer!)

While away all week my garden has continued to flourish so I did a massive cull of all the ripe tomatoes and zucchinis today. Tomorrow I will need to blanch, peel and chop the tomatoes for the freezer as there are more almost ready to pick. The zucchinis will probably be eaten right away.

First Red Pepper

 ......and it's a beauty! There's another slightly smaller one that's still quite green. I think that might be it for this plant.

A Close Encounter

    Came face to face with this interloper today as he dipped his paws into my pool and had a drink. 

     He wasn't fazed by my appearance and just ignored me as I yelled at him. Don't want him to get the idea he's welcome in my back yard! I returned with a broom and finally managed to persuade him to leave although I've no doubt he'll be back. Raccoons are usually nocturnal but often leave evidence (rather disgusting) that they have been there. 

 

   This is how he found his way into my back yard. Normally called the "squirrel highway" as they chase each other from yard to yard, it may have to be renamed!