Milder weather has arrived and the snow has almost all melted. Yesterday was a busy and tiring day so I have spent today relaxing and napping. Just a few chores, some grocery shopping (cashed in my PC Points so my grocery bill was only $5!), and reading. I am almost caught up on all the library books which arrived at the same time. Another mystery by Henning Mankell is on its way to the library and I will save it until my week on Jury Duty. It will be a great book to while away the time in the Jury room waiting to be called.
Yesterday I was out of the house by 8:00 a.m. to attend a Scottish Country Dance workshop. It was held at Bishop Strachan school which is a great location although quite a trip downtown, for me, anyway. In between session (which were all excellent) there was tons of food - coffee and pastries in the morning, a delicious lunch of soup, wraps and sandwiches, and, during the break in the tea dance, more tea or coffee and a beautiful array of bars and cakes.
By the time we finished around 5:30 my feet were aching but I was pleased that I had managed to last right through to the end. I'm sure I burned up quite a few calories, which is just as well as I certainly didn't restrain myself as far as the food was concerned. I even sneaked a couple of sandwiches to eat on the way home, and some bars for my dessert after dinner. There was lots of food left over so I'm sure they didn't miss what I took.
Today I made a huge pot of winter minestrone from Giada's cookbook. It had pancetta, lots of vegetables, a can each of tomatoes and beans, and some spinach. The tastiest part was the addition of a parmesan rind which gave it a special flavour. It will last me almost all week for lunch. I love Italian food!
Sunday, 23 November 2014
Thursday, 20 November 2014
Winter is Definitely Here!
Five centimetres of snow overnight and I was forced to get out the shovel and clear a spot for my car on the driveway. It was brilliant sun but quite a cold wind and I kept it up for 15 minutes or so while I waited for Marilyn to pick me up. She was taking me to a Probus meeting - an organization for retired professional and business people, hence Pro - Bus.
I have added my name to the waiting list for the club and I can attend three meetings as a guest. The talk was very interesting although the title, "Canada and Sovereignty in the Arctic", sounded rather heavy. Fortunately, the presenter was knowledgeable and quite humourous, and had an excellent power point presentation with which to accompany his speech. I will certainly go again.
After I got home I shovelled a bit more. The sun had dried up the part I shovelled earlier so all's good for tomorrow. The temperature is forecast to rise on the weekend so that should clear off the rest of the snow.
Swimming this afternoon and I managed 16 laps although it was quite busy. After a few laps the pool cleared out somewhat and I managed to get into a rhythm and keep up my speed to the end. Quite an improvement. Then into the hot tub for a relaxing soak. Good times. Dinner tonight is leftover fish and quinoa and I am quite hungry after all the fresh air and exercise. I might even reward myself with some dessert!
I have added my name to the waiting list for the club and I can attend three meetings as a guest. The talk was very interesting although the title, "Canada and Sovereignty in the Arctic", sounded rather heavy. Fortunately, the presenter was knowledgeable and quite humourous, and had an excellent power point presentation with which to accompany his speech. I will certainly go again.
After I got home I shovelled a bit more. The sun had dried up the part I shovelled earlier so all's good for tomorrow. The temperature is forecast to rise on the weekend so that should clear off the rest of the snow.
Swimming this afternoon and I managed 16 laps although it was quite busy. After a few laps the pool cleared out somewhat and I managed to get into a rhythm and keep up my speed to the end. Quite an improvement. Then into the hot tub for a relaxing soak. Good times. Dinner tonight is leftover fish and quinoa and I am quite hungry after all the fresh air and exercise. I might even reward myself with some dessert!
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
A Milestone
I'm very pleased to see I have had 4,000 views since I started my blog last year. At least I know some people are following my adventures. However, it would be nice to get the odd comment - don't be shy, let me know what you think of my musings!
A fairly quiet day today as it continues cold and snowy. I sorted out some junk in the office closet because I needed the box it was in. Not sure why I hung onto all the stuff. Some of it I filed but most went in the circular file (as we used to call the garbage can when I was working).
A quick trip to the library where I found in a magazine, and requested a copy of, Ina Garten's latest book "Barefoot in Paris". She has an apartment in the 7th arondissement which is the district I stayed in on my last visit to The City of Light. I'm sure there will be lots of interesting recipes and, I hope, tales of her visits there.
A lazy afternoon reading. I am well into "Before I Go To Sleep" by S.J. Watson. It has been made into a movie and is in the cinemas at the moment but I am determined to read the book first this time. I did the opposite with "Gone Girl" and wished I hadn't.
Fish on the menu tonight. Basa fillets breaded and fried with some leftover quinoa, an easy meal. No dessert but I might have a cookie with my tea later on.
A fairly quiet day today as it continues cold and snowy. I sorted out some junk in the office closet because I needed the box it was in. Not sure why I hung onto all the stuff. Some of it I filed but most went in the circular file (as we used to call the garbage can when I was working).
A quick trip to the library where I found in a magazine, and requested a copy of, Ina Garten's latest book "Barefoot in Paris". She has an apartment in the 7th arondissement which is the district I stayed in on my last visit to The City of Light. I'm sure there will be lots of interesting recipes and, I hope, tales of her visits there.
A lazy afternoon reading. I am well into "Before I Go To Sleep" by S.J. Watson. It has been made into a movie and is in the cinemas at the moment but I am determined to read the book first this time. I did the opposite with "Gone Girl" and wished I hadn't.
Fish on the menu tonight. Basa fillets breaded and fried with some leftover quinoa, an easy meal. No dessert but I might have a cookie with my tea later on.
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
First Snow
It snowed pretty well all day yesterday and this morning I woke up to -9C (wind chill, -18C), a strong wind but sunny skies. Let's hope the sun melts some of the snow as I am very reluctant to start shovelling this early in the winter season.
I had a burst of energy yesterday morning and got several household chores out of the way. I cleaned the oven, polished some of the glass tables in the family room and started preparing the room for its annual carpet shampoo. The cleaners are coming on Friday. I also managed to nail down the technician who checks and starts up my gas fire each fall. He is coming later today so I will be nice and toasty warm tonight!
Had a good lunch with RWTO - a nice salad followed by turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (an over abundance of carbs but still delicious), peas and gravy. Strawberry cheesecake and coffee for dessert. It was the day to bring in Christmas presents and/or food for the charity we support so it was very busy. The Silent Auction raised a lot of money - people were very generous, really paying more than the items are worth. I brought in some preserves but they will be kept for the next luncheon.
The guest speaker was a flower designer but, although interesting and knowledgeable, wasn't an ideal presentation for a room of 150 people. At our table we couldn't see what he was doing or hear his commentary as he declined to use the microphone. He auctioned off his creations (for a chance to pay for them) but I had to leave before that to pack up the books and get home by 3:00 p.m. for the "gas man". As it turned out, he didn't arrive until just after 5:00 but was done in 10 minutes and didn't charge me! Now it is warm and cosy in the family room and I don't have to heat the whole house.
No need for much dinner tonight. I will just have some soup and a sandwich later.
I had a burst of energy yesterday morning and got several household chores out of the way. I cleaned the oven, polished some of the glass tables in the family room and started preparing the room for its annual carpet shampoo. The cleaners are coming on Friday. I also managed to nail down the technician who checks and starts up my gas fire each fall. He is coming later today so I will be nice and toasty warm tonight!
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| I will need to brush off the windshield before I venture out today! |
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| View from my front porch this morning. Brrr!! It was chilly! |
The guest speaker was a flower designer but, although interesting and knowledgeable, wasn't an ideal presentation for a room of 150 people. At our table we couldn't see what he was doing or hear his commentary as he declined to use the microphone. He auctioned off his creations (for a chance to pay for them) but I had to leave before that to pack up the books and get home by 3:00 p.m. for the "gas man". As it turned out, he didn't arrive until just after 5:00 but was done in 10 minutes and didn't charge me! Now it is warm and cosy in the family room and I don't have to heat the whole house.
No need for much dinner tonight. I will just have some soup and a sandwich later.
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