Roses in my Garden

    I have had a couple of busy days, despite having an upset stomach (just the pills I have to take but very annoying).  Yesterday I came home from a demo at a church feeling quite queezy and didn't eat much supper. Unfortunately the pills I am taking are supposed to be taken with food so I can't just eat nothing. This morning I just had some yogurt and, later in the morning, a muffin and a cup of coffee. I was able to eat a proper lunch but still with some stomach pangs. Tonight I have cooked some chicken and potatoes as I had defrosted the chicken yesterday before going out. I will have to see if I can stomach it otherwise it will be dinner tomorrow.
 
     Off to bridge this afternoon for a couple of hours and then home to cut the grass. I also made a couple of dozen sausage rolls to take to tennis tomorrow. It's the Wimbledon Strawberries and Cream party although Wimbledon doesn't start for a week or so.



There are lots more to come on this bush.

      I took a tour around the garden this morning and found the first roses of the year in bloom. 

   BTW, the chicken was delicious - and no stomach pangs so far. I also have a jam turnover for dessert, made from the puff pastry left over from the sausage rolls. I think I will have it with some custard that has been lurking in the fridge since I made rhubarb fool for Natalie last week. I will have to come up with something interesting for dinner tomorrow as Natalie and James will be eating here before going to "Dancing in the Park". James is so excited!



Growing among the primroses.

House For Sale (not mine)

   As well as my usual Saturday chores (laundry, grocery shopping) this afternoon I cleaned the pool and cut the back grass. This was sweat inducing work so I was in the pool for a cooling swim after both jobs and a well deserved nap to boot! Tomorrow I will have to cut the front grass as it is getting long too. I had lunch outside after my first swim and sat in the sun for quite a while to dry off. It was  very pleasant, one of the nicest days we've had so far.

   Early this evening I dropped in at an open house on my street to check out the asking price - $979,000! They may well get it as the house was immaculate and beautifully staged. However, another neighbour with a slightly smaller bungalow has their house listed for $589,000. Why the huge discrepancy, I wonder? One is probably over-priced and the other under-priced. It will be interesting to see what they actually go for.

    Fish, peas and sweet potato mash for dinner tonight and maybe just some yogurt for dessert. I boil the sweet potato cubes then mash them with a little butter and some sour cream and a dash of nutmeg, my secret ingredient! The fish is fried with a light batter - just a dusting of flour then dipped in egg. I bought a couple of humungous lemons today - they were priced individually, not by weight so I picked out the biggest I could find - so everything will get a spritz of lemon juice.

     Then Miss Marples on PBS; that should keep me entertained until bedtime.

Rain Again

   Friday is my usual day for tennis but, this morning, the sky was black and rain threatening, so I was undecided. Just before I left home the rain started but I had a backup plan. Gentle Fit is on Fridays at 9:00 so I headed over to the Senior's Centre. Unfortunately, the instructor had cancelled the class as she was going out of town and hadn't been able to find a substitute.

    By the time I got back on the road it was almost dry so I decided to  head down to the courts at Don Mills. As luck would have it, the rain hadn't arrived there so we were able to play on dry courts. There weren't too many people (14) there but enough for three good sets which was more than enough for me. Coffee was on tap and Nancy-Jean had brought some home baked cookies, so I was well satisfied.

    I was home by 12:00 and got some celery soup cooking for lunch. Then a lazy afternoon and some work on the computer (typing up the minutes from yesterday's meeting). More rain this afternoon - in fact quite a deluge - so no chance of any garden work. It should be dry over the weekend which is just as well as the grass needs cutting again! At least I won't have to fill up the pool for a while.

   Fish for dinner tonight. I think I will bread and fry it and serve it with French fries, baked in the toaster oven, and peas. I have a good book on the go, "The Lavender Garden" by Lucinda Riley. What's not to like about retirement!

Busy Day

   I was out of the house by 8:50 this morning and not back until around 3:00 p.m. A meeting this morning which dragged on until 11:45 (thankfully there was coffee and some yummy bran muffins) and then straight to the Senior's Centre for my usual Thursday bridge game. I had rather a queezy stomach this morning and only ate a banana and peanut butter for breakfast and another muffin (pinched on my way out of the meeting) and some dried fruit for lunch. However, I seem to be back to normal now and will have a proper dinner.

   When I got home at 3:00 I had a swim, washed my hair at the outdoors tap and sat in the sun for a while. Nothing much to do tonight and will be quite happy with a glass of wine and some crackers and cheese. I may eat later but nothing fancy.

   Here are some photos from the garden which is looking good after all the rain this week.

Bleeding hearts are still in bloom and the hosta is filling out well.

Red peonies by the pool. The pink ones will be out next week.