Healthy Eating and Exercise

   Lots of exercise in the last two days but no swimming as the nights have been much cooler, resulting in a drop in the pool's temperature. We have a hot weekend coming up so that should extend the swimming season by a few days.

   I am trying to finish a very thrilling book that is due back at the library tomorrow (no renewal privileges as it is reserved for someone else). It's called "A Desperate Fortune", by Susanna Kearsley and I highly recommend it if you like historical fiction and adventure. I will have to re-order it as there's no way I will finish it by tomorrow, but I certainly want to know how it ends! 

   Tennis this morning and home by 11:30 but, since then, just a bit of gardening, roasted a red pepper for my lunch sandwich, and baked a rhubarb bread. The latter, using the last of the rhubarb from the garden, will go in the freezer until next Tuesday when I will take it for treats at Don Mills. I am substituting for Jasmine as court monitor so won't get on the court very much. The last two days have been ideal for tennis - a bit of cloud cover and pleasant temperatures.  

   I have a nice salmon steak for dinner and have wrapped it in foil with a base of kale and a topping of chutney to bake in the oven. I will just have a corn cob on the side followed by a minneola orange for dessert. I will feel very virtuous! I had lunch at Canyon Creek restaurant yesterday with the RODEO (retired old dames eating out) ladies from Probus, so am trying to be slightly abstemious in the food department to compensate for the Thai chicken salad I had. It was delicious but only marginally healthy. Since I only eat out once or twice a month, I manage to keep my weight pretty stable.

P.S. Oops!! Forgot to put dinner in oven so it will be another half hour until I eat. I will be famished by then!

At the Coffee Bar

   It was a quiet day at the Senior's Centre today as many of the regulars were off on a day trip to see "Singing in the Rain", preceded by lunch. However, I did get to chat with a few who stayed behind for the exercise classes while pouring their coffee.

   Did some chores that have been hanging fire for a few weeks. First I finished weeding the back grass and cut it. Soon I will throw some new grass seed on the bare spots. Then I fixed the downspout with duct tape. That was a bit tricky but I think it will work better now. Next I filled the car with gas ($1.04 a litre - bargoon!) and returned $5's of empties to the beer store. Finally I stopped in at the liquor store for my favourite 6-pack of cooler. So now I am enjoying one with some spinach dip. I have nearly eaten the whole tub!

Feels Like Fall

 ....but the grandkids went swimming anyway! I had the pool heater on all morning and the water actually felt warmer than the air. It only got up to 21C today with just a blink or two of sun. After lunch we headed to the park for a stint on the tennis courts but the kids didn't last long so Judy and I hit for half-an-hour.

   I brought in the last big tomato today, another sign of Fall. Usually there are still green ones on the vines when the first frost threatens but it doesn't look like I will have any ripening indoors this year - very strange! One year I was still eating some tomatoes I brought indoors in December! I had a good crop of cherry tomatoes but they are all but finished too.

   After Judy and the kids left I cleaned the pool for (hopefully) the last time, and did a bit of weed pulling. The lawn on the north side of the house has been so inundated with weeds that I was loathe to cut it until they were all removed. One more go at it should do it, but meanwhile the grass looks like a hay field! Luckily, only the pool guy is ever back there.

Usual Monday Activities

   Still haven't got my printer connected but I did manage to upload some photos. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to add them to my blog but at least they are saved in my picture file.

  A quiet weekend with mostly chores and watching tennis and athletics on TV. The tournament from Cincinnati was exciting with Roger Federer winning the men's and Serena Williams, the women's. A couple of Canadians did well in the World Athletic Championships from Beijing so that was worth watching.

   Bridge this afternoon and we finally decided to keep score. Pinky and I won both rubbers so we were highly pleased with ourselves. Sami always bids too high and goes down most games she and her partner play.

   A wasp stung me on the ear this afternoon as I was gardening - it doesn't hurt too much but I will keep an eye on it as I had an allergic reaction once before from what I thought was a wasp sting. It isn't showing any signs of swelling yet.

    I have a nice salmon steak for dinner tonight and will have it with quinoa and peas. No need for dessert as I have been snacking too much today!