Tired But Happy

     The morning went in very quickly - a tennis match on TV, the finals in Paris (Djokovic beat Murray), a little ironing and then I made the Christmas plum pudding. I discovered I had only enough suet to make a small one so I hope it will be sufficient for the Christmas dinner!

    This afternoon I went to a dance class. Tony was teaching dances with unusual formations. It was quite a challenge. In fact for one I had to come home and watch it on YouTube to see how it should be done. But most of the other dances weren't too tricky. Only 15 people attended but with Tony's wife Lorraine we managed to make up two sets.

   Now it's an evening of TV in front of the fire. It has been decidedly cool today despite sunny skies.  I have some fish to cook but, in the meantime, I am quite happily ensconced with a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers. Lidia is cooking up a storm on TV so I will just sit back and enjoy!

End of the Indian Summer

   Well, the beautiful weather has come to an end with rain and blustery winds. The leaves were knee deep on the ground this morning and I did a bit of raking and filled up the composter. The rest will go to the curb to be picked up next Wednesday.

   Fitness class this morning, followed by coffee and chats. Home by 11:00, with a stop at the grocery store for a butternut squash - I had an urge to make soup for lunch. Got the soup on and went out to plant next year's garlic. It was still quite mild and the rain had stopped. I did a bit more garden clean-up as well as the raking but will need to cut the grass on the weekend. It is still growing! By the time I was done in the garden the soup was ready and, along with a sandwich, made a delicious lunch.

    After a half-hour nap I was still in a "clean-up" mood and tackled the dust bunnies under my bed. Since I only do this a couple of times a year, it's a big job - first a long-handled duster to get the majority of the fluff and then a wet cloth to finish the job. A lot of bending but it delivers a certain sense of accomplishment!

   Boneless chicken thighs for dinner. I will bread and roast them along with some sweet potato coins, and make a salad. Then everything will be eaten up ready for shopping tomorrow. I also have to shop for the ingredients for the Christmas Plum Pudding which needs to be made very soon, so that it can mature for a few weeks. 

   The temperature is dropping from a high of 18C, to 7C overnight. Already it is feeling colder. Goodbye Indian Summer!

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Excitement at the Pool

   One of the lifeguards had to jump in to save a woman in difficulty at the pool this afternoon. She had just got a little out of her depth but it created a great deal of excitement among the swimmers, especially those in the conversation pool. A report had to be filed by the lifeguards and an interpreter was required as the woman didn't speak much English. At least now we know that the lifeguards are ready and able to do their job!

   This was my last stop of a very busy day starting at 8:30 a.m. I spent the morning taking the Minutes at the RTO meeting, requiring intense concentration which I'm quite unused to these days! Then I went to Arkadia, a Greek restaurant, with Marilyn, Margaret and Donna. We had a delicious lunch, I had spanakopita, and the others had fish but we all agreed the food was excellent. I hope to go back some day as there were other things on the menu I would like to try.

   After lunch, although I was quite stuffed, I went to the community centre for indoor tennis. Tamara was there and we had time to catch up while we waited our turn to play. It was quite busy with, at one point, seven people waiting to play. However, I don't think I waited more that 10 minutes at any time. Then the pool for a few laps and a relax in the hot tub. Busy, busy, busy!

   I can't decide what to have for dinner since I had such a big lunch. I've had a beer and some bruschetta but should eat something else, perhaps an omelet.

Still Indian Summer

     Still in the low 20`s today, sunny and pleasant. However, the temperature is dropping now that the sun is down. I walked to my stint behind the coffee bar this afternoon and it was a beautiful stroll - took me 20 minutes each way and saved me having to go out for a walk later.

   Keep fit this morning - I slept late and had to rush my breakfast to be there on time. Obviously I have adjusted to the time change! The class was very full - I think everyone was there since it was such a pleasant day. I stayed for coffee and tried to recruit some of the ladies for Trudy`s card-making classes. I am going on Nov. 20th to make some Christmas cards but she has lots of other dates.

   Leftover fish and barley casserole with the addition of some Brussel sprouts. I par-cooked them then browned them in butter and added some sweet chili sauce - yummy!