Remembrance Day

    Stretch and Strength class first thing this morning and I did feel all stretched out by the time it finished. It was a little bit rainy on the way there but not too cold. I stayed for coffee but left before the Remembrance day ceremony as I had to be back again by noon.

   It wasn't too busy this afternoon at the coffee bar so I was glad I took my book. I'm reading the latest Louise Penny book, "The Nature of the Beast" and am enjoying it - the usual characters who seem like old friends now. I walked there and back which amounted to about 40 minutes and, luckily, the rain stayed away. Hopefully that took care of a few calories.

    I seem to have been snacking all day so will wait until later to have some dinner. It's just the same leftovers I had for lunch so I'm not too excited about the thought of food. I copied down a neat recipe for easy butter chicken from Ricardo.com which I will make tomorrow - that should liven up my taste buds! 

Change in the Weather

 Tennis with Carol, Bea and Lillian this morning and I think I overdid it as I was very stiff and sore afterwards. But we did manage to win a set. I went straight from there to bridge lessons and headed straight for the coffee bar as I was gasping for a coffee. The lesson today was very interesting and we got to try out what we learned by playing several hands. I brought a sandwich for lunch and ate it between hands.

    Home for a nap but I didn't feel guilty lying in bed as it was raining quite heavily, so no possibility of working in the garden. The remaining leaves will be thoroughly soggy by tomorrow.

   I made an interesting dinner tonight - a salmon pie with broccoli and mushrooms and a mashed potato topping which I crisped in the oven. I added lots of cheese to the pie and the topping so it was very rich but delicious! There's enough left over for lunch and dinner tomorrow - and all this from one can of salmon!

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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