A Quiet Day at Home

    A bit on the chilly side today but sunny, so I was able to work in the garden for a while this morning. This week is the last garden refuse pick up for the winter and I want to clear some of the bushes by my front walk to make room for piling up the anticipated snow. I will fill another bin tomorrow and that should be it until March or April.

   I have spent quite a bit of today reading `The Illegal` by Lawrence Hill. It is good, so far, and quite topical, although his illegal immigrant is from a fictitious country in the Indian Ocean. I enjoyed his last book, `The Book of Negroes` although it was rather gruesome.

    Chicken drumsticks done in a tomato sauce and broccoli and cheese casserole for dinner tonight. It smells delicious in the oven, and I will open a bottle of wine. Bon appetit to me!

More Christmas Baking

   Well, I finally made the mincemeat tarts for Christmas dinner - just six, but we will have plum pudding as well so not everyone will want one.

   A little cool today but still no snow and I managed a walk this afternoon, although I was well bundled up. The sun came out briefly but it didn't provide much warmth.

   Fish tonight. I think I will make fish and chips and use up the last of the peas. My grocery bill was only $25 today but I had already picked up some staples on Thursday as I had run out of milk and a few other things. Nothing much on TV tonight but, luckily, TVO is running a repeat of "Foyle's War" which I will watch.

A Pot of Good Soup

    Fitness class this morning but only three of us stayed for coffee. It was quite nice as there was only one conversation going at a time. I stayed until 11:00 but still had time to make soup for lunch.

   Today it was celery and carrot as I needed to use up a bunch of celery. I had to throw out some stalks as they were getting mushy but there were enough decent ones left for a pot of soup. I love getting something virtually free! I also hard boiled two eggs and had egg salad sandwiches with the soup. I make this a lot in the summer, especially when the grandkids come over for a swim (it's either that or devilled eggs - they love both) but usually just put vegetables in my lunch sandwich, so this was a treat!

    I really intended to make the mincemeat tarts this afternoon but got involved with a jigsaw puzzle I am working on. It's a tough one but I have nearly completed it and just kept telling myself "one more piece". Before I knew it, it was dark outside and I still hadn't finished today's newspaper, so I did that instead.

   I have spent the last half hour playing Bridge online and am glad to say I won the rubber. My virtual opponents are not very aggressive bidders so it's not much of a challenge but fun nevertheless. Time now for my Friday TV shows. It's a hard life!

On the Go

   On the go from early this morning. First yoga followed by a solitary coffee, no one else stayed but I had some errands to run and needed caffeine to get me going. I picked up mincemeat and pastry mix to make mince pies for the freezer, so they will keep until Christmas. I needed a few more things from the store but I was home by 11:00.

   Bridge this afternoon and we had some good hands although Samia criticized my bidding at one point (I was her partner) and I took offence and told her off. Very unlike me but she has done that quite often. I'm guessing she won't do it again!

   I stopped early with bridge and helped decorate the tree in the main hall. They are decorating for the Christmas lunch next Tuesday and have lots of lights strung up. It is getting quite festive. Afterwards I went for a swim and soak in the hot tub before heading home. It wasn't too busy so I was able to enjoy my laps.

   Salmon, peas and rice for dinner and I have just had a delicious bowl of avocado and salsa as my pre-dinner snack. That should hold me until tomorrow.