Rain!

    Got the last of the Christmas gifts today - just a small present for the grandkids (and Lucy) at Chapters as they are each getting an item from "Gifts For Hope" from the PLAN catalogue. Natalie chose baby chicks, Elliot chose mosquito nets and James chose a set school supplies. It is fun to get them to choose something they really are interested in.

    It was a matter of darting from car to store today as it was raining quite hard - very un-Christmasy. I got the tree out of the basement yesterday and today decorated it with all my old ornaments. I also wrapped the gifts (that is, put them in Christmas gift bags) so I am pretty much on track to be ready for Friday. I even got out the centrepiece for the table and started to decorate the mantle! I shouldn't have to go back down to the basement except for emergency supplies.

   Leftover chicken and broccoli for dinner tonight, and a piece of double chocolate brownie that I indulged in at Starbucks today - a little treat to myself for being finished with the gift shopping.

Rising Prices

     Not much to report today. I woke up to chilly temperatures so just turned over and kept sleeping until almost 9:00!

    Usual chores today, with an extra run up to Price Chopper for some things I didn't get at No Frills. Cauliflowers were $5.99 each at NF and the red pepper I picked out at PC was $2.49 - unbelievable!! I didn't buy either. It's all down to the low Canadian dollar and imported foods. I got some cheap oranges though so will have one tonight with yogurt for dessert

    I made soup for lunch. At least all the ingredients for it were local so it was relatively inexpensive. I also made a spinach quiche for  dinner, also quite reasonable. It's going to be a tough winter.

A New Bridge Group

   Quite an interesting day but it started off slowly. I stayed in bed dozing until 8:45 then had a light breakfast - egg on toast with orange juice and half a banana. Cleaned up last night's dishes then read the newspaper for half an hour. The Business section continues to be depressing as the Canadian dollar keeps falling as does the SP TSX. My investments have lost over 10% so far this year!

   I didn't exercise this morning due to my late start but did walk over to the Senior's Centre around 11:15. I stopped to chat with Samia while having my free coffee then joined the Bridge players. This is a new group I am trying out. We pay 50 cents, keep score, then someone gets the "pot" at the end of the afternoon. It was a bit more stressful than my usual game but we kept changing partners so I managed to avoid embarrassing myself too much. I did manage to win one contract, thank goodness!

    I left there with my free lunch (Lasagna Soup) by 3:00, walked home, heated up and ate the soup, and took a nap. The rest of the day has been uneventful and I will just relax by the fire for the rest of the evening with the computer and the TV. It was much colder today but is staying just above freezing. Long may it continue!

No Snow Yet

    Two busy days left me little time to post here so I will catch you up.

    Tuesday started with tennis - I was playing a bit better but was quite exhausted when we quit at 11:40. Unfortunately I had to run a couple of errands on the way home so just had a quick lunch and headed straight for bed. I was loathe to get up after an hour but had decided previously I would go to the cinema and I'm glad I forced myself out of bed!

   I saw "Legend", a quite violent (lots of blood) true story of two gangster brothers in '60's London. One is quite demented and the other is just a petty criminal. At one point their mother says to the latter "It don't matter wot e's done, e's still your bruvver" and after the smarter brother brutally stabs a member of their gang and the other asks him why, he says "Because I can't kill you". I came out quite drained of emotion but it is well worth seeing even if just for all the 60's tunes.

   Wednesday was also hectic - up early to bake sausage rolls for a pot luck lunch at the Senior's Centre. It was the Bridge group's Christmas party but I was also on kitchen duty. Between making and pouring coffee and tea and stacking the dishwasher I managed to grab some food - there was enough to feed an army and some of it very tasty! I brought home a pie and some mini quiches which were going begging and ate more than my fair share of devilled eggs and Nanaimo bars.

    Today was a little less hectic but still busy. I did my morning exercise show and walked over for a free coffee as on Monday. It was a beautiful day for a walk, 9C and sunny, so I took my time and just enjoyed what may be the last of the good weather. I was home in time to shower and change before heading  out to Panera Bread for lunch with Judy.

   We ate and chewed the fat for an hour or so, then she went off to shop (her next to last day before the kids are home for the holidays) and I went for some tennis. I managed three sets (they're short so it wasn't too tiring) and then had a swim and soak in the hot tub. Home by 4:00 and just relaxing since then. Tonight is the last episode of the current B.B.T. season so I will watch that and the news and I will be done for the day.

B.B.T = Big Bang Theory