An Icy Morning

    We were greeted with a slight covering of icy snow this morning. It was blowing a gale when I came home from dance group last night, with blowing snow, so I put the car in the garage just in case. It didn't take long to clear the driveway this morning but the side roads were pretty icy. The temperature was just below zero for most of the day but is supposed to plummet in the next few days with a very chilly weekend ( -10C to -14C) coming up.

  I played a little better at tennis this morning, especially my serve, but still was thwarted by Swan's lobs - she is quite the expert! I was on the losing end in both sets but it was fun and good exercise.

    After a quick lunch I headed for Bridge class and picked up a couple of good tips. We just played until 2:30 so I had time for a nap when I got home. Later I watched a movie I picked up at the Senior's Centre - Billie Elliot - it was VHS so thankfully my VCR is still working! They also have a few DVD's but none that I was interested in seeing. We just pay a token amount for those and books and puzzles - it's more like an exchange program as I usually return them for resale once I am finished with them.

A Quiet Weekend

    Nothing on the agenda for the last two days so I am feeling quite rested and ready for another busy week. The weather continues to be unseasonably mild, still above zero - I even got outside for a bit of garden cleanup this afternoon, sweeping up the cones and needles under my big spruce tree. I also emptied the recycling and compost bins so the house is clutter and odour free once more!

   I made a batch of cauliflower soup for lunch as I found a cauliflower for $1.99 last week (it was $5 earlier). It was delicious with a sandwich of home made bread. No meat but lots of fresh vegetables. Still eating the spinach quiche and tonight I will  have it with Caesar salad and pickled beets. I also  fished out some mini eclairs from the freezer for a tasty dessert. With eating up leftovers, there's a minimum of cleanup afterwards.

Interesting Conversations

   The thermometer registered 1C this morning and barely budged all day. There was some sun this morning and a few little flurries later on but it continues to be quite unseasonably mild this winter. Long may it continue!

    Another good workout this morning followed by our usual chat over coffee. One reason I tend to linger with "the girls"  after fitness class is because our conversation ranges through several  interesting topics. Today we started with hearing Hazel's efforts to get out of Jury Duty which naturally led to everyone's contribution on past experiences getting to, hanging around and traipsing into court rooms at the University Ave. location. Next topic was renting versus owning, property tax increases and condo fees. Soon we morphed this topic into the sad state of our investments created by the state of the global economy and changes to our RRIF payments. Pretty heady topics! 

    Progressive Bridge was fun this afternoon and I managed a couple of respectable hands. I also picked up a couple of free soups which are now in the freezer for lunches next week. Around 4:00 p.m. I had a sudden burst of energy and cleaned all three bathrooms while I waited for a pot of beets to cook. After a short break I finished pickling the beets and followed that up with mixing up a batch of pastry (from a mix) for a spinach and sun dried tomato quiche with lots of cheese. It is just out of the oven and looks very appetizing. I also got a couple of mincemeat tarts out of the pastry trimmings - dessert sorted!

Out and About All Day

    As I predicted, we are back to more seasonal temperatures today - only 3C  although it was sunny and the wind had died down. I had quite a busy day, starting with yoga at 9:00 a.m. then a short break at home, just enough time to wash up the breakfast (and last night's dinner) dishes and fix myself a packed lunch. This was to take with me to Bridge and eat in between hands or when I was "dummy".

   The bridge was fun - we had some interesting hands on both sides. I bid and made a five hearts contract at one point which was quite thrilling! We played until 3:00 p.m. when I left for a swim, sauna and soak in the hot tub to get rid of the aches from yoga. The sauna is a new endeavour and I am finding it quite relaxing - it's not as hot as I imagined it might be - a dry heat and quite bearable for about 5 minutes.

   Dinner tonight was Tuscan chicken from the freezer. I had made it last week but didn't feel up to eating it after the first day so packaged into individual portions which I will dip into over the next few days.

   My new favourite TV show is on tonight at 10:00 p.m. - "Shetland" - a detective show set in the Shetland Islands north of the Scottish mainland. The scenery is very bleak but much as I imagined it must be that far north. Can't wait!