A Learning Process

    Snow flurries throughout another chilly day but nothing accumulated. I had an early start as the RTO meeting, which is held a good 20 minute drive for me, started just after 9:00 with coffee, fruit and muffins. So I just had banana, peanut butter and yogurt before I left home. We were done by 11:15 - Bill was chairing and he moved things along quickly.

    Straight to Bridge at the Senior's Centre - Bonnie had brought several muffins from the meeting so we stopped for snacks around 1:30. Bonnie and I were partners and had some good hands although I bid a couple of hands rather badly and got my knuckles rapped (figuratively). I will know better next time. However, it was all done in good fun and we indulged in chats between hands.

   Two good dishes for dinner tonight. I made broccoli and cheese casserole and BBQ chicken in the oven. Both dishes turned out well although the sauce on the chicken was a bit runny instead of sticky enough to coat the chicken thighs. Next time I will leave it uncovered for the whole cooking time. There is enough left over for dinner tomorrow, always a bonus!

   No nap today - I drank too much coffee at the meeting this morning - so I will have an early night, I think!

Biggest Snowfall of the Year

    I woke up to a winter wonderland this morning but the sun came up and turned everything sparkly. It was only about 5cms. but it was quite windy and had drifted in places to more like 10cms. Since the snowblower battery was all loaded I was able to  get started on clearing the driveway by 8:00 a.m. It took about 40 minutes but that's a lot faster than just shovelling. Luckily I was all ready for fitness class so headed over there right away in case the roads were still messy.

    Only 7 of us showed up and even Maria, the coffee lady this morning, didn't make it. The roads weren't too bad and dried quickly with the sun on them. I made a pot of coffee before class started so we (just Anna and me) were able to have our customary cup of joe after our workout. Straight from there to the library as I had books to pick up and some papers to print for tomorrow's RTO meeting. Then home for a quick change and to heat up some soup for lunch.

    I was back at the Senior's Centre for 11:30 to work in the kitchen but fortunately I brought a book as it was very slow today. We only made $16! Normally it's $35 to $40. I closed up around 2:30 and headed home for a nap. It had been a busy day.

   No cooking tonight as I had fish and turnip from yesterday to eat. This was the turnip left over from Burns' night which I had taken out of the freezer the other day but now it's finally all gone. I am looking forward to something fresh tomorrow!

March Comes in Like a Lion

   Quite a change in the weather, yesterday was sunny but cold - I was back to my winter coat and an extra sweater - and today was not only colder (-8C) but we had a significant amount of snow, enough to make the roads quite slick as I drove to Hendrina's for tennis. More is forecast for overnight so I will plug in the battery for the snowblower before I go to bed.

   Tennis was fun - we had lots of good rallies and were running all over the court - so I was tired by the time I headed home. Nevertheless, a quick change later and with my lunch in my bag, I was off to Bridge lessons. This was the last of the winter classes so I didn't want to miss it. There were only 12 of us there and Frank made sure we were going to sign up for the Spring session so the class won't be cancelled due to lack of numbers.

   I used a new recipe for my fish meal for dinner. I cooked the fish in a cheese sauce with green onions and roasted red pepper and popped it under the broiler to brown the breadcrumbs on top. It got a bit charred but still tasted good. The Basa fillet I used cost $1.50 and will do me another meal - not too shabby!

Busy in the Kitchen

   Gorgeous day today with the temperature in the double digits by the afternoon. The morning was sunny, although breezy, but it clouded over in the afternoon. I took a walk around the garden and saw lots of shoots pushing up but the shaded areas are still very wet so I wasn't tempted to start preparing the beds. Amazing for February!

   After dealing with the laundry this morning I went up to Bridlewood Mall for a couple of things I forgot to pick up yesterday. There's another restaurant opening up there soon. That will make 5, not counting the bubble tea shop and  the juice bar. I don't know how they will all survive as they never seem very busy, although I'm usually not there at meal times.

   After lunch I put a loaf in the bread maker and later I made a beef stew with loads of vegetables, including my favourite - brussell sprouts! It cooked away in the oven for 4 hours and came out quite delicious. Lots of leftovers for the rest of the week. I will slice the loaf later on and test a slice with jam, then store the slices in the freezer. That should last me a couple of weeks.