Soaking Up Some Rays

    I have a few days to catch up on, so here goes.

    Monday was exercise at home in the morning, bridge in the afternoon (I had terrible cards!) and dance group in the evening. Some pasta to eat up but I broke down and had a scone when I came home.

   Tuesday was tennis in the morning, bridge lessons until 2:30 then home for a nap before heading up to Markham to babysit. I left early so I could stop off at Peppertree Classics on Markham Main Street to buy some springs pants and a top. I got some nice outfits so I am all set for Spring!

   Wednesday was Fitness class in the morning (in fact, two) followed by my stint in the coffee bar. This week we are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the opening of the Senior's Centre - of course, none of us were members then - with free coffee and cake all week. So I just had to keep the coffee urn filled and the cake sliced. Easy peasy! The technician from Rogers came to fix my digital box around 4 p.m. as arranged and it was working again by 4:30 so I am back to my usual programs. It was just lucky I had things to do for the last few nights or I would have been bereft with no TV to watch. I managed to see most of the "Outlander" episode at Judy's so I can watch "Death in Paradise" tonight.

   Today was RTO Executive meeting this morning, at which I take the Minutes, followed by Zumba class this afternoon. I was home from that by 2:30 (having had more cake and coffee, must cut back on that) and after a short nap I was out in the garden clearing away some of the winter detritus from the front lawn. I filled one bin and decided to call it a day, so headed for the lounger in the back yard. The sun was lovely and warm - I think we got up into double digits this afternoon - so I relaxed there for almost an hour. It really is beginning to feel like Spring! 

   A tasty dinner tonight - broiled salmon, quinoa, and broccoli casserole with lots of cheese -yum!

Yikes...no TV!

   The cable company has let me down and I have no TV tonight - in fact, none until Wednesday! The cable box keeps trying to boot up but fails every time. This is doubly unfortunate as tonight is the start of the second season of "Outlander" and I was so looking forward to watching it.

   Luckily I have a video to watch. It's an oldie but goodie - "My Cousin Vinnie" - which I picked up at the Senior's Centre on Friday. The only drawback is that I will have to watch it in the basement on my old VCR and it might be quite chilly down there! I will take my blanket and try to keep cozy.

   Dinner tonight is leftover pasta with lots of vegetables and cheese. I had it on Friday and it was delicious. I will make a salad to go with it, so that's a nourishing meal. This afternoon I made some more scones to use up the last of the buttermilk and they turned out better than the last batch. Unfortunately, I was on the phone to the cable company when the timer went off so they are a bit overdone.

   I have just barely recovered from a hectic day yesterday - a dancing demo in the afternoon followed by the monthly dance in the evening. I came home a bit early to soak my feet before bed as they were aching something fierce, but I slept like a log so feel quite rested today. It was Volunteer Appreciation night so I got in for a reduced fee courtesy of my duties on the 50-50 draw table. Two people were honoured in particular, Forbes and Carole, and both very deservedly. Forbes runs the monthly dances and Carole has been the newsletter editor for many years.

   It has been a restful day for which I am grateful and I will probably have an early night tonight. Luckily I am going out tomorrow and Tuesday night so won't miss the TV too much!

Still No Sign of Spring

   A little light-headed this evening as I have been working my way through a bottle of Shiraz-Grenache from Australia, so please excuse any typos! It's called "Yellow Tail" and is quite delicious. However, I have  left a glass or two in the bottle for tomorrow, showing remarkable restraint. To accompany it I have had cream cheese and smoked salmon (also known as lox) on crackers, so that will hold me for a couple of hours. Dinner tonight is the fish from yesterday with the free pasta from the Senior's Centre. I will cook some mushrooms, peppers and onions to supplement it and add extra cheese and mix up a salad. A match made in heaven! I also got a couple of soups for the freezer.

   A chilly start to the day and, although it was sunny, the temperature never did get much above zero. There was snow on the rooftops this morning but it didn't last long and I am hopeful that things are beginning to sprout. I walked over to the Senior's Centre for Bridge this afternoon so, with the fitness class this morning, I have had an adequate amount of exercise.

   Tomorrow looks like being a busy day as I have committed to doing a demo in the afternoon and will be attending the monthly dance in the evening. It's Volunteer Appreciation night so I will get in free (with a small donation) so I don't want to miss that! I will be aching by the time that's all over so don't expect a blog tomorrow.

  

A Bit Milder

   No sun today but at least the temperature has stayed in the positive digits. The snow is almost gone but nothing is showing any sign of growing.

   I started my Zumba Gold class today - boy, was it tough! I hope once I learn the routines I will handle it better but I was sweating up a storm by the time we were done. I'm betting when I get up tomorrow morning I will be aching in all sorts of places.

   Nothing much else to report since my last post. I spent an hour this afternoon updating the memos that will go out to the Kaffeeklatsch monitors later this month. Luckily, not too many changes were required. The schedule is done (barring any last minute changes) so I am in good shape for my first attempt as the chief monitor.

   I am going to bake a fish fillet for dinner tonight - wrapped in foil on a bed of spinach and some chutney on top. I will have it with peas and mashed potatoes. Rather too many carbs today!

   On Tuesday I had an interesting excursion - I went to hear Donna Leon, the author of the Commissario Brunetti  detective novels, at the Toronto Reference Library. I have never been there before ( it's a beautiful building) but should have gone earlier as the room was packed. I heard 500 people came to hear her talk. She was very entertaining and I can't wait to get her newest novel from the library. I am about 350th on the waiting list!