A New Perennial

   I put this new plant in my garden this Spring and it has come on gangbusters. It's called "Bee Balm" and is supposed to attract bees, butterflies and other good insects to the garden. I plan to move it next Spring as it's in rather an unattractive spot and may be able to split it to give me a second plant.

A Surfeit of Tennis

   I have been absent for the last few days as I have been busy volunteering at the Rogers Cup tennis tournament at York University. As well as my six hour shifts I have had to battle traffic there and back with roadworks and traffic jams to contend with. It makes for a long day.

    It has been extremely hot but, thankfully, the ticket takers are in the shade. I tried to sit in the stadium to watch a match on Monday but only lasted 40 minutes! Now I am watching at home. Today was my first day off since Saturday and I am on every day from tomorrow until Sunday. I will try to post some photos after that.

    One good thing is we get at least one free meal each day we work so I haven't had to do much cooking this week - I am still eating leftovers from the weekend! I made a pot of soup this afternoon and stewed some plums for dessert and that will be my backup if I come home hungry.

Yikes! It's Hot!!

Yes, you read it correctly - 40C or 104F was the high today and it's still 35C according to the local news. I have been hiding indoors all afternoon (went for a swim half an hour ago but only stayed out until I was dry - 5 minutes!

    I went to tennis really early and was on the court by 8:15 but it was already hot. I played three times with long rests in the air-conditioned lounge in between, and was home again by 11:00 a.m. I have to admit to not playing very hard - my main aim was to get each game finished quickly and get off the baking surface of the court as fast as possible. I think everyone else felt the same but there was a surprisingly big turnout with people continuing to arrive even as I left!

    A quick immersion in the pool when I got home helped to bring my body temperature down and I spent most of the afternoon either reading or watching the tennis from Washington D.C. How they play at such an intense level in this heat is beyond me.

   My favourite snack tonight - bruschetta with loads of garlic and parmesan cheese on my homemade baguette  - the tomato was the first one from my tomato plants - and I picked some rhubarb to make a crumble for dessert. I am having a light meal, probably involving mushrooms and eggs, as tomorrow is shopping day and I have things in the fridge to use up. The heat continues!

The Temperature Rises

   I only managed one hour on the tennis court this morning - just too hot! Susan and Paul beat Kathy and me 6-3 although there was some discussion as to the final score. I was just too hot to dispute it so left the court and hurried home for a swim.

    Back on the road by 10:30 to drop in to the Probus meeting where I only stayed long enough to deliver some books, pick up new ones and grab a coffee. Home to prepare lunch for Judy and the grandkids who were dropping by for lunch. They left around 1:00 p.m. and I have just been relaxing in the garden, reading and cooling off in the pool since then. Now I am watching some rather uninspiring tennis from Washington D.C. - no major players in this tournament.

    A light dinner is planned - probably some soup and leftover sandwiches from lunch. I may add a bit of salad just to make sure I get all my nutrients today!