Not Winter Yet!

   Strange morning - misty and damp but it got up to 20C once the mist burned off. A few showers passed through but didn't amount to much.

    I was stuck at home this morning while the technician tried to get me a signal on my digital box. He has got it temporarily fixed so I can watch TV tonight but another techie has to come tomorrow to repair the box outside. Seemingly it's not part of his job and the other guys don't work on the weekends.

    I walked up to Metro this afternoon to cash in some Air Miles.  I don't usually shop at Metro as it is more expensive than No Frills, especially the produce, but  I have collected 95 Air Miles and that will get me $10 off my purchases. I bought ginger marmalade, some olives, a piece of Borgonzola cheese and Artichoke and Asiago dip. With the Air Miles, a $1 coupon for the dip, and the cheese half price, my bill was $2.50! Not too shabby and I am feeling better for having had the walk.

   I started dinner tonight with bruschetta on a pita. I still have a few tomatoes from the garden. Now I am baking a piece of fish on a kale base and more tomato on top and I will have it with peas. Then it's back to the couch for "Poldark" on TV.

Preparing For Winter

    One of the bloggers I follow, Elsa Peters, declared in her blog today that "October is the month for preparing for winter". I don't know if I entirely agree with her but the weather has certainly changed in the last week and I have made a start on clearing the garden. The composter is almost full and the borders are becoming empty, ready for the winter snow. Also, it seems it's time to plant next summer's garlic according to our local gardening guru!

    Although not cold today, it was rather damp and miserable - I just managed to avoid a soaking while shopping but I cashed in $20 of my PC points which is always good news. I love free groceries! Dinner tonight was a new recipe for chicken thighs which turned out rather well. It had onions and mushrooms in a curry and sour cream sauce and I had it with a cob of corn. Lots left for later in the week

   I baked a loaf in the bread machine this afternoon although I have seriously cut back on carbs. This loaf is just for emergencies, one of which may occur later this evening while I am slicing it for the freezer. The top sank a bit so I may have to eat the partial slices! I have somewhat fallen off my good intentions in the last few days, buns at Red Lobster on Thursday, mashed potatoes at Marlowe's yesterday and, of course, the bacon sandwich from Starbucks. Time to get back on track.

    No signal on my TV today despite two calls to Rogers. They finally agreed to send a technician but not until tomorrow so tonight I am watching "Julie and Julia" on DVD. Julie writes a blog about cooking all Julia Childs' recipes. It's very funny and has some interesting recipes. Right now she's cooking beouf bourgignon and lobster thermidor. I might try them some day (Not!!)

My Birthday

      I have already had one celebration of my birthday - last week when Steve took me out for lunch and chopped up my dead Mountain Ash tree. Today was full of treats (actually it started yesterday when I went out for lunch with my friends from Probus). This morning, on my way home from tennis I stopped in at Starbucks for my free birthday treat which was a double bacon, cheddar and egg sandwich - that, with a bowl of my homemade squash and apple soup, was lunch. Then, after a nap to digest my lunch, I met Judy at Marlowe's for a 5-course dinner with a glass of wine!

    The drive to Richmond Hill was stressful - the 404 highway was stop and go but I got there on time. My starter was Caesar salad, next came an appetizer of spicy ribs (Judy had seafood). After we had digested that the main course arrived. I had Australian lamb shanks with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted veggies and Judy had Surf and Turf. After a longer break we were asked for our choice of dessert. Judy chose a coffee and chocolate brownie to go (for Dave I suspect) and I chose Crème Brulee which was delicious! By then we were both thoroughly stuffed and eventually rolled out to the parking lot and drove home. I also got a box of Girl Guide cookies from Natalie - my favourite kind, chocolate covered mint. I will have to put them away for a special treat another time.

   Luckily I had a good workout at tennis this morning. It was cool and very windy which meant we had to work a bit harder but I managed 4 sets and had good partners. People trickled in slowly, due to the threat of rain, and we had to play pretty continuously - no sitting around gossiping, just time for a quick coffee between sets. The coffee urn was on the blink again but luckily I had thought to bring the spare one from my dance group. Only drawback, I had to wait until it was empty before I could leave as I had to take it with me!

    All in all it was a fun birthday with lots of celebrations. I am still stuffed so thank goodness it only happens once a year!

Running Out of Nice Days

   Rain pretty much all day so we wouldn`t have been able to play tennis even if I didn`t have other plans. The local courts are now open again, after being resurfaced, so we may get to use them on Sunday. Meanwhile I have my fingers crossed that the rain will have moved on by tomorrow so I can go to Don Mills.

    Probus club this morning and the speaker was most interesting, explaining about her problems navigating the medical system on behalf of her husband. She has written a book about it, `The Fight of Our Life`. After, I went out for lunch with Bonnie, Diane and Elizabeth; we went to Red Lobster and I had Langoustine and Lobster Bisque. It was delicious especially with several hot buns!

    I had a lazy afternoon snoozing and reading - I picked up an interesting book at the Probus book sale about 19th century housekeepers on the big estates of England. It`s quite a change from my usual reading material. I did go out between showers to pick the last of the rhubarb to freeze for later use.

    I didn`t need a big dinner tonight so I just defrosted half a dozen shrimp and fried them up in garlic butter with some mushrooms and tomatoes. A squirt of lemon juice and I had another delicious meal - two for two!

   A couple of my favourite shows on TV tonight so I am all set for a relaxed evening on the couch.