Back to the Normal Routine

   I had an appointment with the rheumatologist this morning and he has promised to sign me off after my next visit in six month's time. That will be a relief. Bridge this afternoon - I had terrible cards, only played a couple of hands and went down miserably. It's enough to put you off bridge for life!

   I walked to and from the Senior's Centre and did a bit of gardening this afternoon, so a swim was called for. I'm still a bit tired from the hectic week at the tennis centre but will buck up soon, I hope. So many tomatoes have ripened during the week I will have to make a soup or freeze them. I really prefer to eat them fresh but there are just too many!

   Some photos from the tennis centre:

Ladies singles semi-final.

Brilliant sunset on one of the drier evenings.

Is Summer Almost Over?

   Terrible day at the tennis centre yesterday. Rain, a cold wind and having to hang about until the courts were dried and the last match completed. We didn't get to leave until almost midnight and I was chilled to the bone (we are only allowed to wear our uniforms which proved inadequate to withstand the falling temperature).  I was home around 12:30 a.m. and immediately into a hot tub to unthaw, then slept the sleep of the dead.

    Still cool this morning but sunny so I had a couple of hours on the tennis courts. I picked up the grandkids around 11:00, took them to the library and then home for lunch and a swim. I didn't go in but they did for half an hour. I had left the heater on all morning and the temperature almost reached 80F. The nights are getting cooler so the water is losing its heat overnight. 

    Still tired from yesterday so I will be having a light dinner and an early night. 

Another cool day

   Still very cool and windy today. This was my first day at the tennis centre, volunteering at the Rogers Cup, and I had my sweater on virtually the whole day. Today was the second day of qualifying and I didn't get to see any matches, but the main draw starts tomorrow so I may see some of the seeded players on court. It was a long day today - left home at 8:00 a.m. and got home just after 4:00. The rest of the week won't be so bad.

   No need for much dinner as we got a nice chicken and veggies lunch plus lots of fruit and nibblies to keep us going. I'll just relax in front of the TV and have an early night.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    So cold today! It feels like Fall and the wind is very strong. I definitely didn't venture into the pool. In fact I was indoors most of the day watching the World T & F events from London. Poor old Bolt, he almost made it a clean sweep of wins.

   Last stop on the cruise was Amsterdam with a visit to the Reiksmuseum. It was all it is cracked up to be with virtually hundreds of remarkable paintings - really too much to see in one day. It was extremely busy but we had an excellent guide who made sure  we saw the most important works. A canal tour in the evening with historical highlights rounded off our visit and then it was off to the airport in the morning. We had to fly back to Munich before getting our flight home but not too long a wait in between flights. The end of a stellar trip.

"The Night Watch"

Rembrandt "Self Portrait"

Van Gogh "Self Portrait"