Still Cold

   Tennis from 10:00 to 12:00 this morning - we got in three sets and I was on the winning end for two, with Swan it was 6-0 for us!

    On the way home I filled the car with gas and picked up a library book so it was almost 1:00 p.m. before I had lunch. I finished the book for Book Club later this week then settled in for a nap. Then it was off to the cinema to see "All the Money in the World", the story of the Paul Getty kidnapping. Even though I knew he would be rescued (it's based on actual fact), I still found it quite tense and exciting. Worth a visit. The cinema was absolutely teeming with people as it is still the school holidays, but not too many at my show.

   On the way home I stopped in at Home Depot to get a filter for the furnace. I forgot to check the size I needed and have a sneaking suspicion I got the wrong one - will check tomorrow.

   I was pretty hungry when I got home around 7:00 but I had prepared turnip before I went out, so it was just a matter of minutes to mash it and warm up a piece of capon from the freezer, a nice easy dinner!

Another New Year

    I didn't manage to stay up until midnight but had a good sleep and was up with the sun which rose at 7:52 today. We have exactly 9 hours of daylight this week but it is to stay very cold. So sorry for the homeless people in town, the shelters will all be full again tonight. Look at the projected overnight temperatures!

Frigid air from the Polar Vortex seems to be stuck over most of Canada this week.

   I was invited out for lunch today (a nice surprise) and met up with some tennis friends at Carol's condo. She had a lovely light spread for us - salad, cheeses, smoked salmon, shrimp, all my favourites - with wine, then apple cake and coffee to finish. I will only need a small snack for dinner tonight. 

   The house got its last bit of sprucing up today and that should be it for a few weeks. I cleaned out the fridge and washed the shelves, threw out the contents of some cupboards in the laundry room that hadn't been touched in years, and got rid of all the fluff under my bed. It feels good to start the new year fresh and clean.

Hogmanay

   It was a day for "sweeping out the old year", a tradition I inherited from my parents and grandparents.  They would physically open the door and brush out all the dirt from throughout the house (couldn't do that here today as it was minus 19C this morning). The idea is to start the new year fresh and rid of all the accumulated debris of the previous year. I was only partly successful but will continue with the clean-up tomorrow morning.

   I don't usually make New Year's Resolutions but I did weigh myself this morning and resolve to, at least, not gain back the weight I have lost this year. I have done quite well and am about 4 lbs. below my normal weight, given all the overeating (especially chocolate) that occurred in December, but I did get down 10 lbs at one point. The secret, I found, is to severely cut back on carbs and I didn't find that too difficult to do although I do love bread!

   Last night's salmon was delicious! I made a lemon honey mustard glaze and just broiled it briefly. It was very tender and juicy. I have another piece in the freezer and will have it later in the week.

   To all my readers I wish a happy and healthy 2018.

A Change is as Good as a Rest

    A busy morning - laundry, shovelling snow, grocery shopping - but that's it for today. I had a call from one of my tennis friends inviting me to lunch on New Year's Day which I gratefully accepted.

   It got up to minus 7C today and we even had some sun, quite pleasant out if you were well wrapped up. I will have a piece of salmon for dinner tonight - thoroughly sick of the Christmas bird and all the trimmings! I may just poach the salmon for a nice light meal.