So Cold!

    Finally we have some typical winter weather. It was -7C today (-15C with the wind chill factor filtered in) and the wind was very cold and very strong. The upside was that the few flurries we have had over the last couple of days have all been blown away and I managed another day without having to wear boots!

   It is forecast to get even colder tonight but I will be staying home by the fire. Today I was just running quickly from the house to the car, to the mall and back to the house. This will continue for the next few days.

   RTO Executive meeting this morning and then Book club in the afternoon. I had packed a light lunch so didn't bother to go home in between. The meeting was pretty straightforward, finished on time and was not too tedious. We had a very lively discussion at book club - our book was "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah, highly recommended by all. All sorts of themes and character studies to expand on. All being retired teachers we were not at a loss for words.

   I went by the library on the way home and picked up two books and two DVDs. Unfortunately, one of the books I had ordered I had already read. But this was in fact fortunate as the books are piling up on my bedside table. Not a bad thing during this cold spell!

A Long Break from Blogging

   Oops! Just realized it has been a week since my last post. Last week was very quiet - just a tennis game on Thursday and dance practice on Sunday afternoon, so not much to write about. I filled my time with reading and doing a jigsaw puzzle and a few (very few!) cleaning chores.

   Activities started again this Monday with craft club in the morning, Bridge in the afternoon and social dance group in the evening. That's the way I like my days to go! Today I was trekking over to the west end of the city to attend a Burn's lunch at which we were the entertainment with some Scottish dances. It's nice that they give us lunch first. I love haggis! A quiet evening ahead, I won't need any dinner other than a bowl of my homemade soup.

A New Year

    Despite a late night (yes, I did manage to stay up until midnight!) I had an early start and spent an hour or so over coffee and the newspaper. Then it was out for a long walk - it was sunny but cold so I wrapped up well.

   Home to tidy the house since I got the tree and all the Christmas decorations put away yesterday. After lunch and a nap I worked on my current jigsaw puzzle for a while then went to see a movie. It was "The Favourite", about Queen Anne and her court - very entertaining; I highly recommend it. On the way home at 7:00 p.m. I decided I couldn't be bothered to cook a meal so stopped off at Swiss Chalet for dinner. Unfortunately they are no longer serving the Festive Special (my favourite) but I had my usual 1/4 chicken (dark meat) and a Caesar salad. Now I am nibbling on my homemade tablet while I watch the New Year's special from Vienna - all Strauss music. The tablet is so sweet my teeth are aching! 

A Good Read

   I am reading a riveting book today, "Educated" by Tara Westover. It's a memoir of an unbelievably hard childhood, in fact, parts I had to skip over, it was so gruesome! Nevertheless, I highly recommend it.

   The cats have gone back home. I picked up their "parents" (my son and DIL) from the airport this afternoon, we returned to my place, and got the cats and all their paraphernalia packed up and loaded in their car. Not sorry to see them go (pets are a lot of work) but I will miss them greeting me each time I arrived home.

    Scary thing on the highway coming home from the airport - I was nearly side-swiped by a humongous tractor-trailer which decided to change lanes and obviously didn't see me. Luckily there was a paved shoulder for me to escape on to until he was past but I was quite shaken. All this at 100 kpm!

   Colder today after yesterday's mild temperatures but still no snow. I plan to binge-watch my newest DVD of "Line of Duty". It's a great series!