Garden Plenty

   The family are staying at their trailer this weekend so I have the house to myself until Sunday evening - just the cat, the lizard and me! Their kitchen is going in (hopefully) this coming week so they may be moving back quite soon. 

   It took me a few days to get over all the excitement of the Rogers Cup and my shifts on the main gate and the final party on Sunday. By Wednesday I was more or less back to my usual routines so nothing much to report. The weather continues very summery but the evenings are cooling off. On Thursday we finally had some rain (the grandkids were in the pool having a hilarious time during the shower) and more rain this morning so the garden is losing its dry, parched look. I managed to fill a bucket of weeds this afternoon once it had dried off, then needed a swim as it is still very humid. 

    I am getting loads of tomatoes and the peppers are starting to turn red. A friend gave me some plum tomatoes on Friday so I made a sauce with them and had it for dinner. Also I dug up a few early potatoes and had them for dinner too. 

Red peppers getting there!

Some tomatoes that didn't go in the tomato sauce. I will just eat them with lunches. The yellow one on top is called Green Zebra and is supposed to have a "zippy" taste (whatever that means). I hope it is ripe, it's rather hard to judge.

A Hectic Week

Haven't been near the computer for several days as I am volunteering at the Roger's Cup Tennis Tournament in Toronto this week. Lots of big name women players but I have only managed to see part of some occasional matches before and after my shifts. Will update proceedings after the tournament is over.

Out With the Old.......

…..and in with the new - lawnmowers, that is. My ancient one (I thought I may have had it ever since I moved here 21 years ago but I seem to remember buying one shortly after I moved). In any case, it was pretty well used and finally gave up the ghost the other day. 

Here it is, sitting at the curb, in the hope that someone will pick it up for parts.

As lawns keep on growing it was imperative that a new one be purchased. So that was my task of the day and I found one relatively quickly and easily. It was the cheapest one available - a little narrow, only cuts a 14" swath at a time - but much easier to push around than the old one. I'm sure I will be happy with it.

Bounty From the Garden

    Two gigantic zucchinis, not from my garden, one from Judy and one from a friend. But what to do with them? The friend has promised to send me a recipe for a chocolate zucchini cake (she gave me a sample and it was very tasty) and Judy made lunch yesterday with grated zucchini, eggs and cheese baked in individual ramekins which was also very good. Maybe some muffins - I will have to Google a recipe.

   It has been a beautiful day - still quite warm but with a bit of a breeze. I had a swim this afternoon (the pool is now clear) and got quite cool after, even though I was sitting in the sun. Perfect weather for being outdoors. I spent the afternoon reading my current book, "After I'm Gone" by Laura Lippman.