Welcoming the New Retirees

    I attended the RTO District 24 New Retirees brunch today to tell about the activities I run. It was well attended by new and recent retirees all eager to find out how to fill their days, and about the insurance coverage that RTO offers. I'm sure we had quite a few sign up for that reason alone.

   The brunch was bountiful and delicious - more like lunch as far as the quantity of food was concerned - scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, toast, spinakopita, pastries, croissants, lemon loaf, fruit and even cheesecake, and of course, as much orange juice and coffee as you wanted. No one left hungry. It was held at our usual location, Bluffer's Marina, but it is under new management so we weren't sure whether it would live up to the previous owner's standard. It most certainly did!

    The marina is right down by the lake close to the Scarborough Bluffs (hence the name) so we had lovely water views. It was a gorgeous day and ideal for a stroll along the waterfront to walk off all the delicious food.

Some of them don't look old enough to be retired!

 This is a nice view - you can see the boats moored in the background. There are several houseboats nearby where people live year round. All in all, a great day!

Still Hot

   Very hot today - if the pool had still been open I would definitely have had a swim! As it was, it was too hot to work in the garden so I had to content myself with watching the Laver Cup, named after Rod Laver the Australian tennis player. Team Europe (my favourite) won although in the last match I was rooting for the Canadian who was part of Team World.

   Did a bit of baking this afternoon despite the heat. The recipe is for Apple Oat Bread but I used pears instead. The house has stayed quite cool and I will open windows tonight to keep it that way. My outside thermometer said 35C this afternoon! 

Using up some out-of-date sour cream and two pears from a tennis friend's garden. It turned out well and will taste good with lashings of butter!

Summer Drawing to an End

   Just photos today. The pool guys were here by 7:45 this morning and finished before 9:00. They probably had a ton of pools to close today. Weather continues to be beautiful, very summery despite Autumn arriving later this week.

It's always sad when the pool is tucked away under its winter cover. It will be covered until mid May.

Two late roses. There is another bud still to open.

Last Dip in the Pool

    I was very hot and sweaty when I got home from tennis today so tested the water in the pool and decided it was good for a refreshing dip. Unfortunately only the surface inch had heated up; beneath that was frigid! I went in anyway, had a fast couple of lengths and felt all the better for it. 

   Dug up two potato plants and some Swiss Chard this afternoon. The harvest continues! 

I like the small potatoes boiled in their jackets with lots of butter but the big one I will peel and have mashed.

The Swiss Chard is for tonight's dinner, just boiled, chopped and seasoned with butter, pepper and a grating of parmesan cheese.

      We have had wonderful weather this whole week, up in the mid- to high 20's, but I won't be swimming again this year as the pool guys are coming to close the pool tomorrow. I hardly used it at all in September as the nights cooled off dramatically but it was lovely to get in today!

Still looking nice and blue. I will post a photo tomorrow of it covered.