Thanksgiving

    A short drive out of the city and I was amazed to see the changing of the colours. They were quite brilliant! The trees local to me are still quite stubbornly green.

   Sunny but cool today for my trip to daughter's house for Thanksgiving lunch. We were a merry bunch of 9 around the table and there was butternut squash soup, turkey with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie. I brought roasted potatoes dug up from my garden just yesterday. I have had a bumper crop this year which I planted in an area that has been lying fallow for a year. I think that must have something to do with the number and size of the potatoes.

   We all know how lucky we are to live in this wonderful country, so before we ate we gave thanks for the bounty we were about to receive. Everyone contributed something to the meal including oldest grandson who made the pumpkin pie. The other one made a batch of sausage rolls which are his speciality. He won an award for them at the county fair! All in all a successful family gathering but now I won't eat again until tomorrow morning. I have two more big lunches this week so will have to be careful - no snacking!

Paid In Full

   I have a parts plan with Enbridge, my gas supplier, and it doesn't come cheap. But today I pretty much recouped the whole amount by having their plumber come out and fix a leaky tap at no cost! Plumbers are about the most expensive service men so it was a relief not to have to pay him for his time.

    This was the result of the new washing machine. When attaching the new hoses something in the tap gave way although I think it may have been leaking slightly for a while. I have had to turn off the hot tap between washes and that did reduce the drip but now it is fixed and hopefully there will be no more problems.

    A gorgeous day on the tennis courts today, albeit a bit windy. The sun is now quite low in the sky in the early morning and that did cause problems as well, but it was lovely to be out in the fresh air getting a bit of exercise. Eat your hearts out all you poor working souls! It's great to be retired.

   We were also treated to a workshop on preventing shoulder injuries. It was given by Physio Mobility Centre and there was a demonstration of exercises we should do to warm up for tennis or if our shoulders are tight in the morning. We probably won't but it was an interesting clinic. If you are in the Toronto area the Centre is at The Shops of Don Mills - I'm not paid to advertise for them but I do have a coupon for a massage there, which I won at the tennis Gala!

    Later this afternoon I made another jar of tomato chutney. It has to cook for 2 hours and I almost let it go too long but saved it in the nick of time. The tomatoes are coming thick and fast and I also used another one to make bruschetta. This may be the last day of the warm spell but if it is sunny the tomatoes will continue to ripen. Then I will bring the rest inside before the first frost.

Stocking Up

   Finally an evening at home so I have time to write my blog! I really don't like to go out after dark (and it is getting dark earlier and earlier), but sometimes, needs must! Yesterday was the AGM at the tennis club and there was a huge turnout as there was one contentious item on the agenda. Predictably the meeting dragged on with some totally ridiculous discussion, but finally matters were concluded to (almost) everyone's satisfaction and the meeting was adjourned at 9:40 p.m. - well past my bedtime. I managed to avoid taking on any positions on the executive by sitting on my hands.

   A big splurge at Bulk Barn today as I had a $5 off coupon which was about to expire. Of course, you had to spend $20 but I managed to do that as I had run out of lots of items. Here's my haul. Hard to believe it totalled just over $20!

   From left to right, dried apricots,  a tub of natural peanut butter (no additives or salt, just plain peanuts), dried cranberries (this was the most expensive item at $5 but I like them on salads), cashews, almonds and walnuts.

   I got the lawn mower out this afternoon as it was a brilliant day, and lowered the height in preparation for the final cut of the year. I just did the back yard and, except for a patch under a tree that doesn't get much sun, it is looking very healthy. I have already given it a doze of fertilizer to see it over the winter. Now, a little TV and an early night.

   

More Book Talk

   I am reading "Educated", a memoir by Tara Westover, for the next Book Club meeting but today I got sidetracked. It's "The Turn of the Key" by Ruth Ware and I think I will rush through it before I get back to the other one. It has started out with lots of suspense, just the kind of book I like! Both books are hard to get from the library as they have been in the top ten list for some time so I won't be able to renew them. Just as well the weather is a bit too wet to work in the garden.

    I have a Louise Penny book waiting for me at the library but I will leave it there until later in the week. This is her latest, "A Better Man" and it is also in the top ten list. I usually like her books but have found the last couple a bit too similar. Maybe it's time for her to come up with a new formula. She is a very prolific writer and very popular in Canada as her books are set in Quebec.

   Busy in the kitchen today - a cracked wheat loaf and a batch of sugar cookies. The latter are to take to Crafters meeting tomorrow morning. I hope I made enough, the ladies do love them!