Weathering the Lockdown

   Another beautiful day here in southern Ontario - blue skies, pleasant temperatures and no humidity. I was up bright and early to pick up groceries during the seniors' time, came home, stripped off and had a shower before heading to the tennis courts. Don't want to pass on any germs to my friends!

   We are very careful about contact while playing although we have resorted to doubles play. Singles is just too exhausting. But there is hand sanitizer supplied after we play and so far we have all stayed healthy. It is just so nice to spend an hour or two in the fresh air, exercising with pleasant company. It almost feels like we are back to normal. Unfortunately Toronto is still having over 100 new infections a day so it will be a while until we are able to advance to Stage 2 of reopening.

   A lazy afternoon reading. I picked up a new book and a DVD at the library later this morning - "The Seagull" by Ann Cleves (a Vera Stanhope mystery) and the movie "Shadowlands". That should keep me occupied for a day or two. I also started a new puzzle - 1000 pieces - so no chance of being bored!

   The nights have been cool so the pool is still too cold for a dip. But we are promised hotter weather by the end of the week so I may be swimming again by then. The Bridge club met for a Zoom meeting today and it was comforting to hear how all are filling their days, much the same as I am. 

The garden is turning from blues and pinks....

...to yellows and oranges. The orange daylilies will be out in the next week or two.

Change in the Weather

   It's much cooler today so I had the oven on and made a fish pie. I also got out a puzzle as it was too windy to sit outside for too long. Last night we had strong winds and heavy rain but no damage as far as I could tell.

Before it went in the oven.....

…..and after. I love puff pastry! I will make sausage rolls tomorrow with the leftovers. Not much in the way of vegetables in it but I will have it with pickled beetroot.

    With all the recent rain everything is growing like crazy and I have filled all my bins with whatever couldn't go in the composter. They won't be emptied until next Wednesday so I am having a holiday from gardening!

Another Hot One!

   I had a short walk early this morning before breakfast, after my workout, but spent the rest of the morning indoors as it was heating up fast. I had an afternoon pickup time at the library and was sweating by the time I got home so had a refreshing swim and watered the plants while I was still cool. The rest of the day was spent indoors. 

   Surprisingly the A/C hasn't kicked in yet (I have it set for 25C) but it wouldn't surprise me if it came on soon. It is 31C outside! A cold front is supposed to come through later tonight so tomorrow should be much cooler but also rainy. A good day to spend with my new library materials!

Trying to Stay Cool

   I spent most of today outdoors despite it being extremely hot. It started with an hour of tennis while it was still cool. Susan and I hit the courts at 8:00 a.m. Cut back some bushes, had a swim, repotted my violets, had a swim, watered the vegetables and, you guessed it, had another swim. But a nap was called for after lunch. A special lunch today - egg salad with basil from the garden, lettuce, cucumber, radish, red pepper, green onion and half an avocado, with a dash of lemon juice and a drizzle of EVO oil. Delicious!

    The main floor of the house has stayed remarkably cool but tonight may be a bit hot and sticky in the bedroom, being upstairs. I will open all the windows once the sun goes down and hope for a bit of a breeze.

   I spent quite a bit of the afternoon reading - another one from my shelf, "By Its Cover" by Donna Leon. I hadn't read it for a while (I love Commisario Brunetti) and couldn't remember the denoument so it kept me guessing. Tomorrow I have booked a time to pick up my holds from the library (curb side pick up and drop off only at the moment) so finally something new to read.

Looking a lot more comfortable in their bigger pot.