Hijinks in the Pool

    Quite a change in the weather. We have had fairly heavy rain in the last two days and today the temperature is down and the humidity is gone.

   I managed a bit of gardening this morning but was caught out by a downpour just as I was about to cut the grass. It`s useless trying to cut it when it is wet so that chore will have to wait for another day. Instead I baked a cake!

   It was still hot last Friday so the grandkids came over for a swim. They had spent some time at the zoo and were very hot and sweaty. Even Judy got in the water to cool off!

    As the nights are getting cooler (yesterday was only 14C overnight) This may be the end of their summer of fun. Once the water starts seriously dropping in temperature overnight I am reluctant to use the heater. I will continue to swim until it gets unbearably cold!

Keeping Busy

    The guys came today to measure for my new windows. Another cost. Seemingly the existing windows were a botched job with shims added to fill a gap so, an added expense. Hey ho, nobody said it would be a simple straightforward job! Some extra dollars added to an over extended budget.

   Tennis this morning then the ladies over for coffee. That filled the morning. Reading in the afternoon, my new Ann Cleeves book. It's set in Devon so a bit of a change from her usual locations of Shetland and Tyneside. I have ordered another Kate Atkinson novel featuring Jackson Brodie, her rather unconventional private detective. 

   Still hot, 29C, so I had several dips in the pool. No gardening today. Had bruschetta for my lunch, so used up another couple of tomatoes. So good!

The Inevitable Glut

    A scorcher today - high of 31C but the humidex (how hot the humidity makes it feel) was 41C! I was in the pool three times just trying to stay cool. No gardening until it cools off a bit.

   Tomatoes coming in thick and fast. I have picked half a dozen in the last few days and will have to get them eaten before the next crop are ready. Maybe some will have to be cooked and put in the freezer. I much prefer to eat the ones from the garden raw, in salads or bruschetta, but if needs must I will make a tomato sauce to use in the winter when the tomatoes in the stores are tasteless and expensive.

Not Careful Enough

    I spent almost two hours today listening to a presentation on replacement windows from a very nice rep. Unfortunately, half way through his spiel I realized it is an American company (recommended by a friend) and I had vowed to "buy Canadian" from now on!

   I did order the windows (couldn't not after the effort he had made into convincing me they were the best product) but, half an hour after putting down a substantial deposit, I realized I hadn't checked with him whether it is in American or Canadian dollars! The exchange rate is pretty bad at the moment and if it is U.S. dollars it will be 25% more. Mea culpa. I am only having two windows replaced so it could have been worse.