Getting Ready for the Long Weekend

    We four friends had great fun on the tennis courts today! No wind, sunny breaks and some great rallies. We were very pleased with ourselves and played for nearly two hours. I had prepared for a chilly start but was soon peeling off layers. There won't be many more days like that this year so we are making the most of it while the good weather lasts!

   It clouded over later in the day and a little rain fell, so we definitely had the best of the day this morning. I had a few clerical chores to take care of and a run to the store to pick up a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner, so that took care of the rest of the day. The turkey will take another day to defrost and I plan to cook it on Saturday. We will probably have it on Sunday and then have Monday to rest and recuperate.

    It has been recommended that people only celebrate Thanksgiving with whoever lives with them so it is lucky I have son and DIL here or I would be celebrating on my own. Not looking forward to a lonesome Christmas but perhaps the virus will have abated a bit by then and I can have family over. The number of cases in Ontario is rising alarmingly but I will continue to stay at home as much as possible. 

Another Quiet Day

    It was a struggle on the tennis courts this morning - very windy and cool - but we played for almost an hour and a half and had one very long set that went to a tie-break. Then home to watch tennis from Paris, the quarter-finals. I saw one very long, tense match and another that was rather one-sided. But very entertaining nevertheless.

   Since then it has been quite a quiet day. I made sausage rolls for dinner (I'm trying to clear out the freezer) and we had them with baked beans. Enough left over for snacks or lunch tomorrow.

An Ordinary Day

    Not much to report today but it was a very pleasant day and I did a fair bit of gardening, went for a walk and generally enjoyed the outdoors. This morning I made a batch of cauliflower soup which we had for lunch, then put a loaf on to bake in the bread machine. It turned out really well for once. I used less yeast as my last few attempts have been hitting the lid of the machine and collapsing!

   I had a trip to Value Village this afternoon with a bag full of clothes I never wear. For that I got a 20% off coupon so scouted around and found new (to me) boots, two pairs of leggings and a very practical sweater for just wearing around the house. It has three quarter sleeves so I can put away all my T-shirts that are now a bit chilly. Value Village no longer has facilities to try on clothes so it was rather a hit-and-miss process. Their sizing is not always very accurate.

   Dinner tonight was salmon, French fries and brussell sprouts - no dessert but I may have a homemade oatmeal bar later. They are chewy but very good!

A Special Day

    Just 16C for the high today and a rather chilly start for our tennis game. I was the big loser today - quite the opposite of Tuesday - but blame it on the sun being directly in my eyes, being left-handed. The courts run north-south and the sun is much lower in the sky at 9:00 a.m. now that the days are getting shorter.

   Yesterday was my birthday - I am now a year closer to 80, horrible thought! Judy came over with a tasty lunch and some treats just before noon, then Steve and Alison took me out for dinner to a local restaurant. It was a treat to eat out after 6 months of home cooked meals! I had their signature minestrone soup (it is our local Italian trattoria) and eggplant parmigiana. Steve had veal parmigiana and Alison had chicken and pasta. All were very good.

   I brought in the remaining tomatoes and dug up the last potato plant this afternoon as we are due for some frost soon. It has been a good harvest this year. 

They should continue to ripen over the next week or two.

The last of the Swiss Chard will go in tonight's supper dish.