Too Much of a Good Thing

    Fitness class was cancelled again today as Alison went on a two week vacation without giving the coordinator time to find a replacement. Also my Wednesday class was cancelled as Brenda was sick so only my home workouts this week. They are quite good, cover cardio, abdominals and upper and lower body toning but are rather boring! I'd much rather workout in a class.

   This was all rather unfortunate as I had a week of overeating. Tuesday was the worst as it was the Christmas lunch at the country club - turkey, stuffing etc. followed by gooey squares and coffee. All delicious but I had to be careful as I was going out in the evening for granddaughter's 16th birthday party. I tried to eat the minimum at both events but it was all so delicious! Just too bad to have two meals scheduled for the same day.

   Thursday was the RODEO "Eating Around the World" outing. This month it was the letter B and we ate at a Turkish restaurant for The Balkans. I just had an appetizer but that was followed by yummy Turkish Delight with rosewater and pistachios. Next time will be January and for the letter C it will either be China or Czeck, I voted for dim sum at a Chinese place.

   One nice thing was the entertainment at the Tuesday lunch - the Enchanted Flutes, a group of musicians who, as always, were spectacular! We were singing along and dancing in the aisles - I was anyway. That's one way to work off a big meal!

Mix-it-up Sunday

    I stopped by the bulk food store the other day and stocked up on all the supplies I needed for the Christmas plum pudding. So today was the day to go into action!

    It wasn't a big job and getting in there with my hands made it go faster. But now it's done and dusted and, once it cools off, will be stored in a dry place to mature until Christmas Day. Then I will steam it again for an hour and we will all enjoy its rich goodness!'

The finished product. It weighs 3 and a half pounds!

Free Books and a Cheap Meal - what's not to like?

    With the runup to Christmas my calendar is filling up fast. I am endeavoring to limit myself to one meal out a week, not just to avoid overeating but also with the cost of eating out. This week has been good as I just went to the "Festive Special" with two of my Bridge friends at the Seniors Centre on Tuesday. The meal was catered by Swiss Chalet (our local chicken franchise), followed by entertainment by the Line Dancers. We got the meal for just $10, subsidized by the Centre Executive. It was a sold out event as it was such a good deal!

   Today was the November Probus meeting and I found the speaker this week rather disappointing, partially because she didn't use the microphone properly and I missed a lot of her presentation. However, it was still nice to be out and socializing with friends and acquaintances. I found a couple of interesting books on the book exchange table (I had brought in four books I was done with) one of which was long-listed for this year's Giller Prize. Can't wait to get started on it!

   In the afternoon I had a long walk as the weather was cooperating and I had my hat and gloves off by the time I got home. Lovely blue skies!

One More Job Done

    Got the gas technician in the other day to light the pilot light on my gas fire. No idea why it went out but it is tricky to reignite. He had it done very quickly, cleaned up the fireplace and had everything back to normal in no time. I was very pleased and now I am cosy in the family room. Saves heating the whole house in the evenings when I am watching TV. Yippee!