Changed Days

 The extreme heat has passed but today we have had very powerful winds - I was too nervous to open the awning over the back walkout in case it got blown away! I did manage to cut the grass and do a bit of weeding so not an entirely wasted day.

    Last Wednesday the seniors at the community centre were treated to a BBQ lunch and very nice it was too. I decided to try a veggie burger which was "OK" (but I don't think I will order it again) and there was potato salad, coleslaw and an ice cream bar, all for $5. Unsurprisingly, the tickets sold out pretty fast but my three Bridge friends (and one husband) all managed to score tickets so it was a lively lunch. Lots of my Fitness class friends were there too.

   That same evening I went up to Markham to attend youngest grandson's Grade 8 graduation. Nice to see the 13-and 14-year olds dressed in their  finery, the guys in suits and the girls in party frocks. For me it was a "blast from the past" as this was the first graduation I had attended since participating in them as a teacher. Both my other grandkids were only able to have virtual ceremonies as they graduated during lockdown. I had to miss my own kids ceremonies as they both conflicted with my other duties. Of course I was able to see them receive their University degrees but there's something extra special about moving on from elementary to secondary school.

Heat Dome

    That's what the meterologists are calling our current extreme weather. It has seemingly settled over most of the continent and is set to stay for quite some time. Today was 31C (Humidex 41C) so I reluctantly turned on the A/C this afternoon. Ironically, at Bridge in the community centre we were all complaining of the cold draughts and wearing sweaters. Go figure!

   It was our end-of-season pot luck before we played today and lots of delicious stuff to try. I brought enough home for tonight's dinner so that's sorted. We play one more week and then are off for the summer as the centre is used for day camps and other kid activities for July and August.

   The pool guys were in to fix my leak last week but I missed seeing them in their diving gear as I had other plans that morning. It was the main drain that was leaking so now it is permanently sealed off. I have been complaining about the leak for years as it gradually got worse but finally someone was smart enough to figure out the problem. At least I hope that's the case, we shall see!

I Passed!

   On Monday morning I had to attend a group driver's test at a nearby community centre. This happens every two years for people over 80 who want to keep their driver's license. This is my second test as I am nearing 82 and I certainly want to keep using my car!

   We were a group of about a dozen seniors and I think some may have taken the test several times. It's a very basic test and I think it is just designed to weed out people whose faculties are deteriorating. First there are individual eye exams (or you can get your optometrist to submit the results of your last checkup), then there was a written component. The task was to draw a clock face showing the time 11:10. The whole thing took about 40 minutes and at the end the examiner announced that we had all passed. Phew! Now I can go and get my license renewed. 

   

Another Busy and Interesting Day

 An early RTO Executive meeting - only 9 showed up and only three "regrets" so where were the others? I don't think we even had a quorum but we passed all the votes regardless and were done by 10:30. I doubt anyone will complain about that!

   For those who did attend there were lots of snacks and coffee, most left over from the Health seminar on Tuesday. These also, plus muffins, went on to the Book Club meeting in the afternoon with even more treats added! But most of that disappeared as it was a special, end of year, meeting with double the attendance.

    We have three book club groups as they are immensely popular, and two meet in the same location on different Thursdays. Today was the final meeting for both groups and we met to discuss "The Kitchen" by John Ota. And, best of all, the author was there! He gave a wonderful talk, with a slide show and video clips, describing how he researched and wrote the book and had us fascinated from start to finish. Lots of questions and comments after and he sold several copies of his book which probably made him happy. 

    The book is a study of the configuration (John is an architect) of North American kitchens through the ages from Pilgrims to modern day, and included Thomas Jefferson's , Frank Lloyd Wright's, Louis Armstrong's, Julia Child's and Elvis Presley's. He also included recipes that he prepared in each of the kitchens and I brought one I had made using his recipe (Scottish Shortbread ) to let people sample. It was a very fun afternoon! We won't meet again until September but the books for next year's meetings have been selected so we can get started on reading them right away.