Autumn Days

    Decidedly cooler today although I haven't had to turn on the heat yet. We were well wrapped up for tennis this morning but I had stripped off two layers by the time I stopped. Our tennis days are drawing to a close as one club moves over to indoor tennis next week by erecting a "bubble" over the courts (I don't join as it is too expensive) and the other club closes down at the end of October. That will be it until next April, sadly.

   The overnight temperature is set to be around 6C tonight so I have brought in all my indoor plants that have been summering outside. I checked them for bugs before bringing them in but inevitably will have missed a few! The plants themselves are all looking very healthy and seem to have benefitted from the extra light they get outdoors. They will likely die back a bit in the coming months but right now look very healthy. The fern has done especially well but the Hibiscus will need to be pruned as it has grown rather tall and spindly. 

  Off to warm up some leftovers for dinner. I made a big batch of rice and chicken stir-fry the other day so it will hit the spot. 

My Food Diary

    I  picked up some of the local corn today from the farmer who brings it into the city in his truck. He was parked at the gas station on my way to Bridge today. I always like to support the local farmers but also buy it because it is incredibly fresh! I will have a cob with dinner tonight.

   Last week was just too much eating out. On Thursday the RODEO ladies (Retired Old Dames Eating Out) went to Eately Restaurant for the "I for Italian" page of our Eating Around the World project. I had decided not to eat Italian and had bay scallops with salad and rustic bread - a light lunch but not something I would normally cook for myself. Most of the group had pasta or pizza. Eately is rather a posh place but not overwhelmingly so, so it was a pleasant experience. 

   The following day it was Italian cuisine again at "Scaddabush" with the family, ostensibly a late birthday party for myself as oldest grandson was home from uni for the weekend. There, I did eat Italian with a mushroom pasta dish with truffle oil. It was very good, I would definitely eat there again. Natalie had pizza, Elliot had tortellini and Judy was very good and had a goat cheese and beet salad. 

    Now back to plain cooking for a few days but Thanksgiving is coming up on the weekend so I had better be prepared!

   

No Chocolate Left Uneaten

    Lots of treats this weekend as it is my birthday today. Fresh flowers and chocolates from both kids and an invite to dinner later this week when oldest grandson is home from uni for the weekend.

   In addition, last Friday at the Seniors' Centre Volunteer Appreciation lunch there were more gifts and chocolate and I also won a raffle prize - a couple of kitchen gadgets which I plan to exchange. The lunch was quite delicious and there was a huge cake for dessert. Our local councillor was in attendance to hand out certificates; there were about 30 of us recognized for our efforts on behalf of the seniors. Lastly, one of my tennis friends produced my favourite Lindor truffles at the courts on Sunday as an early Birthday present and I am ashamed to say I ate them all in one go that night while watching TV!

   Having consumed so much chocolate over the last two days I am determined to cut back on my chocolate consumption for the next week or so but will finish what I have in the house first. No point in leaving temptation in the way of my good resolve!

It Was Bound to Come to an End

     Last of the summer BBQ's at the Seniors' Centre today, followed by Bridge. My partner and I had great cards and won two rubbers which makes up for last week's dismal result. I brought home half of the lunch and will have it for dinner tonight, it was very plentiful!

    I brought in a humungous tomato yesterday, it weighed over a lb. Not sure how I will use it as the large ones tend to be a bit dense so it will probably go into a stew or sauce. The smaller ones are better for sandwiches or salads and there are still plenty of them to pick.  

   The pool will be closed down on Wednesday but I have swum almost every day up until yesterday. The weather has suddenly turned very Autumnal although September has been superb on the whole. A stormy night forecast tonight then cooler temperatures for the rest of the week.