The Next Installment

    The eating out continues. Weeks can go by when I only eat at home but, for some reason September has been an orgy of over-eating! In fact I forgot to mention that the "Eating Around the World" group, having reached "P", ate at a Philippine restaurant, "Casa Manila", at the beginning of the month. It was one of the better venues we have experienced.  I had their national dish, spicy chicken with rice, and very nice it was too.

   In the last week of September there were two volunteer appreciation events; at one I received my 10 years of service pin and a certificate and at the other, after a very nice meal of beef skewers, salads and cake, the staff at the Seniors' Centre gave us another certificate and prizes. All very much appreciated.

   Now that we are into October it all starts over again with the letter "Q" which in this case meant BBQ at "Northern Smokes". I don't think I've ever had smoked meat which in my case was a Havarti Brisket sandwich with dill pickles and caramelized onions. The huge slice of meat was very tender and indeed did have a smoky flavour but it was more meat than I would normally eat in a week so I have had to eat sparingly today with a light piece of fish for dinner!

    The weather was ideal for tennis today - we only have a few more days left - and we were still in our summer attire as the sun was shining brightly with no discernable wind. I'll be sad when it is over until next Spring.
 

   

Having to Catch Up Again!

    Horrified to see I haven't posted once in September! I had to get out my calendar to see what (if anything) was worth reporting and there are a few special events. I'll split them over two posts.

   I have joined a Wine tasting group and we had our first meeting a couple of weeks ago. It was a fun afternoon at one member's house and we tasted 4 wines - theme was all Ontario wines -  and rated them. I liked them all and would probably try them again. We had some nibblies between glasses and after rating them we finished the bottles! The next meeting will be at my house in November.

   The next week was the Retired Teachers' lunch on Tuesday, Book Club on Thursday and then a theatre performance on Friday, all fun and entertaining. The book we discussed was "Go As A River" by Shelley Read and the play was "Baskervilles" put on by a local amateur theatre company that my daughter belongs to, a rather comedic and slapstick version of the Sherlock Holmes detective adventure. They had us in stitches as it was well done and quite hilarious!

   This past week has been extremely busy, really too much so for my liking! Wednesday was the New Retirees Breakfast where we host our new members and share examples of all our activities. My duty was to talk about the monthly coffee social, the Knitters and Crafters group which also meets monthly, and the weekly Bridge club. The breakfast was lovely, lots of nice pastries. That was also the day the pool guys came to close my pool but I was back in time for that. I had my last swim on the previous weekend so it has been a good long season.

   That's enough for now, I'll be back before the end of the month with the rest of my goings-on!

An Orgy of Eating Out

   I'm finally finished with the visits to the Nurses clinic. although my leg is not quite back to normal. It's still a bit numb  and puffy around the  wound site and throbs at times but I have been told this may last for a few months! Certainly better than having to visit the clinic every three days.

   I have talked in the past how days (and sometimes weeks) of eating out seem to happen in bursts and there is one such coming up this week. On Saturday I was passing my local church (not that I attend it but it is at the end of my street) and I was invited to stop by for a big lunch - hot dog, potato and Caesar salad, lasagna and a slice of watermelon. It was part of an outreach program and I was happy to participate. On Wednesday the Seniors' Centre is hosting a barbecue (hamburgers, potato salad and cole slaw with an ice cream bar for dessert, all for $7) and as I was planning to be there for my exercise class anyway, I will gladly join in for another tasty lunch. Finally, on Thursday, the Probus ladies are eating around the world again after a short hiatus as we try the food of the Philippines. I am hoping this meal won't be super spicy so I will be careful what I chose. I've been burned a few times in our recent forays!

   The weather continues to be very comfortable as summer begins to wind down. Sunny warm days and cool nights with the occasional rain shower. Perfect!

Still Some Summer Left

   Beautiful day today, sunny and pleasant. Tennis this morning, two sets, and I came home via Value Village and dropped off some items. I am gradually clearing cupboards and closets in an effort to downsize but nothing major so far. 

   I dived (not literally) into the pool as soon as I got home and swam a few lengths, had lunch and napped for an hour. Then did some garden tidy up followed by another swim as I was quite hot and sweaty again. There were a few more ready tomatoes to pick and another humungous cucumber which I will have to find some way to use. Yesterday I made a tomato and cucumber relish which used four tomatoes and half a cucumber but I can barely stay ahead of the produce! 

   Dinner tonight is again from the freezer, pasta, beef and kale casserole - that's it finished - and the last item in there is a veal chop which I will barbecue tomorrow. Time to start stockpiling again!

   I am reading a really good book at the moment, borrowed from a friend (it was her last Book Club choice). "Demon Copperhead" by Barbara Kingsolver. It somewhat reminded me of another book I read, "Educated" (can't remember the author) although it was a memoir, not a novel. They both dealt with surviving horrific childhood experiences, so, be warned!