Finally Summer!

   Although it started out rainy, the day improved immensely and we had a sunny, warm afternoon, up to 27C. The grandkids were over for the morning (they are on summer vacation but Judy had to attend a meeting) and James got into the pool up to his waist - I had bet him a quarter he couldn't, it was only 72F, but he did it!

    After they went home I did some gardening and then had a dip myself. It was very refreshing. and not nearly as chilly as I expected. I only did four lengths but it's early days yet. I will soon work up to more. I sat out in the sun to dry off for nearly an hour and finished my current library book. It was one I had read before, "The Fruit of the Lemon" by Andrea Levy, but an easy enjoyable read for a summer afternoon. Next book will be more of a struggle - a rather dark mystery which has been on the best seller list for several weeks - but I will persevere with it. It's called "Into the Water" and is by Paula Hawkins who wrote "The Girl On the Train" which I thoroughly enjoyed.

   I picked some rhubarb yesterday and made a rhubarb loaf this afternoon. It turned out very well - nice and moist and not too sweet - I kept a slice to have with my tea tonight but sliced the rest and put it in the freezer for next time I need a treat. I also stewed some rhubarb to have with ice cream for dessert tonight.  Yum!!

Getting Caught Up on Chores

   A mixture of sunny periods and thunderstorms on Tuesday but a better day today although still in the low 20's. At least it has been dry and given the garden a chance to dry out.

   Yesterday Hendrina and I were in charge at the tennis courts but managed some tennis in between stints on the board. Unfortunately my wrist is bothering me - I gave it a twist on Sunday and it is still hampering my game. I won't play again until Saturday to give it a chance to heal. Lunch with Alison and Louise at Waterfront Restaurant. This time I had the crab cakes! Louise goes back to Victoria on Monday and it was nice to catch up with her.

   Today I spent a while working in the garden in the morning, digging up some overgrown mint - it was beginning to take over my vegetable patch! Now I have room for a few more plants, if I can find them. My usual garden centre had very little left (except hot peppers) so I will have to try elsewhere. I'd like to get some more kale, a couple of sweet pepper plants and maybe radishes.

   At the senior's centre by noon - it was very quiet  and I only sold a couple of pies and half a dozen cups of coffee - then over to the community centre for the RTO book club. This my last time with the current group as I am going over to the new Thursday group in September as that day suits me better. There will be 24 in the original group and 14 in the new group. The club continues to grow. I cleaned the inside of the car when I got home as it is going in for an oil change tomorrow. It was embarrassingly grubby from the messy winter!

Not Like June At All

   We have had very unsettled weather for the last few days - thunderstorms and lots of rain with cooler than normal temperatures, low 20's. I think today's high was just 19C. I did manage some tennis yesterday morning (Susan and I beat Cathy and Iona) but two thunderstorms rolled through in the afternoon. Later I went out to Steve and Alison's for a BBQ but it was a rather cool, soggy affair. We finally retired indoors to complete the meal.

   Today was more of the same but luckily I was busy with indoors activities. An appointment at the lab for tests first thing, Hava Java at Calabria Bakery (met some new acquaintances) then Bridge with my usual group at noon. I only had one good hand and my partner had the same. Now the sun is trying to come out so that may dry things up a bit.

   I did manage to get the grass cut yesterday before the rain with a jerry rigged extension system (not recommended!) but Steve has fixed the damaged extension chord so I will be able to use it safely in the future.  

   I got the bill for the pool startup today and it was considerably more than I expected. Seemingly there were replacement parts for both the circulation system and the heater, plus all the chemicals required for the summer. It came to close to $1000 but I had already paid a deposit of $400 which was deducted. Still, a big chunk out of this month's budget! It had better warm up soon so I can get some use out of it.

One Careless Moment

     A huge thunderstorm last night and heavy rain which continued through the morning. It abated enough at one point for me to decide to walk up to the library but it soon started up again and I got a bit of a soaking. Not cold though, just damp! That was my exercise for the day.

    The only other excitement today came when I was trimming some of the evergreens in front of the porch later in the afternoon. I inadvertently cut through the extension cord powering the trimmer - I've done that before and am usually very careful to keep the cord out of the way of the blades. However, that wasn't the worst part - I found I had blown a fuse and the power to the garage was gone. I tried to find the blown fuse on the electrical panel to no avail. Now what to do?

    I gave Steve a call and he agreed to come over. Luckily he lives fairly close by and was there within half-an-hour. He was able to locate the blown fuse with a gadget he uses at work and it was replaced lickety split. Now I just have to buy a new extension cord so I can finish the trimming and cut the grass. You can be sure I will be extra careful this time!