The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

    A day and a half of almost constant rain so I have been mopping puddles in my basement again. However, I have had someone come and look into the problem and they will be back to fix it relatively soon. In the mean time I am hoping for no more heavy rainfall as I am extremely tired of the constant mopping!

   I went back to have my ear checked this week ( I think I wrote about it earlier) - it was a basal cell carcinoma and, unfortunately, they didn't get the whole thing on the first visit so there was some more cutting and scraping, thankfully all under anesthetic. It wasn't as bad as the first time and should be all healed in a couple of weeks, fingers crossed.

    I was getting tired of the fish dishes I have been producing recently so tried something new the other night - curried fish with braised kale. It was quite good. It had shredded coconut in it which was an interesting addition.

It made quite a lot but I ate the whole thing! I added tomatoes and black olives to the fish (not in the recipe but a good addition). The white on top of the kale is grated Grano Padano cheese which I prefer to Parmesan, everything enhanced with a squirt or two of lemon juice.

The Fruits of Fall

    My mountain ash (Rowan) tree is ready but no sign of the robins. They have usually stripped it bare by this time. Folklore says that when there is an abundance of berries it is going to be a hard winter.

   One rose bush still blooming, this is one of my favourites as the blooms and the buds are so delicate.

An End-of-Summer Right of Passage

    I have since had two swims (actually twice today so that makes three) as it has been a beautiful weekend. So happy I postponed the pool closure until next week. We often have a summery week late in September so that has been a definite bonus!

   I cleaned the pool yesterday so it won't be too disgusting when the pool guys come to partially drain it and put the cover on. That is always a sad day but at least my electricity bill will be reduced considerably, and the water bill as well. I couldn't survive the summer without a pool but it is quite an expensive luxury.

Still looking good!

Easing Into Fall

    A lovely morning at the tennis courts, clear sky, mild temperatures, not much of a breeze and super friends. I was on the winning side for both sets for a change (on Tuesday I was the big loser) thanks mostly to my stalwart partners, so went home happy. We are still starting at 8:00 but that will have to change soon as the sun is rising later and is lower in the sky, making it difficult to see the ball for the first hour. 

   Senior's Day at the drug store so I walked down and picked up the mail and a couple of items. Always nice to get a 10% reduction although that barely amounts to the tax! Since then just gardening and reading outside, an easy day. The pool is still open but too chilly for a swim.