Nearing the End

    After some hot days, the nights are becoming cooler so I am thinking we are approaching the end of the summer. I had a dip in the pool today, after an hour of sweaty gardening, but it may be the last. It's still a month until the pool is closed down so I will try and brave the cooler water for as long as possible. Stay tuned!

    Nothing much going on in my neck of the woods. Last week I went for Dim Sum with some friends from my Probus club, that was a fun and cheap (only $12) lunch and I hope we do it again. I love Dim Sum which means "little treasures". They are bite-sized tasty dumplings and other concoctions both sweet and savoury, and are shared around a table with a lazy susan in the centre.  A very communal way of dining.

   There was another BBQ at the Seniors' Centre last week too which is also a good deal, just $5 for a beef burger, potato salad and coleslaw, with a pop and ice cream included. Can't beat that price!

   This week I have been kept entertained watching the U.S Tennis Open, still one Canadian surviving but he is in the middle of a tight match with a French opponent at the moment. Hope he survives. He has a massive serve which has got him out of trouble in a couple of games so far. Must stop and see how he is doing. 

    Still picking lots of tomatoes and the zucchini plants have taken on a new growth spurt. I made zucchini fritters yesterday and had them with a tomato and cucumber salad. Tomorrow I plan to make zucchini chocolate cake (remembered to pick up some coca powder today) and another batch of Bolongaise sauce for the freezer. 

   Apart from all that I need to keep ahead of the grass cutting as we have had lots of rain recently and it is growing gangbusters, also the weeds! So there is always something to do in the garden.

    Last week I was out every day at the tennis tournament - the Canadian Open - as a volunteer, scanning tickets at the entry gate. The women were playing here and the men in Montreal and, as far as the women went, it was all-Americans, although a Canadian was in the doubles final. I think the men had a greater variety of countries represented. 

   Now I am off to make a pre-prandial appetizer with, you guessed it, tomatoes. It will be bruschetta (pronounced "bruscetta" according to Gino my favourite Italian cooking show host) and, with some garlic, olive oil and grated Parmesan, it will be delicious!

A Busy Sunday

   Tennis at 8:00 a.m. today and it was quite pleasant. However, by the time we stopped it was really heating up. We plan to keep playing early for a few more weeks yet. Straight into the pool when I got home before having a late breakfast. I did eat a banana to sustain me while we were playing.

   Used up what may be the last zucchini today, there don't seem to be any more setting. That will be a disappointment as last year they went on forever! I made a chocolate zucchini cake which I will take to the tennis social on Tuesday. It turned out well and I cut it into 36 small squares so everyone can try it. That used 1 cup, grated. Then I cubed the rest and it went into the dinner casserole along side a lamb chop and other vegetables. That will probably do me two days. It really was too hot to have the oven on but at least I had two things to bake. Now the A/C is working overtime!

   The tomatoes are coming on gangbusters. As predicted, every meal at the moment has tomatoes in some form or another. My favourite lunch is Panzanella which is an Italian tomato and bread salad in which the bread soaks up all the juices from the tomato and the vinaigrette. I toss in other veggies, olives, chunks of cheese or whatever needs eaten up. Yummy! A gigantic tomato  went into tonight's casserole with the other veggies so it will be more like a stew, I think. 

    I didn't sit out very long after my swim today as it was just too hot. I have to cut the grass this evening but I will wait until the sun goes down. It will still be a hot, sticky job!

Technology!

    I tried to use my credit card this morning while doing my weekly grocery shop and it was declined. This is a card that has never given me problems before but it repeatedly was rejected. Luckily, I had another card so was able to use it. When I got home I checked online and it appeared to be OK so called the company. They were able to confirm that the card was in good standing and couldn't explain why it was rejected. Their only solution was to try using it again to see what happens. Meanwhile I didn't get my PC points or redeem some to reduce the bill. Very frustrating! Has this ever happened to you?

    I have a couple of good books to recommend. The first is "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus, a light-hearted and satirical look at romance and friendship through the eyes of a chemist. I really enjoyed it. The other was a bit heavier, dealing with death and loss of loved ones, but don't let this put you off as it is well worth the read. It's "Dear Edward" by Ann Napolitano. I plan to propose it for next year's book club.

   Now I have finally run out of my summer collection of good reads so will have to start scouring the library shelves to tide me over until September. Any suggestions will be gladly accepted!