A sunny day and getting warmer, but I spent it indoors at the Scarborough Golf and Country Club. The event was RTO's annual lunch and travelogue. It started with a glass of wine and conversation, followed by roast chicken and a very yummy chocolate mousse cake. Coffee was on the table as the room was prepared for the travelogue - a visit to Germany - the lights were dimmed and we sat back to be transported to the Bavarian countryside.
The presenter was knowledgeable and entertaining as we "virtually" visited the many cities and towns that line the rivers of this interesting country. The antiquity of some of the buildings surprised me; the Baroque period was well represented as were the Middle Ages with many timbered buildings that have either been preserved in their original state or. accurately reconstructed. My favourite was a castle built by one of the Prussian princes to resemble Versailles in France.
No housework achieved today, as I needed a nap when I got home. Also, no need to cook dinner as I am sure I will still be stuffed from lunch! I will potter in the garden for an hour or two but mostly just admiring the new growth and other signs of Spring. I love these little tulips, which still have to open completely, as they are usually the first tulips to appear, probably because they are in a warm, sunny spot.
It has rained pretty well all day and curtailed our activities - no park or strolls to the shops. We did manage to the play group where James reached a new level of participation by requesting his favourite song and doing all the actions for "Shake your wiggles out". Unfortunately this tired him out so much he fell asleep while I prepared lunch. We went ahead with lunch (one of his favourites, sausages) with little hope of getting him to sleep again. Nothing daunted, I had him upstairs by 1:15 and he surprised me by falling asleep after 2 stories and a song. A successful afternoon!
The tax return turned out as I expected with a hefty sum to pay the government. This result came from a combination of factors. Hopefully, this is a one time occurrence and next year I will be back to paying just a small sum at tax time. Luckily I have been putting aside enough to cover the bill.
I am about to try out a new recipe tonight - or rather, a combination of recipes to use up ingredients that are about to expire. It's a fish pie, made with coconut milk left over from last week's curried chicken, which I will cover with a mashed potato and goat cheese topping broiled to toasty goodness. I'll throw in some vegetables just to keep me well nourished!
I just remembered that tax returns have to be submitted in 8 days, so James and I walked down to the post office to pick up the forms. This is the first year that the forms have not been mailed out which is why It had escaped my notice that the deadline was fast approaching. Tomorrow will be spent trying to round up documents and figure out the bad news. Ever since I retired I have always had to pay more tax, rather than getting a refund, since I have the minimum amount deducted from my pension (I'd rather keep the money until the last possible moment). Years in which I have worked a substantial number of days, the discrepancy has been quite considerable, but, in 2012 I hardly worked at all so shouldn't have too big a bill.
James spent most of the day outside today and got a little blush on his cheeks - time to break out the sun screen! We were at the park until 12:30 and then he was out in the back yard again after lunch. He just did not want to come inside and it took me until 2:00 p.m. to settle him for his nap. However, he did sleep well and woke bright and refreshed at 3:30.
Dance group tonight and we had a big discussion as to whether we should hold the annual Christmas Dance in December. Seemingly there is a conflict with another group who are planning an event just 10 days before ours. We may have to postpone our dance until next year, since both dances would draw from the same participants. To cancel it completely would mean losing the deposit. There are many reasons, pro and con, to be considered. We have to decide before our last night in May. I voted to go ahead with our event but many are undecided as of yet.
Just when I thought we had turned the corner on the seasons, the weather gods have proved who's in charge. Although the weekend has been bright and sunny, the temperature has barely reached positive numbers. Saturday morning we woke to snow on the rooftops, today was equally chilly but at least dry. No tennis yet!
Thankfully the few flowers that are up have survived the chilly nights and some more are trying to bloom. My one forsythia bush is close to flowering, just needs a couple of warm days. Rhubarb and asparagus have also appeared; in fact I will have to keep a close eye on the asparagus shoots as they can go from "ready to pick" to "past their before date" in what seems like a couple of hours!
Last demo team practice this afternoon - no more until September. We have one more demo this week and Keith took us through most of the dances today. It's at a Senior's residence and luckily the old dears don't usually notice if we get the steps mixed up.
No housework achieved today, as I needed a nap when I got home. Also, no need to cook dinner as I am sure I will still be stuffed from lunch! I will potter in the garden for an hour or two but mostly just admiring the new growth and other signs of Spring. I love these little tulips, which still have to open completely, as they are usually the first tulips to appear, probably because they are in a warm, sunny spot.
