Treated myself to a glass of wine (Black Tower, I haven't had that in ages) and an aperitif of cream cheese, smoked salmon and avocado slices. Do I still need dinner? Well, yes, but much later.
And there's my current library book, if you haven't tried Donna Leon you really must - a window into life of a Venetian Commisario and his family, good mysteries and oodles of food descriptions. His wife is a stellar cook of Italian staples.
Oldest grandson's Grade 6 graduation ceremony yesterday and I was on babysitting duties while Mom and Dad attended. He received the Citizenship Award, photos were taken (not with my camera so will have to wait until they are sent to me) and we had a special cake to celebrate. James made lemonade so it was quite a party.
After a very hot weekend, the weather has been perfect - low 20's and cooling off nicely at night. I have been swimming most days after an afternoon of gardening. Lots of tennis on TV - start of the grass courts season leading up the Wimbledon so plenty to keep me occupied!
Very hot right from sunup today - didn't last long on the tennis courts. Washington and I were soundly beaten, 5-2, by Susan and Tamara but, honestly, I wasn't giving it my best - just too hot and sweaty.
My outside thermometer was reading 39C this afternoon but I think it was just around 33C. I tried to do some gardening (while still cool from a swim) but had to give up after half-an-hour, just gave the thirsty garden a good watering. The pool has been well used today. The water started out at 72F this morning but was 76F by the time of my last dip, very comfortable.
The air conditioner kicked in recently and I might leave it running overnight so I get a decent night's sleep. I was late to bed last night, having been at the White Heather Ball, but was up at my usual time, so feeling a bit sleep deprived!
Still windy this morning - it was a real struggle to keep the ball in play on the tennis courts - but we seem to have missed the real storm. Hydro out in many places, flooding and trees uprooted. Kathy and John won the first set and we ended play at 2-2 in the second as I had errands to run, plus we were all pretty exhausted.
Judy and I had a nice lunch and chin wag. It's hard to keep a conversation going when the grandkids are around so this was a rare treat for us. I cooked the salmon in the toaster oven and made two salads - quinoa with mint and cranberries and a regular green salad with Boston lettuce from the garden.
After she went back to work I had a short nap before leaving for Book Club. The book we were discussing (which I didn't finish), "Do Not Say We Have Nothing" by Madeline Thiem, was not a popular choice despite having received several awards. We tried to decide what criteria the judges had used to assess it but were a bit flummoxed. Only one person said they would recommend it , and only to someone interested in that particular historical era. It was set during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Maoist regime.
Cleaned the skimmer in the pool when I got home - it was jammed with debris from the storm - and did a bit of a garden tidy-up. Won't need dinner tonight but will eat some of the leftovers from lunch. That should suffice.
