A Hectic Time

    RWTO monthly lunch today and I was in charge of receiving the cheques and ordering the lunches. What a schmozzle! People arriving without having paid ahead of time, cheques gone missing in the mail, people forgetting to come - seemingly the September lunch is always like that but I was in a regular tizzy!

   Fortunately there were enough meals for everyone who showed up - 121. It was quite delicious, Greek salad, roast beef, horseradish and a variety of vegetables, and apple crumble for dessert. I will just have soup and a sandwich for dinner tonight!

   We had an Executive meeting first which made for a very long day - it started at 9:30 (nothing much of import discussed), straight to lunch after it adjourned, and home by 3:00 for a nap. Then a little bit of light gardening as it was a beautifully sunny and warm afternoon. That is one way to fill a day!

Lots of Tomatoes

    I have been picking a few tomatoes at a time from the Green Zebra plant and today I had accumulated enough to make a batch of chutney. The tomatoes are quite green inside but are ripe and worked out well in the chutney.

The Green Zebra is the one on the right.

   The chutney was very easy - just onions, tomatoes, raisins, brown sugar and malt vinegar. The pound of tomatoes made just one jar but I will keep making a jar at a time as long as the tomatoes keep ripening. I am still getting lots of tomatoes off the other plants for eating.

Trip to Port Colborne

   Managed to crawl out of my sick bed yesterday and make it to the pick up point in time for the trip to Port Colborne. I slept for part of the journey so was somewhat rejuvinated by the time we arrived. We had a chance to stretch our legs and wander along the Port Promenade before lunch.

   Port Colborne is on the shores of Lake Erie at the southern end of the Welland Canal. It was once an important city but time has passed it by as Lake travel has declined in importance. We browsed some of the stores along the Port Promenade then had lunch at the Canalside Restaurant. 

    The purpose of our trip was to see a Norm Foster play at the local theatre. He is quite a prolific playwright, originally from Toronto but a Nova Scotian by choice, hence the name of this production - `Lunenburg`. The theatre was quite a small intimate venue so we were ùp close and personal`with the cast. A very amusing, often rollicking, script with lots of laughs and a few serious moments. Thoroughly enjoyed by all. 

    Slept again on the way home (thank you bus driver) and am continuing to improve. I tried a game of tennis this morning but didn`t last long so I will need a restful weekend to fully mend.

Still Sick

   Finally went to get my sore throat sorted today - it has been getting steadily worse and last night I was having trouble getting my breath. It was rattling in my chest every time I took a breath. I had to go to Emerg as my doctor doesn't work on a Wednesday (not at her practice anyway, maybe she's in hospital that day). It took four hours but I got blood work, a chest X-ray, a breathing test (which I failed miserably) and got hooked up to an oxygen tank which was dispensing some sort of breathing medication. I have never had problems with my chest or lungs so I suspect it is some kind of virus. Anyway the doctor gave me penicillin and two different puffers so I should be on the mend pretty soon. I have to see a lung specialist in a week or two.

    After that marathon I came home and slept for three hours and I am sure I will sleep well tonight. There's nothing like a good night's sleep to help you mend.

   One other comment. I didn't park in the hospital parking lot. Can you imagine what 4 hours would have cost me! I parked on a side street and, despite being a bit wobbly on my feet, walked to the hospital. I wasn't the only one either!