Looking Back Over a Busy Week

    It's been a busy week and I had to go back to my social calendar to make sure I didn't miss anything.

   We had a new player join us at Bridge on Monday and she's coming again tomorrow , so far, so good. But she does normally play at another table so we will just have to see how long that lasts. Tuesday was the monthly meeting of RWTO and it was a Christmas lunch of turkey, stuffing etc. with Carolers for the entertainment. We don't meet in December.

   Wednesday was my usual stint in the kitchen at the Seniors' Centre and it was quieter than usual as the fitness classes were cancelled. But it was also the first day of the Christmas Bazaar which brought in a few extra people. I didn't bring any money so avoided buying anything - trying to declutter! 

   Thursday was another lunch and Craft sale. Only bought some home made marmalade but there were some lovely crafts so it was fun to look around. The meal was good, too - roast beef and a mound of vegetables, all beautifully cooked.

   On Friday I had a ticket for the theatre and was supposed to meet friends for dinner beforehand but I wasn't feeling great so arranged to meet them at the theatre. Unfortunately, I lay down for a short nap and promptly fell asleep and nearly missed the show. Had a horrendous rush to get there and had to sit at the back for the first act, then got my (front row) seat after the intermission. The play was "so-so".

   Friday was also my granddaughters' 18th birthday but we put off getting together as we were both busy. So we went out for brunch today instead. It was nice to get her on her own as her brothers tend to take centre stage at family gatherings.

    Phew! That was one busy week and, truth be told, too much over eating. I will have to cut back from now until  the lead up to Christmas! 

Wine Tasting

   Yesterday I hosted the November meeting of the Wine tasting group. It was lots of fun with 9 of us trying out 5 wines and voting on their merits using a chart to check different attributes. This was only the second meeting of our group but was definitely the most fun-filled as you can imagine after tasting all the wines. There's quite a bit of wine left over so I will be enjoying it for the next few days.

   The theme I had chosen was "Wines from the southern hemisphere" and someone did guess correctly. The most popular wine was an Australian Shiraz, Jacob's Creek Double Barrel 2022, and the most expensive (which actually came in third most popular) was a Pinot Grigio from New Zealand, Oyster Bay. There were also wines from South Africa, Argentina and Chile. Our next meeting will be in January. Looking forward to that. 

   Today has been chilly with a few flurries so I have had a quiet day at home. I have started soaking the fruit for the Christmas plum pudding which I will start next Sunday. Funny to be already thinking about Christmas but the days and weeks will fill up quickly with seasonal activities, no doubt. 

Still Very Wintery

    The snow has finally stopped falling and, with a temperature of 4C today, has mostly disappeared. However, we are due some more tomorrow which is disheartening.

   I happened to be in the drug store this morning and noticed there was space at the counter so asked if I could get my shots. I basically snuck in between people who had made an appointment. So I opted for both the 'flu shot and Covid so that's done and dusted. Seemingly, the flu shot isn't targeting the current strain of the virus but I'm sure it's better than nothing. No side effects so far, I don't usually have any.

   My Monday Bridge group met yesterday for the first time since last Spring, but just three of us. We managed to coerce someone to be our fourth player and had a nice afternoon so will try again next week.  Usually there are a few people whiling away the time there, let's hope we are lucky again. Huge turnout at the Tuesday Bridge group, we needed an extra table to accommodate everyone who showed up despite (or maybe because of) the lousy weather. We had 11 tables!

Snow!

    It has been snowing all day here and, although at first it wasn't accumulating on the ground, now there are a good two inches of the stuff. I finally ventured out to clean off my car and put it in the garage as I definitely wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I do have to go out tomorrow, just hope the snow has started to melt by then. It's just too early for this kind of weather!

   Last Thursday the ladies who are eating their way around the world had a lovely lunch at a Russian place. It was called "Stroganoff" and that was what several of us had. My version was dumplings in a mushroom sauce which I had with a bowl of tasty soup - lots of meat and pickles in it. Other popular items were veal fillets stuffed with vegetables, and borscht. All very filling and another interesting outing. Next month is "S" so we are headed to a Spanish Tapas bar where we will have shared plates of tapas. I hope there are lots with fishy fillings as that was what I usually chose when in Spain on vacation.

   Dinner tonight is a warming bowl of Butter chicken with naan so that will keep the cold out. It was really easy (and inexpensive) to make with a little curry powder and, of course, a generous knob of butter!