Tariffs

    I had my first experience of tariff fallout this week when I grocery shopped. The can of orange juice concentrate which I normally buy, has always been around $1.79 for years. Now it is $3! I will have to be more careful when shopping, obviously! Luckily I only bought one but I think I will have to switch to apple juice which I presume will be a product of Canada. I didn't buy potatoes as they were from the U.S., which I don't understand as we grow plenty of potatoes in Canada. I bought sweet potatoes instead and they were cheaper anyway. We are being encouraged to buy local produce whenever possible.

    I have started a new Wednesday routine which is working well - a new (and free) fitness class at a local church at 9:30, home for my second breakfast of coffee and toast, then a 20 minute walk at 11:30 (more exercise) to the Seniors' Centre for my volunteer duty in the kitchen. Then more exercise walking home again at 3:00 p.m. I will sleep well tonight with all that fresh air and exercise!

   In case you're wondering, my first breakfast was a banana and yogurt smoothie which I drank in the car while stopped at traffic lights on the way to the church. Also, after the class we were offered a protein shake and granola bar but I brought them home to have another time. I'm not trying to lose weight, just eat sensibly and, more importantly, only eat when I'm actually hungry!

   

The Monthly Lunch

    Lunch out on Thursday was lovely - friendly company and good conversations. The food, not so much. We were at Anejo, a Mexican restaurant with a pleasant ambience and accommodating staff in a slightly upscale plaza. I would have liked to window shop after lunch but I had to rush off to my Book club meeting. We were discussing "Hello Beautiful" by Ann Napolitano and I didn't want to miss the discussion.

   Most of the ladies ordered tacos at the Mexican Restaurant but, as I'm not a big fan of tacos, I ordered the House salsa plate. I love salsa and have it at home quite often but always buy the mild version. This one had five different types and two of them were just too spicy for me although I made a valiant effort! The refried beans, the Pico de Gallo and the guacamole were hot but not too much so, so I polished them off with lots of water to wash them down. 

   After one gorgeous day last week we are back to dismal weather - rainy and chilly. I am itching to get started on the garden but, except for clearing some of the leaf detritus from around the crocuses that are just beginning to sprout, that hasn't been possible. Hopefully, next weekend?

Utterly Atrocious!

    First it snowed, then we had ice pellets, now it is raining and, according to the weather man, it will continue until 8:00 a.m. tomorrow! As much as 30 to 60 mms of rain is expected which could result in flooding. I will be checking my basement for puddles! Nothing Spring-like in this weather.

   The temperature, which is currently hovering around zero, is forecast to reach 16C by tomorrow afternoon so all this mess will largely disappear. Meanwhile, if you want to go anywhere you will be slogging through piles of very wet slush. Luckily I have nowhere I need to be before noon tomorrow when I will be joining the RODEO ladies for lunch at a Mexican restaurant (I had been hoping it would be Morocco). Stay tuned to find out how that goes.

Down Time

    Freezing rain forecast overnight and into tomorrow, so we're not done with Winter yet! I don't think I will be stepping out of the house any time soon.

    This last week has been a quiet one for me as there were no classes at the Seniors' Centre. I did find a fitness class at a local church on Wednesday so got a bit of a workout. And there was Bridge on a couple of afternoons which broke up the week. Things will be considerably busier in the coming days.

   Today I was busy in the kitchen basically because I had overstocked the fridge and had a bunch of wilting vegetables to use up. I made a gigantic lasagna which will make at least six servings for the freezer. Also made imitation cabbage rolls which will make 4 meals, one of which I will have tonight with bread from a loaf I baked in the bread machine yesterday. My freezer will be jammed!