Michael Collins Irish Pub, Toronto, ON

Gord and I checked out the Irish pub Michael Collins Irish Pub (on Bloor Street W, just west of Ossington Avenue) … it opened less than 2 months ago. 

Me and Gord

"Illumination at Colborne Lodge: Christmas Ghost Stories", Toronto, ON

Trish and I did Illumination at Colborne Lodge: Christmas Ghost Stories this evening. It was dark and rainy out … perfect atmosphere for a ghost tour!  The Toronto History Museums guides were entertaining and informative.

As the year's longest night approaches, come gather indoors to share cold weather traditions from the past and present: holiday decorations, singing to lighten the heart and a live candle-lit reading of a unique genre of literature - the Victorian Christmas ghost story.

After a short tour of cozy Colborne Lodge and the singing of a seasonal song, the evening finishes with warm beverages, sweet treats and a live reading of a spooky seasonal story.

We started in the coach house where there were lots of exhibits. 

Bruce let us know what we were to expect for the evening.

Then he took us outside where we split up into three groups.

Island Foods, Toronto, ON (Gladstone Avenue)

Trish and I had supper this evening at Island Foods at Gladstone Avenue/Queen Street W.

I had my usual ... a boneless chicken roti.

Book ~ "Armed and Fabulous" (2012) Camilla Chafer

From Goodreads ~ All Lexi wants to do is get through the day at her boring temp job with Green Hand Insurance. That’s until she discovers the vice president, Martin Dean, in a pool of blood and herself at the center of an investigation into insurance fraud.

Millions of dollars are missing, the chief suspect is dead and her mysterious, sexy, new boss is not what he seems.

Recruited by the joint task force working on the case, all Lexi has to do is work out who killed Dean and where the missing millions are. That’s easier said than done when her sister insists upon the baby shower to end all baby showers, her wise-ass cop family just wants to keep her safe, someone keeps leaving her creepy gifts, and all the clues point to a seedy sex club on the wrong side of town.

As the bodies start to pile up, Lexi is on a race against time to find the killer and the money, before she’s the next one in the murderer’s sights.

Lexi is a smart temp who’s underemployed and counting the minutes at her boring insurance job. Her life flips upside down when she discovers her boss, Martin Dean, murdered in his office. Instead of backing away and letting the professionals handle it, Lexi ends up right in the middle. It turns out Dean was involved in major financial fraud, with millions of dollars missing, and Lexi gets pulled into helping a task force unravel what really happened. 

As she digs deeper, the case gets darker and more dangerous. She starts receiving scary gifts, realizes she may have a stalker and learns that the murder is just one piece of a much bigger puzzle. On top of that, Lexi is juggling nonstop family pressure (including an overprotective law-enforcement family and having to plan a baby shower for her sister). The deeper Lexi gets, the clearer it becomes that someone is willing to kill to keep the truth buried and and that she might be next.

It took me a couple chapters to get into this book but I kept going and it turned out okay. It's written in first person perspective in Lexi's voice. I liked the writing style ... it was amusing at times. It wasn't overly deep as Lexy and Lily, her best friend and neighbour, seem to be "boy crazy" and juvenile at times. Lexi is attracted to the two cops who are working on the case (and they seem to be attracted to her) ... I hope this doesn't become the focus in future books. Lexi is supposed to be so smart but I had to question some of her decisions.

This is the first in the Lexi Graves mystery series (there are currently 17 in the series) and I liked it enough to check out the next one.

Moss Stitch Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a moss stitch (also known as a seed stitch). It's a stitch that is a classic .. ... simple, squishy and perfect for scarves. 

I used a Caron Anniversary Cake Special Edition (the colour is Jewels and Jolly) and 6.5mm needles.

Cast on a multiple of 2 stitches ... I cast on 20.

• Row 1: K1, P1 repeat across 
• Row 2: P1, K1 repeat across 
• Repeat Rows 1–2 until the length you want
• Final row: bind off

JOEY King Street, Toronto, ON

I had supper this evening with Deb, Franca and Liz at JOEY King Street (on King Street W just east of Yonge Street). The restaurant is lovely. Hard to believe it used to be a bank!

When Deb arrived first, she was told we had a 2 hour seating limit so we had to be done by 7:30pm. That kind of info should be noted when a reservation is made. She was seated at 5:15pm and that's when the 2 hour timer apparently started (so not the reservation time of 5:30pm). We had all arrived by 5:30pm so weren't impressed that we had to be done by 7:15pm. Happily there were empty tables at 7:15pm onward so we weren't rushed out. It was fun to catch up as it’s been a while since the four of us have been together.

Here we are! We worked together 30 years ago and have been pals since. 

Deb, Franca, me and Liz

Franca had Szechuan Chicken Lettuce Wraps (sweet soy ginger glaze, peanuts, crispy wontons, spicy aloli) and Korean Fried Califlower (sweet & spicy korean chili glaze, pickled fresnos, watermelon radish).

Book ~ "Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum" (2025) Michael J. Fox and Nelle Fortenberry

From Goodreads ~ In early 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars on television. His world was about to get even bigger but only if he could survive the kind of double duty unheard of in Hollywood. Fox’s days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom "Family Ties" but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg - "Back to the Future". Sitcom during the day, movie at night - day after day, for months.

Fox’s nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. It was in this time portal that Alex P. Keaton handed the baton to Marty McFly while Michael J. Fox tried to catch a few minutes of sleep. Alex’s bravado, Marty’s flair and Fox’s comedic virtuosity all swirled together to create something truly special.

In "Future Boy", Fox tells the remarkable story of playing two landmark roles at the same time - a slice of entertainment history that’s never been told. Using new interviews with the cast and crew of both projects, the result is a vividly drawn and eye-opening story of creative achievement by a beloved icon.

Future Boy is Fox looking back on the wild year when his career exploded. In 1985, he was filming Family Ties during the day and Back to the Future at night, basically living on no sleep and running between studios like he was time-traveling for real. He shares behind-the-scenes stories from Back to the Future, how Marty McFly came together and what it was like juggling two huge roles at once. 

The book is a quick high level read and focused on that one moment in time rather than his life. There are lots of pages of pictures at the end of the book (making up 41% of the book).

Best Western Plus Waterfront Hotel, Windsor, ON

Our home away from home this weekend in Windsor was the Best Western Plus Waterfront Hotel on Riverside Drive W in Windsor.

Here's our room ...

Early Christmas in Windsor, ON

Ken, Gord's son, lives in Windsor along with Jasmine, his partner, and Senan, their four-year-old son. We spent the day with them today. Jasmine worked and got home around 4ish. Derek, her father, got home around that time too. They adopted Luna, a cute cat about six months ago.

Ken and Luna

Senan was napping when we arrived. Once he woke up, playing began.

Senan ended up with a scratch while playing
and Daddy to the rescue

Senan, Ken and Gord

The Loose Goose Resto Pub & Lounge, Windsor, ON

Gord and I had supper at the Loose Goose (on Ouellette Avenue).

Gord had a chicken wrap and French onion soup.

Crocodile Smile Knitted Scarf

I knitted a Crocodile Smile scarf to donate ... I found the free pattern at Snufflebean Yarn.

Stitches:

• k – knit stitch 
• kfb – knit front back 
• k2togtbl – knit 2 together through the back loops

I used a Caron Anniversary Cake Special Edition (the colour is Jewels and Jolly) and 6.5mm needles.

• Make a slipknot and place it on your left hand needle. 
• Row 1: kfb. Turn.
• Row 2: knit until 1 stitch remains, kfb. Turn.
• Repeat row 2 until you have 30 stitches on your needles.

Diamond decrease section:

• Row 1: knit until 2 stitches remain. k2togtbl. Turn.
• Repeat row 1 until you have 15 stitches on your needle

Diamond increase section:

• Row 1: knit until 1 stitch remains, kfb. Turn.
• Repeat row 1 until you have 30 stitches on your needles.
• Alternate between increase and decrease sections until your scarf is almost the desired length (I worked a total of 11 diamonds). 

Final decrease section:

• Row 1: knit until 2 stitches remain, k2togtbl.
• Final row: k2togtbl, break yarn and cast off by pulling tail through final loop and pulling tight.

This scarf can be adapted and changed to suit the weight of yarn you are working with or the size of diamond you want. Thicker yarn will want less stitches and thinner yarn will need more. The golden rule is that your shortest section should be half your widest section and the widest stitch count always needs to be divisible by 2, so as long as you maintain that ratio your scarf will work.

Book ~ "You Thought You Knew" (2025) Kevin Federline

From Goodreads ~ Kevin dancer, father, accidental pop culture icon. His star rose electrifying stages alongside Pink, Destiny’s Child, Aaliyah, and more. But it was his turbulent marriage to pop superstar Britney Spears that made him a household name and triggered a relentless media storm, reducing him to a caricature in a world that barely knew him.

Behind the tabloid headlines was a devoted father fighting for his children and his sanity, navigating the fallout of fame and a fractured family, as everything around him spun out of control.

From the heights of global stardom to the pain of public ridicule, this memoir peels back the layers of celebrity, fatherhood, and survival to reveal the man behind the mythology. A man shaped not by spectacle or spotlight, but by love, resilience, and the steadfast resolve to give his kids a normal life.

What you thought you knew was only half the story.

Other than being Britney Spears' ex-husband, I don't know a lot about Kevin Federline. I like reading bios/memoirs and thought it might be interesting and it was. I'd read Britney Spears' memoir when it came out and thought it would be fun to find out Federline's account.

This book is Federline giving his side of the story. He talks about his childhood, his dancer days, his ride of sudden fame and his relationship and breakup with Britney Spears. He says he mostly wrote this book for his kids so they’ll know who he really is, not the loser the tabloids made him out to be. 

He dives deep into their marriage and the messy split. He brings up moments where he says he was worried about Britney’s behavior, including some disturbing stories involving their kids. For example, there was an incident where their sons supposedly woke up in the middle of the night and found her standing in their doorway holding a knife. He said he was scared for his kids and doing what he thought was right at the time. He feels when Britney’s conservatorship ended, the public treated it like a victory but things didn’t magically get better.

I liked the writing style. As a head's up, there is swearing and descriptions of drug use and partying. When reading memoirs, I tend to take them with a grain of salt ... some of it might be true and some might be what the author wants us to believe is true. I check out Britney Spears' Instagram account occasionally and she doesn't seem very stable so I had no problem believing a lot of what he said. I was surprised there were no pictures. 

Basketweave Scarf

I finished knitting a scarf with a basketweave pattern to donate.

I used a Caron Anniversary Cake Special Edition (the colour is Jewels and Jolly) and 6.5mm needles.

• Cast on 30 sts. 
• Knit 1 row. 
• Row 1 (right side): K3, p3, k3. 
• Row 2: P3, k3, p3. 
• Rows 3 and 4: Repeat Rows 1 and 2. 
• Row 5: P3, k3, p3. 
• Row 6: K3, p3, k3. 
• Rows 7 and 8: Repeat Rows 5 and 6. 
• Repeat Rows 1 to 8 until it reaches the length you want. 
• Bind off loosely. 
• Weave in ends.