Gord had a couple chicken tacos (happy hour price was $4 each) and said he’d get them again.
Sunday, 29 June 2025
Ladybug Tavern, Toronto, ON
Gord and I had supper at Ladybug Tavern (College Street, just east of Dovercourt Road).
Thursday, 26 June 2025
Man of Kent, Toronto, ON
Gord and I had supper at Man of Kent on Ossington Avenue (just south of Dundas Street W).
I had a Chip Shop Curry Chicken pie (creamy mash served with housemade mushy peas and gravy) which was good, though I couldn’t taste any curry in the pie.
Book ~ "The Franchise: Toronto Blue Jays - A Curated History of the Jays" (2025) Keegan Matheson
From Goodreads ~ This thoughtful and engaging collection of essays captures the astute fans’ history of the franchise, going beyond well-worn narratives of yesteryear to uncover the less-discussed moments, decisions, people, and settings that fostered the Blue Jays' distinctive identity.
Through wheeling and dealing, mythmaking and community building, explore where the organization has been, how it came to prominence in the modern major league landscape, and how it will continue to evolve and stay in contention for generations to come.
Jays fans in the know will enjoy this personal, local, in-depth look at baseball history.
Through wheeling and dealing, mythmaking and community building, explore where the organization has been, how it came to prominence in the modern major league landscape, and how it will continue to evolve and stay in contention for generations to come.
Jays fans in the know will enjoy this personal, local, in-depth look at baseball history.
If you're a Blue Jays fan, you should check this book out. Instead of walking through every season, Matheson picks out the best, wildest and most emotional moments from nearly 50 years of Jays history.
For example, such as the Jays' dramatic and super-secret attempt to sign Shohei Ohtani in 2023. They rolled out the red carpet with custom lockers, team gear and even a special dog jacket for his dog. But in the end, Ohtani signed with the Dodgers.
The chapters include:
- Origin Stories
- Only in Toronto
- Faces of the Blue Jays (such as Dave Stieb, Cito Gaston, Joe Carter, Carlos Delgado John Gibbons, etc.)
- Stories of the Seasons
- The Glory Years
- The Storytellers (such as Tom and Jerry, Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez)
The book isn’t just about blockbuster deals. Matheson also dives into quirky and heartfelt moments ... like players trying to stay warm at freezing Exhibition Stadium with soup and the emotional return to Rogers Centre after nearly two years away during the pandemic.
I liked the writing style. It was as detailed as I needed it to be. Because Matheson covers the team for MLB.com, he brings a unique insider vibe so can share personal stories, player memories and little moments that most fans never hear about. What would have made the book even better is if there had been photographs. As a heads up, there is a swearing (some baseball people surprisingly have potty mouths ... ha!).
Wednesday, 25 June 2025
The Cherie Bistro, Toronto, ON
I had lunch today with the Toronto Social Seniors and Retirees gang at The Cherie Bistro (Church/Wellesley).
Monday, 23 June 2025
Toronto Fringe Festival, Toronto, ON
I’m volunteering for the upcoming Toronto Fringe Festival (it’s my third year). We had our training this evening.
Sunday, 22 June 2025
Book ~ "Little Cruelties" (2020) Liz Nugent
From Goodreads ~ All three of the Drumm brothers were at the funeral.
But one of them was in the coffin.
William, Brian and Luke: three boys, born a year apart, trained from birth by their wily mother to compete for her attention. They play games, as brothers do ... yet even after the Drumms escape into the world beyond their windows, those games - those little cruelties - grow more sinister, more merciless and more dangerous. And with their lives entwined like the strands of a noose, only two of the brothers will survive.
But one of them was in the coffin.
William, Brian and Luke: three boys, born a year apart, trained from birth by their wily mother to compete for her attention. They play games, as brothers do ... yet even after the Drumms escape into the world beyond their windows, those games - those little cruelties - grow more sinister, more merciless and more dangerous. And with their lives entwined like the strands of a noose, only two of the brothers will survive.
This is a story about three brothers, Will, Brian and Luke, born a year apart. They grow up in the same dysfunctional family in Dublin but end up destroying each other in different ways. Will is a successful but arrogant film producer, Brian is a bitter school teacher (and later Luke's agent) and Luke is a sensitive pop star struggling with fame, addiction and his mental health. Their childhood was filled with favoritism and emotional manipulation, especially from their self-absorbed mother who was a performer, which sets the stage for a lifetime of jealousy, betrayal and resentment.
Right away we know one of the brothers is dead but we don't know who and how it happened until the very end. The story is told from the points of view of the brothers ... Will first, then Brian and finally Luke. It jumps back and forth in timelines, slowly revealing just how toxic their relationships have become over the years. I usually don't mind when stories jump back and forth in time but I found this a tad annoying because the jumps were so extreme. For example, with Will, it started with 1994, then 1985, then 1992, then 1978 and so on. I found I had to keep going back to the previous chapter to see what year it had been. It was interesting to read the same experiences but from the different points of view.
None of the characters are likable. I didn't have any issue with the brother who had died but was a bit disappointed with how and why it happened and the ending in general. As a head's up, there is swearing.
Honeycomb (aka Newfie) knitted mittens
I just finished knitting a pair of Honeycomb (aka Newfie) mittens to donate ... the colours are grey and purple.
I used 4 ply yarn and 5mm double pointed needles.
Wrist
- With A, cast on 42 sts
- Knit 1, purl 1 for 18 rows
- Purl
- Purl, increasing 2 stitches on each needle for a total of 48 stitches
Pattern
- *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
- Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
- Purl 2 rows with A
- Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
- Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
- Purl 2 rows with A
- *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
- Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
- Purl 2 rows with A
- Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
- Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
- Purl 2 rows with A
Thumb
- In step 12 above, purl 2, put 7 stitches on a stitch holder for the thumb and cast on 7 stitches, purl to the end. Purl 1 row.
Mitten
- Knit the pattern until long enough (I did 6)
- Knit 1 row
- *Knit 4, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
- Knit 2 rows
- *Knit 3, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
- Knit 2 rows
- *Knit 2, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
- Knit 2 rows
- *Knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
- Thread the yarn through remaining the loops and pull tight
- Weave end inside
Thumb
- With A, pick up the 7 stitches from the holder
- Pick up 7 stitches around the thumb hole for a total of 14 stitches
- Knit to fit length of thumb
- Knit 2 together all around
- Thread the yarn through the remaining loops and pull tight
- Weave end inside
Wednesday, 18 June 2025
"An Oak Tree", Luminato Festival, Toronto, ON
I volunteered this evening at the world premiere of An Oak Tree (United Kingdom) at the Jane Mallett Theatre (Front Street E), part of Luminato Festival ... my third and last shift.
When I say sleep, you’re free again … In celebration of the work’s 20th anniversary, Luminato presents Tim Crouch’s groundbreaking ‘An Oak Tree’, one of the most influential and hypnotic theatrical experiences of our time.
A father loses his daughter in a car accident. The driver of the car that killed her is a stage hypnotist. The two men meet for the first time when the father volunteers for the hypnotist’s act. What follows is an entrancing live performance where reality and suggestion blur – a bold and absurdly comic story of loss, transformation, and the power of the mind to reshape our world.
Each performance creates its own mesmerizing reality as Tim Crouch is joined on stage by a different guest artist, who will have neither seen nor read a word of the play they’re in – until they’re in it. Like being under hypnosis, no two shows are ever quite the same, even with identical lines, creating a uniquely rejuvenating experience each night.
A father loses his daughter in a car accident. The driver of the car that killed her is a stage hypnotist. The two men meet for the first time when the father volunteers for the hypnotist’s act. What follows is an entrancing live performance where reality and suggestion blur – a bold and absurdly comic story of loss, transformation, and the power of the mind to reshape our world.
Each performance creates its own mesmerizing reality as Tim Crouch is joined on stage by a different guest artist, who will have neither seen nor read a word of the play they’re in – until they’re in it. Like being under hypnosis, no two shows are ever quite the same, even with identical lines, creating a uniquely rejuvenating experience each night.
Dog Fountain, Berczy Park, Toronto, ON
Before I volunteered for Luminato this evening, I hung out at the dog fountain in Berczy Park (near Wellington Street and Front Street).
It is a large, two-tier fountain with life-size cast-iron statues of 27 dogs and a cat. The dogs are all looking up towards a large bone perched on the fountain's peak. The fountain also includes a ground level trough to provide drinking water for real dogs. Each of the dog statues contribute to the fountain function by each sprouting water upwards from their mouths.
The cat is looking north at statues of two small birds perched on the arm of a lamppost about three metres away from the fountain.
Book ~ "Women Who Woke up the Law: Inside the Cases that Changed Women's Rights in Canada" (2025) Karin Wells
From Goodreads ~ Behind every “landmark case” is a woman with a story.
Karin Wells pulls us into the lives and the legal trials of a group of women integral to the advancement of women’s rights in Canada.
Karin Wells pulls us into the lives and the legal trials of a group of women integral to the advancement of women’s rights in Canada.
Eliza Campbell, Chantale Daigle, Jeannette Corbiere Lavell - these Women Who Woke Up the Law often had no idea what they were facing in the courts or the price they would have to pay.
Some never saw justice themselves but they left a legal legacy. Their bold determination is something we need now more than ever to guard the hard-won gains in women’s rights.
This book is an exploration of 10 groundbreaking legal battles led by Canadian women that changed life for women and often, the law itself. It brings us behind the scenes of ten big legal battles led by everyday women who stood up to unfair systems and pushed for justice, even when the odds were totally against them:
- Eliza Campbell (divorce law) - wrongly accused of adultery in the 1880s, she fought for her reputation and alimony and her struggles prompted early reforms in divorce rights
- The Famous Five - in 1929, challenged the idea that only men were “persons” under the law and won
- Florence Murdoch (property rights) - an Alberta ranch wife whose decades of labor went unrecognized until her fight brought attention to women's entitlement to shared property
- Jane Doe (sexual assault ["No Means No"]) - in 1999, a consent ruling that defined clear boundaries around marital and extramarital sexual violence
- Stella Bliss (maternity benefits) - her pursuit of unemployment insurance during maternity leave helped define equal treatment
- Jeannette Corbiere Lavell and Indian Status Laws - she challenged the discrimination that stripped Indigenous women of their status when marrying non‑status men
- Chantale Daigle (abortion rights) - in Quebec in the 1980s, she fought in court for her right to choose abortion
- Jane Hurshman (domestic violence and homicide in self‑defense) - her killing of her abusive partner brought about legal protections for battered women
- Viola Desmond and Rachael Baylis (racial justice) - these Black women’s legal battles brought attention to discrimination
- NDAs and power - examines legal conflicts over non‑disclosure agreements and the right to one’s own narrative as it pertains to Jan Wong, Kaarina Pakka, Peter Nygård and others
I thought this topic would be interesting and it was. Some of these cases I'd heard of (like Jane Hurshman and Viola Desmond, for example) while others were new to me. I was expecting it to be dry and dull but it wasn't. There was just enough information and when/if I wanted more, I Googled. It's obvious the author did a great deal of research. It's an excellent book for women to read and thank those who came before us for all they did. As a head's up, there is swearing and descriptions of violence.
Tuesday, 17 June 2025
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