Knitted Wavy Gravy Hat

I knitted a Wavy Gravy Hat to donate. 

I found the pattern here and adapted it to a bulky yarn. I used a Caron Anniversary Cake (the colour is Tropical Breeze) and 6.5mm circular needles.

Cast on 72 stitches. Join, taking care not to twist and place marker at the beginning of round. 

• Round 1: purl
• Round 2: knit 
• Round 3: *(k2tog) two times, (yo,k1) four times, (k2tog) two times* rep from * to * to end of round
• Round 4: purl
• Round 5: knit 
• Round 6: knit 
• Round 7: *(k2tog) two times, (yo,k1) four times, (k2tog) two times* rep from * to * to end of round
• Round 8: purl 

• Repeat rounds 5 to 8 a total of 7 times. 

• Knit two rounds

Decrease for crown: 

• Round 1: *k7, k2tog* rep from *to* to end of round (64 sts remain) 
• Round 2: knit 
• Round 3: *k6, k2tog* rep from *to* to end of round (56 sts remain) 
• Round 4: knit 
• Continue decreasing 8 sts every other round until 8 sts remain 
• Draw yarn through the remaining stitches and fasten off

KC's tree, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, ON

I stopped by Trinity Bellwoods Park this morning and visited KC's tree. The leaves on the trees in the park are still changing colours so you still have time to take them in.

Knitted scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate.

I used a skein of Loops & Threads Sweet Snuggles Lite super bulky (#6) and the colour is carnival. It’s almost 5 feet long and warm and snuggly. 

I cast on 25 stitches on a 6.5mm needles. 

I did a border of 4 rows of garter stitch.

Pattern:

Row 1: knit across the row

Row 2: knit 4, purl 17, knit 4

Repeat these rows until the length desired. 

Knit a border of 4 rows of garter stitch. Bind off.

Book ~ "Twice" (2025) Mitch Albom

From Goodreads ~ When he is eight years old, Alfie Logan discovers the magical ability to get a second chance at everything. He can undo any moment and live it again. The one catch: he must accept the consequences of his second try - for better or worse.

He grows up correcting his mistakes and saving himself from adolescent embarrassments. He even takes foolishly dangerous risks, just to see what it’s like to come close to death, before tapping back to safety.

Eventually, Alfie turns his gift to his love life, studying his crushes and going back to make himself more appealing. In time, he falls deeply in love with Gianna, the woman he believes is the one. He seems to find contentment.

But as the years pass, Alfie’s eye begins to wander. Which is when he learns a lone caveat to his power: once he undoes a love, that person can never fall in love with him again. Knowing if he gives into to temptation, he will risk losing what he has with Gianna, Alfie makes a choice that changes his life forever.

The book begins many years later, after an ailing Alfie is arrested for allegedly cheating and winning millions at a casino roulette wheel. As a curious detective interrogates him, he slowly uncovers Alfie’s incredible story, and its most unlikely conclusion.

Alfie has a secret ... ever since his missionary mother passed away when he was a kid in Kenya, he’s been able to relive any moment of his life twice. All he has to do is tap his body and say the word “twice” and he gets a do-over. The first time he lives something, the second time he knows what’s coming and can try to change it. At first, Alfie uses his ability for small stuff ... fixing mistakes, avoiding embarrassment, etc. Eventually he meets and falls in love with Gianna and tries to use his power to make their relationship perfect, which he finds isn't possible.

It's been a lot of years since I've read a Mitch Albom story and I thought this one was okay. It's written in third person perspective with an interesting twist ... it's also first person perspective in Alfie's voice when his composition book about his lives is being read. The story starts off in his present, where he’s been arrested for supposedly cheating in a casino in the Bahamas and then jumps back and forth from Alfie’s past to the present day (the chapters are labeled). I like time travel stories so it appealed to me as it has that aspect.

Diagonal garter stitch scarf

I knitted a diagonal garter stitch to donate. It was surprisingly an easy pattern, which I found here. 

I used a skein of Loops & Threads Sweet Snuggles Lite super bulky (#6) and the colour is carnival. It’s about 7 feet long and warm and snuggly.

Cast on 3 stitches. 

First Section - increases:

• Row 1: KFB, knit to end, KFB.
• Row 2: Knit all stitches.
• Repeat rows 1 and 2 until there are 23 stitches on the needle.

You can adjust the width of the scarf by knitting more or fewer stitches. The finished edges of your beginning triangle (the two edges that do not have live stitches) give a close indication of how wide your scarf will be when complete.

Middle Section - main length of the scarf:

• Row 1: KFB, knit to end, k2tog.
• Row 2: Knit all stitches.
• Repeat these two rows until you are nearly out of yarn.

Final Section - decreases:

• Row 1: Ssk, knit to end, k2tog.
• Row 2: Knit all stitches.
• Repeat these two rows until there are 3 stitches left on the needle. Bind off.

Garter Stitch Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate.

I cast on 25 stitches on a 6.5mm needles and the pattern is garter stitch. I used a skein of Loops & Threads Sweet Snuggles Lite super bulky (#6) and the colour is carnival. It’s almost 5 feet long and warm and snuggly. 

Book ~ "Scared Off" (2021) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ Three teenage girls having a sleepover on Halloween night get spooked when high schoolers crash the house for a party. But no one expected to find a crasher like Mrs. Zelisko, the elderly third floor tenant, dead in the backyard dressed in a sheet like a ghost. 

With her niece traumatized, Julia Snowden must uncover who among the uninvited guests was responsible for devising such a murderous trick.

Page, Julia's 13-year-old niece, is having a sleepover with her friend, Vanessa, at their friend, Talia's house. Things gets out of hand after some uninvited classmates and older kids show up. The night quickly takes a scary turn when the elderly woman who rents an apartment upstairs, dressed up like a ghost, floats down from upstairs and is found dead in the shed in the backyard. With nothing else to do since her family's business hasn't started up for the season and she's not running a restaurant in the off-season anymore, Julia starts to work on figuring out what happened that night.

This quick read (it's a novella) was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. The whodunnit came out of nowhere at the end. At the end, there is a recipe that was mentioned during the story for gluten-free pumpkin cookies.

This novella is 9.5 (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I've been reading the series recently and will keep moving through the series.

Book ~ "Hallowed Out" (2022) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ For Julia Snowden of the Snowden Family Clambake, Halloween takes on a whole new meaning in the coastal town of Busman's Harbor, Maine, when a seasonal activity turns fatal ... 

With its history of hauntings and ghost sightings, Busman’s Harbor is the perfect setting for Halloween festivities. Despite her busy schedule, Julia agrees to help out with a haunted house tour to protect her mother from overwhelming herself. But when a reenactment of a Prohibition-era gangster’s murder ends with a literal bang and a dead actor from New Jersey, Julia Snowden must identify a killer before she ends up sleeping with the fishes.

Julia is busy running her family’s clambake business and a restaurant in the off-season with Chris, her boyfriend, in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. Things are already hectic when the town kicks off its Halloween festivities, including a haunted-house tour that reenacts a Prohibition-era gangster murder that includes Julia, Chris, Sonny (Julia's brother-in-law) and Gus (the owner of the restaurant Julia and Chris use). But what’s supposed to be fun quickly turns dark when one of the actors ends up dead for real when the lights go out. Suddenly Julia isn’t just juggling the business and her family ... she’s trying to figure out who the killer is. 

This quick read (it's a novella) was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. I thought the whodunit was a reach. At the end, there is a recipe that was mentioned during the story for pumpkin bread.

This novella is 7.5 (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I've been reading the series recently and will keep moving through the series.

Knitted beanies

I knitted 13 beanies in the last week to donate. I used Caron Anniversary Cake and the colour is Green Flash.

I found the pattern here and it was an easy pattern. 

I don't have a small 5.5mm circular needle so used 6.5mm so it's a bit bigger than a beanie and fits like a comfy hat.

With A and circular needles, cast on 80 sts. Place marker, join being careful not to twist sts.

• Rounds 1-8: Work in 2x2 Rib stitch pattern until beanie measures 2” (5 cm) from cast-on edge
• Rounds 9-22: Knit around

Shape Crown

• Round 1: Knit. 
• Round 2 (dec): *K6, K2tog; repeat from * around — 70 sts. 
• Round 3: Knit. 
• Round 4 (dec): *K5, K2tog; repeat from * around — 60 sts. 
• Round 5: Knit. 
• Round 6 (dec): *K4, K2tog; repeat from * around — 50 sts. 
• Round 7: Knit. 
• Round 8 (dec): *K3, K2tog; repeat from * around — 40 sts. 
• Round 9: Knit. 
• Round 10 (dec): *K2, K2tog; repeat from * around — 30 sts. 
• Round 11: Knit. 
• Round 12 (dec): *K1, K2tog; repeat from * around — 20 sts. 
• Round 13: Knit. 
• Round 14: *K2tog; repeat from * around — 10 sts. 

Finishing

Cut yarn leaving a 6” (15 cm) tail. With yarn needle, draw tail through remaining 10 sts twice, pull tightly and fasten off. Weave in ends. Block lightly. 

Book ~ "Logged On" (2018) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ Few things are as sweet as Christmas in coastal Maine. The only thing that can spoil the fun is murder ...

Realizing she can’t make a decent Bûche de Noël to save her life, Julia Snowden enlists the help of her eccentric neighbor, Mrs. St. Onge, in hopes of mastering the dessert for Christmas. With everyone in the old woman’s circle missing or deceased, however, it’s up to Julia to stop the deadly tidings before she’s the next Busman’s Harbor resident to meet a not-so-jolly fate.

Julia wants to impress her boyfriend’s family by baking a perfect Yule Log Cake for Christmas. Unfortunately it's a difficult dessert to make and she’s a disaster in the kitchen. So she turns to her creepy elderly neighbor, Mrs. St. Onge, who’s known for her baking skills. But while Julia’s focused on mastering her dessert, she starts to notice that something strange is going on ... people connected to Mrs. St. Onge in the past had disappeared. turned up dead or had gotten sick. Suddenly Julia’s holiday baking project turns into a full-on investigation.

This quick read (it's a novella) was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. The "mystery" wasn't that hard to figure out not too far into the story. It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. At the end, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story for a Yule Log Cake and Jewel Brooch Cookies.

This novella is 6.5 (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I've been reading the series recently and will keep moving through the series.

Book ~ "The Smiling Land: All Around the Circle in My Newfoundland and Labrador" (2025) Alan Doyle

From Goodreads ~ Few Canadian musicians or authors are as synonymous with their home province as Alan Doyle is with Newfoundland. And now Alan wants to introduce the rest of the world to his home, taking readers on a freewheeling, eclectic trip through the province. From Fogo Island to the Southwest Coast, Labrador to Ferryland and everywhere in-between, Alan's Newfoundland awaits.

There are plenty of stops along the way to admire the sites and take in the history and culture. Among the stops, a discussion of Newfoundland's eccentric place names, which include Horse Chops Island, Bread and Cheese Cove and, the (in)famous, Dildo. There are visits to wind-swept coastlines and towering crags, former Beothuk, Viking and Basque settlements, as well as more recent settlements, such as Foley's Shed, a jaunty live-music pub that, as its name suggests, happens to be located in some guy named Foley's shed. There are savvy insider tips, such as how to score fish and chips and a free ride by hopping into the delivery person's car as they deliver your food to your desired destination. And what tour of Alan's Newfoundland could be complete without a short history of what can best be described as "icebergs that look like things," an illustrious history that includes an exact replica of the Virgin Mary that once washed into St. John's harbour, and the more recent, and far less holy, "Dickie Berg," which made international headlines for looking like ... well, not the Virgin Mary.

I was a fan of Great Big Sea and had seen them many times in concert over the years. Alan Doyle was one of the members in Great Big Sea and this is his fourth book (I enjoyed his first three). 

This book is part travel guide/part homage to Doyle's home province of Newfoundland. He takes readers on a trip around Newfoundland and Labrador, sharing stories and history. He visits fishing towns, rugged coastlines and lively communities, mixing in local legends, music and humour. For example, he lets you know where to find the best fish and chips, how to spot puffins and tells tales about rumrunning and lighthouses.

It must have been fun for Doyle to embark on this project and to have his wife and son along with him on some of the adventures. I liked the writing style and found that his personality came through ... like we were sitting chatting and having a pint. I found the history of places for the most part interesting (it's obvious he did a ton of research) but I enjoyed his personal stories more of how they related to the places ... like one of his few experiences being in Port aux Basques years ago or his respect for Ron Hynes when visiting his house. 

His descriptions of buildings and places were vivid but it would have been nice to have pictures included (it sounded like he did stop and take pictures along the way) ... I would pause and Google so I could see what he was talking about. I've been to some of the places he wrote about (like St. John's and Saint Pierre) so it was fun to relive them through his eyes.

KC's tree, Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, ON

I stopped by Trinity Bellwoods Park this afternoon and visited KC's tree. The leaves on the trees in the park are changing colours and KC's tree looks fabulous!

Dreaming, Toronto, ON

Dreaming is an 8.5 metre tall, 2.5-tonne sculpture by Jaume Plensa, colloquially known as “Lucia”. It was installed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 2020. It’s cool but kinda freaky!

Everyside Social Eatery & Taphouse, Toronto, ON

Gord and I checked out Everyside Social Eatery & Taphouse (Adelaide Street W, just west of York Street) this afternoon … they opened in August.

Book ~ "Shucked Apart" (2021) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ The Snowden Family Clambake Company has a beloved reputation in Busman’s Harbor, Maine. Almost as famous is the sleuthing ability of proprietor Julia Snowden, which is why an oyster farmer seeks her out when she’s in trouble. 

When Andie Greatorex is robbed of two buckets of oyster seed worth $35,000, she wonders if somebody’s trying to mussel her out of business. Could it be a rival oyster farmer, a steamed former employee, or a snooty summer resident who objects to her unsightly oyster cages floating on the beautiful Damariscotta River? There’s also a lobsterman who’s worried the farm’s expanding lease will encroach on his territory and Andie’s ex-partner, who may come to regret their split. 

Before Julia can make much headway in the investigation, Andie turns up dead, stabbed by a shucking knife. Now it’s up to Julia to set a trap for a cold and clammy killer.

As Julia is getting ready to open the Snowden Family Clambake Company for the season, Chris, her boyfriend, introduces her to his friend, Andie, an oyster farmer. Someone stole $35,000 worth of oyster seed from her business and she’s desperate to find out who did it and get the seed back. Julia agrees to help but before she can dig too deep, Andie is found dead. Now Julia’s not just helping with a theft, she’s investigating Andie's murder. Between rival oyster farmers, cranky neighbors and troublemaking lobster fishermen, there’s no shortage of suspects. 

This story was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It's a quick read and a cozy mystery so there is no violence, swearing or adult activity. The author obviously did a lot of research about oyster farming. The whodunnit was a bit of a stretch. At the end of the book, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story including banana bread, baked oysters and lobster mashed potatoes.

This is the ninth (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I read the first eight recently and will keep moving through the series.

Oche King West, Toronto, ON

As an Elite Yelper, I was offered the opportunity from Yelp to attend Darts and Drinks at Oche (461 King Street W) this evening from 6pm to 8pm. 

All-star Yelpers this month (like me!) received a red Yelp-shaped container.