Book ~ "Searching for Terry Punchout" (2018) Tyler Hellard

From Goodreads ~ Adam Macallister's sportswriting career is about to end before it begins but he's got one last a Sports Illustrated profile about hockey's most notorious goon, the reclusive Terry Punchout - who also happens to be Adam's estranged father. 

Adam returns to Pennington, Nova Scotia, where Terry now lives in the local rink and drives the Zamboni. Going home means drinking with old friends, revisiting neglected relationships, and dealing with lingering feelings about his father and dead mother - and discovering that his friends and family are kinder and more complicated than he ever gave them credit for. 

"Searching for Terry Punchout" is a charming and funny tale of hockey, small-town Maritime life and how, despite our best efforts, we just can't avoid turning into our parents.

Adam is a struggling sportswriter living in Calgary whose career is falling apart. Hoping to revive it, he returns to his hometown of Pennington, Nova Scotia, to write a magazine profile about his estranged father, Terry Punchout, a former hockey enforcer known for his time in the penalty box. Terry now lives a quiet life driving the Zamboni at the local rink. As Adam reconnects with people from his past, he’s forced to deal with old family tensions, memories of his mother and the complicated relationship he has with his dad.

This book came to my attention because of the recent Canada Reads. I like reading Canadian fiction plus I'm originally from Nova Scotia. I liked this story and some of the characters reminded me of people "back home". I liked the writing style and it's a quick read. It's written in first person perspective in Adam's voice. It could have been edited better as there are typos and there are two chapter fours, though the content for the second chapter four is actually for chapter five. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Doors Open - STACKT Market, Toronto, ON

I volunteered this afternoon at STACKT Market at Bathurst Street/Front Street for Doors Open Toronto. a popular outdoor market and event space made from repurposed shipping containers. 

What makes it unique:

• The entire space is built using stacked shipping containers.
• It hosts rotating small businesses, pop-up shops, local brands, cafés, bars and food vendors.
• There are frequent events like night markets, live music, fitness classes, art installations, outdoor movies and seasonal festivals.
• It changes constantly, so different vendors and experiences appear throughout the year.

Usually there's a great view of the CN Tower across the street ... but today it was too foggy.

Double Eyelet Rib Stitch Knitted Scarf

I knitted another scarf to donate. I found the double eyelet rib stitch pattern on New Stitch a Day's website.

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

Cast on multiples of 7 + 2 stitches (I cast on 23 stitches).

• Row 1 (RS): P2, *k5, p2; rep from * to end 
• Row 2: K2, *p5, k2; rep from * to end 
• Row 3: P2, *k2tog, yo, k1, yo, sl1, k1, psso, p2; rep from * to end 
• Row 4: K2, *p5, k2; rep from * to end
• Repeat rows 1 to 4, knitting to the desired length
• Bind off

Doors Open - Gallery 1313, Toronto, ON

I volunteered today at Gallery 1313 in the Parkdale Arts & Cultural Centre at Queen Street W/Cowan Avenue for Doors Open Toronto.

The Parkdale Arts & Cultural Centre was originally built as a police station in 1931 and Gallery 1313 occupies what were once 12 holding cells for prisoners. The art deco building has since been transformed into a community hub, home to community offices, the Parkdale Village BIA, Gallery 1313 (which hosts about 70 exhibitions each year featuring artists from local to international), nine live/work studios and more.

Gallery 1313 is where the 12 holding cells were.

The original floor plan

Chocolate Barr's, Stratford, Ontario

Gord and I stopped in at Chocolate Barr’s in Stratford this afternoon and picked out some chocolates.

"Death of a Salesman", Stratford Festival, Stratford, ON

Gord and I saw Death of a Salesman (part of the Stratford Festival) this afternoon.

A father’s hope, a family’s heartbreak 

An aging commercial traveller chases a fading dream of success, blind to the illusions that have shaped his life and shattered his family. As memories blur with reality, his desperate pursuit of worth reveals the quiet tragedy of a man out of step with the world around him.

It was at the Avon Theatre downtown.

Gord and I

Work Pub & Eatery, Stratford, Ontario

Gord and I had lunch today at Work Pub & Eatery in Stratford, Ontario. It's a cute spot.

Shakespearean Gardens, Stratford, Ontario

Lovely walk with Gord in the Shakespearean Gardens this morning.

Gord and I

Beaded Rib Stitch Knitted Scarf

I knitted another scarf to donate. I found the pattern on New Stitch a Day's website.

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

Cast on multiples of 5 + 2 stitches (I cast on 22 stitches).

• Row 1 (RS): P2, *K1, p1, k1, p2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 2: K2, *p3, k2; rep from * to end.
• Repeat rows 1 and 2, knitting to the desired length.
• Bind off.

Book ~ "The Armchair Detectives on Holiday" (2026) Matt Dunn

From Goodreads ~ Fresh from their last case at Twilight Lodge, Martin and Albie reward themselves with a relaxing trip to the sun-soaked island of Menorca.

But when they head down to breakfast one morning, they happen upon a panicked husband reporting his wife, bestselling author Karen Squires, missing. Soon afterwards they’re shocked to discover Karen’s body on the beach.

Local police call it a tragic accident: one look at the broken safety fence on the cliffs above suggests Karen fell. But the victim’s perfectly-manicured nails tells Martin that this was no accident. She was pushed.

Back at the hotel, the duo discover that Karen was running a retreat for writers, all of whom seem shocked by her untimely passing. But which one of them may have had a motive for murder? Was a fellow writer jealous of her success? Did her devoted husband feel sidelined?

As they hunt for clues, they realise that the answer may be found in one of Karen’s bestsellers and luckily for them, Albie’s girlfriend, Barbara, is her number one fan. A killer is hiding in plain sight. But to get to them, can they separate the fact from the fiction before it’s too late?

Martin is in his mid-80s and a widower, who recently had hip surgery and had checked into Twilight Lodge, a seaside care home to recuperate. There he ran into his old partner, wheelchair-bound Albie, who was also at the home. They both had worked for “The Company” (something very spy-like). Martin takes Albie, Dionne, his daughter, and Custard, his late wife's dog, on vacation to Menorca for a week. 

One morning, Martin and Albie meet David, who is in a panic because he can't find his wife, Karen,  a famous author. They are at a writers' resort at the same hotel Martin where is staying. Martin and Albie offer to help look for her and find her at the bottom of a cliff. The local police assume she fell but something doesn't look right to Martin and Albie and they start investigating.

This was a fun story. It was interesting to have it written from the first person perspective of a mid-80s man as he doesn't have a clue about today's technology (for example, he doesn't own a cell phone and confuses "Zumba" with "Zooming"). It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing or violence. The interactions between Martin and Albie were cute. There are lots of red herrings and I was okay with the whodunnit (I had figured it out). It's the second in the Armchair Detectives series (I'd read the first one last year) and I look forward to reading more in the future.

Book ~ "Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About" (2026) Isabel Klee

From Goodreads ~ A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she got her chance, ditching her college upstate and moving into a grungy basement apartment in Manhattan. Dog-obsessed since childhood, her first post-grad job was becoming an assistant to a dog photographer, and something clicked into place: a career focused on helping dogs was the new dream.

Isabel quickly found a passion for rehabilitating rescue dogs and helping them get adopted. At the same time, she was caught up in a whirlwind of friendships, parties, fickle boyfriends and grand romances, which she recounts in honest, tender and sometimes devastating chapters about the search for love and belonging.

Isabel’s first true love, though, was Simon, a fluffy puppy who’d been saved from the meat trade. As the highs and lows of her twenties hit Isabel in wave after wave, it was Simon who kept her grounded. Together, Isabel and Simon created a community of dog-lovers and a tight-knit group of friends pursuing their dreams.

In this honest and moving memoir, Isabel weaves together the stories of her foster dogs—and the challenges she helped them overcome - with tales of complicated relationships, hard decisions and great loves in New York City, all leading to a happy ending not only for the rescue pups, but for Isabel herself.

I've never heard of Isabel Klee or this book but I saw it was an Indigo pick of the month. I like memoirs and reading about dogs (and animals) so thought I'd check it out, especially since I volunteer with a cat rescue and a charitable organization dedicated to ageing dogs. 

I enjoyed the parts about her putting her hand up to foster dogs who had issues and socializing them for adoption. I didn't find her overly likeable, though, and it got tiresome hearing the details of all her broken romances and dating adventures, which took up the bulk of the book. Against her better judgement, she moved in with men who professed they loved her and she loved them but then she would end up moving out because she was their whole world.

The editing could have been tighter. At one point, she talks about Ruby, the family dog when she was growing up, who passed away when she was 16 and then just three paragraphs later, she says she was 17 when Ruby passed away. The timeline jumps around so sometimes I found it confusing when things were happening. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Happy Victoria Day!

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25, initially in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday.

The holiday has been observed in Canada since at least 1845, originally falling on Victoria's actual birthday (May 24, 1819).

Waterworks Food Hall, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper in the courtyard at Waterworks Food Hall, opened in 2024 in a historic building at Brant Street/Richmond Street W.

I got a large Jamaican Mi Crazy Chicken (famous jerk chicken served with rice) from Rasta Pasta so I could take home half for leftovers. I’m glad I did because it was very good. 

Gord had a messy but tasty Rumbera (Venezuelan pulled pork cheddar cheese + garlic) from The Arepa Republic.

Cartridge Belt Rib Stitch Knitted Scarf

I knitted another scarf to donate. I found the pattern on New Stitch a Day's website.

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

Cast on multiples of 4 + 3 stitches (I cast on 23 stitches).

• Row 1: K3, *sl 1 wyif, k3; rep from * to end. 
• Row 2: K1, *sl 1 wyif, k3; rep from * to last 2 sts, sl 1 wyif, k1.
• Repeat rows 1 and 2, knitting to the desired length.
• Bind off.