Candle Flames Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a candle flames pattern that I found here. It was easier than it looks to make.

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

I cast on 20 stitches (a multiple of 12 plus 2 plus 6 for the edges).

Knit 3 rows. I followed this pattern, knitting 3 stitches at the beginning and the end of each row for an outside border.

• Row 1: P2, *Yo, K1, Yo, P2, K2, K2tog, K3, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 2: K2, *P6, K2, P3, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 3: P2, *K1, (Yo, K1) twice, P2, K2, K2tog, K2, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 4: K2, *(P5, K2) twice; rep from * to end. 
• Row 5: P2, *K2, Yo, K1, Yo, K2, P2, K2, K2tog, K1, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 6: K2, *P4, K2, P7, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 7: P2, *K3, Yo, K1, Yo, K3, P2, K2, K2tog, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 8: K2, *P3, K2, P9, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 9: P2, *K2, K2tog, K5, P2, K1, K2tog, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 10: K2, *P2, K2, P8, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 11: P2, *K2, K2tog, K4, P2, K2tog, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 12: K2, *P1, K2, P7, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 13: P2, *K2, K2tog, K3, P2, Yo, K1, Yo, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 14: K2, *P3, K2, P6, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 15: P2, *K2, K2tog, K2, P2, (K1, Yo) twice, K1, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 16: K2, *(P5, K2) twice; rep from * to end. 
• Row 17: P2, *K2, K2tog, K1, P2, K2, Yo, K1, Yo, K2, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 18: K2, *P7, K2, P4, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 19: P2, *K2, K2tog, P2, K3, Yo, K1, Yo, K3, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 20: K2, *P9, K2, P3, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 21: P2, *K1, K2tog, P2, K2, K2tog, K5, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 22: K2, *P8, K2, P2, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 23: P2, *K2tog, P2, K2, K2tog, K4, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 24: K2, *P7, K2, P1, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Rep Rows 1 - 24. 
• Knit 3 rows and bind off.

Note: The pattern is worked over a multiple of 12 stitches that are increased and decreased over 24 rows; only count stitches on 12th and 24th rows.

Emerging Playwrights Reading Series, The Theatre Centre, Toronto, ON

I spent the afternoon volunteering at The Theatre Centre (Queen Street W/Dovercourt Road). 

I had signed up to usher 3 plays but The Theatre Centre closed early at 4pm because of the snow storm so the third one got cancelled.

Lacy Mock Cable Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a lacy mock cable pattern that I found here. It was easier than it looks to make but I really needed to focus.

Book ~ "The Last Mrs. Parrish" (2017) Liv Constantine

From Goodreads ~ Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more - a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted.

To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne - a socialite and philanthropist - and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale.

Amber’s envy could eat her alive ... if she didn't have a plan. Amber uses Daphne’s compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family’s life - the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne’s closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces.

With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent.

Amber is smart, attractive but poor and thinks she deserves more. She envies Daphne, a beautiful socialite with wealth, a loving husband and everything that Amber wants. So she sets a plan in motion to insert herself into Daphne’s life. She befriends Daphne by pretending to have something in common with her ... Daphne's sister had passed away from CF and Amber pretends she'd had sister who had also passed away from CF. This forms their bond and before too long, they are best friends. Daphne even convinces her husband, Jackson, to hire Amber as his personal assistant, when puts Amber even closer to Daphne and in her life.

I liked this story and the writing style. The first part is written in third person perspective from Amber's point of view, then first person perspective in Daphne's voice and then back to third person perspective in general. This was interesting because when it's Daphne's voice, we get her interpretation of what was happening in the first part when it was Amber's perspective. As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence.

Ridge Rib Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a ridge rib pattern that I found here.

Book ~ "Nobody Wants Your Sh*t: The Art of Decluttering Before You Die" (2023) Messie Condo

From Goodreads ~ Inspired by "The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning", "Nobody Wants Your Sh*t" will light a fire under your untidy ass with humor and helpful organizing tips that you’ll actually want to use.

Like a delightfully foul-mouthed best friend, this book dishes out the funny, unpretentious advice you need to hear most. You’ll discover how to deal with your sh*t like there’s no tomorrow, live in the moment without the f*cking mess, and make your life and your eventual death a hell of a lot easier. With this witty guide, you’ll learn how to

• ditch the d*mn indecision
• get your sh*t together and feel fantastic
• give your busy family a f*cking breakand more!

Whether you’re getting ready to move in, move on, or just move your ass, Nobody Wants Your Sh*t will help you take control of your f*cking life.

Nobody Wants Your Sh*t is the push we all need ... your stuff will become someone else’s problem if you don’t deal with it now. The book is about “death cleaning,” which means decluttering while you’re alive, capable and in charge of your own decisions. The author pushes you to stop keeping things “just in case” and start asking whether they actually add anything to your life right now. If they don’t, they’re just taking up space physically and mentally. 

The book talks about why we hang onto stuff (guilt, nostalgia, fear of waste, etc.), how to make decisions faster and how to tackle clutter in chunks so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. It’s less about having a picture-perfect home and more about not leaving a mountain of junk for your loved ones to sort through later. In addition, it talks about the importance of having a will, ensuring someone knows about your accounts and passwords, etc. As a head's up, there is a lot of swearing.

I was never one for knickknacks but suddenly in the 1990s I was ... now I have a couple of shelves of pictures, knickknacks, ornaments, etc. I like them but what will happen to them once I'm gone? Whoever clears out my stuff will be left to deal with them. And that's what this book is all about. In the last few years as I've gotten older, I have been mindful about what I buy. I try to buy things that I will use and enjoy now (like scented candles) rather than something that will sit on a shelf and get dusty or hang in my closet. It helps that I've never been a big shopper ... I tend to buy what I need or really  really want. I never had anything of value passed on to me and I don't have much of value to pass on to anyone (I'm childfree).

Book ~ "Mum's the Word" (2004) Kate Collins

From Goodreads ~ I don't mean to meddle, honest! But can I help it if my nose for injustice is as keen as my green thumb? Now I, Abby Knight, law school dropout, am the proud new owner of Bloomers, my hometown flower shop. I'm devoted to making my business grow but I'm no shrinking violet if someone needs my help to right a wrong -- even if that person is already dead.

So maybe Abby's life isn't the bed of roses she was hoping it would be. She adores her job but a new low-cost competitor is killing her profits - and a black SUV just rammed her vintage Corvette in a hit and run. Determined to track down the driver, she accepts the help of hunky ex-cop Marco Salvare. But their budding relationship is threatened when the trail turns deadly. Now Abby is caught in a tangle of menacing phone calls, police corruption, and murderous road rage. If she's not careful, the next flower arrangement might be for her own funeral.

Abby was going to law school to fulfill her mother's dream of her becoming a lawyer.  But she wasn't passionate about it and ended up dropping out ... which prompted her rich fiancé to break up with her.  She buys the flower shop where she'd worked part-time as that's where her interest lies.

Just as Abby has parked her vintage Corvette one day, someone runs into it and takes off.  Then she discovers that there was a murder nearby and she thinks the person who ran into her car is the murderer.  She is determine to find the murderer and bring him to justice with the help of the nearby hot restaurant owner who used to be a cop and now works as a part-time private detective.

This is the first book in the Flower Shop Mystery series. I liked the writing style ... it was easy to read and flowed well.  It was a bit of a stretch to believe that a former law student/now the owner of a flower shop would get THAT involved in solving a local murder just because they hit her car, even though every one was telling her to stop "meddling".  There is the beginnings of the romance between Abby and Marco, the restaurant owner.  

This book was okay. I didn't realize I had already read it in 2016 until I went to post I reading it on Goodreads. I didn't remember reading it even when I finished it this second time. I had said I had I liked it enough to give the next one in the series a try ... but I never did.

Tumbling Moss Blocks Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a tumbling moss blocks pattern that I found here.