Teena in Toronto

We got our stuff back

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:57:00 +0000

When I got home from work today, I saw that we got all our stuff back. Yay!

I imagine our neighbours are happy to get their terrace back.

It doesn't look like any work had been done on the wall.

The railing between our terrace and our neighbour to the left is back, the stones are back on the floor of her terrace and she has her neighbour's stuff stored on her terrace.

I put our stuff back the way it should be on our patio. Hint hint ... we want the terrace finished so we can use it and we want our BBQ and air conditioner hooked back up. Pleez??

Book ~ "Liar" (1998) Jan Burke

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Wed, 30 May 2012 03:12:00 +0000

From Goodreads ~ Irene is numb with shock upon learning that her estranged aunt has been the victim in a brutal killing. But Irene's keen investigative senses immediately awaken when she discovers that she's the #1 suspect of foul play. With the police nipping fast at her heels, Irene searches for her aunt's missing son as she attempts to dig the dirt on her own family members, both past and present. This time it's personal--Irene has to solve the crime to clear her name and catch a killer who's still on the prowl.

This is the fourth book in the series of eleven (as of 2011) ... I'm rereading the series.

Irene's great aunt, Mary, informs Irene that her aunt Briana (Irene's mother's sister) has died ... she was run over by a car. As Briana's sole beneficiary, Irene becomes the number one suspect of the murder, even though she hadn't see Briana in over twenty years. This sets Irene and her friend, Rachel (a former cop, now a private investigator) on the trail to find Briana's son, Travis, which they do.

Travis' father, Arthur, recently died. He had brought scandal to the family years ago when it was discovered that he was married to two women ... to Briana but first to Gwendolyn, who was rich. This all came out when Gwendolyn was murdered about twenty years ago and, though the case was never solved, many assumed Arthur had done it.

So not only is Irene out to solve Briana's murder, she also must solve Gwendolyn's murder since they are probably linked.

I enjoyed this book. It moved along at a good pace and I liked the characters. One of the focuses was on Irene and Travis getting to know each other as long-lost cousins, separated because of a misunderstanding.

Terrace update

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Tue, 29 May 2012 21:05:00 +0000

A couple fellas spent the day working on our terrace.

They removed all the stones from the terrace floor to level it ... then they put them back down.

This looking at our neighbour to the left's terrace with her stones removed (the railings between our terraces and the next one over have been removed).

Our walls weren't really touched today.

Our stuff was removed so they could level the terrace floor ... and then they were put back.

The railing between our terrace and our neighours to the right was put back up ... and they left all our heavy stuff on their side. Yep, that's our BBQ, bags of dirt, chairs, table, etc.

They'll either have to take the railing down to haul our stuff back or carry it up and over. Duh!

Luxe Box - $66 value for $10!

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Tue, 29 May 2012 20:10:00 +0000

My May Luxe Box arrived today.

Luxe Box is a monthly subscription service that delivers 4-5 deluxe beauty samples to your doorstep in a chic box. The samples range from skincare and makeup to fragrance, body, and haircare. What’s more? These samples have been hand-picked by their beauty experts, so they are confident you will enjoy them!

Luxe Boxes are just $12 each (or $10 if you get the yearly subscription) ... and postage is free.

Monthly subscription - You pay for one month at a time. Your subscription is automatically renewed once a month.
Quarterly subscription - You pay for three Luxe Boxes upfront and your subscription is automatically renewed once every three months.
Yearly subscription - You pay $120 for 12 Luxe Boxes (and you get two Luxe Boxes free!) and your subscription is renewed once a year.

Not only did I get one box, but I got two!

Here's what was in the white box:

And here's what was in the black box ... as usual, it was made just for me!

Contents:

Venus & Olay razor and five refills - retails for $10
.23oz sample of Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Revolution Complex - 1.70oz retails for $11.99
Cargo Lash Activator Mini Duo - $15
125ml sample of Joico K-Pak Revitaluxe - 125ml size retails for $50
1.2ml samples of Paco Rabanne Black XS L'Excess for Her and Him - 50ml sizes retails for about $75
3.5ml sample of Orlane Absolute Skin Recover Repairing Night Cream - 50ml size retails for $225

Ya gotta love getting $65 worth of stuff for $10!

Plus there was a $20 coupon off a Panty by Post subscription.

You can get your own subscription here.

Why we don't have air conditioning right now ...

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Mon, 28 May 2012 22:43:00 +0000

Gord and I live in a lower unit condo in a townhouse. When you walk out our door, you are on our terrace ... a few steps take you up to the street level.

The retaining walls on the lower units are starting to collapse so the condo corporation is having them repaired and made a bit higher ... the work started last month. There are 46 lower units.

They started the repairs on our terrace and our neighbours' terrace today. The railings have been removed and are laying on the lawn in front. The bricks from the walls will be removed and replaced properly.

Here is our terrace ... that's the railing that separated the two terraces.

Looking over at our neighbour's terrace ... that's our BBQ, bags of potting soil, shovel and chair on their side (our table and another chair are behind the BBQ). We have nothing of theirs on our side.

Our terraces ...

In anticipation of the repairs, the air conditioners at our end were disconnected a couple weeks ago. In the last week, we've been having recordbreaking temperatures (it's currently 31C with the humidex of 38C). The air conditioners are supposed to be hooked up again on Thursday. Here is our air conditioner with our neighbour's air conditioner on top ... not much good today.

I have a six-inch fan on my desk at work that I brought home ... it's surprising what a difference it is making. I'm not hot and cranky ... yippee.

Dog & Bear Pub, Toronto, ON

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:56:00 +0000

When the Social decided to change its format to become a pub, Gord and I were happy. We love pubs and that's what's lacking in our 'hood.

The Dog & Bear Pub opened yesterday. Gord and I checked it out this afternoon.

They have restyled the inside to resemble a pub rather than a dance club (which it used to be).

We sat at the bar and watched the Blue Jays game (alas, they lost to Texas in the 13th inning).

Kristen took good care of us.

After all the walking we did in the heat today, my beer tasted gooooood!

When Kristen left, someone one else took care of us. She spent more time at the other end of the bar chatting with the other servers and/or checking her texts, though. Despite this, we liked this pub and will probably check it out on a regular basis. The menu looks great and we'll be stopping in for supper sometime soon.

This woman came in just before we left ... she had the awesomist 'fro I've ever seen!

Fat Bastard Burrito Co., Toronto, ON

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:17:00 +0000

Gord and I love love love burritos and have been waiting for Fat Bastard Burrito to open in our 'hood for a while.

It opened on Thursday so we stopped in this afternoon for a late lunch/early supper.

They have a selection of burritos, quesadillos, poutine, etc.

We both ordered a big baked chicken burrito. The different between then is that his had lettuce and mine had tomatoes.

And it was big!

Here's mine ...

Here's Gord's ...

They were tasty (though lacked a bit of a kick) and the price was right ... we'll be back.

Doors Open: Faces on Places Walking Tour — Gargoyles and Other Architectural Ornaments

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:32:00 +0000

Gord and I went on the Doors Open: Faces on Places Walking Tour today.

Look up ... and what do you see? If you look up with author Terry Murray, you'll see beyond glass and steel and stone to spy gargoyles, griffins, dragons, angels, and portraits of important personages. These characters have been watching over Toronto and its inhabitants for centuries.

Writer and photographer Terry Murray spent 10 years hunting the many creatures adorning Toronto's buildings and researching why they’re there. Explore some of that world with her. Be sure to bring your binoculars!

Terry Murray is an award-winning journalist and photographer specializing in medicine. For 30 years, she has been on the staff of the Medical Post, a fortnightly newspaper for Canadian doctors. She began gargoyle-hunting in 1994, a hobby that resulted in the publication of Faces on Places: A Grotesque Tour of Toronto (Anansi, 2006), which won the Heritage Toronto Award of Merit as well as an Alcuin Society Award for Excellence in Book Design.

The tour was scheduled to start at 1:30pm. We arrived at 1pm to find it was full but thankfully they opened up some more spaces. Plus because of the demand, another tour was added today at 3:30pm (there is another one tomorrow at 1:30pm).

Our first stop was Old City Hall (built in 1889-99).

Here's Terry giving us some info.

This is the Sterling Tower at 372 Bay Street (built in 1928).

This is the Northern Ontario Building at 330 Bay Street (built in 1925).

Here we are looking up up up and learning more from Terry.

This is the Design Exchange at 234 Bay Street (formerly the Toronto Stock Exchange which was built in 1937).

This is the Scotiabank Plaza at 44 King Street W (built in 1949-51).

This is the Commerce Bank of Commerce (now CIBC) at 25 King Street W (built in 1929-31).

This is the Irish Embassy (a pub) at 49 Yonge Street (formerly the Bank of British America and CIBC, built in 1873-74).

As we headed north on Yonge Street, I'd never noticed these on the Bay (formerly Simpsons which opened in 1929).

This is the Confederation Life building at 8 Richmond Street E (built in 1890-92).

Here's Gord in action!

This is the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre at 189 Yonge Street (formerly Lowe's Yonge Street Theatre and Winter Garden Theatre, built in 1913-14).

This is the Ed Mirvish Theatre at 263 Yonge Street (formerly the Canon Theatre, Pantages Theatre and Imperial Theatre, built in 1920).

It was an interesting tour that will make me look up up up in the future. There is so much to see!

CTV came along on our tour for a while ... you can see the video here.

Doors Open: Toronto City Hall

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:10:00 +0000

Gord and I checked out Doors Open this afternoon at City Hall.

Did you know that City Hall has an observation deck?

Neither did I.

It's on the 27th floor.

We wandered around up there for a while and saw some great views ... too bad there is dirty plexiglass window as a barrier.

Here I am ...

Eggsmart, Toronto, ON

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:23:00 +0000

Gord love love loves breakfast!

This morning we had brunch today at Eggsmart ... it opened in Parkdale (on the corner of King W/Queen W and Roncesvalles) about a month ago.

I ordered the Classic Breakfast with bacon.

Gord ordered the Meat Lover Scrambler.

Both were delicious! We were starving when we went in and soooooo full when we left ... neither of finished it all.

Our servers were quick, efficient and friendly.

Definitely a good place for breakfast ... we'll be back!

TGIF!

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:06:00 +0000

Book ~ "Eat That Frog!" (2007) Brian Tracy

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:10:00 +0000

The first rule of frog eating: If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.

The second rule of frog eating: If you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it for very long.

Twenty-one great ways to stop procrastinating, improve organization skills, and get more done in less time:

Set the table: Decide exactly what you want. Clarity is essential. Write out your goals and objectives before you begin;
Plan every day in advance: Think on paper. Every minute you spend in planning can save you five or ten minutes in execution;
Apply the 80/20 Rule to everything: Twenty percent of your activities will account for eighty percent of your results. Always concentrate your efforts on that top twenty percent;
Consider the consequences: Your most important tasks and priorities are those that can have the most serious consequences, positive or negative, on your life or work. Focus on these above all else;
Practice the ABCDE Method continually: Before you begin work on a list of tasks, take a few moments to organize them by value and priority so you can be sure of working on your most important activities:
Focus on key result areas: Identify and determine those results that you absolutely, positively have to get to do your job well, and work on them all day long;
The Law of Forced Efficiency: There is never enough time to do everything but there is always enough time to do the most important things. What are they?
Prepare thoroughly before you begin: Proper prior preparation prevents poor performance;
Do your homework: The more knowledgeable and skilled you become at your key tasks, the faster you start them and the sooner you get them done;
Leverage your special talents: Determine exactly what it is that you are very good at doing, or could be very good at, and throw your whole heart into doing those specific things very, very well:
Identify your key constraints: Determine the bottlenecks or chokepoints, internally or externally, that set the speed at which you achieve your most important goals and focus on alleviating them;
Take it one oil barrel at a time: You can accomplish the biggest and most complicated job if you just complete it one step at a time;
Put the pressure on yourself: Imagine that you have to leave town for a month and work as if you had to get all your major tasks completed before you left;
Maximize your personal powers: Identify your periods of highest mental and physical energy each day and structure your most important and demanding tasks around these times. Get lots of rest so you can perform at your best;
Motivate yourself into action: Be your own cheerleader. Look for the good in every situation. Focus on the solution rather than the problem. Always be optimistic and constructive;
Practice creative procrastination: Since you can’t do everything, you must learn to deliberately put off those tasks that are of low value so that you have enough time to do the few things that really count;
Do the most difficult task first: Begin each day with your most difficult task, the one task that can make the greatest contribution to yourself and your work, and resolve to stay at it until it is complete:
Slice and dice the task: Break large, complex tasks down into bite sized pieces and then just do one small part of the task to get started;
Create large chunks of time: Organize your days around large blocks of time where you can concentrate for extended periods on your most important tasks;
Develop a sense of urgency: Make a habit of moving fast on your key tasks. Become known as a person who does things quickly and well;
Single handle every task: Set clear priorities, start immediately on your most important task and then work without stopping until the job is 100% complete. This is the real key to high performance and maximum personal productivity.

Your "frog" is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don't do something about it. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.

This is a quick read and a good reminder of how to get past the tasks we don't want to do that are holding us back.

School Restaurant, Toronto, ON

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Thu, 24 May 2012 20:18:00 +0000

After our pedicures, Gord and I went to School for a late lunch/early supper. It's been a few years since we've been there.

It was such a nice day (sunny and 26C) so we sat on the patio.

I ordered the smoky BBQ chicken sandwich and Gord ordered the cheese burger.

Here is my sandwich ... it was delicious and I would order it again.

Here is Gord's cheeseburger ... he said it was good and he would order it again.

Our server suggested Gord try their mojitos ... he did and found it delicious.

The food and service was good ... we'll be back!

Nice One Nails, Toronto, ON

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Gord and I needed a pedicure (we hadn't had one since the end of March).

We walked over to Liberty Village and checked out Nice One Nails.

When we walked in, there were two women sitting at the receptionist's desk ... one was picking at the other's scalp (I have no idea what she was doing). They were very rude and abrupt and told us to sign in and sit down.

There were lots of colours to choose from ... I picked Opi's Wokki Wokki.

Our pedicurists were quick and efficient. They pretty well ignored us and carried on a conversation between themselves.

The price was right ($58 for two pedicures and an eyebrow waxing) but their customer service sucks. I doubt I'd go back.

Book ~ "Remember Me, Irene" (1996) Jan Burke

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:42:00 +0000

From Goodreads ~ In this gripping addition to the Irene Kelly mystery series, a young reporter learns the hard way that a revered figure from her past is not the man she imagined he was.

In an unsettling encounter on the streets of Las Piernas, newspaper reporter Irene Kelly fails to recognize the homeless man who declares, "I'm not who I used to be." Only later does she realize that he had been her favorite instructor back in college -- Lucas Monroe. Once a gifted young academic with a promising future, Lucas needs her help, but he's gone missing. Now his name keeps coming up in association with charges of blackmail and possible homicide. Irene wants to know more but no one is willing to talk. And then she stumbles upon a dead body ...

This is the fourth book in the series of eleven (as of 2011) ... I'm rereading the series.

I found this one to be just okay, not great. There were a lot of characters and I had a hard time keeping them all straight ... so I gave up and focused on the main ones.

It's been a while since I'd read this one so didn't remember anything about it but it didn't take me long to figure out what happened to a couple of the key characters.

Considering it was written and set in the mid 1990s, it's funny to read about the reporters having to wear beepers ... do they still exist? And "cellular" phones were used sparingly because of their high cost.

Mont Tremblant ... last day

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:09:00 +0000

Today was Sister Sarah and my last day in Mont Tremblant.

We headed up to the top of the mountain one last time.

It was quiet ... there was no line-up for the gondola. Up up up!

There weren't many on top of the mountain. No waiting for seats. Sweet!

Here is Sister Sarah ...

Here's me!

The view from the top ...

The black flies were crazy, though. Here's Sister Sarah in action swatting them.

The black flies won and we didn't spend too much time on the mountain.

Our last ride back down to the village ...

Alas, it was time to head home. Here I am getting on my plane waving good-bye to Sister Sarah (her plane left 15 minutes after mine).

Le Sommet des Neiges Tremblant, Mont Tremblant, QC

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Our home-away-from-home while we've been in Mont Tremblant (from May 19 'til today) was Le Sommet des Neiges.

I had looked at different hotels before I booked in January. This one caught my eye because I could get a two bedroom suite at a decent price and the outdoor salt water pool and hot tub would be open on the weekend.

Here is my bathroom. The tub was awesome ... really really deep and I had a couple baths.

Here is my bedroom (the bathroom was ensuite).

Here is Sister Sarah's bedroom.

Here is Sister Sarah's bathroom (it was next to her bedroom).

Here is the living room/dining room with a balcony.

There was a full kitchen.

The only thing I found lacking was that there was no a desk ... everyone travels with a laptop these days but there was no place comfortable to use it. I ended up sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table.

This is the view from our balcony when we got here Saturday afternoon.

The suite was comfortable and there was plenty of room for the two of us.

Here is the library in the lobby downstairs.

There is a charge for Internet. It's provided through an outside company and is about $12/night. There is no business centre in the hotel so we'll have to print our flight tickets at the airport.

Parking is underground and about $12/night.

The outdoor saltwater pool and hot tub were supposed to be open this weekend. I had emailed the hotel during the weekend asking for confirmation, which I got. It was also on the reminder they sent during the week. We discovered that the pool won't be opening 'til next weekend (the hot tub is open year round). We weren't pleased with this since I had booked an extra day here so we could have a relaxing pool day. To compensate, they gave us passes for Amerispa a couple blocks away.

There is a washer and dryer in the suite. We discovered that the washer was broken. The hotel gave us the key to the suite next door so we could use their washer and do our laundry.

This hotel is at the top of the resort village. The walk to the gondola to get to the top of the mountain is just next door. There are lots of restaurants within walking distance. It was crazy busy over the weekend (a long weekend) and was quiet since then ... restaurants were closing about 9pm. During the summer and winter it's a lot busier. There is a liquor store and a grocery store (that sells liquor) a couple blocks away.

I'd stay at this hotel again.

Casey's Grill Bar, Mont Tremblant, QC

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Wed, 23 May 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Sister Sarah and I had supper tonight at Casey's Grill Bar. Most restaurants are closed during the week since it's off season. And since Sister Sarah doesn't eat meat, I thought they would have a wide variety for both of us.

Sister Sarah ordered Chicken Penne, without the chicken (she doesn't eat meat). She said it was good (it looked good ... I was sorry I hadn't ordered it).

I ordered garlic bread with cheese and chicken wings. The bottom of the garlic bread was really hard ... I banged it on the plate and it made a loud noise. I just ate the topping and even that wasn't good.

I like hot wings. Pat, our server, said that hot wings are hot so I ordered medium ... medium was more mild.

They weren't fresh and were overdone ... not good at all.

Our food came out about five minutes after we ordered it ... that's never a good sign.

When Pat finally checked on us about 10 minutes after we were done (and our plates were still sitting on the table), I told him about the garlic bread, banged it on my plate and he had it taken off our bill. I asked him for our bill at the same time ... 15 minutes later I had to ask his manager for it since we hadn't received it.

Not a good experience at all and there's no way I'd recommend this place.

La Source, Mont Tremblant, QC

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:09:00 +0000

One of the attractions of staying at our hotel was that there is an outdoor salt water pool and hot tub ... and they were going to open this past weekend.

Whoohoo!

When we got here, we discovered that it's actually not opening 'til next weekend.

Boo!

To compensate us, our hotel gave us passes to La Source , which is a couple blocks away, so we could use their pool and hot tub. Excellent gesture!

Sister Sarah checked it out yesterday for a couple hours ... she loves pools and hot tubs.

We spent a couple hours there this afternoon. There were only a handful of people there.

Here is the pool.

Here we are in the outdoor hot tub ... Sister Sarah and I.

I headed back to our hotel to soak in the tub. Sister Sarah wasn't finished and was in the indoor hot tub when I left.

Made in France, Mont Tremblant, QC

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:14:00 +0000

As we were walking around Mont Tremblant today, it was raining. Boo!

Sister Sarah got wet!

We stopped in at Made in France ... I didn't want to go home without having a French chocolate croissant.

Here is my croissant ... it was tasty with my glass of milk!

Sedat Le Coq Chantant, Mont Tremblant, QC

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:58:00 +0000

Sister Sarah and I drove into the village of Mont Tremblant this morning (about 13km from the Mont Tremblant resort area where we are staying).

We had breakfast at Sedat Le Coq Chantant.

It's a family style restaurant.

We sat on the patio.

Sister Sarah ordered eggs, potatoes, toast and fruit. She said it was good and ate everything but the melon.

I ordered the Coq Chon which also came with potatoes, toast and fruit.

I'm not a traditional breakfast eater but I like having one every now and then. This was good and I ate it all (including Sister Sarah's melon).

It's a great spot for breakfast!

We walked around for a bit before heading back to the hotel.

Here's Sister Sarah calling you!

Spag & Co., Mont Tremblant, QC

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Tue, 22 May 2012 00:41:00 +0000

Sister Sarah and I had supper tonight at Spag & Co.

We sat on the patio ... they also have a large restaurant space inside.

We ordered an order of garlic bread with cheese to start ... but it came with our meal.

I ordered Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Sister Sarah ordered Spaghetti Primavera.

Mine was good ... it could have been hotter. It seemed like they weren't brought out when they were ready. Sister Sarah said hers was good ... she would have liked more sauce. The portions were HUGE.

Here we are just before we left.

Virginie was our server and she took good care of us.

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:41:00 +0000

Climbing up Mont Tremblant, QC

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Mon, 21 May 2012 18:54:00 +0000

After Sister Sarah did the luge, we started walking up the mountain. We had no intention of getting the top ... it's 6km of steep climbing and takes two hours. We had a goal in mind.

Here's the view as we started off.

We came upon this rock just before we went onto a path in the woods.

The gondolas were going by above us.

It was sunny and 29C ... and we were hot. We spent some time by this stream.

I practiced slowing down the shutter speed. This picture is with a fast shutter speed.

And then I slowed it down.

It was nice to stick our feet in the water to cool down.

Off we went again following the path through the woods.

We came upon this waterfall and spent some time here in the water ... so refreshing!

We started walking again. Our goal was to get to this small patch of snow.

Sister Sarah climbed (and slid) up the snow pile.

This is how high we'd gone ... it was quite a steep climb! We were above where we'd luged.

Then we headed back down again ... here's the view.

We stopped in at the waterfall again and cooled down by walking in the water.

Excellent walk!

Luging in Mont Tremblant, QC

noreply@blogger.com (Teena in Toronto) — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:30:00 +0000

After brunch, Sister Sarah and I headed to the top of the village to the luge.

Along the way, Sister Sarah met a new friend.

Some info ...

1.4 km long track
24 corners to navigate
Average 1st time ride of 7 minutes

We had to wear a helmet.

To get to the top, we had to take an open gondola. Eeek!

Up up up!

Great view once we got there!

Reading the rules ...

You get a quick lesson. Pulling back is the brakes but doing it gently. Got it!

I cruised down the hill. Sister Sarah was a bit behind me. Here she is coming in to the end.

Great fun! Thanks for suggesting it, Sister Sarah!