beautybox five - September 2016

My September beautybox five arrived today.

Beauty Box 5 is a subscription-based, beauty sampling service that delivers 5 deluxe samples and full-sized products right to your door every month.

Subscriptions are $12US a month or $99US for a year.  Shipping is free.

Here's what was inside ...

• Simple Skincare Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes - 8 wipes - $2.64 value - I like them.
• Be a Bombshell Smooth Criminal HD Finishing Powder - $7 value
• Go Smile Teeth Whitening Gel - 0.5oz - $4.14 value
• Pur~Lisse Blue Lotus Essential Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 - 0.5oz - $16.50 value
• Happy Brands Happy Hair Turban - $18 value

Value = $48.28US

Knitted dish cloth

I finished knitting a dish cloth tonight.  I like making them because they are a fast project.

I used Red Heart's Scrubby yarn and the colour is Grape.

I used Scrubby yarn ... I find it works really well for dishcloths because once the dishcloth is finished, it has a rough "scrubby" texture which will be great for washing dishes.  Yarn Canada has a really great selection of colours (that's where I got this one)

Red Heart has lots of patterns on their site for knitting and crocheting and I used this one.  It's fast and easy. I used 40 grams (the ball was 100 grams).

• Cast on 30 stitches.
• Rows 1-6: Knit.
• Row 7: Knit 3, purl 24, knit 3.
• Row 8: Knit.
• Repeat Rows 7-8 until piece measures 6” [15 cm] from beginning, end with Row 8. 
• Repeat Rows 1-6.
• Bind off.
• Weave in ends.

meowbox - September 2016

Morgan and Crumpet's September meowbox arrived this week.

meowbox is a cat subscription box full of surprises, delivered to your door every month. Your meowbox is brimming with yummy cat treats and fun cat toys, specially selected for quality and uniqueness, to cater to your cat’s discriminating taste. 

We carefully research and select items that are high quality and unique. We pick food and treats that are either made with natural ingredients, are tasty, nutritious, grain-free, organic or locally made. You won’t find just the regular run-of-the-mill stuff in your meowbox. Our goal is to excite kitty and put a smile on your face. 

The cost is $22.95 a month and shipping is free.

We believe that if we have the opportunity to give, then we should share what we have. This philosophy comes packaged neatly within the heart of every meowbox. For every meowbox you buy, we give a can of food (or monetary equivalent) to a shelter cat on your behalf. One box can make a difference.

This month, Holistic Select has provided them with cans of grain-free cat food for kitties in need and Morgan and Crumpet's donation is being sent to the Kitten Lady in Mount Rainier, MD.

Here's what they received ...

The card was designed by Emma Wickham

Morgan took to the Johnny Stick right away.

Book ~ "100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings: How to Get By Without Even Trying" (2016) Sarah Cooper

From Goodreads ~ From the creator of the viral sensation "10 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings" comes the must-have book you never knew you needed, "100 Tricks to Appear Smart in Meetings". In it, you will learn how to appear smart in less than half the time it takes to actually learn anything.

You know those subtle tricks your coworkers are all guilty of? The constant nodding, pretend concentration, useless rhetorical questions? These tricks make them seem like they know what they’re doing when in fact they have no clue. This behavior is so ingrained, so subtle, and so often mistaken for true intelligence that identifying it, calling it out, or compiling it into an exhaustive digest has never been attempted. Until now.

Complete with illustrated tips, examples, and scenarios, 100 Tricks gives you actionable ways to use words like “actionable,” in order to sound smart. Every type of meeting is covered, from general meetings where you stopped paying attention almost immediately, to one-on-one meetings you zoned out on, to impromptu meetings you were painfully subjected to at the last minute. It’s all here.

If you hadn’t noticed these behaviors before, you will see them now - from your colleagues, your managers, and soon yourself. Each trick is a mirror to the reality of what happens in meetings, told in the form of hilariously bad advice - advice that you might just want to take. But probably not. But maybe. 

I attend a lot of meetings ... in fact, I conduct a lot of meetings.  So I knew this book would be helpful to me because ... well, I want to appear smarter in meetings.

The book is divided into three parts:

1. Setting the stage - entering a conference room, 10 key strategies for appearing smart in general meetings, 21 meaningless diagrams to draw on whiteboards, one to convince your coworker that you care, and more
2. Core conversation - owning the conference room, how to make your meeting seem less like a meeting even though it's totally a meeting, how to nail a big pitch by not saying much of anything, and more
3. Next steps - leaving a conference room, how to build relationships with people you'll never see again, what to do with your hands during a networking event, and more

The book is funny and sarcastic.  Obviously some things can't be done without getting fired but some things I think could be possible ... if nothing else for the amusement of yourself in a boring meeting and to see what you can actually get away with.

Here are some examples ...

This my favourite ... I can't wait to try it!

Book ~ "Canada Year by Year" (2016) Elizabeth MacLeod and Sydney Smith

From Goodreads ~ Award-winning author Elizabeth MacLeod's year-by-year tour of Canada's fascinating history highlights a single milestone for every year from the country's founding in 1867 up to its 150th anniversary in 2017. 

Divided into ten distinct eras, coverage ranges from politics, sports, business and arts and culture, and includes significant events both at home and in world affairs. A few examples:

• 1881 - A railway across Canada is begun
• 1893 - The Stanley Cup is first awarded in hockey
• 1908 - Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables is published
• 1947 - Oil is discovered in Alberta
• 2015 - Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau is elected prime minister

Along with the featured stories for each of the 150 years, the pages are filled with sidebars - with content such as short biographies, quotes, important firsts and trivia - that are linked to that year.  There are also 39 capsule biographies of noteworthy Canadians at the back of the book. 

The topics chosen offer an inclusive historical perspective, incorporating women, Aboriginal peoples and people with disabilities into Canada's rich and diverse narrative. 

Illustrations by awarding-winning artist Sydney Smith bring a contemporary feel to the stories of the past. 

This book provides chunks of information about Canada, for 150 years starting in 1867 right up to 2017.  The sections are:

• Introduction:  a country is born
• A new country: 1867-84
• Canada grows:  1885-99
• A new century:  1900-1913
• Wartime and beyond:  1944-28
• The great depressions:  1929-38
• Return to war:  1939-53
• Boom years:  1954-66
• Happy birthday!:  1967-79
• The digital age:  1980-99
• A new millennium:  2000-17
• Great Canadians

The book chooses one topic to highlight every year since 1867 and covers in politics, sports, entertainment, people, space, wars, nationalities, etc.  There are also side notes for some years.  The year I was born discusses the changes in immigration laws (you don't have to have a sponsor but could live here if you  have the required education, skill or other qualifications).

Though it is written for children, I found this book interesting and not childish or immature.  The tidbits were short enough to keep my attention but told me enough.  The accompanying drawings were cute.

Black Swan Brewing Co., Stratford, ON

Gord and I enjoy craft beer and we discovered that there is a brewery in Stratford we'd never heard of or been to called Black Swan.  They opened almost two years ago.

We usually go to the Stratford Festival a couple times over the summer and take the train home ... Black Swan is on the way to the train station.  But I didn't go last year to the festival and Gord went a couple times but took the Stratford Festival bus home rather than the train.

We are taking the train home tonight so stopped in along the way.

They brew their beer onsite.

Mercer Hall, Stratford, ON

Gord and I had supper this evening at Mercer Hall on Ontario Street.  We've never been there ... they recently renovated and we liked what we saw.

It was raining when we got there so we sat inside rather than on the patio.  When we left, the sun was shining.

The music was good

"A Chorus Line", Stratford Festival, Stratford, ON

Gord and I went to Stratford today (about two hours away) to see a play at the Stratford Festival.

We caught the 10am Stratford Festival bus from downtown Toronto (it's a great deal for about $15 including tax) and took the 9pm ViaRail train home (which is more expensive and left an hour late at 10pm) ... going forward I'll be inclined to take the bus down and back.

The play was at the Festival Theatre on Queen Street.

Here's the warning that the play will begin shortly.

The Hub, Stratford, ON

Gord and I had lunch today at The Hub on Market Street ... they just opened a couple months ago.

It's a nice bright open space

Boomerluxe Box - September 2016

My September Boomerluxe deluxe box arrived today.

Five fun, unique and useful full size items.

Product categories include fashion, cosmetic, beauty, wellness and lifestyle items just for you.

An introduction to one or more emerging products that you won’t find on the shelves of your local drug store through our Women Helping Women mandate.

Each box is valued at well over your cost.

Subscriptions are $34.99  (plus shipping) for one month or $199.98 (plus shipping) for six months.  Their new mini box launches this month for $19.99 plus shipping (10% off using the promo code "Inaugural" at the checkout).

This month's theme is Just for you and the girls.

Here's what I received ...

Trius wine club - September 2016

Our September Trius wine club box arrived today.

Gord and I have been members of the Trius Wine Club for over ten years.

Every month, 2 bottles of our best wine will be delivered to your door along with Winemaker Craig McDonald’s tasting notes and Executive Chef Frank Dodd’s recipes.

The cost is $46 a month and it's only available in Ontario.

Here is the newsletter ...

Here is what we received ...

• Trius Cabernet Sauvignon (2015) - $14.95
• Trius Showcase Late Harvest Vidal (2015) - $24.95 - the recipes included it's paired with is Summer Fruit and Yoghurt Popsicles and Jerked Spiced Baked Ham

Book ~ "The Underground Railroad" (2016) Colson Whitehead

From Goodreads ~ Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hellish for all slaves but Cora is an outcast even among her fellow Africans, and she is coming into womanhood; even greater pain awaits. 

Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her of the Underground Railroad and they plot their escape. Like Gulliver, Cora encounters different worlds on each leg of her journey. 

This is the story of Cora, who is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia in the early 1800s.  Her mother abandoned her (ran away) when she was young, making her a "stray".  She grew up as an odd one and never tried to fit in.  Randall, the plantation owner, is mean and sadistic as is Connolly, the overseer.  Slaves are abused and beaten often.

When Caesar arrives on the plantation, he convinces Cora to escape with him.  He has made a connection with someone who will transport them on the underground railroad to freedom.  And off they go.  They are being hunted by Ridgeway, a slave tracker who is still mad that he was never able to catch and bring back Cora's mother all those years ago.

This book caught my attention because it's Oprah's 2016 selection for her book club.  And I thought the subject matter would be interesting.  But I was disappointed.  I've never read a book by this author before and I found his writing awkward and hard to read ... not my style, I guess.  The story jumped around between characters and periods in time.  I usually don't mind this but I found it confusing in this book as the author didn't do it very well.  Horrible things happen to the characters in this book but I didn't find myself drawn to them.  Had Cora been more normal, maybe I would have cared more.  Towards the end, I found myself skipping through the book rather than reading it.  As a head's up, there are graphic descriptions of violence.

Once Cora and Caesar got to the underground railway, they actually got on a train under the ground.  What?!  I wondered how I didn't realize the underground railroad was like a subway and marveled at the tremendous amount of work that must have been done to have all these secret tunnels under houses, barns, etc.  All these years I thought it was just term and that slaves were transported secretly in wagons, etc.  So, of course, I checked it out and discovered that I had been right all along and that the author had made up the subway-like train system.  Why would he do that?!  I thought it trivialized everything slaves had gone through.  Why not stick with the truth?

I wouldn't recommend this book.

Knitted dish cloth

I knitted a dish cloth tonight.  I like making them because they are a fast project.

I used Red Heart's Scrubby yarn and the colour is Candy.

I've never used Scrubby yarn before and I'd use it again.  I found it works really well for dishcloths because once the dishcloth was finished, it has a rough "scrubby" texture which will be great for washing dishes.  Yarn Canada has a really great selection of colours (that's where I got this one).

Red Heart has lots of patterns on their site for knitting and crocheting.  But because I've never worked with this yarn before, I used a pattern that I've done many times using cotton yarn.  It's fast and easy. I used 60 grams (the ball was 85 grams).

• Cast on 4 stitches.
• Knit 2, YO, Knit to end.
• Turn work.
• Knit 2, YO, Knit to end.
• Turn work.
• Keep doing this over and over and over and over and over until there are 44 stitches (or add more if you want ... the more you end up with, the bigger the dish cloth)
• Knit 1, K2tog, YO, K1, K2tog, knit to end.
• Turn work.
• Knit 1, K2tog, YO, K1, K2tog, knit to end.
• Turn work.
• Keep doing this over and over and over and over and over.
• Cast off the final 4 stitches.