Teena in Toronto

Thursday, 26 July 2018

Happy birthday to me!

Many years ago today ... at 2:12pm ... I made my arrival into the world at the Grace Maternity Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Here I am at my first birthday party ... celebrating with cake and a washing machine. Good times!

Happy 16th anniversary to Gord and I!

Ken (Gord's son), me, Gord and Sister Sarah

July 26, 2002 ~ 5:30pm

City Hall, Toronto, ON

Wednesday, 25 July 2018

Book ~ "Blue Christmas" (2006) Mary Kay Andrews

From Goodreads ~ It's the week before Christmas and antiques dealer Weezie Foley is in a frenzy to do up her shop for the Savannah historical district window decorating contest - which she intends to win. She throws herself into putting up a Graceland/Blue Christmas motif, with lots of tinsel, an aluminum tree, and all kinds of tacky retro stuff. The project takes up so much time that Weezie is ready to shoot herself with her glue gun by the time she's done, but the results are stunning. She's sure she's one-upped the owners of the trendy shop around the corner. But suddenly, things go missing from Weezie's display, and there seems to be a mysterious midnight visitor to her shop.

Still, Weezie has high hopes for the holiday - maybe in the form of an engagement ring from her chef boyfriend. But Daniel, always moody at the holidays, seems more distant than usual.

Throw in Weezie's decidedly odd family, a 1950s Christmas tree pin, and even a little help from the King himself, and maybe there will be a pocketful of miracles for Weezie this Christmas eve.

Weezie is an antiques pickers. She has been dating Daniel, a chef, for a while. Weezie love love loves Christmas and Daniel does not but he doesn't want to talk about why. There is a contest to decorate store fronts and Weezie is determines to win and picks the theme of a blue Christmas for hers.

In the meantime, funny things are happening to Weezie. When her dog, Jethro, get loose, someone returns him. Food is stolen from her fridge in her kitchen. Someone is leaving her gifts in her truck. A woman is seen sleeping in her store display.

This is the fifth book I've read by this author (it is the third in the Weezie and BeBe Mystery Series ... I read the first couple in the last week) and I liked it ... it was a light read. It works well as a stand alone and you don't have to read the first ones to know what's going on (the focus is more on Weezie in this one). I liked the writing style. It is written in first person perspective in Weezie's voice. There are recipes included at the end of the book. As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

I look forward to reading authors by this author.

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Book ~ "Savannah Breeze" (2006) Mary Kay Andrews

From Goodreads ~ Southern belle BeBe Loudermilk loses all her worldly possessions thanks to a brief but disastrous relationship with the gorgeous Reddy, an “investment counselor” who turns out to be a con man. All that’s left is a ramshackle 1950s motor court on Tybee Island - an eccentric beach town that calls itself a drinking village with a fishing problem.

Breeze Inn is a place where the very classy BeBe wouldn’t normally be caught dead but, with no alternative, she moves into the manager’s unit, vowing to make magic out of mud. The work is grueling, especially dealing with the cantankerous caretaker, a fishing captain named Harry who’s trying to earn enough dough to get his boat out of hock. With the help of Harry and BeBe’s junking friend, Weezie, she soon has the motel spiffed up and attracting paying guests.

Then there’s a sighting of Reddy in Fort Lauderdale, and BeBe decides to go after him. She puts together a posse, and with the irrepressible Granddaddy Loudermilk snoring in the backseat of the Buick, heads south. The plan is to carry out a sting that may be just a little bit outside the law but that, with any luck at all, will retrieve BeBe’s fortune and put the dastardly Reddy in jail where he belongs. And maybe Harry, who’s looking more hunky every day, will finally get his boat back.

BeBe is a successful businesswoman, owning an upscale restaurant and some rental properties in Savannah. She's busy enough as it is but then her grandmother gets sick and lands in the hospital, leaving Bebe's grandfather alone to take care of himself. Bebe is stressed out and being pulled in so many directions when she meets Reddy. He takes a lot of pressure off her by taking on some of her responsibilities.

Then Bebe discovers Reddy has stolen everything (apparently legally) from her ... she loses her house (and all it's contents including her clothes, jewelry, etc.), her rental properties, her bank account and even her grandparents' investments. All she has left is a rundown motel outside the city, which she hadn't even bought. With nowhere else to go, she moves into the motel. There she meets Harry, the manager of the motel, who seems just as raggedy and worn out as the motel. To earn a living until she figures things out, she renovates the motel as cheaply and creatively (thanks to her best friend, Weezie, an antiques picker) as possible with the eventual goal of selling it to a condo developer who wants it for the land.

Bebe is determined to find Reddy and make him pay for what he's done to her. She wants revenge and her money and stuff back.

This is the fourth book I've read by this author (it is the second in the Weezie and BeBe Mystery Series ... I read the first one last week) and I liked it. It works well as a stand alone and you don't have to read the first one to know what's going on (the focus is more on Bebe in this one than Weezie). I liked the writing style. It is written in first person perspective in Bebe and Weezie's voice. There are recipes included at the end of the book. As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

I found the characters likable ... Bebe's grandparents, especially her grandfather, are a hoot. I found it hard believe, though, that a businesswoman as successful as Bebe would allow herself to be cleaned out as she had. Yes, she was under enormous pressure but I doubt anyone would have been as trusting as she was with Reddy, a fella she had just randomly met. But I let it go and went with the story.

I look forward to reading the next one in this series.

Monday, 23 July 2018

Book ~ "Works Well with Others: An Outsider's Guide to Shaking Hands, Shutting Up, Handling Jerks, and Other Crucial Skills in Business That No One Ever Teaches You" (2015) Ross McCammon

From Goodreads ~ Ten years ago, before he got a job at Esquire magazine and way before he became the etiquette columnist at Entrepreneur magazine, Ross McCammon, editor at an in-flight magazine, was staring out a second-floor window at a parking lot in suburban Dallas wondering if it was five o’clock yet. Everything changed with one phone call from Esquire. Three weeks later, he was working in New York and wondering what the hell had just happened.

This is McCammon’s honest, funny and entertaining journey from impostor to authority, a story that begins with periods of debilitating workplace anxiety but leads to rich insights and practical advice from a guy who “made it” but who still remembers what it’s like to feel entirely ill-equipped for professional success. And for life in general, if we’re being completely honest. McCammon points out the workplace for what it is: an often absurd landscape of ego and fear guided by social rules that no one ever talks about. He offers a mix of enlightening and often self-deprecating personal stories about his experience and clear, practical advice on getting the small things right - crucial skills that often go unacknowledged - from shaking a hand to conducting a business meeting in a bar to navigating a work party.

Here is an inspirational new way of looking at your job, your career, and success itself; an accessible guide for those of us who are smart, talented, and ambitious but who aren’t well-“leveraged” and don’t quite feel prepared for success ... or know what to do once we’ve made it.

Ross McCammon is an editor at GQ magazine and the business etiquette columnist at Entrepreneur magazine. When he wrote this book, he was a senior editor at Esquire magazine (from 2005 to 2016), where he was responsible for the magazine’s coverage of pop culture, drinking, cars and etiquette.

The author starts by telling us a little bit about himself and how he ended up at Esquire. Then he proceeds to tell you everything you need to know to be a professional and to work well with others. This includes how to act in an interview, being the new guy, partying with your colleagues, shaking hands, eye contact, writing an email (short and to the point), behaving in a meeting (no need to give too much information), your social media presence, swearing, handling jerks and pricks and more. I liked the two beer puppy test.

I liked the writing style. Rather than being a dry and boring business book, I liked the author's humour. The chapters are short and snappy. I knew most of the things the author covered but it was a good reminder. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Buffalo Wild Wings, Windsor, ON

I had an early supper this afternoon at Buffalo Wild Wings in the Devonshire Mall.

The lounge side

I sat on the dining room side

There were lots of flavours of wings to choose from ... I got mine with lemon pepper spice. I got Ranch dressing (rather than blue cheese) for my carrots. The wings were good. They were salty, peppery and lemony. I'd get them again.

Olde School Deli & Cafe, Essex, ON

I had lunch today at Olde School Deli & Cafe. It opened in November in a former kindergarten room in a renovated school which is now mostly a medical centre. The library and police station are right next door.

Holiday Inn & Suites Windsor (Ambassador Bridge), Windsor, ON

I have enrolment seminars to conduct today so spent last night at the Holiday Inn & Suites Windsor (Ambassador Bridge). It's about 15 minutes from downtown/waterfront.

Here was my room ...

Grill 55, Windsor, ON

I had supper this evening at Grill 55.

The dining room

I sat on the lounge side

I felt like something snacky so ordered wings with medium sauce. I swapped the blue cheese dipping sauce for ranch sauce. The wings were okay.

O'Maggio's Kildare House, Windsor, ON

I had lunch today at O'Maggio's Kildare House.

According to a sign outside, it's been around since 1880. I asked Sarah, my server, about that. She said that up until it about 20 years ago, it operated as a B&B, when it was turned into a pub. When I checked their website for more details about the history, I was surprised they didn't provide any.

I sat in this cute room

Liberty Commons at Big Rock Brewery, Toronto, ON

After the Wolfpack game, Gord and I had supper at Liberty Commons in Liberty Village.

It was a nice evening and we sat on the patio.

Toronto Wolfpack 52, Rochdale Hornets 10, Lamport Stadium, Toronto, ON

The Toronto Wolfpack RLFC is a Canadian professional rugby league club, based in here Toronto, which competes in the British Rugby Football League system. In 2018 the club is competing in the Championship, having begun to play in 2017 in League 1 and won a promotion in its inaugural season. The club is noted as being the first North American team to play in the Rugby Football League system, the first fully professional rugby league team in Canada and the world's first transatlantic rugby league team. Their home stadium is Lamport Stadium (aka "The Den"), which is just a couple blocks from where we live.

Today the Wolfpack were playing the Rochdale Hornets ... it was the top against bottom in the Betfred Championship.

Here are Gord and I before the game began ...

The Wolfpack players huddled during their practice.

Here come the Wolfpack players!

Book ~ "Savannah Blues" (2002) Mary Kay Andrews

From Goodreads ~ Landing a catch like Talmadge Evans III got Eloise “Weezie” Foley a jewel of a town house in Savannahs historic district. Divorcing Tal got her exited to the backyard carriage house, where she has launched a spite-fest with Tal’s new fiancée, the elegant Caroline DeSantos.

An antiques picker, Weezie combs Savannah’s steamy back alleys and garage sales for treasures when she’s not dealing with her loopy relatives or her hunky ex-boyfriend. But an unauthorized sneak preview at a sale lands Weezie smack in the middle of magnolia-scented murder, mayhem ... and more.

Dirty deals simmer all around her - just as her relationship with the hottest chef in town heats up and she finds out how delicious love can be the second time around.

Weezie had been married to Tal for about ten years. Then he had an affair with Caroline, broke up with Weezie and is now engaged to Caroline. During the divorce proceedings, Tal ended up getting their house (and moved Caroline in) and Weezie fought for and got their carriage house, which is in the same yard. Needless to say, there is a lot of tension.

Weezie is an antiques picker ... she goes to estate sales and thrift shops looking for gems and reselling them to make a profit. During one estate sale, Weezie discovers a dead body and is suspected of the murder. Her lawyer is her uncle James, a former priest with a secret of his own.

In the meantime, Daniel, Weezie's boyfriend from high school, arrives back in town, working as the chef in her best friend, BeBe's restaurant, and he pursues her.

This is the third book I've read by this author (it is the first in the Weezie and BeBe Mystery Series) and I liked it. I liked the writing style. There is a lot going on but it moves at a good pace. It is written in first person perspective in Weezie's voice and third person perspective in James' voice. I found the characters likable. As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I look forward to reading the next one in this series.

Tuesday, 17 July 2018

Burrito Boyz, Toronto, ON (Adelaide W)

Gord, Trish, Shawna and I saw Skyscraper this evening (it was far fetched but entertaining). Before the movie, we met for supper at Burrito Boyz. I think Burrito Boyz make the best burritos!

I ordered what I always order ... a large chicken burrito. I got rice, a couple kinds of beans, tomatoes, salsa, corn and burrito sauce on it. As always, it was delicious! I ordered a large one with the intent to take half home for lunch tomorrow but that didn't happen. Gord also got a chicken burrito and said his was good too.

Topbox - July 2018

My July Topbox arrived today.

For only $12 a month, you will receive a Topbox with 4 carefully selected, indulgent, beauty products. Then test the products in the comfort of your own home.