Book ~ "No Questions Asked" (2020) Julie Moffett

From Goodreads ~ Lexi Carmichael: saving scientists one snake at a time.

Weddings aren’t my thing - never have been. But eloping would break my mother’s heart, especially since the president of the United States put in a good word for me with his daughter’s wedding planner. I’m going to have the wedding of the year ... whether I like it or not.

Before we can say I do, Slash and I are flying off to the Brazilian rain forest. Our mission: stop hackers from stealing a vaccine that could save millions of lives. I thought it’d be easy but from the moment we step off the plane, I’m up to my neck in trouble.

After an attack by drug-runners, being kidnapped and discovering that the bad guy is even worse than we’d imagined, I’m pretty sure someone in our group is working for the enemy. And they’re succeeding. I’ll have to use all my geek skills to stop the bad guys if I’m going to make it home in time to tie that knot.

Lexi is a master hacker and director for X-Corp, an intelligence and security company. She is engaged to Slash, who is a government agent and fellow hacker.  Lexi and Slash just want a quiet wedding but that's not going to happen with her mother involved.

A non-profit company has invented a vaccine that could cure malaria and save many lives.  They want to do test trials in the Brazil rain forest but someone is trying to stop that.  It's suspected that someone is trying to hack into the company's system, steal the formula and get it into the market first.  Lexi is known as one of the best in the business so is hired to find out who it is.  Slash has been forced to take a vacation so goes along with Lexi and the rest of the team to Brazil.  It's a welcome way to get away from all the wedding planning.

Of course, nothing goes smoothly and the team comes across drug runners, crooked government officials, pirates, kidnappers and more!

Though this is the twelfth (and latest) in the Lexi Carmichael series, it works as a stand alone.  If you want to know the background, though, you should read the others.  I've like the series and have read them all.

It is written in first person perspective from Lexi's point of view and third person perspective from Slash and other's points of view.  I liked the writing style and there was humour.  In addition to the usual hacking, there was lots of adventure around Brazil.  It's been interesting to watch Lexi grow from being a geek with just one friend, no life and no social skills to not only having close friends, a fiancé with whom she is now living with, but also confidence.

Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail, Toronto, ON

I went for a walk late this afternoon to Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail and back ... I love this park and trail!  It was sunny and warm.

The Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail is 7.5 acres of public green space on a spectacular part of Toronto’s waterfront. Previously a parking lot, it’s now full of life, ready to be enjoyed by morning joggers, picnic-goers, strolling families and everyone in between.

The 1.3 kilometre trail is named in honour of Bill Davis, who was the Premier when Ontario Place first opened in 1971. It’s surrounded by thousands of native trees, plants, flowers and beautiful sedimentary rocks and boulders. Inspired by the Ontario landscape itself, the park was designed in consultation with people from across Ontario, including the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. It’s a breathtaking tribute to our province and a gift to the people who love it.

1. William G. Davis Trail 
2. The Ravine with Moccasin Identifier 
3. The Pavilion 
4. Romantic Garden 
5. Fire Pit 
6. Bluff
7. Summit

Fox & Fiddle, Toronto, ON

After the Toronto Rock game, Gord and I walked to the Fox & Fiddle on York Blvd and had supper.

Gord ordered a chicken stir fry with noodles.  The chicken was breaded so crispy on the outside.  He said it was good and would get it again.

I ordered butter chicken (minus the raita).  It was a good butter chicken ... the sauce was yummy ... and I'd get it again.

Natalia was friendly and chatty and took good care of us.

Toronto Rock 10, Calgary Roughnecks 13, Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

Gord and I are season ticket holders for the Toronto Rock lacrosse team games ... the Rock is a professional lacrosse franchise in the National Lacrosse League (NLL).  This is our seventh year going to the games and our sixth year having seasons tickets.

This afternoon the Rock were hosting the Calgary Roughnecks.

It was Kids' Day (kids got in for free) and there were lots of mascots from other Toronto sports wandering around.

Dog & Bear Pub, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper this evening at the Dog & Bear (Queen W/Dovercourt), which is in our 'hood.

We both ordered the D&B burger.  I got mine with no cheese, onions and lettuce and fries, and Gord got his without tomatoes and a side salad.  It is quite the burger!  So delicious!

The Dirty Bird, Toronto, ON

I had a late lunch today at The Dirty Bird in Kensington Market.

It's a small but popular spot.

I was hungry and ordered the three piece meal and a Diet Coke.  It was okay.   I could taste something hot/spicy on the chicken plus cinnamon.  It took a while so I'm assuming it was cooked to order.

Book ~ "Uninvited: Confessions of a Hollywood Party Crasher" (2019) Adrian Maher

From Goodreads ~ Drawing on more than twenty years of interviews, anecdotes, and personal experiences, "Uninvited: Confessions of a Hollywood Party Crasher" recounts the unique journey of a former Los Angeles Times reporter who, struggling with the collapse of his industry and personal tragedies, falls in with a group of intrepid gatecrashers who routinely pierce Tinseltown’s celebrity party circuit. 

Author Adrian Maher is the first to chronicle this unique subterranean culture in La La Land - a group of social strivers, ambitious outliers, compulsive risk-takers and dysfunctional characters seeking access to a famous and exclusive society from which they’ve been banned. 

"Uninvited" uses all the author’s skills as a veteran reporter, television producer, private investigator, archivist and humorous storyteller to reveal the unseen capers, snafus and mishaps behind Hollywood’s palace gates against a backdrop of America’s fascination with celebrity culture. And it exposes the personal struggles of an adrenaline-addicted gatecrasher facing perpetual moral challenges, physical dangers, and psychological stressors that culminate in near disaster.

Adrian Maher was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and a freelance journalist for some magazines.  He has also written, directed and/or produced documentary television programs.  He was also an event crasher, crashing everything from art shows, awards dinners, film festivals, celebrity parties and more ... this book provides some tales of some of those experiences.

There is apparently a subculture of people who are addicted to crashing events they aren't invited to.  There even is/was a monthly mailing list you could subscribe to for $30.  Event crashers have bags in their cars with various colours of wrist bands, tape, hats, glasses, etc.  They call each other to let each other know where the parties are and what is needed to get in and how to get in.  They are shifty enough to know how to get in through back doors and windows, to blend in with catering staff and how to read a guest list upside down so if asked you can provide a name, and more.

Given the subject matter, I thought it would be a fun book to get a behind the scenes look at crashing parties and events I will never have access to.  Though I did find it interesting, I found the book surprisingly bland.  Maybe it was the writing style? 

By the time I finished reading the book, I thought the crashers were a bit on the sleazy side .. crashing parties instead of buying tickets when possible (especially for charity events), taking swag bags they weren't entitled to and eating and drinking fine foods.

Luxe Box - March 2020

I received an email from American Express (I have an Amex card) a couple weeks ago with a special offer ... a Luxe Box for $20 (free shipping).

LUXE BOX has curated a gift box that includes three (3) full-size beauty products and four (4) deluxe samples all in a specially designed gift box delivered right to your front door.

My Luxe Box arrived today  ...

Here's what I received ...

• MaskerAide Sweet Treat Hydrating Dessert Mini Masks - $7 value
• Benefit They're Real! Lengthening Mascara - $17 value
• Smashbox Be Legendary Liquidary Lip - $14 value
• Morgan Taylor Don't Let the Frost Bite nail lacquer - $7.44 value
• Floss. Eyeshadow My Everyday Eyeshadow in Tokyo - $16 value
• Alo Fruits & Passion Whipped Body Cream (Grapefruit Guava) - $3.38 value
• MannaKadar Beauty 3-in-1 Contour Shadow and Blush (Tosh) 

Total value:  $64.82 (minus the MannaKadar producct)

Quarterly and annual subscriptions are available (shipping is free).

Knitted dish cloth

I finished knitting a dish cloth using cotton yarn I'd started last week before I got distracted learning how to knit slippers.

Cast on 43 stitches.

Row 1:  *P3, K1*, P3
Row 2:  K3, *P1, K3*
Row 3:  *P1, K1, P2*, P1, K1, P1
Row4:  K1, P1, K1, *K2, P1, K1*

Repeat rows 1 to 4 until the dish cloth until desired length.

Bind off and weave in loose ends.

Knitted slippers

I knitted a pair of slippers yesterday and this evening.  I had knitted these slippers last week (I'd found the pattern here).  I used that pattern again but made some changes.

I used a bulky yarn (5) and a 6.5mm needle and made a large size slipper.

Sizes:
To fit lady’s shoe size 5/6 (7/8 - 9/10).

Finished Foot length
Small 5/6 - 9" (23 cm)
Medium 7/8 - 9½" (24 cm)
Large 9/10 - 10½" (26.5 cm)

Abbreviations:
Beg = Beginning
Inc = Increase 1 stitch by knitting into front and back of next stitch
K = Knit
K2tog = Knit next 2 stitches together
Rep = Repeat
Rem = Remaining
RS = Right side
St(s) = Stitch(es)
WS = Wrong side

Instructions:
Note: The instructions are written for smallest size. If changes are necessary for larger sizes the instructions will be written thus ( ).

• Beg at back, cast on 2 sts.
• 1st row: (RS). Knit.
• 2nd row: Inc 1 st in first st. K1.
• 3rd and 4th rows: Knit.
• 5th row: Inc 1 st in first st. Knit to end of row.
• Rep 3rd to 5th rows 4 times more. 8 sts.
• Next 2 rows: Cast on 10 sts. Knit to end of row. 28 sts after 2nd row. 

Work in garter st (knit every row) until work from marked row, measures 4½" [11.5 cm].

To avoid having to sew a seam on the top, put knitting on double pointed needles and K1, P1 round and round for a further 3 (3½ - 4)" [7.5 (9 - 10) cm].

Shape toe:

• 1st row: K3. *K2tog. K3. Rep from * to end of row. 23 sts.
• 2nd and 4th rows: Purl.
• 3rd row: K3. *K2tog. K2. Rep from * to end of row. 18 sts.
• 5th row: *K2tog. K1. Rep from * to end of row. 12 sts.
• 6th row: (P2tog) 6 times. 6 sts.
• Break yarn, leaving a long end. Thread end through rem sts and draw up firmly. Fasten securely. Using a flat seam, sew instep to 2nd set of markers.
• Sew edges of back triangle to cast on sts of sides to form heel.
• Sew a pompom to each slipper if desired.

Knitted Temperature Blanket - February 2020

I heard about temperature blankets at the end of last year.  I've never made one before and it sounded like a fun long term project.

The idea of a temperature blanket is to knit or crochet a row (or a number of rows) on a blanket each day for a full calendar year.  The colors used each day correspond with the temperature outside.  The more colours you use to represent temperatures and the more varied the temperatures, the more colourful the blanket.

To be consistent, I chose to use the temperature at noon.  I debated whether to use Toronto's temperatures (regardless of where I am) or the temperatures of where I am (so it's a Teena ~ temperature blanket).  I decided to make a Teena ~ temperature blanket ... it should be interesting to see how it turns out as I travel throughout the year.

I'm using nine colours from Red Heart Comfort and Bernat Cozy Style yarn.

• Blue:  -6C or colder
• Green:  -1C to -5C
• Light purple:  0C to 4C
• Teal:  5C to 9C
• Red:  10C to 14C
• Dark purple:  15C to 19C
• Yellow:  20C to 24C
• Orange:  25C and higher
• Grey:  first and last rows and divider rows between the months

So far, the warmest temperature (red) was 11C in Toronto on January 11 and the coldest (blue) was -10C in Toronto (blue) on February 14.

I cast on 200 stitches.  The first and last five stitches of each row are seed stitches (knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one, knit one).  In between, I'm doing stocking stitch (knitting the odd rows and purling the even rows).  I added two rows of seed stitch at the beginning of the blanket to stop it from curling (stocking stitch does that and I hadn't thought of that when I started).

February

Warmest in February:  9C (teal) in Toronto on February 24
Coldest in February:  -10C (blue) in Toronto on February 14

 January

Warmest in January:  11C (red) in Toronto on January 11
Coldest in January:  -8C (blue) in Montreal on January 21

Belgian Moon, Stackt Market, Toronto, ON

After Gord and I left the Toronto Wolfpack vs. St. Helens RFC viewing party at Northern Maverick Brewing Co., we walked to Stackt Market. 

Stackt Market is on a previously vacant 2.6-acre plot of city-owned land at Front Street and Bathurst Street and has a two-year lease on the land. It opened about a week and a half ago and businesses will fill about 120 containers offering various goods and services. More than one business can operate out of the same container, which range from 140 to 1800 square feet. The market offers leases to tenants ranging from as little as two days to 18 months.

The market was quiet and we went to Belgian Moon, a beer hall, which it was pretty crowded.

Viewing Party: Toronto Wolfpack vs. St. Helens RFC, Northern Maverick Brewing Co., Toronto, ON

Gord and I had lunch today at Northern Maverick Brewing Co. (on Bathurst Street just north of King Street W) ... they were hosting the viewing party of the Toronto Wolfpack vs. St. Helens RFC game in Warrington.  It was Round five of the 2020 Betfred Super League.  The Wolfpack was last in Super League with no wins or ties and four losses.

There was a good crowd.  The lower level holds about 200 people and it was fairly full with Wolfpack fans ... it's a good thing Gord made reservations!  There was a Wolfpack owner and execs in attendance.

Hailey, Lil, Sher and Brittany

13 ounce lagers were $5.