Book ~ "Coffee, Cream Pies, and Crimes" (2023) Harper Lin

From Goodreads ~ Fran's dream of winning the top prize of ten thousand dollars as a contestant on a new TV baking show is quickly shattered when one of the famous judges, Jeremy Johnson, is brutally stabbed in the middle of filming.

As Fran investigates, she uncovers a web of deceit, jealousy and betrayal among the contestants and judges. With tensions high and suspicions swirling, Fran realizes that the murderer could be someone she knows all too well. Can she find the culprit before they strike again? Or will she become the next victim in this deadly game of cooking and killing in Boston?

Francesca is in her mid-thirties and worked in New York for many years in PR.  She moved back home to run the family Italian café in a small town in Massachusetts when her mother passed away a year ago.

Fran is a big fan of baking and cooking competition TV shows. She is surprised when Matt, her boyfriend, enters her into one and she is accepted as one of five contestants. The filming is in Boston and Fran invites Matt along. The hours are long and Matt fills his time hanging out with a friend. There are two judges and the nastier one is found stabbed in his dressing room, which shuts down production maybe for good, as the police investigate.

This is the eleventh in the Cape Bay Cafe Mystery Series (I've read them all) ... it works as a stand alone (you don't have to read the others to know what's going on). It is written in first person perspective in Fran's voice. Matt was a jerk ... Fran didn't have a lot of free time and when she did, he already had made plans with his friend and she wasn't invited along. Considering it was Fran who found the body, you'd think he would be more concerned about her safety and want to spend time with her. The "whodunnit" and ending came together quickly. It was a quick light read. There are recipes at the end.

"Harvey", Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Distillery District, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw Harvey this evening at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Distillery District. 

Harvey is a classic, Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy written by Mary Chase in 1944, in hopes of bringing joy and laughter to a grieving community after WWII. It is the story of Elwood P. Dowd and his imaginary best friend, Harvey, a six-foot tall rabbit. In order to save the family’s reputation, Elwood’s sister, Veta Louise, takes him to a sanitarium. But Elwood eludes the psychiatrists who wish to cure him and make him normal again.

It was presented by George Brown Theatre School. 

It was a fun production! Congrats to the performers! 

Mill Street Brew Pub, Toronto, ON

Before Gord and I saw Harvey, we had supper at Mill Street Brew Pub in the Distillery District.

He had fish and chips (Atlantic haddock, Original Organic Lager batter, house tartar sauce, fries, charred lemon, house salad) and I had buttermilk chicken tenders with plum sauce on the side.  Both were good.

Basketweave Hat

I just finished knitting an adult Basketweave Hat. It’s the first time I’ve done this pattern and I found it on the Yarnspirations website (the pattern for the matching scarf is there too). 

It was easy to knit and the colour is aqua.

With 4.5mm circular needle, cast on 96 sts. Join in round. Place marker for beginning of round.

• 1st rnd: (WS). *K2. P2. Rep from * around.
• Rep last 2 rnd of (K2. P2) ribbing for 3" [7.5 cm].

Change to 5mm circular needle and proceed in pat as follows: 

• 1st and 2nd rnds: *K1. P1. K1. P5. Rep from * around.
• 3rd and 4th rnds: *K1. P1. K5. P1. Rep from * around.
• 5th and 6th rnds: *K1. P5. K1. P1. Rep from * around.
• 7th and 8th rnds: *K5. P1. K1. P1. Rep from * around.
• 9th and 10th rnds: P4. K1. P1. K1. *P5. K1. P1. K1. Rep from * to last st. P1.
• 11th and 12th rnds: K3. P1. K1. P1. *K5. P1. K1. P1. Rep from * to last 2 sts. K2.
• 13th and 14th rnds: P2. K1. P1. K1. *P5. K1. P1. K1. Rep from * to last 3 sts. P3.
• 15th and 16th rnds: (K1. P1) twice. *K5. P1. K1. P1. Rep from *to last 4 sts. K4.
• Rep last 16 rnds of pat once more.

Shape crown

• 1st rnd: *K1. P1. K1. P2tog. P3. Rep from * around. 84 sts.
• 2nd rnd: *K1. P1. K1. P4. Rep from * around. 3rd rnd: *K1. P1. K4. P1. Rep from * around.
• 4th rnd: *K1. P1. K2tog. K2. P1. Rep from * around. 72 sts.
• 5th rnd: *K1. P2tog. P1. K1. P1. Rep from * around. 60 sts
• 6th rnd: *K1. P2. K1. P1. Rep from * around.
• 7th rnd: *K1. P2tog. K1. P1. Rep from * around. 48 sts.
• 8th rnd: *K1. P1. Rep from * around.
• 9th rnd: *ssk. Rep from * around. 24 sts.

Break yarn, leaving a long end. Thread end through remaing sts. Pull tightly. Fasten securely.

Book ~ "Punch, Pastries, and Poison" (2021) Harper Lin

From Goodreads ~ Fran throws Matt a birthday party at the cafe and invites all of Cape Bay to attend. Halfway into the party, many of the guests become sick, and some end up in the ER. Fran fears the cause was food poisoning but Detective Mike Stanton informs her that it was actual poison - someone at the party intentionally poisoned the pastries or punch. 

Did the perp mean to target one person or to hurt as many people as possible? Did they want to shut down the cafe and destroy her business? Was it someone she knew or a sick stranger? 

Whoever it was, Fran had likely met the culprit at her party. And that makes her shudder. When another partygoer ends up dead days later, Fran is on high alert. She must find the murderer before anyone else gets hurt.

Francesca is in her mid-thirties and worked in New York for many years in PR.  She moved back home to run the family Italian café in a small town in Massachusetts when her mother passed away almost a year ago.

Fran plans a joint birthday party for Matt, her boyfriend, and her birthdays and has it at her café. Everyone in their small town is invited and Fran and her staff do all the preparation of the food and punch. During the party, though, everyone gets sick and food poisoning is suspected. When the police investigate, though, it's discovered that someone intentionally poisoned what Fran has prepared and she wonders why?

This is the tenth in the Cape Bay Cafe Mystery Series (I've read them all) by this author ... it works as a stand alone (you don't have to read the others to know what's going on). This book is written in first person perspective in Fran's voice. The "whodunnit" and ending came together quickly. It was a quick light read and is a "cozy mystery" so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. There are recipes at the end.

Book ~ "Someone Else's Shoes" (2023) Jojo Moyes

From Goodreads ~ Nisha Cantor lives the globetrotting life of the seriously wealthy, until her husband announces a divorce and cuts her off. Nisha is determined to hang onto her glamorous life. But in the meantime, she must scramble to cope - she doesn’t even have the shoes she was, until a moment ago, standing in.

That’s because Sam Kemp - in the bleakest point of her life - has accidentally taken Nisha’s gym bag. But Sam hardly has time to worry about a lost gym bag - she’s struggling to keep herself and her family afloat. When she tries on Nisha’s six-inch high Christian Louboutin red crocodile shoes, the resulting jolt of confidence that makes her realize something must change - and that thing is herself.

Sam's life is stressful. Phil, her husband, recently lost his father and his job and has sunk into a deep depression and won't do anything to help himself or around the house. Sam's company was recently bought out and her new boss hates her and is always looking for reasons to give her grief. One day at the gym, she's in a hurry heading off to a meeting and runs out with the wrong bag. In the bag, she discovers a pair of expensive high heel shoes which she's forced to wear that day because she left the gym in flip flops. When she tries to return the bag to the gym, she discovers it's closed down.

Nisha is married to Carl, an very rich man, and does everything for him. It's Nisha's bag that Sam has mistakenly taken at the gym and Nisha wants her shoes back!  As if her day isn't bad enough, that's the day that Carl cuts her off financially. He's not taking her calls, she has no money or friends, so she's forced to take a job working under the table at the hotel they were living while she schemes to get her clothes and passport from their room.

I thought this story was okay and there was a lot going on. There were a few things I found unbelievable, though. For example, why didn't Nisha go to the police or the U.S. Embassy (she's an American stuck in England) after Carl shut her down rather than lucking out and getting a menial job in the exact hotel she had been living in where she could work illegally? Or if Phil was that depressed, why did Sam and their daughter allow him to keep going as he was rather than making him help (I would have been afraid to leave him alone)? As if she didn't have enough going on with work and Phil, why did Sam put up with her demanding elderly parents for so long who were more sympathetic to Phil?

It's written in third person perspective bouncing back and forth with the focus on Sam and Nisha. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Twisted Hat

I just finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s an easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove. 

I doubled the strands of Lion Brand’s Re-Spun … the colours are raven, amber and cornsilk.

I found the pattern here.

Directions are for size small; changes for size large are in parentheses.

Hat circumference at bottom edge: 16 (18)" [41 (46)cm]; Hat stretches to fit 20 (22)” [51 (56)cm]

I used 4.5mm [US 7] and 5.5mm [US 9] needles and 4 ply yarn. 

Hat is worked in the round on double pointed needles.

With smaller needles, cast on 90 (102) sts. Divide sts evenly around double pointed needles. Join to work in rounds, taking care not to twist sts. Place marker for beginning of round.

Ribbing Round: 

[K1 through the back loop, p1] around. Repeat ribbing round until piece measures 1½" [4cm] from beginning.

Round 1: Change to larger needles and knit.
Round 2: [K2, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 90 (102) sts.
Repeat round 2 until piece measures 8 (8½)" [20 (22) cm] from beginning.

Shape Crown

• Decrease round 1: [K2tog, yo, k2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 75 (85) sts.
• Next round: [K1, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 75 (85) sts.
• Decrease round 2: *K1, yo, [k2tog] twice; repeat from * around – 60 (68) sts
• Next round: [K1, yo, k1, k2tog] around – 60 (68) sts.
• Decrease round 3: [K2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 45 (51) sts.
• Decrease round 4: [K1, k2tog] around – 30 (34) sts.
• Decrease round 5: [K2tog] around – 15 (17) sts.
• Decrease round 6: [K2tog, k1] 5 times, k2tog 0 (1) time – 10 (11) sts.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread yarn through remaining sts and pull to gather. Secure end. Weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS
k = knit

k2tog = knit 2 sts together

p = purl

St st = Stockinette stitch

st(s) = stitch(es)

yo = yarn over

Twisted Hat

I just finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s an easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove. The colours are leaf green and mustard.

I found the pattern here.

Directions are for size small; changes for size large are in parentheses.

Hat circumference at bottom edge: 16 (18)" [41 (46)cm]; Hat stretches to fit 20 (22)” [51 (56)cm]

I used 4.5mm [US 7] and 5.5mm [US 9] needles and 4 ply yarn. 

Hat is worked in the round on double pointed needles.

With smaller needles, cast on 90 (102) sts. Divide sts evenly around double pointed needles. Join to work in rounds, taking care not to twist sts. Place marker for beginning of round.

Ribbing Round: 

[K1 through the back loop, p1] around. Repeat ribbing round until piece measures 1½" [4cm] from beginning.

Round 1: Change to larger needles and knit.
Round 2: [K2, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 90 (102) sts.
Repeat round 2 until piece measures 8 (8½)" [20 (22) cm] from beginning.

Shape Crown

• Decrease round 1: [K2tog, yo, k2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 75 (85) sts.
• Next round: [K1, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 75 (85) sts.
• Decrease round 2: *K1, yo, [k2tog] twice; repeat from * around – 60 (68) sts
• Next round: [K1, yo, k1, k2tog] around – 60 (68) sts.
• Decrease round 3: [K2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 45 (51) sts.
• Decrease round 4: [K1, k2tog] around – 30 (34) sts.
• Decrease round 5: [K2tog] around – 15 (17) sts.
• Decrease round 6: [K2tog, k1] 5 times, k2tog 0 (1) time – 10 (11) sts.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread yarn through remaining sts and pull to gather. Secure end. Weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS
k = knit

k2tog = knit 2 sts together

p = purl

St st = Stockinette stitch

st(s) = stitch(es)

yo = yarn over

Left Field Brewery, Toronto, ON (Liberty Village)

Gord and I had supper this evening at Left Field Brewery in Liberty Village. 

They brew beer onsite

You can buy their beer and take it home

Lots of baseball cards on the wall in the bathroom

"Rockabye", Factory Theatre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I saw Rockabye this afternoon at the Factory Theatre. 

Capitalism, Race, and Pop Culture. You know, the small stuff. Sidney can feel her career slipping down the drain. No one loves a pop star when she’s past forty. Unless she wants to join the ranks of the has-beens on the casino circuit, she needs to reinvent herself – and quick. But what if she regains her former glory and still feels that something is missing?

Though it seemed disjointed, it was good and we enjoyed it. 

It could have been broken up into two plays, though … (1) Sidney, a has-been singer trying to make a comeback and (2) the dilemma of whether a white woman should be able to adopt a Black baby from Africa. There were a couple scenes that could have been cut out to make the play shorter (it's almost three hours) and wouldn’t have changed the storyline. The actors were believable but a couple of the accents sounded fake and were hard to understand at times.

Book ~ "Happiness for Beginners" (2015) Katherine Center

From Goodreads ~ A year after getting divorced, Helen Carpenter, thirty-two, lets her annoying ten years younger brother talk her into signing up for a wilderness survival course. It's supposed to be a chance for her to pull herself together again but when she discovers that her brother's even-more-annoying best friend is also coming on the trip, she can't imagine how it will be anything other than a disaster. Thus begins the strangest adventure of Helen's well-behaved life: three weeks in the remotest wilderness of a mountain range in Wyoming where she will survive mosquito infestations, a surprise summer blizzard, and a group of sorority girls. 

Yet, despite everything, the vast wilderness has a way of making Helen's own little life seem bigger, too. And, somehow the people who annoy her the most start teaching her the very things she needs to learn. Like how to stand up for herself. And how being scared can make you brave. And how sometimes you just have to get really, really lost before you can even have a hope of being found.

Helen is 32 and a school teacher. She's been divorced for a year and is looking for something to shake up her life. So she signs up for an extreme three week wilderness survival course, which is way out of her comfort level. Then she discovers that Jake, her younger brother's friend, has also signed up and begrudgingly gives him a drive. 

Once on the trail, she does indeed discover that she is out of her element because everyone is much younger than she is and she has nothing in common with them, the leader, who is barely out of his teens, seems to dislike her and the terrain and camp life is a lot rougher than she thought. But as the days progress, Helen discovers she is tougher than she thought she was, both physically and emotionally.

This was a cute story. I liked the writing style (it's a quick read) and it's written in first person perspective in Helen's voice. You'll never find me on this kind of a survival course! I'd seen the Netflix movie they'd made based on the book last year and was curious to see how close they would be to each other ... they are kind of are but aren't. There is a bit of swearing.

Roll Brim Hat

I just finished knitting a large adult roll brim hat … the colour is vine (dark purple). It’s the first time I made this pattern and it’s easy to make.

Using a 5mm circular needle and 4 weight yarn, I cast on 102 stitches. Join and work in the round, placing a marker at the beginning of round. 

Work in stockinette stitch (so knit every round) for 6 inches. 

 Shape Crown

• Round 1: *k15, k2tog*, repeat to the end
• Round 2: knit 
• Round 3: *k14, k2tog*, repeat to the end
• Round 4: knit 
• Round 5: *k13, k2tog*, repeat to the end 
• Round 6: knit 
• Continue like this until 48 stitches remain, then decrease every round until 6 stitches remain
• Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread yarn through remaining stitches and pull to gather. Secure end. Weave in ends.

Twisted Hat

I just finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s an easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove. 

I doubled the strands of Lion Brand’s Re-Spun … the colours are raven, amber and cornsilk.

I found the pattern here.

Directions are for size small; changes for size large are in parentheses.

Hat circumference at bottom edge: 16 (18)" [41 (46)cm]; Hat stretches to fit 20 (22)” [51 (56)cm]

I used 4.5mm [US 7] and 5.5mm [US 9] needles and 4 ply yarn. 

Hat is worked in the round on double pointed needles.

With smaller needles, cast on 90 (102) sts. Divide sts evenly around double pointed needles. Join to work in rounds, taking care not to twist sts. Place marker for beginning of round.

Ribbing Round: 

[K1 through the back loop, p1] around. Repeat ribbing round until piece measures 1½" [4cm] from beginning.

Round 1: Change to larger needles and knit.
Round 2: [K2, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 90 (102) sts.
Repeat round 2 until piece measures 8 (8½)" [20 (22) cm] from beginning.

Shape Crown

• Decrease round 1: [K2tog, yo, k2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 75 (85) sts.
• Next round: [K1, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 75 (85) sts.
• Decrease round 2: *K1, yo, [k2tog] twice; repeat from * around – 60 (68) sts
• Next round: [K1, yo, k1, k2tog] around – 60 (68) sts.
• Decrease round 3: [K2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 45 (51) sts.
• Decrease round 4: [K1, k2tog] around – 30 (34) sts.
• Decrease round 5: [K2tog] around – 15 (17) sts.
• Decrease round 6: [K2tog, k1] 5 times, k2tog 0 (1) time – 10 (11) sts.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread yarn through remaining sts and pull to gather. Secure end. Weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS
k = knit

k2tog = knit 2 sts together

p = purl

St st = Stockinette stitch

st(s) = stitch(es)

yo = yarn over

Book ~ "First Lie Wins" (2024) Ashley Elston

From Goodreads ~ Evie Porter has everything a nice Southern girl could want: a perfect doting boyfriend, a house with a white picket fence and a garden a fancy group of friends. The only catch: Evie Porter doesn’t exist.

The identity comes first: Evie Porter. Once she’s given a name and location by her mysterious boss Mr. Smith, she learns everything there is to know about the town and the people in it. Then the mark: Ryan Sumner. The last piece of the puzzle is the job.

Evie isn’t privy to Mr. Smith’s real identity but she knows this job will be different. Ryan has gotten under her skin and she’s starting to envision a different sort of life for herself. But Evie can’t make any mistakes - especially after what happened last time.

Because the one thing she’s worked her entire life to keep clean, the one identity she could always go back to - her real identity - just walked right into this town. Evie Porter must stay one step ahead of her past while making sure there’s still a future in front of her. The stakes couldn't be higher - but then, Evie has always liked a challenge.

Evie works in a gallery and has just moved in with her boyfriend, Ryan, after a few months of dating. But this is all a lie. Evie is really Lucca and Ryan is her latest "mark". She doesn't know who her boss is and just knows him as "Mr. Smith". She is assigned "jobs" taking on new identities usually to steal something or get info to blackmail someone. She screwed up her last job so is trying to do better on this one but hasn't figured out what this new one is all about yet and what Mr. Smith wants from Ryan.

I liked this story and the writing style. It's written in first person perspective in Evie's voice. It jumps back and forth from the present to the past (the chapters are labeled) detailing Evie's past cases. As a head's up, there is swearing. It's a farfetched story but a fun ride.

Broken Rib Stitch Beanie

I just finished knitting a large adult beanie using a broken rib stitch. I found the pattern in Homespun Knitting Beginners & Beyond magazine, issue 6 … I borrowed the e-version from the Toronto Public Library. 

I doubled the strands of Lion Brand’s Re-Spun … the colours are raven, amber and cornsilk.

Brim

Using a 5mm circular needle, I cast on 100 stitches.

• Row 1: *k1, p1, rep from * to end
• Rep row 1 until brim measures approximately 5cm

Body - these 2 rows form the broken rib stitch.

• Row 1: k
• Row 2: *k1, p1, rep from * to end
• Repeat rows 1 and 2 until beanie measures approximately 14cm from beginning of cast on or until the beanie measures desired length.

Shape Crown

• Row 1: *k8, k2tog, rep from * to end
• Row 2 (and following alternating rows): *k1, p1, rep from * to end
• Row 3: *k7, k2tog, rep from * to end
• Row 5: *k6, k2tog, rep from * to end
• Row 7: *k5, k2tog, rep from * to end
• Row 9: *k4, k2tog, rep from * to end
• Row 11: *k3, k2tog, rep from * to end
• Row 13: *k2, k2tog, rep from * to end
• Row 15: *k1, k2tog, rep from * to end

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread yarn through remaining stitches and pull to gather. Secure end. Weave in ends.