Veloce Italian Kitchen, London, ON

I had supper this evening at Veloce Italian Kitchen.

When I walked in, I didn't know how it worked ... do I order at the counter, pay and then sit down or do I sit at a table and someone takes my order?  I discovered you order and pay for what you want.  The woman at the counter was a bit too abrasive in explaining it ... she could have been a bit more friendly.

After you order, you are given a number and told to grab a table.

When your meal is ready, it is brought to your table.  I love love love pizza and ordered one with pepperoni, bacon and cherry tomatoes.  When it was delivered to my table, it was cold and black on the bottom.  When I took it to the counter and said it was burnt, the guy asked me if I wanted to have another one made.  Um ... yes, please.

The second one they brought was cooked properly and hot.  I found it was bland, though.  I peeked under the cheese to make sure there was sauce on it since I couldn't taste any.  I'm assuming the shredded meat was pepperoni ... I've never seen pepperoni on a pizza like that.  The only thing I could taste was the cherry tomatoes.  So not a stellar pizza and I wouldn't go back.

Kallisto Greek Restaurant, Ottawa, ON

I had lunch today at Kallisto Greek Restaurant.

I love chicken souvlaki and that's what I ordered without the salad).  I've had it many times over the years and this was just okay.  The rice and potatoes are usually lemony and these seemed like diner rice and potatoes rather than Greek rice and potatoes.  The chicken was good but there wasn't a lot of it for $14.  The tzatziki didn't have a lot of kick and was rather bland.  I couldn't taste any cucumber and detected maybe a bit of mint?

Vera was the server and she was friendly.

The Westin Ottawa, Ottawa, ON

I have a couple days of client meetings in Ottawa and my home away from Monday and last night was the Westin Ottawa.  I've stayed here a couple times in the past.

To get to your floor, you pressed your floor # and an
elevator was assigned to you  ... with the "L0L",
I'm assuming the elevators had a sense of humour?

Here was my room ...

Fatboys Southern Smokehouse, Ottawa, ON

I had supper this evening at Fatboys Southern Smokehouse in ByWard Market.

The restaurant. which opened about six years ago, combines owner Shawn Dawson's love of southern hospitality, biker ambiance and "good old-fashioned slow and low BBQ".

Book ~ "Rocks Beat Paper" (2017) Mike Knowles

From Goodreads ~ A phone call brought Wilson and nine other men to a job in New York. At first, he couldn’t see a way to make the heist work, but the score - millions of dollars in diamonds - kept him looking. Wilson came up with a plan he knew would work  ... until the inside man got killed and took the job with him.

With no way inside, the crew walks away without the diamonds. Alone, Wilson is free to execute the job his way. Wilson sets a con in motion that should run as predictably as a trail of dominoes -  except the con doesn’t rely on inanimate tiles, it relies on people.

Wilson pushes all of the pieces across the board only to find out that there are other players making their own moves against him. Everyone is playing to win and no one is willing to walk away because the job is about more than money, the job is about diamonds. And in this game, rocks beat paper every time.

Wilson works as a con man and has a "broker" who finds him jobs.  On his latest job, he is teamed up with eight others to rob a lot of diamonds from a jewelry store.  Saul, the owner of the store, is getting old and forgetful.  David is the "inside man" on the job.  He has been a loyal employee and is in line to manage the store.  But he is getting tired of waiting and wants to have the store robbed before Saul runs it to the ground.  Before the plan could be put in action, a couple deaths put an end to it.  Robbing the jewelry store is still on Wilson's mind and he puts together another plan to do it his way.

This is the six in the Wilson series.  Though it is part of series (I've read them all), it works as a stand alone.  I liked the writing style and there were lots of twists and turns.  It's written in first person perspective from Wilson's point of view.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

I like Wilson ... he is straight to the point and no nonsense.  Miles, a con man, is back as part of the team ... he is amusing and added humor to the story.

I look forward to reading more books by this author and in this series

The Grand Pizzeria & Bar, Ottawa, ON

I had supper tonight at the Grand Pizzeria & Bar in ByWard Market.

Book ~ "Cut You Down" (2018) Sam Wiebe

From Goodreads ~ Tabitha Sorenson is missing. The bright but unstable student disappeared in the aftermath of a scandal involving millions of dollars in college funds. Professor Dana Essex doesn't think the missing money and the missing student are connected but she hires Vancouver PI David Wakeland to find Tabitha, with whom she is in obsessed.

When Wakeland discovers Tabitha has, in fact, stolen the money and is hiding out with her lover and reports back to his client, Essex is crushed to learn that Tabitha is in love with someone else. The next morning, Tabitha has been murdered and Essex has disappeared.

Meanwhile, Wakeland has his own problems. His former girlfriend, police officer Sonia Drego, believes her partner is corrupt. With her job - and possibly her life - on the line, Wakeland may be her best hope of uncovering the conspiracy in the department before it brings her down.

Hounded by Tabitha's friends, the police, the press and his own troubled conscience, Wakeland tries desperately to find Essex and make sense of what happened. Could it all have been a ruse from the start and is Wakeland just another in a long line of suckers?

While searching for Essex and investigating Sonia's partner, Wakeland encounters criminals, anarchist, and crooked authority figures - all of them desperate people who will stop at nothing to guard their secrets. 

Dave Wakeland is a former cop and now a private detective in Vancouver, BC.  He is in partnership with Jeff Chen, who is totally the opposite of him.  They are based in Jeff's more professional space but Dave hasn't let go of his rundown office space in a building that is going to be demolished for condos soon.  Dave isn't afraid to use violence to get the answers he needs, which isn't Jeff's style.

Dave has been hired by a meek professor named Dana to find a student named Tabitha.  Though not implicated, Tabitha was part of a scandal involving college funds and hasn't been seen since.  Tabitha has awaken feelings in Dana and she wants to know if Tabitha feels the same.  When Dave locates Tabitha, Dana is heartbroken to learn that Tabitha is happy in a relationship.  Then Tabitha is found murdered and Dana disappears.

In the meantime, Dave is asked by his ex-girlfriend, a police officer named Sonia, to follow her partner, Chris, but she doesn't tell him why.  Though they haven't spoken in a long time, he doesn't hesitate to help her out.  As he does, Dave discovers Chris is involved with a Chinese mobster who he has a history with.

This is the third book I've read by this author and I liked it.  It's the second in the Wakeland series (I read the first one too) ... you don't need to have read the first one as it works okay as a stand alone.  I liked the writing style ... it was humorous at times (Dave can be sarcastic).  It is written in first person perspective from Dave's point of view.  As a head's up, there is swearing, violence and adult activity.

I think the story lines were interesting but found there was a lot going on.  I think both stories could have been made into separate books as each was compelling enough on its own.

Toronto Rock 8, Calgary Roughnecks 16, Air Canada Centre, 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 sixth year going to the games and our fifth year having seasons tickets.

I watched the Rock players warm up.

Tonight the Rock were hosting the Calgary Roughnecks.  Toronto was tied for first place in the East Division and Calgary was in third place in the West Division.

The Rock had three league scoring leaders and Nick Rose, the Rock goalie, is in second place for the goaltending standings.

Trap-Neuter-Return: How to Manage a Feral Cat Colony, Community Cats Toronto, Toronto, ON

I recently started volunteering with the Annex Cat Rescue as a social media volunteer.  Not only does the Annex Cat Rescue find homes for cats and kittens, they also have feeders who go to cat colonies around the city. 

In December, I visited a couple colonies with my friend, Trish, who is also a volunteer with the Annex Cat Rescue.  I thought it would be interesting to attend today's Trap-Neuter-Return: How to Manage a Feral Cat Colony workshop by Community Cats Toronto at the Annette Street Library.

Feral cats are trapped, neutered (along with a check-up and vaccinations) and then released back into their colony with a nipped left ear to signify they have been neutered.  Because they are used to living outside and fending for themselves, they are rarely taken in as pets.  Neutering feral cats lessens noise, odor and abundance of kittens ... so less problems in neighbourhoods.  One study showed that feral cats that are not neutered have a lifespan of about two years because of disease, scarcity of food and the stress of reproducing.

Attendees received a substantial manual

There were four volunteers from Community Cats Toronto presenting ... Penny, Bo, Carrie and Christina.  The workshop was a combination of lecture, demonstrations and videos.

Penny

Bo

Bo demonstrated how to use the different traps ...
during the break we had to set them too

Burrito Splendido, Winnipeg, MB

I had lunch today at Burrito Splendido on King Edward Street.

I love burritos and ordered a regular chicken burrito on a white wrap.  They make the wrap when you order.  They start with a small ball of dough and put it in a grill that flattens it in a few seconds.  Your protein is measured in a silver dish and all the ingredients (there were lots to choose from) are piled in the dish as you go down the line.  I got mine with chicken, cheese, refried beans, rice, salsa, corn and chipotle lime mayo.  Then the ingredients are folded in the wrap and put in another grill to heat it.  Mine could have been left a bit longer because some of the ingredients were still a bit cold.  It was a good burrito, though.

Radisson Hotel Winnipeg Downtown, Winnipeg, MB

I've been in Winnipeg since Sunday and I stayed at the Radisson Hotel Winnipeg Downtown on Portage Avenue.

I ended up with a one bedroom suite, which was great considering I spent four nights there ... I appreciated having lots of space rather than being cooped up in one room.

It was really cold outside and I had the heat turned on fairly high to keep
the room warm ... I found it odd that there were two big chairs in
front of the window blocking the heater so I moved them to the
corners out of the way and it made a difference