Maker Pizza, Toronto, ON

I had a late lunch today at Maker Pizza (Spadina Avenue/Queen Street W area).

I love love love pizza and Maker Pizza been on my radar for a while to check it out.  Plus Jeremy Taggart had listed it as a place to check out in Toronto in Canadianity: Tales from the True North Strong and Freezing.

I ordered a Dr. Pepperoni pizza (with no parm).  It was a really good pizza.  It was hot hot hot when it came out of the oven and was served in a box.  It was cheesy and there was lots of pepperoni.  I liked the crust ... it was soft and chewy.  It was greasy and messy as the pizza started to cool down, which I didn't mind ... I just used a lot of napkins.

I'll be back!

Pepper's Café, Toronto, ON

I had lunch today at Pepper's Café (Wallace Avenue/Lansdowne Avenue).

It's not a fancy place and the prices are very reasonable.  I ordered a burger with peameal bacon (but no lettuce or onions) and fries.  It was a really good burger.  It seemed like it was "homemade" and was flavourful and hot.  I'd get it again.

Book ~ "Last Song Sung" (2018) David A. Poulsen

From Goodreads ~ On February 28, 1965, a young singer named Ellie Foster stepped into the alley behind The Depression, a Calgary folk club where she shared the bill with Joni Anderson, later to become famous as Joni Mitchell. During a cigarette break in the back alley, Ellie was forced into a car and the musicians with her were shot and killed. The investigation that followed turned up no sign of the kidnappers and Ellie Foster was never seen again. 

Now, more than fifty years after the singer’s disappearance, Ellie’s granddaughter approaches Cullen and Cobb to try to find out what happened to her grandmother. The search for the truth about Ellie Foster takes the two investigators straight into the past. They find themselves investigating a failed political assassination and discover that there are those who will stop at nothing, even a half-century later, to ensure that certain secrets remain untold.

Adam Cullen is a freelance writer/former newspaper journalist and Mike Cobb is an ex-cop, now a private detective.  Mike has been hired to find Ellie Foster, a folk singer from Ontario who disappeared more than fifty years ago.  She had been performing at a club in Calgary and had gone outside for a smoke with the members in her band.  They were shot and Ellie was dragged into a car, never to be seen again.  Ellie's granddaughter would like to know what happened to her grandmother.  Mike and Adam aren't sure if they will find anything after all these years but they are willing to try.

I liked the writing style and liked this story.  It is written in first person perspective in Adam's voice.  The editing could have been tighter, though, as there are some typos.  Plus Jay, a character from the past, is referred to as "Clay".  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I like that this story is set in Calgary and the author doesn't try to hide the fact that the story is happening in Canada.  There are numerous references to Calgary, plus Mike and Adam travel to Ottawa.  In addition, there are many many references to Canadian musicians as Adam is a big music fan and has quite an extensive collection of Canadian music.

I liked the characters and their interactions ... Adam and Mike, Adam and Jill (Adam's girlfriend of almost a year), Adam and Kyla (Jill's young daughter) and we meet Mike's family.

This is the third and latest in the Cobb and Cullen series and I've read them all.  Hopefully there will be future books in the series.

Ocean Vista Azual, Varadero, Cuba

This week Sister Sarah and I spent our annual sisters' week at the Ocean Vista Azual, an all-inclusive in Varadero which promotes itself as a five-star resort.  It's about a half hour drive from the airport, on the resort strip.  We were part of a large group organized by Faith at Niche Travel Group in Nova Scotia.

Here was my room ...

Saturday - Varadero, Cuba

Today is Sister Sarah's and my last day in Varadero.

We spent the morning at the beach.  It was hot and humid so it was a good place to be.

Not a bad view as I was laying on my lounger

We spent the week eating at the buffet restaurant, which I didn't find very good.  The à la carte restaurants don't take reservations and there has been 45 minute wait so we haven't bothered.  I stopped by the Italian restaurant about 7pm this evening and asked if we could eat at 8pm and they took our "reservation".  Yay!

Shaydid, Ocean Vista Azual, Varadero, Cuba

Shaydid, the cover band from Halifax that is along with our group, played their fourth and final night tonight.  As with the other three shows, they were excellent and a lot of fun!

Book ~ "Dead Air" (2017) David A. Poulsen

From Goodreads ~ Ex-cop turned private detective Mike Cobb is hired as the personal bodyguard of right-wing radio celebrity Buckley-Rand Larmer, who has been receiving a string of vicious, graphic threats. Once again, Cobb recruits crime journalist Adam Cullen, this time to dig into Larmer’s past and find out who might have a grudge against him.

Soon it becomes evident that Cullen and Cobb have more to contend with than the not-so-veiled threats. When Larmer’s associate turns up dead, the broadcaster is charged with the killing but Cullen believes the murder might be related to a series of suspicious deaths of right-wing media figures going back years. 

As layers of secrets and lies peel back, Cullen and Cobb have more than Larmer’s guilt or innocence to worry about. A vicious killer is out there somewhere, poised to strike again.

Adam Cullen is a freelance writer/former newspaper journalist and Mike Cobb is an ex-cop, now a private detective.  Mike has been hired to protect Larmer, a right wing radio celebrity, who has been getting death threats.  Mike enlists Adam to help to research the Larmer's background to figure out who is making the death threats and why.  In the meantime, Larmer's associate is murdered and and Larmer gets arrested.  Mike's job changes from bodyguard to investigator and Adam continues to do research.  Neither Mike nor Adam like Larmer but they have to put aside their feelings to do the job.

I liked the writing style and enjoyed this book.  The editing could have been tighter, though.  For example, there is mention to Adam's late wife, Donna, but she is called "Diana" in the beginning of the book and correctly as "Donna" through the rest of the book.  Also, it was lacking punctuation in some places.  It is written in first person perspective in Adam's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I like that this story is set in Calgary and the author doesn't try to hide the fact that the story is happening in Canada.  There are numerous references to Calgary and many many references to Canadian musicians, even obscure ones I've never heard of (Adam is a big music fan with eclectic tastes).

I liked the characters and their interactions ... Adam and Mike, Adam and Jill (Adam's girlfriend) and Adam and Kyla (Jill's young daughter).  Adam and Jill have been dating for about six months and had discussed taking the next step (with Kyla's approval) but are taking it slowly.

This is the second in the Cobb and Cullen series ... I'd read the first one earlier this week.  I look forward to reading others in the series.

Thursday - Varadero, Cuba

Sister Sarah and I had a quiet lazy day.

After breakfast, we headed to the beach where we spent the morning.  The water was lovely!

Sister Sarah is in the water

There she is!

The view from our loungers

Yep, those are my toes!

We had lunch at the snack bar at the beach.

Cayo Blanco, Cuba

Sister Sarah and I did a day trip today called the "Sea Tour".  Everything was included including an open bar, lunch, snorkeling, time on a private beach, etc.

A bus picked us up at our hotel at 8:30am and took us to our catamaran.

Our guide gave us the rules and then got the party started.

The netting over the water was a popular spot.

I dozed for a while on it

The boat ride was more than an hour and it was nice to be out on the water.  There was snorkeling if you were so inclined (I wasn't).

Book ~ "Serpents Rising" (2014) David A. Poulsen

From Goodreads ~ In 2005, journalist Adam Cullen's wife, Donna, was killed by an arsonist. In desperation after police, fire department and insurance investigators all give up trying to find the culprit, Cullen hires private detective Mike Cobb, but he, too, is stymied. Seven years later, Cobb re-enters Cullen's life. A search for a crack-addicted teenage runaway is tangled up with Calgary's most ruthless criminal organization and a possible lead on Donna's killer.

The parallel investigations take the two onto Calgary's meanest streets, populated by a vicious biker gang, a silky-smooth pedophile, and an assortment of people who aren't at all what they seem. 

As they weave their way through long-buried secrets, Cobb and Cullen will come face-to-face with a cruelty they could never have expected. 

In 2005, Adam was a journalist and very much in love with his wife, Donna.  When she is killed in a house fire, he assumes that it was because of a story he had written sometime and someone was seeking revenge.  He hires a ex-cop/private detective named Mike Cobb to check into it when the police come up empty.  Mike finds nothing and Adam tries to carry on with his life.

In 2013, Adam is a freelance writer and Mike contacts him for help.  Mike has been hired by a father to find his drug-addicted son, Jay.  Since Adam has written stories about this subject, Mike hopes he has some insight.  In the meantime, Adam starts to wonder if maybe Donna had been the intended instead of an innocent victim so he starts to investigate again, using Mike as a sounding board.

I liked the writing style and enjoyed this book.  The editing could have been tighter, though.  For example, something happens 30 hours ago yet they reference it as happening that night.  It is written in first person perspective in Adam's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I like that this story is set in Calgary and the author doesn't try to hide the fact that the story is happening in Canada.  There are numerous references to Calgary and many many references to Canadian musicians, even obscure ones I've never heard of (Adam is a big music fan with eclectic tastes).

This is the first in the Cobb and Cullen series and the first book I have read by this author.  I look forward to reading others in the series.

Tuesday - Varadero, Cuba

I went for a long walk this morning.  My goal was to find the other beach, which is the larger of the two on the property.  I knew it was somewhere nearby but hadn't come across it.

Found it!

I walked to the far end

Shaydid, Ocean Vista Azual, Varadero, Cuba

I'm spending the week in Varadera, Cuba, with Sister Sarah.  There are about 80 in our group that was organized out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, by Faith of Niche Travel Group.

Shaydid, a band from Halifax, is along with us and are playing four times this week ... this evening was the first.  Faith welcomed everyone and introduced the band.

I've never heard of Shaydid but really enjoyed them.  They are a cover band but also played some traditional east coast songs.

Happy birthday, Crumpet!

Our girl is seven years old today!