Happy Family Day!

Today is Family Day, a statutory holiday here in Ontario.

Enjoy and spend some time with your family!

Book ~ "The Long Paw of the Law" (2018) Diane Kelly

From Goodreads ~ One night, while on duty with her four-legged crime-fighting companion, Megan gets an urgent call from her boyfriend, Seth, who works for the Fort Worth fire department. A baby girl has turned up at the station with only two clues to her identity: One is a peace-sign symbol stitched into her blanket. The other is a word, written in string: help.

Megan follows every loose thread and, along with Brigit, ends up on a twisted path that leads to the People of Peace compound, the site of a religious sect on the outskirts of the city. Its leader, Father Emmanuel, keeps his followers on a short leash - and his enemies even closer. Could this be the abandoned baby’s original home? And if so, why was she cast out? Now that Megan and Brigit are on the case, the secrets of this reclusive cult are bound to be dug up.

Megan is a police officer in Fort Worth, Texas.  Her partner is Brigit, a German Shepherd.  One night Megan gets a call from Seth, her boyfriend who is a fireman.  A baby was just left at the fire station where he works.  Because of Texas laws, people are allowed to abandon their children at places like this.  As the baby is being taken away to a foster home, Megan notices the word "help" stitched into the baby's blanket.  Assuming this is the mother's cry for help, Megan is determined to find the mother.  This leads her to a cult called People of Peace, run by the controlling Father Emmanuel.  Convinced she is on the right track, Megan does all she can to see if the mother is indeed in the compound and needs her help.

In the meantime, someone is stealing garage remote controls from cars with the intent of going back later to rob houses now that they have access and Megan and Brigit are on the case.

I've read many books by this author and I liked this one.  Though it's the seventh in the Paw Enforcement series, it can work as a stand alone and you don't have to read the others to know what's going on (there is enough background provided).

I liked the writing style ... it was amusing at times.  It is written in first person perspective from Megan's point of view and third person perspective from Brigit's point of view (which is funny) and Father Emmanuel's perspective.

I like Megan.  She's gotten more confident as time goes on.  Brigit's funny and likeable and it's fun to get into her head.  Though she is a trained police dog, she can be naughty when she wants to be (especially if there are treats or squirrels involved).

Toronto Wolfpack 30, Widnes Vikings 6, 3 Brewers, 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.  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 Gord and I live.  We are season ticket holders and we've renewed for 2019.  The first home game is in April.

3 Brewers is the official restaurant/bar of the Wolfpack in Toronto and there was an away game viewing party there to watch today's game against the Widnes Vikings.  According to Susan, our server, there were a couple hundred fans.  Impressive!

Toronto Rock 12, San Diego Seals 11, 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 sixth year going to the games and our fifth year having seasons tickets.

Tonight the Rock were hosting the San Diego Seals, a new team to the league.  The Rock were leading in the eastern division and the Seals were leading in the western division.

The theme for tonight was Pride Night.

Scotty Newlands sang the American national anthem.

Singing Out, Toronto’s LGBTQ+ and allies community chorus, sang the Canadian national anthem.

Walrus Pub & Beer Hall, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper this evening before the Toronto Rock game at the Walrus Pub & Beer Hall (on the NE corner of Bay Street/Wellington Street).  It's been open for about a year.

There was a DJ

It was jammed!

Topbox - February 2019

My February 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.

Here's what I received ...

• VDL Lumilayer Primer - $5.67 value
• LaRitzy Lip Stix (Blossom) - $20 value
• Mannakadar Beauty 3-in-1 Contour Blush (Venus)
• Nova Scotia Fisherman Lip Balm (Canadian Maple) - $4.50 value - I love their products!

Ipsy Glam Bag - February 2019

My February Ipsy Glam Bag arrived today.

• 4 to 5 beauty products in a collectible makeup bag 
• Monthly videos showing you how to get the Look 
• Win free products in contests and giveaways

Subscriptions are $10US a month or $110US for a year.  Shipping is free in the U.S. and $4.95US per month to Canada.

Here's what I received ...

Cute bag

Make-up bag

EYEKO Lash Alert Mascara (Carbon Black) - 2ml sample - $6.50 value

TONYMOLY Petite Bunny Gloss Bar (Juicy Cherry) - $8 value

MEECH AND MIA Pressed Eye Shadow (Caramel) - $11.50 value

Renewed Pumpkin Walnut Facial Cleanser - 0.67oz sample - $4.69 value

CHELLA Eyeliner Pen (Purple) - $21 value

Total value:  $51.69US

Book ~ "Stay with Me" (2017) Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

From Goodreads ~ Yejide and Akin have been married since they met and fell in love at university. Though many expected Akin to take several wives, he and Yejide have always agreed: polygamy is not for them. 

But four years into their marriage - after consulting fertility doctors and healers, trying strange teas and unlikely cures - Yejide is still not pregnant. She assumes she still has time - until her family arrives on her doorstep with a young woman they introduce as Akin's second wife. 

Furious, shocked, and livid with jealousy, Yejide knows the only way to save her marriage is to get pregnant, which, finally, she does, but at a cost far greater than she could have dared to imagine.

Yejide and Akin live in Nigeria.  They met and fell in love while in university.  Yejide now owns a hair salon and Akin is a bank manager.  Life is good except four years later, his family is tired of waiting for them to have children.  Despite being able to have multiple wives, Yejide and Akin had agree from the beginning that they wouldn't let anyone else in their relationship.  Akin's family, though, is tired of waiting for Yejide to provide Akin with a child so they have him take an additional wife, Funmi, to increase the chances of him having children.

Yejide isn't happy with Akin having this second wife and realizes that the only way to keep him for herself if she gets pregnant.  Desperate she does what she has to do in order to get pregnant but life doesn't turn out as happy has she had hoped.

This is a different kind of book than I usually read but I thought I'd step out of my comfort zone and check it out (I'd seen it had gotten good reviews).  It took me a chapter or two to get into it.  I was liking the story of Yejide and Akin and their life together.  Their culture is so different from mine so it was interesting to learn about their life.  Even though they are a modern couple, they are still influenced by the ancient superstitions and culture. 

When Yejide headed to the mountain for a miracle pregnancy and was convinced it happened, I had to leave my sense of belief behind.  When she started acting totally irrationally and no one seemed to want to help her (yelling and ignoring her isn't going to help), that's when the story started to lose me.  But I carried on and the further I got (and I did finish it), the more I disliked the story.  I hated the ending and found it unbelievable.

The book is written in first person perspective in Yejide and Akin's voices.  The chapters aren't labeled so sometimes it took me a bit to realize who was speaking.  The book jumps back and forth from the past to the future but the timelines are labeled.  Most of the time they didn't mean much to me, though, because I didn't know whose voice it was.

I didn't like the characters.  Yejide and Akin were supposed to be the love of each other's lives but I wasn't feeling it.  There were secrets between them and as a supposedly loving couple, they should have been able to talk about them honestly.  Akin was a wimp.  He kept going on and on about how the moment he saw Yejide that he would marry her yet he let his family railroad him into marrying Funmi and Yejide didn't find out until after the fact (and not from him).  Akin's family were overbearing but I guess that's the way it is in their culture?  And Yejide did things that if she really loved her husband, she wouldn't have done.  I thought how Yejide eventually did get pregnant was ridiculous.

Super Donair, Saskatooon, SK

I had lunch today at Super Donair.

I ordered a large beef donair with donair sauce and tomatoes.

What is donair?

Donair is a Middle Eastern dish made of roasted meat cooked on a vertical spit. In a prepared dish, seasoned meat is stacked on a vertical spit in the shape of an inverted cone. It is turned slowly, cooking against a vertical rotisserie. A tomato, onion or pineapple may be placed at the top of the stack for additional flavouring. The meat is cooked by an electric burner. 

The rate of roasting can be adjusted by varying the strength of the heat and the distance between the heat and the meat, allowing the cook to adjust to varying rates of consumption. The outside of the meat is sliced vertically in thin, crisp shavings when done. While cooking, the meat is shaved off the stack with a large knife. 

Donairs are a big thing back home in Nova Scotia so whenever I come across them on my travels, I try them. Size-wise my large donair was a great deal at $10.  Despite the name of the restaurant, this was not a super donair.  The meat was fried to be heated and there was some charred bits.  The meat was a bit too peppery.  The donair sauce is one of the best parts of a donair and this wasn't sweet enough.  I ate about half of it because I was hungry and discarded the rest.

Holiday Inn Saskatoon Downtown, Saskatoon, SK

I am spending the day with a client in Saskatoon. I drove from Regina yesterday afternoon and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Saskatoon Downtown.

The lobby

Here was my room ...

Taverna Italian Kitchen, Saskatoon, SK

I had supper this evening at Taverna Italian Kitchen ... I was craving pasta and had had a really good lasagna there in the past.

Tony started me off with some warm bread.  Yum!

I love love love lasagna and I ordered lasagna al forno.  Like the last time I had it, it was a huge portion and very delicious.

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Conference Centre, Regina, SK

I am spending the day with a client in Regina.  I flew in yesterday afternoon and spent the night at the DoubleTree, which is in downtown Regina.  I've stayed here before and liked it.  They give warm chocolate chip cookies at check in.

The lobby

Here was my room ...

Down a small narrow hallway at the end

Book ~ "Seinfeldia: How a Show About Nothing Changed Everything" (2016) Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

From Goodreads ~ The hilarious behind-the-scenes story of two guys who went out for coffee and dreamed up "Seinfeld" - the cultural sensation that changed television and bled into the real world, altering the lives of everyone it touched.

Comedians Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld never thought anyone would watch their silly little sitcom about a New York comedian sitting around talking to his friends. NBC executives didn’t think anyone would watch either but they bought it anyway, hiding it away in the TV dead zone of summer. But against all odds, viewers began to watch, first a few and then many, until nine years later nearly forty million Americans were tuning in weekly.

In "Seinfeldia", TV historian and entertainment writer Jennifer Keishin Armstrong celebrates the creators and fans of this American television phenomenon, bringing readers behind-the-scenes of the show while it was on the air and into the world of devotees for whom it never stopped being relevant, a world where the Soup Nazi still spends his days saying “No soup for you!”, Joe Davola gets questioned every day about his sanity, Kenny Kramer makes his living giving tours of New York sights from the show, and fans dress up in Jerry’s famous puffy shirt, dance like Elaine, and imagine plotlines for "Seinfeld" if it were still on TV. 

This book is everything about Seinfeld, the show about four self-centered friends and what happens in their lives.

It provides the details about how the show came to be ... Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld coming up with a show that the network didn't really believe in and David and Seinfeld themselves didn't think would go anywhere.  Surprise!  It lasted nine seasons until Seinfeld decided to quit while they were on top.

There is information about the backgrounds of Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Michael Richards along with what they have been doing post-Seinfeld.  The actors playing the smaller role characters such as the Soup Nazi are also covered, including what they did before their roles and what they too are doing post-Seinfeld.  We learn more about Kenny Kramer, the basis for Richards' character, the real Monks Restaurant and how the real soup nazi felt about all the exposure (he wasn't pleased).

It was interesting to learn more about the writing and how the crazy stories came about.  There was a quite a turnover of writers because Seinfeld and David wanted fresh real stories so many of the plots actually happened to the writers or people the writers knew, though twisted a bit to fit the show.  For example, there really was a family who invented and celebrated Festivus.  The crazy dance that Elaine does was based on Lorne Michael's dancing skills (or lack of).  How was the finale received?  There's even the back story of the girl in the Rochelle Rochelle poster.

If you are/were a fan of Seinfeld, you'll find this book interesting.  It was fun to get the behind-the-scenes scoop on the show.