Book ~ "None So Deadly" (2019) David A. Poulsen

From Goodreads ~ It’s a case that has haunted Cullen and Cobb for years - the murder of eleven-year-old Faith Unruh. And now the brutal killing of a police investigator who was similarly obsessed with the little girl’s murder has put PI Mike Cobb and former crime-writing journalist Adam Cullen back on the killer’s trail - and directly in the line of fire. 

As the case is unfolding, Cullen is desperately trying to get out from under the thumb of a local biker gang without ruining his relationship, getting arrested ... or worse.

Adam Cullen is a freelance writer/former newspaper journalist and Mike Cobb is an ex-cop, now a private detective.  They work together on occasion.  Danny, a teenager, needs advice and comes to Adam and Mike ... his girlfriend's rich father wants him to kill his wife (Danny's girlfriend's mother) and make it look like a robbery.  Danny doesn't want to do it but the father is trying to blackmail him into doing it.

In the meantime, Adam had gotten financing from a not-so-nice motorcycle gang to keep his girlfriend's shelter open ... and now they expect him favours from him by running errands for them.  The consequences could be deadly if he refuses.

And finally, Adam and Mike have been obsessed with the unsolved murder of 11-year-old Faith in 1991.  This storyline started in a previous book in the series.  A former police officer who was even more obsessed about the case was recently murdered and Adam and Mike assume there is a link and are determined to solve these murders.

I liked the writing style and liked this story ... there was a lot going on.  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 in addition to Canadian musicians as Adam is a big music fan who 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).

This is the fourth and latest in the Cobb and Cullen series and I've read them all.  Hopefully there will be future books in the series.  It works as a stand alone as there is enough background provided so you don't have to read the other three to know what's been going on.

Happy Victoria Day!

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25, initially in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday.

The holiday has been observed in Canada since at least 1845, originally falling on Victoria's actual birthday (May 24, 1819). It's always been a distinctly Canadian observance.

Coronation Park, Trillium Park and William G. Davis Trail and Ontario Place, Toronto, ON

I went for a long walk (about 10km) this morning and headed south to the water.  I haven't been out much in the last couple of months and I miss my walks.

Lakeshore Blvd. W is down to two lanes (rather than the usual four).  The south two lanes are closed for pedestrians and cyclists.  When I got there around 10ish, it was fairly quiet.  On my way home a couple hours later, it was more crowded.

I started off at Coronation Park.  It was nice to get down by the water.  There still aren't any boats on the water, though that should be changing soon.   The only boat was a police boat.

Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, ON

Gord and I went for a walk to Trinity Bellwoods Park this morning.

We visited KC's tree.  I'd been to see it a couple weeks ago and it hadn't started budding ... and it is now.

Heading home, we saw a white squirrel in the southwest end of the park ... I've seen them there many times.

Honeycomb (aka Newfie) knitted mittens

I finished knitting a pair of mittens tonight ... it's been years since I've made mittens.  The pattern is for Honeycomb mittens but I'm seeing them referred to lately as Newfie mittens ... my sister had mailed me the pattern years ago.  They were fun to make.

I used black Red Heart Super Saver 4 ply yarn as my main colour (A), pinata Craft Smart (ombre) 4 ply yarn as my second colour (B) and 5mm double pointed needles.

Wrist

1. With A, cast on 42 sts
2. Knit 1, purl 1 for 18 rows
3. Purl
4. Purl, increasing 2 stitches on each needle for a total of 48 stitches

Pattern

1.  *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
2. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
3. Purl 2 rows with A
4. Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
5. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
6. Purl 2 rows with A
7.  *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
8. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
9. Purl 2 rows with A
10. Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
11. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
12. Purl 2 rows with A

Thumb

1. In step 12 above, purl 2, put 7 stitches on a stitch holder for the thumb and cast on 7 stitches, purl to the end.  Purl 1 row.

Mitten

1. Knit the pattern until long enough (I did 6)
2. Knit 1 row
3. *Knit 4, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
4. Knit 2 rows
5. *Knit 3, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
6. Knit 2 rows
7. *Knit 2, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
8. Knit 2 rows
9. *Knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
10. Thread the yarn through remaining the loops and pull tight
11. Weave end inside

Thumb

1. With A, pick up the 7 stitches from the holder
2. Pick up 7 stitches around the thumb hole for a total of 14 stitches
3. Knit to fit length of thumb
4. Knit 2 together all around
5. Thread the yarn through the remaining loops and pull tight
6. Weave end inside

Topbox - May 2020

My May Topbox arrived today.

Get 4 hand-picked deluxe samples delivered to your door for $15 per month. It's the best way to discover the products you'll love.

Here's what I received ...

•  Laritzy Cosmetics Shade Stix (Aloha)
• Kalaya Pain Relief Spray with Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil - works well to relief pain in my lower back!
• Delia Organics Eye Dare You Serum
• Barefoot Venus Perfume Your Soul - Hated it!  It smelled like gasoline :(

Line dancing

At my local YMCA, there are line dancing classes twice a week.  They are during the day and I try to get them when I'm working from home.  Since COVID-19 has arrived, the YMCA has been closed since mid-March.

I read in the Toronto Star yesterday that Donna, one of my line dancing instructors, is conducting line dancing classes every afternoon on her street.  I touched base with her and attended her class this afternoon.

The weather was lovely ... warm and sunny ... a very nice day to be outside.  Donna teaches on the road and we were on the sidewalk across from her, conscious of social distancing from each other.

Today Donna taught for just over an hour and the songs were a mixture of country, pop and rock ... something for everyone.  Some of the dances I knew from her class and most were new to me.

She lives on a fairly quiet one way street.  As cars drove by, some honked and cheered.  Some people walking by stopped and watched us for a while.

I'm happy she's doing these classes and I'm going to try to get to as many as I can.  I've missed them at the YMCA and it's a great excuse to get outside.

Sand stitch pattern dish cloth

I knitted a dish cloth this evening using a sand stitch pattern ... I found the pattern here.  It's an easy quick one.

I used cotton yarn and 4.5mm needles.

Cast on multiples of 2, plus 1 ... I cast on 41 stitches.

Row 1 (Right Side): purl all

Row 2 (Wrong Side): * K1, P1 *, K1

Follow pattern until desired length.

Cast off in purl.  Darn in the ends.

Broken check pattern dish cloth

I knitted a dish cloth today ... I found the pattern here.

I used cotton yarn and 4.5mm needles.

Cast on multiples of 8 stitches ... I cast on 40.

• Row 1: * Purl 7, knit 1; repeat from * to end.
• Row 2: * Purl 2, knit 6; repeat from * to end.
• Row 3: * Purl 5, knit 3; repeat from * to end.
• Row 4: * Purl 4, knit 4; repeat from * to end.
• Row 5: * Purl 3, knit 5; repeat from * to end.
• Row 6: * Purl 6, knit 2; repeat from * to end.
• Row 7: * Purl 1, knit 7; repeat from * to end.
• Row 8: Purl.
• Repeat Rows 1 - 8 until desired length.

Darn in the ends.

Broken rib pattern dish cloth

I knitted a dish cloth this evening ... I found the pattern here.

I used cotton yarn and 4.5mm needles.

Cast multiples of 8 plus 2 ... I cast on 42.

• Row 1 - right side: Knit 2, * purl 6, knit 2; repeat from * to end.
• Row 2: Purl 2, * knit 6, purl 2; repeat from * to end.
• Row 3: Knit.
• Row 4: Knit 4, purl 2, * knit 6, purl 2; repeat from * to last 4 sts, knit 4.
• Row 5: Purl 4, knit 2, *purl 6, knit 2; repeat from * to last 4 sts, purl 4.
• Row 6: Purl.
• Repeat rows 1 - 6 to desired length.

Darn in the ends.

Ipsy Glam Bag - April 2020

My April Ipsy Glam Bag arrived today.

• $12 a Glam Bag ($223CN for a year)
• 5 beauty products worth $50+ (the average Glam Bag value in 2019)
• Glam Bags are available in the U.S., U.S. Territories, & Canada. U.S. shipping is free. Taxes will apply to all bag orders shipped within the U.S. Canadian shipping is $2.95.

Here's what I received ...

• Make-up bag
• NOMAD COSMETICS Tuscany Intense Eyeshadow (Cantucci) - $3 value
• GLOSSIER Priming Moisturizer Rich - $8.10 value
• THANN Oatmeal Face Scrub - $6.30 value
• SERAPHINE BOTANICALS Berry + Juice - 100% Vegan Lip Gel in Rose Currant - $19 value
• ARACELI BEAUTY Ojos Perfectos Gel Pencil Eyeliner in Black/Negro - $16

Total value (excluding the bag) - $52.40US

Book ~ "Elevator Pitch" (2019) Linwood Barclay

From Goodreads ~ It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, non-stop, to the top. Once there, it stops for a few seconds, and then plummets.

Right to the bottom of the shaft.

It appears to be a horrific, random tragedy. But then, on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And when Wednesday brings yet another high-rise catastrophe, one of the most vertical cities in the world - and the nation’s capital of media, finance, and entertainment - is plunged into chaos.

Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s working. Fearing for their lives, thousands of men in women working in offices across the city refuse leave their homes. Commerce has slowed to a trickle. Emergency calls to the top floors of apartment buildings go unanswered.

Who is behind this? Why are they doing it? What do these deadly acts of sabotage have to do with the fingerless body found on the High Line? Two seasoned New York detectives and a straight-shooting journalist must race against time to find the answers before the city’s newest, and tallest, residential tower has its Friday night ribbon-cutting. 

Four random people get on an elevator in an office building in New York on Monday.  The elevator doesn't stop when it's supposed to ... and then plunges to the ground, killing the people inside.  The next day a Russian scientist is killed in an elevator malfunction in another building.  The next day there's another incident with an elevator in another building.  Coincidence?  A man is found murdered ... his head is beat to a bloody pulp and his finger tips have been cut off so he can't be identified.  The head of the Flyovers, a domestic terrorist group, and his wife are in town.  There's a lot going on in the city that week!

Barbara is a journalist who doggedly reports about the mayor, which adds extra pressure for him on top of what's happening with the elevators.  He hasn't always been a nice man and doesn't treat his son, who works for him, very well.  Barbara has a strained relationship with her daughter and things get more tense when she starts working for the mayor.

I've read many books by this author over the years ... some I've liked a lot and some not so much. I thought this one was just okay.  Coming in at about 450 pages, it's long ... and it seemed long.  There were lots of characters (it was hard to keep track of them sometimes).  There were side stories that would have been cut out because they didn't really impact the story (for example, many many pages were devoted to one of the cops who needed a puffer to manage his panic attacks from a previous incident ... huh?!).  It's written in third person perspective from many viewpoints.  I thought the "whodunnit" was a bit convoluted and I didn't really buy it.  As a head's up, there is swearing and violence.

Knitted dish cloth

I finished a dish cloth this evening.  It is a quick and easy pattern and I've made many of these over the years.

I used cotton yarn and 4.5mm needles.

Cast on 4 stitches.

Knit 2, YO, Knit to end.

Turn work.

Knit 2, YO, Knit to end.

Turn work.

Keep doing this over and over and over and over and over until there are 56 stitches.

Knit 1, K2tog, YO, K1, K2tog, knit to end.

Turn work.

Knit 1, K2tog, YO, K1, K2tog, knit to end.

Turn work.

Keep doing this over and over and over and over and over.

Cast off the final 4 stitches and darn in the ends.

Coronation Park, Toronto, ON

It it's a warm sunny afternoon (20C) and I went for a walk Coronation Park ... it's about a 20 minute walk south of us.

It was nice to get down by the water.   It was so strange, though, to not see any boats in the water yet ... there are two yacht clubs there.

There were a few people out and about hanging around the park.  Most were social distancing, which was good to see.  Some were not, though.  There was a woman taking pictures of another woman, getting in people's way as they wanted to walk along the path.  There were four families with young kids (and two of the women were very pregnant) taking pictures of each other also getting in the way.  I doubt they all live together so definitely not practicing social distancing.

There was a picnic table off to the side away from people passing by so I sat there and chilled for about a half hour.

Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, ON

I went for a walk to Trinity Bellwoods Park this afternoon.

I visited KC's tree.

I thought this message on the ball field fence was nice.

The cherry blossoms are blooming but because they tend to draw a lot of people and we are all practicing social distancing, the trees are barricaded.

Book ~ "The Garden of Small Beginnings" (2017) Abbi Waxman

From Goodreads ~ Lilian Girvan has been a single mother for three years - ever since her husband died in a car accident. One mental breakdown and some random suicidal thoughts later, she's just starting to get the hang of this widow thing. She can now get her two girls to school, show up to work and watch TV like a pro. The only problem is she's becoming overwhelmed with being underwhelmed.

At least her textbook illustrating job has some perks - like actually being called upon to draw whale genitalia. Oh, and there's that vegetable-gardening class her boss signed her up for. Apparently, being the chosen illustrator for a series of boutique vegetable guides means getting your hands dirty, literally. Wallowing around in compost on a Saturday morning can't be much worse than wallowing around in pajamas and self-pity.

After recruiting her kids and insanely supportive sister to join her, Lilian shows up at the Los Angeles botanical garden feeling out of her element. But what she'll soon discover - with the help of a patient instructor and a quirky group of gardeners - is that into every life a little sun must shine, whether you want it to or not.

Three years ago, Lilian witnessed her husband, Dan, get killed in an accident.  Since then, she has been trying deal with her sadness and get on with her life and taking care of her two young daughters.  Lilian is an illustrator for a publishing company, which is hired to design a gardening book for a client.  To give her some background, her boss signs her up to take a six week gardening course.  Since the course is free, her daughters and sister join her.

For the next six Saturdays, not only does the class garden grow and nurture but so do the friendships of the people in the class.  Each are different and have their own stories.  There is an attraction between Lilian and Edward, their instructor, but Lilian has to figure out if she's ready to let go of the past and move on with her future.

This is the third book I've read by this author and I liked it.  It was written in first person perspective in Lilian's voice.  Despite the subject matter, I found the writing amusing.  As a head's up, there is swearing.