Duff's Famous Wings, Toronto, ON

I had supper at Duff’s Famous Wings (College/Manning) this evening. It was a busy spot ... I got there just before the rush!

I had wings with medium sauce, dill dipping sauce and fries. Yum! There was just the right amount of heat.

The servers were friendly and took good care of me.

Twisted Hat

I finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s a fun and easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove.

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

Crafty Coyote, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper this evening at Crafty Coyote (on Bloor Street W, east of Bathurst).

He had a Chicken Schnitzel Burger (Chicken Schnitzel, Melted Cheddar, Arugula, Tomato, Spanish Onion, Avocado, Jalapeños, and Ranch-Dressing on a Brioche Bun.) and salad and I had wings with Franks Hot Sauce and fries. Both were good, though Gord said the dressing on his salad was bland.

Book ~ "Dear Edward" (2020) Ann Napolitano

From Goodreads ~ One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them is a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured vet returning from Afghanistan, a septuagenarian business tycoon and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. And then, tragically, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor. 

Edward's story captures the attention of the nation but he struggles to find a place for himself in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a piece of him has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery - one that will lead him to the answers of some of life's most profound questions: When you've lost everything, how do find yourself? How do you discover your purpose? What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?

Eddie is 12 years old and he and his older brother, his mother and his father are flying from New York City to Los Angeles where his mother has a new job. During the flight, the plane crashes and Eddie is the only survivor. After his recovery, he goes to live with his mother's sister, Lacey, and her husband, John, in New Jersey. Once he is better physically, he struggles to recover emotionally and mentally. His next door neighbour, Shay, who is his age, becomes his only friend.

I thought this story was just okay. It starts when the plane is taking off and jumps back and forth in time from Edward's (as he know wants to be known) present time to the time on the plane leading up to the crash. We get to know handful of passengers ... Veronica, the flight attendant; Florida, a free-spirited woman who is living in her most recent reincarnated body; Linda, who just found out she is pregnant and is hoping the baby's father will be happy to see her; Benjamin, a gay injured soldier returning from Afghanistan; Mark, a Wall Street exec whose goal is to make money and show how good he is; and Crispin, a bitter old rich man whose health is failing. It's written in third person perspective in various voices (including Edward's, his parents, his brother and the passengers we've gotten to know) depending on where the focus was. I thought the writing style could have been tighter as I found it dragged at times. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Martin Goodman Trail, Toronto, ON

It's a gorgeous sunny day and 64F/18C so I headed to the water and went for a walk along the Martin Goodman Trail. I parked in the lot near the Humber Bay Arch Bridge and headed towards it and crossed over it.

I hung out at Sheldon Lookout for a while and enjoyed the sunshine and the view.

Book ~ "Everyone is Beautiful" (2009) Katherine Center

From Goodreads ~ Lanie Coates’s life is spinning out of control. She’s piled everything she owns into a U-Haul and driven with her husband, Peter, and their three little boys from their cozy Texas home to a multiflight walkup in the Northeast. She’s left behind family, friends and a comfortable life - all so her husband can realize his dream of becoming a professional musician. But somewhere in the eye of her personal hurricane, it hits Lanie that she once had dreams too. If only she could remember what they were.

These days, Lanie always seems to rank herself dead last - and when another mom accidentally criticizes her appearance, it’s the final straw. Fifteen years, three babies and more pounds than she’s willing to count since the day she said “I do,” Lanie longs desperately to feel like her old self again. It’s time to rise up, fish her moxie out of the diaper pail and find the woman she was before motherhood capsized her entire existence.

Lanie sets change in motion - joining a gym, signing up for photography classes and finding a new best friend. But she also creates waves that come to threaten her whole life. In the end, Lanie must figure out once and for all how to find herself without losing everything else in the process.

Lanie's husband, Peter, is a musician and when they started having children, they decided it made sense financially for her to stay home and take care of them instead of continuing to work. They now have three sons with the oldest being three and it's a full-time job for her. The boys are constantly on the go so she's busy busy busy with no time for herself.

When Peter gets a job in Cambridge, MA, they make the long move from Texas. Lanie doesn't know anyone and she's lost the support of her parents who are still in Texas. She assumes she'll make friends with other young mothers but that doesn't happen ... she does reconnect with someone she went to high school with who seems to have the perfect young daughter. Lanie realizes she has lost herself and starts working on that ... she joins a gym and takes a photography course.

I've read a few books by this author and I wasn't crazy about this one. There was far too much minute-by-minute detail about her rambunctious undisciplined sons. I've never had children but their behaviour seemed exaggerated, especially considering she's a stay-at-home mom. 

I didn't find any of the characters likeable. Peter is the dad but because he works he expects Lanie to be responsible for their sons 100% of the time ... I thought he was a bad dad. But Lanie allows it so I was glad when she eventually takes a stand and joins the gym and takes the photography course (she had to fight with Peter to be able to). It got tiring hearing about how little money they had all the time, though. I thought Lanie's response to her mom's news that they were selling their house to move was childish ... Lanie and her brothers hadn't lived there in years. It's written in third person perspective in Lainie's voice.

Burrito Bandidos, Toronto, ON

I have a meeting in the Spadina/Bloor W area so picked up a small chicken burrito for supper at Burrito Bandidos on Walmer (just off Bloor W). 

There were lots of ingredients to choose from and I got chicken, cheese, rice, beans, salsa, corn, tomatoes and burrito sauce. Apparently small burritos are a pound and this is quite heavy!

It's a small spot with a couple of stools so I ate half of it on a picnic table outside on the sidewalk (it's a nice day) and I'll have the rest later.

Twisted Hat

I finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s a fun and easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove.

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

Trinity Bellwoods Park, Toronto, ON

It was such a nice day today (sunny and warm) so I went for a long walk.

I headed first to Trinity Bellwoods Park on Queen Street W, which is about a km away. Many dogs, 20 people playing chess, people chillaxing, a man trying to fly a kite and more! 

KC's tree is still waiting to bud

Queen Star Restaurant, Toronto, ON

I had brunch this morning at Queen Star Restaurant (Queen Street W/Dovercourt Road) ... it's been years since I've been there.

I ordered bacon and three eggs. It was nothing fancy but it was nice and cheap! Just over $10 with a tip!

Twisted Hat

I finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s a fun and easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove.

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 ~ "The Road to Heaven" (2024) Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson

From Goodreads ~ Police academy burnout turned private eye Patrick Bird works divorce cases, using his camera to catch the unfaithful and the lonely looking for love in rented rooms. But his easy routine is shattered by a new case involving a missing girl.

Sixteen-year-old Abbie Linklater hasn’t been home for three days. Her mother believes Abbie’s getting an abortion. Her twin brother thinks she’s studying at the library. Her best friend couldn’t care less. Her father has no idea; he just wants her home without involving the police.

Before the sun sets on the first day of his investigation, as Bird roams the streets of Toronto looking for the runaway, he’s caught a drifter prowling in the Linklater’s backyard, stumbled into a creepy church with a belligerent minister, sparred with the client, been hit by a car and discovered some loose ends in a bank robbery gone wrong a decade earlier.

And that was before he found the body.

It's July 1965 and Patrick Bird is a private detective in Toronto, specializing in catching unfaithful spouses in compromising situations. His next case is finding a missing teenager named Abbie. Her father hires the detective agency rather than contacting the police because he wants it to be kept quiet. Patrick starts tracking Abbie's movements and realizes she is still in their neighbourhood. As Patrick keeps digging, he realizes her disappearance has something to do with a bank robbery in their neighbourhood about 10 years earlier.

This is the first in the Patrick Bird series. It is written in first person perspective in Patrick's voice. I liked the writing style but found it got a bit draggy at times, for example when Patrick visited the church and the minister's sermon was repeated word for word. I thought it started out interesting but then got a bit convoluted and farfetched (especially the scene in the old Seahorse Motel). I liked that it was set in the High Park and Parkdale neighbourhoods of Toronto ... I don't live far from them so know the places Patrick checked out. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Twisted Hat

I finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s a fun and easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove.

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 ~ "Fatal Harvest" (2024) Brenda Chapman

From Goodreads ~ Eleven-year-old Matt Clark is staying in the outlying village of Ashton for the summer while his parents work out their separation. He’s been told to keep his head down and to stay off social media. Labour Day has come and gone and Matt believes he’ll be home soon, completely unaware that someone has been posting his photo and location on one of the sites and trouble is on its way.

Detective Liam Hunter gets the call - a double murder and a missing boy. While he spearheads the investigation, true crime podcaster Ella Tate undertakes her own search for the killer with mixed results. Meanwhile Homicide and Major Crimes is undergoing a major upheaval and the top position is up for grabs as Hunter’s partner struggles to keep her job.

Eleven-year-old Matt has been spending the summer in a small town outside of Ottawa with Devina and Stu, friends of his mother's. He comes home after fishing with his buddy, Jimmy, to find them murdered and there's a man still lurking about. He panics and takes off into hiding. When Devina and Stu's bodies are found, the police wonder about Matt. Did he kill them? Was he kidnapped or also murdered?

Police officers Liam Hunter and Rosie Thornburn investigate. In the meantime, there are internal changes and tension happening within their department which could be distracting. Liam usually works on the sly with Ella Tate, a true crime podcaster, exchanging information on cases, though they didn't spend a lot of time together in this story.

I have read quite a few of this author's books and enjoy them. This one is written in third person perspective depending on where the action was. Though it is the third in the Hunter and Tate series (and I've read the first two), you can read it as a stand alone but I'd recommend you read the first two first so you'll have the background of the characters. The whodunnit was an interesting twist. I like that it is set in Ottawa, ON, and the author doesn't try to hide it. 

Happy birthday, Crumpet

Happy 13th birthday to my girl, Crumpet!