Monday, 5 March 2007

Book ~ "Anyone But You" - Jennifer Crusie (2006)

From www.jennycrusie.com ~ For Nina Askew, turnng forty means freedom —from the ex-husband whose career always came first, from their stuffy suburban home. Freedom to have her own apartment in the city, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed — a puppy. A bouncy puppy to cheer her up. Instead she gets … Fred. Overweight, smelly and obviously suffering from some kind of doggy depression, Fred is light years from perky. But for all his faults, he does manage to put Nina face-to-face with Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger downstairs neighbor. Alex looks great on paper — a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor who shares Fred's abiding love for Oreos — but a ten-year difference in age, despite his devastating smile, is too wide a gap for Nina to handle. Ignoring her insistent best friend, some interfering do-gooders and the ubiquitous Fred — not to mention her suddenly raging hormones — Nina thinks anyone but Alex would be a better bet for a relationship. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it's the young dog-loving doctor she wants to sit and stay!

A fluffy novel but a fun quick read.

Casa Loma, Toronto, ON

Today was Sister Sarah's last day in Toronto before she headed home to Halifax.

We started off with lunch at the Rotisserie House (King W/Atlantic).

Then we headed over to the Dufferin Mall. When Sister Sarah lived in Toronto, she loved this mall!
Sister Sarah at the Dufferin Mall

Then we headed to Casa Loma for a while.
Sister Sarah in front of Casa Loma

The view of downtown Toronto from the Scottish Tower
Sister Sarah and friend
I got a bit more friendly!

See you in St. John's, Sister Sarah, on May 18 to kiss some cod!

Sunday, 4 March 2007

Mandarin Buffet, Toronto, ON

We had supper tonight at the Mandarin on the Queensway. We ate too much but it was really good!

Helen, our waitress, brought Sister Sarah a piece of cake to celebrate her birthday.

Bellini-time!

After the movie, we had some time to kill before supper so we went to Milestones on the Queensway for a Bellini. Gord had a mojito.

Saturday, 3 March 2007

Happy birthday, Sister Sarah!



Today is my favourite sister's birthday!

Sister Sarah is 39 today and
is spending the weekend with us
(she lives in Halifax, NS)

Krazy Karaoke at the Gladstone, Toronto, ON

Since Sister Sarah and Joey are into karaoke in Halifax, we finishe off the night at the Gladstone on Queen W (voted "best karaoke bar" by NOW Magazine four years running) ... just a couple blocks from home.
Sister Sarah and Gord put their names up to sing a song (John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" but it was so packed that we left before they got called.

Drake, Toronto, ON

Gord and I don't live far from the Drake on Queen Street W ... a trendy bar where all the "beautiful people" go.

Gord and I go once in a while and like it. We had a glass of bubbly downstairs and then headed upstairs to the enclosed patio where Sister Sarah and I had a Porn Star. The bartender gave us a complimentary birthday shooter.

Hurricane's, Toronto, ON

When Sister Sarah lived in Toronto from 1992 to 1996, we used to go to a bar called Hurricane's at Bloor W/Dovercourt.

They had a signature drink called the MartNick that was a mixture of milk, Pepsi, rum, tequila and who knows what else! The bar isn't owned by Martin or Nick anymore and the waitress hadn't heard of the MartNick (probably not a bad thing!).

Gord had been in a fencing tournament in London (he came 10 out of 15) and met us at Hurricane's afterwards. We had a couple drinks and wings for supper.

Churchmouse and Firkin, Toronto, ON

After lunch, Sister Sarah and I walked along Queen Street W and then through the Eaton Centre. It was packed! We got a couple extensions in our hair ... Sister Sarah's are dark fuscia and mine are purple (of course!). Very cool!

We headed up Yonge and veered off to have a cocktail (an Illusion) at the Churchmouse and Firkin at Church/Maitland. The bartender gave us a complementary shooter to celebrate Sister Sarah's birthday.

Bellwoods Bar & Grill, Toronto, ON

Sister Sarah and I started our day with lunch. I took her to the Bellwoods Bar and Grill on Queen Street W (at Niagara Street) ... home of the 16 ounce burger! With fries, it's only $6.

Though we made a valiant effort, our burgers defeated us!

The Bellwoods Bar & Grill on Urbanspoon

Friday, 2 March 2007

Book ~ "Dinner for Two" - Mike Gayle (2006)

From Goodreads ~ Thirty-two-year-old Dave Harding has an enviable life -career as a music journalist; a beautiful wife, Izzy; and a nice flat in London. But he feels the pain of Izzy's miscarriage so deeply that he realizes how much he wants to be a father. As luck would have it, it turns out he already is ... to a 13-year-old girl, Nicola, with whose mother he had a one-night stand just before college. 

After he learns of Nicola's existence, they begin seeing each other on the sly, telling neither Izzy nor Nicola's mother. This ploy buys them time to get to know one another before dealing with the inevitable complications. But deal they must, eventually. Gayle, to his credit, does not tidy things up too neatly, letting Izzy and Dave's relationship ride the fence.

I found that this book started out a bit slow and I was tempted to give up on it. But because I enjoyed Gayle's Turning Thirty, I persevered. And I'm glad I did.

Dave is a writer and his articles are included in the book ... I liked the writing style of Gayle, not Dave, and the short bit-sized chapters.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. It's interesting to read "lad lit" books for a chance.

Snoozin' in the sun

KC and Morgan are having a nap on the floor next to me.

How cute are they?!
Byron is snoozing in our bed.

Monday, 26 February 2007

Book ~ "Mike, Mike & Me" - Wendy Markham (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ The inventive premise of Markham's winning novel involves a love triangle in both the past and the present among pretty Beau, the Mike she married, and the Mike she left behind. Beau spent her early twenties in Manhattan in the late 1980s working for a television show and dating her high-school sweetheart, Mike, who was torn between moving to New York and staying in California. Beau is waiting in an airport bar for Mike when she meets the other Mike, a handsome stranger who charms her right off the bat and asks her out. In the present, Beau is married to one of the Mikes, living in the suburbs with him and their three children, but an email from the other Mike gets her wondering about what could have been and what still could be. Markham alternates between the past and the present, not giving away which Mike Beau chose to marry until the very end of the novel.

Interesting concept for a book. I wasn't really sure which Mike she ended up with until the end ... and she picked the one I was rooting for! I like the way it kept bouncing back and forth between the 1980s and today. It was a hoot to read about the styles of clothes and hair as if it was today.

Author's website

Sunday, 25 February 2007

Toronto Marlies 1, Manitoba Moose 3

Gord got free tickets from where he works for this afternoon's Marlies' game (they are the farm team for the Toronto Maple Leafs).

They were playing the Manitoba Moose (the farm team for the Vancouver Canucks).

The seats were good. Alas, we lost 3 to 1. They were giving away bobbleheads of Marc Moro.

We don't live far from Ricoh Coliseum but drove anyway. It's a good thing we did because when we came out after the game, there was a snow storm happening.

Gord

Saturday, 24 February 2007

"The Phantom of the Opera", Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, ON

This story of a disfigured composer has captured audiences all over the world. Living in the depths of the Paris Opera House, the Phantom becomes infatuated with a woman named Christine. Her voice and kindhearted soul draw him close to her but his tragic existence only tears them apart. Winner of seven 1988 Tony Awards, Phantom is a must-see for musical lovers!

Gord and I saw "The Phantom of the Opera" this afternoon at the Princess of Wales Theatre. This is one of my favourite plays ... it's my fourth time seeing it.

This version is an American production that will be here until June. It was really good ... I enjoyed it.

My favourite Phantom is Colm Wilkinson. I saw him twice in it (my first two times) and I love his voice. Here he is ...







Twenty years ago today

Twenty years ago today I moved from Antigonish, NS, to Toronto.

Antigonish is a small of town of about 5,000 people. The Town of Antigonish was incorporated in 1889. Established as the Highland Heart of Nova Scotia, Antigonish is the home of the oldest continuously run Highland Games in North America. Established in 1853, St. Francis Xavier University (St. F.X) moved its campus to Antigonish Town in 1855.

I had moved to Antigonish in September 1980 from Sydney, NS, to go to St.F.X. I met my first husband (he was a "townie") and stayed after I graduated.

My dog, Smidley, and I flew to Toronto, almost 1,800 kms away. My then-husband had come up three months earlier to find a job and an apartment.


As soon as I moved to Toronto, I loved it!

At that time, a lot of our friends were moving to Toronto because they couldn't find work in Antigonish. But they hated the city ... it was too big (our current population is just over 4.5 million). They would work long enough to be able to collect Employment Insurance (aka "pogy") and then move home again.


Wednesday, 21 February 2007

Book ~ "Seven Sunny Days" - Chris Manby (2005)

From Amazon.com ~ Rachel and her two best friends, Carrie Ann and Yaslyn, are headed to a resort in Turkey for "hen week" before Rachel ties the knot with Patrick. Carrie Ann has just finalized her divorce from her husband of 15 years. Ruminating on being single at 34, she is not sure about her friends' plan to have her hook up with a Norwegian vacationer. Glamorous Yaslyn, a model whose career is sliding downhill, is dating one of Patrick's good friends but can't help lapping up the male attention she receives at the resort. Marcus and Sally are also on holiday at the resort, hoping to save their failing five-year-old marriage. Axel, 23, is still mooning after the college girl who threw him over in Paris.

What a crappy book! It sounded like a fun read. I didn't care about any of the characters - they were either whiny or pathetic. The things that happened were dumb. Don't waste your money or your time on this one.

Monday, 19 February 2007

Good Parents Pay

Ontario's Ministry of Community and Social Services has recently started a website called Good Parents Pay. On it they have posted the pictures of parents who have skipped off without paying child support payments.

Good parents pay support orders to help their children. You can help Ontario children and families by helping us find missing, irresponsible parents who have defaulted on the payments owed to their kids.

The individuals posted on this website are registered with the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), but have not made their support payments and cannot be found.

We have tried to find these individuals through various trace and locate efforts. They have not made their support payments for at least six months. Our legislation and regulations set out more information.

The FRO will continue its efforts to find these individuals through all means possible, and if successful, will remove the posting from this website. But in the meantime, you can help.
Any information you have that can help us find these individuals can be sent anonymously to the FRO through this website, or by phone, or by fax, or by mail.

It should be interesting to see how effective it is. I hope it works.

Saturday, 17 February 2007

Book ~ "A Little Stranger" - Kate Pullinger (2004)

From Guardian Unlimited Books ~ When Fran deserts her baby, Louis, and flies off to Las Vegas, she commits the maternal equivalent of the sin against the Holy Ghost. In this flawed but impressive novel, Kate Pullinger treats with thoughtful sympathy that profound taboo, the breaking of the mother-baby bond. The novel uses a fractured narrative perspective to investigate the source of such transgression. By alternating third- and first-person voices and skipping back and forth in time, Pullinger creates a fictional conversation about the rights and wrongs of Fran's position. Is Fran right to call herself "a rubbish mother"? Where does the rage that darkens her originate?

What I liked about this book - the writing style.

What I didn't like about this book - I didn't feel any sympathy for the characters, including Nick, Fran's husband, and could care less about what happened to them. And some of the things that happened were hard to believe ... like Leslie taking Fran in, letting her (a stranger with no money) stay in her hotel room in Vegas, giving her a drive to Vancouver and then hanging out with her.

Given the nature of the story, I didn't expect it to be a happy cheery story (and it wasn't).

Would I recommend it? No.