Boomerluxe Box - August 2016

My August Boomerluxe deluxe box arrived today.

Five fun, unique and useful full size items.

Product categories include fashion, cosmetic, beauty, wellness and lifestyle items.

An introduction to one or more emerging products that you won’t find on the shelves of your local drug store through our Women Helping Women mandate.

Each box is valued at well over your cost.

Subscriptions are $34.99  (plus shipping) for one month or $199.98 (plus shipping) for six months.

This month's theme is Looking Good and Feeling Great.

Here's what I received ...

Topbox - August 2016

My August 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 ...

• novex Argan Oil Deep Conditioning Hair Mask - $6.57 value value - I've used their hair masks before and like them ... I like this mask
• Elizabeth Arden Skin Illuminating Brightening Night Capsules With Advanced MI˟ Concentrate - 2 x capsules -  $8.80 value - I've been using the capsules at night ... they smell and feel nice.
• Smashbox Photo Finish Pore Minimizing Foundation Primer - 7ml -  $12.72 value
• Manna Kadar Cosmetics Radiance Split Pan Bronzer and Highlighter Duo - $27.68 value
• Free brow waxing and design at Caryl Baker Visage - $15.50

Total value = $70.27 value

Book ~ "Service Tails: More Stories of Man's Best Hero" (2016) Ace Collins

From Goodreads ~ Not all heroic dogs wildly toss themselves into lifesaving situations. Some save lives simply by their incredible commitment to duty and service. Some lead the way to independence for people whose disabilities were supposed to limit their lives. 

In "Service Tails: More Stories of Man's Best Hero", author Ace Collins introduces us to leaders whose entire lives are wrapped in the banner of service. Their stories are remarkable snapshots of the value of vision and teamwork, as well as devotion to duty and unconditional love and acceptance-stretching the way we see both canine and human potential. Their training was intense, their loyalty unquestioned and each step of the way they constantly adapt to better serve those they lead. These unforgettable dogs are more than heroes; they are models from which we can learn how to love and serve unconditionally.

I love reading stories about dogs!

This book showcases 12 true stories of service dogs.  There were a variety of stories of dogs who served people who were blind, had Alzheimer's, were deaf, had vertigo, cerebral palsy, etc.

The first story is about Morris Frank, who went blind and was the first person to be partnered with a seeing eye dog (in the late 1920s) and the co-founder of The Seeing Eye, a guide-dog school.  Other stories include:

• Cristina, who struggled with asthma and Tatiana (2012 American Humane Association "Hearing Hero Dog of the Year"), her dog who saved her life
• Tim, a quadriplegic since a diving accident at age 16 who gained his independence because of a dog named Yaz
• George, a teacher who eventually went blind and became a pioneer in digital talking books and his dog Nesbit
• Jared, who was born with cerebral palsy and how his dog, John III, opened up a new world for him

This is the second book I've read by this author and I enjoyed it. I liked the writing style. He did a great job telling stories about the dogs and the humans they served.

Roundhouse Craft Beer Festival, Toronto, ON

Gord and I went to the Roundhouse Craft Beer Festival this afternoon ... it was today and tomorrow.  This is the fourth time we've been to the summer one ... we've been twice to the winter one.

Tickets (which included the tasting mug) were $20 in advance.

The gates opened at noon and we got in line about 11:30am.  There were people going down the line selling drink tokens (tokens were $1) and checking IDs, which made things efficient.

When the gate opened at noon, it didn't take long to get in.  They gave out ball caps to the first 200 people through the gate.  Alas, we weren't one of them.

All the beer I had were delicious!

My first stop was a lager from Naughty Otter.

Book ~ "Curious Minds" (2016) Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton

From Goodreads ~ Emerson Knight is introverted, eccentric, and has little to no sense of social etiquette. Good thing he’s also brilliant, rich, and (some people might say) handsome, or he’d probably be homeless. Riley Moon has just graduated from Harvard Business and Harvard Law. Her aggressive Texas spitfire attitude has helped her land her dream job as a junior analyst with mega-bank Blane-Grunwald. At least Riley Moon thought it was her dream job, until she is given her first assignment: babysitting Emerson Knight. 

What starts off as an inquiry about missing bank funds in the Knight account leads to inquiries about a missing man, missing gold, and a life-and-death race across the country. Through the streets of Washington, D.C., and down into the underground vault of the Federal Reserve in New York City, an evil plan is exposed. A plan so sinister that only a megalomaniac could think it up, and only the unlikely duo of the irrepressibly charming Emerson Knight and the tenacious Riley Moon can stop it. 

Riley has recently graduated from university and has landed a job at a large bank.  Her first major assignment is to touch base with young eccentric millionaire, Emerson, and discuss his recent inheritance.  A large portion of Emerson's wealth is in gold and he wants Riley to take him to the bank so he can see it.  When they get to the bank, he discovers that his former contact at the bank has disappeared and Emerson has volunteered to find him.  He asks Riley's boss to let her help him and against her will, she does.  What they stumble upon is a possible theft of billions of dollars in gold and Emerson is determine to find it.

I've read many books by Janet Evanovich over the years (I especially enjoy her Fox and O'Hare series) and this is a new series she is starting with writer Phoef Sutton.  I liked the writing style ... I found it flowed well and was a quick read.  The story was a bit crazy but I went with it.  It is written in third person perspective with the focus on wherever the action was.  As a head's up, there was a bit of swearing.

I liked Riley and Emerson.  Both are intelligent but Emerson is a bit out there whereas Riley has had real world experiences (she grew up in Texas as the daughter of a sheriff).  Emerson doesn't really catch on to sarcasm.  I doubt he's had much experience with women.  I liked the interaction between them and it was humorous at times.  I liked the supporting characters (Emerson's aunt and cousin, etc.).

I look forward to reading future books in the series.

Trius wine club - August 2016

Our August Trius wine club box arrived today.

Gord and I have been members of the Trius Wine Club for over ten years.

Every month, 2 bottles of our best wine will be delivered to your door along with Winemaker Craig McDonald’s tasting notes and Executive Chef Frank Dodd’s recipes.

The cost is $46 a month and it's only available in Ontario.

"bubbling" ... does that mean what I hope it means?!

Here is the newsletter ...

Here's what we received ...

Yes!  There's a bottle of bubbly!

• Trius Brut - $27.95 - the recipe included it's paired with is Summer Strawberry Soufflé (Critical Acclaim:  Gold medal - Best in Class:  Best Canadian Sparkling Wine - Champagne and Sparkling Wine World Championships, UK 2015)
• Trius Merlot (2014) - $14.95 - the recipe included it's paired with is Grilled Chicken, Tomato and Arugula Salad

Book ~ "15th Affair" (2016) James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

From Goodreads ~ Detective Lindsay Boxer has everything she could possibly want. Her marriage and baby daughter are perfect, and life in Homicide in the San Francisco Police Department is going well. But all that could change in an instant.

Lindsay is called to a crime scene at the Four Seasons Hotel. There is a dead man in one of the rooms, shot at close range. The man checked in under a false name with no ID on him so the first puzzle will be finding out who he is.

In the room next door are a dead young man and woman, also shot. They are surrounded by high-tech surveillance equipment. Could they have been spying on the man now dead in the room next to them?

And in the utilities cupboard down the hall is the dead body of a house maid. The murders are all clearly linked and professionally executed. But what is the motive behind it all? Lindsay will need to risk everything she has to find out. 

Lindsay is a detective with the San Francisco Police Department.  She and her team are called out when a man is found naked and shot in a hotel.  In the room next to his are two young people, who appear to have been spying on the man, also shot.  None of them have any ID.  Hotel footage show a beautiful woman entering the hotel and the man's room but that's all they have.  As Lindsay and her team keep digging, she discovers that there could be international espionage involved.

In the meantime, her husband, Joe, who is a former FBI agent and Homeland Security agent and is now a consultant, had disappeared and hasn't been in contact with Lindsay.  So in addition to solving the hotel murders, Lindsay now wonders whether her husband is still alive.

This is the latest (the fifteenth) in the Women's Murder Club series (I've read them all). Though it is part of a series, it does work as a stand alone.  There are four members of the Women's Murder Club ... Lindsay, Cindy, Claire and Yuki, though the focus is on Lindsay.  The ladies do get together a couple times but the time is spent delving over Joe's disappearance, not fun stuff.  In this book, Yuki is basically non-existent.  Lindsay seemed more mad than concerned that her husband was missing.

I liked the writing style and it went at a good pace. I liked the short choppy chapters.  I thought this book was okay ... it was a bit much, though, with the crazy storylines.  The point of view shifted ... it was first person perspective when the focus was on Lindsay and third person perspective when the focus was on everyone else ... but it was easy to figure out.  As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence.

Ipsy Glam Bag - August 2016

My August Ipsy Glam Bag arrived today... the theme is Sugar Highness.

• 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.  It works out to $229.07CN for the year ($19.09CN a month).

Here's what I received ...

• Make-up bag
• Ciaté London Paint Pot (Dangerous Affair) - $17 value
• The Organic Pharmacy Rose Facial Cleansing Gel - 30ml - $25.50 value - I like it!
• Rodial Smokey Eye Pen (Black) - $23.33 value
• it HAIRCARE 12-in-one Amazing Leave-in Treatment - $14.99 value
• tarte cosmetics tarteist™ lash paint mascara - 3ml - $9.86 value

Total value: $90.68US (without the make-up bag)

Dovercourt Village Pizza Company, Toronto, ON

I love pizza and I went to Dovercourt Village Pizza Company (at Dovercourt Road/Bloor Street W) for lunch today.

Book ~ "Kill Fee" (2014) Owen Laukkanen

From Goodreads ~ The billionaire picked a heck of a way to die. 

On a beautiful Saturday in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, state investigator Kirk Stevens and his occasional colleague FBI special agent Carla Windermere witness the assassination of one of the state’s wealthiest men. The shooter is a young man, utterly unremarkable - except in his eyes. There is something very wrong in his eyes. 

And it’s only the beginning. The events of that sunny springtime day will lead Stevens and Windermere across the country, down countless blind alleys, and finally to a very flourishing twenty-first-century enterprise: a high-tech murder-for-hire social media website. But just who has the dead-eyed shooter targeted next ... and who’s choosing his victims? That’s where things get complicated.

Carla Windermere is an FBI special agent and Kirk Stevens a special agent with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).  Over the last few years, they have worked a couple cases together and have become friends.  They have gotten together for a visit when they witness a wealthy man being gunned down in broad daylight.  They give chase to the sniper but he gets away.  Windermere and Stevens are then assigned to this case.

As more people start getting murdered, Windermere and Stevens discover that there is a killer-for-hire website and they start crisscrossing the country trying to get ahead of the mastermind behind it.

Though this is the third in the Stevens and Windermere series, it works well as a stand alone.  I had read the first one when it came out in 2012 and enjoyed it.  I came across the fifth one and read it in April (and remembered the series) so now I'm catching up on them.

I liked the writing style and found the story interesting, though it took me a bit to get into it.  The story is a bit unrealistic but I went with it.  It's written in third person perspective with a focus on the various characters.  I like the short and/or choppy chapters.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I've never been a big Windermere fan and I didn't find her overly endearing in this book.  Despite Stevens being in love with his wife and them having children, there has been an attraction between Windermere and Stevens and they come close to stepping over the boundaries.  Then there's Mather's, Windermere's new younger partner, who is also attracted to her.  I found this love triangle distracting and it didn't add to the story.

Book ~ "What Color Is Your Parachute? 2017: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers" (2016) Richard N. Bolles

From Goodreads ~ In today's challenging job-market, the time-tested advice of "What Color Is Your Parachute?" is needed more than ever. 

Recent grads facing a tough economic landscape, workers laid off mid-career, and people searching for an inspiring work-life change all look to career guru Richard N. Bolles for support, encouragement, and advice on which job-hunt strategies work - and which don't. 

This revised and updated edition combines classic elements like the famed Flower Exercise with updated tips on social media and search tactics. Bolles demystifies the entire job-search process, from resumes to interviewing to networking, expertly guiding job-hunters toward their dream job. 

Since the so-called recession of 2008, things have changed.  What used to work in job hunting doesn't work anymore.  The length of the average job hunt has increased, the length of time the average job lasts has decreased, the way jobs are done is changing, and not surprising that job hunting has move more and more online.

The contents of this book include:

1. It's a whole new world for job-hunters
2. Google is your new résumé
3. There are over ten million vacancies each month
4. Sixteen tips about interviewing for a job
5. The six secrets of salary negotiations
6. What do to do when your job hunt just isn't working
7. Self-inventory, part 1
8. Self-inventory, part 2
9. You get to choose where you work
10. How do deal with any handicaps you have
11. The five ways to choose/change careers
12. How to start your own business

In the appendices:

1. Finding your mission in life
2. A guide to dealing with your feelings while out of work
3. A guide to choosing a career coach or counselor
4. Sampler list of coaches

This book is a handy reference if you are out of work, trying to find a new career, trying to figure out what you want to do next, thinking about starting your own business and more.  There is lot of advice, procedures, quizzes, and websites to guide you.

One thing I found odd was the appendix about finding your mission and the heavy emphasis on God and religion.  The author is a Christian and that's fine but I didn't think expressing his religious beliefs was appropriate so I skipped this chapter.

Barley Pub & Eatery, Madoc, ON

Gord's mom, Minnie, his sister, Judy, and Judy's husband, Doug, live near Madoc (about a half hour north of Belleville).  We drove down today (about a 2.5 hour drive) and had lunch with them at the Barley Pub & Eatery.

Gord ordered the Classic Barley Burger with bacon and onion rings.  It looked like a good burger and he said it was.  That's what Judy got too and she liked hers too.  I'll get that next time.

Book ~ "Detached" (2016) Christina Kilbourne

From Goodreads ~ Anna has always been so level-headed, so easy-going, so talented and funny. How could anyone have guessed she wanted to die?

Anna is not like other people. For one thing, she’s been an accomplished artist since she was a preschooler. For another, she’s always felt like she didn’t belong: not with other kids, not with her family, not in her body. It isn’t until her grandparents are killed in a tragic accident, however, that Anna starts to feel untethered. She begins to wonder what it would be like if she didn’t exist and the thought of escaping the aimless drifting is the only thing that brings her comfort.

When Anna overdoses on prescription pain killers the doctors realize she has been suffering from depression and start looking for a way to help her out of the desperate black hole she never thought she would escape. It’s then that rock bottom comes into sight and the journey back to normal begins. 

From the outside, it seems like teenager Anna has everything.  She has caring parents, she lives in a nice house, she is an accomplished artist and she has friends who care about her.  Then why is she so unhappy and wants to kill herself?

Anna is ready to die.  The story is about her trying to figure out what the best way would be so she considers them all ... falling off a bridge, jumping in front of traffic, drowning, hanging, etc.  As she's doing this, she tries to live her life normally so no realizes how unhappy she really is.  She finally decides that an overdose of pain killers would be the best way and that's what she eventually does.

This is the first book I've read by this author.  It's not a happy story and I think the author handled it well.  In the introduction at the beginning of the book, Kilbourne said that it was a hard book to write and she didn't want to write it at first.  But she was approached by a mother whose son had committed suicide and she wanted a book she cold use in her outreach efforts.

I liked the writing style.  It is written in first person perspective from Anna, Aliya (Anna's best friend) and Anna's mother's points of view (the chapters are labeled so you know whose voice it is).  I think the target audiences can be teenagers (so they'll ask for help if they start feeling as Anna did) and parents of teenagers so they'll know what signs to look for.

"Plucked", Theatre Centre, Toronto, ON

Summerworks started on Thursday.

Founded in 1991, SummerWorks is Canada’s largest curated performance festival of theatre, dance, music and live art. The Festival is widely recognized as one of the most vital platforms for launching new Canadian work – locally, nationally, and internationally. For 11 days every August, SummerWorks hosts over 500 artists, performing in over 60 performance projects.

Over the last couple of years, Gord and I have seen many Summerworks productions and have enjoyed them.  This evening we saw Plucked.

It is playing at the Theatre Centre, which is in our 'hood.

Infusing comedy, bluegrass music, and a complete lack of sentimentality, "Plucked" is set in a world where fear turns women into chickens, eggs are high currency, and vaginas are near-dangerous possessions. "Plucked" skewers patriarchy without holding punches. It exposes hard truths about fear and family. It’s funny because it’s fake; it’s vulnerable but it’s okay because it ends with a curtain call, but it’s not okay because it’s familiar. "Plucked" is, after all, a true story. It’s just full of lies. 

Plucked is a story of how women become chickens and their eggs are coveted and sold for a lot of money.  Abigail recently turned into a chicken and her husband, Jerry, is waiting for her to start laying eggs so he can sell them.  He's also waiting for their daughter, Fourteen, to turn into a chicken so he can make money selling her eggs.  But she has other plans.

Yes, it's a crazy story but I got caught up in it.  There was singing ... the play is funny and tragic.  All the actors did a great job.  Tim Machin was the music director and also played the part of Rooster, the banjo-playing narrator.  After Abigail became a chicken, Sochi Fried did a really good job cooped up in a cage being a chicken.  Tyrone Savage was funny as the handsome "retard".  Qianna MacGilchrist played Fourteen.  She is the daughter of friends of ours and is the reason this play caught our attention.  I've known Qianna since she was a very young kid so it was interesting to see her in such an adult role (complete with swearing!).  She was excellent!

It was a fun play worth seeing.  As a head's up, there is swearing and some violence.

Bitondo's Pizzeria, Toronto, ON

I had lunch today at Bitondo's (Clinton Street, just south of College Street).  It's been a while since I've been there.

It had been a busy lunch time for them ... they'd run out of pizza and ponzos (calzones).  I got the last slice of pizza (whoohoo!) and there was a 15 minute wait for more.

My pizza slice was yummy!  The next batch of slices were coming out of the oven when I left.

Book ~ "Peyton Place" (1956) Grace Metalious

From Goodreads ~ "Peyton Place" uncovers the passions, lies and cruelties that simmer beneath the surface of a postcard-perfect town. 

At the centre of the novel are three women, each with a secret to hide: Constance MacKenzie, the original desperate housewife; her daughter Allison, whose dreams are stifled by small-town small-mindedness; and Selena Cross, her gypsy-eyed friend from the wrong side of the tracks.

I read a couple weeks ago that it's been 60 years since Peyton Place was written.  At the time, it caused quite the stir as it involved adultery, abortion, alcoholism, abuse, incest, etc.  I've never read it so thought I'd check it out.

The story starts in the late 1930s and ends in the mid-1940 and has a lot of interesting characters.  Constance MacKenzie had moved home from New York after her mother died with her daughter, Allison, and a secret she hoped no one would ever find out.  Serena, Allison's friend, lives in a shack with her alcoholic stepfather and crazy mother and is dating one of the cool kids.  Allison's friend, Norman, is a nervous kid who is way too attached to his dominating mother.  Rodney is the son of a rich man and has too much privilege, money, freedom and attitude.  Betty is a sassy girl who is popular with the boys.  Then there is the town itself full of gossipers.

I was concerned that I wouldn't like the writing style as I tend to find books written in the past stilted and proper.  That wasn't the case with this book.  Even though it was written 60 years ago, I found the story and writing style stood up well with books written today and I enjoyed it.  As a head's up, there is violence and adult activity.

There were quite a few characters but it wasn't hard to keep them straight ... and most had major plot lines.  I found the characters interesting but I wasn't fond of Allison, who I found annoying and obnoxious.

Now I'd like to watch the movie (made in 1957) to see how they adapted the book and brought the characters to live.

The Wheat Sheaf, Toronto, ON

My pal, Shawna, is in town (she moved to Regina a few years ago).  Gord and I met her at the Wheat Sheaf Tavern (King Street W/Bathurst), which is one of Toronto's oldest pubs (it opened around 1850), for supper this evening.  It's become a tradition when she comes to town.