Alexander Keith's Brewery Tour, Halifax, NS

Gord and I did the brewery tour at the Alexander Keith's Brewery in Halifax.  I've done it twice before and it's always interesting.

Bluenose II Restaurant, Halifax, NS

Gord and I had breakfast this morning at Bluenose II Restaurant (on Hollis Street).

I ordered ham & eggs and Gord ordered fish cakes & eggs.

I liked my ham and eggs and would get it again.  There were a lot of home fries!

Gord is a big fan of breakfast and said the fish cakes were okay.

Shaydid, Lower Deck, Halifax, NS

After the Toronto Rock ~ Halifax Thunderbirds game, Gord and I went to the Lower Deck because Shaydid was playing there.  I've seen them a few times, in Toronto and in Cuba.

We got a table right up in front ... whoohoo!

They are a fun enthusiastic band and play a variety of songs that everyone knows.  The crowd obviously loves them!

It was nice to catch up with them during a break.

They have another east coast party trip coming up in April in Mexico and Sister Sarah and I are already booked!  It should be a fun fun time!

Toronto Rock 8, Halifax Thunderbirds 9, Scotiabank Centre, Halifax, NS

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 seventh year going to the games and our sixth year having seasons tickets.

Halifax Thunderbirds is a new team in the league.  Going into tonight's game, Toronto and Halifax were tied for first place.

My sister, Sarah, and her husband, Joey, live in Halifax and we gave them tickets for tonight's game for Christmas.  Gord and I also bought tickets for the game but didn't tell them.  Hee hee hee!  It was our first "away" game.  Gord and I were in our seats when they arrived and they didn't even notice us at first.  Ha!!

The theme for tonight's game was an East Coast Kitchen Party.  East Coast Lifestyle teeshirts were given out to the first 5,000 attendees (Gord and I both got one), there were fiddlers in the food and drink area, drink and food specials, and a fiddler entertaining in the middle area before the game.

Gord and I got there early enough to watch the Rock players warm up.

The Thunderbird players entered the arena through a giant thunderbird.

And the game began ...

We bought tickets in a similar spot as our tickets in Toronto.  Here's the view from our seats ...

Halifax Thunderbirds pre-game party, Lower Deck, Halifax, NS

Before this evening's game, the Halifax Thunderbirds had a pre-game party at the Lower Deck ... and Gord and I were there!

Zach from the National Lacrosse League (NLL) was there with the Alterna Cup and giving out Alterna and Thunderbirds swag.  The brand-new season long competition is among all five Canadian clubs (Calgary, Halifax, Saskatchewan, Toronto, and Vancouver) who will be competing for the inaugural Alterna Cup. This Cup was created in partnership with Alterna Bank and Alterna Savings.

Gord

Me flashing my Toronto Rock scarf

Me and Gord

Lower Deck, Halifax, NS

Gord and I had a late lunch/early supper this afternoon at the Lower Deck (on Upper Water Street).

This fella greeted us at the door.

Gord started with Seafood Chowder.  I'm not a fan of chowder and it smelled really fishy ... but Gord said it was delicious and he'd get it again.

He also ordered plain chicken wings and said they were good and he'd get them again.  Between the chowder and wings, he was really full.

Downtown Winery, Toronto, ON

This afternoon Gord and I checked out Downtown Winery (on Ossington Avenue, just north of Queen Street W).  For many years, this was Macedo Winery where you could make your own wine.  It was renovated last year and reopened in December ... it's the first time we noticed it and checked it out.  They still have their other two locations but in this one you can drink and buy wine.

They have a great wine selection that are priced very reasonably.

Book ~ "Lies That Bind" (2015) Maggie Barbieri

From Goodreads ~ In Once Upon a Lie, Maggie Barbieri introduced enigmatic soccer-mom Maeve Conlon, a single mother and bakery owner hiding dark secrets behind her cookie-cutter suburban life.

Now Maeve’s moving on with everyday life when the unthinkable happens: her father dies of a massive heart attack. Maeve’s mother died when Maeve was very young and growing up, it was always just her and her father. But on the day of his funeral, Maeve learns a shocking secret. She might have a sister she’s never met. Maeve knows her father would never have kept something like that from her ... unless he thought he had to.

Meantime someone keeps sneaking around Maeve’s bakery. At first the signs are subtle but then it becomes vandalism, and then it grows even more frightening. Could it be related to Maeve’s search for her missing sister? Maeve soon realizes it’s time to take matters into her own capable hands. But administering her personal brand of justice is a dangerous undertaking, and between the ever-watchful eyes of her family and the lingering attention she's attracted from local police, Maeve will be forced to decide just how much she's willing to risk in the name of justice. 

Maeve is a divorced mother of two teenage daughters.  Her ex-husband, Cal, had left her for her best friend and now they have a baby.  Maeve owns a bakery in a small town and her friend, Jo, is her only employee.  Her father, Jack, a former cop had recently passed away suddenly.

At her father's funeral, her former childhood neighbour who was always mean to her reveals that Maeve had a sister she never knew about.  As she starts digging, she discovers that her sister was developmentally challenged and put in a home when she was a child ... a home that turned out to be abusing its residents and many were unaccounted for when it was closed down.  Was Maeve's sister one of the ones who disappeared?

In the meantime, strange things are happening at the bakery.  A flour bin was left open, Maeve was attacked from behind and knocked out, and a finger was left in her fridge.  Christmas is coming up and she is happy to have a break from the bakery so things will hopefully settle down.

This is the second in the Maeve Conlin series and it works as a stand alone, though there are many references to the things that happened in the first one so you should read it first. I liked the writing style ... it is written in third person perspective.   As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence. 

I wasn't crazy about Jo, Maeve's best friend and employee.  She's now pregnant and weirder and slacker than usual.  I find her character a bit unbelievable.  I find Maeve's daughters annoying ... one just started university and the other is still in high school and they aren't very nice to their mother but she puts up with it ... no wonder she doesn't want to spend time with them.

This was a reread for me.  I'd read it five years ago but didn't realize it.  I didn't remember reading it so it was like reading it for the first time.  It's interesting and weird to note that the first time around I didn't like it and gave up after 60%.  For some reason, I liked it this time and look forward to reading the next one in the series.

"Hamilton", Ed Mirvish Theatre, Toronto, ON

This afternoon I saw Hamilton.

Canadian Premiere

Hamilton is the story of America's Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B, and Broadway, Hamilton is the story of America then, as told by America now.

With book, music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, Hamilton is based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.

It is playing at the Ed Mirvish Theatre on Yonge Street (just south of Dundas Street E) from February 11 until May 17.  Tickets went on sale for it in the fall and sold out immediately.  I checked this morning to see if there were any available for this afternoon's performance and there were a handful so I bought one.

Going in I didn't know too much about Hamilton.  I knew it had something to do with early American history and I was interested in seeing it because it's supposed to be awesome and is in such demand.  In hindsight, I should have done a bit of research because I didn't know who Alexander Hamilton was and why he is such a big deal.  It would have been easier to follow what was going on.  Hamilton (1757 - 1804) was an American statesman, politician, legal scholar, military commander, lawyer, banker and economist, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.  As a Canadian, I'm not overly interested in American history so the content didn't really resonate with me.  Plus it's long ... almost three hours!

That being said, everything else was excellent ... the singing, the acting, the choreography, the music (ranging from bluesy/jazzy to hip hop to ballads and more).  The stage and lighting were used quite creatively.  I can see now why everyone is raving about it and I'm glad I got to see it.

Ritz Caribbean Foods, Toronto, ON

I had lunch today at Ritz Caribbean Foods (on Yonge Street across from the Eaton Centre).

It was a busy spot at lunch time and the line-up was long.

I ordered a lunch special ... jerk chicken with rice/peas.  The rice and peas were good.  The chicken was good too ... there was a bit of a bite, which was nice.  But the two pieces were really small, mostly bones and very little chicken.  Definitely a rip-off.

Waffle stitch knitted dish cloth

I knitted a dish cloth today in waffle stitch using cotton yarn.

Cast on 40 stitches.

Row 1: * K1, P2 * repeat, K1

Row 2: P1, * K2, P1 * repeat

Row 3: Knit

Row 4: Purl

Repeat rows 1 to 4 until the dish cloth until desired length.

Bind off and weave in loose ends.