Hunter's Landing, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had supper at Hunter's Landing (Fort York Blvd/Bathurst).

Bottles of wine are half-price on Wednesdays so we shared a bottle of pinot grigrio. 

Gord had Landing Carbonara (house-smoked chicken, bacon, fried egg, Parmesan, spaghetti, focaccia). He said it was good but the egg was overcooked. 

I had Maple Chicken (maple marinated roasted half chicken, herb fingerling potatoes, onion gravy). It was good but the chicken was overcooked. I was expecting a half chicken but got a boneless breast with a wing attached and a boneless breast (no leg) ... hence the dryness, I guess. 

Dale and Audrey were our friendly servers and took good care of us.

Intro to 3-D Printing, Fort York Library, Toronto, ON

Gord and I did an Intro to 3-D Printing workshop this afternoon, which was interesting. It was 1.5 hours and free through the Toronto Library at the Fort York Library.

Alex explained how 3-D works and talked about all the things you can do. 

We didn’t do any actual printing (it takes too long) but Alex, our instructor, did a small fighter jet, which he gave to Gord. 

Local Public Eatery, Toronto, ON (Adelaide Street)

I had supper this evening at Local (at Adelaide and York) with Deb and Liz, my pals of about 30 years.

Deb, me and Liz

Deb, me and Liz

Deb had Ahi Tuna Poké Rice Bowl (Roasted garlic and ginger soy, edamame, crispy tofu, seasoned cucumbers, miso mayo).

Liz had Fish Tacos and yam fries (Two beer-battered fish tacos, garlic aioli, pico de gallo).

I had Blackened Chicken Curry Bowl (Grilled chicken, coconut curry, cilantro and fresno chilies on rice). 

Yum!

Caity was our friendly server and took good care of us.

The Promise of Music, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON

The Promise of Music, a Glenn Gould Foundation Project, is happening this week and I volunteered yesterday and today and tomorrow. 

The Promise of Music convenes the world’s most inspiring artists, performers and changemakers for five transformative days of concerts, public forums, special events and bold new ideas.

I picked up my teeshirt at volunteer HQ yesterday. 

Then I headed to TMU and ushered the forum, Jamie Bernstein on the Power of Music and Media, which was interesting. Jamie is the daughter of Leonard.

Today I was back at TMU and ushered two forums, which were interesting.

Knitted beanies

I knitted 9 beanies in the last week to donate. I used Caron Anniversary Cake and the colour is Oceana.

I found the pattern here and it was an easy pattern. 

I don't have a small 5.5mm circular needle so used 6.5mm so it's a bit bigger than a beanie and fits like a comfy hat.

With A and circular needles, cast on 80 sts. Place marker, join being careful not to twist sts.

• Rounds 1-8: Work in 2x2 Rib stitch pattern until beanie measures 2” (5 cm) from cast-on edge
• Rounds 9-22: Knit around

Shape Crown

• Round 1: Knit. 
• Round 2 (dec): *K6, K2tog; repeat from * around — 70 sts. 
• Round 3: Knit. 
• Round 4 (dec): *K5, K2tog; repeat from * around — 60 sts. 
• Round 5: Knit. 
• Round 6 (dec): *K4, K2tog; repeat from * around — 50 sts. 
• Round 7: Knit. 
• Round 8 (dec): *K3, K2tog; repeat from * around — 40 sts. 
• Round 9: Knit. 
• Round 10 (dec): *K2, K2tog; repeat from * around — 30 sts. 
• Round 11: Knit. 
• Round 12 (dec): *K1, K2tog; repeat from * around — 20 sts. 
• Round 13: Knit. 
• Round 14: *K2tog; repeat from * around — 10 sts. 

Finishing

Cut yarn leaving a 6” (15 cm) tail. With yarn needle, draw tail through remaining 10 sts twice, pull tightly and fasten off. Weave in ends. Block lightly. 

Mill Street Brew Pub, Toronto, ON

I had supper at Mill Street Brew Pub in the Distillery District. 

The hostess sat me at a crappy table in a long empty room with just one other group of people (there were lots of empty tables throughout the restaurant). I asked for a different table and she said no because it was that table’s turn. Huh!? I asked again and she begrudgingly moved me to a less crappy but not stellar table. At least I could see a TV with the Jays game.

On the plus side, my Carnivore pizza (tomato sauce, mozzarella, sausage, bacon, soppressata) was delicious and half came home with me for lunch tomorrow.

Yummi Candles, Toronto, ON

As an Elite Yelper, I was offered the opportunity by Yelp to attend the DIY Scents & Suds at Yummi Candles in the Distillery District this afternoon. 

All-star Yelpers in September (like me!) received a complimentary facial roller.

We made four scented bath bombs there and were given a kit to take home to make scented incense. For my bath bombs, I chose cherry and vanilla caramel and for my incense, I chose clove and orange sugar. Debora led the workshop along with helpers Amber, Linda and Alejandra, and were soooo friendly and helpful. It was a fun time!

One Eyed Jack, Toronto, ON

I had supper on the patio at One Eyed Jack on (Richmond Street W/ Peter Street) this evening. It was fun to watch the Blue Jays game with other fans.

Gotta love the $16 wings and beer deal! Yum! The wings were big and juicy. The medium sauce was tasty. 

Varda, TIFF Lightbox, Toronto, ON

I had a glass of Riesling at Varda, on the third floor of the TIFF Lightbox, after seeing Eleanor the Great, which was really good. I'd wanted to see it during the TIFF Festival but it was always sold out. 

There were just a handful of people yesterday so it was a nice spot to relax and read.

Tom's Dairy Freeze, Etobicoke, ON

I had a late lunch at Tom's Dairy Freeze on the Queensway. 

I had a banana split … because it was 20C/68F and sunny and I'd just did a 2 hour line dancing class in a hot gym. It was fun but the whipped cream was kinda lame.

Book ~ "Steamed Open" (2018) Barbara Ross

From Goodreads ~ It’s summertime in Busman’s Harbor, Maine, and the clamming is easy - or it was until a mysterious new neighbor blocks access to the beach, cutting off the Snowden Family Clambake’s supply. Julia Snowden is just one of many townspeople angered by Bartholomew Frick’s decision. But which one of them was angry enough to kill? 

Beachcombers, lighthouse buffs and clammers are outraged after Frick puts up a gate in front of his newly inherited mansion. When Julia urges him to reconsider, she’s the last to see him alive - except the person who stabs him in the neck with a clam rake. As she pores through a long list of suspects, Julia meets disgruntled employees, rival heirs and a pair of tourists determined to visit every lighthouse in America. They all have secrets, and Julia will have to work fast to expose the guilty party - or see this season’s clam harvest dry up for good.

Lou, a well-liked wealthy elderly woman in Busman's Harbor, Maine, recently passed away. She left her mansion to a Bart, a young distant relative of her late husband's. The mansion has beach access which Lou has always allowed the locals to use. When Bart moves in, he immediately puts up a gate which cut off the locals’ access to the beach and makes lots of enemies with this arrogant behavior. When Bart is found murdered, Julia is busy running her family’s clambake business for the summer season but starts digging into the case. Not surprising, she discovers that nearly everyone in town had a motive to kill Bart.

This story was written in first person perspective in Julia's voice. It's a cozy mystery so there is no swearing, violence or adult activity. There were lots of twists and it's a bit unbelievable that Julia was able to find out so much more info than the state police (but I guess that's the benefit of being a local?). I can do without Chris, Julia's boyfriend's obsession with her niece's friend's green eyes. It started in the last book and was explained in this one (I hope that's the end of it). At the end of the book, there are recipes that were mentioned during the story including linguini with clam sauce, clam potato casserole and raspberry muffins.

This is the seventh (of 12) in the Maine Clambake Mystery series. It works as a stand alone so you don't have the read the previous ones to know what's going on. I read the first six recently and will keep moving through the series. I liked this one better than the last one.