Bingo Loco, Toronto, ON

This evening I attended Bingo Loco with Franca and Anne at Annabel’s Music Hall (next to Queen Elizabeth Building at Exhibition Place). 

Me, Anne and Franca

It was a combo bingo/dance party. There were 5 games of bingo (with lots of singing and dancing in between games) and the prizes were a disco helmet, a dildo, an air fryer, a karaoke machine and a trip for 2 to Las Vegas (we didn’t win). If you won, you had to earn your prize. Dave was a fun and lively host and DJ Super O played some great tunes. It was a fun time and the sold out crowd was really enthusiastic!

Nothing Bundt Cakes, Etobicoke, ON

I received a “buy 1 bundtlet, get 1 free” email from Nothing Bundt Cakes during the week. I stopped in today at their Etobicoke location this afternoon.

I got Gord and I a couple white chocolate raspberry ones. Yum! So moist and sweet!

BarBurrito, Etobicoke, ON

I've been craving a burrito lately and had one for lunch today at BarBurrito in Etobicoke. 

I had a large burrito. My intent was getting 2 meals out of it … and I have half left for tomorrow. It was a jammed burrito with chicken, black beans, pinto beans, tomatoes, corn, salsa, rice and burrito sauce. Though hearty, I found it a bit bland.

Mess Honeycomb Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a mesh honeycomb pattern. It was easier than it looks to make.

I used a Caron Anniversary Cake Special Edition (the colour is Opal) and 6.5mm needles. 

I cast on 21 stitches.

• Row 1: (RS) Knit each stitch across the row 
• Row 2: (WS) K1, *yo, k2tog; repeat from * across the row
• Row 3 Knit each stitch across row 
• Row 4 K2, *yo, k2tog; repeat from * across the row to last stitch, knit 1
• Repeat rows 1 to 4
• Bind off.

Mabel’s Bakery, Toronto, ON

I stopped in at Mabel’s Bakery on Queen Street W (just west of Beaconsfield Ave) to get Gord and I a cookie. Lots of choices and I bought 2 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Yum! 

I hadn’t been there in a while so I wandered around. In the freezer, I discovered various premade doughs. So I bought a package of 6 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, a package of 6 ginger molasses cookies and a package of 4 lemon blueberry scones. If you want just one cookie or scone, that’s all you have to bake. How awesome is that!?

"Company", The Theatre Centre, Toronto, ON

I spent the night volunteering as an usher at Company, which is at The Theatre Centre (Queen W/Lisgar) until February 8.

Winner of six Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Lyrics and Best Book, "Company" follows a bachelor named Bobby who is approaching his 35th birthday and has mixed feelings about the idea of getting married. 

Over the course of a series of dinners, drinks and even a wedding, his friends–some of whom have happy marriages, others on the brink of divorce–explain the pros and cons of taking on a spouse. Through it all, Bobby wonders, "What do you get?"

Candle Flames Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a candle flames pattern that I found here. It was easier than it looks to make.

I used a Caron Anniversary Cake Special Edition (the colour is Opal) and 6.5mm needles. 

I cast on 20 stitches (a multiple of 12 plus 2 plus 6 for the edges).

Knit 3 rows. I followed this pattern, knitting 3 stitches at the beginning and the end of each row for an outside border.

• Row 1: P2, *Yo, K1, Yo, P2, K2, K2tog, K3, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 2: K2, *P6, K2, P3, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 3: P2, *K1, (Yo, K1) twice, P2, K2, K2tog, K2, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 4: K2, *(P5, K2) twice; rep from * to end. 
• Row 5: P2, *K2, Yo, K1, Yo, K2, P2, K2, K2tog, K1, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 6: K2, *P4, K2, P7, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 7: P2, *K3, Yo, K1, Yo, K3, P2, K2, K2tog, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 8: K2, *P3, K2, P9, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 9: P2, *K2, K2tog, K5, P2, K1, K2tog, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 10: K2, *P2, K2, P8, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 11: P2, *K2, K2tog, K4, P2, K2tog, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 12: K2, *P1, K2, P7, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 13: P2, *K2, K2tog, K3, P2, Yo, K1, Yo, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 14: K2, *P3, K2, P6, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 15: P2, *K2, K2tog, K2, P2, (K1, Yo) twice, K1, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 16: K2, *(P5, K2) twice; rep from * to end. 
• Row 17: P2, *K2, K2tog, K1, P2, K2, Yo, K1, Yo, K2, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 18: K2, *P7, K2, P4, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 19: P2, *K2, K2tog, P2, K3, Yo, K1, Yo, K3, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 20: K2, *P9, K2, P3, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 21: P2, *K1, K2tog, P2, K2, K2tog, K5, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 22: K2, *P8, K2, P2, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 23: P2, *K2tog, P2, K2, K2tog, K4, P2; rep from * to end. 
• Row 24: K2, *P7, K2, P1, K2; rep from * to end. 
• Rep Rows 1 - 24. 
• Knit 3 rows and bind off.

Note: The pattern is worked over a multiple of 12 stitches that are increased and decreased over 24 rows; only count stitches on 12th and 24th rows.

Emerging Playwrights Reading Series, The Theatre Centre, Toronto, ON

I spent the afternoon volunteering at The Theatre Centre (Queen Street W/Dovercourt Road). 

I had signed up to usher 3 plays but The Theatre Centre closed early at 4pm because of the snow storm so the third one got cancelled.

Lacy Mock Cable Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a lacy mock cable pattern that I found here. It was easier than it looks to make but I really needed to focus.

Book ~ "The Last Mrs. Parrish" (2017) Liv Constantine

From Goodreads ~ Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more - a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted.

To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne - a socialite and philanthropist - and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale.

Amber’s envy could eat her alive ... if she didn't have a plan. Amber uses Daphne’s compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family’s life - the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne’s closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces.

With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent.

Amber is smart, attractive but poor and thinks she deserves more. She envies Daphne, a beautiful socialite with wealth, a loving husband and everything that Amber wants. So she sets a plan in motion to insert herself into Daphne’s life. She befriends Daphne by pretending to have something in common with her ... Daphne's sister had passed away from CF and Amber pretends she'd had sister who had also passed away from CF. This forms their bond and before too long, they are best friends. Daphne even convinces her husband, Jackson, to hire Amber as his personal assistant, when puts Amber even closer to Daphne and in her life.

I liked this story and the writing style. The first part is written in third person perspective from Amber's point of view, then first person perspective in Daphne's voice and then back to third person perspective in general. This was interesting because when it's Daphne's voice, we get her interpretation of what was happening in the first part when it was Amber's perspective. As a head's up, there is swearing, adult activity and violence.