Book ~ "Night Music" (2018) Deanna Lynn Sletten

From Goodreads ~ Charlotte Parsons is devastated over losing her brother in the Vietnam War. Desperate to learn more about the war, she joins a group of college women who send letters to soldiers and befriends Joseph Russo, a young soldier. But a few months after they begin corresponding, his letters stop coming and Char moves on, still confused as to why so many young lives are being lost so far away from home.

Two years later, Char begins college in her small Illinois town of Grand Falls. She’s been dating her brother’s long-time best friend, Deke Masterson, who is a senior in college and is deep into the anti-war movement. Char isn’t sure how she feels about the war. Then a stranger comes to town and changes everything.

Joseph Russo served in the Vietnam War, earning a Purple Heart for his injury as well as a life-long limp. He’s ready to put the war behind him. While in Vietnam, he’d corresponded with a girl from Grand Falls and he enjoyed reading about her idyllic life. When he’s discharged, he moves there to attend college. And when he meets Charlotte in person, he’s taken with her sweetness, intelligence, and beauty.

The battle lines are drawn as Deke resents Joe’s presence around Char. What started out as a well-deserved escape to a small town for Joe soon turns into a battle of wills between him and the idealistic Deke. And there stands Charlotte, right in the middle.

"Night Music" is a story about a moment in time when the world was chaotic and nothing was completely clear. In the midst of all the chaos, can Char and Joe find enough middle ground to fall in love?

It's 1968 and Joe is a soldier in the Vietnam war.  He is pen pals with Charlotte, a stranger who lives in a small town in Illinois.  Joe gets hurt, discharged and sent back home to the States.  Charlotte had made her town sound ideal so Joe moves there and enrols in college.  He meets Charlotte and they become friends.  Her father gives him a part-time job in his hardware store as Joe doesn't have a lot of money.

Charlotte's brother had been killed in the Vietnam war and she is now dating his best friend, Deke.  Deke is against the war and extremely vocal about it.  He's not happy when Charlotte and Joe become friends, especially since Deke sees all the Vietnam vets as baby killers.  This leaves Charlotte conflicted because she knows her brother wasn't a baby killer but Deke is so dedicated to his cause.

This is the fourth book I've read by this author and I liked it.  I like the writing style and it is written in third person perspective.  As a Canadian, the Vietnam war doesn't have the same relevance to me as it does/did for Americans (I'm assuming) so I didn't really get caught up in that part of the story.  I liked the characters and their small town interactions and 1960s innocence.  I wasn't crazy about Deke (I'm not sure I was supposed to like him, though) and I had a hard time relating to his active in-your-face opposition to the war (again perhaps because I'm Canadian?).

I look forward to reading other books by this author.

Luxe Box - February 2018

I received an email from American Express (I have an Amex card) a couple weeks ago with a special offer ... a Luxe Box for $20 (free shipping).

One gift box from Luxe Box containing three full-size products and four deluxe samples from an assortment of participating brands.

My Luxe Box arrived today and here's what I received ...

• prevage City Smart Double Action Detox Peel Off Mask - 7ml - $7.80 value
• Fenty Freestyle Highlighter Duo (Mean Honey/Hu$tla Baby) - $34 value
• GlamGlow Supermud Clearing Treatment - 15g - $17.70 value
• Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair - 7ml - $17 value
• Nexxus Therappe Replenishing System Shampoo - 89ml - $1.78 value
• Nexxus Humectress System Conditioner - 89ml - $2.64 value
• China Glaze Nail Lacquer (Stop that Train!) - $8.49 value
• Covergirl Full Lash Bloom (Black) - $6.97 value

Total value:  $96.38CN

Quarterly and annual subscriptions are available.

Swiss Chalet Rotisserie & Grill, Scarborough, ON (Borough Drive)

I had a late lunch today at Swiss Chalet near Scarborough Town Centre.

I ordered what I have been ordering lately at Swiss Chalet ... a half chicken dinner with corn.  It's Weight Watcher friendly (just seven points!).  It was good.  The corn was previously frozen but hot.  The chicken was hot and tender.  The roll was warm and the sauce was thick and had a nice bite.

Amy was my server.  She was pleasant and took good care of me.

Book ~ "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life" (2016) Mark Manson

From Goodreads ~ For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F**k positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it." 

In his wildly popular Internet blog, Mason doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is - a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k" is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected American society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.

Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited - "not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault." Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.

There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better because true wealth is about experience. 

It seems like everyone is reading this book so I wanted to see what all the fuss is about.  And who doesn't want to learn how to live a good life?

The author states in the beginning that he's going to help us get focused and learn to prioritize our thoughts effectively ... how to pick and choose what does and doesn't matter to us based on finely homed personal values.  He states this book will help us think a little bit more clearly about what we're choosing to find important and unimportant in life.  He discussed facing and accepting failure head on and learning lessons from our pain, for example.  While valuable lessons, to me he didn't hit the target which was the subtle art of not giving a f*ck.

This book isn't that long (just over 200 pages) but it seemed to take forever to finish.  I don't know if it was the way the author covered (or didn't cover) this topic or his writing style but I found it boring.  Plus I didn't find him overly likable.  As a head's up, not surprising that there is a lot of swearing.

Maybe I would have enjoyed it more had I not read The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck: How to Stop Spending Time You Don't Have with People You Don't Like Doing Things You Don't Want to Do by Sarah Knight, which is a much superior book to read on this subject.

Ice Breakers 2018, Toronto, ON

Gord and I took a long walk this afternoon and ended up at Harboufront.  Since we were there, we checked out the Ice Breakers 2018 installations.

For Ice Breakers’ second year the theme is “Constellation”. This can be interpreted in various ways, and we can expect to see work that is challenging, while also accessible, reminding the public that public art can be fun and engaging. 

The intention is to bring colour, warmth and activity to the water’s edge, inviting people to take a winter walk along the Waterfront and appreciate the unique Toronto landscape at this time of year.

It has been extended to March 18

There were over 100 submissions and here are the five winners.

Ensemble from Portugal

Gord - Ensemble from Portugal

Through the Eyes of the Bear from Canada

Winter Fan Fare from Canada

Queen Margherita Pizza, Toronto, ON

I had a late lunch/early supper today at Queen Margherita Pizza on Dundas Street W (just west of Bathurst Street).

I love love love pizza and ordered a Calabrese pizza ... I swapped the Parmigiano cheese for fior di latte.  It was a really good pizza.  The crust was soft and chewy.  There was lots of sauce and it was tasty.  I was expecting the garlic to be in small chunks but it was in thin slivers, which worked well.  I had gotten mild cacciatore and it was good ... I will try spicy next time.

Book ~ "U is for Undertow" (2009) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ It's April 1988, a month before Kinsey Millhone's thirty-eighth birthday, and she's alone in her office catching up on paperwork when a young man arrives unannounced. He has a preppy air about him and looks as if he'd be carded if he tried to buy a beer but Michael Sutton is twenty-seven, an unemployed college dropout. 

More than two decades ago, a four-year-old girl disappeared and a recent newspaper story about her kidnapping has triggered a flood of memories. Sutton now believes he stumbled on her lonely burial and could identify the killers if he saw them again. He wants Kinsey's help in locating the grave and finding the men. It's way more than a long shot but he's persistent and willing to pay cash up front. Reluctantly, Kinsey agrees to give him one day of her time.

But it isn't long before she discovers Sutton has an uneasy relationship with the truth. In essence, he's the boy who cried wolf. Is his story true or simply one more in a long line of fabrications?

It's April 1988 and Kinsey Millhone is a private detective in Santa Teresa, CA, who will soon be 38 years old.  She has been hired by Michael Sutton to investigate a memory that he claims to have recovered of two people burying a body in the woods in 1967 when he was six years old (they told him they were pirates looking for treasure).  Michael suspects it's has something to do with the famous unsolved kidnapping of a four-year-old named Mary Claire.  The kidnappers had requested a ransom but never picked up the money after police were called and she was never found.

Rain, the four-year-old granddaughter/adopted daughter of the couple who owned the land where Michael saw the "pirates", had also been kidnapped in a similar way just before Mary Claire.  She was returned unharmed, though, after her parents paid a ransom using marked bills, which never turned up.

Meanwhile as Kinsey is investigating Mary Claire's disappearance, her own past is becoming present for her.  Kinsey is invited to a family event and she doesn't want to go as she feels her family had abandoned her and her Aunt Gin after her parents had died when she was young.  She discovers, though, that this isn't the case and that her grandmother had actually tried to get custody of her at that time.

I enjoyed this story.  It bounces back and forth between 1988 and 1967.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice but also in third person perspective in various voices depending on where the action was.  As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

This is the twenty-first in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "Fade to Black" (2018) David Rosenfelt

From Goodreads ~ After getting shot in the line of duty, New Jersey state police officer Doug Brock has been busy rebuilding his life. He’s reunited with his fiancée and started to get some of his memories back. He hopes he can continue to recover with the help of an amnesia support group and that the damage from his past isn’t permanent.

It isn’t until fellow group member Sean Conner approaches him after a meeting that Doug realizes the trouble is just beginning. Sean has discovered in his attic what can only be called a scrapbook of a murder victim but he has no recollection of the girl’s identity or why he might have gathered this information. Doug agrees to help and convinces his captain to open what had been a cold case. When he discovers that he had a personal connection to this case, suddenly he’s questioning everything he thought he knew about the case, about Sean, and about his own past.

Doug Brock is a state police officer suffering from amnesia after being shot ... he can't remember anything from the last ten years.  He is back to work, partnered again with Nate, and dating his former fiancée, Jessie, who is also a police officer.

Doug is encouraged to join an amnesia support group to help him recover. There he meets a Sean, a fellow amnesiac, who asks him for help. Sean says he has found a scrapbook about a murder victim named Rita and is concerned he was involved in her disappearance and murder. Doug checks it out and discovers he had helped put away the victim's boyfriend three years ago for her murder.  When Sean's head is found shortly thereafter, it looks like it could be the result of rivalry between the mob bosses in New Jersey and Vegas.  In the meantime, Doug continues to investigate Rita's disappearance and uncovers some possible fraud happening at the hospital where she had worked.  Could that be the reason she disappeared?

I've read many books by this author (I enjoy his Andy Carpenter series).  I liked the writing style as it was funny, sarcastic and amusing at times.  It was written in first person perspective in Doug's voice but switches over to third person perspective when Doug isn't part of the action.  I liked Doug, Nate and Jessie and their humorous interactions with each other.

This is the second in the Doug Brock series and you don't have to have read the first one as it works as a stand alone.  I look forward to more in this series.

Knitted scarf

I finished knitting a scarf tonight using Bernat blanket yarn Stripes ("Morning Glory").  The skein is 300 grams/10.5 ounces and I used a 6.5 round needle.

I knitted each row (garter stitch).  I cast on 20 stitches and kept knitting until I ran out of yarn.  The scarf ended up about seven feet.  It's soft and thick and warm!

Happy Family Day!

Today is Family Day, a statutory holiday here in Ontario.

Enjoy and spend some time with your family!

Book ~ "Feeding My Mother: Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss" (2017) Jann Arden

From Goodreads ~ Based on her hugely popular Facebook posts and Instagram photos, "Feeding My Mother" is a frank, funny, inspirational and piercingly honest account of the transformation in Jann Arden's life that has turned her into the primary "parent" to her mom, who is in the grip of Alzheimer's. 

Jann Arden moved in to a house just across the way from her parents in rural Alberta to be close to them but also so they could be her refuge from the demands of the music business and a performing career. Funny how time works. 

Since her dad died in 2015, Jann cooks for her mom five or six times a week. Her mom finds comfort in her daughter's kitchen, not just in the delicious food but also just sitting with her as she cooks. And Jann finds some peace in caring for her mom, even as her mom slowly becomes a stranger. "If you told me two years ago that I'd be here," Jann writes, "I wouldn't have believed it. And yet we still fall into so much laughter, feel so much insane gladness and joy. It's such a contrast from one minute to the next and it teaches me constantly: it makes me stronger and more humble and more empathetic and caring and kind." 

The many people who are dealing with a loved one who is losing it will find inspiration and strength in Jann's wholehearted, loving response and her totally Jann take on the upside-down world of a daughter mothering her mother. "Feeding My Mother" is one heck of an affirmation that life just keeps on keeping on and a wonderful example of how you have to roll with it. 

Jann Arden is Canadian singer, songwriter, broadcaster, actor and author.  She lived next door to her parents in rural Alberta.  Her father, Derrel, passed away in August 2015 after years of being ill, including dementia.  Her mother, Joan, still lives next door.  She is battling Alzheimer's and needs round-the-clock care.

This book is Jann's journey of taking care of her parents and watching them decline over the last eight years but being helpless to do anything about it.  She started cooking for them (there were days when they couldn't remember how use a can opener) and throughout the book are recipes of some of things she's made ... like turkey chili, chicken parm, split pea soup and pulled chicken noodle soup.  Also scattered throughout the book are pictures of Jann, her parents and their pets.

This is the second book of Jann's I've read (I read Falling Backwards a couple years ago and enjoyed it).  Despite the difficult subject, I enjoyed this book and Jann's personality comes through and I felt like she was sitting with me and chatting.  I liked the writing style ... it was amusing at times and honest.

Book ~ "The Last Laugh" (2018) Tracy Bloom

From Goodreads ~ Jenny discovers her days are numbered at the same time she discovers her husband is having an affair.

Frankly, her life was tough enough already. Two tricky teenagers, her mother’s constant complaints, friends who aren’t up to the job and a career which has been spiralling downwards since she won ‘Sunseeker Tour Rep of the Season’ twenty years ago.

And now this: a cheating husband and a death sentence.

Enough is enough. Jenny vows to keep both catastrophes a secret. She takes her life - and death - into her own hands and decides to live as she did when she was happiest … in 1996. She plans a spectacular 1990’s themed party in place of a wake that she herself will attend. But will she be able to keep her secrets for long enough to have the party of a lifetime?

Jenny is in her mid-forties.  She is married to Mark, who she met twenty years ago when she was a tour rep in Greece and he was on vacation.  Mark is now successful and working long hours and is rarely around.  Jenny works in a retirement home as an entertainment coordinator for the residents.  Jenny and Mark have two teenage children ... a daughter who only cares about her best friend and a son who has anxiety issues.  Jenny's mother is judgmental towards her.  Jenny's father has dementia and she takes care of him when her mother needs to run errands.

Jenny has been having health issues.  Her doctor tells her that she has terminal cancer with 18 to 24 months left.  She heads over to tell her husband the news only to find him bent over a filing cabinet having sex with a blonde.  So she backs away and keeps her cancer and her husband's affair a secret.

Jenny feels  her life peaked in 1996.  She had a great job as a tour rep, she had great fun friends and she looked and felt great.  That year, her 25th birthday party was the best memory ever!  Rather than having a wake after she's gone, she decides to recreate that birthday while she is still here to enjoy it (her recent birthday was a disappointment).

This was the third book I read by this author and I thought it was okay.  I liked the writing style.  It's written in first person perspective from Jenny's point of view.  Given the subject matter, it was a bit of a tough book to read.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I wasn't crazy about the characters.  Jenny was a doormat and had let life pass her by.  Her family (except for her son) treated her like crap and she took it.  Mark had turned into an unsupporting cold jerk and she didn't feel close enough to him to let him know there was something wrong or to have with her at her doctor's appointment.  It was hard to believe she would put up with the backtalk she did from her daughter.  With the way her mother treated her, I'm surprised she did anything for her when she obviously favoured Jenny's brother, Antony, a surgeon, who was too busy to spend time with the family.  Jenny had fallen into a job at the retirement home and was too lazy to move on and do something else.  She let her old friendships go and her current friends are more like acquaintances.  She had no one to turn to when she received such devastating news.  I like that Jenny grew a backbone as the story progressed.

Book ~ "P is for Peril" (2001) Sue Grafton

From Goodreads ~ It is now nine weeks since Dr Dowan Purcell vanished without trace. The sixty-nine-year-old doctor had said goodnight to his colleagues at the Pacific Meadows nursing home, had climbed into his car and driven away - never to be seen again.

His embittered first wife, Fiona, is convinced he is still alive. His second wife, Crystal - a former stripper forty years his junior - is just as sure he is dead. Enter private investigator Kinsey Malone, hired by Fiona to find out just what has happened to the man they loved.

Enter also Tommy Hevener, an attractive flame-haired twenty-something who has set his romantic sights on Kinsey. And Tommy is a man with a very interesting past.

It's 1986 and Kinsey Millhone is a 36-year-old private detective in Santa Teresa, CA.  She has been hired by Fiona, the first wife of Dr. Dowan Purcell, to find her ex-husband.  He disappeared nine weeks ago ... Fiona wants to know if he has taken off (he has done this in the past a couple times) or if he's dead.  The doctor's current wife, Crystal, is a former stripper he met on a trip to Las Vegas and is convinced he is dead.  In her investigation, Kinsey discovers fraudulent Medicare activity at the clinic where Purcell worked as the medical director ... is he responsible and taken off or killed himself because he knows it's going to be revealed?

In the meantime, Kinsey is looking for new office space and finds one for rent nearby.  She is attracted to Tommy, one of the owners of the office space ... until she discovers he has a shocking past.

I thought this story was okay.  There are lots of people in this story and many who could have "dunnit" including Dr. Purcell himself.  The story ends abruptly and the usual epilogue isn't there.  There was still one aspect of the story left outstanding.  It's written in first person perspective in Kinsey's voice.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

This is the sixteenth in the "alphabet series" featuring Kinsey Millhone.  Though it is part of a series, it works as a stand alone.  I discovered this series in the mid-1990s and have read them all.  I started rereading them last year.  With the author's recent death, Y is for Yesterday will be the end of the series.

Book ~ "Canadianity: Tales from the True North Strong and Freezing" (2017) Jeremy Taggart and Jonathan Torrens

From Goodreads ~ Sprung from their hugely successful podcast Canadianity, Taggart (that guy from that band) and Torrens (that guy from that show) share a collection of showbiz tales from the road and relatable everyday anecdotes, all wrapped up in a nostalgic fondness for this great country. "Canadianity" takes readers on a cross-country journey, shining the spotlight on notable local heroes (or bahds), the best places to crush food and the greasiest watering holes, coast to coast to coast. 

Replete with lists of Canada’s top bands, television shows and athletes, as well as random observations about everything this country has to offer, "Canadianity" is often provocative and always hilarious. Drawing on their combined experiences as a legendary drummer (Our Lady Peace) and a veteran talk-show host ("Jonovision") respectively, Taggart and Torrens have infused their first book with equal parts beer and pop culture and added a heaping helping of irreverence. 

I didn't know that Taggart and Torrens had podcasts.  To be honest, I didn't know who Taggart was (he was the drummer in Canadian rock band, Our Lady Peace from 1993 to 2014).  Why I picked up this book is because it was Canadian and I knew who Torrens is (I know him as J-Roc from The Trailer Park Boys).

Taggart and Torrens have known each other since 2004.  Taggart had become a regular on The Jay & Dan Podcast and Torrens went on the show.  They decided to do a podcast a together.  It was so much fun doing it so they continued to make them.  And then they decided to write this book.

The chapters cover a province starting with Torren's home province of Prince Edward Island followed by Taggart's home province of Ontario.  Each chapter starts with bahd (short for buddy) bands from the province followed by five notable bahds.  Then Taggart and Torrens bounce back and forth, each sharing their memories and stories of that particular province.  Also in the chapters are tidbits of information and quizzes.  The chapters end with "Gotta Do's" in that province.  One of the last chapters is called "Canadianity for Dummies" and discusses Canadian shows like The Beachcombers, Wok with Yan, Speakers' Corner, Kids in the Hall, Test Pattern, Codco and more.

I liked the writing style of this book.  Taggart and Torrens have different styles and though their stories and ramblings are labeled, you can tell whose voice it is (Taggart swears a lot more).  The stories and experiences were interesting ... I like this kind of behind the scenes stuff.  Canadian readers will relate to this book and it's a good explanation of who we are to non-Canadians.

Topbox - February 2018

My February 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 ...

• smashbox Be Legendary Lip Gloss (Metallic True Red) - $14.97 value - it's REALLY red!
• Wella Professionals Oil Reflections Luminous reveal shampoo - 50ml - $3.49 value
• Wella Professionals Oil Reflections Luminous instant conditioner - 30ml - $3.71 value
• Benefit precisely, my brow eyebrow pencil - $32 value
• LaRitzy Cosmetics Eye Pencil (Shimmer) - $22.49 value

Total value = $76.66 value

Ipsy Glam Bag - February 2018

My February Ipsy Glam Bag arrived today.

• 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.

Here's what I received ...

• Make-up bag
• BLAQ Meteor Shower Shimmer Scrub - $24.95 value - this turned my skin black and I had to scrub it off with a loofa and soap :(
• LUXIE BEAUTY Blending and Shading Eye Brush 249 - $24 value
• OFRA COSMETICS Liquid Lipstick - Unzipped - $20 value
• EVA NYC Freshen Up Dry Shampoo - 0.75oz - $1.70 value
• TRÈSTIQUE Mini Eye Pencil in Swiss Chocolate - $10 value 

Total value: $80.65US (without the make-up bag)

Knitted Square Dish Cloth

I finished knitting a dish cloth tonight.  It was a fairly easy pattern.

Using a US6/4mm needle, cast on 80 stitches.  I used cotton yarn.

Row 1: Knit placing a stitch marker after 40 stitches (at the halfway point)

Row 2: Knit to two stitches before the stitch marker, knit two stitches together, slip the stitch marker to the other needle, slip slip knit, knit to the end of row.

Repeat rows 1 and 2 until two stitches remain.  Repeat row 1 once more. Cast off.

Book ~ "Surprise Me" (2018) Sophie Kinsella

From Goodreads ~ After being together for ten years, Sylvie and Dan have all the trimmings of a happy life and marriage; they have a comfortable home, fulfilling jobs, beautiful twin girls and communicate so seamlessly, they finish each other's sentences. However, a trip to the doctor projects they will live another 68 years together and panic sets in. They never expected "until death do us part" to mean seven decades. 

In the name of marriage survival, they quickly concoct a plan to keep their relationship fresh and exciting: they will create little surprises for each other so that their (extended) years together will never become boring. But in their pursuit to execute Project Surprise Me, mishaps arise and secrets are uncovered that start to threaten the very foundation of their unshakable bond. When a scandal from the past is revealed that question some important untold truths, they begin to wonder if they ever really knew each other after all. 

Sylvie and Dan are both thirty-two, have been together for ten years (married for seven) and have five year old twins.  When their doctor tells them they are healthy enough to have another 68 more years together, they are freaked out.  To keep things alive and exciting, they decide to plan surprises for each other, which comically don't have the effect they had anticipated.

Sylvie's father had been larger than life and everyone idolized him.  He passed away in a car accident two years ago and Sylvie and her mother are still grieving CONSTANTLY.  Sylvie can't understand why Dan doesn't grieve for him as well.  Sylvie still wears her hair long long long because that's the way Daddy like it.

Sylvie is working for a small museum that still functions as if it's still the 1980s ... the owner refuses to function with modern conveniences and make them use a fax machine, share a computer and write everything in books.  When the owner's nephew turns up, Sylvie is sure he is there to close the museum and sell the land to condo developers.

I've read a lot of Kinsella's books over the years and they are usually a fun escape.  This one started out that way but got really serious about halfway in.  Instead of getting closer together, something is ripping Sylvie and Dan apart.  It's written in first person perspective from Sylvie's point of view.  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I wasn't overly crazy about the main characters.  I found it weird that Sylvie and Dan had married until "death do us part" but freaked out at the thought of having to spend the next 68 years together.  I thought it was a bit much how Sylvie worshiped her father and held Dan to the same standard, which was tough for him considering Sylvie came from money and Dan didn't (and he refused to accept any of her family's).  Sylvie's mother (Sylvie called her "Mummy") was very annoying and stuck-up and didn't seem to have any sense of reality (and everyone let her).  Dan seemed like a nice guy but put up with her snotty family.  Sylvie's boss and nephew were stereotypical in that she was a rich dotty elderly woman and her nephew was the young jerk with no appreciation for the past.  I did like the neighbours, Tilda and her son, Toby ... they added some humour to the book.

Staybridge Suites, London, ON

I have a seminar and one-on-ones to conduct in London today so spent last night at the Staybridge Suites ... it is just off the 401.

Where breakfast is served

Here was my room ...