Book ~ "Just for the Summer" (2024) Abby Jimenez

From Goodreads ~ Justin has a curse and thanks to a Reddit thread, it's now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: they'll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea … and it just might work.

Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected – including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Justin posts online on Reddit that he is cursed ... after he dates a woman and they break up after a few dates, the woman always finds their soulmate. When Emma comes across this, she responds to him because she has the same curse. He is in Minnesota and she is in Colorado and they start texting and chatting and get to know each other. Emma is a travel nurse and she and Maddy, her friend, take on new assignments in new places every couple of months. Their next stop is supposed to be Hawaii but Emma convinces Maddy to head to Minnesota instead so she can meet and date Justin so they can break their curse and move on to meet their soulmate. As Emma and Justin get to know and like like each other, though, their plan to break up after four dates becomes harder.

Both are coming with baggage. Emma's mother, Amber, had frequently abandoned her and Emma was eventually put in foster care in Maddy's home. Amber has popped in and out of Emma's life for years ... it's always nice at first but explodes before Amber disappears again. Emma always has hope that Amber will straighten out and come back for good but it next happens. Justin's mom is heading to prison which will leave Justin responsible for his three younger siblings for the next six years.

This is the first book I've read by this author and I liked it. It's a cute romance that does get heavy with the issues that Emma and Justin have to deal with with their families. It's written in first person perspective in Emma and Justin's voices (the chapters are labeled). As a head's up, there is swearing.

Twisted Hat

I finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s a fun and easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove.

I found the pattern here.

Directions are for size small; changes for size large are in parentheses.

Hat circumference at bottom edge: 16 (18)" [41 (46)cm]; Hat stretches to fit 20 (22)” [51 (56)cm]

I used 4.5mm [US 7] and 5.5mm [US 9] needles and 4 ply yarn. 

Hat is worked in the round on double pointed needles.

With smaller needles, cast on 90 (102) sts. Divide sts evenly around double pointed needles. Join to work in rounds, taking care not to twist sts. Place marker for beginning of round.

Ribbing Round: 

[K1 through the back loop, p1] around. Repeat ribbing round until piece measures 1½" [4cm] from beginning.

Round 1: Change to larger needles and knit.
Round 2: [K2, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 90 (102) sts.
Repeat round 2 until piece measures 8 (8½)" [20 (22) cm] from beginning.

Shape Crown

• Decrease round 1: [K2tog, yo, k2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 75 (85) sts.
• Next round: [K1, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 75 (85) sts.
• Decrease round 2: *K1, yo, [k2tog] twice; repeat from * around – 60 (68) sts
• Next round: [K1, yo, k1, k2tog] around – 60 (68) sts.
• Decrease round 3: [K2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 45 (51) sts.
• Decrease round 4: [K1, k2tog] around – 30 (34) sts.
• Decrease round 5: [K2tog] around – 15 (17) sts.
• Decrease round 6: [K2tog, k1] 5 times, k2tog 0 (1) time – 10 (11) sts.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread yarn through remaining sts and pull to gather. Secure end. Weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS
k = knit

k2tog = knit 2 sts together

p = purl

St st = Stockinette stitch

st(s) = stitch(es)

yo = yarn over

"Bollywed: A Family Affair", Paradise Theatre, Toronto, ON

It’s Canadian Screen Week. The first show from season one of Bollywed is nominated for an award and was screened today at the Paradise Theatre. Gord and I like this docuseries so attended. 

It was followed by a discussion with three of the cast, Chandni, Chandan and Roop Singh, which was moderated by Sangita Patel. It was interesting to hear about how the show came to be, the filming and stories and more.

Doors Open - El Mocambo, Toronto, ON

I had a fun day today volunteering for Doors Open at The El Mocambo (on Spadina Avenue, just south of College Street).

I used to go to the El Mo when I moved to Toronto in the late 1980s. Back then it was a fun dive. It closed in 2014 and reopened in 2021 after $30 million in renovations. It’s really nice now with tons of memorabilia scattered all over. 

This is the entrance to the Starlight Room (on the street level).

Fat Bastard Burrito Co., Toronto, ON (Queen Street W)

Gord and I picked up burritos for supper this evening at Fat Bastard Burrito (Queen Street W/Dovercourt Road).

His was a shrimp burrito and mine was a chicken burrito with chicken, rice, black beans, refried beans, corn, cheese, salsa and burrito sauce. Both were tasty. Mine had a bit of heat … maybe the salsa?

Doors Open - The Theatre Centre, Toronto, ON

Gord and I spent this afternoon volunteering for Doors Open at The Theatre Centre, on Queen Street W just west of Dovercourt Road, which is in our ‘hood. 

It’s the first time the Theatre Centre has participated and the front doors are rarely open. The building is the former Carnegie Library built in 1908 and was decommissioned as a library in 1964. It then housed offices for Toronto Public Health for nearly 50 years. The Theatre Centre is celebrating 10 years in this location. 

These doors are rarely open

The Theatre Centre gave out complimentary yummy cookies, scones and coffee from their café.

On the second floor, there were fun family activities like colouring and bracelet making (I made one!). 

Book ~ "The Good Part" (2023) Sophie Cousens

From Goodreads ~ At twenty-six, Lucy Young is tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, tired of going on disastrous dates, and definitely tired of living in a damp flat share with flatmates who never buy toilet roll. She could quit her job for a better living but she's not ready to give up on her dreams. Not just yet. 

After another diabolical date lands her in a sudden storm and no money for bus fare, Lucy finds herself seeking shelter in a tiny shop, where she stumbles upon a curious wishing machine. Pushing her last coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with everything she's got: Please, let me skip to the good part of my life.

When she wakes the next morning to a handsome man, a ring on her finger, a high-powered job and storybook perfect little boy and baby girl, Lucy can't believe this is real - especially when she looks in the mirror and staring back is her own forty-something face. Has she really skipped ahead to the future she's always wanted or has she simply forgotten a huge chunk of her life? And as Lucy begins to embrace this new life and new relationships, she'll have to ask herself: Can she go back and if so, does she want to?

Lucy is 26 and is excited that she has just been promoted to junior researcher ... but it seems like she's still expected to do the same chores. She shares an apartment with three others (one of them is her best friend who is moving out). The ceiling in her bedroom is always leaking, there's never any toilet paper and one of her roommates puts weird things in the bathtub. She's tired of living paycheque to paycheque so when she comes across a strange machine in a convenience store, she makes a wish that she'd like to jump ahead to "the good part".

When Lucy wakes up the next day, she is in a strange bed in a strange bedroom with a strange man. She discovers she has jumped ahead 16 years and is now 42 and married to Sam, is the mother of Felix and Amy and has her dream job. But she can't remember the last 16 years and Felix thinks she is an alien who has replaced his mummy. As Lucy tries to catch up to her new time, she finds out about what's happened over the last 16 years, the good and the bad, with her family and friends helping her along the way. In the meantime, she searches for the "time machine" that has sent her into the future.

I find time travel stories interesting and liked this one. It's written in first person perspective in Lucy's voice. As I was reading this book, I didn't know whether Lucy had indeed travelled to the future, did she have amnesia (as everyone suspected) or was it all a dream ... you find out in the end. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Hemingway's Restaurant and Bar, Toronto, ON

I had lunch today with my friend, Rockell, on the upper patio at Hemingway's in Yorkville.

I had Butter Chicken (Chunks of chicken in a smooth Indian curry sauce, served with basmati rice). It should have come with veggies on the side but I said I didn't want any so they gave me extra rice.

Rockell had an Out of Bounds Chicken Salad (A tender, grilled chicken breast laid on a bed of mixed greens, tossed in our house raspberry vinaigrette, with tomato & sprinkled with sundried cranberries, feta cheese & spiced pecans).

Both were good.

And here we are ...

Valeria was our server and took good care of us.

Book ~ "The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" (2017) Taylor Jenkins Reid

From Goodreads ~ Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Evelyn Hugo grew up poor. She knew she wanted to be an actress and did everything she could to achieve that and succeeded. She'd been married seven times ... sometimes for love and sometimes to get ahead. She's now 79 years old and ready to tell her story and chooses to tell it to Monique. No one is more surprised than Monique because she is newly hired at Vivant and her boss has made it quite clear that she's rather someone more senior for the assignment. But for Evelyn, it's Monique or no one.

Evelyn tells her story in her own way and in her own time so Monique ends up spending a lot of time with her. Evelyn's story is interesting and detailed and during their time together, Monique can't help wondering why Evelyn chose her to tell it.

I thought this story was okay. It is written in first person perspective ... in Evelyn's voice when she is telling her story to Monique and Monique's otherwise. Also included are news articles from celebrity magazines of the time. I didn't really like Evelyn and thought some of the decisions she made were unbelievable, especially when she was jumping from husband to husband and the reasons why she did. I found Monique boring. We find out towards the end why Evelyn chose Monique to tell her story and it was an interesting twist. As a head's up, there is swearing and adult activity.

Twisted Hat

I finished knitting another twisted hat. It’s a fun and easy pattern once you get into the repetitive groove.

I found the pattern here.

Directions are for size small; changes for size large are in parentheses.

Hat circumference at bottom edge: 16 (18)" [41 (46)cm]; Hat stretches to fit 20 (22)” [51 (56)cm]

I used 4.5mm [US 7] and 5.5mm [US 9] needles and 4 ply yarn. 

Hat is worked in the round on double pointed needles.

With smaller needles, cast on 90 (102) sts. Divide sts evenly around double pointed needles. Join to work in rounds, taking care not to twist sts. Place marker for beginning of round.

Ribbing Round: 

[K1 through the back loop, p1] around. Repeat ribbing round until piece measures 1½" [4cm] from beginning.

Round 1: Change to larger needles and knit.
Round 2: [K2, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 90 (102) sts.
Repeat round 2 until piece measures 8 (8½)" [20 (22) cm] from beginning.

Shape Crown

• Decrease round 1: [K2tog, yo, k2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 75 (85) sts.
• Next round: [K1, yo, k2, k2tog] around – 75 (85) sts.
• Decrease round 2: *K1, yo, [k2tog] twice; repeat from * around – 60 (68) sts
• Next round: [K1, yo, k1, k2tog] around – 60 (68) sts.
• Decrease round 3: [K2, k2tog] 15 (17) times – 45 (51) sts.
• Decrease round 4: [K1, k2tog] around – 30 (34) sts.
• Decrease round 5: [K2tog] around – 15 (17) sts.
• Decrease round 6: [K2tog, k1] 5 times, k2tog 0 (1) time – 10 (11) sts.

Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread yarn through remaining sts and pull to gather. Secure end. Weave in ends.

ABBREVIATIONS
k = knit

k2tog = knit 2 sts together

p = purl

St st = Stockinette stitch

st(s) = stitch(es)

yo = yarn over

Happy Victoria Day!

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25, initially in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday.

The holiday has been observed in Canada since at least 1845, originally falling on Victoria's actual birthday (May 24, 1819).

Pancho Y Emiliano, Toronto, ON

Gord and I spent the afternoon in Kensington Market and then had supper on the patio at Pancho Y Emiliano (on Augusta Avenue).

Sangrias seemed like a fun idea!

Gord had Ceviche (Basa fish fillet cured in citrus juice, mixed with pico de gallo and garnished with avocado served with fresh corn chips) and a Tamal de Puerco en Chiliajo (Corn masa steamed in a banana leaf, filled with tender pork in a savory chiliajo red sauce).

Live theatre ~ "ECHO", Cirque Du Soleil, Toronto, ON

Gord and I went to this evening's performance of Cirque du Soliel's ECHO.

Fuelled by the power of invention, the hope of the youth and the importance of empathy, Cirque du Soleil ECHO invites the audience to participate in a universe of colour, wonder and infinite possibilities.

I’ve seen many Cirques over the years and as usual, I didn’t have a clue what the story was but the performers were fabulous!