College Falafel, Toronto, ON

My move-aversary to Toronto from Nova Scotia 38 years ago was last week while I was in Cuba. I celebrated today by getting an east coast donair from College Falafel (at Ossington Avenue and College Street), my go-to place for donairs. The owners, Oljana and Bard, are always so nice and friendly and, though I don’t stop in as often as I’d like, they treat me very well. And they make good donairs! 

Traditionally a donair has meat, tomatoes, onions and donair sauce.  The donair is served in a pita pocket.  The meat was good and tender and the sauce was tasty.  I got mine with tomatoes (I'm not a fan of onions).

Book ~ "What Makes a Family" (2017) Colleen Faulkner

From Goodreads ~ Nestled in the Chesapeake Bay, Brodie Island is charming, remote and slow to change. For three hundred years, Abby Brodie's farming family has prospered there. Now, years after leaving to make her way on her own terms, Abby is coming home to see her ailing grandmother, with her teenage daughter and a wealth of memories in tow. Yet as family members gather at the old farmhouse, Abby realizes this visit offers more than a chance to say goodbye.

After decades of feeling she was a disappointment as a daughter, Abby is beginning to see that her mother, too, has struggled to feel a sense of belonging within the Brodie family. Celeste, Abby's self-centered sister, is far from the successful actress she pretends to be, and needs help that only Abby and their half-brother, Joseph, can give. But most surprising of all is the secret that Grandmother Brodie has been carrying - one that will make each woman question her identity and the sacrifices she's willing to make to gain acceptance.

Sarah Agnes, the family matriarch, is on her deathbed at the home she shares with Joe, her son, and Birdie, his wife (and also Sarah Agnes' adopted daughter). Abby and Celeste, Joe and Birdie's daughters, along with Sarah, Abby's daughter, and Joseph, Joe's illegitimate son, have gathered to say their good-byes. Abby is in a happy marriage with Drum and Celeste is a has-been actress looking to mooch off whoever she can. Birdie is a cold mother who does what she has to do in taking care of her family.

 

I wasn't crazy about this book. It's really drawn out and draggy so by the end, I really didn't care. The story is told in first person perspective in Abby, Sarah Agnes, Birdie and Celeste's voices (the chapters are labelled). I found Abby boring, Birdie was cold (it would have been nice to know why she was the way she was) and Celeste was too unrealistically self-centred. I was more into Sarah Agnes' story of when she was younger and it was interesting as Sarah, her great granddaughter, dug and learned more about her.

Blaze Pizza, Toronto, ON (Dundas E)

Gord, Trish and I had supper at Blaze Pizza (at Yonge Street/Dundas Street E) ... it's been a while since I've been there.

You can order one of their signature pizzas or build your own ... I built my own.  There are lots of ingredients to choose from. That's my pizza ... with regular sauce, extra mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, ham, bacon and tomatoes.  It was good!

Honeycomb (aka Newfie) knitted mittens

I just finished knitting a pair of Honeycomb (aka Newfie) mittens to donate.

I used 4 ply yarn and 5mm double pointed needles. The colours are black and orange.

Wrist

1. With A, cast on 42 sts
2. Knit 1, purl 1 for 18 rows
3. Purl
4. Purl, increasing 2 stitches on each needle for a total of 48 stitches

Pattern

1.  *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
2. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
3. Purl 2 rows with A
4. Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
5. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
6. Purl 2 rows with A
7.  *Knit 4 with B, slip 2 purlwise with A*, repeat to the end of row
8. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
9. Purl 2 rows with A
10. Knit 1 with B, * slip 2 purlwise with A, knit 4 with B*, repeat to the last three stitches, knit 3 with B
11. Repeat this row 4 more times (5 in total)
12. Purl 2 rows with A

Thumb

1. In step 12 above, purl 2, put 7 stitches on a stitch holder for the thumb and cast on 7 stitches, purl to the end.  Purl 1 row.

Mitten

1. Knit the pattern until long enough (I did 6)
2. Knit 1 row
3. *Knit 4, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
4. Knit 2 rows
5. *Knit 3, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
6. Knit 2 rows
7. *Knit 2, knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
8. Knit 2 rows
9. *Knit 2 together*, repeat to the end
10. Thread the yarn through remaining the loops and pull tight
11. Weave end inside

Thumb

1. With A, pick up the 7 stitches from the holder
2. Pick up 7 stitches around the thumb hole for a total of 14 stitches
3. Knit to fit length of thumb
4. Knit 2 together all around
5. Thread the yarn through the remaining loops and pull tight
6. Weave end inside

Iberostar Selection Holguin, Holguin, Cuba

When Sunwing cancelled our vacation to Punta Cana the day we arrived at the airport, Anne, Franca and I scampered to rebook another vacation ASAP. Franca and Anne work so didn't have the flexibility to not take the planned week off. After three hours of going online and calling other providers, the best we could do was the 4 star Sol Turquesa Beach in Holguin (via Air Transat) leaving on Sunday. When we arrived at there late Sunday night, where was everyone?! There are over 500 rooms but apparently only 80 guests. Because of that, a lot of things are closed down and not happening ... no entertainment, no activities, nothing. 

Monday afternoon we spoke with Pablo, the Air Transat rep on site, and asked him to move us. For another $458 each, he moved us the next day to the 5 star Iberostar Selection. We had to pay for the cab to get us there ($25US).

Adele and his '41 Chevy

A much better resort and worth the move! Though it wasn't at capacity, there were lots of guests so there was energy and people to talk with. At night, the animation team put on shows. 

We had a fun time here. My only complaint about the resort is that their WIFI sucked. It was free throughout the resort, including the rooms. When we arrived, we were given a temporary login and then picked up our permanent login info later that day. I wasn't able to get access on my phone at all so used roaming from my provider at home (I'm not looking forward to seeing that charge!). My iPad and laptop were hit and miss ... sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, sometimes it was speedy. Once we inputted our login info that should have been it for the week but I found I was often asked to input it on a daily basis. That was annoying.

These carts drove around often and you could hop on
and head to the main building, the snack bar, the beach,
back to your room, etc.

My room was a five minute walk to the main building and the pool (in the other direction). It had a mini fridge, giant fan above the bed, a/c, etc.

Book ~ "Beverlee Beaz meets Lowree Louise, the Blue Burmese" (2025) Regan W. H. Macaulay and Wei Lu

From Mirror World Publishing ~ Beverlee Beaz, the brown Burmese, longs to share her creative adventures with someone special. When she meets her new sister, Lowree Louise, the blue Burmese, she knows she has found a true friend with whom to play imagination games ... if only she can teach the little kitty how. 

Join Beverlee in her latest tale as she mentors her sister in the ways of imagination.

Beverlee Beaz is a brown Burmese cat with a very active imagination.  Her world is perfect except she realizes that something is missing in her life. Her human parents coincidentally surprise her with a new sister named Lowree Louise, a blue Burmese cat. Beverlee is really excited because now she has someone she can play with and mentor. And so begins the adventures of Beverlee Beaz teaching Lowree Louise the best game in the world, which is using their imaginations.

This is a story for young children and not only is it cute but it also encourages children to use their own imagination. So instead of just seeing a red cardinal, imagine that it's a fire breathing dragon! The illustrations are gorgeous and colourful. At the end of the book, there are a couple activities ... colouring a picture of Lance the white stallion as a pegasus and a word scramble.