Signs

  Joining Tom at Signs2.

Wordless Wednesday Wordless Be There 2day

Toronto 2024

Leftover license plates from 2024.

Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural 

November 2024 - Toronto ON

In the Skywalk.

Happy Solstice

 

 December 2024 - Toronto ON

And just like that the days will get longer.

Local marker right next to our building in Sheldon Lookout, shows the location of the sun for the winter solstice on Lake Ontario.

We will notice that our sunsets have moved as far west as they do and will now slowly start moving to the right.

I found this image here which basically shows how our sunsets move. BTW this article also mentions our marker above.

NEWGRANGE IRELAND

Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the rising sun at the Winter Solstice. Above the entrance to the passage of the mound there is a opening called a roof-box. On mornings around the winter solstice a beam of light penetrates the roof-box and travels up the 19m (62ft) passage and into the chamber. As the sun rises higher, the beam widens so that the whole chamber is dramatically illuminated.

These were taken at Newgrange in County Meath Ireland in 2007.

The information below is from the official website for Newgrange.

Since this makes reference to Stonehenge here is a link to my photos from there. 

Click here for the Grand Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.

Newgrange was constructed over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.), making it older than Stonehenge in England and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Newgrange was built during the Neolithic or New Stone Age by a farming community that prospered on the rich lands of the Boyne Valley. Knowth and Dowth are similar mounds that together with Newgrange have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Archaeologists classified Newgrange as a passage tomb, however Newgrange is now recognised to be much more than a passage tomb. Ancient Temple is a more fitting classification, a place of astrological, spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance, much as present day cathedrals are places of prestige and worship where dignitaries may be laid to rest.

Newgrange is a large kidney shaped mound covering an area of over one acre, retained at the base by 97 kerbstones, some of which are richly decorated with megalithic art. The 19 metre long inner passage leads to a cruciform chamber with a corbelled roof. The amount of time and labour invested in construction of Newgrange suggests a well-organized society with specialised groups responsible for different aspects of construction.

Newgrange is part of a complex of monuments built along a bend of the River Boyne known collectively as Brú na Bóinne. The other two principal monuments are Knowth (the largest) and Dowth, but throughout the region there are as many as 35 smaller mounds.

The Grinder

  Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share
Sunday Salon

December 2024 - Toronto ON

Union Station LCBO Toronto

Saturday was the day I could pick Friday the 20th for my Xmas Longo's grocery order. Done!

Then I decided I should find some gluten-free cream of chicken, it seems Aylmer's make one and Walmart carries it at 0.97¢. This led to another grocery order that would come today. I wanted the soup because John has not been enjoying chicken divan with the gluten free options.

I finished off the old apples by making French toast for lunch. YAY me, no more apples!

John took the condo Holiday Fund contribution down to Steve. The memo had the date wrong, it had Friday Dec 15!!  This Fund is your way of saying Thank You and Happy Holidays to our Staff, after another year of special care and service.

Monday Mural from our spring trip. Ogallala Nebraska.

John waited for a parcel pick-up. He had ordered a car thingie (tire pressure) but it was too large and also needed a battery charger/something to be bought separately. You can see I am very car-fluent!

I went to the bank to get cash for our various gifts for our condo staff (a few who deserve a little extra), cleaner and hairdresser.

I made low carb chocolate almond biscotti (gluten-free) that were very good. Bonus it used up two chocolate bars that have been hanging around. Here are 21 other biscotti flavours.

Tuesday, up early, as John had a couple of appointments. I did some chores (laundry, plants, got rid of the ice in freezer) and we had kinda planned to go out but instead lounged the day away.

First eggnog of the season! We are laughing at the French name! Milk of chicken.

Wednesday I went for a mani-pedi and then to Longo's (wanted fish for dinner) and John went to lunch with a friend to discuss golfing options for next summer. That lunch resulted in us booking a 4 day May trip to Ottawa for tulip festival as friend had booked it so we are tagging along. It has been on my bucket list forever.

Thursday I went for a haircut and walked through Brookfield Place on my way. I also went to get more Christmas gift cash and had a lobster roll for lunch.

John used the golf simulator.

Revolving front door in our building. We received our first cold weather alert from the office.

Friday we had good intentions of going to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) but it had snowed a little overnight and the temperature was -4 C feeling like -10 so we decided to hibernate instead!

I made a great pot of clean the fridge (CTF) soup. I also made salted caramel but the first batch didn't work so I made another. The next time I would make the coffee stronger, make coffee ice cubes.

Why did I need caramel? We made copycat Starbuck's caramel ribbon crunch frappuccino. We even had a ceramic coffee mug that I bought a few years ago when John had dental surgery.

Our Christmas order arrived around 4:30 and got put away.

I also started on our "Xmas" dinner which we are having tomorrow because we are going to my cousin's on Christmas Day. I got the stuffing started and did the carrots/turnips. 

Click here for some festive cheer from Straight No Chaser!

I did a Solstice post for Saturday.

COOKING

Saturday General Tso chicken(keeper) and stir fry bean sprouts baby bok choy and onions. I also made the hoisin sauce since I had cleaned out all those jars a few weeks ago. AND for the first time we actually finished a bag of bean sprouts and the bok choy!

Sunday homemade pizza 

Monday chicken curry and chips pork hocks and colcannon

Tuesday Mongolian beef (need a better sauce) cauliflower rice and cabbage (in fridge)

Wednesday cod fillets and carrot fries. I loved the fries, John didn't.

Thursday fish grilled lemon Chinese curry chicken

Friday steak frites 

WATCHING

Pacific Heights 1990 A couple work hard to renovate their dream house and become landlords to pay for it. Unfortunately, one of their tenants has plans of his own. We had seen this years ago.

Mama s a 2013 supernatural horror film. Two little girls disappear into the woods the day that their parents were killed. When they are found 5 years later and begin a new life, they find that someone or something still wants to tuck them in at night.

Yellowstone finale! A lot of people didn't like the ending, but we did.

Heist, another movie we had seen before. One of the pay per view networks is free over the holidays so John has been recording. 2001A career jewel thief finds himself at tense odds with his longtime partner, a crime boss who sends his nephew to keep watch.

What Lies Beneath 2000 The wife of a university research scientist believes that her lakeside Vermont home is haunted by a ghost - or that she is losing her mind. We enjoyed this scary, fun, horror/ghost story. Very underrated. Has a very Hitchcock vibe to it.

Hot Fuzz 2007 An overachieving London police sergeant is transferred to a village where the easygoing officers object to his fervor for regulations, all while a string of grisly murders strikes the town. Funny!

What's Love Got to Do with It 1993 The story of singer Tina Turner's rise to stardom and how she gained the courage to break free from her abusive husband, Ike Turner.

Chappaquiddick  2017 The plot details the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident, in which Kennedy's negligence caused an automobile accident which resulted in the death of his 28-year-old passenger Mary Jo Kopechne trapped inside the vehicle, and the Kennedy family's response.

Neither of us remembered The French Connection 1971. A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.

The Agency  is an American 2024 espionage thriller television series. A covert CIA agent's mission is abruptly ended sending him back to London Station where the love he left behind unexpectedly reappears hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage.

READING

Since I am watching old seasons of Top Chef on Netflix, I borrowed Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques: A Cookbook. This book was a joy to flip through. I found several recipes I want to try.

Click here to watch her making Broccoli tempura using chickpea flour, therefore gluten-free.

A Stranger in the Family the story takes us to the most unexpected places. 

Weekend Roundup

 Welcome to The Weekend Roundup...hosted by Tom The Back Roads Traveller

1. Starts with "Y" YOUR CHOICE
2. A Favorite
3 CHRISTMAS - chosen by Tom

Starts with Y (BIGGEST/SMALLEST/LONGEST/SHORTEST/OLDEST/FIRST)

YANGTZE is the longest river in Asia.

FAVOURITE

YIKES Las Vegas NV

CHRISTMAS

Royal YORK

Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural 

April 2024 - Ogallala Nebraska

Warm Up

 Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share
Sunday Salon

December 2024 - Toronto ON

St. Augustine FL

Saturday I took my black old winter coat and a pair of boots down to the clothing collection the building was hosting. I asked if they were taking sweaters, yes, so I brought seven down.

I puttered, made soup from frozen tomatoes and vegetables. Cleaned out some more kitchen cabinets. Made lemon cookies which finished off the almond flour and a lemon.

I also used up some apples and stale bread making apple cinnamon French toast for lunch.

Monday I set out on a mission to get a new winter coat. This was in Union Station.

Odd, a Fleurs de Ville display in TD Tower.

New coat and a super bargain, on sale at the Bay. I had looked in Cleo's and Winners as well.

Tuesday morning. I went to Rexall for seniors' day.

The new Shake Shack with a bar, opened in Union and the line was around the corner.

Wednesday on Yonge St.

Lunch at Cabano's, good as always.

We saw Titanique, a musical parody of the movie, Titanic, a Celine Dion jukebox musical. Fun, campy (very gay!). We had the understudy Kaylee Harwood playing Celine. I wish we had seen 

Véronique Claveau as she is Quebecois and is known for her Théâtre du Rideau Vert’s end- of-year satirical stage revue, Revue et Corrigée, which showcased her excellent comedic skills and superb singing. It was here she first won acclaim for her brilliant imitation of national icon Céline Dion. 

When the music of Céline Dion makes sweet Canadian love with the eleven-time Oscar®-winning blockbuster film Titanic, you get TITANÍQUE, off-Broadway’s most award-winning splash hit, which turns one of the greatest love stories of all time into a hysterical musical fantasia.

Want to find out what really happened to Jack and Rose on that fateful night? Just leave it to Céline Dion to enchant the audience with her totally wild take, recharting the course of Titanic’s beloved moments and characters with her iconic song catalog.

Sailing on fierce powerhouse voices in show-stopping performances of such hits as “My Heart Will Go On,” “All By Myself”, and “To Love You More” – backed by the unparalleled energy of a full live band – TITANÍQUE is a one-of-a-kind theatrical voyage bursting with nostalgia, heart, and campy chaos.

Click here to see the YouTube preview if the video doesn't work.

They allowed photos at the end.

We decided to walk back to the bus stop and ended up with 9,000 steps.

And we walked passed the I Hate Rubber Boots guy!! Photo taken 2023.

Dundas Square was blocked off for a "free" (sponsored by Skip and Shake Shack) Back Street Boys concert at 6 PM.

OCTO is one of the biggest claw machine themed gift shops right in downtown Toronto!

.

On the bus home.

Thursday was extremely windy. The plants on the balcony had rattled against the windows during the night, keeping us awake.

I was going going downtown when John was going to the dentist. In fact I was bundled up and waiting in the bus lounge when I decided it was too windy to go out and came back up.

I did some chores (got rid of the spent batteries, cleaned out more of the fridge/pantry, tidied my bedside table/washed down bottom of freezer).

I also cancelled our Christmas Eve lunch at Canoe, it was a fixed three course menu at $115 per person.

When I had asked earlier about the menu she had said it wasn't set yet but would be 4-5 courses at $105. There wasn't much offered in gluten-free either.

I booked us at Joey King, newly opened.

John received his Manmade order.

We decided to rewatch Titanic after seeing the parody yesterday. Since we was three hours we opted to order Swiss Chalet chicken for dinner.

Friday John bottled his wine while I went to Longo's for weekend supplies. I also picked up sushi for lunch.

COOKING

Saturday BBQ chicken quarters, roast potatoes, 

Sunday homemade meat sauce and spaghetti

Monday pot roast

Tuesday pot roast leftovers fresh carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy

Wednesday more pot roast leftovers fresh mashed potatoes

Thursday fish chicken curry pizza. We ordered Swiss Chalet chicken.

Friday steak, stir fry bean sprouts, baby bok choy and onions

WATCHING

We tried to watch The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard but gave up, as it was stupid.

Black Doves 2024 British spy thriller mini-series (6 episodes). Helen, wife of the Secretary of State for Defence, learns that her secret identity as a Black Dove is in danger after her lover is killed by London's underworld. Her employers, a spies-for-hire organisation – retrieving industrial, political or diplomatic secrets for the highest bidder – send Sam, an old friend, to protect her. We really enjoyed this series and even stayed up until 1 AM on Monday.

The Madness is an American 2024 action conspiracy thriller limited series (8 episodes). Colman Domingo stars as a media pundit who must clear his name after he accidentally stumbles upon a murder in the woods. It is mainly filmed in Toronto. 

Caught up on our recorded series.

Carry-On is a 2024 American action thriller. 

A mysterious traveler blackmails a young TSA agent into letting a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight.

READING

I really, really enjoyed None of This Is True. It was riveting, I read it in a day. But that ending???? It left me conflicted and needing more.

All We Knew But Couldn't Say I was not familiar with Joanne Vannicola’s film or TV work. 

Joanne Vannicola is an Emmy award winning actor, author, and advocate. They founded Youth Out Loud in 2004, is the chair of the LGBTQ+ actors committee. An interesting read that I found myself skimming in places.

I started The Viaduct Killings. It has a good twisty plot but I found it dragged.