Stone Town

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

August 2022 - Toronto ON

July 2022 - St. Mary's ON

A nice weekend at home, after two weekends away. I was very pleased with us, by noon, 2 loads of laundry done and put away, rotisserie chicken stripped and carcass in the pot for stock, breakfast and lunch dishes done. John finished defrosting the beer fridge. I made two soda breads, one cheese and one raisin. I worked on my embroidery and watched a movie.

Sunday morning slept in and then read all the weekend book blogs, adding more to my TBR list and finding other rabbit holes. Lazy morning, unlike yesterday. Then a 2 hour phone conversation with a friend in the afternoon. Preparing pork dumplings for dinner took a chunk out of the day also.

Monday I decided was the day to get my hair cut, without phoning to see who was working (no appointments taken). Downtown was packed! There was union convention going on. Plus there were so many older people with 80s band t-shirts. Odd.

I got there and there was only 1 stylist working, not one I've used before and he had just taken a customer so I left. 

I googled and learned that  these bands were playing at the Rogers (Skydome) Centre.

Every restaurant in the area looked like this, with lineups out the door. At 2 PM? Ahh, concert was from 4-8 LOL. I guess the oldies needed to get home early.

Lots of grey hair walking to the venue.

Our new printer arrived and set up.

Tuesday I went and did get a haircut with my regular stylist. Even she said "your hair is so long!". Yes, Andrew, I almost needed ribbons!

John had gone for an eye appointment and we finished at the same time, but he was up  in mid town about 20 minutes away on the subway. He suggested going for lunch and I said where? He had no ideas, so I said pizza. I walked over and waited for him at Libretto's, our favourite.

Wednesday up early and ready to head out at 10:30 for my eye appointment when I got an email and phone msg that it was cancelled due to a water main breakage in the area. It has been rescheduled to next week.

John golfed. I decided to go see an art installation at Harbourfront.

According to its signage it should open in 2022...
Reclaimed as public space from its former use as the Gardiner’s York-Bay-Yonge eastbound off-ramp, Love Park will be the ultimate ode to connection, community, and nature.
The focal point of the park is the heart shaped pond—the universal symbol for love. In the daytime, adjacent buildings will have a unique aerial view of the park’s heart shaped pond, which is aligned to “true north.” By night fall, the park’s pink, glowing, heart-shaped light will softly illuminate the pond giving the feeling of a gentle embrace.

A new floating art installation, called Happy Castaways, has arrived in Harbour Square Park Basin.

Artists Isabelle Demers and Fanny Mesnard of Demers-Mesnard, a Québec-based collective, designed the temporary artwork. The 25-foot-long installation is on display until September 2022. 

In 2019 there was another floating art installation, SOS Safety Orange Swimmers.

Thursday John took the car in for servicing.

I debated going out but instead did laundry and chores. Then I decided to make lemon cream cheese cookies. They took far longer to cook than the recipe said. They also fell apart when eating, but tasted delicious.

I made the right choice not to go out! Major power outage in my usual downtown area.

What caused it?  A barge carrying a crane came into contact with high-voltage transmission lines in the Port Lands area.

Friday HA HA made my day!! Hope he has to wait 23 hours in an ER like the rest of his province would. Too bad he's not allergic to bees!

I sat outside on our grounds (something I should do more often.

Then I went to Longo's as steaks were still on sale at  $12.99/lb (save $7/lb) or $28.64/kg and ground beef was $3.99/lb (save $3/lb) or #8.80/kg. Yes we are a metric country but for some reason our meat is still sold by the pound. 

Longo's is a pricier grocery than some others but I like their quality.

COOKING

Saturday I used the remaining rotisserie chicken to make a stew. Nothing fancy. Served with cheese soda bread.

Sunday pork dumplings Shiu Mai

Monday chicken wings and fries

Tuesday shrimps and salad

Wednesday BBQ chicken quarters, beets and grilled watermelon (oil, honey, lime juice and sea salt). John did not like the watermelon, I did.

Thursday mushroom Bolognese spaghetti. 

Friday steak and broccolini mushroom onions. Yay, no mushrooms wasted this week!

WATCHING

Six Minutes to Midnight - click here for a fascinating article on the background of the movie.

John had watched this and saved it for me.

Six Minutes to Midnight is a 2020 British war drama film directed by Andy Goddard from a screenplay (loosely based on a true story).

Damascus Cover is a 2017 political thriller film. Ari Ben-Sion, an Israeli spy posing as a German businessman named Hans Hoffmann in Berlin in 1989, must get an Israeli spy out of Syria but realizes that he is part of a much bigger plan.

Payback 2021 - A young stockbroker at a Mob-controlled Wall Street firm gets betrayed and sent to prison for six years. When he gets out, he seeks revenge.

We started watching The Outlaws 2021, a crime thriller comedy television series. The story follows seven strangers from different walks of life who are forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence, set in Bristol. However, their luck changes – not necessarily for the better – when they discover a bag full of money, unaware that its true owners are very dangerous. Funny!

We started watching Ten Percent, a British comedy series based on the French series Call My Agent! (t both are set in talent agencies that see turbulence when their founder unexpectedly dies. Funny.

I started watching (while in the kitchen) New Tricks, a British television police procedural. The series focuses on the work of the Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad (UCOS) – a fictional division within London's Metropolitan Police Service tasked with re-investigating unsolved crimes. UCOS primarily functioned with a senior police detective overseeing the work of three retired police officers who would handle each case, and who could bring in police support when needed. Each episode focuses on a different investigation, with characters often coping with problems at their age but using their wisdom to overcome hurdles in the original investigation of cold cases. There are 11 seasons so I'm not sure I will stick with it that long.

READING

Based on a blogger recommendation, thank you, Tina, I finished Catherine Steadman's (new author to me) Something in the Water  and couldn't put it down. I also read Mr. Nobody by her as well. This wasn't as big a hit for me as I thought the ending was a little convoluted. The amount of research she does is incredible. Catherine Steadman also played Mabel Lane Fox in Downton Abbey.

I started The Dry by Jane Harper, not sure about it yet.

Borrowed Eat Up: Food, Appetite and Eating What You Want and flipped through it. It is not written as a recipe book. It is her take on food culture, the good and the bad. She says what's wrong with craving a milkshake when you are feeling ill? Her writing style is warm and funny, sometimes sarcastic.

She gives the example of Marcella Hazan's recipe for a quick tomato sauce.

Two cans of your favorite canned San Marzano tomatoes, (which have fewer seeds and a sweeter, rounder, less acidic taste than other canned tomatoes), a big knob of butter, a peppy white onion, and salt. Cook over medium heat for 45 minutes then discard the onion, season with salt and serve.

BTW this is the most famous tomato sauce on the internet.

I admit, I got bored quickly and abandoned the book.

Asian Cooking Made Easy published in 2008 there are no references to gluten free options. There wasn't really any logic to the way the recipes are provided.