Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader
San Diego CA
SATURDAY March 15
I started cleaning up files on my phone and backing it up as we are due to upgrade.
The rain kicked in around 10 just as predicted but stopped mid-afternoon.
Wouldn't you know, we get home and the water cooler died! We replaced it (from Wal-Mart).
The laundry hamper became unhinged, the screws came out.
And I think the toilet is leaking, again, so I messaged our plumber.
There is a reason we don't go out on weekends!! I had bought last minute tickets to the almost final production of Kim's Convenience for tonight. Show is at 7:30. We left at 5:45 and walked over to the Humber Loop to catch the streetcar. It is the end of the route so we sat until 6 when he pulled out. We got off at Roncesvalles to change to the King streetcar that goes straight to the Distillery District. I insisted (incorrectly) that the stop was on the south side of the street. Well, a Distillery streetcar sailed by us, so we walked to the north corner where we waited (unusual) 10 minutes for another. Seated, and we crawled along King, literally. Traffic was not moving. When we got to the heavily pub/bar area it dawned on me, it was St. Patrick's Day weekend and the weather was gorgeous. The streets were teeming with people, police were arresting a guy and we were not getting anywhere. Neither of us like to be late for anything so we made a call to go back home and forfeit our tickets. Waited and waited at Spadina and King, traffic is horrendous. We walked up to Queen and immediately got a streetcar bound for Humber, perfect!!! Right, Queen St. another gridlock. John did place an order for chicken to be delivered at 9. Well, quelle surprise, the driver announces at Roncesvalles (this happened to us before) that he is not continuing and we should get the next streetcar. No sign of a streetcar approaching. I called an Uber and we finally walked in at 8:30. What a waste of time!! Oh well, we laughed.
BTW
SUNDAY was a very wet, stormy morning as John headed out to sign up for his summer men's golf league. Then we treated the day as we usually do, relaxing, reading, watching.
MONDAY
Monday Mural in Abilene TX.
John took the car in to get an oil change, remove winter tires, brakes needed cleaning.
I went to the Eaton Centre to check out pants at Reitman's (Canadian), and looked at a new suitcase.
Very pleased to see we are sticking to our guns.
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Here's a good Newfie wine! From our 2022 trip.
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Candy store Eaton Centre
I also picked up sushi from Sushi Q's (Canadian), spicy tuna and salmon. John really liked it as a not quite super sushi fan.
Tuesday
So sad to hear about the demise of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), a Canadian landmark since 1670 with 9,000 employees, I went to see what they had and found their inventory quite depleted. It was very emotional seeing how upset the employees were.
I went back to get the suitcase I had seen yesterday and it must have been serendipity because the one on my favourite colour was now on sale.
Wednesday
We found a new tax accountant and spent time filling out her forms.
I went to Longo's for a few items.
Thursday
It was rainy and cold so we decided against going to the market.
We had tickets for our first Candlelight Fever concert. I have followed them for several years but had never bought tickets. A friend mentioned going in December and being pleasantly surprised.
I saw tickets for a Beatles and Queen show that had good tickets available (first row) and bought them. It was in the east end so we had to drive, that would be my only complaint, the venue was not easily accessible by public transit.
An enormous Toronto parking garage known for sweeping views of the surrounding cityscape is in the process of being torn to shreds after roughly 40 years.
Demolition crews began to tear down the hulking concrete structure at 200 Queens Quay West in January, and are making quick work of the former Impark lot 153, a seven-storey above-ground lot that housed over 1,200 spaces before its closure.
The site will eventually become a new 59-storey mixed-use condo building dubbed Q Tower.
I'm not sure why they left this tower intact at the moment. It made me smile with its colour-coded floors.
It was fantastic but in future you don't really need the most expensive tickets.
It took place at the Toronto Metropolitan Church (a fascinating read in itself).
No photos or videos are allowed until the final song, when everyone can video or photograph.
They also performed an encore Hey Jude!
Not wanting a repeat of Saturday's traffic chaos we left with more than enough time to spare, although it did take some reconnoitering around the narrow domestic one way streets to find the church. The doors opened promptly at 45 minutes before the start of the concert.
Program - performed by The Brielle Goheen Quartet
Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles
Blackbird - The Beatles
Help! - The Beatles
Come Together - The Beatles
Yesterday - The Beatles
All You Need Is Love - The Beatles
Love of My Life - Queen
Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
I Want to Break Free - Queen she mentioned this video done by Queen.
We Are the Champions - Queen
We Will Rock You - Queen
Radio Ga-Ga - Queen
Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen John's video
The Brick Obelisk is an approximately 30-foot high pyramid made of weathered/rusted steel. It’s design is intended to give the appearance of an industrial smokestack. Etched on to the Brick Obelisk are maps showing the area in 1851, 1899, 1923, 1960, and 2016. Designed by Pierre Poussin.
Friday
John used the golf simulator in the morning and I went to pick up some things at Longo's for the weekend.
After lunch we went to the new T&T on Edward St. near the Eaton Centre. This store is very convenient for me. There is a huge selection of everything Asian and prices are very reasonable.
I bought lemon grass but see she charged me twice for bok choy, I believe the .98 is it.
I had to google some of this stuff.
Lettuce stem - In China the pickled stem is often eaten as a side dish. In the US, celtuce is being used as a gluten-free pasta substitute.
Celtuce is its proper name.
Fish balls - intestine shape.
There is a huge fish and shellfish selection. I got scallops.
Yellow Croaker - Native to the northwestern Pacific, particularly the Yellow and East China seas, this fish is highly prized among Asians in Los Angeles, especially the Koreans. In Korean markets they are sold frozen, dried, salted cooked and sometimes fresh, usually in lengths less than 12 inches. They are often called "Corvina" (Spanish for croaker) or "Yellow Corvina" to avoid confusion with the other fish called Yellow Croaker. This is the only fish allowed the name "Yellow Croaker" on Fishbase.
Yellow croaker is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. It contains significant amounts of B6 and B12 vitamins and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, all of which may carry health benefits.
Yellow Croaker - Native to the northwestern Pacific, particularly the Yellow and East China seas, this fish is highly prized among Asians in Los Angeles, especially the Koreans. In Korean markets they are sold frozen, dried, salted cooked and sometimes fresh, usually in lengths less than 12 inches. They are often called "Corvina" (Spanish for croaker) or "Yellow Corvina" to avoid confusion with the other fish called Yellow Croaker. This is the only fish allowed the name "Yellow Croaker" on Fishbase.
Yellow croaker is high in protein and low in carbohydrates. It contains significant amounts of B6 and B12 vitamins and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, all of which may carry health benefits.
Look at that crab!!
Pork stomach and intestines.
18 eggs for $8.79 is not bad. But Metro has 18 for $6.
Tripe and beef aorta.
This is a HUGE bucket of individual packets of ramen.
I noticed this interesting number on my blog this week - 10,000 posts which includes Published, Draft and Scheduled!
COOKING
Saturday we had bacon and eggs for lunch. Then I made us date milkshakes that turned out well.
Dinner was unplanned as we ordered Swiss Chalet rotisserie chicken. The leftovers went into the soup pot on Sunday.
Sunday corned beef, cabbage and mashed potatoes
Monday hamburger stew (lunch leftover)
Tuesday leftovers from Sunday with fresh cabbage
Wednesday chicken tenders and salad
Thursday tuna and salad
Friday steak, chimichurri and broccolini
WATCHING
The Accountant 2016 As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities, and the body count starts to rise.
The Day of the Jackal 2024 TV series season 1. The Jackal is an elusive assassin who makes his living carrying out hits for the highest fee. He soon meets his match in a tenacious British intelligence officer who tracks him down in a thrilling cat-and-mouse chase across Europe.
We are really liking this series!
Concrete Valley Canadian drama 2022. I watched this. Rashid, a doctor from Syria, struggles to adjust to his life in Canada after five years in Toronto's Thorncliffe Park with his wife Farah and son Ammar. This very much depicts Thorncliffe Park.
I watched Wicked and found it amusing and fun. Ga-Linda reminds me of Karoline Leavitt! In fact the whole movie reminded me of the times we live in.
BOOKS
I finished The Princess of Las Vegas and I found it to be just a bit convoluted and unbelievable. I normally like his storytelling but this was too far-fetched! Meh.
I started Here One Moment , if you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?
There is a huge cast of characters, some more interesting than others. But I found it really hard to get interested in the main protagonist's story, Death Lady.
The liquidation of the Hudson's Bay store is very sad to learn. It is horrible when centuries old businesses collapse. Clearly someone or a number were very incompetent. It survived wars and depressions, but, my guess, hasn't adapted to modern retailing, and perhaps grew too big.
ReplyDeleteThe mural in you header photo looks stunning. I hope to check out the T&T store on Edward St. one day. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.
ReplyDeleteBravo to Canada for standing up to our bully-in-chief. U.S. the demise of the Hudson Bay Company due to the tariff war? I envy your public transit, even if you did get thwarted on St. Paddy’s Day. The Brick Obelisk is intriguing. My husband and I enjoy concerts. The Beatles and Queen tribute concert sounds amazing! Thanks for your visit to my blog. I will be following yours as well.
ReplyDeleteHudson’s Bay claims that its financial difficulties have been exacerbated by multiple factors, including subdued consumer spending, ongoing trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada, and reduced foot traffic in downtown shopping districts following the pandemic. In reality, much of the company’s struggles stem from years of underinvestment by its ownership, which failed to modernize stores, refresh product selections, and improve the overall shopping experience.
DeleteShoppers have encountered poorly maintained locations with limited staff (you have to search for them), broken escalators (multiple when I was there the other day), and other unresolved maintenance issues. The company also lacked an effective marketing strategy to attract and retain customers, while alienating vendors and not paying them. Cost-cutting measures and prolonged neglect ultimately weakened the chain, leaving it vulnerable at a time when leadership appeared to have cast Hudson’s Bay aside, focusing on the shiny newly formed Saks Global (American). Funny enough, Saks Fifth Avenue and Off Fifth will closing along with most of the other Bay locations. Six will remain open.
They failed to understand the market, they went too high-end with designer labels.
I'm glad that Canada is standing up to the bullying by Trump. Please know that many of us (most of us?) here are furious with that man.
ReplyDeleteI'm personally buying everything I can from Canada. And as little as possible from the billionaires!
Trust me, I know that most of you are just as furious. We have American friends who are appalled by his actions. Libraries? I doubt he knows what they are and certainly has never stepped in one.
DeleteI would love to have gone to that concert. Beatles songs, yes! Glad Canada is selling Candian goods and protesting the US tariffs. Believe me, There are plenty of Americans who support Canada. Effing tariffs....
ReplyDeleteAll the shows you are watching appeal to me but, have to wait on the library to acquire them.