Signs

 Joining Tom at Signs2.

Random-osity

Wordless Wednesday Wordless Be There 2day

Toronto ON

Hopewell Rocks NB

On The Run (NOT)

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Sunday Salon

Seasons 

Hearth and Soul Link Party

Weekend Coffee Share

Sherry's Pickings

What's On Your Plate (Monthly)

April 2021 - Toronto ON

Week 1 of month long lockdown.Scratch that! Mere days after that lockdown order on Thursday Moron Ford "put the emergency brake on" and issued a "stay at home" order. Everyone then received a emergency alert at 11 AM reminding us that the order had been issued. 

Biggest change in this one is that big box stores are not allowed to sell non-essential items. Other retail has to go back to curbside pickup. 

Restaurants, opened doors on March 31, one day before outdoor dining was kiboshed yet again on—yes—April Fool’s Day. Only days after investing a ton of money to reopen and train staff.

Easter weekend we took no chances as a) we are locked down with cases rising drastically b)John was just vaccinated and I was going on Tuesday. A typical weekend for us. The puzzle got an hour or so of work, embroidery is moving along.

We also worked on a new house project, looked at ideas and will make a story board before we get some quotes. It's not a big one.

Come Friday UPDATE cases had risen to more than 4,200!! Where are these cases coming from? Restaurants and patios were open for a New York minute and even that would be too early for cases to be counted?? 

City cites data backlog which makes sense to me but that only accounts for 450 making that number 3.800 which is still staggering.

City daily report shows the split to be pretty even male-female with highest age group 20-60 years old.

Somehow I posted two Monday murals, one from Toronto and one from Hamilton, both recent. No worries as we have found a plethora of murals lately.

Deb at Readerbuzz gave a big shout-out to the murals I post.

Tuesday treasures - lanes.

I was honoured to be selected as one of the selected bloggers for Birds at Cee's Fun Photo Challenge.

Monday John headed out to hit golf balls. We got our spider treatment done for the balcony.

Tuesday John drove me for my shot and circled the block while I got my vaccine at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Being gawked at by the sculptures as we waited outside the Skydome and CN Tower.

Closeup of The Audience by Michael Snow.

No photos allowed passed this point. 

I had to present my health card three times as I moved through the cattle line (not crowded at all), got my shot, waited 15 minutes and presented my card once more to check out and get my certificate and sticker.

Home and John quickly made a sandwich and headed out to golf.

I am rooting the pussy willows from my St. Patrick's Day flowers. I had done this when we had gardens and it grew into a monster tree!

Also trying to root the ficus tree I was "given". The money plant needed some work as it was turning very yellow. Hopefully I can rescue it.

Movie day was on Wednesday and we hit a good bunch.

Thursday morning's stay home "order" didn't seem to reduce inbound rush hour traffic.

Some photos from John's walk in High Park. Spring hasn't quite sprung yet.

The ducks are nesting.

We decided we would "stay home", other than John going to Metro for gluten free bread. Their brand Promise is his favourite, I tried it and it is good!

He also picked these up.

Friday OMG ALERT ALERT ALERT even the $ store had to close off their "non-essential" aisles!! Now there really isn't anywhere to go!

SOPHISTICATED SHAKERS

2019 Stratford ON

John used his new cocktail book from a local distillery, Dillon's,  to make Negronis this week.

2020 Beamsville ON

According to reliable lore, the cocktail was born when an Italian bartender responded to a customer's demand for a stiffer riff on an Americano cocktail (a much-tamer mix of Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda). The patron, Count Camillo Negroni, had picked up a taste for strong liquor while working—true story—as a rodeo clown in the American Wild West, and gave his name to the resulting concoction.

COCKTAIL CIRCUIT - TO DATE

Mai Tai with orgeat which is new to us

Tequila Sunrise

Rob Roy required bitters which we had never bought

New York Sours 

Gin Fizz

Rusty Nail

Vodka Sidecar

Vodka Cosmopolitan

COOKING

Saturday lamb shanks in Guinness and mashed potatoes with turnips and carrots. The gravy was delicious and the leftovers went into the soup pot.

We want to make eggs Benedict on Sunday morning so I made this recipe for gluten free English muffins or popovers. It says it makes 30 so I put 12 in a muffin pan and had enough for 5 to be made in a skillet. They were best on the day they were made. The ones in the muffin tin would make good Yorkshire pudding.

On Sunday I made this easy blender Hollandaise sauce, we only tried a bit as I was uneasy that it doesn't really get "cooked", only warm butter and hot water added.

We poached eggs for the first time ✅✅✅ had to throw one out and start again. Next time I will go to the market and get really fresh eggs, not Costco's!!!

Easter Sunday was ham and au gratin potatoes, cauliflower and Brussel sprouts. 

This was a new type of ham to us and found it odd that it was already sliced.

The vegetables could have been softer and the sauce didn't thicken as well as usual. I think this may be because I made the sauce early and poured it on the vegetables way before I was putting it in the oven. The water from the vegetables may have thinned it out.

Monday Spanish chicken thighs and Saturday's leftover mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Tuesday gluten free coconut shrimp in air fryer with mango sauce and salad. This recipe used coconut flour and coconut, no bread crumbs so they didn't get golden like my previous recipe.

It has more spices than the first recipe I used in the air fryer (from Cuisinart) and I think I would use that one with some modifications.

Long story short - I created my own recipe.

Wednesday leftover ham and au gratin with Brussel sprouts.

Thursday pork belly and sauteed bok choy, broccoli, mushrooms and onions topped. This time I used an air fryer pork belly bites recipe. This cooked up in 20 minutes and it really crisped up the fat as well as removing some of the fat. I did not add any salt to anything as I was using soy sauce. I would make a dipping sauce 

Why did I only learn this brilliant tomato paste idea this week??? And because of that video I bought an electronic can opener this week.

Hot dogs for lunch or steamies as we call them. This time I even made cabbage slaw to complete the look.

Friday steak night with loaded baked potato (sour cream, broccoli, cheese and scallions).

 

We are almost finished the fifth and final season of Kim's Convenience. So sad to see the end of this great series.

Watched Wind River, a 2017 neo-Western murder mystery film written and directed by Taylor Sheridan. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker and an FBI agent, respectively, who try to solve a murder on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. 

Sheridan has said that he wrote the film to raise awareness of the issue of the high number of Indigenous women who are raped and murdered, both on and off reservations.

2020 Most Wanted also titled Target Number One
Based on the true story of Alain Olivier, a Canadian drug addict from Quebec who spent eight years in prison in Thailand in the 1980s after having been set up as an unwitting pawn in an espionage plot by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Recommended by my cousin, thanks, cuz, 2019 The Cuban, just a feel good movie.

 The artwork at the beginning is stunning, the music wonderful and 

Ana Golja is a Canadian actor and singer. 

AND it was filmed here in Brantford, we'll have to find the locations on a day trip.

Next was 2019 Crypto, a crime drama about money laundering. Always love a techie movie.

2019 American Woman - Inspired by the headline-dominating kidnapping of heiress Patty Hearst in 1974, this atmospheric drama is a fictionalized re-imagining of her time in hiding, from the perspective of Jenny, a political activist assigned to take care of her.

2019 Bad Education was part comedy and based on a true crime. Hugh Jackman stars and is amazing as always as is Allison Janney.

Click here for the real life story in Town and Country Magazine.

Abducted

READING

On my laptop browsing Vegetables On Fire. For a lemon vinaigrette the author suggests grilling the lemon first for a sweeter more mellow effect.

I must remember to make crispy chickpeas in the air fryer as a substitute for croutons! 

On my phone The Turn of the Key, I wouldn't stay in this house for any money!

On my tablet finished Leave the World Behind, interesting and scary disaster premise but the writing was so cumbersome! 

Started The Widows of Malabar Hill which is more appealing to me.

Weekend Roundup

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

ABC Wednesday

1. Starts with "C."
2. A Favorite
3.  Candy

In the last round I used all things TTC, Toronto Transit Corporation.

This time I am going random!!!

Starts with "C"

Three Cs on this sign!

Favourite

Creepy character over entrance to the Copala church.

CANDY

Cotton Candy 

Takeaway Menu

2015 - Blarney Castle Ireland

November 2018 Toronto


Saturday

Pink Saturday Queen St. W

Six Word Saturday I Was Born I Will Die

Definitely not a day to go anywhere! The Gardiner is closed all weekend for winter repairs. Therefore all east-west routes were backed up and everyone is forced onto Lake Shore. Our only way home, west bound, is Lake Shore.

We have to take that left lane and you can be sure many in that lane are not going to be turning left but will cut into the right lane as they near the traffic lights.

Good old homemade spaghetti sauce and cheese bread for dinner.

Sunday
Inspired Sunday Kangaroo Island Australia
Shadow Shot Sunday
One Word Sunday EARTH
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge Blending In or Standing Out?

Gardiner is still closed. Traffic building. And this.

Monday 
Monday Mural Ossington Ave.
Foto Tunes Little Big Town
Wordless

Heading for a haircut, there's always something to photograph.
Cool reflection.

Windows at Rexall showing Toronto neighbourhoods.

This rather grand building is now home to the Irish Embassy Pub, it began life as the Bank of British North America’s main Toronto branch.

It has a wonderfully ornate mansard roof. You can see the slate tiles, iron cresting, and classical details around the hooded dormer windows in the photograph.

Later in the afternoon I met a friend for coffee up in our club. It had rained most of the day (quelle surprise) but I still got a few pictures.
South west.

At the end of our street.

Towards High Park.

East.

Tuesday 

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge

Tuesday Treasures Gladstone Hotel

Tuesday Photo Challenge To Kiss or Not To Kiss

We decided we needed a new backpack for travelling the ones we had are too heavy and the new ones are just better.

A gorgeous sunny day but windy! There won't be any leaves left on the trees after today.
Waiting for the bus.

We had poke bowls at Su and Bu, I loved my tuna but John hated his rubbery chicken.

Pastries on display at The Bay.

Darn I just got a new toaster. Only $799 for this Dolce and Gabbana model.

Words to live by, on the back of a dressing gown.

Iconic American toy brand FAO Schwarz at The Bay, but not for long.

The New-York based retailer has opened pop-up spaces at every Hudson’s Bay Co. store.

Playmat replicas of the life-size piano that Tom Hanks danced on in the famous scene from the 1988 movie “Big” are available for $120.

Wednesday

ABC Wednesday Letter R

I had to return something to The Bay so I headed there early.

More progress at Union Station, the canopy is being installed down York St.

Dish Towel for sale in The Bay. I'm worried someone might buy it for me.

Eaton Centre Christmas decorations, the blue curtain is where their large tree will go.

Thursday
Thursday Doors
A Photo A Week no challenge this week
Kammie's Odd Ball Challenge Lake Shore


I met a friend for coffee downtown and then John and I went to meet friends for lunch at the Brogue Inn.

While downtown I caught this truck.

Friday
Pull Up a Seat Sick Kids Hospital
Weekend Roundup
Weekend Reflections CN Tower
Wit's End Weekly Photo Challenge Four-Legged Friends
Kristallnacht Lest We Forget

Oh what a miserable, yet again, rainy day. I went out for steaks for dinner and to pick up a couple of items for our trip. Other than that, we started getting things ready, laundry and so on.

This was really a mundane week for us, no fun outings but that's because we are gearing up for Spain! We leave on Monday so the weekend will be filled with packing and making sure we have all our electronics, cables, batteries etc etc.

Even though we are joining a tour we have planned several days on each end to further explore Madrid and Barcelona, so I have worked out a daily plan, mainly because I love to plan!!!

BOOKS

You;ve got to love this!

I finished The Running Girl and enjoyed it. I started Backlash on my phone, I had forgotten about this author who wrote the Prime Suspect that became the TV series starring Helen Mirren. Not her best book but any means.
Also started The Woman in Cabin 10 and so far am more interested in the luxury cruise she is taking.

SHARING WITH:

Beth hosts Weekend Cooking where you can post anything food related.
Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy.
Sundays in my City
Seasons
Monday Walks
Monday Morning Blog Club
Through My Lens Monday
Our World Tuesday
Wanderful Wednesday #wanderfulwednesday

Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global

Travel Photo Thursday

Weekly Postcard Friday

Feet Do Travel Friday

#WeekendWanderlust