Monday Mural

I'm linking up at Monday Mural

June 2015 - Toronto ON

An odd selection of murals that were found in Graffiti Alley in Toronto. 

Two Cracked Eggs

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Hearth and Soul Link Party

Savannah GA 2017

January 2022 - Toronto ON

When Ontario relaxes its COVID-19 restrictions at the end of the month, movie theatres will be able to reopen at 50 per cent capacity – though the concession stands will remain closed.
Proof of vaccination will be required, and masks are mandatory for all staff, visitors and guests.

Restaurants/museums(YEAH) may reopen January 31 after temporary closure January 5, 50% capacity, masks required when not sitting at table, QR code vaccination proof required.

What drivel from an English blogger regarding the Canadian Truckers Freedom Convoy. She actually defends this behaviour, a bunch of redneck white supremist imbeciles who don't represent the 90% of us. These morons don't realize that the US requires truckers to be vaccinated to cross into the States. 

There is no supply chain breakdown in grocery stores the shelves are packed.

Defiling national war memorials is disgusting. Bunch of freedumb asses with their confederate flags.

Anyone else sick of Bloglovin's "servers are over capacity" nonsense?

Devastated to see Amy lose on Jeopardy. Even John said, the next day, it's boring without her. I had high hopes on Rhone, a librarian, who beat her. However, when he couldn't answer "author of The Good Earth" I threw my hands up in despair.

Saturday I made jam from some leftover fruit - tangerine, grapefruit, orange and lemon. I also made scrambled egg quesadillas for John's lunch, yesterday I had made him a ham and cheese quesadilla. He was out of gluten free bread and I had placed an order but the company has come back to me twice this week saying they are experiencing supply issues and hope to ship on Monday. I had coconut flour tortillas in the freezer so I am using those.

His bread arrived on Wednesday.

I received my new baking pans. My medium sized cookie sheet had bit the dust and the little roasting pan I liked had the "paint/coating" wearing off the rack making it yucky. Also had a brain storm of where to store these oversized pieces in water cooler cupboard!! I put the big pizza trays in there as well.

Also received a new bread flour to try.

Tuesday we scrambled to shower as the building was doing regular maintenance on the hot water tanks. Since John is nursing a sore ankle we had a movie afternoon and I finished my last cactus embroidery.

Picked up John's latest scotch order in time for Robbie Burns day.

Wednesday was cold and sunny, around 5 some fog rolled in and we had a short but spectacular sunset.

Thursday after using the golf simulator (now back to 2 hour bookings) he headed to Costco, the first time since early December.

COOKING

Saturday slow cooker ribs and coleslaw

Sunday chicken fajitas, one sheet pan in oven

Monday pork chops, mashed potatoes and turnips 

Tuesday since we are enjoying fruit and yogurt for breakfast I made apple raisin pancakes for lunch. I often substitute applesauce for an egg but this time I used a banana instead (I have a glut of them in the freezer because they are so cheap and plentiful from Costco's). The banana added such a great sweetness and creaminess to the flavour. Perfect for lunch since we still haven't received our gluten free bread order (supply chain issues) so no sandwiches.

Fish (haddock, shrimp, clams) chowder

Wednesday burgers and fries with dipping sauce (mayo, ketchup, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar) should have added hot sauce as well.

Thursday lunch was air fryer grilled cheese, no mess no cleanup.

I made chicken tacos (hard shell) with a rotisserie chicken from Costco.

These hard shells are gluten free, however, we have no idea how you are supposed to pick these up, they break immediately. Instead we broke them up and ate it like a taco salad bowl. Served with salsa (Farm Boy, not a fan), sour cream, hot sauce, cabbage, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro and cheese.

 Call me a food snob but I have never bought a rotisserie chicken before and it was perfect especially at $8!! 

So far, 2 dinners, 2 lunches and at least another lunch and possibly the rest will go into the soup.  I took all the meat off and put the bones in the soup pot. Said soup pot is now on the porch (perfect freezer at the moment -18C feels like -25C). Forecast is for it to feel like -35C overnight!

Friday steak and loaded baked potato.

WATCHING

So there I was getting ready to enjoy Endeavour season 7 on Prime. The series that chronicles the early career and life of Inspector Morse, and Prime had pulled it. I can wait.

I found Britain's Best Home Cooks series 1 and 2.

We watched season 4 of Ozark and the first episode of Billions.

Also saw the movie The Tender Bar.

Really enjoyed The Courier, a 2020 historical spy film. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Greville Wynne, a British businessman who was recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service to be a message conduit with a Russian spy source Oleg Penkovsky (played by Merab Ninidze) in the 1960s.

READING

Cooking with Mary Berry on my laptop. It would be an excellent book for a beginning cook, as it covers all the basics at the beginning. It has a great collection of recipes for a starting chef. I didn't really get anything out of it.

Finished the fourth in Jenny O'Brien's series Lost Souls.

Started Montpelier Parade by Karl Geary, a new to me Irish author and was nominated for the Costa First Novel Award 2017.

Weekend Roundup

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

Starts with D

Favourite

DAWN - chosen by Tom

TATS and TOTES

I'm going to feature the many Toronto tattoo and cannabis outlets that are proliferating around the city.

Starts with D

Toronto cannabis franchise with locations around the city.

FAVOURITE

DOOR ON DUPONT ST

DAWN

Sunrise in Lyon France

FRINGE BENEFITS - MURALS

DOG by Birdo

T for Tuesday Signs

 Joining Tom at Signs2.

Random-osity

Wordless Wednesday Wordless Be There 2day

T Stands For is hosted by Elizabeth and Bleubeard

Toronto ON

Wine label

Frisky Beaver Winery Port Dover ON

Toronto LCBO

Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

Travel Tuesday

Our World Tuesday

Image-in-ing
My Corner of the World

Postcards

Toronto ON

From 1963 to 1976, Friar's Tavern served as one of the Yonge Street strip's most popular nightclubs. When it opened, the tavern boasted that it featured "the finest in food." But its musical offerings were truly superb, ranging from jazz great Oscar Peterson and rock legends Bill Haley & the Comets to local heroes Levon and the Hawks, whose presence at the club brought Bob Dylan to town. 

In 1965, Bob Dylan's world was a-changing. He'd already recorded his electric masterpiece "Like a Rolling Stone" and performed his plugged-in set at the Newport Folk Festival. But he needed his own backup band. Enter Mary Martin, a Toronto woman who was working for Dylan's manager in New York. At Martin's urging, Dylan flew to Toronto on September 15 to check out her favourites, Levon and the Hawks, at the Friar's. 

He first heard them play on the morning of September 16 and for the next two nights, Dylan and the group rehearsed after hours and forged a thrilling, hard-edged sound. After touring the world with Dylan, and making a return appearance at Toronto's Massey Hall in November, Levon and the Hawks relocated to Woodstock, New York, and became famous as The Band. With Dylan, they went on to generate bestselling albums and a sold-out North American tour in 1974 that included two nights at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. But their fruitful partnership had begun at Friar's Tavern, an event that Time magazine declared "the most decisive moment in rock history."

The building now is, sadly, a Shoppers' Drug Mart, but they did create a small museum upstairs.

Photo courtesy of Canadian Encyclopedia

A year later, the music club shifted gears to rock ’n roll where acts included Bill Haley and the Comets, Robbie Lane and the Disciples as well as the Silhouettes.
In the summer of 1965, the historic Friar’s Tavern was the first to feature go-go dancers to accompany the bands on stage. On raised platforms or in gilded cages, dancers in short skirts with rows of fringes dazzled spectators. The stage show and fad caught like wildfire at the local clubs and bands didn’t look complete performing without them. David Clayton-Thomas and the Shays were one of the first groups in Toronto to share the stage with go-go dancers.

Yonge and Dundas facing South in 1964. You can see part of the Friar's sign in this photo.

The 3-storey building was constructed in 1918 for the American restaurant chain, Child’s Restaurants. Designed by the restaurant’s New York City architect, JC Westervelt, the Beaux-Arts Classicism style building was home to the restaurant on the main floor with Karry’s Billiards and Bowling on the upper floors.


From 1978 until 2017, the building was home to the Hard Rock Cafe – a new Yonge Street landmark. 

Photo from BlogTO when it opened.

Those famous walls were once again filled with music but this time with an extensive collection of rock’n roll memorabilia including musical instruments, autographed photos of famous musicians and even some of the clothing they wore.
This is how I knew it looking. And no I don't think I was ever in it.

Then Shoppers' moved in.

Monday Mural

I'm linking up at Monday Mural

January 2017 - Disney Springs Orlando FL

HERITAGE

 One Word Sunday

Mesa Verde National Park Colorado

The Olde Bakery

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Hearth and Soul Link Party

Ingersoll ON

January 2022 - Toronto ON

This was Saturday's weather warning.

Shawn Mendes' latest video has Toronto as the backdrop.

It looks like our "modified" step 2 lockdown will not be ending as planned on January 26...

Has anyone tried playing Wordle? Fun but tough!!

We were promised a snow storm and we got one!

The kids were supposed to go back to school on Monday but that didn't happen.

This is what it looked like on Sunday night.

Monday morning when I looked out. Note that yellow truck going eastbound into Toronto. It was about 8:30.

9:54 yellow truck

They closed the Gardiner around 10, the DVP was also closed to enable getting the cars stuck in snowbanks out of the way - note the red car stuck going westbound. Westbound will also close. They are allowing cars to reverse and go down the on ramp.

Red Car will soon be plowed in.

Yellow truck still there, he did get out and walked around at one point.

Westbound plows - westbound not yet closed

Red Car was plowed in by them as you can see in the right bottom of the photo

10:49 note yellow trick, cars turning around 

Sand truck following plow

Police helping out, pushing cars. We still have no idea why nothing is moving

Cars have reversed in most cases, trucks can't

11:40 They have gone!

All gone except the white van, several police cruisers trying to help her get going

Now what was the problem?? I found these photos on Facebook taken by a resident in our building who lives in a unit facing east.

Remember the Red Car? Someone took this photo from another building as other drivers help him shovel out.

And this was the day's ending.

I noticed that our dishwasher had a puddle of water in the bottom. John drained a bucket from the bottom, we cleaned it. I contacted a appliance repair company and he came on Tuesday. This dishwasher was here when we moved in, 10 years ago, He confirmed it was 27 years old but it was GE American built. Seems motor is gone, replacement discontinued. Either ways, the floor was put in after the dishwasher so would entail breaking the tiles to get it out. So we will be washing dishes by hand for a while as we decide if we are ready to do a kitchen reno. The fridge, washer and dryer were also here when we moved in so we have got our money's worth out of them. I will start a story board of wants and needs.

Wednesday John had an appointment downtown.

 We decided we should tackle some put off items. Move stove to clean, clean cutlery drawer (declutter some knives). Continue cleaning kitchen drawers and get rid of and organize stuff. Clean some windows. Oh, well, the best intentions...

Make gluten free baguettes, we used the same bread flour as I used for the puff pastry and had the same problems, just not sticky enough. She has a video on her website so it was easy to see ours was not sticky like hers. We ordered another gluten free bread flour on Amazon.

By Thursday temperatures had plummeted into the -15 C feeling like -23 C during the day turning all that snow into icy concrete.

WOO HOO I finished our 2021 Year of Lockdowns recap.

COOKING

Saturday roast turkey breast, homemade gravy, roast potatoes, mashed cauliflower and turnip.

Sunday short ribs slow cooker stew 

Monday hot turkey sandwiches and peas

Tuesday leftover stew, remaining peas and I made some colcannon

Wednesday Spanish chicken thighs and chorizo with the gluten free bagette

Thursday salmon, braised cabbage, mashed cauliflower with mustard sauce

Friday steak frites 

WATCHING

Non-Stop 2014 Liam Neeson, suspense thriller, entertaining.

Lost Bullet 2020 action thriller, French, cross between Fast and Furious and The Fugitive, I see a sequel coming

End of Watch 2012 action drama, friendship between cops, reality of gangs in LA, dark underbelly of life

Destroyer 2018 "neo-noir crime drama", Nicole Kidman like you've never seen, bank heist

We watched John Wick part 2 and 3. I couldn't count how many were killed, loved the Continental Hotel (their club), loved seeing Taylor from Billions. Part 4 soon to come.

Pencil kill scene

Nobody 2021 American action thriller film and stars Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Christopher Lloyd, and Aleksey Serebryakov, and follows a bored family man who, after his house gets robbed, returns to his dangerous former life, which ultimately makes him the target of a vengeful drug lord.

READING

I FINALLY finished The Madness of Crowds that I had mentioned last week. It took me forever as it was so boring.

I needed to read something different so I started the third in the series Fallen Angel.