Page One

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Friendship Friday

June 2022 - Toronto ON

Mutual St. Toronto ON

I had hundreds of dollars in meal kit delivery cards and decided to try Hello Fresh's $100 off. I was going to include my description and review of the meal kits here, but it has gotten too long so I wrote about it here - Meal Kit Delivery Service.

I discovered that Hello Fresh has all its recipes online and I provided the links to the meals below.

Saturday John headed to lunch and acupuncture with is physio guy. They chose a restaurant not realizing it was totally vegan.
John picked the Asian bowl. This reminds me that I haven't made falafel in years!

His physio suggested resting this week so no golf. Instead he used the pool and hot tub. 

I finished off our London Ontario itinerary as we leave on Sunday for a couple of days. 

I also finished the load of laundry I had put in before we had our evacuation on Thursday, I had forgotten about it.

Our former cleaning lady dropped off a cherry tomato plant last week and I finally got it placed on the balcony.

Sunday morning we drove to London ON for a two day visit. We have been here 10 years ago for a Leonard Cohen concert, but that was a quick overnight trip.

We were not happy with the hotel, Doubletree by Hilton. I am a gold HHonors member and am usually very happy with their locations. Not this one, they will be be receiving my complaints.

It was about a two hour drive with not much traffic.

Click here for details of Day 1.

We parked and walked to Covent Gardens Market, yes, the same name as in London England.

We knew the market had restaurants and bars and we wanted a late lunch. This is a lovely market.

We seated ourselves at a patio table at Olive R Twist's, and waited and waited. Finally we left. We thought we'd go across the street for a burger, but John stopped to read the menu at Waldo's (also in the market) and he was sold as they had mussels. I had tuna.

We had a half liter of white wine - Sauvignon blanc Reserva from Chile.

Then back into the market for cheeses for dinner in our room. Oh, and John suggested chocolate.

Once we were checked in (contactless room key loaded on your phone) we went for a walk downtown.

There are many boarded up buildings downtown with murals.

Click here to read more about the Middlesex Courthouse.

A glimpse at the Covent Garden murals.

Metal tree sculpture outside the Delta Marriott Armories hotel. My choice next time.

We went in for a drink.

Back to the hotel.

Monday was another gorgeous day. The plan was to do some more walking, choosing Richmond to explore.

Click here for more Day 2.

Free breakfast at the hotel, awful.

Looks like a fun place!

St. Paul's Cathedral.

St. Peter's Cathedral Basilica.

Victoria Park.

Richmond has a huge selection of restaurants and bars.

El Furniture Warehouse restaurant and bar is a large Canadian chain with decent prices.

Time for a drink Image source as I didn't take a photo.

Mural at a large beer garden, you know London is a university town by the number of bars.

Toboggan Brewery

Sci-fi diner - would like to go here.

Lunch on the patio at the Church Keys pub - it is beside St. Peter and St. Paul's.

John really wanted mussels again, but alas they were sold out. We both settled on skirt steak with Guinness sauce and fries.

Delicious.

We strolled back to the hotel with a stop at the market for more cheese and a bottle of wine. We might have done room service but since the breakfast was awful we weren't taking a chance. The neighbourhood is a little iffy at night.

London likes to use English names, some street signs today.

Tuesday I had a place in mind for breakfast so we packed up and checked out (through the app).

Click here for more details of Day 3.

The Early Bird (Finer Diner/Holy Diver) is a Graceland-inspired spin on a classic diner. A very eclectic space with silkscreen poster art collaging the walls.

John's classic breakfast, he said the ham was delicious. I now know why they cure everything in house.

I ordered avocado toast? Why was on my food bucket list to try ✅. Delicious. I had it with an egg but didn't think it would be so big.

From there we made a couple more stops in London. Old East Mosaics - will be featured on Monday Mural.

Banting House 

Here, in the early morning hours of October 31, 1920, Dr. Frederick Banting conceived an idea for research that led to the discovery of insulin. He believed that diabetes, then a fatal disease, could be treated by a substance extracted from a dog's atrophied pancreas. Banting was the pivotal member of the Toronto team that isolated and refined this extract, now known as insulin. In January 1922, insulin showed spectacular test results and became a lifesaving therapy worldwide. Banting House, known as the "Birthplace of Insulin", reminds us of the most important Canadian medical discovery of the 20th century.

Banting House was designated a national historic site in 1997 because: it is importantly associated with an event and a person recognized to be of national significance; it is the only extant structure of its kind that is associated with Dr. Frederick Banting between 1920 and 1922; and Banting House is documented and recognized as the site of the defining moment of the most consequential medical discovery in Canadian history.

Back in the car, heading home, we make a stop at Whistling Gardens near Brantford. It is one of Canada’s Best Botanical Gardens With the Largest Public Peony Collection in North America.

There are more photos in the Day 3 London post.

Click here for the cactus.

They do a short water fountain show with music.

We made a stop for fruits and vegetables on the way home. 

With the exception of the hotel it was a good little trip. It was fun to discover new things, try different restaurants and act like tourists. We had beautiful weather for patio sitting.

Wednesday the fire inspectors are doing the in suite inspection of alarms etc.

Ensure that the in-suite smoke alarms are working and are not outdated. The "replace by date " is clearly visible on the outer rim of most smoke alarms.This is a good reminder and since our alarm was here when we moved in John checked the date and it has a replace date of January 2023.
• Each suite entry door must be equipped with a working self-closing device, which will automatically close and latch the door. To perform a self-inspection, simply open your suite entry door, beyond a 45-degree angle a nd let it close on its own power. The door should close and latch smoothly.
• Ensure that the sprinkler head and FA Speakers in the suite are unobstructed and unpainted.

So it seems for this visit the fire department inspector did the common areas and deemed them passable. A fire protection company will be doing an inspection by unit - scheduled provided by floor, we are June 22. 

We decided to just hang around at home, there was rain in the forecast anyway.

Thursday and Friday were hot days and we just hung around doing the usual chores and errands. I had to write our trip posts.

COOKING

Saturday leftover steak fajitas with cheese, green peppers and onions.

Sunday London ON local cheeses from the market.

Monday London ON cheeses

Tuesday Reuben style hamburgers meal kit. Didn't use the potatoes. John used a gluten free bun. Sauerkraut was awful. Bun and meat delicious.

Wednesday cheesy chicken Milanese with spinach apple tomato salad meal kit. Chicken delicious, salad good, not enough dressing provided.

Thursday ground pork enchiladas. By day 3 of 3 orders the cilantro is starting to brown.

Don't forget that I posted the link to all the Hello Fresh recipes up above!

Friday steak fajitas to use up a small piece of steak along with green peppers, onions and cilantro.

WATCHING

We watched and enjoyed the Tony awards. We have missed live theatre!

Watched - Irresistible is a 2020 American political comedy film written and directed by Jon Stewart. It stars Steve Carell in the title role. The film follows a Democratic strategist who tries to help a local candidate win an election in a small right-wing town.

I started watching - Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is an American documentary miniseries on Netflix, surrounding the polygamous FLDS Church, a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, and its current leader Warren S. Jeffs.

READING

On a great reading streak again.

The Murder Rule Dervla McTiernan great read.

I Know You Know Gilly Macmillan fabulous!

The Good Sister Gillian McAllister another cracking read, I figured it out just as it started to reveal itself.

Started The Perfect Girl another Gilly Macmillan.