Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader
24 April 2026
SATURDAY
I worked on and read blogs for quite a while.
I did a better job cleaning the shower stall than the cleaning lady did last week.
I did a load of laundry, I know, I said no laundry on the weekends, but this was simply towels.
I was going to make cookies but then I found an interesting recipe for date squares instead. UPDATE - not a keeper, toooooo sweet! What a waste of dates, but it is inedible for us.
SUNDAY
Weather - cold outside. 4C feels like 0 C.
1926 Irish census
I am very impressed at the high quality of the 1926 Census scans released by the National Archives. Super sharp, clear, and zoom-in-able. So easily downloadable too, in various formats.
Unfortunately, some of the handwriting is difficult to read.
It covers the 26 counties of the modern Republic of Ireland.
The first full census of Ireland was conducted in 1821, with subsequent censuses held every ten years until 1911.
However, the 1926 census was the first conducted by the independent Irish Free State after partition. Following the partition of Ireland, Northern Ireland conducted its first independent census on April 18, 1926, the same day as the Irish Free State's first census.
The 1821–1851 records were largely destroyed in 1922; 1901 and 1911 are the earliest, fully surviving comprehensive census records.
A blank example of the form.
There were 28 hits for my paternal grandfather. It took me a few hits before I found the right one.
He was a soldier with the Irish Defence Forces.
There were 9 for my maternal grandfather and I hit the right one the first time.
He was a silk weaver!
There were 6 results for my maternal grandmother and I also hit the right one the first time.
There were 6 results for my maternal grandmother and I also hit the right one the first time.
She worked at Players, as a tobacco worker.
I knew my maternal grandparents were not married in 1926 so would be living at home.
On Monday I looked into my maternal grandfather as something isn't making sense.
Interesting question I saw online:
Looking at the 1926 Census, I can't find any babies or children in the Magdalene Laundries. Where were the children recorded?
The people in the laundries would have had their names changed and/or just been down as initials. This is the Good Shepherd in Limerick - the children are listed by initials https://nationalarchives.ie/.../search.../census-record/...
MONDAY
Monday Mural Toronto
Foto Tunes Barcelona
I got rid of a broken picture frame, we're never going to fix it! And a roasting pan that was corroded.
It was freezing out, I am back to my winter coat. I wanted to make lazy cabbage rolls for dinner and batch of spaghetti sauce so I needed ground meat.
I spent a rather analog few hours in the kitchen. I made spaghetti sauce and froze it. I ground up the parmesan cheese in the fridge (there is still a large piece in the freezer) and then put it into a container for easy use.
We received our delivery of gluten free cookies, I don't think this was a good way to deliver cookies. I'm sure they're going to be broken up. Sometimes you just want something sweet and we had nothing in the cupboards. I will bake on the weekend.
I use OAuth often (thinking I was being lazy), without realizing it, today. I saw a question posted and realized I kind of didn't realized what it was.
OAuth (Open Authorization) is an open-standard framework that allows websites or applications to access user data from other services (like Google, Facebook, or Twitter) without requiring the user to share their password. It uses secure, temporary access tokens to grant limited, delegated permission, making it the industry standard for safe authorization.
So, not lazy, smart!
While making dinner, I was watching a YouTube video "12 Simple Things that ACTUALLY Improved How I Cook". I immediately emptied two spice jars that I never use and are probably older than the Ark, cilantro because it bears no resemblance to the actual herb, fennel because I never use it and will also empty coriander for same reason as cilantro.
TUESDAY
I tried to not multitask this morning, trying to do one thing at a time. E-mail. daily trivia, blog updates, before moving on to the news.
I fixed the formatting on yesterday's Foto Tunes.
I am making an effort to write my analog to-do list in cursive, since it has gotten so bad!
I also find that if I write something here, it motivates me to actually do it!
Well, this surprised me!! I e-transfer for lots of things! Just did it the other day for the cleaning company.
This provoked lots of comments about the efficiency of our secure banking system.
I received two calls from strange phone numbers and one was tagged as spam. They both said I had $750 charged by Amazon tagged to my card. These messages are always chopped off at the beginning.
I was going to go out for romaine but John needed some distilled water so offered to do a Costco run for us. I was out of yogurt and we needed fruit, tomatoes, cilantro and some staple items.
Now we have 6 romaine hearts ($9) to eat! I guess there will be lots of salad in our future.
So I spent the afternoon cleaning and organizing as mentioned below.
I moved some serving dishes from the pantry (to make room for food items) into the dining room.
I threw out some old disposable plates that aren't needed.
Next up is the pantry and an inventory.
WEDNESDAY EARTH DAY
I spent some time researching a post on Irish silk weavers for an upcoming post as a result of the Irish census (see above).
I did chores while John used the golf simulator.
After lunch I had a coffee date outing for us. We caught the streetcar 505 at TMU (old Dundas) station. We'd never taken the 505 before.
Stop at the coffee shop.
Sonndr coffee shop is named after the neologism "sonder," which is the profound realization that every stranger passing by has a life as complex and full as your own. The founders chose this name to represent the café as a welcoming, community-focused hub where diverse individuals meet and interact.
We strolled around, intending to walk through Trinity Bellwoods Park, but instead wandered through the laneways, taking mural photos, to Ossington and Queen, where we caught the streetcar home.
Spring has sprung, I also saw a magnolia in bloom!
Jimmy's on Ossington. I did a post on the various Jimmy's about town a few (many) years ago!
We have theatre tickets on May 6 as part of John's birthday gift. He asked if I wanted to see Ones for mine. So we got tickets for it.
THURSDAY
We took a lot of mural photos yesterday, so I spent most of the morning down some very deep rabbit holes researching them and creating/scheduling Monday Mural posts.
We then headed out to lunch, Mexican, at a new place, Tacomania, on Yonge St. Gorgeous day!
I had Agua de Jamaica, a refreshing, tart, and sweet Mexican iced tea made by boiling dried hibiscus flowers (flor de jamaica), straining, sweetening, and cooling the mixture. Typically, 1 cup of dried hibiscus flowers is simmered in 4-6 cups of water for 10-30 minutes, sweetened to taste with sugar, and diluted with 4-6 cups of cold water.
I haven't had one since Mexico.
You had to use the QR to order your food. Service was slow, like in Mexico. Menu here.
John had the quesabirria, he had first tried in Las Vegas in 2025 at Letty's.
I forgot to take a picture of my two tacos, one beef and one tripe ✅. I just dove right in.
This setup with the counter reminded me of the eating spots in Mexican markets.
Some Yonge St. photos.
Patios are open! The Artful Dodger has been around forever, it was a BMO hangout when we worked in the area, but neither of us thinks we ever went there.
The renovated Clock Tower, I wrote about it here.
Another set of new murals to be featured at another time.
Finally the scaffolding is gone in front of the Eaton Centre and it looks good!
We both have separate accounts for Jacqui Lawson greeting cards, mine is up for renewal. But the annual fee is $49, so I cancelled mine and we will share! Maybe I'll use my savings for BritBox!
Bought cheap, cheap tickets to see Inside American Pie. I found a promo code online.
I spent a lot of time working on the family tree, plodding through birth, marriages and death archives and census during the 1800s.
Then I went to the Eaton Centre looking for black pants, but didn't find anything.
Got some more Reece's Nougats (4) samples, we also got 2 yesterday.
COOKING
I did a tidy and an inventory of what was in the freezers. I did throw out some stale bread that was for stuffing, I had more than enough and it was taking up valuable freezer real estate.
I also did the fridge. And tidied one of the large shelves in the kitchen, threw out some "passed its best before dates".
John used the leftover potatoes and mushrooms with fried eggs and a tomato (it needs eating) on Sunday.
cabbage - used for cabbage rolls/fajitas
I want to make made a batch of spaghetti sauce this week to freeze. I ended up with 2 packages, one is 16 oz, the other 24 oz.
MENU
Saturday roast pork parmesan roasted potatoes (John's request) and carrots
Sunday Mexican slow cooker pulled pork fajitas leftover pork, green pepper
Monday lazy cabbage rolls
Tuesday shrimp tacos and Caesar salad
Wednesday chicken fingers and salad
Thursday ham (small frozen piece) salad, eggs, cheese and beets
Friday steak mushrooms and garlic toast
ADDED TO MY RECIPE BOX THIS WEEK
WATCHING
I found North and South (Britbox) on DailyMotion!
I haven't finished The Gold S2 on CBC Gem.
I started a series through Hoopla (library app) Beyond Paradise, I just can' get into it.
I did start watching The Last Anniversary Season 1 on Hoopla. It is an Australian television series
based on a book by Liane Moriarty.
Sophie Honeywell inherits a house on Scribbly Gum Island from her ex-boyfriend's great-aunt Connie. However the island has many secrets. It's good kitchen cooking watching as it doesn't demand total attention.
Unfamiliar 2026 German series. Ex-spies Simon and Meret operate a Berlin safe house until a past threat resurfaces. Now they're fleeing hitmen, Russian agents, BND, ex-lovers, and old enemies while trying to save their marriage.
Turn of the Tide season 3. We had watched season 1 and 2 in February, in the depths of winter.
StartUp is a 2016 American crime drama television series. A desperate banker, a Haitian-American gang lord and a Cuban-American hacker are forced to work together to unwittingly create their version of the American dream - organized crime 2.0. Our type of series.
READING
I learned that there is a word for the decorated page edges that I photographed in February!
"Spredges" (sprayed edges) are books featuring colored, painted, or stenciled designs on the outer page edges, creating a vibrant, artistic, and highly collectible aesthetic. Booming in fantasy and romance, these editions are popular on TikTok (BookTok) and often featured by publishers as special editions to enhance the reading experience.
I finished Other People's Houses and really enjoyed it. Apart from the crimes, I was very entertained by the ex-wife, a social climber of the worst! I'm not sure what actual value she added, but it was so much fun cringing at her actions.
It has really bad reviews on Goodreads and I was rather doubtful when I started. However, we'll see. I did DNF it.
Flipped through it
MAGAZINES
Just some food porn, looking at recipes.
ONLINE
I found a new (to me) cooking website Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, some interesting recipes. I found him as I was looking for recipes to make Scottish mince and tatties.
WANT TO READ
Thanks to Bookjotter (via Jinjer)
Also lead me to add more Emma O'Donaghue to my library TBR wishlist.
Not yet at my library.
Which then lead me to Brian Moore!!! AND I started this one and really enjoying the "Irish-ness" of it. Written in 1955 and set in post-war Belfast.
"Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride." -Anthony Bourdain
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