Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader
Nov 13 2026 - Toronto ON
WARSAW POLAND
Saturday
I was up at 6:45 and John at 7.
I finished my Europe 2026 recap.
It turned out to be a grey dreary day as we did come chores and generally chatted and puttered. Andrew had mentioned a series he thought I would enjoy "Recipe of the Year" so I got myself signed into Australia Broadcast System, but despite having my VPN set to Australia it "knows" I'm not in Australia. I have no problem with channel 7 Australia.
We watched a movie The Get Out.
Sunday
It's football Sunday for John.
I ran did our trip photo backup. I also did laptop maintenance as we have been using it in so many places. I also removed any hotel wi-fis we used.
I caught up on blog reading. And did some scheduled posts. I saw this happening on another blogger's page and now I have it too. Blogger is not showing latest posts on sidebar, just a list of blogs I follow in no particular order and if you clicked on one it showed the HTML layout.
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I decided to bake a couple of cinnamon loaves. I love this recipe, it only takes 2 eggs, doesn't need a mixer, and only one bowl. I need to do a little more analog activities, although I did watch stuff on my laptop while baking.
We started a good series Prey. On the run accused of a terrible crime, Manchester Detective Marcus Farrow tries to prove his innocence while being hunted by his former friends and colleagues.
Monday
Monday Mural
Foto Tunes
Note to self - John picked up the car key from the valets (left with them when we are away. It is in the basket.
We finally made the trip to Port Perry, Ontario, a charming town we had never visited before. It is about an hour northeast of Toronto.
Our main goal was to see the municipal hall dressed in its famous blanket of poppies for Remembrance Day, and the experience did not disappoint. The building was completely transformed, draped in a breathtaking, cascading waterfall of handmade red poppies that felt incredibly moving to see in person.
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After taking in the display, we set off to explore the rest of the town, keeping an eye out for spots featured in the TV series Reacher. It was fun recognizing the historic main streets that stood in for Margrave, Georgia, including the famous intersection of Queen and Perry streets where the exterior of Roscoe’s apartment was filmed and the local cafe was transformed into a fictional watering hole for a massive brawl.
It happened to be the very first day of the year that truly felt like winter, with a biting cold that had us bundling up tightly as we walked along these historic sidewalks and looked out over Lake Scugog. I forgot that we had gloves and hats in the car!!
To escape the freezing wind, we eventually ducked into a cozy local spot for lunch. We warmed up over plates of piping hot, crispy haddock fish and chips, which turned out to be the perfect comfort food for a chilly afternoon. As I write this I realize we should have had cups of tea instead of water! It would have been perfect!!
BTW Reacher was also filmed in a diner on Dundas St. W that we went to years ago (never went back, weren't impressed) but we do go by it quite often.
I did a back up (Google Docs) of our Europe 2026 Recap and daily posts. It needs formatting but at least it is done.
Sidebar is now working properly!
Tuesday
I noticed that our mobile service provider charged one of our phones for one day of Easy Roam when we arrived in Europe $20. I contacted them and had this removed. We never use their roaming service as it is too expensive. We use Airalo e-sims.
John went golfing, it was a beautiful but windy day.
I had fun catching up with T. Plants got watered. I rooted some baby spider plants to fill an empty pot.
I did a couple of errands downtown. Updated some documents and did some filing. It's time to shred some old timeshare files.
Royal York Hotel
John is constantly saying we need new wine glasses and I guess he's serious as he broke one tonight. The set of 8 is now 5...
We watched the movie Mongoose.
Wednesday
I did do a freezer inventory and stuck a list on the fridge. Being away, I've forgotten what we have.
I did take the bits of ham and the bone and started a pea soup stock. I also found another freezer bag for pea soup so I added that.
John spoke to his son who is heading to Munich tonight for his first European trip. That led us to wonder how many places we had visited in Germany, more than we thought!
We should make a list by country.
That led us to have the bright idea to look at some travel photos from Strasburg France (because it popped up on our hard drive). Looking at the photos we decided we didn't remember much about it. That led to checking the blog and it turned out I hadn't done much detail back in 2012. That meant a complete rewrite which took the rest of the afternoon (until 6:30)!!
We started watching Mobland season 1 - we can't remember if we watched it before.
Thursday
Union Station hosted a special commemorative Remembrance Mural in its Great Hall as part of the Royal Canadian Legion's 100th-anniversary Don't Forget to Remember campaign.
The 4x7-metre (30-foot) mosaic depicts First World War veteran and former Stanley Cup-winning Toronto Blueshirts captain Allan McLean “Scotty” Davidson, who enlisted in 1914 and was killed in action in 1915 at age 22.
The portrait is assembled from 4,784 handwritten sticky notes containing personal messages of remembrance sent in by Canadians, veterans, and families from across the country.
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I went for a haircut (I had to wear my heavier (fall) reversible coat with hood) and then to the market. I got tomatoes (they have the best cherry tomatoes), 3 potatoes, 2 green peppers, 1 garlic, 2 punts of raspberries ($4 each) for a total of $20 ouch.
Since I had time I dropped into the Market Gallery (I always like to see their free exhibits). Click on Market Gallery in the labels/tags below this post to see others.
GATHER in Toronto explores themes of community connection, resilience, and belonging through local sports origin stories, contemporary artwork, and historical artifacts.
Historic game balls and athletic equipment drawn from the City of Toronto Art and Artifact Collection. These pieces trace how organized sports have brought diverse Toronto neighbourhoods together across generations.
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Contemporary Indigenous artists featured in the exhibition—including Maria Hupfield, Daniel Henhawk, Pedro Zepeda, and Milo Osceola—create beaded and crafted spherical forms. In Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe traditions, handmade balls represent traditional stickball and lacrosse games ("the medicine game"), transforming everyday athletic objects into vessels of cultural memory, kinship, and artistry.
Herbert Henry Carnegie (1919–2012) was a pioneering Toronto-born Black Canadian ice hockey player, community builder, and philanthropist widely regarded as the best Black hockey player never to play in the NHL.
During the 1940s, Carnegie played alongside his brother Ossie and Manny McIntyre to form hockey's first all-Black line, known variously as the "Black Aces" and the "Les Noirs".
He starred in the Quebec Senior Hockey League for the Sherbrooke Saints and the Quebec Aces, winning three consecutive league MVP awards from 1947 to 1949 and mentoring future Hall of Famer Jean Béliveau.
Despite his elite skill, systemic racism kept him out of the NHL. In 1948, the New York Rangers offered him a minor-league contract with a pay cut from his semi-pro salary, which he declined.
After retiring in 1954, Carnegie established one of Canada's first registered hockey schools in 1955. He authored the Future Aces Creed, a philosophy promoting sportsmanship, respect, and inclusion.
In 1987, he co-founded the Herbert H. Carnegie Future Aces Foundation with his wife Audrey and daughter Bernice, awarding nearly $1 million in post-secondary scholarships to youth.
He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada, named to the Order of Ontario, and inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame (click to visit) in the Builder category in 2022. Toronto's Herbert H. Carnegie Centennial Centre in North York is named in his honour.
Edward "Ned" Hanlan (1855–1908) was a legendary Toronto-born champion sculler and Canada's first world sporting superstar. During his career, Hanlan won the Canadian, American, English, and World Single Sculls titles between 1877 and 1884, losing only six of roughly 300 races. His prizes—including elaborate 19th-century sterling silver presentation cups and the Dufferin Gold Medal (won in 1878)—are iconic pieces of Toronto's early athletic heritage.
Raised on the Toronto Islands, Hanlan learned to row by commuting across Toronto Harbour to school. The western tip of the islands, Hanlan's Point, is named in his honour, and a bronze monument of him sculpted by Emanuel Hahn stands near the ferry dock.
First Global Canadian Sports Hero. By mastering the newly invented sliding seat and swivel oarlocks, Hanlan defeated world champion Edward Trickett on London's River Thames in 1880 before 100,000 spectators. His victories drew massive crowds to Toronto's waterfront and helped establish rowing as the city's premier spectator sports.
John went to Costco's, no meat in this order. $180, my photo was blurry. Toilet paper, lemons, romaine lettuce (6 hearts) celery, milk, eggs, cereal, Coke (we buy it once a year), apples, bananas, raisins, bread, dishwasher tablets. clementines (New Zealand).
John went down a rabbit hole after finding a site that listed the best documentaries.
I wondered where this came from... The flyer directly references a recent, unsuccessful meme event in Chicago where residents joked about gathering to physically push the famous Cloud Gate sculpture ("The Bean") seven inches.
Mocking the Chicago effort, the Toronto poster declares, "CHICAGO FAILED, WE WILL NOT," and playfully insists on using the metric system by setting the goal to move the stadium seven centimeters instead of inches.
Friday the 13th
What a day in the news!
We didn't go anywhere. We puttered away and enjoyed our day. We both spent several hours looking at our Germany posts and photos, looking up places as we did.
The FAA announcement caused us to turn on the news.
Here's an interesting winter fact for those of you that don't have winter like us, from Pearson airport.
COOKING
Saturday - ham, Brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes
Sunday - quiche and Caesar salad
Monday - quiche and Caesar salad
Tuesday - shepherd's pie lamb
Wednesday - ham and eggs (ham must be eaten)
Thursday - leftover shepherd's pie and salad
Friday - steak frites and salad
READING
In the Shadows by Jane Issac, I really enjoyed this and will read more of her books, although our library doesn't have many of hers.
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