Weekend Roundup

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

1. Starts with "A"
2. A Favorite
3. ALL - Chosen by Tom

Starts with A (BIGGEST/SMALLEST/LONGEST/SHORTEST)

The Big APPLE

Eastern Ontario

FAVOURITE

Gateway ARCH St. Louis MO

ALL

Toronto hosted the NHL ALL Stars game this year.

Unphogettable

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Sunday Salon

Seasons 

Hearth and Soul Link Party

Weekend Coffee Share

January 2021 - Toronto ON

2019 - Antibes South of France 

New word to me. Poster created using our photo.

Here we go again! A month long emergency stay at home directive beginning Thursday January 14. Considering we've been locked down since end November this is nothing new.

US Canada border remains closed until the end of February.

The days pass. Other than John taking some walks, going to order his wine we didn't really go anywhere. 

The lake isn't frozen, I'm not sure what the swans do if it does freeze. Temperatures have been too warm.

It's been grey like this most of the week.Makes staying home easier.

A dusting of snow that didn't last. I am demanding a proper Canadian snowstorm!!

We planned on going out on Wednesday, just to Longo's, to stock up on some items we can't get elsewhere. But then decided we didn't really need to.

Instead we sat to watch a movie on Wednesday afternoon (gasp) with popcorn and the blinds lowered.

Our new popcorn maker replacing our 15 year old one.

I did some shopping online.

Got some beeswax wrappers to try and some reusable baggies. We used the reusable bags on our Longo order and they worked well.

I wanted the beeswax wraps for the butter, I am so tired of the messy foil it comes in that tears so easily. The wrap works well. We will use it on the cheese as well.

I was searching for suction cups forever, finally bought a package and got this small stained glass that I had bought eons ago in Dingle Ireland.

Rearranged some towels to closet in our bedroom, next to the bathroom, so John doesn't have to shout for a towel when in the shower! So this pulmonia had to move and John suggested using another of the suction cups to hang it in our Mexican themed bedroom.

We got to talking about air fryers (we have a deep fryer) and the fact they don't need much/any oil. Our deeper is bigger than we need, uses a lot of oil and is cumbersome. I looked around and liked the Cuisinart, but then I am a huge Cusinart fan anyway. John checked his credit points and got us one!

How sad we both laughed at this on Facebook on Thursday!

Thursday we drove to Longo's and I picked up some stuff, and realized they have their BOGO (buy one get one free) sale on as I left and picked up the flyer.

So we headed back on Friday to stock up.

On the way to Longo's I got this photo of Loblaw's latest store with the original refurbished sign. I had written about our visit in November.

We normally take the shuttle bus to Longo's or John waits outside in the car while I run in. It dawned on me that they have free underground parking in their building which is shared with an upscale boutique hotel, an office building and a condo.

The elevator to the store is decorated to resemble old-fashioned doors.

We got home and there was a parcel at the loading dock which I picked up along with a freebie!!

COOKING

2020 - Manulife Centre Bloor St. W Toronto

A great way to start a Saturday morning, John made the perfect omelet, chock full of mushrooms, green peppers, onions and cheese.

Dinner was a mish mash of leftovers with a salad. Fridge is slowly getting cleared out. I made a lime mousse using my lemon mousse recipe.

Sunday started with pumpkin pancakes and sausages.

Dinner was pho Vietnamese noodle soup with shrimp.

Monday homemade pizza, using the boxed mixes I had bought. 

Tuesday hamburger stew to use up some vegetables along with mashed parsnip turnip potatoes.

Wednesday pork belly and more vegetables that needed using, broccolini, bok choy, bean sprouts.

Thursday Asian wraps (copy cat PF Chang's) using ground pork but I made the sauce from the Korean meat ball wraps.

Friday steak sandwiches with mushrooms, peppers and cheese. Trivet is one of my shopping spree items this week as is the lighted bottle at the back.

WATCHING/READING

I'm afraid we abandoned The Flight Attendant mid-flight. I had really enjoyed the book but the series wasn't working for me, too flighty. John hadn't read the book and we finally looked at each other and said nope, not working.

John also bailed on Parasite.

We found Lupin and enjoyed that. It is forecasted to be Netflix's best international hit and top show of 2021.

We finished season 8 of Wentworth. 

I finished Ozark!! I started watching Magic City that John had watched last year.

And started watching Jack Taylor series on Netflix. Written by Ken Bruen, an Irish writer and set in Galway. I've read many of the books so am very excited to watch this.

The Guards - Youtube has the entire first episode.

I kind of watched Netflix Best Leftovers Ever series while I was in the kitchen doing other things.

We watched Late Night with Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling,

Excellent!

I finished Good Faith and it was a very good start to a new year of reading even though the ending was evident. I enjoyed the con game, the history of the the Savings and Loans scandals. Set in the early 80s and mainly revolves around the real estate business and really not much happens, there is regentrification and McMansions. 

I finished Look Homeward, Angel as part of my self-improved intentions but I must say it was painful. I had no patience for the main character, Oliver. I'll just chalk it up to done ✅

As an aside, I chose this book because Wyatt, a character in Ozark, said it was the best American novel. Who says you can't learn something watching Netflix.

Started Rich Radiant Slaughter which is shaping up to be a quick no brainer read but I have now abandoned. I just couldn't get into it.

However, I am happily enthralled with Cruel Acts.

I chose 1984 as my classic of the week. I read this many years ago.

Novel Meals

July 2018 - Toronto ON

Indigo  Royal BankToronto ON

Saturday
Six Word Saturday
Pink Saturday

We headed out to our local farmers' market early on a day that promised to be very warm as the day wore on.

It's a pleasant mile stroll along the lake to the market.

The market is larger than last year.

Cheese Boutique is our favourite place to shop and they had a tent set up here. After a sample of a brie, we bought it.

Chicken feet and bones.

We ended up with gorgeous asparagus, field tomatoes and gluten free chocolate macaroons.

Strolling back home.

Peonies and macaroons.

John pronounced these as excellent.

I put the ribs in the slow cooker for dinner.

Sunday
Shadow Shot Sunday
Inspired Sunday
One Word Sunday
Cee's Odd Ball Challenge

Lounging around won over going out today.

The peonies are looking amazing.

Dinner - easy mozzarella chicken with balsamic asparagus and roasted mushrooms and tomatoes.

Monday
Monday Mural more Liberty Village
Foto Tunes

I headed out to capture the Brains at City Hall, the Brains Project is back for its third year.

Here's one done by BirdO, well known to Toronto mural lovers.

A view of City Hall from across the street.

Old City Hall looking majestic.

I took the subway to Dupont, why? I wanted to check out the art I had read about. And I discovered that Dupont is very close to Casa Loma, who knew?

 A mural, check back on Monday for details.

  What? The City o Toronto's Archives are here too?

Appointed City Archivist in 1960, Robert Woadden (1922-2010) transformed the attic of Old City Hall into the first municipal archives in English-speaking Canada. Before then, thousands of photographs on glass plates, and boxes of records dating back to 1834, were scattered around the leaky attic. Woadden recognized their historical value and began designing an operation that properly catalogued and preserved them. He introduced centralized records management to City of Toronto department heads, convincing them that records of enduring value should be preserved and transferred to the Archives. When the new City Hall opened in 1965, the Archives moved into the basement and gained much-needed space. Woadden directed the growth of the City of Toronto Archives until he left in 1975 to become the Deputy City Clerk. The Archives went on to win the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of American Archivists in 1981 - the first Canadian recipient and the first municipal archives to be so honoured. The City of Toronto Archives moved to this location when it was merged with the Metropolitan Toronto Archives in 1998.

Humongous!
The Archives has over 1.25 million photographs and over 10,000 maps in its collection. Many of these have been digitized and made available to view online.

The oldest record in the Archives is a map of Toronto Harbour dated 1792,and the newest one is a DVD of the previous month’s Toronto City Cou ncil meeting. Of the 1.2 million photographs within the Toronto Archives collection, the oldest are a set of twenty-five prints of the city taken in 1856-57 by the firm of photographers, Armstrong, Beere and Hime. These are the earliest known photographs of Toronto.

Click here to view the photos as there was too much reflection for me to photograph them.

There are exhibits open to the public.

The post-war suburbs transformed our national ideal of the good life. The farmland outside the city suddenly sprouted houses, schools, apartment buildings, community centres, shopping malls—all of it new, all of it promising something different: the best of both the city and the country, offering privacy and quiet and space, but with the excitement and opportunity of downtown only a short commute away.

More recently, suburbia has been criticised as conformist and car-dependent. But when these photographers turned their cameras on the suburbs, they saw more than parking lots and lawns.

This exhibit from the City of Toronto Archives features the work of official city photographers, as well as freelancers and amateurs, as they documented people raising families, building communities, working together and celebrating together in the wide open world known as the suburbs.

I made a stop at Spadina subway to find a piece of art but didn't find it so will have to go back.

Dinner - liver, mashed potatoes and onions with gravy.

Tuesday

Tuesday Treasures Liverpool


John had a dentist appointment so I went downtown with him and looked around the sales before picking up ingredients for dinner.

We checked out the Brains Project in Brookfield Place.

Soccer fever is rampant in the city, crowds are gathered wherever there is a TV.
Bank of Montreal had the game on in the lower level.

Air Canada Centre or ACC is being rebranded over the coming weeks as the 18-year-old home of the NBA's Raptors and NHL's Maple Leafs undergoes its first name change to Scotiabank Arena.

Outside the building, some Scotiabank Arena signage will have the ability to change colour and incorporate full-motion video. Red lighting could be used when the Raptors are playing and blue when the Maple Leafs are in action.
In addition, the eight-year-old video screen by Maple Leaf Square — a popular gathering spot during playoff games — will be upgraded.

Dinner - a longtime family favourite from the 80s chicken divan  freshened up with homemade chicken soup rather than canned, healthier and tastier.

Wednesday

These clouds were drifting across the perfect blue sky when I glanced out the window.

I headed out with no plans.

More soccer mania in Brookfield food court.

I did go back to Spadina and tracked down the piece of art I was looking for as well as a couple of signs that I need for Weekend Roundup as I am featuring the TTC, or Toronto Transit sites.

Dinner - ginger beef and rice.



Thursday
Thursday Doors

We went out to friends in Burlington, about 55 km from us.

We visited for a while and looked at her gardens.

We stopped at the Dieppe Memorial.

We drove to Hamilton, another town close by for lunch by the lake in a converted church.

A former church for lunch.

Then a walk along the lakefront.


Bill Le Blanc, a retired steelworker, chiseled these stumps.

We thought we might have room for ice cream, but there were no takers when we got to Hutch's.

Friday
Weekend Roundup
Weekend Reflections
Cee's Which Way Challenge

Our weekly neighbourhood exploration took us by streetcar to Ossington, the stretch between Queen and Dundas.

Click here for the long version of our day.

Testing out another gluten free pizza crust at Pizzeria Libretto on Ossington. 

Consensus - better than Queen Margharita last week. Everything about it was better, and everything was a few dollars cheaper, great servers and ambiance.

DIAVOLA  CA$18 with gluten free crust +$4
spicy salami, chili, onion, kalamata olives, basil, mozzarella

PEPPERONICA$17  jalapeno, basil, mozzarella

Time to meander back to Queen St.

A stop for ice cream at Bang Bang with flavours such as coconut mango pudding ice cream, topped with warm coconut sticky rice and set inside an eggy, made-to-order Hong Kong waffle or "Maltease Me," "Love Oolong Time," "Bellwoods Beer and Brown Bread"?
We shared a key lime pie.

September Squares

BOOKS

Indigo Book Store Bay and Bloor Toronto

I forgot to include the blog for the book Eight Flavors by Sarah Lohman I perused last week Four Pounds Flour. She had a link to one of her intern's blog which is definitely worth checking out Bitter Butter.

Too busy for reading, it seems. Still working on  as In a Cottage in a Wood, may not bother to finish it.

On the other hand, I finished Gentlemen and Players, as always Joanne Harris kept me highly entertained and it took me quite a while to figure out whom the culprit was and what a surprise that was!

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
Photo Souvenirs
Our World Tuesday
Wanderful Wednesday #wanderfulwednesday

Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global

Travel Photo Thursday