Wilkie's Bakery

 Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Sunday Post

November 2023 - Toronto ON

September 2023 - Orillia ON

It was nice to sleep in our own bed, although the bed in the hotel was excellent!

Around 11 I decided to make two banana cranberry loaves. I used dried cranberries (I don't normally buy them - they have been in the cupboard from a long ago trip to Picard's).

In the process of cleaning out the freezer I threw out a bag of sad frozen bag of bananas (I had another better looking one), slowly getting it emptied.

Then I prepared the sauce for spareribs (bought BOGO), then popped them into the slow cooker. That was three hours of my day.

The time change totally messed with my Sunday, not much got done.

Monday was a weird weather day, we had a bit of everything. We dodged it all while we went for our flu shots and had a late lunch out..

Tuesday we went for mani-pedis.

A little decluttering every day, it is easy. We finally got rid of two cells and chargers that we got a few years ago - free - as part of a SIM card purchase in the States.

Wednesday John had an early morning appointment downtown and I met him at 11:45 for lunch. However, the theatre crowd were lined up at Fran's and we figured we didn't have a chance of getting in so we walked up Yonge to Burger King, it has been years since we ate there.

With time to kill, we people-watched in the Eaton Centre and then headed over to the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre for In Dreams. This play was  absolute entertainment, I could watch it again.

Click here for the promo.

In Dreams is a jukebox musical with a book by David West Read and featuring the songs of Roy Orbison. The musical uses the songs of Orbison to tell a modern-day story about Kenna, the former lead singer of a country rock band, who reconnects with her old friends at a family-run Mexican restaurant.

It premiered in Leeds England in July 2023 and most of the cast transferred here to the Toronto production. Click here for a lengthy overview of the Leeds production.

There was rain and hail as we headed back to the bus. Display in Royal York.

Thursday was basically a lazy day. We did get our Waygu t-bone steaks.

Friday we took the 9:30 bus downtown as we were picking up lunch at the French bakery and bringing it to friends for lunch. We had just ate here in September, it was gone!

So we resorted to pre-made sandwiches and some flowers instead.

We then spent the afternoon visiting.

COOKING

Saturday pork spare ribs and baked potato

Sunday beef stroganoff noodles for me and rice for John shepherd's pie

Monday leftovers

Tuesday beef stroganoff

Wednesday ordered Chinese. Spring rolls (Jackie) honey garlic ribs, black pepper steak and Peking chicken with rice.

Thursday Chinese leftovers

Friday steak and sauteed cabbage, onions, peppers and bok choy

WATCHING

Burning Body Spanish 2023 mini-series - when a police officer is murdered and set on fire, all eyes focus on two other agents; his girlfriend and her lover. Inspired by true events. We enjoyed this.

We tried watching Locked In 2021 but it was just too bad. 

We really enjoyed Special Ops: Lioness season one.

We started The Burning Girls -a reverend and her daughter start a new life in a village that soon reveals its community's dark history and where ancient superstitions and mistrust of outsiders are quite common. We didn't think we would enjoy this, but we did.

READING

I finished Maid, I really wanted to like this book. But the writing was not that good and the story seems one sided. She isn't a teenager when she gets pregnant. Why would you buy yourself a $200 ring when you can't put food on the table? None of us could work only 25 hours a week and expect to pay our bills.

I couldn't be bothered to finish The Last Place You Look, too cliched. 

I started The Angel, it is a good read.

Weekend Roundup

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

1. Starts with "S"
2. A Favorite
3.SINGLE - Tom's choice

Calgary AB SIGN SADDLE STAMPEDE

SUNNY SEASON STAPLES Yorkville Bloor St. W Toronto

SINGLE

Lake Chapala Mexico

Monday Mural

 I'm linking up at Monday Mural

November 2023 - Collingwood ON

Taken last week when we were up north.

It's bad enough when it is a parking lot and cars are blocking our mural photos.

I was silently cursing the driver out as he walked away from parking his car. Then it dawned on me that this wasn't a parking lot! It was a fenced out pedestrian walkway!

The concept that has been used is commonly referred to as a “Postcard Mural” which is successfully used throughout the world to create photo opportunities for both visitors and locals alike.

In the large letters, COLLINGWOOD, are images of our beautiful heritage downtown, leading to the harbourfront on its doorstep and the iconic Collingwood Terminals.

 

Jamie's Main and Local

 Linking up with Marg at The Intrepid Reader

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

Sunday Post

November 2023 - Collingwood ON

October 2023 - Stayner ON

Saturday was a chilly 10 C when we got up but lots of sunshine. John cooked bacon and eggs and we chilled. Decision made, we would lunch downstairs and spend the day vegging. The unit is lovely with huge windows and comfortable seating. See last week for condo photos.

The bed is incredibly comfortable. The service is also amazing, simply leave your garbage in the hallway and it will be picked up. Fresh towels have been provided several times.

Lunch at Gustav's, 10% discount for guests. Ahi tuna for me and steak for John.

We turned the fireplace on.

Sunday was 5 C as we whiled away the morning, heading out for some groceries after lunch. We went to Metro and took a drive. Click here for more on Penny's and our stay in Collingwood  May 2022. That link will also take you to Thornbury, Creemore, Tobermory and Owen Sound!

It is Halloween this week.

Monday we declared a pajama day as it was a dull day and it even hailed for a bit. We just did what we felt like!

I had the scare of my life, I clicked on something in Facebook, saw FACEBOOK ACCOUNT BLOCKED (quickly and disappeared) and got this screen, not quite this one, but the same idea, to call a number for support, it was an 1-888 number.

It's a fake so-called Tech Support scam alert/warning which you are seeing in your browser. "Remember that real error messages from Microsoft, or other big tech companies, never include phone numbers for you to call them.

Tuesday we slept in (again) and lolled the morning away. Then we drove to the town of Stayner and took a crisp walk. Like many small towns, the downtown area is fading away.

Back in Collingwood we went by some of the sights.

Sunset Point

Millennium Park

The Collingwood Grain Terminals is an iconic landmark in the community. It can be seen for miles around Collingwood and symbolizes the twin engines of commerce in the early 1900s, agriculture and shipping.

It was constructed in 1929 by Collingwood Terminals Limited and features 52-grain silos. The two million-bushel grain elevator has bins 100 feet high and 22 feet in diameter. The steamer MUNISING arrived in September 1929 with 228,000 bushels of American grain.
Grain service stopped in 1993.

One of our purchases.

Wednesday was another lazy day with snow.

We decided to have the other steak we had brought with us for dinner. I went down to the restaurant and got a take out order of fries and mushrooms. Perfect!

Thursday we wanted to visit the Sheffield Park Black History Museum as Google said it was open on Thursday - nope -.

Car when we went out.

So we drove around instead.

Then a stop for Monday's Mural in Collingwood.

I spent time backing up my weekly recaps to Google Docs.

Up early on Friday and John cooked bacon and eggs and we finished packing up.

I mapped our trip home with some stops on the way.

Well, we found the gluten free brewery location as per the address, however it was an outlet in an industrial park that didn't appear open.

Then we decided to skip the factory outlets.

But we did stop at Picard's and stocked up on peanuts!

COOKING

Saturday lunch out  dinner - popcorn

Sunday rotisserie chicken and potato salad

Monday lunch chicken  dinner cheese with fresh sourdough.

Tuesday we finished the chicken and potato salad

Wednesday steak (brought from home) fries and mushrooms

Thursday cheeses

Friday beef stroganoff John requested steak with buttered sauteed potatoes and mushrooms

WATCHING

Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris 2023 documentary, in his own words, the burglar behind the 2010 robbery of the Paris Museum of Modern Art tells how he pulled off the biggest art heist in French history.

Thicker Than Water is a French 2023 TV series. A journalist’s life devolves into chaos when she shields her brother from the law, inadvertently entangling her family in a drug lord's merciless scheme.

Gray Cornelia Gray a CIA spy, is coming in from the cold after 20 years in hiding, dodging the government agents who suspected her of being a traitor.

Billions finale.

OMG The Gold sooooo good! I want a season 2!!!

The British 2023 series covers the 1983 Brink's-Mat robbery in which £26 million (equivalent to £93.3 million in 2021) worth of gold bullion, diamonds, and cash was stolen from a warehouse near Heathrow Airport, and the widespread events that followed over the following decade. At the time it was the biggest robbery in history, and led to a number of international criminal investigations.

Good review in The Guardian.

All the Light We Cannot See The four-part series follows the stories of a blind French girl named Marie-Laure and a German soldier named Werner, whose paths cross in occupied France during World War II.

Till Murder Do Us Part - 2023 docu-series new insights from various parties come to light that raise questions about Jens Söring's conviction of the 1985 murders of his then-girlfriend's parents.

Here is an interesting article about the real people behind the characters.

READING

Poppet, another Mo Hayder book, started off slowly, I don't think it is as good a read as Gone was. I did not finish (DNF).

I started The Kept Woman and it is just okay for now.