Teena in Toronto

Monday, 19 January 2026

Book ~ "Mum's the Word" (2004) Kate Collins

From Goodreads ~ I don't mean to meddle, honest! But can I help it if my nose for injustice is as keen as my green thumb? Now I, Abby Knight, law school dropout, am the proud new owner of Bloomers, my hometown flower shop. I'm devoted to making my business grow but I'm no shrinking violet if someone needs my help to right a wrong -- even if that person is already dead.

So maybe Abby's life isn't the bed of roses she was hoping it would be. She adores her job but a new low-cost competitor is killing her profits - and a black SUV just rammed her vintage Corvette in a hit and run. Determined to track down the driver, she accepts the help of hunky ex-cop Marco Salvare. But their budding relationship is threatened when the trail turns deadly. Now Abby is caught in a tangle of menacing phone calls, police corruption, and murderous road rage. If she's not careful, the next flower arrangement might be for her own funeral.

Abby was going to law school to fulfill her mother's dream of her becoming a lawyer. But she wasn't passionate about it and ended up dropping out ... which prompted her rich fiancé to break up with her. She buys the flower shop where she'd worked part-time as that's where her interest lies.

Just as Abby has parked her vintage Corvette one day, someone runs into it and takes off. Then she discovers that there was a murder nearby and she thinks the person who ran into her car is the murderer. She is determine to find the murderer and bring him to justice with the help of the nearby hot restaurant owner who used to be a cop and now works as a part-time private detective.

This is the first book in the Flower Shop Mystery series. I liked the writing style ... it was easy to read and flowed well. It was a bit of a stretch to believe that a former law student/now the owner of a flower shop would get THAT involved in solving a local murder just because they hit her car, even though every one was telling her to stop "meddling". There is the beginnings of the romance between Abby and Marco, the restaurant owner.

This book was okay. I didn't realize I had already read it in 2016 until I went to post I reading it on Goodreads. I didn't remember reading it even when I finished it this second time. I had said I had I liked it enough to give the next one in the series a try ... but I never did.

Sunday, 18 January 2026

Tumbling Moss Blocks Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a tumbling moss blocks pattern that I found here.

Seersucker Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a seersucker pattern that I found here.

I used a Caron Anniversary Cake Special Edition (the colour is Frosted Fairytail) and 6.5mm needles

I cast on 23 stitches (a multiple of 4 plus 1 plus 6 for the edges).

Knit 3 rows. I followed this pattern, knitting 3 stitches at the beginning and the end of each row for an outside border.

Row 1 (RS): K1, *P1, K1; rep from * to end.
Row 2 (WS): P1, *K1, P1; rep from * to end.
Row 3: P1, *K3, P1; rep from * to end.
Row 4: K1, *P3, K1; rep from * to end.
Row 5: K1, *P1, K1 rep from * to end.
Row 6: P1, *K1, P1; rep from * to end.
Row 7: K2, *P1, K3; rep from * to last 3 sts, P1, K2.
Row 8: P2, *K1, P3; rep from * to last 3 sts, K1, P2. Rep
Rows 1 - 8.

Knit 3 rows and bind off.

Bairradino Rotisserie & Grill, Toronto, ON

I picked up a half chicken dinner for lunch (and leftovers) at Bairradino Rotisserie & Grill (Lansdowne Avenue just south of Dundas Street W, next to No Frills).

Left Diagonal Rib Knitted Scarf

I knitted a scarf to donate using a left diagonal rib pattern that I found here.

I used a Caron Anniversary Cake Special Edition (the colour is Frosted Fairytail) and 6.5mm needles.

I cast on 24 stitches (a multiple of 6 plus 6 for the edges).

Knit 3 rows. I followed this pattern, knitting 3 stitches at the beginning and the end of each row for an outside border.

Row 1 (RS): * P2, K4; rep from * to end.
Row 2 (WS): * P4, K2; rep from * to end.
Row 3: Rep Row 1.
Row 4: Rep Row 2.
Row 5: K2, * P2, K4; rep from * to last 4 sts, P2, K2.
Row 6: P2, * K2. P4; rep from * to last 4 sts, K2, P2.
Row 7: Rep Row 5.
Row 8: Rep Row 6.
Row 9: *K4, P2; rep from * to end.
Row 10: *K2, P4; rep from * to end.
Row 11: Rep Row 9.
Row 12: Rep Row 10.
Rep Rows 1 - 12.

Knit 3 rows and bind off.

Book ~ "We Are All Made of Stars" (2016) Rowan Coleman

From Goodreads ~ Stella Carey has good reason to only work nights at the hospice where she is a nurse. Married to a war veteran who has returned from Afghanistan brutally injured, Stella leaves the house each night as Vincent locks himself away, unable to sleep due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

During her nights at the hospice, Stella writes letters for her patients, detailing their final wishes, thoughts and feelings – from how to use a washing machine, to advice on how to be a good parent – and posts them after their death.

That is until Stella writes one letter that she feels compelled to deliver in time, to give her patient one final chance of redemption.

Stella is a hospice nurse who works night shifts, partly to avoid her husband, Vincent, an Afghanistan veteran who is struggling with the scars of war and the loss of his leg. At the hospice, Stella has a special role ... she writes letters for patients to be sent after they die. These letters are full of things people waited too long to say ... love, apologies, confessions and unfinished business. With one patient's letter, Stella has to decide whether to follow the rules or deliver it before the patient's death.

Hope is a 21-year-old patient with cystic fibrosis, who after a near-death experience, is staying temporarily at the the hospice. She still lives at home with her parents and because she assumes she won't be living to an old age because of CF, tends to be negative and brooding. Her best friend is Ben and is the opposite of her as he is lively and outgoing.

Hugh is a curator at a small museum and lives alone with his cat, Jake. His mother had committed suicide when he was young and his father recently passed away dying. Reluctantly he meets his next door neighbor and her son and gets pulled into their life.

I thought this book was okay. I found it a bit draggy and depressing, especially considering the subject matter. I think it would have been a better story if the Hope/Ben portion was left out (and maybe moved into it's own book) because it didn't really add anything and I found Stella and Hugh's stories more interesting. It's written in first person perspective in Stella, Hope and Hugh's voices. The letters Stella writes are included and were intriguing. As a head's up, there is swearing.

Wednesday, 14 January 2026

Waterworks Food Hall, Toronto, ON

Waterworks Food Hall opened in 2024 in a historic building at Brant Street/Richmond Street W and Gord and I have been wanting to check it out. Today we had lunch there.