Books I read in October

 The Cradle Robbers, by Ayelet Waldman

The investigative business is booming for Juliet Applebaum and her husband Peter, but their new client, incarcerated in Dartmore State Prison, is going to be a real challenge. Sandra Lorgeree has enlisted Juliet to locate the son she surrendered to foster care—as well as the foster parents who seem to have disappeared with him. But Juliet’s new case takes a deadly detour when the desperate young mother is knifed to death—allegedly by another inmate.

Prison officials dismiss the murder as just one more fatality in lockdown. Juliet has her doubts. Now Juliet is determined to make Sandra’s last wish come true. Even if it means tracking little Noah—and the killer—through the dark maze of a widespread conspiracy. And even if it winds up pitting her against some very wealthy, powerful, and dangerous enemies….

I bought this book at a store for $1.  It's the sixth book in the "Mommy-Track Series."  I thoroughly enjoyed the book and it had plenty of twists and turns in it to keep you interested.  It did have a bit of a sad ending and not every senario was totally believable.  This works well as a stand alone book.

"A Brother's Shadow, by Ida Linehan Young"

After war, not everyone returns a hero. Some are lost in the quiet spaces history forgets.

Frank Hollett joins the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit at the outbreak of WWII and is sent to the Scottish Highlands, where danger comes not from enemy fire but from accidents, isolation, and exhaustion. Among displaced men fighting a war far from the trenches – and farther from home – the strain is relentless.

The back-breaking labour helps him forget Clara Bennett and the future he’d imagined before his brother, Sam –now a soldier in the British Forces – claimed it.

A guarded friendship offers a brief reprieve as Frank avoids returning home. But devastating news forces him to decide whether Newfoundland still has a hold on him, or whether Scotland and Fiona have rewritten his future.

A Brother’s Shadow is a fictional portrayal of the often-overlooked yet crucial contribution of the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit in WWII and the fifty-year struggle for recognition.

I was lucky enough to win this book through the Goodreads giveaway. Although I didn't know the full history of the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit, I am familiar with the "Lumber Jacks and Jill's" of the second world war, as my Nana was a Lumber Jill.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and loved the twist at the end. I was appalled at how these guys were treated not only by the Government but by their fellow countrymen. Also how under appreciated that they were despite what they did for the war effort. I found it an easy book to read, and in fact read the last three quarters of the book on a plane ride.

Well worth the read and she is a Canadian author.

"Welcome To Last Chance, by Hope Ramsay"

Dear Reader,

Yes, our town is way off the beaten path, but strange, wonderful miracles happen a lot around here.

I've owned the Cut 'n' Curl beauty shop for years, and I've seen folks come for a visit, then stay for a lifetime. Take Jane-that pretty firecracker of a girl who just arrived in town. I would swear she's running from something. She came with only five dollars in her pocket but she's worked real hard to make a fresh start. She's turned my son Clay's life upside down without even realizing it.

And thank goodness for that! Ever since Clay left his country western band, he's played everything too safe. He needs to take a chance on Jane. Besides, the more he tries to keep his distance, the more he'll realize that he and Jane are singing the same tune.

But I should quit ramblin' and go check on Millie's permanent wave. Next time you're in Last Chance, be sure to swing by. We've got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon,

Ruby Rhodes

I bought 6 of the Last Chance books to take on vacation with me, as I knew they would be perfect vacation reading material.  I was right!!  Great cast of characters and a town where I would love to live.  Easy Reading.  This is Clay and Jane's story.

"Home at Last Chance, by Hope Ramsay"

Dear Reader,

You won't believe what's happened. My son Tulane has come back home! You remember Tulane? He'd set out to find fame and fortune in the big, wide world outside of Last Chance, and I'm mighty proud. But that's not the half of it-Tulane isn't only back, he's brought a young lady with him.

Now Sarah-she does PR for Tulane's stock-car team-she's from Boston, but she's just about the sweetest girl you could meet. I think she's meant to keep Tulane out of trouble after that story in the papers, but he doesn't want to talk about it. 

Anyhow, the Ladies Auxiliary can't wait to start matchmaking and introduce Sarah to our Reverend Ellis. But mark my words, Sarah is tired of being a good girl. And no one is better at breaking the rules and raising Cain than my son . . . 

Listen to me going on and keeping customers waiting. I best get back to work, but you come round again. The Cut 'n' Curl's got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon, Ruby Rhodes

This is the second book in the series, and another quick and easy read, full of romance and small town charm.  This is Tulane and Sarah's story.

"Last Chance Beauty Queen, by Hope Ramsay"

Dear Reader,

Gracious me, my beautiful daughter Rocky sure could use my help. I always knew she wasn't much interested in the local boys― but who'd have thought she'd come home with English royalty?

Trouble is, Hugh wants to buy some of our folks' land. We don't want to sell, but Rocky's job depends on her closing the deal. And though Hugh's obviously smitten, I'm not sure he's right for my Rocky. Oh, he's classy and handsome―and you should've seen the way he judged pies and fixed stock cars at our Watermelon Festival!―but what do we know about him, really? I know I sound like a nervous mother hen, but after forty happy years with my Elbert, all I want is to see my little girl find the same.

Well, time for me to quit chattering and get back to Miss Bray's wet set. Always nice talking to you, and the Cut 'n Curl's got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon,

Ruby Rhodes

All I could think of when reading this book is that Hugh must be based off of the British actor Hugh Grant....LOL  Another good read, and by now each of the recurring characters are getting more and more familiar to me.  I am getting totally invested in this series!!!!

This is Rocky and Hugh's story.

Jamaica..........

We have just come back from a week in Jamaica.  That's why I haven't been visiting your blogs, as I never take my computer with me.  I do take my phone and can access my blog to publish your comments from that.  I had pre done posts for when we were away.

We went to Montego Bay, to the Iberostar Selection Rose Hall Suites.  This was our first time in Jamaica, so we were going in with fresh eyes.  Now this is a 5 Star hotel and has great reviews online........that is why I booked it.  It's around half an hour from the airport but there are road works on the main road which slows traffic down.

We had booked an ocean front view, and our room was on the second floor to the left of the orange painted area.

There are 3 Iberostar hotels, each with two buildings.  The two buildings are from the Waves resort, our building is in the background with the orange, and that was the Suites Resort.  The other one Joia is closed until December.

It was a very spacious room, ours had a king sized bed and a seating area.  The bathroom had double sinks, a huge bath tub and a huge walk in shower.

The seating area.

Our balcony.

Below are three photos, of the view from our balcony.

Those photos were taken between 3pm to 4pm on the Tuesday afternoon, after we got into our room.

The resort wasn't overly busy the whole time we were there.  I think it's in between seasons for them.

We had temperatures around 30 to 31 oC every day, and that was without the humidity.  It had rained on the Tuesday when we arrived and so it was super humid.  We had rain this past Monday in the afternoon, it was the 3pm shower that came down from the mountains.  Then it poured day all day on Tuesday when we left.  So overall we were very lucky with the weather.  I, however found it way too hot and humid for me and it tired me out.  I have not been feeling well recently so that didn't help.

The meals were okay, not great, just okay.  The buffet was never hot, the food was lukewarm regardless of the time you visited.  The other restaurants as I said were okay, not 5 star food though.

The hotel looked "tired;" and too my mind, and others I talked too said needed some TLC.  Our room had chipped and broken tiles on the floor.  The patio door to the balcony was so stiff to open, it was crazy; probably due to the sea air.  All the grout in the bathroom needed redone.  The safe in the room was a huge plus and worked like a charm.

There seemed to be a decent kids club and they opened another pool while we were there for the kids.  The main pool was good, but had a swim up bar, which I always think is icky. The toilets in the pool area were always icky, and the hand dryers never worked the whole time we were there.  We had no problem finding a seat in the shade for me and towels were plentiful.

The sea was lovely and warm and the beach was clean; but I will talk about that more in another post.

The staff were wonderful and so very friendly, they were the highlight of the trip.

Overall the trip was okay.  The hotel/resort was okay.  Was it great, no but what suits one doesn't suit another.  We constantly compared it to the Lopesan in Punta Cana and it didn't match up in our minds.

Would we go to Jamaica again; probably not, in as much as we would like to visit other islands to see what's what.  

For a 5 star resort it didn't meet up to our expectations..........but I am glad we went as at the end of the day it was a break from our everyday routines and for that we were thankful.

Canada Museum of Nature Part 2

Now I can't for the life of me remember which gallery this was in but I thought it was interesting:

I did not know that it takes plastic water bottle at least 500 years to decay, did you?

I hope you can read what the photos say.  It was very thought provoking.........

Canada Museum of Nature

National War Memorial, Ottawa

The National War Memorial is more or less opposite the Parliament Buildings, you can see part of one of the buildings in the left hand side of the photo.

Each department of the armed forces takes turns standing guard.  They then switch out with another pair, I think on top of the hour.  It's a great honour to be chosen to stand guard.  It is also very moving to stand in front of this memorial and think about what the armed forces have done to protect us all in Canada and all over the world.

The memorial was unveiled May 21, 1939 by King George VI

 

More decluttering lists........

 This is Part 2, and look at "The Heart Stuff, " wise words, don't you think?

You can click on this link to see more.  Also if you don't like using Facebook here is a website for her: Alison's Notebook.

Facebook Marketplace sales in October.........

I had given up with selling on Facebook Marketplace after a frustrating encounter with a directionally challenged lady....LOL  I figured I would put things on hold until the construction at our closest intersection to where we live was finished at the end of September.  So fast forward to the end of September and the opening of the intersection is not happening until November.  Beginning or end who knows????  Everyone is furious.

However at the beginning of October someone messaged me to see if these exercise dvd's were still available.  I put them up in May and had just left them sitting there.  So I ended up selling them for $10.

With that success and adding to my message, "Please note our closest intersection is closed for construction, please use your GPS, for directions," I decided to start to list some more things.

Next thing I sold were these, The Dream Harbor boxed set of books for $40, which was great, as I had paid $45 for the set on a Prime Day sale on Amazon, so super happy with that.  They were in like new condition as I only read books the once.  I also added in a couple of other books, which she was happy about.

Hubby has been cleaning out the garage and found these spanners/wrenches he brought from the UK back in 1989.  He was going to throw them out, but then said see if you can sell them.  Got $10 for the set.  He said they were not worth anymore.  The guy that bought them, was restoring an old British motor bike so these were perfect for him:

Again while hubby was tidying up in the garage he found not one, but 3 brand new extension cords (don't ask!).  Sold all three to different people for $40 each. He thinks he may have one more somewhere that is brand new also. 😶

I then decided to list the Jane Austen book set I was going to read.  It has sat there for months, and I knew I wasn't going to finish them.  Paid $15 for the set, sold them for $10.

This next item I had online for 32 weeks, and it finally sold one Sunday for $20 for a set of 11 woman's sewing patterns.  Super nice lady as well. (only one shown in the photo below)

I have to say I am super pleased with what I sold this month as it was all stuff I had around the house that we didn't use.  It also shows that you can leave stuff on Facebook Marketplace for ages and it can sell.

Some food photos from Ottawa

I finally got around to sorting out some food photos from Ottawa.

Pubwells on Sussex.

We sat out on the patio and it was a lovely atmosphere.  I had the sausage, mash and Yorkshire.  I can only tolerate pretty bland food at the moment, and they seasoned the mashed potatoes with a LOT of black pepper.  So I couldn't eat much of those.  Otherwise it was good.  Hubby said they had a great selection of beer; he had two Largers so it must have been okay.  Hubby got a wrap and fries.

The name of this place was neat; Scone Witch.  We went to the one on Elgin, and honestly it's not the easiest place to find.  The staff were Eastern European and super nice.  The "scone" was good; we got cheese scones with butter.  Now as I am from the UK, I would call this scone more of a biscuit.  As it is so much denser and reminds me of the biscuits you get in the States.  It's all to do with the type of flour we use on this side of the ocean.  The scones in the UK are so much lighter and fluffier inside.  It was all good though.

On one night we were super tired.  Sat down in a pub for a meal and basically they forgot about us. After waiting 30 minutes to be served, so we trudged back towards our hotel. All week we had been passing a restaurant, so we called in there to have a Pizza.  El Taco De Oro is a hole in a wall place.  Super nice, pretty busy and serves great food.  Again, I have to be careful what I eat, so wasn't brave enough to try the Mexican food, so had a pizza.  The pizza's were good and hubby had a Mexican Beer.  Would eat there again.

Now I only took these photos because the display was so colourful.  This was in a bakery in Byward Market and they are decorated sugar cookies.  I think they were around $5 each.  I didn't get one, but was impressed with the decorating skills.

I know I mentioned this in another post, but I could have eaten Bobino's Bagels everyday.  The soup was one of the best I have ever had.

So if you are in Ottawa, these are some places where you can't go wrong food wise, in my opinion.