2023 12 08

December 2025 Newsletter

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Image and recipe courtesy of Best of Bridge.

Recipe; Christmas Morning Wife Saver Casserole

For those of us who grew up in Canada during the 1980s, The Best of Bridge was a kitchen fixture. Started by a group of Calgary women, the cookbook featured tried-and-true Bridge Club recipes. They were straightforward, using ingredients that could be sourced at any grocery. Most had shortcuts (just use a can of mushroom soup), and were delightfully easy to make. The original cooks have since retired, but the franchise lives on with a younger generation publishing new books every few years.

Here’s one of my favorite recipes; The Christmas Morning Wife Saver Casserole.

Ingredients

16 slices white bread, crusts removed

16 slices Canadian back bacon or ham

16 slices sharp cheddar cheese

6 eggs

1/2 tsp. pepper 2 mL

1/2-1 tsp. dry mustard 2-5 mL

1/4 cup minced onion 60 mL

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper 60mL

1-2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 5-10 mL

3 cups milk 750 mL

dash Tabasco

1/2 cup butter 125 mL

Special K or crushed Corn Flakes

Instructions

Set 8 pieces of bread into a 9″ x 13″ (23 x 33 cm) buttered, glass baking dish.

Cover bread with slices of back bacon. Lay slices of cheddar cheese on top of bacon and then cover with remaining slices of bread to make it like a sandwich.

In a bowl, beat eggs and pepper. To the egg mixture add dry mustard, onion, green pepper, Worcestershire sauce, milk and Tabasco. Pour over the sandwiches, cover and let stand in fridge overnight.

In the morning, melt butter, pour over top. Cover with Special K or crushed Corn Flakes.

Bake, uncovered, 1 hour at 350 deg.F (180 deg.C). Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Favorite Titles Now in Audio Book Format!

A Paris Moment, Magnus the Magnificent and Joan the Saint are all available in Audio Book format on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited!

Book Review

Tom Lake

By Ann Patchett

Confession time; this is the first book I have ever read by Ann Patchett.

It’s true. Here’s one of America’s premier authors, who has been writing best sellers for three decades, and I have been a Patchett virgin until now!

I must say, she is a brilliant writer. She takes domestic tales and gives them an epic gravity that compels you to read for hours on end.

Tom Lake is the story of Lara Nelson, the owner of a cherry orchard in Michigan. As she and her three daughters Emily, Nell and Maisie, pick the succulent fruit, Lara recounts her days 30 years ago when she was an aspiring actress, starring in a summer production of Our Town, cast against the leading man, Peter Duke.

Duke would go on to become a famous Hollywood actor and eventually win an Oscar, but for now, he was just a handsome, charismatic young man. Lara immediately hops into bed with him, not realizing that her summer fling would affect her and her eventual family forever.

Under Patchett’s inimitable skill, the story unfolds like an onion, each layer peeling away to reveal another hidden complication that draws the reader inexorably on. It is done so masterfully that it looks easy; trust me, it’s just the opposite.

Now that I have finally discovered the author, I look forward to reading many more of her works. In the meantime, I highly recommend Tom Lake!

Essay Review

And Your Little Dog, Too.

By David Sedaris

I love Dave Sedaris. Ever since I read Santa Land Diaries decades ago, his essays have been a Christmas staple that I look forward to every year. He is bitchy, whiny but above all incredibly funny. Check out And Your Little Dog, Too, courtesy of the New Yorker.

Christmas Movie Review

Some Like It Hot

Streaming on Prime

Okay, so technically, it’s not a Christmas movie, it’s just a flick I like to watch every Christmas.

Two musicians witness a gangland-style slaying by ‘Spats’ Columbo (George Raft) on Valentine’s Day in Chicago. Fearing they’re next, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) are desperate to flee town, but the only gig they can get is with an all-girl band.

Dressing in drag, Josephine and Daphne join Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopators on a trip to Florida. Joe immediately falls in love with Sugar Cane Kowalzcyk (Marilyn Munroe), a down-on-her-luck ukulele player. Once there, Joe and Jerry have the misfortune to discover Spats and his gang are in town for the annual mob convention. Lots of slapstick and koochie-koos ensue. Even if you’ve already seen it ten times, I highly recommend Some Like It Hot as a holiday treat!

2025 11 02

November 2025 Newsletter

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Life in Mexico

I had a harbinger of the future when I checked in to the Casa Q, a cloud hotel in Guadalajara.

 There were no human staff. I pressed a button on the front door frame and a friendly computer-generated voice said “Zmmph!”

The door-unlocked and I was greeted by a Zen Garden that calmly declined to carry my bags up the stairs.

My room had no chairs, drinking glasses or bathroom sink plug. It did have a Raid room freshener, which I did not take to be a good sign.

I received a welcome PDF via WhatsApp explaining how to lock the room door, but it self-destructed 30 seconds after I opened it.

There was a discount coupon for a nearby restaurant but I was reluctant to use it in case they had no cutlery.

When I did return from dinner the smart knob on my room refused to disable the door lock. I spent the night sleeping in the hall, which wasn’t too bad because the other guests left pillow mints.

Expedia asked me if I would recommend the hotel. Absolutely – to my worst enemies!

Hotel employee of the month.

Audio Books now Available!

You can now listen to A Paris Moment, Magnus the Magnificent and Joan the Saint!

All three Audio books are available on Amazon (and should be on Kindle Unlimited).

Check them out and let me know what you think!

Recipe: Homemade Thin Crust Pizza

I get a lot of requests for this recipe from dinner guests, so I’m happy to repost the recipe!

Making your own pizza is quite easy and the result is both healthy and delicious. All it takes is a little preparation and you will be the toast of your family and friends!

DOUGH (makes 4 pizza crusts)

5 ¼ cups of OO (fine) flour.

1 tsp of salt.

1 tsp of dry yeast.

1 tsp of brown sugar

400 ml of warm water.

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl.

Mix the yeast and brown sugar in the warm water and let stand for 15 minutes.

Pour the liquid into the flour and knead until the consistency of soft Play-Doh. (You may have to sprinkle some flour on if it’s too sticky).

SAUCE

1 jar of tomato sauce (I like to use an Italian brand with Pomodoro tomatoes)

3 Tsp of Italian seasoning mix.

1 tsp of salt.

1 Tsp of olive oil.

Mix the first three ingredients together in a bowl. Pour the olive oil into the jar of tomato sauce and swish around then add that to the mix. Let rest for at least half an hour.

TOPPINGS

Pepperoni, ham

Chopped onion, peppers, olives, etc.

Shredded cheese

PREPARATION

Heat the oven to 450F. Divide the dough into four balls (any you don’t need can be frozen for later use). Roll out the ball flat with a rolling pin (hint; I cut a piece of parchment paper into a 12” circle as a rolling surface). You will have to sprinkle some flour on the dough to keep the rolling pin from sticking.

Place the rolled dough into a pizza pan and bake it in the oven for 5 minutes. (You can do this in advance and keep the crusts in the freezer indefinitely).

Spread 5 Tsp of sauce on the pizza crust and add desired toppings. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake in the oven for up to 15 minutes (check after 10 minutes to make sure the crust isn’t burning). Serve hot!

Book Review

The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant

By Liza Tully

You gotta love that title!

Aubrey Merritt rose to the top of her profession by solving mysteries that had everyone else stumped. She now lives in a fantastic apartment in New York, picking and choosing only the most perplexing cases.

When Aubrey fires her old assistant, Olivia Blunt applies for the job. A young, impoverished writer who happens to be a wiz at research, Merritt reluctantly agrees to put her on probation.

The agency gets a call from Haley Summersworth, whose mother Victoria recently committed suicide by jumping off a seaside cliff; Hazel thinks it was murder!

Aubrey and Olivia promptly decamp for the exclusive family resort in Vermont where Victoria met her doom. Potential suspects abound, including the drug-addled son, the Vegas gigolo courting her and a daughter-in-law from hell.

The novel is fast-paced and light-hearted. Tully is a pen name for Elisabeth Brink, who is best known for dark thrillers; she decided to take a break from her more gruesome works and pen a comedy mystery.

And I’m glad she did. A sequel is already in the works, and I can hardly wait to read it. I highly recommend The World’s Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant.

Documentary Review

John Candy: I Like Me

Streaming on Amazon Prime

This doesn’t often happened to me, but I remember exactly where I was the day John Candy passed away at the age of 43, in 1994. I was shocked and saddened that a great comedic talent had died so young.

The documentary features interviews with his family and many of the stars who acted beside him in so many memorable films – Tom Hanks in Splash, Steve Martin in Trains, Planes and Automobiles – as well as colleagues from his years at SCTV, like Martin Short and Andrea Martin.

Director Colin Hanks, the son of Tom Hanks, had met Candy as a child on the set of Splash, and was reluctant at first to direct the documentary, but friend Ryan Reynolds convinced him to take on the project in order to honor the memory of the great Canadian comedian.

A compilation of TV, film, personal home movies and interviews, the documentary catalogs Candy’s rise to stardom, as well as the dichotomy between his quiet family life and the bombastic characters he portrayed in public.

Warning; this one’s a tear-jerker, but I highly recommend John Candy: I Like Me.

2025 10 01

October 2025 Newsletter

by Newsletter

Life in Mexico

Gord’s Tips for Driving in Mexico

A few fun facts;

There are more Buddhist Temples in Mexico than Driving Schools. The majority of Mexicans learn how to drive by watching Fast & Furious.

The emergency flasher allows you to enact new driving legislation. If, for instance, you miss your turnoff on the highway, you can hit that switch and drive backwards on the shoulder for up to one mile.

Traffic police encourage you to text while driving; it makes finding your next-of-kin that much easier.

The average Mexican would rather spend $3000 on a car stereo than two bucks on a new brake light.

You can legally run a stop light 5 seconds after it turns red, or up to 10 seconds if you’re texting (see above).

Unless it’s already occupied by a baby carriage, you can drive on the sidewalk to avoid a traffic jam.

Motorcyclists are only allowed to carry one rooster under their arm.

Recipe: Shrimp Fried Rice

This is an easy meal to make and very delicious!

2 Tsp sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, diced

6 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined.

1 Tsp Frank’s hot sauce.

2 cups cooked rice

¼ cup fish sauce

1 Tsp soy sauce

2 Tsp brown sugar

Pinch of black pepper

½ cup sliced onion

½ cup tomato chunks

1 green onion, sliced

¼ cup cilantro

¼ cup cucumber slices

Directions

Fry garlic and shrimp in sesame oil.

Add the rice, sauces, sugar and pepper. Fry briefly.

Add the onion, tomato, green onion, cilantro and cucumber slices.

Enjoy!

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Movie Review

Happy Gilmore 2

Streaming on Netflix

DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!

Unless, of course, you like banana peels, boners, bacchanals, babes in bikinis, beer consumption and general bedlam, then go nuts.

Book Review

Atmosphere

By Taylor Jenkins Reid

Reid is one of the most enjoyable contemporary authors writing today; The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six are just two of her gems.

Her latest novel doesn’t disappoint. Joan Goodwin has wanted to go into space since the age of six. Growing up in the sixties, she was thrilled by the Apollo missions to the moon and vowed that one day she would be an astronaut.

A genius at math, she focuses on astrophysics at college and becomes a science teacher. When NASA finally opens up positions for women in the late 1970s, she is selected as a trainee. Moving to Houston, she begins the long voyage to qualify for the Space Shuttle.

Her journey encounters major hurdles. Although she excels at aero-science, she falls in love with Vanessa, a fellow astronaut. Their forbidden relationship threatens to scuttle their careers.

Naturally, high drama intervenes when a mission goes disastrously wrong. Joan must battle to save not only Vanessa, but the very soul of NASA itself. I highly recommend Atmosphere!

TV Review

MO

Streaming on Netflix

Mo (played by Mohammed Amer), is a young Palestinian refugee who has grown up his entire life in Houston. He is devoted to his widowed mother Yusla, where he lives in her suburban home with his brother Sameer and a cat named Crystal.

As an undocumented refugee, Mo thrives at the fringes of society, hustling to stay one step ahead of ICE and care for his family. He sells knock-off luxury handbags and watches from the trunk of his 1970 Ford Fairlane, always with one eye out for the police.

This doesn’t sound much like the premise for a comedy, but Mo and his gang of misfit friends bring a warmth and vitality to each episode as they struggle to keep their heads above water.

The series has been critically acclaimed (winning a Peabody Award in its debut season), but the true enjoyment comes from watching the ensemble fill the small screen with life and vitality. I highly recommend Mo!

Bonus Book Review


The Mystery Guest

By Nita Prose

Prose, a Toronto-based author, made a big splash in 2022 with her first novel, The Maid. The cozy mystery chronicles the unlikely adventures of an autistic young woman named Molly who is raised by her maternal grandmother after she is abandoned by her mom.

Since childhood, Molly has aspired to be a hotel maid. She holds cleanliness in the highest standard and falls into a Zen-like state as she cleans the rooms in the majestic Regency Grand, a luxury boutique hotel. Unfortunately, she is always stumbling upon murdered guests, interfering with her dusting and whatnot.

In The Mystery Guest, the corpse belongs to celebrated author Grimthorpe, who theatrically croaks in the hotel tea room while regaling fans with a reading from his latest book.

Along comes Detective Stark who, like all good gumshoes, assumes the maid did it, and Molly has to prove that she is not a cold-blooded killer. Fortunately, her spectrum of odd tics and mannerisms make her the perfect sleuth. A heart-warming cozy with a charming cast of characters, I highly recommend both The Maid and The Mystery Guest!

2025 09 05

September 2025 Newsletter

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Life in Canada

What, Me Worry?

If you’ve never been to the Badlands in Drumheller, you’re in for a treat; the valley, gouged out of the surrounding farmland by glacier meltwater, resembles a landscape more suited to the moon than Earth.

But the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, which has been welcoming visitors since 1985, is an even bigger delight; a major restoration in 2024 has turned it into a must-see destination for anyone visiting Canada.

Using the latest exhibition technologies, kids of all ages are treated to an experience that is both fun and educational. Instead of just static displays, visitors can interact with maps and even create their own dinosaur, choosing from a selection of morphologies to sculpt fang-toothed monstrosities.

The theme of the museum is ‘life on earth’, and it follows the evolution of organisms from cyanobacteria to modern man. But one of the biggest goals is to explain the death of the dinosaurs during the end of the Cretaceous 63 million years ago; everything from a meteor impact to massive volcanic eruptions is explored in detail.

Personally, I think Gary Larson of The Far Side got it right;

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Recipe; Breakfast Muffin Sandwich

This is a great way to start the day – just don’t tell your doctor!

Ingredients

1 egg

1 slice of cheese

1 slice of ham

1 English muffin.

Mayonnaise

Directions

Fry the egg in a pan, making sure you crack the yolk. Add in the slice of ham and top the egg with the cheese.

Toast the English muffin and coat it with a dab of mayonnaise. Top off with the ham, cheese and egg and serve with fresh fruit and coffee. Enjoy!

Movie Review

The Thursday Murder Club

Streaming on Netflix

I first read The Thursday Murder Club some years ago when it made a big splash on the best seller lists. Richard Osman is a well-known TV personality in the UK (and a very talented writer), who took the traditional English cozy and turned it into a publishing phenomenon that has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.

The series is set in a bucolic seniors home located in the rolling hills of southern England. Elizabeth is a former spy who chairs a club that goes over cold cases in the hopes of catching the murderer. Joining her are Joyce, a widowed nurse, Ibrahim, a retired psychiatrist, and Ron, a former union organizer.

Naturally, un-nabbed murderers tend to resent meddling, and their efforts attract threats that are thwarted through ingenuity and cake baking until the miscreants are ultimately exposed.

With any adaptation, the question of which genre prevails always arises. Does the story leap from the page and gain new life on the big screen, or is it a so-so rehash? With the likes of Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan in the main roles, one might think the former, but the movie cuts too many corners from the narrative and leaves the result rather flat and pedestrian.

That said, The Thursday Murder Club is a delightful series, and I highly recommend you read the books!

TV Review

Wednesday, Season Two

Streaming on Netflix

OK, you have to be a fan of The Addams Family.

Created in the Sixties from the cartoons of Charles Addams, it featured Gomez, his wife Morticia, their children Pugsley and Wednesday, as well as a cast of misfits including Uncle Fester, butler Lurch and Thing, a dismembered hand.

The latest reincarnation is the brainchild of Tim Burton, and focuses on Wednesday (played in brilliant deadpan by Jenna Ortega), a Goth teenager with a penchant for necromancy.

In season one, Wednesday saved Nevermore Academy from destruction. Season two begins with her return to Nevermore, where a murder of crows begin pecking eyes out.

Mayhem ensues, with the body count quickly surpassing most Schwarzenegger movies. Wednesday perseveres, however, and all that is ooky and spooky is saved (presumably for Season three). Dig it.

Book Review

Nothing Ventured

By Jeffrey Archer

This is the first in the William Warwick series, a highly entertaining police procedural set in London. William Warwick is the son of a prominent barrister who decides to forego the family business and instead become a copper with Scotland Yard. He subsequently falls under the wing of Detective Hawkley, who soon has Warwick and his fellow officers hard on the trail of murderers, drug dealers and villains.

None of it matches the hijinks experienced in real life by its creator, however. Jeffrey Archer has been a UK Member of Parliament and a life Peer in the House of Lords. He was also a client of latex-clad ladies and a guest at HM Prison Belmarsh for fibbing under oath during a libel court case regarding his nocturnal hobbies.

Nothing Ventured follows William and the gang as they pursue Miles Faulkner, an international art thief and all-around cad. Faulkner manages to stay one step ahead of the police as he shuffles his collection of Masters around the globe, all with the aid of his salacious wife Christina.

The series is not, by any means, Daggers Award material, but it is engaging fun and Archer takes tremendous advantage of his intimate knowledge of trials and prisons to give the reader an authentic feel for crime and punishment. I highly recommend the William Warwick series!

2025 03 06

March 2025 Newsletter

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Life in Mexico

More authentic Mexican food!

A few weeks ago, my neighbor Daniel took me to a Barbacoa de Borrego, a hole-in-the-wall taco stand in the barrio of Via Rosa in Manzanillo.

Borrego is the name for a one-year old sheep. You take lamb roasts and cover them with banana leaves and then cook it in a coal pit for a day. You then strip the meat like pulled pork and serve it in a corn taco, along with chopped onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. It is so succulent and delicious!

I went back with my pal Darcy last Sunday for more excellent tacos. While we were eating, I asked Mario the proprietor why Borrego stands were only opened on the weekend.

“The lamb cannot survive in Manzanillo’s heat – it is covered in wool,” he explained. “We have to order in the meat from Guadalajara, and one carcass only lasts two days.”

So, if that doesn’t get your goat, I don’t know what will.

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Book Review

The Kind Worth Killing

By Peter Swanson

I can’t seem to get enough of Peter Swanson. Last month, I wrote a review on Eight Perfect Murders; I enjoyed the book so much I had to read another of his novels.

The Kind Worth Killing is, in a way, an homage to his literary hero Patricia Highsmith. Noted mainly for her work The Amazing Mr. Ripley, the American expat in Europe wrote several amazing mystery novels, including Strangers on a Train, in which two complete strangers decide to kill each other’s nemeses in an effort to escape detection.

In Swanson’s book, the killers in question are Ted Severson, a successful dot.com millionaire, and Lily Kintner, the daughter of a famous English novelist. Severson catches his trophy wife Miranda screwing their house contractor Brad, and Lily, well, she just likes to kill people, so she decides to help Ted dispose of his wife.

Naturally, things go wrong, and the body count starts to mount. Flashbacks to Lily’s past reveal her rationale for her deadly hobby, as well as the back-story between her and Miranda.  Although the story takes place in contemporary times, it has that 50s film noir feel. In the end, they all get their just desserts. I highly recommend The Kind Worth Killing!

Recipe; Pork Belly Roast

Super simple to make and mouth-watering delicious, you can get frozen portions of pork belly at La Comer in Manzanillo (just ask for ‘pork belly’).

Ingredients

1 kg of pork belly (serves four).

Salt

Brown sugar

Ground pepper.

Directions

Score the fat by cutting through the outer layer, about ½ cm. Cut at 90 degree angles to create a diamond-pattern. Sprinkle salt, brown sugar and ground pepper on the top. Place in a shallow tin pan to catch the drippings.

Preheat the oven to 450F. Place, uncovered, on a mid rack and cook for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 300F and leave for another hour.

Remove the pan and let the roast sit for 5 minutes before carving. Use the drippings to make gravy.

Documentary Review

Churchill at War

Streaming on Netflix

I’m such a big fan of Churchill that I featured him as a pivotal historical character in The Hotel Seamstress, set in Paris in WWII.

Churchill at War is an interesting mix of archival footage and dramatization. The producers use AI to both colorize WWII film and mimic Churchill’s voice when presenting correspondence and unrecorded speeches.

While most of the four-part series is focused on Churchill’s role as prime minister during his battle against Hitler and the Nazis, it also backtracks to his formative school years and escapades as an officer in the Boer War.

The series is augmented by historians placing events in context, as well as commentaries from politicians like former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and ex-president George Bush.

Altogether, it is a fascinating and well-edited documentary that highlights the pivotal role played by of one of the foremost politicians of the last century. When historians say that Churchill saved western civilization from utter destruction, they weren’t exaggerating. I highly recommend Churchill at War!

Bonus Book Review

A Murder Most French

By Colleen Cambridge

There’s a sub-genre in cozy mysteries in which the sleuth hooks up with a famous person like Einstein or Groucho Marx to solve a murder. They’re usually too gimmicky and poorly written to appeal to me, but I ran across An American in Paris Mystery series, and it caught my attention.

The book is about the adventures of one Tabitha Knight, a young, precocious woman from Michigan. The year is 1949, and she has moved to Paris to stay with her grandfather in a wonderful mansion in the Left Bank. The hook is that her friend Julia Child lives right across the street.

In all good cozy mysteries, the amateur sleuth is a magnet for gruesome murders, and Tabitha is no exception. While accompanying Julia to a cooking demonstration at the Cordon Bleu School, Master Chef Beauchaine is murdered when he sips from a bottle of wine laced with arsenic.

Detective Merveille, he of the steely eye and cleft chin, is soon on the scene, and Tabitha pesters him to distraction with her theories. Her investigation soon leads to the sinister catacombs beneath the city and a mysterious restaurant closed by the Germans during the occupation.

You get the drift. Tabitha is chased by no-goodniks and only escapes certain death through her own pluckiness. It may not be Agatha Christie, but if you’re looking for a diversion on a cold winter day, I highly recommend A Murder Most French!

2025 02 06

February 2025 Newsletter

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Life in Mexico

I blame Taco Bell.

Even though the food chain didn’t come to Canada until 1979, their insipid, bland interpretation of Mexican food permeated North American culture like a chili-flavored tsunami.

We would buy a packet containing a half dozen tortilla shells, spice mix and a handy-little cardboard holder to stuff cheese and ground meat into your taco (although the holder tasted better than the shells).

Contrast that insipid experience with the amazing spectrum of food celebrated every day in Mexico. From mole in Oaxaca to birria (lamb stew) in Jalisco, Mexicans eat delicious, inexpensive and wholesome meals using recipes that date back hundreds of years.

Pictured, Joanne and Rick are enjoying a real taco lunch at Don Julio’s, located just across the street from Soriana’s in Manzanillo. The popular restaurant specializes in a wide range of meat and fish tacos, along with ‘volcanoes’, food served in a sizzling-hot rock bowl carved from lava.

Along with the tacos, you get an array of fillings, including onions, cucumber and a sauce made of mayo, chipotle powder and lime juice. We’re drinking micheladas, a mix of beer and clamato juice rimmed with chili powder (although the little cocktail umbrellas are not strictly kosher).

Here’s to the celebration of Mexican cuisine!

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Recipe; Chicken Quesadillas

This is ridiculously easy to make, tastes delicious and is an excellent way to use up left-over roast chicken!

Ingredients

2 cups of diced roast chicken

1 cup of shredded cheese

½ cup of diced red pepper

½ cup of diced white onion

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of chili

1 tsp of cumin

Tortillas

Butter

Sour cream

Directions

Mix chicken, onion, peppers and spices together.

Fill ½ the tortilla and fold over.

Lightly butter the outside of the tortillas. Back on a cookie sheet at 350 F for 8-10 minutes.

Serve with sour cream.

Enjoy!

Book Review

The Women

By Kristin Hannah

Ive been reading Hannah’s novels for several years now; her work is always authentic, insightful and captivating.

The Women is the story of Frances ‘Frankie’ McGrath, a naïve, sheltered girl growing up in the 1960s in an affluent Southern California home. When her older brother enlists in the US Navy and is sent to Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army as a nurse and is posted to Asia as well.

Her naivety is quickly smothered as she experiences the hell of war as an emergency room nurse at an evacuation hospital near the front lines. She is daily confronted by mangled young men, torn apart by landmines and mortars. Amidst the carnage, she forms lasting friendships with her fellow nurses.

When Frankie finally returns to the US, she discovers a vastly changed culture. Soldiers are vilified for their war sacrifices. She finds herself ashamed to admit she served in Vietnam and plunges into depression.

Fortunately, Frankie’s friends are there to support her, and she eventually achieves peace while supporting other women who fought and were forgotten. This is a book that explores the horrific reality of war, and the lasting bonds that it creates. I highly recommend The Women!

Movie Review

Back in Action

Streaming on Netflix

This spy thriller marks Cameron Diaz’s return to the big screen after a decade-long hiatus. She stars as Emily, wife of Mark (played by Jamie Foxx), a pair of middle-class parents raising their teenage kids in American suburbia.

All that goes out the window when their cover is blown and they have to return to the field as CIA agents.

The movie has been criticized as being too formulaic for such talented leads, but it was never meant to be Oscar bait. Diaz and Foxx bring a spark and chemistry as husband and wife, using their skills to dodge the evil intent of the bad guys and save the world.

A special treat is Glenn Close playing Ginny, Emily’s English mother. When she meets her two grandchildren for the first time, she threatens dismemberment if they mar the parquet floors of her mansion.

All in all, it’s an entertaining film with more than its fair share of excitement and laughs. I heartily recommend Back in Action!

Bonus Book Review

Eight Perfect Murders

By Peter Swanson

This is a great mystery novel by murder-master Peter Swanson.

The plot revolves around Malcolm Kershaw, owner of the Old Devil’s bookstore in Boston. Years ago, Malcolm wrote an entry in the bookstore blog, Eight Perfect Murders, where he listed classic murder mysteries, including Agatha Christie’s The A.B.C. Murders. Now, FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey shows up at his shop with the theory that a serial killer is using the plots to get away with murder.

Malcolm, a life-long lover of murder mysteries, is both intrigued and appalled. Malcolm had picked the books because they allowed the killer to go Scot-free; hence, the ‘perfect’ murder. But how do you trace a real serial killer who is using the same modus operandi from each book?

As their investigation progresses, we learn that neither Malcolm or Agent Mulvey are as innocent as they seem. The reader has to discern when Malcolm, as narrator, is telling the truth, or lying. This book will keep you riveted to the very last page. I highly recommend Eight Perfect Murders!

2025 01 08

January 2025 Newsletter

by Newsletter

Life in Mexico

Sometimes it feels like you’re back in the 1970s here in Mexico.

Folks are especially laid back about driving. Not enough room in the truck cab for all the kids? Just stick ’em in the back with the watermelons!

But, most of all, they don’t get in your face if you’re just weirding out. Many years ago, we finally finished paying off our condo. I called my pal Ross in Manzanillo and asked if anyone would care if we burned our mortgage papers on the beach.

“Hell, no!” he said. “They don’t even care if you burn your car on the beach!

Recipe: Pasta Puttanesca

Tradition has it that this dish was invented in a brothel in Naples where the girls would whip up a meal from whatever was cheap and plentiful. It’s a delicious recipe and super easy to make when you don’t have a lot of time to prepare!

Ingredients

2 Tsp of olive oil

1/4 white onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 cup of cherry tomatoes

3 anchovy fillets

¼ cup of chopped black olives

1 tsp of capers

1 tsp of dried oregano

½ cup of white wine

2 cups of cooked spaghetti

Chopped fresh basil and grated Parmesan.

Directions

Fry the white onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the tomatoes and simmer until they soften.

Add the anchovy, black olives, capers and oregano.

Pour in the white wine and reduce for a few minutes.

Add in the spaghetti and stir the ingredients together.

Serve in a bowl, garnished with fresh basil and Parmesan.

Enjoy!

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FBI AGENT JACK KENYON is back! When a bomb in Myron Buckstar’s software lab kills an innocent woman, Jack and the crew are called in to find out if terrorists are targeting the flamboyant billionaire. They soon discover that the victim was a member of Scotland Yard working undercover on a mysterious case. As Jack pursues her murder, he uncovers a race to steal the Crystal Ball, an invention that allows its owner to peer into the future. Follow Jack from San Francisco to London as he pursues a host of murderers, conmen and criminals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

Book Review

We Solve Murders

By Richard Osman

We’ve been reading Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series for several years now, and have loved every page. So we were excited to see that he’s branched out to We Solve Murders.

The book features Steve, a retired copper in the UK who lives in a tiny village where he spends his time at quiz night in the local pub and chatting on the phone with his daughter-in-law Amy, a professional bodyguard who works for Maximum Impact Solutions.

Things get hinky when Maximum Impact’s clients suddenly start being offed in spectacular fashion, setting up Amy as the fall gal. Amy, who is guarding Rosie D’Antonio, a famous author of bodice-rippers, has to hightail it with her client when the mysterious Francois Loubet puts out a hit on her.

Amy calls in Steve to help her solve the murders so that they can clear her name and chill. The result is a mayhem-filled romp from South Carolina to Ireland. Throughout the book, Osman’s wit and sense of absurdity keeps the pace at full throttle. I highly recommend We Solve Murders!

Movie Review

The Conclave

Streaming on Netflix

You might tend to think that the process to pick a new Pope would be about as exciting as watching mud dry, but The Conclave, based on the novel by Robert Harris, lifts the experience to the level of a political thriller.

Pope Francis has passed away, and it’s up to Cardinal Lawrence (played by Ralph Fiennes), to convene the Cardinals from around the world to pick a successor from its ranks. Leading candidates include Cardinal Tremblay (played by John Lithgow), and Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci).

Of course, not all is serene. One by one, aspirants reveal their true agendas and skeletons in the closet, making Cardinal Lawrence’s job a living nightmare that no amount of prayer to the All-mighty is going to dissipate.

This is one of the best movies that I’ve seen in 2024, and will no doubt attract a slew of Oscar nominations, including best director for Edward Berger, best actor for Fiennes and supporting nods to Tucci and Lithgow (not surprisingly, there are no female roles in a story about the Catholic Church – Boo!). I highly recommend The Conclave!

Documentary Review

Hallelujah; Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song.

Streaming on Prime

Arguably one of Leonard Cohen’s most famous songs, Hallelujah is a secular poem to the divine that, if you ever bother to listen to the lyrics, is just weird.

But that didn’t stop everybody from KD Lang to Shrek from singing it. Now, director Daniel Geller has gone to the effort of creating a 2-hour documentary focused on its creation.

Cohen, who passed away at the age of 82 in 2016, was notorious for his approach to writing. He thought nothing of taking the better part of a decade to grind out a song, going through endless variations of meter and prose. He dragged the lyrics and score of Hallelujah around the world for years, until finally finishing a version.

The song was a flop; his record label refused to release it in the US. But it was a hit with fellow musicians. Dylan thought it was the best song he ever heard. Eventually, Cohen took to the road on an international tour and the world fell in love with it.

Hallelujah faithfully follows Cohen’s career using CBC archive footage, interviews with contemporaries, and performances by Cohen and pals. I highly recommend Hallelujah!

2023 12 08

December 2024 Newsletter

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Merry Christmas!

Life in Mexico

They love to drink and drive here. It’s not uncommon to see someone heading to work in the morning with a can of breakfast malt in their left hand. The cops certainly don’t care. You could strap a keg to the roof rack and run a hose through the driver window and they wouldn’t bat an eye.

This may explain the forest of white crosses that sprout around every major intersection. You notice them most in November, because that’s when surviving family members spruce them up with a coat of paint and a plastic floral wreath during Day of the Dead celebrations.

I asked my Mexican friend David about these memorials and he explained that there is a whole industry devoted to venerating loved ones killed in road accidents.

“There are actually little coffins underneath the cross with a boy or girl doll inside, depending on their gender,” he explained.

I asked if they were dressed in clothes that reflected their occupations, like Combat Camo Ken or Barrister Barbie. “Of course.”

I’m not sure if he’s pulling my leg, but I kind of like the idea. If I’m ever lucky enough to be hit by a drunk behind the wheel of a Corona beer truck, I’d like to have a bobble-head of Shakespeare in my tiny coffin.

Now Available at Amazon!


FBI AGENT JACK KENYON is back! When a bomb in Myron Buckstar’s software lab kills an innocent woman, Jack and the crew are called in to find out if terrorists are targeting the flamboyant billionaire. They soon discover that the victim was a member of Scotland Yard working undercover on a mysterious case. As Jack pursues her murder, he uncovers a race to steal the Crystal Ball, an invention that allows its owner to peer into the future. Follow Jack from San Francisco to London as he pursues a host of murderers, conmen and criminals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

Recipe: Stuffed potato skins

I’m addicted. This is the easiest recipe in the world to make, and everyone loves it!

Ingredients

2 baker potatoes

1 Tsp of olive oil

½ cup of sour cream

½ cup of grated cheese

½ cup of diced onion

1 tsp of salt

½ cup of chopped bacon

Directions

Rub the potatoes with olive oil and bake them whole for one hour at 375F. Let cool for half an hour and then cut in half and scoop out the insides, leaving the skins intact.

Mash the potato and mix with sour cream, grated cheese, onion, salt and bacon bits. Refill the potato skins. Place on a baking tin and bake for 30 minutes at 350F. Enjoy!

TV Series

Man on the Inside

Streaming on Netflix

This is a series that you’re going to find either very funny and enjoyable, or dumb. It stars Ted Danson of Cheers as Charles, a widower and retired professor who is rattling around in his house all day, much to the distraction of his doting daughter Emily.

Meantime, a valuable ruby necklace goes missing from the room of Virginia, a dotty resident of the Pacific View Retirement Community in San Francisco. Virginia’s son is mad as hell, and hires Julie, a private investigator, to get the necklace back.

Julie, in turn, does a cattle call to find a senior who can blend into the retirement home and spy on the residents. Charles, hoping to placate his daughter, applies and, to his surprise, gets the job.

So that’s the setup. Charles spends the next few weeks in a classic cozy whodunit, investigating and eliminating the unsuspecting suspects.

We enjoyed it so much that we binged all eight episodes in two nights! If you like charming and witty mystery series with nary a corpse or pint of blood in sight, then I highly recommend Man on the Inside!

Book Review

Happy-Go-Lucky

By Dave Sedaris

This is a very sick man, which is probably the main reason we’ve been reading him for several decades.

Dave writes humorous essays about his life, his loves, his addictions and his family. He first came to the public’s attention with Santaland Diaries, an expose of his job as an elf at Macy’s Santaland Village. The job entailed dressing up in baggy green pants, a yellow turtleneck and a green vest, then guiding kids through their visit with Santa.

“You look like an asshole,” said a Dad on the first day of his job.

“Well, at least I get paid. You’re giving it away for free.”

Sardonic, witty, trenchant and laugh-out-loud funny, his latest book covers topics like the death of his father, the perils of swapping toilet paper with coffee filters during COVID hoarding, and bad jokes sent in by faithful readers.

Two priests are in a car when a cop pulls them over.

“I’m looking for two child molesters,” says the cop.

The two priests look at one another then turn to the cop. “We’re in!”

I highly recommend Happy-Go-Lucky!

Bonus TV Series

Goliath

Streaming on Netflix

This is a great series if you’re looking for a courtroom drama fix while awaiting the next season of Lincoln Lawyer.

Goliath follows the trials and tribulations of Billy McBride (played by Billy Bob Thornton), a hard-drinking lawyer with a penchant for shooting himself in the foot. Once upon a time, McBride was the driving force behind Cooperman/McBride, until his boozing got the better of him and he burned out.

Now, McBride runs a small shop out of a motel on Sunset Blvd with the help of his daughter and a reformed hooker. They stumble upon the wrongful death of an engineer, killed by an explosion on a boat owned buy his defense contractor employer.

McBride takes the case and almost immediately gets into a barrel of shit. It turns out his ex law firm, now run by Donald Cooperman (a delightfully evil William Hurt), is main counsel to the dead man’s employers. Spooks and crooked cops soon turn his personal life into hell and kill his client.

Undaunted, McBride risks it all in search of the truth.

Created by David E. Kelley, the series features a delightful cast with lots of feature roles and the excellent dialogue one comes to expect from the creator of Boston Legal and Big Little Lies. I highly recommend Goliath!

2024 09 01

September 2024 Newsletter

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Life in Calgary

As many readers know, I started my professional writing career as a reporter for the Calgary Herald. Thanks to the Daily Oil Bulletin, being back in Calgary has given me the opportunity to practice being a newspaper hack once again.

A few weeks ago, I attended an energy conference at the Banff Springs Hotel. The featured speaker was Stephen Harper, former prime minister and current international consultant.

I had never heard him speak before, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that he has a very sharp sense of humor. In his opening remarks, he lamented the name change of the Edmonton Eskimos to the Elks due to political correctness.

“What’s next?” he queried. “Are they going to start calling the Oilers the Renewables?”

Crystal Ball Now Available on Amazon!

Read an Excerpt Here!

Movie Review; 50th Anniversary

Blazing Saddles

Streaming on Prime

Half a century ago, Blazing Saddles made its debut. Directed by Mel Brooks, it was a desperate attempt to revitalize his career after a number of flops had pushed him to the edge of bankruptcy.

Undeterred, the comic genius set out to spoof Westerns, a staple of Hollywood. The premise of the movie was standard fare; the town of Rock Ridge hires a sheriff to save them from the clutches of evil politician Hedley Lammar (Harvey Korman), when a railroad is routed through their town.

Brooks then ran the genre completely off the rails. Sheriff Bart, played by black actor Cleavon Little, is almost lynched by the town’s residents but manages to escape their clutches by threatening to shoot himself first.

Bart then enlists the legendary talents of The Waco Kid (Gene Wilder), and Mongo (NFL star Alex Karras), to battle Hedley’s thugs. Along the way, Brooks mixes in Nazis, motorcycle thugs, a Bavarian seductress and a Yiddish Indian Chief. Oh, and the fart scene.

Critics universally panned the movie, but audiences fell out of their seats laughing and the picture took in over $100 million, placing it among the top ten grossing films for that time. It was subsequently nominated for three Academy Awards.

Gross, tasteless and raunchy, Blazing Saddles is considered by the American Film Institute as one of the 100 funniest movies ever made. It has stood the test of time; I highly recommend you watch it!

Book Review

Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone

By Benjamin Stevenson

You have to admit, that’s a great title. The murder mystery is written by an Australian stand-up comedian, and it’s very funny.

The mystery takes place in a ski lodge on the tallest peak in Australia. The Cunningham family has gathered there to celebrate the release from prison of Michael Cunningham, who was convicted of manslaughter in the death of a lifelong criminal.

The Cunninghams are notorious throughout Australia after the family patriarch killed a policeman during a botched robbery in which he was also gunned down in graphic fashion.

His widow subsequently raises three young boys amid public scorn. Ernest, the middle boy, is the narrator of the novel, frequently cataloguing the victims of his siblings and in-laws in satiric fashion through direct observation and flashbacks.

Obviously, a stand-up comic uses stage communication with the audience as their primary means of story-telling, and Stevenson frequently pauses the narrative to seek out the sensibilities of you. The technique can be quite disruptive in the wrong hands as it deliberately suspends the reader’s sense-of-disbelief, but the author uses it to great effect.

Anyway, the family reunion is thrown into disarray when a stranger is consumed by flames during a raging blizzard. Who is the murderer stalking among them? Is it the anal sister-in-law, or her dweeb husband? Constable Reynolds, trapped by the blizzard, must suss out the guilty before they strike again!

I won’t give too much away but the narrator finally pieces the puzzle together just in time for a fiery finale. I highly recommend Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone!

TV Series

The Perfect Couple

Streaming on Netflix

Yes, I know I reviewed this last month, but that was really about the book, and this is about the series, plus I never pass up an opportunity to post a photo of Nicole Kidman.

As you recall, Greer and Tag Winbury (played by Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber), are hosting the wedding of their son Benji and his bride Celeste at their fabulous beachside mansion on the island of Nantucket. Hundreds have been invited to the lavish affair, which is expected to be the talk of the island.

The eve of the wedding is tragically marred by the death of the maid-of-honor, however. Merritt is found on the beach below the mansion, apparently drowned. But when the Chief of Police begins to investigate, he soon discovers an undercurrent of deceit and chicanery that belies the reputation of ‘the perfect couple’ and their family.

I was greatly impressed by Nicole’s portrayal of the steely matriarch Greer (she can win an Emmy with the wiggle of one eyebrow), but I was unexpectedly pleased by the performances of two secondary characters, the wedding planner (Tim Bagley), and the maid (Irina Dubova). When the police call them in for questioning, they spill the cattiest gossip you can imagine in straight face; the series is worth watching just to see these two veterans perform.

The critics, of course, are calling The Perfect Couple mindless soap-opera trash, but it’s all done in the over-the-top, prime-time tradition of Dallas, and you’re not going to find a better performer of a wily villain than Nicole Kidman!

Join me for a reading of Crystal Ball on Sunday, September 15, 4 pm at Owls Nest Books!

beautificia

August 2024 Newsletter

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Life in Calgary

Back in the summer of ‘67, my pal Bennie bought Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and invited me over to hear it.

I was especially intrigued by one song; Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

“What’s that all about?” I asked.

“LSD,” said Bennie.

“Ooh.”

Before it was banned in the late 1960s, chemistry undergraduates at McMaster University were enthusiastically whipping up batches of a potential stress reliever called lysergic acid diethylamide. While the relief of stress was negligible, a microgram of LSD did have the side effect of glorious hallucinations.

Alas, that era is long past, but the visual effects live on in Beautifica, a highly entertaining music and visual extravaganza created by the musician James Hood.

We caught a showing at the TELUS Spark Science Center in Calgary, and were treated to the wonderful sensation of zooming through the universe in a psychedelic starship. The show is on its last leg in Calgary, but you can catch it at various locations in the US this summer.

Available this Fall!

Click Here to Read Excerpt

FBI AGENT JACK KENYON is back! When a bomb in Myron Buckstar’s software lab kills an innocent woman, Jack and the crew are called in to find out if terrorists are targeting the flamboyant billionaire.

They soon discover that the victim was a member of Scotland Yard working undercover on a mysterious case.

As Jack pursues her murder, he uncovers a race to steal the Crystal Ball, an invention that allows its owner to peer into the future. Follow Jack from San Francisco to London as he pursues a host of murderers, conmen and criminals who will stop at nothing to achieve their goal.

Recipe: Veal Burgers

This is easy to mix together and creates a delightful summer BBQ meal!

Ingredients

1 lb. of minced veal (if the butcher doesn’t have it, check the frozen food section).

2 oz. of parmesan, grated

1 tsp salt

1 tsp of paprika

Garnishing

Cob’s Bakery buns.

Directions

Mix parmesan, salt and paprika into the veal. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then form in to patties.

Grill on the BBQ, and garnish with onions, pickles, caramelized onions etc., and serve on lightly toasted buns from Cob’s Bakery.

Enjoy!

Book Review

A Death in Cornwall

By Daniel Silva

This is the 24th  book in the Gabriel Allon series, and it’s a peach.

Allon is an Israeli secret agent who served for many years as a Mossad assassin, rising through the ranks to become the boss of ‘The Office’. His legendary exploits took him around the world, hunting Israel’s sworn enemies in Europe, the Middle East and North America.

Now retired, he devotes his life to restoring the Masters, whether it’s an altarpiece by Raphael or a painting by Rothko. He lives the quiet life with his wife Chiara in Venice with their two children, striving to stay out of the limelight.

Until something royally pisses him off, that is. The effrontery in question is the brutal hatchet murder of an Oxford professor. Allon soon discovers she was on the trail of a Picasso painting, looted from a Paris art collector by the Nazis in WWII.

His investigation leads him to the Geneva Freeport, a tax-free haven where billionaires and crooks store their tax-free loot, including gold and valuable paintings.

Naturally, the bad guys hiding trillions would rather not have the light of the law shone on their shenanigans, and the body count starts to climb. Allon relies on his coterie of contacts and faithful sidekicks to stay one jump ahead of the pack as he dashes across Europe, pursuing his goal with laser focus.

You don’t have to read any of the previous series; each book stands on its own. But it you aren’t familiar with Silva’s work, I highly recommend you start at the beginning and peruse through the lot; you won’t be disappointed!

TV Series Review

The Perfect Couple

Streaming on Netflix September 6, 2024

I don’t normally review something I haven’t seen yet, but there’s a first time for everything!

The Perfect Couple is based on the novel of the same name by Elin Hildebrand. She has written several dozen books set on the island of Nantucket; they chronicle the lives of both the rich summer residents as well as the full-time citizens who (literally) cater to them.

Greer and Tag Winbury (played by Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber), are hosting the wedding of their son Benji and his bride Celeste at their fabulous beachside mansion on the island of Nantucket. Hundreds have been invited to the lavish affair, which is expected to be the talk of the island.

The eve of the wedding is tragically marred by the death of the maid of honor, however. Merritt is found on the beach below the mansion, apparently drowned. But when Chief of Police Ed Kapenash begins to investigate, he soon discovers an undercurrent of deceit and chicanery that belies the reputation of ‘the perfect couple’ and their family.

The novel is a very entertaining mix of whodunit and soap opera as the author explores both the backstories and the unraveling of the mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and I look forward to seeing the mini-series!

Upcoming Book Launch in Calgary!

Join me on Sunday, September 15, 2024, 4 pm., at Owl’s Nest Books for the launch of Crystal Ball. I’ll be doing a reading and signing and greeting all our pals from Calgary!