….Thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors
I’ve decided to focus my attention on the colour of the doors in my neighbourhood. This week I’ve chosen white and grey.
Thursday Doors – White and Grey
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Category Archives: Architecture
Thursday Doors – April 5, 2018
….just before the winds really started to blow yesterday
Thanks to Norm for hosting
Yesterday was an incredibly windy day here in southern Ontario. There was a lot of wind damage across the province. I had a late morning appointment in Mississauga and I decided to venture down to the lake to check out the waves. Incredibly much of the clouds were blown away and the sun and some blue sky managed to peak through the remaining clouds.
One of the unexpected pluses of journeying down to the lake was coming across this beautiful old mansion that has since become a historical site and campus for the Royal Conservatory of Music.
According to Wikipedia:
The land on which the property is built was acquired by Joseph Cawthra in 1809. The farmland, which came to be known as the Grove Farm, was granted to Agar Adamson and Mabel Cawthra as a wedding gift.[2]
Agar Adamson, born on Christmas Day 1865, was the grandson of William Agar Adamson an influential Toronto clergyman. He married into the Cawthra family whose legacy in Peel lives on through the Cawthra Estate located near the intersection of the Cawthra Road and the Queen Elizabeth Way. Their legacy comes from supplying eastern white pine logs for ship masts in the British Royal Navy.[3][4] by Sandra Gwyn. He served under General Arthur Currie. Insights into his time at war may be seen in the CBC series The Great War[2] which features Talbot Papineau, another of the four Canadians featured in the book.
Agar Adamson designed and built the Belgian-style mansion on this land in 1919, after returning from the wartime service in France. In 1943, his son Anthony Adamson added a home for himself on the property.
In 1975 the estate was sold to the Credit Valley Conservation Authority and is now part of a public park on the Waterfront Trail.
Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge – Structure
….thanks Cee for hosting the Black and White Photo Challenge
In life there are two kinds of structures; those that appear naturally in nature and those that are man-made.
Structures in Nature
Man-made Structures
Thursday Doors – January 25, 2018
….thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors
On Wednesday of this week I went on a little road trip with my husband to Collingwood. He had an appointment with a client and he invited me come along to keep him company on the two hour drive there and then home again. It was a beautiful day and the drive was easy.
As we got further north the countryside was almost magical. It looked like they had a dusting of fresh snow that coated all the trees and the snow itself was still pristine white. Luckily the roads had been cleared and driving was pretty uneventful.
Collingwood is very much a tourist town, with cottagers in the summer and skiing in the winter. The population is only about 18 000. The Main Street is where most of the shopping and restaurants are but I’m sure that somewhere in Collingwood there are malls and box stores and fast-food restaurants. I was happy to be dropped off on the Main Street while my husband drove to his appointment.
I spent most of my time browsing through the stores, checking out the art gallery, photographing the store fronts and enjoying a coffee at one of the local coffee shops. The downtown area has been designated provincially as a historic site and many of the storefronts have maintained it’s original architectural features. Two of the older buildings house the municipal offices and federal government offices.
Many of the stores still had some Christmas decorations in the windows and on the sidewalk. I loved the art on the exterior walls and I can imagine that in the summer when the trees are adorned with their leaves that walking along here is very pleasant.
I met my husband in a lovely coffee shop called the Espresso Post. While I waited I enjoyed a flat white and sketched in my drawing book. I loved the feel of the place with it’s heavy sturdy tables and chairs and high ceilings. When my husband arrived he also ordered a flat white and then we walked down the street to a restaurant called Sol Kitchen. It was recommended to me by the ladies who owned the art gallery called Butter Art Gallery. It was a great recommendation. The food was excellent and there was art on all the walls from local painters. My kind of place.
365 Days of Art – Day 24
…..spent most of the day on the road and in Collingwood
My husband had a meeting with clients in Collingwood today so I decided to accompany him on the trip. While he was with his clients I spent time walking up and down the Main Street of Collingwood, taking photographs and checking out some of the stores. After awhile I stepped into a lovely little coffee shop and treated myself to a flat white. I had to ask what it was and it sounded interesting so I ordered it. Delicious!
I brought my sketch book with me and some markers. It was the perfect place to practise my one-liners. Carla Sonheim wanted us to make several one-liners of birds, cats, potted plants or flowers, shoes and houses. For those of you unfamiliar with one-liners, you literally draw an object without taking the pen off the paper until you’ve finished the drawing. It should be loose and free flowing. They’re fun to do but sometimes a bit frustrating. My favourite are the flowers and houses. Here are a few pages that I worked on in the cafe.
WPC – Weathered
…thanks to WordPress for this week’s theme weathered
weath·ered
ˈweT͟Hərd/
adjective
adjective: weathered
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worn by long exposure to the air; weather-beaten.“weathered rock”
weath·er
ˈweT͟Hər/
verb
past tense: weathered; past participle: weathered
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1.wear away or change the appearance or texture of (something) by long exposure to the air.“his skin was weathered almost black by his long outdoor life”
synonyms: weather-beaten, worn; More -
(of rock or other material) be worn away or altered by long exposure to the air.“the ice sheet preserves specimens that would weather away more quickly in other regions”
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FALCONRYallow (a hawk) to spend a period perched on a block in the open air.noun: weathering
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2.come safely through (a storm).
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withstand (a difficulty or danger).“this year has tested industry’s ability to weather recession”
synonyms: survive, come through, ride out, pull through; More -
SAILING(of a ship) get to the windward of (a cape or other obstacle).
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3.make (boards or tiles) overlap downward to keep out rain.
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(in building) slope or bevel (a surface) to throw off rain.
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Thursday Doors – December 7, 2017
Hamilton’s Children’s Museum
….thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors
Earlier this week I drove to Hamilton and took my granddaughter to the Children’s Museum. Housed in an 1875 farmhouse in beautiful Gage Park, the museum was once home to Hamilton’s Gage Family. It has been providing family-friendly learning opportunities to the public for more than 30 years.
Unfortunately we went on a Tuesday and in the winter the museum is closed on Tuesdays. I half expected Winnie to have a meltdown but she surprised me and started to run around on the grounds through the leaves and climbed on top of the giant anchor that is prominently displayed in the gardens.
When she got tired of doing that she wanted to sit in the car and play with the buttons on the console. I finally convinced her to go back into her car seat and we drove to Denninger’s Fine Foods.
Denninger’s is a wonderful family owned deli that sells delicious European delights. Winnie loved the samples and she was intrigued with the very large Nutcracker that guarded the front door.
Cee’s Black and White Challenge – Fences and Gates
Traces of the Past
….thanks to Lost in Translation for hosting Thursday Special: Traces of the Past
Thursday Doors – November 23, 2017 – North on Sixth Street
….thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors
Lately I’ve been exploring and walking through my neighbourhood looking for interesting doors. I usually walk east or west from my house but last week I decided to venture north. I live on Sixth Street but I rarely go north of Lakeshore Blvd. I discovered some lovely homes, two churches and a Japanese temple. I took a closer look at St. Margaret’s Church.
St. Margaret’s has serviced the community of New Toronto for over 100 years. The cornerstone was laid in 1910 and the building was completed in 1911. It has numerous outreach programs, such as Out of the Cold, community dinners and the Boy Scouts.
Most of the homes are typical New Toronto homes, compact and situated on small lots but many owners clearly take pride in their places and numerous homes in the neighbourhood are undergoing extensive renovations.
Mama Cormier 