Category Archives: Toronto

People Watching

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….something I’d like to get better at

Not just watching people but taking pictures of people going about their normal lives. I’m somewhat hesitant to take pictures of strangers but I getting better at it. As for the quality of the photos, well that’s another issue. I’m not likely to try to get a shot more than once if the first one isn’t to my liking. I’ve tried cropping some but sometimes using the zoom on the iPhone doesn’t always produce the best quality photo.

 

New Baby, an Anniversary, a Book Launch and a Pedicure with Dad

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….what an exciting week

My middle sister became a grandmother for the first time. Her daughter had a little baby boy on August 15th. Mom, Dad and Baby Jale (pronounce Jah-lay) are all doing well. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll make the four hour drive to the farm to welcome the new little guy into our family.

On the 16th my husband and I celebrated our 42nd anniversary. We opted to celebrate with a special lunch. Being on a Wednesday we didn’t think that we’d need reservations but when we got to our first choice we couldn’t even find a place to park. We quickly decided to go to our second pick which was closer to home and luckily it wasn’t busy. We love this restaurant, Pulcinella, and the only reason it wasn’t our first choice was because we wanted something other than Italian food. In the end we decided that it was the perfect choice. We had wonderful service and the food was amazing.

The next day, quite by accident I discovered that a friend from long ago had written a book about the CNE and she was having a book launch in a bar just up the street from where I live. I was walking the dog at the time so I couldn’t go inside but I went home, dropped off the dog, grabbed my wallet and walked back up the street to support Lee. It was nice meeting some people that I had lost contact with and meeting some new people. One of the people that I met was a former editor of Canadian Living magazine. I knew of her and where she lived which surprised her. In the end we exchanged phone numbers and addresses and I should be getting a call in November to help with make-up for the Lakeshore Santa Claus parade. I guess this is how it starts. When people know you’re retired they quickly recruit you to do volunteer work.

Earlier that day Dad and I went to my favourite salon for nails and we both had pedicures done. It’s very interesting sitting next to your ninety year old father while having your feet worked on.  The owner of the salon worked on Dad and she was wonderful with him but we couldn’t convince him to paint his nails purple. Of course we were only teasing him. He laughed but firmly said no to colour.

Thursday Doors – August 17, 2017

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…..thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors

My neighbourhood seems to change daily. My house was built in the 1940s as were many of the homes on my street. Some I dare say are even older. Thirty years ago we had to make a decision. Our tiny two bedroom bungalow was too small for a family of five. The kids had the bedrooms and my husband and I tried to set up a bedroom in different locations of the house. We set up our queen size bed in the living room and the tiny dining room became the living room. We also tried sleeping in the partially finished basement for awhile.

So we had to choose between moving to a larger house, probably in Mississauga or staying and building up. We chose the latter. Not many people were putting additions on their homes back then but now when homes in this neighbourhood sell they either come down and a new house is built in its place or a major addition is added. Many people have opted to go for a very modern look. A lot of the old timers don’t approve of this look but both my husband and I quite like it. Unfortunately some of the new owners are taking some liberties and building homes that are considerably taller than the average two story home of 30 years ago. Too often the committee of  adjustment turns a blind eye to the changes made to the approved variances. The most serious consequence for not following the approved plans is that construction is halted for a short time but it eventually resumes. The days of tearing down the offending building are long gone.

Here are some of my favourite modern additions and the doors that go with them.

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High Park Kaffee Klatch

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….after taking Dad to his doctor’s appointment we looked around for a place to have coffee

There have to be hundreds, if not thousands of places to enjoy a cup of coffee in Toronto. Even in the neighbourhood where the doctor’s office was there had to be at least a dozen places to choose from. My father, however, had other ideas and he remembered enjoying coffee at the restaurant that is situated in the middle of High Park. Luckily High Park was on the way home and not too far from where we were parked.

In the middle of the week the roads leading into the park are not too busy. The difficulty had to be staying within the speed limit which is 20 km/hour. Other than that everything else was positive. The parking in the park is free and the Grenadier Cafe has a beautiful new deck with shade trees and umbrellas over many of the tables. My father was very excited about treating me to coffee and pie. In the picture below you can see him using his serving skills that he learned as a young man when he apprenticed to be a waiter. Nothing makes Dad happier than enjoying a kaffee klatch in the middle of the afternoon.