Tag Archives: Toronto

April Fools’ a Day Late

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….clearly Mother Nature didn’t get the memo that April Fools’ Day was on the first

While visiting our daughter and her family in Hamilton yesterday we notice that a few snow flakes were coming down. We didn’t think too much of it as we donned our spring coats and headed outside for a walk. The temperature was hovering just at the freezing point so we didn’t bring scarves or hats.

Within minutes of starting our walk the snow started to fall in huge fluffy flakes. My daughter and I put up the hoods on our jackets. We walked through the neighbourhood commenting on how all winter we had seen very little snow and here it was April 2nd and we were experiencing a blizzard. We were headed to the market to pick up a few things and by the time we got there we were drenched from the snow that melted through our coats.

My granddaughter wasn’t at all disturbed by this sudden shift in the weather. She just didn’t like the cover that we kept putting over her stroller so that she wouldn’t get wet. After awhile it became a bit of a game as the cover constantly slipped away and she would give us one of her big grins every time she saw our faces. I guess we were quite the site with these mounds of snow collecting on our heads and shoulders.

After an hour we arrived back at the house and my husband and I decided we should drive back to Toronto. The visibility was bad so as soon as we could we got off the highway and took the Lakeshore all the way back to the city. It was slower but way less stressful.

This morning we woke up to clear blue skies and only a dusting of snow on the rooftops but it was much colder. We heard that another bout of snow was heading our way so we decided to go for our walk while it was still sunny. This time we bundled up in our warm parkas, scarves, hats and gloves. It turned into a great walk and on the way back with the wind at our backs it was even more enjoyable. We walked exactly 5 kilometres.

The forecast of more snow turned out to be true. As I write this the snow is coming down gently now but it was pretty stormy about an hour ago. April is fooling all of us. Winter is back….well at least for a little bit. How is spring in your neighbourhood?

 

 

Thursday Doors – March 24, 2016

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….thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors

Walking through my neighbourhood last weekend while the weather was still nice I came across some interesting doors. The first one I’ve loved for a year or so because of the bright yellow colour and the second one is the entrance to the local bike shop but on the day I took the photo a metal grate covered the door because the shop was closed for business. Despite the security grate I still think it makes for an interesting door.

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Spring Has Sprung

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….despite coolish temperatures Spring has officially arrived

I mentioned in an earlier post that there were signs of spring here in Toronto if you take the time to look. On my walk today I purposely  photographed as many signs of spring as I could. Enjoy!

Sunday Trees – 227

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….first day of spring here in Toronto but you wouldn’t know it from our trees

Even though we’ve had an unusually warm winter and March, after the initial snow storm in the first week,  has been very spring like, our trees are still very barren. Other than that there are other signs of springs everywhere. Thanks to Becca Givens for hosting Sunday Trees.

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Walking, the Bike Show, Drawing and More Walking

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….Saturday was a great walking day

The temperatures are starting to rise but not enough for the snow to become a slushy mess. That will happen later today and definitely tomorrow as we head into double digits above the freezing mark.

Saturday was perfect for a long walk with the dog. Frances loves the snow. We did walk through the field with her but for the most part we stayed on the paths where the snow had been shovelled or had already melted away. It was a fun morning and I was able to play with my new camera. We came across a sad little snowman and I tried shooting it from different angles.

When we got home I checked my fitness device and discovered we had walked about 6000 steps. Not our longest walk but it was a good start to the day. I made us a hardy breakfast that I knew would sustain us through lunch and then we got ready to take a trip to the bike show.

Every year at this time, The Toronto Bike Show takes place at the CNE grounds. It’s a very busy show and we had to park a fair distance from the building but that was okay because we knew we were going to rack up a lot more steps. My husband was a little disappointed in the show. He felt that there wasn’t as much to see this year. The show certainly is quite large and if you’re in the market for a new bike there were some deals to be had. I think because we had been at the show last year it felt like there wasn’t as much in the way of new products or at least things that were significantly different from the year before.

There were lots of bikes with large attached carriers, Dutch style, fat bikes, racing bikes, electric assist bikes, bicycle accessories, booths promoting bicycle tours and races and bikes for the littlest of riders. We came across a little boy (11 months old) who was checking out a bike that he could be riding in a couple of years.

As we walked back to the car my Jawbone Up signalled me that I had reached my goal of 10,000 steps for the day and it was only mid-afternoon. We rang up our oldest daughter and found out that she was home and happy for some company so we headed over to her house. We had a nice visit with her. At one point I suggested we go for a walk in her neighbourhood but my husband was content to just sit for a bit.

After a couple of hours, we continued on our way home and arrived just in time to take the dog for another walk. Correction…. I took her for another walk. This one was considerably shorter and I would be doing this at least one more time before I went to bed.

We enjoyed a simple supper of left overs and then started watching the new season of House of Cards with Kevin Spacey. I can only do this for couple of hours before I need a change of scene. I made my way to my sketch books and art materials which at the moment are on my dining room table. I watched a few more art lessons on my computer and then I cracked open my sketch book and got my ink and pen ready to draw. I came across a photo of a cow on one of the blogs I follow and decided that would be my subject for the day. I’ve always wanted to draw cows so today was the day.

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After posting this sketch on Facebook for my daily sketching challenge I took the dog for one last walk and then did the dishes. I can never leave dishes overnight so no matter how late it gets I end up cleaning before crawling into bed. I checked my walking progress and was happy to see that for the day I had taken 14 270 steps. Ten days in a row now I’ve reached my 10 000 steps/day goal.

How was your weekend? Did you reach any goals or do something interesting?

Time to get ready to visit our other daughter in Hamilton. We’re babysitting today. Yay!

 

 

Full Moon Over the City

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….actually the moon was to the right of the city tonight

When I was out earlier this evening the moon was a beautiful golden ball sitting just above the horizon line with a wispy cloud crossing in front of it. I didn’t have my camera with me and when I returned home dinner was on the table. A half hour later the moon was much higher in the sky and the colour had changed from amber yellow to silver.

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