Word of the Week – Industrial 3

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. my neighbourhood used to be a very industrial area but over the years businesses have closed or moved to other areas

Some factories look like bombed out shells that keep out curious visitors with steel fences and barbed wire

In other parts of town all evidence of former factories have been razed leaving behind empty fields, also surrounded by fencing and barbed wire.

Even factories that have been ‘rocks in the community’ are beginning to leave to make room for more condos. The latest casualty is Christie’s. The smell of freshly baked bread wafting along the Lakeshore has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

For more industrial photos check out Sue Llewellyn’s A Word in Your Ear

Word of the Week – Industrial 2

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..industrial sites converted into new businesses

or parts that have been turned into pieces of sculpture (with a practical side)

For more industrial photos check out Sue Llewellyn’s http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/9740/

A Word A Week Challenge: Industrial

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. over at A Word In Your Ear, Sue’s A Word A Week Challenge this week is Industrial. Today I’m focusing on old industrial sites that have been restored to be used by the public.

I love this challenge. Living in Toronto presents itself with all kinds of industrial photo opportunities. On our daily walks we always come across this amazing old building that used to be a power plant in the early to mid 1900’s. Today it’s been restored and is used for recreation purposes. In the winter it houses a seating area to lace up your ice skates and a place to warm up after enjoying the outdoor skating rink next door.

Another great old factory that has recently been restored is the old Brickworks in the city’s east end. It’s also become a multi-purpose facility. It houses a farmers’ market in the summer and is used for workshops, art exhibitions and a variety of functions. I love walking around the old brick ovens.Tomorrow I will share photo of more industrial areas that have been re-invented and are now used for new businesses.

Cheers!

What a Difference a Day Can Make

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. temperatures were holding steady around the 0 degree (freezing) mark

It was a lovely balmy day and the ice and snow on the sidewalks and roads are now melting away at an alarming rate. By tomorrow we should have a slushy mesh as the temperatures rise to six degrees (well above freezing).

The good thing about the warmer temperatures today was that the roads had cleared enough to make driving doable and bearable. I drove downtown to meet up with my daughter, A and her partner, J to check out the Junction Flea Market. We’re not quite sure why it was held in the Queen West area when the Junction is north and further west but the Great Hall housed the affair and the turn out was good.

After a coffee, a few Asian dumplings and purchasing a couple of old record albums, some flowers and a vase we headed north to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario). The girls wanted to see the Evan Penny show and today was the last day.

While we were there I discovered a great lookout from the fourth floor and took a few shots of the city from an angle I’ve never seen before.

To the left is OCAD, the university of art and design and in the middle is the CN Tower.

More Snowy Pictures

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. I couldn’t believe how much yesterday’s storm took out of me

When I was curled up on the couch last night I tried to catch up on some of my reading but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. After awhile I put the book down and decided to work on yesterday’s post. All went well, until I tried to read some of the blogs that I follow. I woke up a couple of times with my laptop literally resting on my lap so I finally gave into my fatigue and went to bed.

This morning my husband almost went for the morning walk without me because I was so sound asleep. When I did wake up I slowly made my way downstairs and discovered that both K and Frances were ready to leave. They kindly agreed to wait for me (well my husband did… the dog on the other hand had no choice) while I got dressed and had my morning coffee.

I’m glad I made the effort to join them. It was a beautiful morning. The snow was so deep at the rugby pitch that I don’t need to head to the gym today. It was quite a workout just walking through the new snow to get to the other side. You really had to lift your knees. Snowshoes would have come in handy today.

The Biggest Snow Storm Since 2008

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. and the school board kept schools open today….sigh!!!!!!!!!!

The accumulation of snow overnight was far less than predicted so the TDSB decided at 6:30 this morning to cancel school buses but keep schools open. The forecast for the rest of the day, however, was for even more snow than originally predicted because of the delay. The drive into work was hazardous but coming home was even worse.

Over 120 students didn’t come to school this morning and over the course of the day another 40 were picked up before the end of the day. Even though we were willing to combine classes and let teachers who had a long drive ahead of them leave a little bit early the powers that be at the board office refused to let principals make those arrangements.

The city claimed that there were hundreds of snow ploughs out clearing the streets, but we didn’t see one all day long. The ploughs that are suppose to clear school parking lots never made it to our school. Our first worry, after getting to school unscathed, was how we were going to dig out of the parking lot when we were finally allowed to go home.

My friend L took her music classes outside in the afternoon with shovels and brooms in hand to clear off teachers’ cars and dig out the snow around them. They loved it and we appreciated the help.

Even with all their help, one of the most difficult parts of getting home tonight was getting out of the parking lot. We made sure that no one was left behind and with lots of guidance, patience and muscle each car was directed and pushed to the road.

The drive home was slow and scary. At times I wasn’t sure if I’d make it over the unploughed streets or up and over the bridge. When I finally got to my street I knew immediately that it hadn’t seen a plough all day. Twenty feet from the house I couldn’t move the car any further. When I tried to open the car door to get help it hit a wall of snow. Luckily a neighbour was out with his snow blower and came over and cleared the snow around the car and in front of my house. My husband came out as well and cleared away more of the snow so that I could finally pull into the driveway.

All I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and enjoy a glass of wine to calm my nerves. After more than 24 hours of snow it’s finally come to an end.

Believe it or not I’m actually looking forward to getting out tomorrow for a long walk through the white fluffy stuff.

January 2013 Photo a Day – Landscape

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..step back and take a photo of a landscape near you. Or even take a little trip just for the photo. Would be nice to explore your town for a beautiful photo

It was pretty overcast today and there was a grey hue over the entire city. I have lots of landscape pictures in my files but I feel I have used some of them once too often. There’s a large bridge close to my house and I often see photographers at the top of it taking pictures of the city. I always wondered what the attraction was so I drove over and parked the car on the wide shoulder and took some panoramic views. The bridge goes over the rail lines and downtown Toronto and Lake Ontario are off in the distance.

After taking pictures from the Islington Bridge I decided to drive over to one of the bridges that spans over the highway into to city. This bridge was a bit scarier because the railing was lower and the speeding cars below were intimidating.

For more landscape photos check out http://www.nolagirlatheart.wordpress.com

January 2013 Photo a Day – Electric

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…… this could be a simple photo of your toaster {but get creative} or something else electric

Our life depends on electricity. We use it to run our appliances, heat and light our homes, cook our food and run our computers and electronic games and devices. Without it we couldn’t write our blogs and post our photos. Funny thing is that in the summer I live without electricity for weeks at a time at my cottage and don’t miss it. Electricity is something we take for granted until we experience a blackout and are forced to adapt.

The challenge is to take interesting photos that highlight the word electric.

In the first picture, you see a bright light coming from a person’s yard where their children were out playing in the freshly fallen snow. The second picture is a light standard next to a local skating rink. I tried to capture the large fluffy snow flakes that were falling in front of the light and this is what I got.

For more photos for the January 2013 Photos a Day check out http://www.nolagirlatheart.wordpress.com

January 2013 Photo a Day – Something You Saw

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. go about your day with eyes wide open and take a photo of something you saw.

Yesterday the weather had turned from a balmy six degrees celcius on Saturday to a frigid minus 11. The day hadn’t gone exactly as planned. I had a breakfast meeting at 10:30 that didn’t involve breakfast. The meeting went well and when it was over I drove to the mall to spend the rest of my gift certificate. I bought costume jewellery that I didn’t need but I couldn’t resist the bargains and I do love jewellery. Then I stopped at the Lindt chocolate outlet on the way home and had the first food of the day…. dark chocolate samples.

When I got home I finally had a healthy lunch at about 2:30. K started making a great soup for dinner and while it simmered on the stove he decided to do our daily walk before dinner. His thinking being that when he got back he’d be ready for a hearty warm soup. Remember it was -11 degrees outside. Initially I opted not to do the walk. After my husband left to do the walk on his own I remembered that I hadn’t done the photo challenge for the day.

I bundled up and decided to walk east, the opposite direction that we normally do our walk. Eventually I would meet up with my husband and then I could turn around and walk back with him. I also thought that it would be interesting to see the city from a different point of view. It was already starting to get dark and the clouds over the skyline were reflecting the setting sun in the west.

I tried to get some shots of pussy willows that I saw on the walk but it was too windy and all the shots were blurry. The soup by the way was delicious. I probably should have taken pictures of that.

Check out http://www.nolagirlatheart.wordpress.com for more January 2013 Photo a Day Challenges.