scaffolded

It was a beautiful morning so when I finished work last night, I decided to head out for a walk along the beach and a coffee on the waterfront. 

I decided to do this in Hamilton.

(this is an evening view of the beach from a previous night. the beach faces east, so the sun would have been in the way...)

Anyway, this would normally involve going over the Skyway, 











but because it was early and the light was perfect, I decided to get some photos of the newly erected scaffolding that has gone up on the underside of the Toronto bound portion of the Skyway.

There seemed to be an awful lot of traffic for 7am on a Saturday morning, and I thought at first that the lift bridge was up (which was odd, seeing as how I had checked before I turned down this route) but it turns out it would have made no difference which route I wanted to take as I would have ended up in this mess.


This is what happens when there is an accident on the highway, the Niagara bound portion, on the first day of a holiday weekend...

by the time I got there, the light was no longer quite so perfect.

This scaffolding will be up until late next year as they repair and repaint

more pics on my other blog at Sightlines


... as if the traffic wasn't enough, it has taken me hours - hours - to post this because everything on this computer is running slow, from Picnik to Blogger. Anyone else experiencing that?


You can see more bridges over at Sunday Bridges, hosted by "Louis"

things are as expected

An irregular update on the things I am obsessively keeping track of

building is coming along pretty much as expected

 with a hint of what is to come...

those 28 drops of rain we had the other night did nothing to quench the thirst of the grass

and on a sadder note (no photo, whew)

the baby skunk has met an untimely end after venturing out onto the much busier road with the much faster moving cars. 

I was rooting for the little fella, 
even if he was an olfactory hazard.

the long view

at long last, the promised walking tour.

but first, the overall view. the big picture.

I've shown plenty of views from my balcony, here is the view from where my friend lives on the 

11th floor (because it is such an awesome view. I am almost jealous, but then I get to walk the stairs instead of always taking the elevator)

anyway... (as usual, all pics will embiggen if you make that extra click)

a nighttime view 

 looking down on the city from the top of the escarpment.    

I live off to the left

a little closer view, taken very early in the morning, therefore no traffic. this is Hwy 2 or Lakeshore Rd

you may remember I mentioned that there is a creek behind my place where the ducks and geese like to play. as you can see there is not much water in the creek since we have had no rain in weeks.

at the top end of my street there is a bike path that leads to downtown (which in reality is 2 blocks away)

looking almost bucolic so far, no?

at the end of the bike path we come upon the new condos with a blank space for the next one
and this view of the lake from Pearl Street will (soon?) disappear as a very controversial 30-storey condo is meant to replace the small deteriorating motel and empty space.
it has been years though, and no-one is quite sure what is happening with the developer.

here you can see the steady stream of traffic - there is only one lane in each direction............

farther along we end up at the bottom of the main street which also has a view of the lake and is the entrance to the waterfront park and trail

it is still hot outside, so not many fools people out walking

and as we head north again, we come to the side entrance of City Hall which is next door to the Queen's Head where I think we will stop on the patio for a refreshment before continuing

skunkydoodlescorner

this little fella was determined to hang out on the streets all night. his mama was nowhere to be seen, and she apparently hadn't trained him to run for cover when danger lurked. or daylight. I first saw him at around 3am, but this was taken at 9am. I live on a dead end street, but there is still a fair bit of traffic, especially as people head out to work. here, at least he is by the curb, but for a good long while he was in the middle of the road and cars were swerving up onto sidewalks and lawns to get around him! there was just the faintest odour hanging about - curiously stronger inside our lobby, than outside - of baby spray. his tail was up every time I saw him and he clung to the road with those long sharp claws, uncertain as to what to do.

seriously, don't you want to get out a comb and help him with that 'do?

a few numbers

no wonder my Haagen Dazs melted on the way home!

yes, it is hot

Sure, it is hot out.

 An expected high of 38C or 100F

Dire warnings of a humidex reaching "almost 50C" or close to 120F

Those are numbers that belong to Saudi Arabia, not Southern Ontario.

To be fair, most people seem incredulous at the muggy heat rather than complaining about it.

Breakfast Television has been playing Christmas music all morning.

time to move

I don't wear a lot of jewellery. Not because I don't like it, it is more because I keep forgetting. I also can't really wear rings or bracelets or watches when I am working - they tend to get in the way of the massaging. But, I have started buying more pieces (as I work less...)

Some of you may remember that I bought a cute, decorative watch last year which I love,

though as it turns out I cannot read the time on it.

and it turns my wrist into a grey tarnished mess.


I still wear it and just deal with the problems as best I can.





Then, at the Elora art show I went to last week, I wandered into a tent displaying some exquisite glasswork. There were four watches on the table that hadn't sold at the artist's Christmas show and at the last minute she decided to include them in this one.
I fell in love with one... the bracelet part is glass.
I bought it. I love it because it is so pretty and I can read the numbers

except that it is a devil to work the clasp and after wearing it once, the little glass (plastic) crystal fell out.

Because I bought it at an art fair, I can't just go back to the store to return it or get it repaired (replaced, really, since I can't find the crystal) free of charge, I should think. But, I can't wear it as it is.

I am not sure how to deal with this. Any ideas? Would you email her? and if you did what would you ask her to do about it?

Sunday Stills - people

Taking photos of people is not my forte. For some reason, I find it uncomfortable. I don't really know why. Maybe it is because I hate having my photo taken.
Pictures of street scenes look much more lively with people in them, but somehow, mine all end up looking a little... flat. I checked my archives and spent hours studying them to see where I was going wrong.


Then I went out and tried to get some people.

I decided to work on getting over my self consciousness about it by starting with something familiar.
Like a duck,
with some random people sitting at the cafe
(apparently oblivious to this duck in the pool)













then I moved on to some geese, with a random guy on a park bench reading...

this was getting easier. 

I moved on to focusing on these people using the binoculars and ended up with a random gull

I did manage one without any avian distractions... this one, taken last Sunday at the Elora Gorge (before I knew the theme) of a man who climbed over the wall, risking life and limb for a good shot. 

(he said he does it all the time and felt quite safe. I was holding my breath trying to capture his foolhardiness)

as a bonus,

feeling a little more confident

I was with my niece and we visited friends with a rescued kitten.
this adorable little thing was abandoned by her mother after her siblings died. we think she is about 4 weeks old. we also think she may be a boy, but somehow we all persisted in referring to him as she.

all taken for Sunday Stills and as usual, images will embiggen with just a click

did you miss me? I didn't really go anywhere

Good grief, has it really been almost 2 weeks since I last posted?

I took a bit of a blogging break. An unintentional one, brought on by a serious lack of anything good or profound or entertaining to write about. Or at least an inability to write about anything in a good or profound or entertaining way. I haven't even really been reading anyone else's blogs. Sorry about that. I've missed you though, and will now have to spend a few hours catching up.

I thought about things I could do that might provide some good blogging material. I have been out for walks and bike rides. Had coffee and gelato on patios, met friends for dinner, and shopped at an antique market. I even went to an art show and bought stuff (and no, Nora, I haven't run out of things to buy!) All of it was immensely enjoyable, I just couldn't find a way to express it on paper screen.

But, today, the words have come back. My mind has been racing with ways to describe the past two weeks. Maybe it was my return to the gym that has given my brain a bit of a boost as well as my legs.

Or maybe it is the new blinds that I had installed in my living room. They are white and 2" faux wood, replacing the horrible, metal, coloured 1" venetians. I am surprised at how much brighter my place is now, though I do sort of miss that it never really gets absolutely dark like it used to when I would close the blinds against the intense sun and heat. And I am (not really) surprised that I need to wash my windows.

I've been busy watching Canada lose it all in Germany and am looking forward to seeing Japan and the US kick it out on Sunday... along with the crashes and scenery of le tour de France and the Open...

In the meantime, I have not read any of Harry Potter, though I have seen the first movie (but on tv, which is never the same) and promptly lost interest. Though, for thousands apparently, it is a different story

princes and post

I have been thinking about that other prince, the one who also just got married to a commoner but who is not visiting our fair land

for you see, Albert and I were born on the same day.

He may be richer and more gallant, than I, but I think I have retained my youthful appearance far better than His Serene Highness has done. I certainly have more hair, though I'm not sure which of us had more hair when we were born.

And, since my mother kept all the envelopes these cards came in, I can see that Aunt Millie was the first to send hers. I believe I was born around 5pm, but am not certain. I also notice on all the envelopes that they were addressed to my mother with the name of the hospital ... some had the city, some not. And all were received for a 4 cent stamp! Now that seems to me to be excellent service. Stamps now cost 59 cents (plus HST) for inside Canada and you better include the full address, along with the postal code, or who knows when you may get the letter. And you don't get such clear, dated postmarks - with the city and time - anymore, either. I am hoping for some post-strike mail tomorrow. 

me as a wee babe (with not much hair) in my mother's arms
p.s. Albert and I have never met