three minutes every day

Apart from one intensely rainy day last Friday, we have the most wonderful weather these last couple of weeks. It has been hot, but not so humid that sweat drips out of every pore. The sun has shone. The sky has been blue. It has been perfect summer weather. Except that it is fast approaching autumn. You can tell by the ever encroaching darkness on our blissful, beautiful days.

I love autumn, or if you prefer, fall. I like the crisp coolness, the sweaters, the hot chocolate, the pumpkins, the colours, the stars at night. But I did not enjoy our unbearable summer. I don't like it when it is too hot to actually be outside and do anything. Sitting inside in air conditioned comfort on what looks like a gorgeous day is not nearly as much fun as being outside on what is clearly a gorgeous day. So I almost feel as if this now is the summer I wished for.

If only we weren't losing almost three minutes of daylight every day to enjoy it.

tiff tizzy

So, another TIFF has come and gone. The frenzy is over for another year. And not one movie star did I see. Of course, it might have helped to go to one of the Red Carpet events, but that seemed like far too much trouble. And I'm not sure I really want to meet a big name star. Just seeing George Clooney walk into a theatre or out of a restaurant might fill me with tingly excitement for a few hours, but to actually talk to him would fill me with nervous dread. What would I say that could be original? Or not stupid? You hear of people who have met one of their favourite stars and gushed over how much they were loved in a certain role... except they were not the one in that movie. I would be mortified if I made that mistake. I would probably be so tongue-tied, I would either forget to breathe or would come up with some gibberish before my idol was gently steered away by some brusque handler. Besides, I would much rather see someone famous actually doing something, even an interview, or a reading. Or better yet, a play.

As much as I love the idea of the Toronto International Film Festival, I feel no need or desire to pay more money to see a movie that may be Oscar worthy first, before it goes into general release. I also don't need to see it on opening night. Though, I do draw the line at waiting for it to come to television. Films were made for the big screen and seeing with dozens of other people to get the shared experienced and excitement. The movies I went to see were the more obscure ones and the 'shorts'. Okay, I only went twice. Way back, in TIFF's infancy when it was still known as The Festival of Festivals, a group of us from work would head up to the theatres and wander from one to the other and talk to people in line to find out what they had seen and then rush from one screening to another. i saw a lot of interesting films that never made it into general release. Now, your selections must be pre-ordered and they aren't held in any of the no longer standing independent theatres. And, because I don't live in Toronto, it makes it even more challenging to attend.

Anyway, I wonder if any of you have met anyone famous? Or if not, who would you like to meet? And more importantly what would you say to them?

I loathe, er love, oh really?

a way to distract from a universally panned film....

Personally, I LOVE Hydrangeas

image from mostelegantflowers.com

a wild weekend

It was a busy weekend for being outside, especially on Saturday. Toronto may have the international film festival (TIFF) with George and Brad and their pals floating about the city and red-carpetting the entertainment district and noshing at local eateries and contributing to the economy, but Hamilton had the Canadian Country Music Awards (CCMA) with free concerts by many of the artists on the rooftop of the Jackson Square Centre. PLUS, on the next block, what is known as the James Street Supercrawl with 3 stages of indie rock and lots of artist stalls and vendors and open studios.  PLUS, a few blocks away, the Locke Street Festival with another stage and lots of food and crafts and vendors. All this was within walking distance, but there was a shuttle bus available to give your tired legs a rest. The bus also went a few blocks further north to the waterfront where there was not one, but two ships visiting. The HMSC Montreal and the Pride of Baltimore. One is a frigate in current wars and the other a replica warship from 1812.

I got there just in time to see the Baltimore do a turn around the bay and fire a cannon or two. This was in response supposedly from a cannon fired on our side, but ours sounded more like a pop gun, and the American one was a little more ... booming. Enough to scare a little boy standing near me who needed some reassurance from his dad that no, there were no real cannonballs.

This smaller four masted ship was fun to see

Don't ask me why I chose to stand in line for an hour to get on board the Montreal - halfway up those open tread, wobbly, steps was not the time to remember how afraid I am of heights.

it wasn't much different than the Fredericton I was on last year. 

Except that then it was a wet, cloudy, miserable day and this time it was a warm, sunny, breezy day. 

And there was entertainment

and this was just as entertaining...

those sails needed to be tied down securely.

I didn't get any good pics of the bands playing and before I knew it, it was getting dark by the time I left Locke St and headed back to the CCMAs and the Supercrawl.

Plus it was rather crowded.

And a fun time was had by all.

And it was all FREE. 

But there was no George Clooney..... sigh

I now love weekends

There is a lot of construction noise around me. The balconies are being replaced and even though the work has started on the other side of the building the noise vibrates right through.

I refuse to complain, as it is desperately needed and will look wonderful when the new railings go up.

In the meantime, management has quietly left these for us....

I am here to tell you that they do not work all that well.

cruisin'

The season of Cruise Nights is drawing to a close.

It is an expensive hobby, keeping these old classic cars in good condition, only to be driven to various parks and parking lots for the sole purpose of showing off. Many times, you'll see a car pull into a spot, the owner get out and set up a lawn chair, then sit in it reading a book. At a quarter to eight, they pack up book and lawn chair and drive off. Other people are more engaging. Many seem to meet up with friends and fellow collectors they know from the circuit. 

Still, I enjoy these nights of admiring and sighing at the designs of older models. I don't know a lot about cars, but I am learning. I take photos and look up the history and stats on the internet when I get home. For the most part, you often see the same cars (not literally the same, but the same makes) and I can now recognize when there is one that is a rare colour or has a slightly different grille. 

To amuse myself, I try to get creative by concentrating on different aspects of the cars each time. (one can only have so many pictures of cars that one has no idea what to do with.) One time it might be the tail lights and fins, another time the door handles... I still have to work on getting good shots of the dashboards. I don't generally decide what the focus will be until I get there, but with this last cruise night at Pier 4, I was a wee bit disappointed when the old police cars that were to be on show materialized in ... one car. From there, I chose to focus on photographing the make and model names.

a Studebaker Commodore

It wasn't intentional, but once I had sorted and cropped and uploaded them onto this post, I realized they all were joined letter font.

SundayStills, where we could post anything we wanted.....

because I need a 10th post for the month

here is an update on the demolished and rebuilt house. things seem to have been moving slowly, but today I noticed that tools have been picked up.

the back view - 
note the 3-car garage

the front view - note the circular driveway

that goes nowhere near the garage doors

and remember when I did the little tour and showed you some houses you might be interested in buying?and there was this one that had been left sitting in this unfinished state for about 2 or 3 years? 

did one of you buy it?

because now it is gone!

yay another new house. this time, it will be better than what was there, though it is a shame that the other plans stalled. again, this will obviously be way bigger than the original.

laundry

Of all the household chores that need doing, laundry is probably the one I have the least objection to. Afterall, you don't really need to actually be there, doing anything, in order for it to get done. Oh yes, there is prep work, but that is minimal. If anything it is the clear up and folding and putting away (and possibly ironing?) of the laundry that poses a hint of an objection. And for me, the drying. Because I refuse to use a dryer. But I like that hanging up process.

When I was younger, I remember helping push the heavy wet clothes through the wringer washer. I was at once thrilled with the process and terrified of the wringer.

I also seem to remember that it would skitter across the uneven basement floor during the agitation phase. It was an all day event, this washday.





I always hang my clothes outside, even in winter sometimes, if there is enough of a breeze to keep them from freezing solid. And even sometimes if there wasn't. The air would give them a fresh scent if you hung things up after they were more than halfway dry.


Now, having only a balcony space, I need to use a variety of clothes horses for this chore and due to a some space issues, I tend to leave them outside folded up and behind a trellis when not in use.

My large wooden rack is perfect for hanging sheets. I found one that someone (likely someone cleaning out Mum's house...) had put out for garbage pick up.

Over the years, it has become less and less stable and has on many an occasion fallen over with the heavier breezes. It had broken bits and needed to be stabilized by the wall and chairs but would still list to one side and wobbled dreadfully. It owes me nothing. So I shed no tears, when I finally threw it out and replaced it with this brand new STURDY
one that I found at a market stall.

It has much thicker dowels that mean less crease in your sheets. 

And extra supports. And you can't tell in the picture, but it is also a bit wider. 

Now, I am waiting for that right breeze....

Jack

There were still thousands of people standing patiently in a line that wrapped right around City Hall this evening in order to pay their respects to Jack Layton. It was about 2 1/2 hours long.

Jack (he was always Jack, not Layton or Mr Layton - nothing so formal) was a city councillor and MP in Toronto who later became the leader of the New Democratic Party and then in last May's election, the leader of the opposition. He was a man of the people and even those people who did not - and perhaps never would - vote for him, have been deeply affected by his death. It was not completely unexpected, but shocking all the same. We all had hope...

I shook his hand once. Many years ago, when I lived almost but not quite in his riding on the Danforth, I was standing in line behind him in a bakery. Some other people came over to talk to him and somehow I was drawn into the conversation. I have no memory of what the talk was, but I do remember his laughter and those eyes that sparkled in their intensity when he looked at you. When he was ready to leave he shook hands with each of us and waved to the others sitting at tables nearby. He was not just going through the motions, he really cared about and knew so many people.

What other politician would spend his last days writing a letter to his fellow citizens [Canadians]?

It is long, so I won't repost it all but here are a few snippets from his letter to Canada dated two days before his death

All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada.
...
To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don’t be discouraged that my own journey hasn’t gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope.
...
And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

Jazz has conveniently posted it in its entirety on her blog which you can read here.

'aspire to inspire'     'through these doors lies the body of a great man'

For several days, people have been leaving messages on the cement at City Hall, 

some of it has been washed off with the rain, but more is added...Olivia (his wife) made an appearance

'the best PM we never had'
You will be sorely missed, Jack.

an escape

We drove for hours. To get away from the crowds. It almost didn't work. It seems Tobermory was very crowded. We couldn't even get into one area of the National Parks because the parking lots were all full! Most of the boats were fully booked, too, though we did manage to get on one glass bottomed boat to see the ship wrecks below. By then my memory card said it was full. Bollocks. I remember many a time on family trips, running into gas stations and drug stores to get another roll of film. You could find them everywhere. Not so with the memory cards. And certainly not in a place that is only open for business six months of the year. So they say. Though, I guess when film runs out after 36 shots and memory cards are reusable after hundreds (except my defective one, sigh) I can sort of understand it.

Still, I managed to get a shot of this to share with you.









It won't mean too much to most of you who are from so far away, but this ferry brings back those "oh, I remember" moments to many of us of a certain age.....

a boat going on a boat.

















This is what takes you from the top of the Bruce Peninsula over to Manitoulin Island.

We didn't go on it because we didn't have enough time so we headed for a less crowded beach (which quickly got crowded as more people were directed here by the guide at the Cyprus Lake parking lot)

A rocky beach. (where I borrowed a camera...)

with the most indescribably stunning scenery

it takes your breath away every time