Time flies!

Okay, so I've slacked off...I told you I wouldn't keep this up lol. I've noticed my counter not going up very much, so I figured I was pretty much talking to myself here hehe. I have managed to keep myself busy though. On Tuesday I hopped on the street car again and headed to the Croc Boutique on Queen st.. Yep, that's all they sell is Crocs, I new there were different styles, I just didn't know how many. I bought myself a pair of Croc flip flops, very comfy, headed to Curry's Art Supply and picked up a couple more Copic markers, went to Walmart, at the other end of town, to restock some of the things I've used up while I've been here, hit Sobey's to restock as well, then came home...it was a long day, but a good one. 

I went to Riverdance Wednesday afternoon, woohoo! Did you know, if you call the box office (The Canon Theatre/Mirvish productions) the morning of the show there's a good chance you can get a cheap seat...it only cost me $20. Yes, I was in the very last row, on a stool no less, but it didn't matter, the show was great and the seats in front of me stayed empty so I, along with the two women on either side of me, moved down at intermission and enjoyed the rest of the show a little more comfortably...and we weren't the only ones, it was like musical chairs in there lol! 

Today I checked out the Farmer's Market at Sherway Gardens, (it's a mall), set the GPS and found another scrapbook store I wanted to check out before I went home. The store is called Scrapalicious and it's yet another great store, (they're online too). I did find some of their things a little pricier, but others weren't too bad, and I enjoyed chatting with the employees, not to mention other customers. Christine, if you read this, I think I've sent yet another soul to Scraptime.

You know the swan I mentioned in an earlier post, that had been nesting since I arrived in Toronto on the sixth? Well as of Tuesday, the nest is vacant. I see a couple of swans in the pond that seem to stick around, I'm hoping I'll get a glimpse of some babies before I go home...which is only two days away (well maybe three). I can't believe the month is over all ready! 

Anyway, as I've said, I've stayed busy. Now I need to go and get busy at some other things, like starting to pack and such, blah! Besides, I think I've already written a mine novel. Have a fantastic weekend!

I DID IT!

I finally worked up the courage to get on the streetcar and head downtown. This past weekend was Doors Open Toronto, 175 venues opened their doors to the public...for free. I decided now was the time to be brave, and take part. I managed to take in Lambton House, which used to be a "mid-point stagecoach stop on the Dundas Highway" built by Father of Confederation Sir William P. Howland  in 1848 (I got all my info from the Toronto website); and Montgomery's Inn, which is considered to be "one of the finest examples of Loyalist or late Georgian architecture in Ontario", on Saturday by car. Sunday I had lofty goals to visit quite a few places in the downtown area, but I only managed Allan Gardens, "the most intact, longest operating grouping of historic buildings and grounds in Canada devoted to the cultivation and display of palms and tropicals". For this journey, I took the street car to Younge intending to walk up to the Canon Theatre (which was another stop on my list), but they were already closed as they had performances later that day. So I hopped on the Subway up to College st., got a little turned around coming out of the station decided to sit and eat my apple, a couple of poor homeless men thought I might be of assistance and took up residence beside me (I left shortly after, after exchanging a few pleasantries). I walked a little piece up college/Carleton, hopped on another streetcar to Jarvis (which I later realized I could have walked, but I chatted with a couple of nice ladies waiting for the car, so I was glad I didn't) and I was there. It was awesome! Unfortunately, being the way I am, I was already warm from the walking I had already done (for those that know me, you know my little furnace within), so going into a greenhouse on a warm day didn't help matters. I did manage to get quite a few pictures though. It was a fantastic day, even though I didn't take in as much as I would have liked, it was enough. Here are some of the pictures I took (I took 211 pics over 2 days) Blogger isn't cooperating very well. I'm having a hard time uploading the pictures I want, but here are some.

These first few are at Montgomery's Inn

behind the bar

the bar

the kitchen (cooking with coles from an open fire)

These next ones are from Lambton house

behind this pane of plexiglass, shows the layers of the wall. The 19th century lathing, the original grey coat plaster (including the horse hair binder), the skim coat of 19th century gypsum board and the progressive layers of paint.

this is a photo of a photo of the Lambton House back in the day

upstairs hallway

I may try to upload some more later. I haven't even gotten to the Allan Garden photos. 

Well, I'm off to get ready for a workshop at the Apple store at Sherway gardens. Have a great day.

You are NOT here!

Note to self, just because you look at the "you are here" map, (it didn't actually say that, but you get the idea) doesn't mean you should stop paying attention...especially on the way back. Getting lost doesn't seem to be the problem, it's the getting back (I bet you can see where this is going). So today I decided, in my infinite wisdom, to drive to another area of High Park (the dog has had knee problems and can only walk so far), for a change of scenery. This mornings walk went off without a hitch, we walked, we came back. This evening though, was a different story. Keep in mind this park is 399 acres, one third of which remains in a natural state...think bush. I parked the car in the same spot as I did this morning, but decided to venture a little further tonight, oops! Apparently there was a mergence of roads that I failed to notice on the way in, and took the wrong fork on the way back. Lyla and I ended up two roads east of where we wanted to be. On the upside I got to see the Zoo, (yup, the park has a little zoo within it, llama's, bison, yaks, peacocks etc.), which I had been curious about after seeing the sign and a stairway down to a different area. All in all, our 40 minute walk turned into 80, but that's okay, I don't think Lyla is any the worse for wear...me either for that matter. Oh wait, I did twist my ankle when we were two curves in the road away from the car....did I ever mention I'm accident prone. I bet I'm the only person you may have heard of who has sprained both ankles at the same time...but, that's another story! I don't think the ankle is too bad yet, but I should probably get off of here and go put it up...lazyboy here I come. I hope I've entertained you with my adventures. Have a good night :)

The things you stumble upon

I just found out that the Apple store (the computer, not the fruit), offers free hands on workshops, I've just signed up for two, there is a third one I'd like, but it's at the same time on Monday as one of the others I'm taking. The two workshops I've registered for are at the west mall, the one I'd like is at the Eaton Centre. I also didn't realize that the Rideau Centre in Ottawa has an Apple store. I don't know if it's a good thing or not that I now know this ;). I also see that there are job openings at the store in the Rideau Centre. I'd need to find out exactly what the job titles, like genius, personal shopping specialist and concierge mean. I would love to work in the Apple store, just not sure if it would pay the bills. 

Well, I think it's about time I got off this thing. I started out checking e-mail...how did I get to workshop registering, and job hunting?? By for now and have a great day!

Do you still see what I see?

So, last night I'm minding my own business...wait, anyone else experiencing some deja vu here (sp?)? Yes there were more fireworks last night...lots more. Every direction you looked in the city (there's 180 degree view here, sweet) there were fireworks going off. It was pretty cool. That was pretty much my excitement for the night. It's funny how much more boring I become, when I don't have money to go out and do fun stuff lmbo ;) 

Oh yes, I had seen this crane a few days ago (without my camera of course). I managed to get a picture a couple days later.

These are (some) the fireworks from last night

This last picture didn't quite turn out, but I thought it looked pretty neat anyway...at least on the computer desktop :)

Today I need to vacuum, woow, exciting! Seriously, I don't figure I'll do much. I've been enjoying some relaxing days, scrapbooking and watching some movies, (on demand tv is great!), that I'd intended to watch and never got around to. When I'm scrapbooking I kind of like having some mindless television going on, just to keep me company. When I get my craft room set up, I plan on having my computer on my main work table. That way I can watch different craft videos online, or even past episodes of shows I've missed. I can't wait!  

Hope I'm not like the relative showing tons of boring pictures of their holiday and you're enjoying what I've seen...I suppose you wouldn't keep coming back if I was too bad, right? 

Have a great day, and feel free to leave me a comment

Do you see what I see?

So, last night I'm minding my own business watching the Survivor finale (which I was pleased with...even though I'm starting to wonder if there's some sort of Brokeback Survivor going on lol), and out the window I see this:

Oooooooo

Oooohhhhhh

Ahhhhhhh

Eeeeeee (I ran out of expressions ;0)

I think I may have had the best seat in the house...in a lazyboy in the living room. Actually, I set up my mini tripod in Lee and Pauline's room...but I was in a Lazyboy in the living room when they first started. I even got almost another page done today...it seems I may be on a roll. 

I hope everyone had a great long weekend!

The view from here

I should have posted yesterday, as I've taken lots of pictures I'd love to share, but...maybe over the next day or two. I found the goslings, along with a few other things, here they are:

I just caught this guy as he was taking off.

This fellow was coming in for a landing, he got behind the bushes before I was able to snap the shot.

These little fellows have already grown a lot since I first saw them.

This is from Lee and Pauline's window

Just another pretty bud, you can even see a bug on the far side of the bud in the foreground.

I do believe this fellow was vougueing, (<--I don't think that's quite a word, but it works), for me

Yesterday, after another nice walk, (albeit a little wet), in the morning, I decided to go to the third weekend of the Festival of Chefs at The Cheese Boutique. I've never liked lamb, but chef John Higgins did some sort of pulled lamb with caramelized onions, on a baguette, (I'll check the Boutique's blog later to see if it's posted yet, and get back to you with better details). Oh my goodness, was it ever good! I didn't try the wine this time, as they were temporarily out of glasses (imagine)! I'm sure it was a lovely wine, I guess I'll just never know lol.

Before I headed to The Boutique, I thought I'd check a couple of the crafty type blogs/sites I follow, and stumbled across a thread in a forum discussing where to by copics...preferably cheap. Now, I had heard of Curry's before (again from Christine at www.scraptime.ca) and had checked out their website when I was at home. Little did I know, there is a Curry's hardly 10 minutes away from here (I'm still at my brother's in Toronto), oh joy! I headed to Curry's to pick up a couple more Copic markers, which I did only get a couple, (man I hate budgeting), but I will definitely be stopping in again before I go home! I made a quick stop at the Boutique, and Sobey's then it was home to play (scrapbook). Today I may just scrap some more since I actually got a page done yesterday (notoriously slow scrapper here). I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their long weekend. Oh, and does anyone know if the Sunday of the May 24 weekend (today), is national "I better get out and start jogging again" day, or something. Holy cow! there were joggers everywhere! Many were in packs!

p.s. I think I ended up showing most of the better pics I got, so you'll have to stay tuned to see if I get anymore.

Not always as planned

So, yesterday I didn't end up going to Walmart (I did get showered though hehe). I did, however, go a different route while walking the dog. Usually I walk Lyla in High Park, it's beautiful, but yesterday I took her to the beach and walked along the boardwalk, it was a nice change.

This morning I did take Lyla back to High Park, but this time I brought my camera. Here are some of the things Lyla and I saw along the way.

This swan has been nesting in this same spot since I arrived in Toronto 10 days ago, she hasn't moved.

I love the colour of these buds, I don't know what kind of tree/bush it is but it's very pretty

The colours don't seem to show up as well on here, but this tree was great as well.

And of course there are the ducks and geese. I saw some gosslings earlier in the week, but not today. Hopefully they will be around next time I bring my camera (which I should do every day)

As for the rest of my day, I'm not sure what I'll do. I know if I go to Walmart, or any other store for that matter, I'll just be tempted to spend money I shouldn't. So I'm trying to be good and stick around. Tomorrow and Sunday there will be another chef at the Cheese Boutique, I can check that out for free. 

I'm off to occupy myself with something else...just don't know what yet ;)

Lazy, rainy day in...or not

My title was just going to be "Lazy, rainy day in", but half way through typing I though "I think I'll go to Walmart and print some of my pictures to scrapbook. Great day to be inside creating don't ya think? 

I had a great visit with Mary, Nicole and Cody on Tuesday. We went to the Mandarin for supper. It was fantastic! I don't think I've ever have more attentive service in my life. You would no sooner take a sip of your water than someone was there filling up your glass. The food was awesome too, so much to choose from, so little stomach room (more than I'd like thought lol). 

Cody kept us entertained with the wii fit. Apparently this 13 year olds Wii fit age is 27 LOL. I really enjoyed getting to know them a little better, hopefully it won't be too long before we get to visit again. 

I guess today's post will be short and sweet, I'm off to get showered and head to Walmart. Have a great day!

Family visit

Today I'm expecting company. My cousin Mary (Mom's niece), her daughter Nicole and grandson Cody are coming to Toronto, as Cody has an appointment at Sick Kids. We're going to go out for supper, and they're spending the night. It'll be nice to chat and get to know each other better, (we don't live all that close). So I'm off to Walmart, the grocery store and, if I have time, a quick run in to Scrapbooks by design. I was trying to get some layouts done last night and kept needing one thing or another for the pages I was working on, what a dilema hehe! I'm off to get in the shower, have a great day!

Cheese please

Okay, so I went to the Festival of Chefs and am I ever glad I did. Now, I know I'm not going to remember this exactly (maybe not even close), but here goes, I had a poached (organic) duck egg covered with a bernaise (I think) sauce made with real Quebec Gruyere (maybe, I know it was from Quebec anyway), this sat atop poached asparagus with a balsamic vinegar, which sat atop a buckwheat pancake that encircled a fiddlehead. This treat came from chef Anne Yarymowich from Frank at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Malivoire Wine Company was there as well offering tastings, the gentleman behind the counter recommended the chardonnay to go with my egg thingy (I'm sure it had a name but I don't know what it was), I loved it! And I don't usually like chardonnay. I'd never heard of Malivoire wine before, but I'll buy it now (well probably not often at $20 a bottle, I just checked their website). You know the best part about this whole thing? It didn't cost me a cent...until I looked around the store a bit and bought a croissant and two spring rolls for later. Regardless, it was an experience that I just might repeat next weekend, Chef John Higgins from George Brown chef school is there Saturday. Ryan Gustafson from Epic at the Fairmont Royal York will be there Sunday. If I can find enough of these types of things, I may not have to buy anymore groceries for the duration of my stay ;)

Today (May 15) I found a pic of the dish I had courtesy of www.cheeseboutique.blogspot.com

p.s. also found out today (may 15) it was a wild ramp holandaise sauce...very good!

Where everybody doesn't know your name

You know, I've been totally enjoying just being another face in the crowd in Toronto. I don't have to struggle with small talk, (which I'm not good at), if I bump into an acquaintance; I can just run to the store and back without getting sidetracked with chatting with friends I run into, (not that that's a bad thing, but sometimes you just want to run to the store and back); I also don't have the phone ringing off the hook, which it seems to do a lot at home. I guess you don't always want to be "where everybody knows your name" ;). It's hasn't even been a week though, so that might change.

Here are the cards I made yesterday at Scrapbooks by Design:

Our teacher was Christine Urias from www.scraptime.ca, you can catch her podcasts on itunes under the same name. She's an amazing talent, very inspiring. 

I got to use my first Copic markers  and fell in love with them! Five were included in the class and I bought 3 more, woohoo!

On this first card we did some basic colouring of the cupcake with the Copics.

On the next card Christine showed us how to shade by blending different shades of the same colour (I added the party hat after I got home)

Finally, Christine showed us how to blend two different colours together. This technique was a little tricky, well for me anyway, but the effect is pretty cool!

                                                            

 Well, I finally managed to upload some pictures, another challenge I must say. I think I may head over to The Cheese Boutique today, awesome little gourmet shop with all sorts of neat stuff. The month of May the Boutique holds the "Festival of Chefs" every Saturday and Sunday, yesterday was Massimo Capra from Mistura, today is Anne Yarymowich from Frank, should be interesting. Have a great Sunday, oh, and happy Mother's Day to all!!

Okay, so I'm back...at least for now. I arrived in Toronto Tuesday afternoon, took my brother and his wife to the airport yesterday, and now, I have all the time in the world. I'm hoping to get some scrapbooking done while I'm here, I'm even signed up for a class at Scrapbooks by Design on Saturday. Christine Urias from scraptime is teaching the class. I highly recommend checking her videos out (for those of you with itunes, she does a scraptime podcast too). Christine is a very talented lady and showcases lots of different products and techniques, I can't wait until Saturday, *rubbing hands excitedly*! I started to upload a card I made for the Unity birthday challenge last week, but I goofed and ended up losing my post all together. I may try uploading again if I actually get anything done ;0

Well I think I'm going to go hop in the shower, then head out this morning. Bye for now.

Quick hello

Just a quick hello. I'm off to Toronto shortly and have to finish packing. I had a great weekend with Jen & Lindsay at the trailer, we just relaxed and enjoyed. Saw some friends at the campground too, it was great. I better get going as I want to be on the road between 9 and 10, and I still have a few things left to do...like get showered LOL.

Found it!

Look what I found, I thought I lost this post, but found it in my drafts (I didn't know where to find my drafts until today May 15). Here goes:

Today will be short and sweet, I'm heading back to Ottawa again, (I snuck into the city to The Scrapbox yesterday hehe), boy the things you'll do when you're just looking to get out of the house. I did make a card last night. Unity Stamp Company is celebrating their one year anniversary and I thought I'd try to participate in one of their online challenges. Here's the card:

p.s. I didn't win the challenge, by the way. I enjoyed making the card just the same.