No more Boris the Mover

Yes, I have call display and would not give it up. It saves me from discussing why I will not make donations over the phone; solutions to save me money- charge me less- I am not interested in bundling and adding to my list of services; explaining that I am not moving;I do not need a security service- my neighbours are very good-the best security you could ask for. If I receive a call with with Private name, private number- I do not answer- too many times when I have answered out of curiosity, I have discovered that it is group seeking donations or offering services that I have not requested or want. I do make donations but not over the phone, mail the information which yes costs money but having someone call many disinterested people also costs money.

As of today, we are not supposed to receive calls from telemarketers but I wonder this practise will be stopped when we do not know where they are calling from? Even the companies that are on the okay list do not display their phone numbers- interesting.

I must admit I will miss Boris and Janez' calls. There was a regularity to their calls asking if I wanted to book a mover for an impending move- I can not imagine moving until I tackle my extra things. Yes, working on my blog is one way of avoiding that problem.

It will be interesting to find out how effective this legislation is. Already many telemarketers, charities and even Bell telephone block their information. How will we know who is bothering us without phone numbers?

Good by Boris.

Boston Legal!

I don't often watch TV but one of my favourite shows is Boston Legal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_LegalDespite the fact that the main characters are flawed like most of us, they manage to tackle some very serious issues head on. Last night was one that featured a number of serious issues- private prisons and what incredible money makers they-one important point among many was that it is in the interest of these prisons to have prisoners re offend so that the prisons are ful and profitablel. The figures quoted about how many people especially people of colour are in prisons in the United States is staggering. If the quotes are correct, the United States has more people per capita in prison than any other nation in the world. What does that say about the United States?!

Another topic was the drug industry. James Spader who brilliantly wins cases with his facts and arguments had just won a judgement against the tobacco industry and now is going to take on the drug industry which according to his statements is poorly regulated by the FDA unlike the tobacco industry. His statements about the drug industry's research and studies was definitely food for thought.

John Laroquette argued for younger people to have the vote since it is their world that so called wiser elders are destroying economically- this show is very current, environmentally, politically and socially. Very interesting points- he makes the point that many Americans do not have a high school education but have the right to vote while much better educated teenagers do not have a say and yet pay taxes because they are income earners. This is taxation without representation.

I was saddened to learn that this will be last season for the show unless it does well at the Emmy's next season. Watch this show if you would like your social, economic and political commentary with a touch of humour and silliness.

Wii for seniors!

Some of my friends know that I do not usually indulge in computer games however I might rethink that since someday I might be asked to play them instead getting out a bingo dabber. It seems that seniors are playing Wii and there are now Wii senior olympics.

Several residents at the Yorkview Lifecare Centre in North York gathered near a large flat-screen television yesterday morning, as a petite, smiling woman swung a Nintendo Wii video game controller, making a bowling motion along the side of her wheelchair, and watched as a bowling ball cut across the television screeen and knocked all 10 pins down with a resounding crash.

"I did it," Catherine Mole exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air as five competitors, all wearing matching blue t-shirts, joined in the celebration. She eventually scored 134 points.

Yorkview Lifecare Centre is one of the 10 Lifecare Group retirement centres and long-term care facilities participating in the event, touted as the first-ever video game competition for seniors. More than 500 residents from the community will participate in the week long event, testing their skills at Wii bowling, tennis and golf and competing for the unofficial title of Wiilympic Champion.

As one of the residents said"Wii gives you a reason to get up in the morning and get going". Perhaps, I will have to rethink computer games. So far, I can get up and play real tennis but nice to know that there will be an alternative. The Mayo clinic endorses the concept behind Wii-that's good enough for me! No more bingo!

Paul Newman

Yesterday, one of Hollywood's great actors passed away. When asked about the secret of his success he would comment that it was luck. He was a wonderful actor but understood that success sometimes comes down to being in the right place at the right time. There are many actors who could achieve success if the right combination of events happened.

Newman did not sit back and enjoy his success, he started a Paul Newman's own salad dressing company which funded his Hole in the Wall camps for children with cancer in most cases.

He will be missed and his wife, Joanne Woodward must miss him after their long marriage. They were a perfect couple.

http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&q=Paul+Newman&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=news_group&resnum=1&ct=title

Karl Marx and the current economic debacle!

It is fascinating watching the wheels spin and fall off the United States economy. The tragedy is that Canada will be affected by this situation.

Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes and George Soros, predicted these kinds of situations because Capitalism is inherently unstable! It is an economic system that can be ruthlessly productive but is also one of wheels within wheels-internal contradictions Marx called the-that can and regularly do, spin out of control. How many people study the first two thinkers? Most are too busy getting MBA's or degrees in Engineering and science in order to make the big bucks.

Marx, a German philosopher, saw these contradictions as opportunities, he figured that capitalism's self-destruction would lead to a better world. That would be nice but has not happend so far. Did not work after the great depression. We had WW II and then things settled down for awhile and the prosperity of the past few decades allowed everyone to become very complacent and watch let the heads of economic institutions line their pockets at the expense of others not so fortunate.

Keynes, a British economist saw the problems and felt that they could destroy the world he rather liked. The welfare state edifice that bears his name was designed in the post-1945 period to literally save capitalism from itself.

Banks would be regulated to keep financiers from scamming the economy to the ground. Labour unions would be encouraged, in order to give workers a stake in the status quo and inoculate them against radical politics.

The rich would agree to government tax-and-spend politics knowing that-in the end-it's always better to feed the poor than have them slit your throat.

Unfortunately, the leaders of the Capitalist nations under Regan, Thatcher and Bushes forgot or ignored these lessons and now we are in a serious mess. European countries that did not buy into this capitalist philosophy and accepted that we must look after everyone are now watching this debacle in amazement and able to point their fingers and say maybe a serious lesson has been taught. Let us hope that the 1930s are not here again.

Florence Moosengale

In my last entry, I mentioned the Moose project that Toronto held a couple years ago. As I mentioned, the moose were auctioned off after the event. One of my favourite wasFlorence Moosengale. The owners have a wonderful time with it. Right now the moose is decorated as Mary with her little lamb and they have gone to school. Soon the moose will be decorated for Thanksgiving and the Halloween. At Christmas, the moose sends out cards with pictures of the costumes from the past year. The imagination that goes into the costumes is wonderful. Apparently, a young boy who was quite ill loved to sit by the moose and rest when he was in the area. I enjoy seeing the moose when I drive by. The photo on the website does not do it justice. I will have to go by and take a picture to post.

Reigning Cats and Dogs

A number of years ago, Mayor Lastman (he is now retired to help run Badboy stores with his son) had the wonderful idea of having moose sculptures decorated by artists and placed around the city. The moose were eventually auctioned off and some of them can still be seen around the city.

We are trying to decide where to go for a short vacation this fall and one of our ideas is the Hudson Valley. Should be beautiful in the fall. Just received my first brochures today and one was a flyer for a public art exhibition It's Reigning Cats and Dogs http://cat-n-around.com/artists08.html in the Hudson Valley and Catskills. Hope that some of these wonderful sculptures are still on display when we get there.

If you go to the website http://www.catskillscatsandhudsonhounds.com/ you can see the 62 cat sculptures and I did not bother to count the hounds but the creativity of the artists is quite delightful.

Virtues of business vs. Non-profits

I hope that this financial crisis will lay to rest the arguments that constantly swirl around that if the non-profit sector and public sector functioned like business we would all be better off. I have some names to mention in response: Enron, Worldcom, Leahman Brothers, S&NL's and the list could go on. There are a number of companies in serious trouble right now and we will all be affected by their greed and arrogance.

Wonderful quote this week from one of the founders of the United States (Thomas Jefferson if I remember correctly). He said that if men were angels, we would not need rules to protect us but since they are not angels rules are needed. Unfortunately, leaders have ignored the possibility of corruption and greed and relaxed rules and laws.

Earlier this week, an American politician commented that one of the problems that helped cause the incredible financial crisis is that people can no longer afford to buy decent housing. The jobs that average person has does not provide the income necessary to purchase housing. Maybe, now politicians and economists will stop praising companies like Walmart which has become an economic behemoth praised by too many for its low prices while it pays its employees minimum wages and rarely offers a 40 hour work week. It is not possible to buy housing under these conditions. Walmart despite the fact it asks people to support America purchases most of its products off shore. It is time to examine what companies are doing the real impact that their policies have on the economies of the world and individual companies.

I can honestly say that it is rare for non-profits and public sector organizations to treat their employees and others in such a cavalier fashion and cause such chaos.

Greek Mythology

I am at school preparing to teach my music classes. One of the works that I will introduce to the class is The Hounds of Spring by Alfred Reed. This work is supposed to by a musical picture of young love based on Algernon Swinburne's poem from Atalanta in Calydon. Swinburne's poetry is based on the legends of Thrace, ancient Greece and the legends of Troy told to us in the poetry of Homer, the Illiad and the Odyssey.
Unfortunately, it would seem that the programme notes got it wrong. Itylus who is mentioned in the first verse was killed by the nightingale who was his mother. She was envious of her sister-in-law who had six children. She planned to kill the eldest but accidentally killed her own son, Itylus. Her grief was so great that Zeus turned her into a nightingale.
This is one of the many reasons that we need to study the poetry and legends of the ancients.

Appendix

It is hard to spend time blogging when the weather is wonderful We are having one of the nicest falls that I can remember. Went for a walk by the lake this morning and generally the day.
Finally, getting to the blog just before rushing out to rehearse with my octet, Otteto Proscuitto. We are busy getting ready for a performance.

What I discovered of interest is that contrary to this article: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_is_your_appendix, your appendix does serve a purpose. A research team at Duke University has discovered that our much-maligned appendix has a honourable function in our digestive system. The appendix is a storehouse for the good bacteria we need in our intestines to process the food we eat. Its job is replenish our supply of bacteria if we suffer from serious diseases, like dysentery or cholera, which can remove all our good bacteria. The appendix's job is to insert the needed bacteria back into the system so we can process food. So the appendix is not useless. Wow.
Must be a great deal more that we still need to learn about our bodies. What an impressive system!

David and Jean Eadie

This past Saturday, I travelled to Kleinburg for a gathering to say good-bye to two people who I came to know because of my work with the McMichael Gallery. They are two kind people who have been devoted to doing good in the world.
I first met Jean Eadie at her lovely home which was a showcase for David Eadie's woodworking. What a welcoming and charming home! I was pleased to find out that the door that he had carved has found a home in Ottawa at their daughter Marilyn's home. (Wish that I had taken a picture.) It was too precious to lose.
Often after gathering to honour people and say good-bye to them I am struck by the fact that many people who do a great deal for others just quietly go about their business doing what needs to be done without a great deal of fanfare.
David and Jean Eadie were such a couple. In 2002, David received the Order of Canada which was presented in Vancouver for the first time but Jean was very much part of their team, making sure that he could do his good works and willing travelled around the world with him.
What a privilege it has been to know them.

David Henry Eadie, C.M.Kleinburg, Ont.
He has dedicated his life to bringing humanitarian relief to the world's disadvantaged. He is a master woodworker and has been a volunteer technical advisor with the Canadian Hunger Foundation, the Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO) and the United Church. He introduced new technology and techniques which are fostering self-sufficiency among indigenous peoples in Asia, Europe and the Americas. Using his extensive background in sawmilling and furniture manufacturing, he finds practical solutions to local problems. His ingenuity became the cornerstone for many successful aid projects in Canada and abroad.

This is a photo of Jean Eadie (on the right) after she won this quilt at the 2006 Binder Twine Festival, a festival that David and Jean were very involved in over the years.

Al Fresco dining

Now that we are getting closer winter, (it is officially autumn today), it is imperative to enjoy these last glorious days out doors. If you do not have a cottage, the Danforth or Greek Town as it is now known as is the perfect place to sit on a patio and enjoy the last warm days. http://www.yellow-net.com/greek-town-toronto-greektown-danforth/

Pappas Grill is the restaurant that you could see from the window of the travel agency in the movie My Greek Wedding. Many tourists came to the Danforth just to eat at the restaurant from the movie.

Yesterday, we made the trek over to the Danforth after working hard all day, doing chores and clearing up the garden. The thought of sitting outdoors was too enticing to resist. The Beach is a nice place to visit but the parking can be frustrating on a weekend. The Danforth is still buzzing after midnight and that is extraordinary in Toronto where the only other area that I know that is busy late at night is the club area south of Queen Street. I know this because a couple years ago, I dropped someone off at a downtown hotel after a wedding and made my way home by crossing Adelaide. What a surprise! The quiet street that I was used to in the daytime was teaming with people waiting to be admitted to clubs or just socializing with friends while deciding where to go next.

The Danforth is also a family place where people gather in groups celebrating special events. All generations can be seen at the many restaurants in the area which is concentrated in the blocks from Broadview to Pape. In the 50's, I remember it as a place where my grandmother took us for German pastries. Guess those bakeries all moved away. I do miss a good pastry shop, donut shops are not the same.

If you have a chance to visit the Danforth try to do it while the weather is warm enough for a meal on a patio.

I have fond memories of going to mass at the church pictured at the right. My aunt sang in the choir at this church. We attended a number of services, the best was always Christmas eve.

Breakfast is most important!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and apparently the fast food industry has noticed. Breakfast accounts for an estimated uS$40 billian in annual sales in the U.S. according to Technomic, a market research firm in Chicago, and "60 per cent of the business has been cornered by fast-food companies", says president Ron Paul. He predicts up to eight per cent annual growth, which amounts to a whopping $3 billion a year in new business as more players realize the value of adding breakfast options to the menu. (This information comes from an article that was in Macleans Magazine- not sure why there aren't any Canadian figures. Is our market so small that it is not worth studying?)

Until recently, most fast-food chains were focused on lunch and dinner, and coffee shops were stuck on serving donuts and muffins. McDonald's has dominated the morning market for 3 decades. Starbucks is introducing upscale breakfast sandwiches. Taco Bell has the breakfast burrito. Each chain is adding something.

Apparently more people are grabbing their breakfast after they leave home. How do they do it? I must eat my breakfast; it is my most important meal of the day and I want it as soon as I get up and get down stairs. The idea of driving somewhere and grabbing a mcmuffin which does not fill me up is not appealing. I need at least two mcmuffins to feel that I had breakfast. How hard is it to make breakfast? Some cereal, fruit, toast, yogurt? Wonder if the economic crisis will change people's eating habits?

Favourite bookstore

Life has been busy: started the day with a quick round of tennis (Need to make sure that I am getting exercise. I am very aware that life is going to rev up in the next few months and many demands will be made on my time and it is possible to get worn down physically and emotionally- need to be careful.) After a fun round of tennis, jumped into the car and visited the hospital to talk to a social worker, case worker and visit my dear friend Charlie who celebrated his 97th birthday on September 5 while in the hospital and now is experiencing serious health issues. His spirits are still good and I am happy to help in any way that I can. From the hospital, I drove to Olive's ( Charlie's wife and mother of a friend who I have known since I was 12 years old- yes a very long time.) Donna is in France so I am her substitute in many ways- thank goodness for e-mail so I can keep her updated on things. Phone and mail are good too. I did some errands for Olive and let her know about next week's appointments. Then, it was time to dash home, head downtown to the University of Toronto to pick up transcripts which Michael needs. ( I will not go into the problems that were encountered trying to arrange for these pieces of paper.)

After this, it was time to relax- first I went to my favourite bagel place, the Harbord bakery and I know that we could debate which ones are best and have but I love the tradition of it and knowing that it has been there since the 1930's. During the 1960's, I remember looking out the car window as we drove to see family friends who lived in what is now the more respectable south Annex and just two blocks from Mirvish Village. No such cache at the time. This was when I was very young not even in my teens. Nice memories of another time.

Then, time to head home- cash a cheque from last night's trio performance which went really well. And then to the point of the post- I needed a fix- headed to one of my favourite independent book stores: http://www.sleuthofbakerstreet.com/ . I knew that I would not be let down. I asked one of the owners if she could help me. I reminded her that I enjoy the Maggie Sefton and Monica Ferris series of books both involve stores with fibre, the Goldy series with a caterer in Colorado, and a couple others. She suggested Feint of Art by Hailey Lind- about an artist in San Francisco- love stories that take place in San Francisco.

( I will report about the book once I have read it. Hope that it is good because there are three books in the series so far.)

If you ever have an occasion to visit the Sleuth, you will be delighted. It is a real book store with knowledgeable owners who love mysteries and have shelves and tables filled to brim with books. The store also brings in authors for signings. Hope to get to one, one of these days.

And yes the store has a resident cat which I think all proper book stores should have.

The Necklace

Just read about The Necklace:http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Story?id=5783467&page=1 which is about a diamond necklace that has a wonderful history and is actually doing good. I am not a person who will ever be known for expensive jewellery. If quirky is good then that's me. Jonell McLain went into a store in Ventura and out of character tried on a $37,000 diamond necklace. She was an 60 year old, real estate agent who describes herself as a hippy and not a jewellery lover. When she tried on the necklace, it was beautiful and she had to have it but could not defend owning it herself. She launched a project which involves 13 women owning and sharing the necklace. Each woman has the necklace for 28 days during the year. The group calls itself Jewelia and aims to do good in the community and the necklace is the catalyst for their camaraderie and projects.
McLain had learned from a lecture by Buckminster Fuller, designer of the Geodesic domes that if we share there is enough to go around. A wonderful philosophy that Jewelia is trying to put into practise.

Olden Days and the environment

One of my former students just called me and interviewed me asking questions about what it was like when I was her age. She was focusing on pollution and the environment: physical and social. I explained that some of the issues that are of importance now then did not exist then. The environment was not the buzz word that it is now. We used paper bags for groceries-( I had a conversation with my 90 year old friend on Friday about bags. We tried to remember what we did with garbage before plastic bags. I actually remember clearly: we took out garbage every night after dishes- and no we did not have a dish washer- we did them- still do- before the bag could get wet from fruit and vegetable scraps. We did not compost in those days.) We did not drink water from a plastic bottle. The meat my mother bought from the German butcher (which is still open after 40 years!) was wrapped in butcher's paper. Fast food outlets were about to emerge: I remember that a donut shop opened in the area in the late 60's, KFC opened then too. I have a feeling if we did a survey of these institutions they were founded in the 60's and 70's. Tim Hortons started in the late 60's or early 70's. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring was a warning that was published in the 60's but it was not considered as important as it is now. Most pollution came from industry and I remember that a river in the Midwest actually burst into flame from the oil and pollutants that were on the surface. That was a real wake up.

I will tell you about milk being delivered by horse and carriage when I was young- I lived in the city. A black smith had a shop on my street. Water fountains were often at one of a horse trough.
The world has changed since I was young and very rapidly. Some of it has been good but there are some things we need to rethink but that has always been the case.

Mushroom Studio

This is definitely on my list of things to go and see. The Mushroom Studio: http://www.torontosculpturegarden.com/currentexhibit.htm.

I love the creativity of others. I wish that I could achieve at least half of what they do. I often look at magazines searching for ideas for the perfect work and office space. This one does not quite fit the bill but it certainly shows the kind of imagination that I admire. I could see myself working in this space catching up on paper work and preparing the cards that I make and or send. Might even get inspired to do some of the water colour painting that I keep promising my self that I will do.

I will keep looking for the perfect work space. Martha certainly gives me ideas on how to organize my space.

Organizing

Michael and I are power of attorney for a number of people and I am certainly learning the hard way that it is important to get your documents organized. I am trying to help with some one's affairs and must admit it is hard when I don't know where to find the appropriate documents. I am sure that the person involved once knew but once several strokes take over knowledge about these things is lost.

My plan is to have things organized before Christmas. I plan to live for many years: going to exercise, do crosswords, play my instruments: all the things that help keep a person mentally and physically healthy. However, if something should happen I do not want someone to have to search for the documents and records that they need to make things happen and clear up my affairs. It is interesting that we think that we are well organized but I must admit that things are not even ready here and I am known by some people as a well organized person. Wow, how bad is it for others. Don't ask I already know!

Now, you have some idea why I have not been on the blog for a couple days. Many documents to look for.

Time to practise my bassoon and then start getting some more papers organized. This is a lessona and probably an exercise to help remind what things I need to do.

Vimy Circle?

Those of us who observe the many plans for Toronto that keep getting deferred need to be reminded that as Derek Hayes' Historical Atlas of Toronto shows us Toronto once had grand plans for the downtown area. We were going to build Vimy Circle which would have rivaled some of the grand centres of major cities of the world. Passchendaele Rd, Cambrai Avenue and St. Julien Place would have been routes that we would have travelled and recognized. Unfortunately the economic downturn of 1929 put all these plans to an end and Hayes books reminds us of what could have been.


(This entry was about to be posted earlier in the week and was actually finished, the publish post button was about to be hit and a transformer blew and so did the power! I am back now.)

Roger Tory Peterson

Many years ago, a number of us would go out with bird books and travel to places like Point Pelee to see the migrating birds. The book that most of us would carry was the Roger Tory Peterson Field Guide to Birds. There may be other books but this seemed to be the book of choice.

His son Lee Allen Peterson has reissued the 1934 Peterson Field Guide. The book has adapted to technological change and has links to the website petersonfieldguides.com, with podcasts on a number of topics of particular interest to novices.

I love seeing birds, not the act of climbing everywhere to find but seeing and hearing them. The other day, I was sitting in a friend's sun room and a pair of downy woodpeckers were flying around the trees not more than twenty feet away, stopping to peck for food sometimes both of them on opposite sides of the same branch. It was an awesome sight and almost convinced me that I should have a similar sun room so that I can watch the birds all year. Right now the bird that seems to visit my backyard probably in search of the unroasted peanuts that I have been offering the birds is a blue jay or two. I can hear the cardinals and sometimes see them. They have been nesting in our area for many years.

Birding is one small way to connect to nature and I do enjoy it although I am not very good at identifying most birds. Need to get my Peterson's out and use it more often.

(Interesting that the Peterson websites: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/peterson/rtp/biography.shtml do not include pictures of Roger Tory Peterson, instead pictures of birds.)

National Grandparents Day

Today is National Grandparents Day! http://www.grandparents-day.com/ Who knew. I didn't until my trio, the Taffanel Wind Ensemble http://www.taffanelwindensemble.blogspot.com/ was asked to play at a seniors' residence this afternoon. As some people know, I do the seniors' residence circuit and see many levels of care. Our seniors' deserve a great deal of respect and care and some places are very good about this and others are shameful. I will not name places but take good care when trying to find a home for your grandparents.

I am in the process of helping two seniors find a nursing home for one and a seniors' residence for the other. The waiting lists are long for both and as you can imagine for the ones with a good reputation very long. I was quoted 4 years for one nursing home. The one good thing about Ontario that I discovered this week is that people are not charged for their care while in hospital waiting for a facility that is able to serve their needs. In Nova Scotia, people are charged $30 a day for care in the hospital while waiting for a facility that is able to accept them after they have been stabilized and have been in the hospital for 30 days. It is almost better to pick a facility that has a long waiting list (which generally means that the facility is more desirable and put off the impending costs).

Things to think about.

World Record art

A friend of mine used to collective wine corks and make table tops with them. She would find this world record fascinating: Albanian artist, Saimir Strati, 42 has entered the Guiness Book of World Records for the third time, this time with a large mosaic table with bottle corks. http://www.mosaicart-sast.com/He used more than 200,000 corks in a mosaic of a man playing a guitar. "This work is dedicated to the Mediterranean spirit which is nourished by music, the sun and wine." he said. (Wonder if he bought the corks or asked friends to give him used corks like my friend used to do?)

Strati entered the Guiness records for the first time in 2006 with the world's largest portrait made of nails. The image of Leonardo do Vinci used more than 500,000 nails- that is a amazing amount of hammering to be done!

He followed that up a year later with a mosaic using toothpicks dedicated to Antonio Gaudi, the Spanish architect famous for Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Church.
http://mostinterestingblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/amazing-art-saimir-strati-what-people.html (You can view the process in a set of photos of the production of the previous world record breaking pieces.)

Wonder what medium he will choose to use next?

Chicago, the green city

What a wonderful mayor Chicago has! Mayor Richards Daley who continues to innovate and initiate projects that help the city. Mayor Richard Daley who loves trees has spawned a plan to revitalize the city economically by regenerating it environmentally. This greening of the city has worked!

Tourists can start their tour of environmentally friendly Chicago by visiting the Fairmont Hotel which promotes environmentally friendly practices. From the 19th floor-window of the hotel, tourists can see the gardens of green on the roof tops of Chicago. Starting with City Hall, the mayor has transformed Chicago's rooftops into something of sustainable beauty. Chicago has more than 186,000 square metres of sky-high gardens, more than all other U.S. cities combined. Along with their aesthetic benefits, green roofs make buildings several degrees cooler in summer and act as insulation in winter.

The largest green roof, perhaps in the world, belongs to the city's Millennium Park, a controversial project that ultimately resulted in 10 hectares of shrubs, trees, ground cover, perennials and more than blanket an underground garage and the Old Illinois Central Track. Today, the park attracts close to 4 million visitors annually.
http://www.millenniumpark.org/

Perhaps, Toronto can take a cue from these projects and improve the environment of the city and attract visitors. It would certainly be worth a try.

Sarah Polin

I could not hold back any longer. Sarah Polin for vice-president! What an incredible choice! As Diane Francis said in her column: Is McCain trying to suggest any woman will do, are they interchangeable? Sarah Polin is in the same league as a Hilary Clinton and Condeeliza Rice?

Sarah Polin who would be a heart beat away from the presidency, and with a president who is 72 and has serious health issues this needs to be considered, would also be the chair of the senate. Chairing PTA meetings does not cut it and the town she came from has a population that it the equivalent of some apartment buildings! Condo boards are responsible for as many or more people.

Sarah Polin is supposedly anit- oil; interesting since her husband has just taken a leave from the world's largest oil producer, BP.

Like Obama, I will leave the issue of her children alone but a member of the NRA? I guess McCain and the Republicans do not have a problem with a politician who chooses to be photographed on a bear rug of an animal that she shot.

As I said to some people who we met on the weekend, Leno, Letterman, Maher and others must be so grateful that this choice was made. They would not have dreamed this up on their own.

Martha Henry and Trojan Women

On the weekend, we had the privilege of seeing one of the great actors perform at the Stratford Festival: Martha Henry who we have had the opportunity to see in a variety of productions including one of Michael's favourites Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I don't understand why he likes it but am willing to attend performances of the play because he will come to some of my choices. Martha Henry performed the role of Hecuba in the Trojan Women.

It was an outstanding production. At the beginning, Poseidon and Athena make their entrance and discuss their plans for the Greeks who have just conquered Troy and now going to return to Athens and Sparta with the spoils of war. Athena looked like a Margaret Thatcher look-a-like; I don't think that was an accident. Martha Henry was the focus of the play, the tragic Queen who has lost all her sons most of her daughters and will be taken into slavery with the other Trojan women who have survived the slaughter of Troy after the Trojan horse is brought into Troy. Martha is able to convey emotion wordlessly and also the burden of what she has suffered emotionally and physically. Born in 1938, she is still a powerful actor on the stage.

I hope that we will be honoured with many more performances by Martha.

De Clutter

As a friend of mine who blogs is fond of saying "Thank you Martha". Today's project is to de-clutter! Very timely! If it wouldn't embarrass me too much, I would take a picture of the clutter that developed a couple years ago when our lives spun out of control with the death of both of my in-laws within 13 months. Their deaths had an added difficulty, besides the emotional and many things that needed to be taken care, we had to fly to Nova Scotia monthly for a year. Many things are left undone as you focus on what is most important at the time.

Now, that I truly am not working full-time and will supply teach when I have time, I will

de-clutter! I don't think that this will be accomplished in a month but I will make an effort to be picture ready by the new year.

There are still many things to deal with- publicity, music-practising and performing, writing, playing tennis, knitting- (I actually have a scarf to deliver for payment)-the list goes on.

I hope to have shelves organized like this:

Thank you farmers

After driving from Stratford to Goderich, I want to say thank you to the farmers who keep us in food. Sunday morning, after a hearty breakfast, we decided to explore a little. We have walked up and down the streets of main street Stratford many times and it was time for a change. We took highway 8, straight to Goderich. Aside from towns along the way, we were surrounded by farms with neat tidy homes and gardens. They certainly put some homes in the city to shame. Farming is not easy work, yet these people have well kept homes and gardens.

This year, the fields of corn looked like they had done extremely well. No scrawny stalks of corn, in most cases, the corn was taller than me. We had some Ontario corn on Friday and what a wonderful satisfy flavour. Must get more this week.

The towns of Seaforth, Clinton, Dublin and Mitchell looked like interesting towns to explore in the future. The architecture of another era had been preserved and now is recognized for its historic and architectural value. Next trip, we will take time to explore these gems.

At the end of the drive, we managed to drive the traffic circle in the centre of Goderich. Apparently, Queen Elizabeth declared it a pretty town, I can see why.

There is much more to discover in Ontario. Maybe, that is what we will do this fall when we finally take some time for a vacation.