Toronto's Visual Legacy

I know that it is sometimes hard to tell that I have a degree in history but yes it is true. One of the side effects of this degree is that I do have a love of history and many things historical. One of the things that love is old buildings. Sometimes, I lament the fact that Toronto is not very good about enjoying its past and has torn down many buildings that should have been saved and might have made this city more interesting. (I is not a bad city but some cities that we have visited have demonstrated a greater respect for the past.)

Thankfully, Toronto did save some buildings and has a record of the past. Right now, while the city is celebrating 150 years of history, Harbourfront has several exhibits on display showing us what city's past. After reviewing an article about the photographs and displays, I want to get down to Harbourfront and see the displays. http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/visualarts/architecture_winter09.cfm

Hopefully with more exhibits like this, we will learn to respect and enjoy the city's past.

Something to think about!

Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true iswhat we believe. What we believe is based upon our perceptions. What weperceive depends upon what we look for. What we look for depends upon whatwe think. What we think depends upon what we perceive. What we perceivedetermines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to betrue. What we take to be true is our reality.
Gary Zukav

French Toast

If you ever have breakfast with me, you will soon learn that french toast is my favourite breakfast food. I know that omelettes have all kinds of nutritious ingredients and that there are more difficult things to make but french toast is it for me. Love it when a restaurant makes the toast with a lovely melange of fruit as a topping. Last Sunday, I went to a restaurant with friends and the restaurant had french toast but the topping was thick and gooey, I think that the topping came from a can. Yesterday's was fresh and wonderful.
If you are in the west of the city go to French Toast breakfast and deli. 2285 Dundas St. West. Bloor and Dundas area. Support a local restaurant. I was taking a break from my other responsibilities and had breakfast. The restaurant also has daily papers and magazines to help pass the time while you enjoy the organic coffee after the meal. There are refills.
Go support and enjoy.

March, the month that tests us!

March is a month that tests us. In my opinion, we get excited about spring. March waits until we become complacent and then zap, a blizzard.
As I look out the window, the sky is blue, almost all the snow has melted, spring flowers are starting to break through the ground,I have seen the daffodils breaking the ground. I gave up on tulips, the squirrels think that I am providing a buffet for them. It is bad enough that they eat half the bird food. A friend's snowdrops are blooming which means that they have broken the ground and are flourishing. We are set- I have also seen younger people walking around in shorts- clothing that they will not think of wearing in a couple weeks when it is warmer. They will complain that it is too cold.
I am armed and ready, the boots have not been put away, snow tires are still on the car, snow shovels are handy. We are going to get snow. No one disagrees, we are just hoping that I am wrong. If you are having a lovely day weather wise, enjoy because you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

Timmins Book Club

Wow, 70 years and still reading.
The idea of a book club has always fascinated me. Have not joined one but that is on my list of to do's along with a few other things.
Apparently, October 23, 1938 a group of women met in Northern Ontario, Timmins to be exact and met to discuss Origins of Peoples of Czecho-Slovakia by G. Brooker. And thus began a book club that is still meeting after all these years.
They probably gathered in one of the small wooden homes built for workers and their families by the mining companies; they were undoubtedly a the start of another harsh winter in the bush. Books and each others company were a civilizing comfort for these young mothers, teachers and nurse, isolated as they from the larger towns in the area.
The 16 members had paid their annual 50-cent dues at their opening meeting, October 3. They met twice in November and twice every month after that to the end of May; their modus operandi was for each one of them to buy, read and present a book to the others, and then make it available for them to read.
The December meetings were dedicated to 10 minute talks on Canadian authors such as Mazo de la Roche (she wrote the Jalna series- my mother read it. I took out the books from the book mobile for her.), Robert E. Knowles, and Robert Service. In January, a "Mr." Love came and schooled the women on interior decorating.
Records were kept by the members and have been handed down to the current membership of the what is now called the Timmins Book Club.
"They were very organized," says Evelyn Rymer, 88, the club's historian and keeper of the archives. "They had a constitution, minutes and meetings, all held in a very business-like way."
The club has evolved over the years but is s till women-only affair. Instead of busy mothers, its nine current members are mostly retired nurses and teachers; the only member still working is the club secretary, Doreen Yakubuski, an English teacher and librarian.
What a wonderful history and to have survived a world war and immigration of some members back south is inspiring.

AIG

Don't you love business? I usually glance at the business section of the papers. Most of the time the stories are not that exciting or interesting. Please do not misunderstand, I own and trade stocks and understand that we need to manufacture goods, buy and sell. The banking institution that I deal with knows me well. The economy can not run on the arts which I think are part of what makes life enjoyable. Without music, art, culture where are we? While all that is said, I love AIG, the arrogance of a group that gave bonuses to people who helped drive the company to the brink of destruction. Apparently, these same people are the geniuses who will help rescue the company. Please help me understand this. They put the company into the position it is now in and will in the future with the added incentive of wonderful bonuses help rescue AIG. Why do I not understand this logic?

Stop for Food

During this difficult economic time, there are organizations that are trying to help those who need a helping hand. One of those organizations is Stop for Food which is receiving $10 from each meal purchased at a number of restaurants. http://www.thestop.org/dinners-in-support-of-the-stop The restaurants can be found at the website; this is follows up on Winterlicious.
It is good to see that restaurateurs are acting in a positive manner and responding to the situation.
Stop for Food is helping generate funding for the venture which is now trying to teach the clientele at Stop Community Food Centre to crave things besides salt, sugar, salt-sugar, all nitrates and high fructose corn syrup. Apparently, when the chef who helps to prepare a drop in breakfast 4 days a week and lunch twice a week prepared chicken fingers the crowd cheered. Her other offerings are less familiar and she has educational work to do as well as feed bodies.
Nick Saul, the director of the organization is busy trying to change how we look at food. A mighty challenge to say the least.
I wish him luck because we do need to change how we view food and its preparation.

Books: Lee Iacocca

Three newspapers a day, magazines, letters and books. You name it and I will try to find time to read it. There is a constant pile of material that demands my attention.
One of the books that I just finished was "Where have all the Leaders Gone?" which certainly asks an interesting question. Where are they? We think of great leaders from the last century: the Roosevelts, Kennedy, Trudeau, King and the list goes on. If I had time, I would have no trouble filling the page with names. That is not quite so easy now. Some of the names will be of people who will be in court for various charges. Madoff will obviously be the most notorious.
Lee Iacocca is one of the leaders but he was certainly well paid and that may be one of the reasons that leaders are not emerging since they can ask for more elsewhere or simply access funds like AIG leaders.
Worth reading his book and asking some of the same questions that he asks. Hopefully leaders will emerge. Obama is one but he can not change things alone.

Carnegie Libraries

Yup, I am making up for no posts on the weekend. Michael was home and needed to use the computer, so I knit, read, practised and did many things that cried out for my attention. Yes, did I mention that I played tennis?
In that booklet that I mentioned in the post about knitting, there is another book listed: The Best Gift: A record of the Carnegie Libraries in Ontario. That is one of the many books that I would like to have a look at. I have always been fascinated that Toronto has about 10 Carnegie libraries. One in the Beach area, Kew and Queen St. East, one at Weston Road, the Birge-Carnegie Library at the University of Toronto. http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/abo_his_car_index.jspI am not sure where the others are and if they are still standing. The library page will give more information about these libraries.
Carnegie was an interesting character. I am pleased that he managed to do some good at the end of his life despite the fact that he was definitely not one of the nicest people as he amassed his fortune.
I will get this book and see if I can take some photos of the local Carnegie libraries.

Knitting for Peace

Many years ago, I started knitting-I was about 5 or 6. In fact, my grandmother was the person who started me. I was not very good in the beginning which is not a surprise, we all have to learn sometime and that was my opportunity. I made many button holes at that time. She taught the European way to knit which I am now thankful for. It is much faster than the English or North American method although the important point is that we all end up in the same place with a completed project.
During the years that followed, I would often give up knitting because other things took precedence then something would encourage me to start again. One of those things was Knitting for Peace. I still remember knitting squares for a friend's mother. She was part of a group that took all those squares and made blankets. It seemed very strange at the time to be doing this but I persisted.
If you have a look at the book "Knitting for Peace: Make the World a better Place One stitch at a Time", (listed in Keep toronto Reading 2008-yup this booklet was in the library in 2009)you will see Lil Greene listed. She was one of the force behind this particular knitting project. Good to have been part of something positive.

Artist: Gary Smith

On Friday, I met a friend for lunch at the Dominion on Queen, a nice bar that also serves good food. She chose the location because her teacher, Gary Smith http://www.escapewithgary.com/ had a show of some of his work showcasing Corktown was on display. The paintings are wonderful and during our visit, Gary Smith came in for lunch so we also had a chance to talk to Gary as well as admire his work.
If you are looking for something to do during the fine weather we are having, visit Dominion on Queen, have a meal, beer- the selection looks wonderful and enjoy the art. It is always nice to see art of local artists on display.

A Mehta

When I first started teaching, I used to show a film (yes, I mean film-not video) of Zubin Mehta conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Ravel's Bolero (wow, got worried that I was having a serious senior's moment and was not going to remember the film). Mehta was wonderful conducting the piece and I loved showing the orchestra members who also demonstrated their instruments before playing the piece.
I just read that Toronto is going to be blessed with another Mehta, his son. Arts administrator Mervon Mehta who has been appointed as the first executive director, performing arts, for the Royal Conservatory at the Telus Centre for Performance and Learning. Starting April 1, he will be responsible for directing all aspects of the Royal Conservatory's performing arts, including programming and management of the new Koerner Hall, set to open in the fall this year. Mehta who was born in Vienna and grew up in Montreal, spent 10 years in Toronto in the 80's and 90's. "I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the Royal Conservatory team," Mehta said.
We are certainly attracting some exciting people to Toronto. Hope that this energy continues to be a positive force.

Speeding Ticket

Did you know that in some parts of the United States there are different speeds for nighttime and day time? Michael was stopped while away and he received a warning for driving too fast. There were different speeds. The officer seemed to be understanding and only gave him a warning. I think that he will be more careful in the future.
Interesting, I have never seen a warning in Canada. Maybe that is something that we could consider. Officers might not feel it necessary to issue a penalty when a simple warning would do.

Steiff bears

For most of my life, actually since I was less than one year old I have owned a Steiff bear and lamb. I treasure these toys. A few years ago, I had a friend help arrange to have them evaluated. They are actually worth something and I am going to make sure that my executor knows this and does not just give them to a child to mistreat or to Crippled Civilians.
If you think that I am being silly about these toys, a recent article in the business section of one of the major papers featured Mark Bloom and teddy bears- Steiff that were purchased from a hedge fund that misused peoples' money. We are certainly hearing about many examples of misuse of funds recently. What were these people doing all this time that people did not notice?
The point of the article as far as I am concerned is that Steiff teddy bears often fetch high prices at auction. The person who misused peoples' hedge funds purchased $80,000 worth of Steiff bears. That is a lot of bears. I have a friend who belongs to the Teddy Bear society (no I am not kidding) and she has many bears but I am don't her collection is worth $80,000.
Love my bear and will make sure that I continue to give him the attention he deserves. Must admit that I have not been as good about the lamb.

Suburbs

Over the years, when Michael and I have gone house hunting, I have always said that I want to be able to walk to the store for bread and milk. This meant that moving to the depths of the suburbs was not an option. It did not mean that we did not have a car and in fact we now have two cars but I do not want to rely on them. I want to be mobile and walk or take transit if necessary. I live near necessities-the library, shops and could take transit to my activities if I needed to. I prefer not but have been known to take a bus or two.
According to American author, public speaker and social critic James Howard Kunstler: "The suburban "project" is over. Big cities will contract in size. Highrise towers will be impractical."
The future will include a return to locally grown food- I love my tomatoes- the cherry tomatoes were the biggest success last year. The future also includes a resurgence of small cities and towns and an end to the days of "Happy Motoring" and the car-dependent society as world oil production declines.
Peak Oil is the term used to describe the time when the global production of oil has reached its maximum and then begins a terminal decline. When that will happen is a matter of debate; some claim it could be one year or 30 years away; some believe that it's happening now. Kunstler said that we are "in the zone" for what he calls the Long Emergency, a challenging and turbulent transition away from fossil fuel dependency.
As the song says: "The times they are a changing." Get on those walking shoes.

No more ready-made?

A decade or so ago, when she was a consumer columnist in Vancouver, New York-based businesswoman Mariana Gayle had a saying:"The most expensive thing you'll ever pay for is convenience."
"If you haven't noticed the flood waters of debt rising around your ankles, the person offering a cold splash of reality is Gail Vax-Oxlade, host of the Slice network's Til Debt Do Us Part."
"My philosophy is: You can have it all, you just can't have it all at the same time," the personal finance expert says. "And what we have been doing in the past is having it all at the same time."
I grew up with parents who did not have it all- we waited until there was money to pay for things. I did not know what scratch was until I was an adult. I thought that you bought it as an ingredient in the grocery store. Friends would brag that their mother had made a cake from scratch. Every week, my mother made a cake, often a bundt cake which I still love. Must make one again soon. Our cakes were always from scratch, I was the mixer. I have no problem looking at cake batter and deciding the more milk is needed or more flour.
I had second-hand clothes and never thought twice about it. We had wonderful food and my mother was a great cook, could knit up a storm, her sewing was great. We did not eat out very often at all- it was pie or cake on Sunday drive and that did not happen often.
We lived by Vax-Oxlade's rules: You cannot spend more than you make (this meant that our television was not fixed for a year when there was not enough money for the repair; your must save something- with three children that was hard for my parents and you have to get the debt paid off- and by "paid off" she means within three years, no matter what it takes to do it. Good rules to live by.

Dinner Plates at Rideau Hall

When Barack Obama visited the nation's capital, he enjoyed his meal on plates made by potter Bill Reddick. Former Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson commissioned Reddick to make a 45-piece dinner set for Rideau Hall. For Obama's visit, this set was sent to the Senate Speaker's Suite for the occasion.

Reddick admitted thinking "Wouldn't it be amazing if Obama ate off my plate?" before he saw a photo of this actually happening.

The plates feature a green rim and a number of maple leafs surrounding a ruby red centre.

What a wonderful feeling for Reddick!

Homebuyers and Gardeners

Apparently,falling home prices and mortgage rates are encouraging 2/3 of Canadians to say that it is a buyer's market right now. It is probably true but I would think that people need to be very careful and watch their own position in the job market. This is going to be a difficult economy over the next few years.
According to the 16th Annual RBC Homeownership Survey, 27% of respondents said they intended to buy a home within the next two years. This is up from 23% last year. This is the biggest rise the survey has recorded since 2001. 48% of the 2,000 respondents to the survey said that they thought it made more sense to buy a home now rather than wait until next year. What do they know?
Younger survey respondents were even keener to buy. The survey reported that among the 35s, 48% planned to buy- a very significant rise on the 36% in 2008.
"The current economic environment does not appear to have dampened Canadian's overall confidence in the housing market," said Karen Leggett, head of home equity financing at RBC Royal Bank.
"In years gone by, typically, first-time buyers were a family. An interesting twist in the nature of the first-time buyer profile is that that person is increasing single, And they're typically female. Almost double the number of single women buy homes versus single men, and they buy them at a younger age."
After financial considerations, 35% of survey respondents said the best aspect of home ownership is having a backyard or garden-however almost half of the respondents do not want to do the actually digging and gardening! Interesting fact to know.

Barack Obama and Grey Hair

Apparently Barack Obama's hair is a sign that he is working hard and under a great deal of stress. This is so important that it has been posted in about 80 articles.
(First suggestion: change the election process. What other country has a process that takes over a year? The election process alone is gruelling.)
What does that say about the rest of us whose hair turns grey and yes you guessed my hair is grey, in fact it started turning grey early. People suggested that it was genetic. My mother had grey hair but how grey? I will never know. She decided to dye her hair as soon as those grey hairs first appeared. I am bad, I have enough trouble getting to the hair dresser for a hair cut. Getting my hair dyed, not going to happen.
Do people look at me and think that I am a person who has many responsibilities or just old? I did not notice my hair getting lighter. Does Barack? I think that we can all assume that being president of the United States is very stressful and that the next 4 or maybe 8 years will take a toll but is it possible that any thing that Barack decided to do would be stressful since he is an ambitious man who wants to create change which is very admirable.
Now, let us worry about things besides his hair and hope that he is able to turn things around.

East Side Players

I love live theatre. In fact, I prefer live theatre to movies which usually cost millions to make and whose stars are paid unbelievable salaries to act in the films. The characters have many chances to get the scene right. In live theatre, there is one chance and each performance is a challenge.
Last weekend, I went with friends to see the latest production by the East Side Players. (Mike was not feeling well. Hopefully, he is better.) We have lost count of how many years we have attended the plays.
The latest play Proof is definitely worth a go see. Your last chance is this weekend. Unlike, movies which move to other theatres and then end up on video, this is it and then the next production starts.
One of the people who I play tennis with will be performing in the last production of the season, Waiting in the Wings by Noel Coward. Should be fun attending a performance with someone you know on stage. I have attended concerts with friends performing but I think that this will be the first play with adults. I have produced some plays while teaching and attended productions with my students performing.
Will let you know how it goes. I am sure that it will be wonderful.

Horn Day

Last Friday evening, I had the pleasure of assisting at the International Horn Day Concert which is growing in number of participants and audience each year. The organizers Gloria Ratcliffe and Joan Watson should be proud of what they have accomplished.
The evening was cold outside but inside members of the horn section of the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet, and Orchestra London as well as many others from the horn community from young players to players who are still enjoying the experience of playing and have managed to put in a few years since school put on a wonderful show. What a wonderful variety of music. Selections that ranged from Gonna Fly Now, Baby its cold outside to St Hubert's Mass Fanfare.
I can hardly wait until next February. What a wonderful site: over a 100 horn players performing at once in a magnificent church like St. Paul's.

We are what we read!

Not only do we love to eat but we love to read about it! Most of us have cookbooks even if we don't manage to cook many of the recipes and some of us have even read M. F. K Fisher (yes, I actually did read one of her books and enjoyed it). There is a new genre joining the collection: the book about food- it focuses on food as a serious subject. I book presentations for a number of organizations and have booked Elizabeth Abbot, author of Sugar which discusses the history of sugar. There are other titles which invite investigation: The Hamburger which offers a cultural history of the subject from its earliest origins to its position as a fast food staple.
This fall, Andrew Smith's book Eating History: Thirty Turning Points in the Making of American Cuisine. It was first published in 1994 but is expecting a more receptive audience this time.
I find some of these books interesting but must admit I still prefer cookbooks even if sometimes find it difficult to find the time to try new recipes.

Watercolour Class

Wish there was time to get out the camera and take a picture of my art but not now- sorry!
This afternoon, after a good game of tennis, I went to the library where I attended a free art class-watercolour which seems to be my favourite. Can not imagine where the money is coming from but the two hour class was free and all supplies included. I managed to paint what appears to a very modern, almost abstract painting. It was fun and I must admit that for two hours, I did not think about any of my responsibilities. Now, that was a bargain. Think that I will get on the phone after this and arrange to participate in the acrylic class in a couple weeks. Nothing to lose when the class is free. Was very interesting to see what people came up with.
My job is to send information to two of the participants about water colour classes that I have participated in. I have attended two classes at Artist in the Garden, classes in a garden studio in the summer as the title suggests and there has only been one other person in the class- what a delight.
My comment to other people in the class was "hope that you are enjoying yourself and do not expect to become an artist in two hours".
What fun!