Gatehouse

For years, Michael has said that there is a particular house that he would like to see as part of Doors Open. Today, the Toronto Star had an article about what was once a gatehouse and was redesigned as a private residence by architect Frederick Fletcher. The house was once part of a large estate on Concession 2, Lot 4 . The house was part of a vast farming estate that was farmed for 90 years. Hard to believe that this was once farm country when you see all the homes in the area. However, some of the area was only developed in the late 1950's when E.P. Taylor sold some of his land and developed Don Mills.

One of these days, I must site down and research the area more thorough. Until then enjoy the Gatehouse. http://www.thestar.com/Comment/article/666906

Gardens

I love gardening but sometimes it helps to have an inspiration to get back to work on weeding, planting, dividing and the many fun tasks that gardening offers. Today, Martha Stewart did it. What a wonderful inspiration just looking at some of the photos of gardens and ideas. Must check if she has a magazine with the photos. Would be worth it. I am heading out as soon as I finish this entry.

If these pictures do not inspire you, you are not a gardener or you might be like some gardeners I know who want everything tidy. Personally, I love these. Time to head out.
Here for those of you who want to check out the site: http://www.marthastewart.com/summer-relaxing?lnc=b25f452be04c1210VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=slideshow_holiday_relaxing&contentid=3892f76e9c3f0210VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD#slide_7

Toronto City Hall Art Show artists

I know that the Toronto City Hall Art Show is finished and that is a relief to the many artists who display and sell their work at the show. As usual there was a spot of rain but not as bad as some years. I sincerely hope that all the artists met their artistic goals and hopefully financial as well. I am not sure how you can do well with so many artists; this was a much smaller show when I first went. Michael and I bought small pig figurines at the time, I did not see anything like that. Mugs are the only item that is economical and still one of a kind.

I did enjoy the show and here are a few of the many artists that I did manage to see:

I love fibre art although I am not very good at it, not enough hours in the day. Stephanie Ford Forrester creates wonderful tapestries and if I had the room and money, I would consider purchasing one of her works.

Alice Vander Vennen' s work appealed to me because she had a musical theme. Not sure if I would buy a piece but it was interesting to see where she was going with her ideas. Can you guess what musical idea she is trying to express here?

Adriana McNeely creates wonderful elegant jewellery and I wish that I had a great deal of extra money to spend on her creations. Oh well, another lifetime.

Anthony Bourdain

A couple years ago, we had the opportunity to hear and see Anthony Bourdain at a local bookstore. He was talking about a new cookbook that he had completed and obviously hoped that people would purchase.
Bourdain is an interesting character and now with food celebrities like Gordon Ramsay, it is not so hard to believe the interesting language that he uses. Anthony Bourdain does not yell at his staff but he does express his displeasure with some events in his life with expletives.
One of the book purchases that I made in the past year was No Reservations by Bourdain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=3415409 It is the background to his television show which was presented on the Travel Channel since it focused on travel more than food itself. I enjoyed many of the pictures in the but also he revealed that it was not always comfortable and glamourous filming a show about food in remote parts and not so remote parts of the world. He described the plight of the crew in Beirut when the bombing started a few years ago and their efforts to escape. Bourdain, who also wrote the Nasty Bits which I will check for in the library and Kitchen Confidential which started his writing career, is quite a character and not a pretentious cook. Worth a read.

Piano Lesson

One of my missions right now in addition to clearing up the many objects that we have collected from several estates is to clear up my back log of reading. One of the books that I just finished is Note by Note a celebration of the piano lesson by Tricia Tunstall. I never had a chance to take piano lessons until I had the funds to pay myself which meant that I did not take lessons until I was a working adult. It is fascinating to read about Tricia's students most of whom are very young. Also interesting that she does not teach her students with Royal Conservatory exams or exams of any kind in mind. She is American and only briefly mentions the possibility of some exams. I am sure that there must be some kind of exams system but Tunstall has opted out of that exercise. If you find a copy of the book, it is definitely worth a read; especially for those who are studying music, have children who take lessons or teach music.

Toronto City Hall Art Show

If you are wondering what to do this weekend, may I suggest the Toronto City Hall Art Show. Despite the civic workers strike, the show is on. Yesterday, I helped my friend, Line Dufour who is a fibre artist who weaves and knits. Her work is quite wonderful and worth a go see as well as purchase.

Hope that you have a chance to get down to see the show and support the artists who suffered through a thunder storm this morning.

Work of one of the many artists whose work I managed to see. With 500 artists exhibiting, I did not manage to see and enjoy everyone's work.

Article:
The show will go on!
Despite the ongoing city strike by CUPE Local 79 and Local 416, the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition will be taking place at Nathan Phillips Square, from July 10 to 12, as planned. TOAE is not a city run initiative - it is entirely self-sufficient, run independently of the City of Toronto. TOAE is also a charitable, non-profit organization that has been planning this exhibition for a year in advance and we look forward to another great event in July!

As the largest outdoor art exhibiion in Canada, the TOAE offers a fresh-air alternative to conventional art shows and galleries. Approximately 500 artists participate and over 100,000 visitors attend the exhibition every year. Side by side, established artists, undiscovered talents and innovative students sell their work directly to the public and make lasting connections with art dealers and collectors. We welcome applications from artists working in a wide range of traditional and experimental art forms.
The Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition is a charitable non-profit organization supported by a group of volunteers active in the art and corporate communities. The exhibition is financed through registration fees, and by government, corporate and individual sponsors, enabling the TOAE to charge one of the lowest registration fees in North America. No percentage of the artists' sales is taken by the organizers.

The TOAE gratefully acknowledges the support of the many sponsors and award donors that made the 2008 exhibition a success.
Now in its 48th year, the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition [TOAE] is a juried showcase featuring contemporary fine art and craft that takes place on Nathan Phillips Square every July.

Galbraith and The Great Crash 1929

In addition to the many mystery novels that I indulge in, I do read some books with depth. Usually they are not of great interest to others. This week, I finished reading The Great Crash of 1929 by John Kenneth Galbraith. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kenneth_GalbraithI read it hoping that Galbraith would provide insight into that challenging time and insight into how it happened and what could be done to prevent a second or third event like this. Sadly, after reading the book, all that I found out was that there was a moment when peoples' aspirations financially took a turn for the worst and there did not seem to be any way of turning the tide. It took nearly ten years for the things to return to pre-crash times. Wow, I guess that offers insight into what we might expect at this time. The only positive is that governments seem to have stemmed the tide and the financial disaster is not as great as 1929 but news continues to be bad and maybe we are still in for more challenging times.
Let us hope not.