Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader
June 2021 - Toronto ON
2020 - Queen St. East Toronto
44 radical moments that shaped Toronto's PRIDE history.
Click here for Pride murals in 2014. These murals are still there.
We enter Step 2 of reopening on June 30 a few days earlier than planned.To enter step two, the province needed to have 70 per cent of adults with one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 20 per cent with two doses for at least two weeks. As of June 23, more than 76 per cent of Ontarians 18 and older have had one dose and more than 29 per cent have had two doses.
Ontario has actually surpassed the step three vaccination targets of 25 per cent of eligible adults fully vaccinated, but the province would remain in step 2 for a period of 21 days “to allow the most recent vaccinations to reach their full effectiveness and to evaluate any impacts of moving to Step Two on key public health and health care indicators,” the government said.
Finally haircuts and manicure/pedicures are on the horizon!!!
The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) was established to honour the legacies of Chanie Wenjack and Gord Downie.
Chanie Wenjack was a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy from Ogoki Post on the Marten Falls Reserve in Northern Ontario. He was forced to attend the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School at the age of 9. In 1966, he escaped from the school and died while trying to make the 600 km journey home to his family. Gord Downie, singer, songwriter and driving creative force behind The Tragically Hip, was introduced to Chanie’s story later in his life and used his final years on earth to raise awareness about Chanie and the 150,000 Indigenous children and youth in Canada who were forced to attend residential schools.
UPDATE: Canada extending restrictions on non-essential international travel until July 21.
Monday Mural along the Humber.
Tuesday Treasures more Toronto lanes.
John was nursing a sore knee for the weekend so we lay low, but then we do that most weekends.
My geraniums are flowering.
Monday John was supposed to play golf at Wooden Sticks but it was a rainy morning with a forecast of thunderstorms so he rescheduled.
I took a friend in the building downtown for a Starbucks coffee.
Wednesday John golfed and I had big plans of going shopping at Winners, dollar store, some groceries and perhaps even a patio lunch.
Waiting for the bus, the guys are finishing up the touch-ups on this side.
Union Station as I passed through to the subway.
The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF) was established to honour the legacies of Chanie Wenjack and Gord Downie.
Chanie Wenjack was a 12-year-old Anishinaabe boy from Ogoki Post on the Marten Falls Reserve in Northern Ontario. He was forced to attend the Cecilia Jeffrey Residential School at the age of 9. In 1966, he escaped from the school and died while trying to make the 600 km journey home to his family. Gord Downie, singer, songwriter and driving creative force behind The Tragically Hip, was introduced to Chanie’s story later in his life and used his final years on earth to raise awareness about Chanie and the 150,000 Indigenous children and youth in Canada who were forced to attend residential schools.
The collection of photos shared in Reconciliation Begins With You exhibits DWF’s programming and events, which inspire Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada to join our collective reconciliation journey. We also invite all peoples in Canada to celebrate the cultures, traditions, rights, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples.
But remember, we are still in stage one, so only stores that have their own street entrance are allowed to be open with 15% capacity, no malls, and only patio dining.
Sooooo...this was the line at Winners on College. Screw that!
Okay picked up some items in Farm Boy, thought about lunch and grabbed an egg sandwich (food court seating allowed) and took it home. But it was a delicious $3.99 sandwich on their own bread. Farm Boy is compared to Trader Vic's in the States. They make much of their own products.
Thursday we met up with friends in Hamilton for fish and chips, Hammerhead's of course and gluten free. Once we finished lunch we headed to Collective Arts Brewery, I featured their murals on a visit during total lockdown with snow on the ground.
Shalak and Peru.
Mosher
Guys getting our drinks. We moved around to the front patio in the shade.
Collective Arts Brewing invites artists and musicians to submit their work in bi-yearly Calls for Art. Since the first art and music call in May 2013 over 16,000 submissions have been received from artists and musicians representing over 40 countries. Each artist is paid to appear on the labels. Collective Arts does not own the art but is allowed to use it on cans and bottles for a limited period of time. To date, Collective Arts Brewing have produced and compensated over 650 artists and musicians for appearing on limited edition cans and bottle labels.
We had the Circling The Sun series.
Our Apple & Cherry cider is a tart cherry cider blend made with Ontario Montmorency Cherry juice from the Niagara escarpment, and blended with our Nature of Things Cider.
In their shop.
We bought a 6 pack to take home.
Friday was grey but no rain so John golfed. Lake view as I headed out to Longo's, Rexall and $ store.
Grey.
SOPHISTICATED SHAKERS
The Kentucky mule is a bourbon-based spin on the Moscow mule, a classic cocktail from the 1940’s. Apparently it was invented as a ploy to sell more vodka, ginger beer and copper mugs! Well, we don't have any copper mugs but have everything else.- 2 ounces bourbon
1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed
Ginger beer, to top
Fill the mug or glass with ice and top with ginger beer.
Tasty!
COCKTAIL CIRCUIT - TO DATE
Mai Tai with orgeat which is new to us
Tequila Sunrise
Rob Roy required bitters which we had never bought
New York Sours
Gin Fizz
Rusty Nail
Vodka Sidecar
Vodka Cosmopolitan
Negroni
The Perfect Storm
Boulevardier
Side Car
Jalapeno Margarita
The Godfather
Peach Cosmo - FAIL
The Barista
Blue Diablo
WATCHING
John had a bunch of movies recorded so we watched Dr. Cabbie last night and really enjoyed it. It is a 2014 romantic comedy filmed in Toronto. The story revolves around a newly arrived immigrant doctor in Canada who cannot get a job and is forced to become a taxi driver. He becomes a local hero when he converts his taxi into a mobile medical clinic.
We watched the latest season of The Handmaid's Tale.
No Afternoon at the Movies this week. Maybe Saturday as we are scheduled for a wet weekend and perhaps week ahead!
COOKING
Saturday trusty Spanish chicken thighs with mashed cauliflower and potatoes.
Sunday
3 ingredient lemon cookies and 4 ingredient chocolate cookies both made with almond flour and so easy that I had to make a double batch of the lemon immediately after tasting.
Roast pork, roast potatoes cauliflower cheese.
Monday homemade pizza. Tried baking the (boxed) crust first but it was very cardboardy. Will definitely look into a "baking steel" as recommended by Beth. But I think the issue is finding a good gluten free pizza dough.
Tuesday leftover roast pork and cauliflower, made more roast potatoes and a mustard sauce for the pork.
Wednesday BBQ chicken quarters and salad.
Thursday after fish and chips out we had salad.
Friday steak, baked potato and broccoli. I made a chimichurri sauce, a first ✅ for us, I wasn't sure if we would like it. We loved it!
Plus ice cream! We tried the Halo (Canadian) last night, but it is not as good as the So Delicious (dairy free) we had last week. It didn't have much of a salt caramel to it. On sale $6.99
I bought the Longo's brand at $4.99 as their products are usually overpriced just as a comparison.
READING
A lot of reading this week.
On my laptop - Kiin by local Toronto chef Nuit Regular (great name!) is just a beautiful and well written cookbook. The recipes are amazing and the photography will blow you away! I think it is a book that I should buy!!
Kiin means to eat.
Catching up on Masterchef Australia, I've had issues finding it to view again, I'm back watching on DailyMotion. I am so intrigued by the incredible curries that Kishwar and Depinder are making that I borrowed Ginger and Ganesh from the library. Indian is one of my favourite cuisines along with anything from Asia! But the book itself is disappointing, she is just a bad writer and story teller. She goes on and on about being a single mother and woe is me! The recipes are difficult to follow.
I finished Ask Again, Yes and loved it until the ending. It stopped so abruptly and without a lot of closure. "A tragedy that reverberates over four decades" I was looking forward to four decades, but really, it was only two.
Anyhoo...Such a Fun Age was a good read for a debut novel trying to deal with complex issues such as racism and white privilege. There are some cringe-worthy moments too and I loved the relationship between Brier and Emira.
The Guest List was like watching a train wreck that you can't take your eyes of. A great read although the plot was a bit far-fetched and melodramatic, a little Agatha Christie.
Started Confessions on the 7:45 it was slow going and suddenly it has got interesting!
I liked the Guest List but thought it was too similar to The Hunting Party, which I enjoyed more. Here's my review if you are interested:
ReplyDeletehttp://1toast.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-guest-list-by-lucy-foley.html
Love your menu and the chimichurra sauce looks appealing.
Love your geraniums. I wonder if they'd do well in the Florida heat.
You really had a busy week!
ReplyDeletebest...mae at maefood.blogspot.com
You were quite busy!
ReplyDeleteThe Collective Arts Gallery is cool. Thank you for linking with #weekendcoffeeshare.
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit the Bonjour Brioche Bakery. I wonder if there is a spot like that in Houston...
ReplyDeleteWow. Look at your vaccination rates. You should be proud of Canada.
I had to share your spotlight on the Collective Arts Brewery. What a wonderful idea! I wonder if other breweries/wineries do something like this. And what about book covers?
Ice cream is one of those things I've missed so much over the last year. I hope to visit a good ice cream place soon.
Oh dear. Ask Again, Yes ended poorly? Sad.
Collective Arts is a great spot for highlighting artists. And their drinks are good too!
DeleteI didn't like Ask Again ending, but perhaps others would.
I love the joy in all the art at Collective Arts. "Dr. Cabbie" sounds interesting. This post sure shows a "carpe diem" philosophy in action. Susan
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as though you had a busy week. I found the virus made me appreciate street art more. It certainly brightens up a city.
ReplyDeleteThank you for finding my blog and linking up this post with our bucket list series. We will do another update on 07.21, hope you will join us then, too. So many interesting things to comment on!! The Collective Arts Brewery looks like a fabulous place. What beautifully designed cans!! I think just about anything would taste good coming out of cans that pretty.
ReplyDeleteWould like to try the Kentucky mule recipe. My mom and brother live in Kentucky. Will mix up some in their honor.
Appreciate all the murals you shared. We have seen an increase in street art here in El Paso. I love it it!! You never know where you are going to find a small display or a large painted wall. And it has been inspirational to see the ways restaurants and other establishments found ways to remain in business with pop up patios, pickup orders, delivery services. Where there's a will, there's a way!!
Love those artsy cans! And Reconciliation ... yes. Hope John's knee is feeling better. Yay Canada & Ontario for their vaccination rates. I can't wait to travel again, but we're being cautious and smart and waiting a while longer before going too far from home. I liked the Guest List too. I now need to see if my library has that cookbook.
ReplyDeleteYay! I'm a wait list for the cookbook.
ReplyDelete