July 2021 - Toronto ON
Dundas West Toronto
COVID NEWS
Things are looking up, we have tickets to three upcoming events.
Andy Warhol at the Art Gallery of Ontario AGO
Sunday I made myself attend a zoom exhibit I had signed up for at the Bata Shoe Museum, The Great Divide. The link to the exhibit is much better than the virtual tour. It was very disjointed and all over the place.
Monday Mural shows more of RendezViews that we visited last week.
City issued air quality warning again on Monday due to NW Ontario wild fires. Thanks to Australia and Mexico for sending us firefighters to help with the wildfires across the country.
John golfed.
Yes, Andrew, we did buy a new printer.
I went to College Park because I needed potatoes and cheeses and also some $ store items.
I came across these outside College Park.
Strange sighting of the day came with its own music.
Tuesday I had great plans to go out to lunch - nope, the restaurant didn't open until 4. Anyway we could still go somewhere. Nope, rained all morning with thunder so John went to Costco which meant the fridge and freezer got cleaned out.
Still rainy so we settled in for a Tuesday at the Movies.
Wednesday John was off to golf and I headed to Dundas Square.
Be still my heart, William and Andrew, you won't believe it!!!! They finally opened up the renovated Bay Concourse after............more than a decade this week!!!!!
It took six years longer than expected and nearly $200 million more than the initial budget called for but the renovation of Union Station is now finally complete.But complete is used loosely in this context.
In celebration of the unity and strength that has pulled Toronto through the pandemic, members of the community were asked what they love most about their city. Toronto’s diversity, shops, cuisine, and people topped the list. The passion and love that poured through in their answers were undeniable. The responses are being shared with the rest of the city and displayed throughout the Square in the shape of hearts. These hearts will also act as two-metre social distancing boundaries.
Activists affiliated with the indigenous organization the Xinca People's Parliament (Parlamento del Pueblo Xinca) plan to stage protests and labor strikes across Guatemala July 29. The purpose of the action is to demand the resignations of President Alejandro Giammattei and Attorney General Consuelo Porras following the controversial dismissal of the head of the Special Prosecutor's Office Against Impunity (Fiscalia Especial Contra la Impunidad, FECI). Although organizers have not released details concerning specific protest actions, activist leaders plan to coordinate roadblocks nationwide and have called on agricultural and political organizations to join the strike.
I was trying to figure out what the person with the t-shirt was, a friend pointed out it was a hat to shield her from the sun.
It says there will be 75 new businesses/restaurants but none of these spaces are ready as yet.
What it looked like in 2015.
I sent the new photo to my BFF immediately, this is where we would meet before the renovations, at the Dairy Queen, perfect as she came from the train and I from the subway.
Dundas Square.
Yonge-Dundas Square has partnered with O2 Planning + Design to celebrate the spirit of Toronto like never before, with a little twist and a lot of love from the locals.
In celebration of the unity and strength that has pulled Toronto through the pandemic, members of the community were asked what they love most about their city. Toronto’s diversity, shops, cuisine, and people topped the list. The passion and love that poured through in their answers were undeniable. The responses are being shared with the rest of the city and displayed throughout the Square in the shape of hearts. These hearts will also act as two-metre social distancing boundaries.
Today's odd sight.
This side says "Free Housing@KeeoYourRent.com Google: Hap2py".
Yonge Dundas has what is called a Pedestrian Priority Phase (PPP), also known as pedestrian scramble phase, which gives a walk signal to pedestrians in all directions at the same time at a signalized intersection while drivers are stopped in all directions. When this happens he would run into the middle of the street shouting his message.
The back of his sign said " Home Owners U are the stupid land holders for the Queen Google: Hap2py".
BTW he is not the only oddball at this intersection on any given day you can get free hugs, pick up a Koran, been entertained by buskers.
Her sign says 29 de Julio Paro Nacional por Guatemala y Sandovar.
Foiled again on Thursday as it was pouring rain, so again, no outing with lunch as planned.
We’ve had 108mm of rain so far this month at #Toronto YYZ and are adding to that total today! The average July rainfall is 75.7mm ☔☔☔Without any initial thoughts or plans, we both started cleaning out drawers in the bathroom, kitchen and John even did his bedside table. One thing leads to another so some other things got sorted. A lot of garbage was generated, items sorted, cleaned and even some duplicate items went into the charity bag. Very satisfying but needs to be completed.
Friday gorgeous but much cooler day. Lunch out or not? Decided to go out in the afternoon up to Yonge and Lawrence to a gluten free certified restaurant The Riz, that sells frozen spring rolls and dumplings. It is my birthday tomorrow and I requested sushi (pick up tomorrow) and suggested rolls and dumplings as well.
Had a Starbucks as we waited for the bus.
Things are getting back to normal! I saw the first hop on hop off tourist bus since March 2020! The streets are busy and the boys are back in town! The Blue Jays are playing their first game at home since 2019! Only 15,000 fans allowed.
Snapped this from the bus as we went past the Rogers Centre.
John had a zoom visit with his son and family.
ham quiche to use up remainder but burgers instead.
COOKING
Saturday John did bacon in the air fryer for the first time, 10 minutes at 400 F.
I had a Collective Arts cider.
Sunday I made quiche with the rest of last week's ham steak. I made a coleslaw using the shredder blade in the food processor and it was just mushy and wet. Turns our you should use the slicer blade for this very reason, lesson learned.
Monday knowing John was going to Costco I used the last of the chicken quarters spicy bbq'd as per John's favourite with roast potatoes and carrots.
Tuesday since the plan had been to go out to lunch I had bought an assortment of cheeses and pate.
Wednesday I tried this crispy chicken with sweet and sour sauce and coleslaw. I used the mango sauce instead. I did the chicken in the air fryer at 400 F for about 6 minutes.
Thursday, a rainy day, I made a stew.
Friday steak and we put it on top of onions, peppers, mushrooms in the air fryer and it worked out really well.
WATCHING
Such a rainy week we had several afternoon movie sessions.
Saturday Movies
Silk Road 2021 a paid Amazon Prime movie - It is based on the true story of Ross Ulbricht who develops a website on the Dark net, an act which attracts the attention of the FBI and DEA who send in federal agent Richard "Rick" Bowden, a fictional composite of real life DEA Agent Carl Force and US Secret Service Special Agent Shaun Bridges both of whom were convicted of felonies related to theft of assets in the investigation of Ulbricht, to bring down Ross' empire.
We enjoyed it.
The Ghost Writer is a 2010 neo-noir political thriller film directed by Roman Polanski. The film is an adaptation of a 2007 Robert Harris novel, The Ghost, with the screenplay written by Polanski and Harris.
Paid for Wrath of Man on Netflix, with Jason Statham and it was surprisingly good. Read a great review here.
Follwoed by the depressingly bad Nomadland, also paid for on Netflix. I have read the book and watched the documentary The Real World of Nomadland.
The movie was sad, one dimensional and gave no background to why some of these people have to live that way, no pensions, lost homes in 2008, divorce and sometimes just because they like it. There is nothing about the working conditions at Amazon. They don't show any of the comraderies of the other nomads.
READING
I cannot wait to see what the ending of My Sister's Bones!
Sounds like you had an interesting week and some unusual photos this week. I always check out your Netflix watching but it's a little too intense for me. I like to relax at night with just a simple happy story or comedy. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteI like Jason Statham movies so I will be on the lookout for that. If you like the political movies you might try Irrestible with Steve Carrell. There will be a twist that is very cool and surprising.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for the General Tso's recipe :-)
Good to hear that you're eating well and keeping busy, despite all. We've been getting lots of rain here in Hawaii as well, which is fine
ReplyDeleteas I've been planting a bunch in the garden.
Union Station finished? Is such a thing even possible?
ReplyDeleteFinished is stretching it! None of the retail spaces are near completion, the ceilings are still exposed.
DeleteNote a lack of Australia. It is down the very bottom.
ReplyDeleteA tin hat is very good at protecting you from government thought waves and contrails in the sky.
Damn about Union Station. I have lost a bet that Las Sagrada Familia would be finished first.
There should be more scramble crossings. As far as I know there are only two in Greater Melbourne.
I wouldn't say you have lost your bet yet. Their idea of finished is not mine. None of the retail spots are finished, their is no ceiling over the spots or walls. Perhaps, technically, the city has finished their job and the retail falls to the station itself.
DeleteAnd happy birthday for what is probably today.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right and thank you, Andrew.
DeleteI am following your air fryer adventures. We just bought one and now we need to figure out what to do with it.
ReplyDeleteWe are loving it. We had a deep fryer (yuck so much oil) and a grill (mainly used for steak). We have gotten rid of both of them. Grill cheese, bacon, steak etc everything is going in the fryer. The chips/fries are incredible.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing you out and about again. At the same time, I feel sad; the US could be where you are, but, no, we still have large chunks of the population who are not vaccinated. Frustrating.
ReplyDeleteWe are getting somebody's else's rain here, too. It looks like you are working in a lot of great movies anyway.
Thanks for sharing your air fryer experiences. I'm curious about it.
Happy birthday! I like the colourful artwork at College park and Dundas Square. Thank you for linking up with #weekendcoffeeshare.
ReplyDeleteHmm, we haven't tried bacon in the air fryer yet. I'll bet it was perfect. Love your header photo!
ReplyDeleteMost of all the pictures I loved the pastel colored picnic tables, the labyrinth and the hearts with what people loved about their city. Thanks for sharing your week and the great pictures.
ReplyDeleteYay Canada for your vaccinations! I sure wish we were better. We are planning to eat in a restaurant (maybe outdoors at a restaurant) next week before the local university opens again and all the students bring Delta to the area. Glad to see you're using your air fryer. We don't use the air-fryer lid to our pressure cooker very often, but I bet I use an air fryer oven like you have -- fewer parts to gather and set up. :-) I need to check out some of your movies -- I felt the same way about Nomadland. Oh and guess what? Our printer went down a couple of days ago too ... need to replace it. Sigh.
ReplyDeletewe are still in lockdown here in brisbane so we are going nowhere! aaaarrrgghh I'm going stir crazy!!
ReplyDelete