Dolce

Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Sunday Salon

Hearth and Soul Link Party

Weekend Coffee Share

Sherry's Pickings

What's On Your Plate (Monthly)

MAY 2021 - Toronto ON

2020 - Kensington Market Toronto 

Saturday was our usual. My hibiscus is going crazy, I hope she doesn't wear herself out.

Sunday we had a socially distanced approved visit with our good friends. We sat outside and got caught up on the last year!!!

Monday was a holiday here and John went to hit golf balls in anticipation of golfing this week after a provincial imposed ban on outdoor activities in mid April.

Tuesday John headed out to golf and I (woo hoo) took the shuttle downtown. 

Going through Union Station I noticed another display. This was part of the display I mentioned a few weeks ago.

Here Again, At the Crossroads - Andre Wagner

These images suggest the tug of war between life and what it means to be Black in America. Sometimes this experience is clear and vivid, but often it’s invisible while being in plain sight. My calling and passion is to photograph both. These works are rooted in a universal humanity that all walking and living people can relate to – but as we find ourselves here again, I can’t stop thinking about what tomorrow may bring.

Only grocery stores are open so I went to the Bulk Barn to stock up on some items.

But I find it so annoying that you must discard the scoop (into a bin at each end of the aisle) after you use it, although you are also wearing gloves. This makes the whole process much longer.

The $ store is open but the non-essential items are blocked off.

No Tuesday at the Movies today.

Wednesday and John's golf didn't get rained out although it looked like rain for most of the day so I stayed in. Instead I shortened a shirt sleeves and a pair of pants, as well as mended a small hole in my favourite sweater coat.

Thursday the humidity had blown by and it was a gorgeous day for John and golfing. I headed to Yorkville. I came across this mural outside the Toronto Reference Library.

Work on this new condo is moving right along. The facadism (new word to me) is  the peculiar practice of preserving the front of an older building(s) and erecting a new one behind it.

The historic buildings have been gutted and will be part of the new 1 Yorkville tower behind it. Let's just hope the store fronts attract some interesting stores and not yet another Shoppers Drug Mart or chain.

Yorkville is getting ready in anticipation that outside dining will be allowed shortly. This block of Belair will be closed off to cars.

This mural was being painted.

“My starting point for the mural was thinking about the things that have been going on in the last year, and historically, and about how it can’t be unity unless everyone is respected equally,” she said in a statement. The piece features four different sections and words that read: “STOP – DON’T KILL – LOVE – BLACK.”

It was so quiet out, no stores open other than essentials. I decided to wander in Eataly and even it was quite deserted since the restaurants aren't open. 

Then to the Loblaw's in BMT Manulife Centre, also deserted. Although with Loblaw prices it is no wonder although it is usually packed!

Got an Amazon delivery. Third time lucky for my new phone case. 

CedarFresh Cedar Hang-Ups (4) with Lavender to ward off moths.

Friday was a good rainy day and as we had both been out more this week than in months, we made it our day at the movies.

But first we did some tidying up, plant watering and laundry. 

SOPHISTICATED SHAKERS

No cocktails this week as John is on antibiotics for a tooth.

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

WATCHING

We are both enjoying Mare of Easttown, however there is an interesting article in State magazine pointing out the lack of any politics whatsoever.

We watched Grand Isle 2019 starring Nicholas Cage. An odd Gothic type movie. The one scene that intrigued me was Fancy lounging in her bathtub singing along with Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit.”

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I first heard this song in the movie The United States vs Billy Holiday.

While cooking and baking on Saturday I watched a movie from Kanopy, the library video streaming service . It was called The Bookshop a 2017 drama film written and directed by Isabel Coixet, based on the 1978 novel of the same name by Penelope Fitzgerald, in which the lead character attempts against opposition to open a bookshop in 1958 in a coastal town in Suffolk. The movie made me realize I had never reading anything other than Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury so I put some on my wish list at the library. 

It also lead me to watch Lolita, the 1997 version, I had not read or seen it either. I enjoyed it although I found it uncomfortable in some spots. Excellent review.

During the week I also watched The Real Nomadland, a PBS special, that a friend had recommended when we talked about the book.

Friday at the movies

The Little Things 2021 ($6.99 Amazon) crime thriller was enjoyable.

Songbird was really a waste of time other than it was about a pandemic Covid 23 in 2022. At least it was free.

I had no concept what The Mauritanian 2021 ($5.99 Amazon) was about. I even thought it might be about space! We really really enjoyed it.

COOKING

Saturday BBQ ribs (slow cooker) and homemade potato salad. I also tried this death by chocolate cake (no eggs, no butter, no milk). The icing was amazing but the cake never rose and it was so heavy, although it didn't taste badly. It was supposed to be 4 layers, but there was no way mine could be.

AHA in looking the recipe over, I believe I forgot the baking soda! AND my pans were 9 in not 8 as requested.

Sunday PF Chang's ground chicken lettuce wraps. 

Monday beef fajitas. I had planned to make guacamole but the avocados..

Avocado: not ripe

Avocado: not ripe 

Avocado: not ripe 

Avocado: I'M RIPE NOW

 Avocado: okay you were in the bathroom so I rotted

"on the plus side being home all the time makes it much more likely I catch my avocados in the 13 minutes they’re ripe before rotting."

The above two comments were found on Twitter!

We tried to be good and use up the wraps I had picked up by mistake. Nope, in the garbage.

Tuesday homemade gluten free pizza from the box mix Duinkerken that I had bought for $3.99.

Wednesday homemade burgers - another first for the air fryer and delicious.

Thursday chicken breast in creamy mushroom sauce, broccolini and mashed potatoes (need to use up cut potatoes in fridge). First time chicken breast in air fryer and it lived up to its hype, nice and juicy. 

Friday steak with a twice baked potato. Cut a baked potato in half, scoop out the potato and mash with scallions, butter, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese. Refill the potato skin and top with more cheese and broil. John loved it.

BOOKS

I finished and totally loved The Divines!

I started The House on the Lake, as I am enjoying Nuala Ellwood's writing.

Tuesday Treasures

 Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

Travel Tuesday

Our World Tuesday

Image-in-ing
My Corner of the World

Postcards

Timeless Thursdays is hosted by Stevenson Que

Toronto ON

Click here for a history of Toronto lane naming and a list of other lanes. That post is a work in progress, and gets updated frequently.

We decided to leave Cabbagetown for last week's exploration and instead headed to Seaton Village, where we haven't really ventured before. But it turned out to be our first really hot day and we weren't prepared for it so we didn't last long.

Of interest to some, this is where Meghan Markle lived while filming Suits in Toronto.

Ice cream? Head to the Poop Cafe!

Skaters Lane - The Toronto Skating Club was located at 568 Dupont Street, now the Queen's Club tennis facility.

Click here to read more about the skating club.

When Augustus Bridle, critic for the Toronto Star, called the Toronto Skating Club’s carnival “the greatest skating carnival in America,” he wasn’t merely indulging in civic boosterism. His sentiments were shared by not only Torontonians who eagerly awaited the skating revue each March, but also the thousands of spectators who—at the height of the Depression—travelled from as far afield as Cleveland, New York, and even Mexico City just to watch the on-ice theatrics. Hosted at Maple Leaf Gardens, which had made watching ice sports as comfortable and socially acceptable as a trip to the opera since its construction in 1931, the Skating Carnival’s audience was filled with the city’s social elite. 

The 1934 carnival, held on March 8 and 9, illustrates what made the ice revues so popular. In that year, Boris Volkoff, the Russian-bred, Toronto-based ballet master, was retained to choreograph a proper ballet on ice for the closing number. The result, thirty-five figure skaters performing Ravel’s Bolero, was heartily praised by the media as the best work of the evening.

Plaque on Yonge St. near the Toronto Reference Library.

The 1934 season also marked the first Toronto performance of ten-time world champion Sonja Henie, who would borrow more than inspiration from the Toronto Skating Club for her own touring ice show in the coming years.

Minus its ice, the club, somewhat mysteriously, is still there, right down to its original wicker furniture. In 1957, Imperial Optical magnate Sydney Hermant, an avid tennis player, led a group which purchased the building and converted it into an indoor tennis club. The front door is always locked (members have keys), and membership is by invitation.

Loop Line commemorates the many transportation and transit vehicles that have been part of the intersection of Dupont Street and Christie Street.

The first public transportation to Seaton Village was begun on July 27 1885 with horse drawn cars running on tracks from Front and Frederik Streets along King, Spadina, College and Bathurst, but ended at Bloor, near the current Bathurst Subway Station. The eastern section of Seaton village was serviced by the Bathurst cars in 1889 when tracks were laid from Bloor to the CPR Railway north of Dupont St. the railway tracks initially created a barrier from continuing north. On April 19 1894 an electrically powered line was instituted on Bathurst between King St. and the CPR tracks. It wasn't until December 1906 when cars left from Dupont and Christie Streets along Dupont and Bathurst down to Front, Church and King. In 1908 the cars on Bathurst were called "Exhibition" and travelled from Dupont and Christie to the "Ex".

Cream Top commemorates the many dairies that served Toronto from this area.

 Willard's Cream Top Dairy, operated at 588-602 Dupont Street from 1925-1928, as a dairy division of Willard's Chocolates Ltd. In 1929 it was bought out by Silverwood's Dairies Ltd. A 1913 Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Toronto listed other local dairies as: Acme Dairy, 21 Essex St. (later, Acme Farmers Dairy at Walmer and Bridgman Sts.) Richardson's Brothers, 85 Yarmouth Rd., Walmer Dairy, 179 Kendal Ave., and Briar Hill Dairy, 314 Dupont St.

Willards had held the Cream Top bottle distribution rights for Ontario from the Cream Top Bottle Corporation of Albany New York which was the bottle's originator. Silverwood's Dairies had many dairies in Ontario but only in 1928 did it partner with Carruthers Whole Milk Dairy Company of Davenport Road to acquire the ice cream and dairy departments of Willard's Chocolates Ltd. and entered the Toronto market. Carruthers Silverwood's Dairy Company (becoming Silverwood's Dairies Ltd in 1936) operated out of the Dupont plant until 1983. The 98 year old structure was sold and is no longer extant. Silverwood's eventually took over the Mac' Milk Store enterprise, Borden's Dairies, and the Baskin Robbins ice cream franchise. In the 1980's Silverwood's was itself taken over by Ault Foods Ltd. a division of John Labatt Ltd.

Signs 2

 Joining Tom at Signs2.

Wordless Wednesday Wordless Be There 2day

Little Things Thursday

Continuing with pit stops...
a stop (as during a trip) for fuel, food, or rest or for use of a restroom.

2019 Stone Island Mazatlan Mexico

Monday Mural

  I'm linking up at Monday Mural

May 2021 - Hamilton ON

Locke St.

The mural, which depicts a Hamilton Tiger-Cat Canadian football player and a tiger overlooking the city’s core from the escarpment, is painted on the south-facing exterior brick wall of Locke St. institution, West Town Bar & Grill.
The 1,050 square foot mural is the brainchild of award-winning Hamiltonian muralist Tim Ninehouse, who has completed 15 murals across the city since 1997. Ninehouse, originally from Holland, grew up in the East End of Hamilton and attended Tiger-Cats games as a child.

On the side of the Donut Monster - Hamilton-based artist of Vermillion Sands hand-painted this vibrant piece have had their work featured in National Geographic and Oprah Magazine among many. This vibrant and whimsical design includes donuts, monsters, dinosaurs, a dragon and other characters straight from a fairytale.

 The little ducks on the bottom right corner represent the Vanderkwaak family, who own the shop.

Another new artist to us - Max McKerlie

Weekend Street Reflections

 Posting at Weekend Reflections

The challenge has been expanded to include street photography as well so I shall start including street scenes.

I love coming across weddings when we travel so I'm going to pull some of those out for upcoming posts.

November 2018 - Toledo Spain

I like the edge showing an Irish pub!

Chocolate on James

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Sunday Salon

Hearth and Soul Link Party

Weekend Coffee Share

Sherry's Pickings

What's On Your Plate (Monthly)

MAY 2021 - Toronto ON

2021 - Hamilton ON

I was looking for something in my blog files and came across a random post that reminded me of how we spent a normal week pre-pandemic. We would be out and about all the time - September 2019.

Our daily active Covid cases are dipping below 2,000. 

BUT on Thursday DoFo made some announcements.

Ontario has announced a three-step plan to reopen the province, starting with outdoor recreational amenities, as it gradually prepares to ease pandemic restrictions.
As of May 22, outdoor recreational amenities – like golf courses and tennis courts – will be allowed to reopen.
Outdoor limits for social gatherings and organized public events will be expanded on Saturday, which will allow these amenities to be used by up to five people.

I love the idea of ActiveTO. But living next to the Gardiner I cannot fathom the behaviour of the drivers as they go bumper to bumper all day Saturday and Sunday. I even have video of them reversing or driving backwards down the UP ramp at Brookers Lane as they get frustrated. 

The first two lanes on the left are supposed to be closed to traffic forcing the cars into the middle lanes, however, you can see a couple of cars on it. It became jam packed in a little bit. Seems a driver(s) moved the barricade and they all started using it until the police showed up.

Some of them take Lake Shore and then as it backs up at the ramp onto Lake Shore at Palace Pier Ct. they also reverse or drive backwards on a one way street.
BTW we have a stay at home order so where are all these drivers going???

Even though our city councillor and many residents voiced their complaints to the planning committee they are going ahead with the closures for this long weekend.

However they have promised:

Double the number of dedicated Traffic Agents at key intersections
More Police officers to help direct traffic
An Officer stationed at the Brookers Lane ramp to prevent U-turns & cars driving the wrong way
Improved traffic management plans at the Gardiner/Lake Shore Boulevard split and at the Windermere and Lake Shore Blvd. W. intersection to allow for better traffic flow
Actively adjusting signal timing at the intersection of Windermere Ave. & Lake Shore Blvd. W throughout the weekend
To help address crowding in the area, the parking on the south side of Marine Parade Drive will be restricted – similar to last year. There will be a Parking Enforcement officer assigned specifically to the Marine Parade Drive and Palace Pier Court area beginning at 4:00pm on Friday, and all day/evening from Saturday to Monday.

John can use his bike in the living room.

I finished my embroidery just have to put a backing on it.

 I also repotted this plant, it had a baby which I separated into a small pot.

John took a walk on Sunday along Lake Shore, closed as mentioned above.

On our grounds.

Monday we took a short outing to Corktown. 

We stopped to see the status of the new Cherry St. bridge.
It will be one of the more iconic puzzle pieces fitted to Waterfront Toronto’s ambitious project to turn an industrial wasteland at the foot of the Don River into a verdant green community space with the rerouted river meandering through.

Cherry Street North is the baby of the family, bridge #1 built in Nova Scotia. Of the four new bridges — two at Cherry Street North, one each at Cherry Street South and Commissioners Street — that will connect the yet-to-be constructed Villiers Island to mainland Toronto, it weighs in at a paltry 375 tonnes over its 57-metre length.

This is designed to carry Toronto’s LRT and pedestrians. Its twin, designed to take the road traffic, comes in at 450 tonnes over the same length.

Their cousin, at Cherry Street South, will weigh 850 tonnes and span 109 metres, and the granddaddy of the lot, the Commissioners Street bridge, will come in at 1,100 tonnes and span 152 metres.

Who knew that Cherry St. had its own cherry blossom trees?!?!?!?

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I wanted to see the foundry that DoFo, in his infinite wisdom, decided should be torn down.

Demolish Doug, Save the Foundry, Doug For Out of Corktown and Doug Stay Home, Let's go to his home.

CBC Toronto revealed in January that the Doug Ford government approved a private sale of the land, located on Eastern Avenue in the West Don Lands, but will not release the identity of the purchaser.

The Ontario government doesn’t need to tear down a group of heritage industrial buildings in Toronto’s West Don Lands in order to decontaminate the site and allow housing to be built, a group of architects and community activists say.

The derelict red-brick buildings of the former Dominion Wheel and Foundries Co., the oldest of which dates back to 1917, have been at the centre of a political battle for weeks, after a local neighbourhood association won a court order blocking the province’s demolition, idling heavy equipment that had already started clearing the site.

The foundry is surrounded by new condos with Save the Foundry signs.

We stopped at Nani's for ice cream and it is an international learning experience.

Kulfi or Qulfi is a frozen dairy dessert originating in the Indian subcontinent in the 16th century. It is often described as "traditional Indian ice cream".
Kulfi is similar to ice cream in appearance and taste but denser and creamier. It comes in various flavours. The more traditional ones are cream (malai), rose, mango, cardamom (elaichi), saffron (kesar or zafran), and pistachio. Unlike ice cream, kulfi is not whipped, resulting in a solid, dense frozen dessert similar to traditional custard-based ice cream.
Pandan leaves are commonly pulverized to produce an emerald-green extract. The more mature the leaf, the darker the hue and deeper the flavor. Furthermore, pandan leaf powder is used to flavor both savory and sweet dishes. It is often mixed with coconut for ice cream.

Sorbetto is also called sorbet. Unlike like gelato, sorbetto is always a dairy and egg free frozen treat. It is, therefore, the lowest fat content of the three treats. Sorbetto is made with sweetened juice, fruit puree, or water and it is denser than gelato. It includes sugar and flavourings.

John had the pistachio almond kulfi, salted dark chocolate chip and the coconut pandan. I had the hibiscus and lemon sorbretto.

Tuesday John took a friend to an appointment. Then it was Movie afternoon.

Wednesday John had an appointment and then went to Metro. I am loving their mini croissants as my main source of bread. I freeze them and take one out as needed. Of course that meant he picked up other stuff I requested, chicken leg quarters, liver, pork chops, ground lamb, apples, tangerines, blackberries, raspberries. gluten free wraps.

I attended the last Spring Salon presentation by the Bata Shoe Museum. "Queens of Fashion: A Conversation about 18th Century Dolls with Sonia Krause".

In this post she shows the whole process of a lady getting dressed in the 18th century. I was particularly intrigued by the "pockets" underneath her outer clothing.

Click here to visit their online exhibitions.

Thursday we decided to go out after lunch.

In true Canadian fashion, one day it is too cool and then we are complaining it is too hot. We were unprepared when we headed out for 29C with a humidex of 33C so we only stayed out a while and then came home with the AC on in the car.

Still we managed to get some shots along with some interesting lanes that will be featured on Tuesday.

Damn new phone, they moved the camera lens! Have to remember to move my thumb.

There's nothing like spring blooms.

Friday John had an appointment downtown and took advantage of Longo's 2 hour free parking if you buy $20 worth of groceries. So I had to come up with a grocery list. Otherwise parking is $12 an hour! That list included ribs (we like theirs) avocados, green peppers, cilantro (thinking Mexican this weekend), mushrooms, garlic.

John was thinking of me as he captured a lane sign and a sidewalk mural.

Outside the Hockey Hall of Fame.

SOPHISTICATED SHAKERS

No cocktails this week as John is on antibiotics for a tooth.

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

COOKING

Saturday I made veal mushroom loaves, colcannon (potatoes and spinach) and sweet carrots with mushroom gravy. Nice recipe but the fat from the meat overflows the muffin tins. 

Sunday we had roasted chicken quarters with salad.

Monday John asked for chips and eggs and we had it along with white and black pudding and beans.

Tuesday was Saturday's leftovers and I made more mushroom gravy.

Wednesday calves liver, mashed potatoes, fried onions and Brussel sprouts.

Thursday pork chops au gratin potatoes and Brussel sprouts.

Friday steak and sauteed green peppers mushrooms bok choy and onions,

WATCHING

Tuesday at the Movies

The Woman in the Window - I know it had terrible reviews but on the whole it was a good thriller and actually better than the book.

I am ALL GIRLS 2021 was excellent. A crime thriller about human (specifically little girls) trafficking a world wide problem.
It’s a South African movie and based on true events. Because this story begins in 1994 and takes place in South Africa, the issue of Apartheid also plays a part.

Alone 2020 a thriller with an often repeated story line. Single woman, deserted highway at night, weird creepy guy with a push broom for a mustache tormenting her.

Other movies watched this week.

Spiral 2019 a Canadian horror thriller film. The film stars Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman and Ari Cohen as Malik and Aaron, respectively, a same-sex couple who move to a lily-white upper-crust small town with their daughter Kayla, only to suspect that their initial welcome from their neighbors Marshall and Tiffany may be concealing something much more sinister.
At first it is a simple horror movie with the usual creepy basements and bloody attics, creaks and bangs and hair-raising cues. 

Nothing is going to go well for Malik as the only Black in town.
But in this horror film, the horror is our history, our treatment of minorities. The cycle goes on as shown in the last scene. We are always afraid of people who appear to be "different" from us.

The Nest 2020 starring Jude Law is a psychological thriller set in the 1980s. This

 movie says everything about this dysfunctional family while saying nothing.

Jude Law gives one of his greatest performances as the born poor rags to riches to rags character. There is even a little of Don Draper (Mad Men) in him.

But Carrie Coon as his wife, Alison, gives us an even more impressive performance! You feel for her.

You are left wondering if Rory and Alison can/should survive as a couple/family?

Started watching, but didn't finish, we will...

Run This Town 2019 although the film is meant to show the downfall of Toronto's mayor Rob Ford it focuses more on the young Millennials who feel there is no future for them.

The choice to center “Run This Town” on Millennial malaise is an odd one, made all the more perplexing by the fact that director Ricky Tollman decided to center his story mostly on two fictional male Millennial characters, rather than the real-life reporter Robyn Doolittle, who spent years covering Ford’s various scandals before finding herself with video footage of Ford smoking crack.

Damien Lewis as Ford comes across as a caricature, in fact at the beginning John thought the movie was meant to be a spoof. The fat suit he wears makes him look like a Simpson character.
In case you are unaware Rob was the brother of our current premier DoFo Doug Ford. 

Don't waste your time.

READING

Toronto Public Library’s Membership Services said the online library set a new world record of 8 million digital downloads of e-books and audiobooks in 2020.

On my laptop Flavor Flours was all right.

On my phone The Red Lotus  was an okay read as I skimmed a lot of it. 

On my tablet Day of the Accident definitely kept me hooked!

Started Not a Drop to Drink a YA dystopian novel, not my usual cup of tea but I'm sticking with it.