Glad To Be Home

I know my cats missed me while I was gone but that doesn't necessarily mean that Suzie is going to cut me any slack. She's still going to take over my favourite chair first chance she gets!

As soon as I stand up and leave the room, she jumps into place. I think she likes the fact that I've warmed up the seat 

Hard to get mad at her when she's so darned cute while she's doing it!

Left Behind

I spent the last six days in Portland, Oregon. As usual, I had many amazing adventures and took lots of pictures, which I hope to share here in the very near future. For now, here's a picture of one of the treasures I had to leave behind. 

It's a vintage paper cutter which I found at a Goodwill store for only $14.99. I really wanted to bring it home but it was quite heavy. Even before I got to the airport and learned my suitcase weighed 48.5 lbs, I knew I wouldn't be able to carry it home, the combination of the wooden body and metal handle was too just too much. 

Instead, I begged my friend Michelle to buy it and she did. I'm happy to know it found a good home and if I'm very lucky, I might be able to visit it again some day!

Canada Day 2015

Happy Canada Day!

I didn't realize until I went to find an image for this post that our flag is fifty years old this year!

Are you doing anything special to celebrate?

Travelling Again

Off to Portland this trip, which involved a five hour flight to Vancouver and then a one hour jaunt to Portland. The second flight was a Bombardier Dash 8-300 that carries about 40 people. I sat right beside the propeller.

Love how my iPhone caught the spinning blades in this photo. 

Just Popping In

I've been enjoying the glory of spring and all that is blooming, plus I've been busy doing some more travelling. Hope to get back in the blogging groove very soon but in the meantime, check out this beautiful poppy my boss plucked from her garden.

Haiku My Heart Fridays: The Baseball Game

We watched and sang
"Take me out to the ballgame"
but ate no peanuts.

I went to see the Blue Jays play the other night.  It was my first time this year - the first time in a few years, actually.  I forget in between how much I enjoy being there.  The whole experience is so enjoyable, from the first view of the CN Tower when the roof is open

to the excitement of watching the game itself as the innings unfold.

People watching is always a treat (not all the action happens on the field!), as is watching the mascot do his thing to entertain the crowd.

Night games are the best, when the lights are sparkling and the field is all lit up bright and shiny.

This time, I went with two friends who were visiting from Australia and had never seen a baseball game before.  They enjoyed themselves as well.  We ate hotdogs and they drank beer (sadly, it was Budweiser who currently holds the beer concession for the stadium. I was surprised the Canadian breweries were not represented).  We clapped and cheered and booed along with the crowd and during the seventh inning stretch, sang "OK Blue Jays (Let's Play Ball)" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame".

There's just something about the whole baseball game experience that I find quite magical.  I have to admit, the fact that the Jay beat the Yankees by a score of 5 to 1 was pretty darned special too! ;)


For more Friday haiku, visit Rebecca's blog.

A Walk In Spring

Took myself out for a walk on Sunday afternoon, looking for signs of spring. On such a warm, sunny afternoon, I had no trouble finding them.

The magnolia trees are blooming and the deciduous trees are starting to show their green with the arrival of new leaves.

Here's a closeup of those oh so pretty magnolia blossoms.

The forsythia bushes are also blooming, at least they are in my home neighbourhood.  The one at the office has not yet sprung forth.

There are tulips in some gardens and, as you can see in the background of this photo, people are busy cleaning up their lawns and filling yard waste bags.

In one neglected garden, the daffodils are showing.

Children are playing hopscotch (nice to see this game continues on!).

And the surest sign that winter is officially over in Toronto? Construction season has begun!