Kalbach is Back!

Natalie Kalbach is back in Toronto this weekend (her last visit was in November 2012), teaching classes at Bizzy B.  Taking classes with her Friday night, all day Saturday and all day Sunday means I'm a little too busy making art and having fun to blog, but I'll be sure to post more photos and tell you all about it next week - stay tuned!

Nathalie, me, Marg and Kelly

Haiku My Heart: The XXII Olympiad

The Olympic Games:
Years of training and hard work,
Medals born from dreams.


Four years ago, the Olympic Games were held in Vancouver, Canada.  It was such an exciting and proud time for Canadians, not just because we had the honour and responsibility for hosting athletes from all over the world but because it was our best performance ever - 26 medals in total.  14 of those medals were gold, the highest number of gold medals won by a country in a single Winter Olympics to date.

As this year's Games begin in Sochi, Russia, amidst so much controversy about overspending, alleged corruption and unfinished construction, recently imposed controversial legislation denying basic rights for homosexuals and increased fears over security threats, we can only hope that the main purpose of the Games: "to help to build a better world through sport practised in a spirit of peace, excellence, friendship and respect" (source: olympic.org) will prevail.  Maybe the Games are a colossal waste of time, effort and money but now that they are here, I can't help but feel the excitement.

Whether they win medals or not, I am incredibly proud of all the athletes who are gathering in Sochi. The skills and accomplishments that have brought them this far are worthy of our respect.  Just being there is an honour and for the next two weeks, those of us sitting at home on the couch watching the Games on TV will be cheering on our fellow countrymen and women as they compete to stand on the podium.

Go Canada!


Haiku My Heart is hosted by recuerda_mi_corazon.  Please click on the link to read more.

No Overnight Parking

Officially, they don't allow overnight parking where I work. Unofficially, people do it from time to time.  Of course, it's probably easier to blend in during the summer.  In winter, it's pretty noticeable if you haven't moved your car from one day to the next!

Not sure how soon these people are planning on coming back for their cars but if we get any more snow  over the next few days, they might have trouble finding their vehicles and digging them out!

It Snowed Today

Why yes, as a matter of fact, we did get some more snow today.  The morning commute was a little sloppy for me and something a lot of people chose to avoid today, with good reason.  It snowed for several hours which, combined with a strong wind, made for some interesting snow drifts.  Like this one which is visible out my office window:

The picture below was taken a mere 45 minutes later. Already you can see how much it has been further sculpted by the winds swirling around.

Here's how my car looked at the end of the day.  Luckily, it was very light snow, easily removed. Considering that I haven't had to use my snow brush more than 3 times all of this winter so far, I didn't mind.

How about those snowbanks in front of my car?!  They're getting awfully high!!

Snow Removal

If you read yesterday's post about the pile of snow blocking one of the driveways in the parking lot where I work, you'll be glad to know the problem was fixed overnight.  Here's how things looked this morning:

I'm told they actually had to remove snow and take it away in order to clear the area that they did. Which is good news because, oh joy, there's more snow in the forecast for tonight!

Snow Stupid

Winter is officially half over.  God help us, we're already sick of the cold and in many cases across Canada, wondering what to do with all the snow that has accumulated.  Sadly, this leads to cases of what I like to call "snow stupid".

Case in point:  the snowplow driver who cleared the parking lot where I work over the weekend.  The one who left a mountain of snow behind.

Sure, it doesn't look that bad from this angle, does it? You can't really blame the guy - the more snow we get, the harder it is to find a place for it, there's only so much he can do.

But here's the problem : that big pile of snow just happens to be sitting across the only driveway leading into the north end of the western parking lot.  Take a closer look:

Here it is from another angle - you can see the new pile of very dirty brown snow in the middle of the photo:

Really, dude?  Were you smoking crack with our mayor just before you climbed in to drive the snowplow?!?   What on earth made you think this was the right thing to do? Especially since these darned snowbanks will take a loooonnnng time to melt once the warm weather gets here and in the meantime, we're going to have weeks of not being able to use this driveway.

Oh well, you know what they say:  there's no stupid like snow stupid.

After the AGO

After I left the art gallery last night, I took some photos nearby.  Directly across the street, I was struck by how the porch light lit up the front of this building:

Here's a closeup of the pretty ironwork railing:

The gallery itself has a nighttime look that is quite eye-catching, with this painting (entitled "Baffin Island") by Lawren Harris projected onto the outer building:

This shot turned out a bit blurry but I like the effect, I think it portrays the rushed feeling of a busy intersection quite well.

Ever wonder what an art store looks like at night? Here's a shot in the window of Curry's, which looks a bit spooky, don't you think?

Alas, I was too late to get an excellent haircut, they were closed too.  Maybe next time!