May 30 - Day 315

A Young Picasso.

B made me a picture, especially for work, and here it hangs on my filing cabinet. I think it's supposed to be me. She also wrote me a poem, called "Hit The Road Jack", which was really just a lot of H's and A's and an obvious plagiarism of Percy Mayfield.

May 29 - Day 314

Under The Bridge.

On my run today I noticed some graffiti on the railroad bridge on TJ Dolan. Later in the day I head back to take some shots. Upon further investigation I noticed a lot more of it under the tracks. Most of it was just swear words, come on people!, but this tag was interesting.

May 28 - Day 313

Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce.

In a large saucepan or dutch oven, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil over med-high. Add 1 onion, coarsely chopped, season with salt and pepper and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 min. Add 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook just until garlic releases flavour. Add 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed, 1 cup vegetable broth and a sprinkle of oregano. Cover, bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer fro about 10 minutes, until the squash is fork tender. Now check how much broth is left. You want enough to make a moist sauce, but not too much that it's runny. I simmered about 5 more minutes uncovered until I got the right consistency. Mash the squash with the back of a wooden spoon. Serve over whole wheat pasta and top with sauteed mushrooms and tomato. Source: thenourishinggourmet.com Cooking tunes: a Mother Mother medley.

May 27 - Day 312

Inventory.

If anything this blog has recorded almost all of the statues in the cemetery. Perhaps the city's community services - cemetery division, should start following.

May 26 - Day 311

Over The River & Through The Woods.

The entrance to the Old Grove from West Gore. Which in this case would be through the woods and over the river.

May 25 - Day 310

Tipsy.

My pot of clothes pins was tipped over the other day. Wonder by who? Squirrels! Can you see the layer of pollen? Ahchoo!

May 24 - Day 309

Postcards From The Italy.

I arrived home from work today to find these two postcards in my mailbox from C. C is a very good pen pal, whereas my skills in that department are horrible! These two were sent from Italy - both images reminding her of me. The image you can't see is of the back of a statue - an homage to my preferred statue shot. I've already framed the bicycle card and the statue is hanging on my fridge. Thanks C!

May 23 - Day 308

Ghost Track.

A shot of the railway tracks from the cemetery bridge.

May 22 - Day 307

Outdoor Decor.

Plant/Candle holders attached to the back of my house. They were left by the former owner, I've never used them, perhaps this summer I will.

May 21 - Day 306

Beach Boys.

At one of my trips to the Antique Warehouse I bought a make-up case that had two luggage stickers, Bermuda and this one from Jamaica. Let's get together and feel alright...

May 20 - Day 305

Marlborough Man.

A post card I bought in Berlin at Tacheles. I just found this a couple months ago when I was going through some of the brochures I had picked up on my trip. Nice surprise!

May 19 - Day 304

Nesting.

A sleeping beauty keeps her unhatched ugly ducklings toasty warm on William St.

May 18 - Day 303

Veg Chili.

Heat 1TBSP olive oil over med-high. Add 1 small onion diced and 2 cloves minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, 4 minutes. Add 2 zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise, 2 carrots thinly sliced, 1 TBSP chili powder and 1 TSP cumin. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 can black beans and 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed, 1 can diced or crushed tomatoes, 1 can corn and 1 cup of water. Simmer until slightly thickened and carrots are soft, 8 to 10 minutes more. Adapted from Everyday Food - Cooking Tunes: Jeremy Fisher, CBC Radio 3 Sessions...I actually made this chili on Monday night, but chili is always best after a couple days.

May 17 - Day 302

Pipe Dreams.

Union Gas pipes at the back of the studio building.

May 16 - Day 301

Nothing To Lose.

While making dinner tonight I listened to a podcast of Jeremy Fisher on CBC Radio3 Sessions. Jeremy is a new artist to me and one song struck a chord, ha! Sorry. It was called Nothing To Lose and the line I'd like to leave you with is "The night and day are dancing around in a waltz but you don't need to know all the steps to get up and move, you've got nothing to lose" (Shot is of my Sand Cherry Tree's first flowers)

May 15 - Day 300

Rocky Raccoon.

At my parents for dinner tonight we had an unexpected guest. This little guy came right up onto the deck to peer in in the house. My dad set out after him and right after this shot he stood below Rocky and shook his finger at him, "You get away", he said sternly. Rocky obliged, after he made some loud noises and half-chased him, and according to my Mom he hasn't returned. Of course not, when my Dad tells you to do something you do it, ask my brothers.

May 14 - Day 299

Bridesmaids.

The buds from May 6th have bloomed! And that's pretty much all there is to say about that. Tonight Em, Megs and I went to see Bridesmaids. It's hilarious. You should see it. I've actually added this movie to my top comedies. I don't like really ranking things: books, movies, musicians, seasons, food, etc. but this movie, along with Anchorman, Superbad (I forgot about that one M!) and The Hangover are my top comedy movies, in no specific order.

May 13 - Day 298

Rain, Rain.

I took this shot from my front porch window. It had been raining all day and was raining still. You can see the raindrops as they land on this tree.

May 12 - Day 297

Colour Wheel.

A shot of the inside of a red/yellow tulip growing alongside my driveway. I've never planted tulips and don't ever recall them growing there. I did not know this but apparently squirrels like to move bulbs around, so I'm assuming my trapeze artists did this. They did a great job colour coordinating, a bunch of yellow, two reds and then this combo.

May 11 - Day 296

Louie!

I got him! It's not the most flattering shot, to be honest he had just landed on this branch after relieving himself. I'm not kidding - I was tracking him and thought, wow I'm glad I didn't catch that! Maybe that's why his feathers are ruffled.

May 10 - Day 295

Pretty In Pink.

This tree is on my run route. Not wanting to venture too far on this person's lawn I took my shots from the sidewalk, all the while picturing a shut-in type peering out at me through a crack in the blinds from the turret, which really should creep them out more than me, after all I'm the one with the long lens camera which appears to be pointed at the house.

May 9 - Day 294

Butternut Squash Curry.

Peel and cut 1 butternut squash into large chunks. Cut 1 onion into large chunks, chop it and 2 cloves of garlic in a food processor. Heat 1 TBSP canola oil over med heat. Add onions/garlic and 2 TBSP grated fresh ginger and 2 TSP curry powder and cook, stirring often about 5 min. Add 2 TBSP chopped tomatoes (also done in food processor). Add 3 cups of water, 2 TSP coarse salt and squash. Partially cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer gently until squash is tender 12 - 15 minutes. Serve over rice or quinoa. Garnish with cilantro and limes, if desired. Note: I was missing quite a few ingredients for this dish so it was really loosely based on a recipe from Whole Living. Cooking Tunes, Funeral, Arcade Fire.

May 8 - Day 293

Happy Mother's First Communion.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!! We are in KW to celebrate, but first things first, First Communion for George. Although she had perfected the 'prayer' pose, this shot taken outside after Mass made the cut for today. (Note: Mom I forgot to get a photo of you and George after I vetoed the red background, or else that would have definitely been posted, but since you two did steal Thanksgiving I'm sure you'll be okay with that).

May 7 - Day 292

Mausoleum Door.

Today was one of those days where time just seemed to escape me. In the late afternoon after finishing some errand running I stopped at the cemetery and took this shot. Maybe subconsciously because of my go-go-go day, and to be honest week, I craved a moment of peace and quiet.

May 6 - Day 291

Buds on A Branch.

Sorry for all the plant shots. Do you remember autumn and the foliage? Well now I've got a case of the spring fever and I'm going to express it in photographs.

May 5 - Day 290

Trump.

"You're In Bloom!" Yes, these trumpet daffodils are. Stratford is home to many beautiful city gardens, and this was taken at the Churchill Circle garden, across from the old fair grounds.

May 4 - Day 289

Pilgriming Vine.

A tree on my street, that I often notice, as it's partially covered with this ivy.

May 3 - Day 288

Deux Coeur.

Some graffiti at Avon School. Doesn't look like it will last long, as you can tell by the paint chipping. I don't know if the artist was going for a melting heart, or if the paint was a little too watery - both hearts appear drippy so I'll say artistic.

May 2 - Day 287

Cream of Cauliflower Soup.
In a pot over med heat melt 4 TBSP butter. Add 1 diced onion and 1 1/2 cups finely diced celery and cook, stirring, until tender but not browned. Stir in one head of cauliflower, trimmed and coarsely chopped. Cover and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/4 cup all purpose flour. Turn up the heat to high. Slowly stir in 4 cups veg broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer, partially covered, until the cauliflower is very tender, about 25 minutes. Using an immersion blender process until smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup cream. Heat through but do not boil. Add a pinch of poudre douce, salt and pepper. Adapted from Joy of Cooking. Cooking Tunes; shuffle.

May 1 - Day 286

The War of the Worlds.
As I have just a few pages of "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett left to read, I'm looking for my next book. I've bought some second hand classics in the past year that I haven't got to and I'm leaning toward The War of the Worlds, which to my delight, features a cover illustration by Stratford artist, Virgil Burnett.
PS -The Help - I definitely recommend.

April 30 - Day 285

You're Not My Mom.

I had a two day yoga training in Brampton this weekend so M&J graciously let me stay at their place to cut down on drive-time. As M&J attended a housewarming tonight, I arrived home to just Marshall, who as you can see looks a little confused as to why I'm here and his parents are not.

April 29 - Day 284

Workman @ River Run.

Tonight, for my listening pleasure and that of the packed River Run Centre in Guelph, the music of one Hawksley Workman accompanied by Mr. Lonely and Brad Kirkpatrick. An amazing two hours of musical genius and comedic tales. I don't know if I will ever tire of seeing this incredibly talented musician perform.

April 28 - Day 283

Instamatic - Photo-Fantastic.

Ah, the good old days of film photography. I don't use this camera, it's more of an art piece, especially with the original packaging.

April 27 - Day 282

Transplant.

My front garden is starting to show signs of life. This plant was the first to make any progress. My mom transplanted it from her garden last year and it seems to have really taken to it's new home.

April 26 - Day 281

Viva Las Decorations.

I've been put in charge of decor for this year's Volunteer Appreciation at work. Our theme this year is "Viva Las Vegas". My centerpieces are dice made out of floral moss, tissue paper and circle stickers topped with a flower-pick holding a poker hand. Decor for the room includes lots of black and white stars and more dice. All made by hand with supplies bought at the dollar store. How's that for crafty?

April 25 - Day 280

Drip Drop.
Between the rain and the cold my clothesline is feeling a little left out.

April 24 - Day 279

Easter Sunday.

At my parents for Easter Dinner, their cat Darby takes advantage of open patio doors to participate in some bird watching (upper left hand side of shot).

April 23 - Day 278

Tight Rope.

I decided to tackle some spring cleaning today by cleaning some of my windows on the second floor. What I thought would be a rather simple task proved wrong by first forgetting that my windows can open by hinging inside, resulting in me half climbing out the first window to clean the exterior pane (not good for vertigo and just plain awkward). Then on the second window one of the hinges broke; leaving the bottom half of my window to fall on my foot, and then I wasn't able to get the screens back in the windows. Bright Side - the view from the pane-less, screen-less window.

April 22 - Day 277

Bok Choy & Mushrooms

Chop and wash bok choy. In a skillet of boiling water, blanch bok choy, turning once, for about 2 minutes or until darker; drain and set aside. Dry out skillet. In same skillet melt 1 TBSP unsalted butter over medium-high heat; saute sliced cremini mushrooms and a thinly sliced shallot for about 2 minutes or until softened. Add bok choy, 1/4 cup veg broth, 2 TBSP soy sauce, 1 TSP sesame oil; saute for about 5 minutes or until no liquid remains. Serve over basmati rice. Adapted from Canadian Living. Cooking Tunes: Mother Mother, Touch Up