Just catching up after a busy weekend in Toronto (my home).
The neighbourhood just 4 blocks away from me is known as "The Junction" so called because of the junction of 4 railway lines. Before the railway lines were laid down it was a native Indian trading route.The area has an interesting history of manufacturing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As factories relocated to larger areas in the suburbs the area became somewhat run-down but has now been revitalized by the influx of artists who moved in due to lower rents. Another interesting fact is the area was "dry " for the entire 20th century. Alcohol was first served in the neighbourhood in 2000. With that change more restaurants and bars started opening for business and it is now one of the most "happening" areas of the city with a mix of independent retailers, bakeries, coffee shops, art galleries, clubs and restaurants. Recently 2 craft breweries set up shop in the Junction. It is really a very cool part of Toronto which most tourists don't hear about. There's a warm , family oriented atmosphere and many generations of families have lived there.
Yesterday , I was walking home from a friend's place and discovered the opening of the ScotiaBank Photography Festival with multiple venues in the Junction. It was great to saunter into a shop or gallery and see the photographic art of up and coming artists and have a chance to chat with them as well. Almost every stop was offering wine, beer and nibblies so my walk home took much longer than expected!!!
Considering this has been the first warm, sunny weekend after a very long winter it was a lovely way to spend Sat. evening.
Today was another stunning day!!!! Warm and sunny but with a lovely breeze.
I've been waiting for weeks to hear when the cherry blossoms in High Park were going to blossom and this is the weekend. My brother and I had decided to scatter my mother's ashes there so we had a lovely family walk to the cherry blossom trees where we joined about half the population of Toronto to savour their beauty. Even though it's not strictly legal nobody seemed to mind as we scattered the ashes around the roots of several baby cherry blossom trees. We tried to be subtle about it. It was a lovely place because my mother loved High Park and flowers and she would have loved this. She passed away 6 years ago and it's taken us until now to find her final resting place. It's nice to think she will help the saplings grow and we can visit her there for years to come. My good friend, Meg; my brother Brian and his husband, Coman and my son, Robbie and his girlfriend, Stephanie were all there with me.
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| My sweetie with his sweetie! |
Seeing the blossoms was lovely however there were just too many people there so I'm going back tomorrow to see them in a more peaceful setting when all the families are back to school and work.
That's what I've been up too this weekend . Today was also my friend's birthday and I can now safely post the bracelet I made for her because she has it now.
The focal is from Ema K Designs. Meg loves all things birdy so this was perfect for her.
I hope you all had a lovely weekend, too.
Have fun!!!!!!!
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