Act of Defiance

Over a week ago, I twisted my ankle rather badly and I have been limping around ever since. I have been doing all those things one is supposed to do with a swollen ankle - elevate it, ice it, wrap it in a tensor bandage - but it is taking a long time to heal and I am getting tired of hobbling around. 

So today I decided to cheer myself up and do something silly. I gave myself a pedicure and painted my toenails a splashy bright red. I still have to wear the tensor bandage but at least the foot sticking out of the bandage is not so boring. Hooray for little acts of defiance!

Thank Goodness for Wild Flowers

Because of the prolonged drought that we in Eastern Ontario are suffering this year, my flower garden at my home in the country is rather pathetic. Most of the plants are dead or severely stunted and I have abandoned hope that they will recover. But all is not lost! There is a wonderful field of yellow daisies that are growing wild on my front lawn that don't seem to be affected by the lack of water. They seeded themselves down years ago and have spread over a large part of the yard. I am so glad for the sight of them this year. Hooray for wild flowers!

Sculpture in Regina

 When I was in Regina last week, I went for a walk and checked out some of the sculpture in public places. I think you can tell a lot about a city by the sculpture it displays. Regina showed excellent taste by having this wonderful piece by one of my favourite Canadian sculptors, Joe Fafard, This sculpture of a bison lying down is so intricate, made of three flat pieces of steel with cutouts to give it texture. Very cool!
 

I wasn't sure about this piece, which appears to be a mesh of wavy lines. It looks sort-of like the parts of a wicker basket all stretched out in front of the cold steel and glass building behind. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any name or other identification for it.

Another Joe Fafard. This cow is about three or four times life-size and has quite a lot of presence, lying on the floor in an office building in downtown Regina. I believe there are sculptures of cows like this in Toronto, too. It is wonderful seeing a sculpture of something so organic in cold sterile places like office building foyers.

My Stay in Regina, Saskatchewan

Last week, I went to Regina, Saskatchewan for a business trip. I stayed in this wonderful old plum pudding of a hotel, the Hotel Saskatchewan. When I walked inside, I felt like I was stepping back in time. 

This was my room - all very frilly and luxurious. I should have been wearing a long skirt with lots of lace while staying here - I felt rather out of place wearing a business jacket.

One of the first things I always do after checking into my room when staying at a hotel is check out the view from the window. This was my view of the city from my 9th floor room. Regina is still a small city but growing because Saskatchewan is resource-rich and prosperous. There were lots of new buildings but the whole city felt very spacious - and very very flat!

I always enjoy taking bird's eye pictures of people. I took this one while looking out the window of my hotel and I really like it because the person is framed by the lamp posts and the shadows and white lines on the street. Makes it rather abstract.

Cooling Off By the Water

The weather is so hot lately and everyone I know is dreaming of going to the cottage or the beach to spend some time cooling off. It seems people have been doing this for a long time. My own family has always seemed to love going to beaches and places with water in the hot weather, and I have a number of photos with examples of this. This wonderful old photograph was taken at Winnipeg Beach in 1946 (before I was born), and shows my grandfather (standing), my grandmother (sitting to his left), my Aunt Jill (on his right) and my father (close to the front right of the picture). I am not sure who all the children are. 

This photograph is also quite old but was taken more than 10 years later. Again, it is a family shot of people by the water, cooling off. The little girl in the front is my sister Marilyn, on her left is our cousin Eileen, I am sitting beside Eileen (with my head down) and behind Eileen is my mother. I don't know who the little girl is beside me - some strange child who decided to hang out with us. This was taken on the Coney Island beach in Kenora Ontario on a hot summer day, many many years ago.

Moving ahead in time, this picture was taken last weekend in a park in Toronto. My son Brian is standing, watching over my grandsons Max (4 1/2) and Charlie (2 1/2). The park had this wonderful wading pool with a fountain in the middle and lots of people with children, wading around and cooling off. Some things never change!

A Fun Way to Get a Haircut

How do you make the whole process of getting a haircut tolerable, and even fun, for a small child? When I was in Toronto last weekend, I found out. I went with my son when he took his two kids for much-needed haircuts to a wonderful hair salon, called Melonheads, which is designed just for children. My grandson Max (4 1/2) chose an orange airplane to sit in while he got his hair cut.   

Charlie (2 1/2) waited his turn while riding on a horse. (Note the toy elephant that Charlie carries with him everywhere.)

Then it was Charlie's turn and he chose a blue locomotive to sit in while he got his hair cut. There was also a firetruck and a pink sports car and other fun places to sit. I was impressed by the patience of the hairdresser. Little kids move their heads constantly and wiggle a lot, but she managed to get the job done - with no tears or complaints on the part of Max or Charlie.

After the haircut, we all went for ice cream. A perfect treat on a really hot, sunny day. 

Mmmm-mmmm! Does that ever taste good!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last Saturday was my birthday. I was in Toronto visiting my family at the time, and I thought it would be fun to compare a picture of my birthday dinner on the weekend with a photo of a birthday party long, long ago. This is the photo from many years ago (it is frightening to think how many years ago it was!) for my 5th birthday party. I am second from the right with a big smile on my face and a Micky Mouse party hat on my head. The little girl peeking over the chair is my sister Marilyn. It was a classic party, where all the little girls wore dresses and we ate cake and ice cream and drank pop.

This is my birthday dinner on the weekend at a restaurant in Toronto, with my daughter Sarah on the left and my son Brian on the right (the picture isn't the greatest because the restaurant was dark.) We had wine and lobster and salad, and when the waitress overheard that it was my birthday, she surprised us by bringing me a fantastic piece of cake with a lit sparkler. It was a lovely party and I was so happy to be with my two wonderful children for the evening. Both birthdays featured food and drink and cake and good company, but with a difference (now I have lobster and wine instead of ice cream and pop!). Happy birthday to me!