In memory

Gardiner and Ryerson are big names in Toronto, but I can't find any information to see if this grave in the Mount Pleasant cemetery holds any of the actual bigwigs. The large size of the stone and the care taken with the tulips would tend to make me think they are attached to one of the important families. In any case, I find this memorial stone and the flowers simply lovely.

If you'd like to see more cemeteries, visit Tapophile Tragics. And you can see more red at Ruby Tuesday.

Man and koi

I found this mural on West Queen West during my recent art walk. I love the colors on this one. Once again, I couldn't find any information on the mural or the artist, but any links are welcome! In other news, today I am joining the ranks of the employed in Canada. After looking for a job for almost a year, I decided to take a position with the same company my husband works for. I'm pretty excited about it, I just hope it won't interfere too much with my blogging. 

And if you'd like to see more murals, visit Monday Murals.

Knitted reflections

I found this supercute yarn shop and knitter's cafe on Queen West Street. Since moving to Toronto, I have taken up knitting as a hobby to pass the winter hours when I was home alone during the day. So far I've made almost all of my friends a hat or a scarf, but  since the spring/summer have set in,  people don't really need winter wear anymore. So I've taken to knitting baby items. I've got a dear friend who will be having a little one in October. I've already made several pairs of booties and now I'm working on a blanket. Maybe I'll post a photo when it's done, it's looking quite nice so far!

Until then, you can enjoy more reflections at Weekend Reflections.

More tulips

I find it's really hard to get a good tulip shot. I never know if they look better from the side or the top. In any case, these tulips also survived the squirrels in my neighborhood. My MiL and I created this bed when she came to visit last summer. My dahlias are going to look really nice there this summer.

Under the cherries

I was lucky enough to see the cherry trees in High Park in full blossom a few weeks ago. However, I was unhappy once I was at the park to find that I left my camera's memory card at home. I got a few shots with my iPhone and this is one of the better ones. I'm glad I got to see them before the blossoms were blown away. I don't think any picture could render the real beauty of being there anyway! 

To see more flowers, visit Floral Fridays.

Get a room!

As promised, here's a peek inside one of the rooms at the Gladstone Hotel. This one was designed by Bruno Billio and it uses a lot of antique accessories and furnishings from  the original Gladstone building, but what I really love is that red wall and architectural style drawing. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a good overview shot as the rooms are not so spacious, but I hope this gives you and idea of how nice the rooms are.

Gladstone cowboy

The Gladstone Hotel is a quirky little boutique hotel that has become a landmark of West Queen West, the arsty section of town. Each of the guest rooms has been designed and decorated by a noted artist or interior decorator. I was lucky enough to tour a few of the rooms when I went on an art walk a few weeks ago. I'll give you a peek inside tomorrow. 

Until then, enjoy the cowboy elevator. It's an old-fashioned lift that riders must manually elevate by cranking the wheel. I didn't try it out, but I'd love to go back and see what it's like! If you'd like to see more signs, visit Signs, Signs.

Barn and bench

I was looking through my archives (don't worry, Toronto is a little greener than this these days!) when I came upon this lovely barn and bench. I thought it was worth showing, even if the photo was taken back in March. It comes to you from the Riverdale Farm - a real, working farm in the middle of the city. They also host a farmer's market on certain days of the week and alot of the produce is organic. It's another nice place to get out and about in Toronto.

To see more barns, visit Barn Charm.

Old York Lane

I found this mural on Old York Lane in the heart of Yorkville. It's a little section of Toronto that hosts high-end fashion boutiques and the like, but it's a nice place for window shopping (for me at least!). I tried to find some more information about this work online, but my searches have not been fruitful. If anyone knows anything more about it, or the artist, please let me know. I think it adds a nice touch to this lovely little lane.

To see more murals, visit Mural Mondays.

Blue bench

I couldn't resist stopping for a shot of this bright bench in the west section of Queen West Street! This is where all the cool kids live, there's tons of art galleries, hip bars and restos. However, gentrification is slowly setting in and I predict over the next few years the artists will be moving on to cheaper areas of the city.  Until then, it's a great place for hanging out.

My garden

A few of the tulips I planted in the fall survived the hunger of the squirrels and are now blooming quite nicely. Squirrels have expensive taste when it comes to tulips! I also planted a few fancier varieties, but the squirrels bit the heads right off of those as soon as they started peeking out. The plain old red and yellow blooms appear to be safe from their greedy jaws though. Now I know what to choose for next season and I find the red and yellow ones just as beautiful as the fancier blossoms anyway.

PS: The angels came with the house and I'm just too lazy to move them to the basement.

Mandir

Unfortunately you can't take photos inside Hindu temples, so all I have are outdoor shots of the Shri Swaminarayan temple. It's an absolutely amazing work of architecture. The temple was assembled from numerous pieces, fit together much like a jigsaw puzzle. The pieces were all hand-carved by artisans in India and transported by sea containers to Toronto. 

The building is modeled on ancient architectural standards and stands today without a single piece of steel or any kind of internal reinforcement. I only wish the sky had been bluer that day to provide more contrast to the white stone, but I did get some lovely tulips. And if you'd like to see more flowers, visit Floral Fridays.

PS: Coincidentally, I've visited another temple built by the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism. It's not quite as grand as this one, but still beautiful. You can see it here.

Details

A closer look at the beautiful woodwork of yesterday's doorway. 

Isn't it fantastic?

Into the temple

I recently visited the Shri Swaminarayan temple just outside Toronto. It opened in 2007 and it is the largest Hindu temple in Canada. This entrance actually takes you into the community center portion of the temple, you can't enter into the Mandir directly. I love all that beautifully carved woodwork. It's quite warm and inviting. On Friday, I'll give you a look at the Mandir itself. It's fantastic!

May theme day: Bakeries

May is here! What a better way to celebrate than with some fresh-baked bread? I have shown you outside Dimpflmeier's before, but I thought another view was worth showing since it is hands-down the best bakery in town! 

Although this bakery is specialized in German-style breads, they also have a nice pastry counter. Photos are not really allowed inside, but I managed to surreptitiously get this one with my iPhone, I only wish this photo made everything look as delicious as it really is!

If you'd like to see more bakeries from around town, visit the CDP Theme Day page. And happy May Day!