Red 123

I have always wanted a bright, red door on my home. Guess I'll have to keep dreaming, but I loved this one that leads to a friends house that I visited not long ago.

Station art

I found this bright, geometric mural inside the Saint Clair West subway station. The colors and angles really appeal to me. I think it's really nice that the TTC tries to make the stations look nice, it's a small touch but it can make a difference for those who commute every day.

Snowy chapel

A little chapel found by the side of a country road outside Uxbridge, Ontario.

As it turns out, this chapel has also been photographed by another Ontario blogger, Andy. Although he caught it in a sunnier season.

On set: part two

After being in the studio audience for Steve and Chris, I decided to try another Canadian talk show. This past Thursday I got to see the live broadcast of the Marilyn Denis show. It was a lot of fun and as a bonus, we all got tickets to the International Design Fair in Toronto. Guess you know where I'll be this weekend!

Canadian stage

Last weekend my husband and I went to our first theater performance in Toronto. We chose the Canadian premier of the Tony award-winning play Caroline or Change. It was excellent! The cast was really strong and I also liked the many-leveled set. In fact, I can't think of anything I didn't like. If this show ever comes your way, I highly recommend it!

Indian night

As I mentioned before, my husband and I are taking a cooking course through the Toronto School Board. It meets every Tuesday evening for nine weeks. So far it's been quite fun and I've gotten some new ideas for recipes and have improved my basic kitchen skills. 

We visit a different type of cuisine every week, this is a look at our Indian night. You have mango chutney, fragrant rice, yogurt and mint sauce, red lentil dal, chana masala, aloo gobi, vegetable pakura and onion nests. It was all delicious!!

New prices

Prices on the TTC have gone up. It used to be that you could get four tokens for $10 or eight for $20. Now you get three for $7.80 or seven for $18.20. What I don't understand is why they don't just say that on the machine - $20 + $1.80 change just seems a bit confusing to me. Ah well, just another one of the mysteries of how this city is run.

To see more signs, which may or may not be confusing(!), check out Signs, Signs.

Whee!

Lakeridge also offers tubing, which is basically sledding down the hill in an inner tube. We saw mostly kids coming down, but there were a few adults, so I guess I wouldn't have to feel too ashamed to try it.

This is how they get back up the hill. Pretty neat idea!

The slopes

Here's a look at the a couple of the actual slopes at Lakeridge Ski Resort. As you can see, the snow is man-made and shot out of those cannons, meaning that you can ski every weekend in the winter. The lifts are in the background on the left, there are apparently a couple of other slopes on the other side of the hill as well. I am guessing that's where most of the skiers were as the parking lot and chalet were quite full!

Beam me up!

Here's another look at the local ski slopes. This is the jardin d'enfants where kids (and sometimes adults) learn pizza (snow plow) and fries (skis parallel) and other skiing basics before hitting the real slopes. A convenient little conveyor belt takes them from the bottom back up to the top. Much easier than the t-bars I used when I had my ski lessons back in Europe!

Visitor

The neighbor's mietz often comes by to pay me a visit. I can hardly resist when he looks at me through the door like that. When the weather is nicer, I often sit on the porch and give him a nice rub, he's a pretty friendly fellow. I sometimes wonder if his owners feed him enough or if he just likes to get some extra treats by making the rounds of the cat lovers on the block.

You can see more furry friends at Camera Critters.

Monochrome skyline

Here's a look at the Hamilton skyline from the days when there was still foliage. We got a pretty good snowfall yesterday, but it looks like the forecast for today will be fine. Sunny, but cold - that's how I like my winter weather. Just please hold back on the snow!

To see more monochrome shots from around the world, visit the Weekend in Black and White.

Snowy scene

The snow in my neighborhood has all melted. So far we've had an incredibly mild winter here in Toronto.  I am certainly not complaining about that! If I want to see some white stuff, I can always drive up to Uxbridge where this shot was taken.

Please wait here

I visited one of the "ski resorts" around Toronto this past weekend. I am not really an avid skier, but I wanted to see what the "slopes" are like and from what I saw, I think I could handle these! Guess I won't have to wait on this bench while my husband enjoys the hillsides without me.

To see more signs from around the world, visit Signs, Signs.

Center ice

I've shown you a few shots from the new Loblaws downtown which has taken over the Maple Leaf Gardens center (former home of the Toronto Leafs). I thought you might be interested to know that the shopping chain is preserving the building's history in many ways, including having the former "center ice" spot being marked with a nice, bright dot. So here I am, right in the thick of it all!