368 - New Year's Eve

A perfect day with my mate,
strolling about the neighbourhood.

Options for the evening are many..
We are ready to flow with what the evening brings...

First stop: a drink at Sweaty Betty's.

367 - Provencal-Style Fish Soup with Rouille

Preparing the evening's meal
to share with friends...

As I prepare,
I come across an inspiring blog entry
complete with recipe. ...An adapted recipe
of the recipe I am following!

The soup is well received,
much conversation around the table...
a lovely time together.
Thank you DD+LC for the great scrabble game
and for sharing the evening.

All cleaned up now.

? what is the percentage of time 'cooking' that is actually spent cleaning? was it 20%, and 20% shopping?....
Hmmm...
Whether I ever know the answer or not matters not...
all of my adventures in cooking
have been great experiences shared with others.

366 - racler...to scrape

Thinking about how to continue...
A bunch of looking online at other projects,
while carrying on with daily life...

As the new year approaches,
gatherings with friends continue.
Food, wine, and conversation
are in full gear.

A delightful new experience
arrives with a friend,
complete with heating element,
cheese, potatoes,
pickled onions and gherkins...
and of course, a complimenting wine....

Thank you, PVS!

365

This is it!
Day 365! My first 365 completed.

Huron is lively and alive.

Maylee in the morning,
Electro-Fi on the radio...
with cosmic carla in the mix...

More baking apres maylee,
with visits from friends...

When all is quiet
and the door stops revolving,
I take a walk outside
and have an amazing encounter
with the neighbourhood convenience store owner.

He is a Korean man,
10 years younger than Kenny.
In our encounter he shares his life, and understanding of aging...
From executive elite to cigarette store sales,
He is active in pursuing photography, caligraphy and cheese
for himself.

In our sharing,
I experienced a new perspective of Kenny's life...
Kenny's enthusiasm for new adventures,
his journey to stay young, vibrant
and engaged in life, and all that it entails.

Thank you Kenny,
for me.

A year ago I started this project,
inspired
by adventurous,
life-loving
scrabble players...

thank you...
My wish is
that we have started a tradition
that will carry on...

so...
What happens tomorrow?
Not entirely certain...

I do know that I will continue to post...

tomorrow will be day 366...

aja! aja!

364

It is bitterly cold out today.

Inside,
Cosmic Carla joins us
for a maylee workout....

Apres workout,
baking session together...
The oatmeal currant cookies are perfect!

363

A beautiful and brilliant boxing day!

The day is relaxed...
turkey soup in the kitchen,
back to blues on the radio...

Turkey + Kale soup
with a wonderful tourtiere for dinner...
with the cosmic pair and a surprise guest...
and off to see Priscilla - what a queen she is!!

On the way home,
a stop into the new John street Ballroom...

A true boxing day extravaganza!

362

14 years with my mate...
Wonderful years,
each moment
precious...

My first Christmas with the Hayes family...
The most jolly of times....

Anna, Merry Christmas to you!
We love you and missed you being here...
You are in our hearts...

361

...tiny tots
with their eyes all aglow,
will find it hard to sleep tonight!

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas now...

360

Wishing all a merry christmas,
with all the sweet joys of giving,
peace, love and life.

54 hours of Christmas tunes playing...
To tune in: PJradio by saBEE

359

A little gray squirrel
feeding on a muffin
suddenly bolted...

In comes black squirrel,
not afraid when I open the door.

When everything has been eaten,
he seems annoyed that I am not bringing more!

358

Morning sunlight in the house.
Bright, beautiful and warming.

357

A giant sleepyhead all day...

In the evening
a date with my mate
to see my first Leafs game...

sleepyhead took over...

On this date, sleepasaurus got up before the end of the game,
unlike our early first dates where sleepyhead slept through entire movies...

356

The last few days of my first 365...

Perhaps it is the time of year,
visiting with friends and family,
...jolly times..

And busy times...
the camera has not come out since the envision party.

A photo from the year's project...

355

A busy morning...
Farmers' market visits - to the brickworks
and then to the north building at St Lawrence.

Recovering from the envision christmas party in the afternoon...
Chicken broth on the stove,
a fire lit,
Chet Baker with Cassandra + other chix playing...

Life is good.

354

envisioneers...
partying until the wee morning hours...

Thank you to the Inn on the Twenty, to all envisioneers and a special thank you to the musical talents of Maylee Todd!

...best party ever!

353

The morning is busy...
Preparing to drive out to Jordan, ON...
The Inn awaits envisioneers...

A pack of Belmonts + matches...
I have a feeling...
a party is about to happen...

352

The first bloom on the Christmas Cactus...

.. for the cosmic couple's first night in Toronto
Moved in and settled in their new urban cottage.
Welcome to the neighbourhood! :)

351

14 days to complete my first 365...
The first day I am posting in the early morning hour...

Whew!
Reunion-ing with high school pals...
some last seen 20+ years ago...

Memories...
Reflections on the past...

Walking home, this window display catches my eye...
New Era, Toronto!

350

Day after the deep freeze,
it is snowy and gray...

The day is spent exploring the world of maps,
csv and kml file types...

Music playlist
"remembering the high school daze"
plays as I scrabble with my mate...

Soon, it will be time to bundle up
for a reunion with high school pals...

349

A day of details,
seemingly small tasks..
A few too many
bring a frenzied feeling on...

Take a breath,
Remember blue skies...
...ahhh...much better now...

348

Wet, wet day...
the threat of a ton of snow...
Braved the weather for a birthday celebration.
A lovely evening gathering...

Got home before the snow,
to snuggle by a fire....

347

Returning from the market this morning,
a small sparrow sat on the ledge of the kitchen windows.
I was reminded of why I started putting seeds out.
Not for the squirrels...but for the birds...

346

All that remains from our visit to the farmers' market last Saturday...
Chicken noodle soup made in the afternoon,
for today, tomorrow and lots to share.

345

Visiting with a pal from AZ...

Digital tasks in the morning,
Matching moccasins bought together in the afternoon,
Dinner at home
with a fun game of Scrabble Upwords by the fire.

A lovely Thursday.

344

Morning light on the first christmas cactus bud.

343

Spent a few hours this afternoon
in the shiny part of town...
People rapidly sifting through sales and deals,
Christmas decor and carols in the hallways,
Shoppers everywhere...

The fresh snow on the ground,
and occasionally breaks of sunshine
Much more enjoyable than anything in the shiny part of town.

342

Gratitude...
For the colours that paint my life,
energy of shapes
and the feeling of textures...
All in constant flow.

What a wonder life is.

341

Just as I start to feel confident with cooking...
Made Onion Panade for lunch
and the broth ended up on the bottom of the oven.

All not totally lost as the mushy onion cheesey bread was quite tasty.

340

Breakfast at the farmer's market
and a pickup of nature's goodies for the week.

A pot of chicken broth
brings visits from friends...
a lovely Saturday afternoon.

339

Disappointed that a headache abruptly ended my workout session this afternoon.
The up side - watching the incredible form and strength of my mate!
Aja, aja!!

338

Last squirrel photo day.

PJradio is playing from our home while he is away.
All is set up and working great.

...sharing the music we play all day at home

PJ radio

337

Great fun observing squirrels in the kitchen window!

Grateful for the inspirations to do this...
Byran Peterson's video and one of my favourite country mice.

336

A visit from a furry little friend.

335

Blue lights
Streaking reflections..
An interesting capture of light in an unexpected place.

334

3s continue today...

3 home cooked meals...
3 visits...

Warm homes, lovely company, the best of times shared...
Life is good.

333

Something I like about 3s...

Thinking about the perfect boiled egg...
Happened once...still to be repeated...
3 factors involved really....
Egg, water, heat.
Simple, yes? Not for me!

Each of the 3 factors a complex world in an of itself...
A multitude of magical combinations in 3s.

332

A romantic viewing of the snowflakes this morning,
feeling connected to the changing season...
Warm thoughts to people I love...
I am Grateful for all that is in my life.
...and for Magic!

331

Chilled by the dampness of the day,
an evening out to hear Derek Walcott
with my favorite St Lucian helped to warm me up.

...and also get this accidental photo! :)

330

Lovin' the wonderfully mild weather...
Catching up with friends...
and being home.

329

The morning sun
casts a light on the aloe.
Bright highlights,
and dark points,
both rich and lush...

328

Busier day than was expected.
Good to be home and catching up with friends.

Yesterday's sunset still in mind..

327

The setting sun on our return flight.

Happy to be home.

326

Last full day in the sun before returning home.

It has been such a great vacation,
seeing old friends and meeting many new ones.

...getting ready for the transition to 'normal' life.

325

Yoga and a few laps in the pool this morning under sunny blue Florida skies...
An afternoon by the pool,
laughter, fun and play with jolly people.
I am grateful to be living and playing in North America....
Where life is truly blessed....

Today's picture is a picture of a picture on the wall in our room.
While it could be on any island, anywhere,
It takes me back to St Lucia.

Remembering being in Laborie with the Cosmic pair...

Thinking of St Lucians,
and hoping that recovery is going well.

324

An early morning and we are back in sunny Florida.
A few days with a different view and jolly people everywhere
before returning to Toronto weather.

323

Hard to imagine this is the last day onboard.
Weather has shifted...perhaps the seas are also sad to see us go...

What a wildly fun and fabulous cruise this has been!

322

A cosmic birthday celebration today!
Scrabble and chess in the afternoon,
and an evening birthday dinner with friends.

321

A day to relax after 2 days of intense partying...
Hanging out with friends at the Hotel Barracuda...
The ship's crew hanging out by the pool,
online and emailing on their day in port. Perfect!
Back on board and ready for the evening's festivities.

320

View from our cabin balcony - Deck 10 at the aft.
What a wildly fun and fabulous party this is!

319

Sailing away to Cozumel..
Looking to be a good start to a super fun party cruise!

318

Travel days always have some challenge or other...
Arriving in 80F weather in sunny Tampa, checked in and having a cool drink...
Challenges forgotten and vacation started.

317

Lunch on Ossington
to launch vacation
5..4..3..2..1..
now!

316

Observations of many Koreans and their food...
For the most part, no matter where they live or travel to, when eating out, they will go out for Korean food...
a Korean food restaurant out by the ruins of Ephesus, Turkey?!?
I suspect that this behavior is found other cultures?

Sniffed K-food sneaking into the mainstream, on a breakfast menu in Kensington Market...
Never imagined Chic Korean, in Toronto Life!

Some blogs for those who want to cook Korean...
Beyond Kimchi | My Korean Kitchen | ZenKimchi Korean Food | Cooking Korean Food with Maangchi | Tastespotting

Of course, there are also many sites, videos and blogs out there on cooking Korean...
If you know of other great sites, I'd appreciate the links! :)

315

3 little pigeons sitting on a curb...
Facing the light with shadows behind.

Hoping that all those going through storms
can get the darkness behind them
and into the light.

314

Since Saturday morning, my thoughts have been with St Lucia.
The photo today is not a photo...
Created to share some of the ingredients in the recipe to raise money to help St Lucia recover and rebuild. A mix of hardware, software, online services and the photographs taken....

313

My first NFL game!
In spite of all our cheers, the Bills could not break through..
A super fun time with friends.
Can't imagine a better intro to football!

312

Thinking of ways to raise money to help the St Lucians
clean up and rebuild heaven on earth.

Amber DeGrace - HuffingtonPost

Our prayers and hearts are with the St Lucians.

311

A few rocky moments with technology.
So glad there are people online that can help.

310

Power out this morning.
45 minutes later, power is not restored.
Left the house for the market.

From gritty downtown to the shiny mink mile,
interesting cab conversations about the prophet Mohammed
and a serendipitous technology solution lead to
a wonderful visit with my favorite princess.

Amazing what happens when gates are opened.

309

I am in charge of my own experience in each moment.
If I find myself unhappy in the day,
I need to get back in touch with the present moment.

Magic IS ever present
and everywhere.

308

The early morning light,
Shadows never noticed before...
Watching as the light brings the arch together.

Thinking about jetlag...
Curious about how you
recover from travel
between two time zones...

307

Lights in Chinatown seem brighter in the cold weather...
Brrrr...

306

Back after 10 days,
My mate is home!!

305

An evening book launch at the Monkey's Paw.
What an incredible collection of books!

304

A lovely afternoon...
tapas with wine
followed by a visit to the market
with a cosmic couple.

Happy Friday!

303

A gray and blustery day...
Catching up on the current K-drama.

302

A beautiful sunny day in Toronto,
Autumn colours sparkle and shine....
Marvelous and magical.

301

Feeling my way through light, darkness and shadows...

300

19C today in Toronto...
Wildly mild for October!

299

Can't get enough photos of the tower!

298

The city I love.

A lovely Saturday,
An incredible performance by Hugh Masekela at the beautiful Koerner Hall,
And a good deed done by getting a lost wallet
back to its owner.

297

This morning my mate left for a 16 hour flight.
A quiet day, with an afternoon spa treatment and then off to a wedding.
Seeing Kenny's friends
brought a moment of sadness.

Remembering the now,
brings back the light.

296

Sunset at Huron.

295

Autumn on Queen West.

294

A special lunch with my mate...
Buster's Sea Cove...busy spot in the market.
and what a delightful evening...
a spontaneous meal and sharing with EK
who brought us the gift of yesterday's photo.

293

A succulent given to us as a gift
reveals a surprise bud on a vine.

292

The backdrop to a lovely Tea for two
at the AGO.

291

Autumn Brilliance.
A spectacular sunny and warm autumn day.

290

The light in my life...
My mate.
Home.
A perfect Friday.

Happy Friday to all!

289

What I was seeking is not as interesting
as what happened...

288

It looked so easy in the video...
and so different from what I got!?!

287

A glorious fall day...
Streets lined with autumny colours,
Bright reds and yellows
everywhere.

286

An Incredibly warm and sunny Thanksgiving day.
Reds, burnt oranges,
yellows, and browns
light the Don Valley.

A lovely drive,
feasting with family
and feeling grateful for all that is.

Happy Thanksgiving.

285

Weekend weather has been fantastic.
The sun is bright and warm.

Looking at the star under the fall bloom
and appreciating the changing season.

284

A visit to Wellington,
and a new view of the tower.

283

A glorious fall day.
Perfect day for a party,
and WHAT a party it was!

282

Tremendous Thursday
A busy day,
ending at the farmers' market.

Evening brings us to Enoteca Sociale
fabulous food
incredible service
and then off to a different kinda show by the Cirque folks...
Banana Shpeel.

281

Huron reclaimed today,
In time for my mate's return...

Evening spontaneity,
technologically inspired?

An unexpectedly jolly time,
friends, live music
and hot totties....

280

Life in all its shapes, colour and sizes
interesting, inspiring and awesome...

An incredible vegetable,
Romanesco Broccoli
Wildly fractal...

279

A fun hang with Victor this evening...
Amazing to watch a 1-year old up close and personal...

278

Set out around 1:00am
Walking about the neighbourhood
With the wandering thousands out for Nuit Blanche.

A passerby to the art installations,
I follow the traffic flow
to Nathan Phillips Square
and back home.

Smiling people everywhere,
Dancing and shows in the streets...
Glad I got out.

277

A quiet Saturday getting things done...
Dinner with dear friends is followed by
the surprise arrival of a nephew with his family.
Welcome to Toronto, Victor!

276

A lovely morning drive through fall colours to a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The afternoon is a special treat...
An interview with Phil Collins in a small intimate setting...
Thank you Susan + Dobe, our lucky charms!

275

Wild looking carrots at the farmers market.

274

Mesmerized by sunflowers...

273

On route to the market this morning,
a stop into Envision brings out my secret inner superhero,
Super Data Girl...

A rushed market visit at 5 pm,
followed by a 2.5 hour drive
...in the style of my hero
...with smiles, laughs, and having fun

The evening opens a new adventure...

272

A moratorium on bad news declared today.
Good news from here on out...

...Breathing in the sunlight
and listening to Bing...

"You've got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
Latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium
Liable to walk upon the scene"

271

Noontime jazz at the Rex and a Guinness

with my mate on a sunny sunday...

A delightful time filled with love, joy and playful fun.

270

Autumn weekend perfection...
Following a restful morning,
Hand in hand we stroll through Philosopher's Walk,
and continue on to afternoon jazz at the Pilot...

Leaving our Otto
to be washed and cleaned,
we encounter a red hot auto.

First in Canada, we are told.

269

Wild weather continues...
29C in Toronto. Wow!
Happy Friday!

268

It is through Cosmic Carla that I am inspired by The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.
Sweet corn and peppers from the farmer's market make a lovely soup and salad for dinner.

267

Following the moon after sunset,
Tuesday night becomes Wednesday morning...

266

Watching traffic go by on Spadina,
Trying to get the perfect "stop motion" shot...
Not quite there,
getting closer... :)