458 - One of a Kind

A beautiful card, with 2 passes to the One of a kind show.

Shopping soul sisters,
purchase for purchase,
we each buy matching things.

A great afternoon at the show,
and a fun evening with B+G.

Grateful today for
the incredible creativity seen at the show,
fun shopping times,
and time shared with friends.

457 - Good to be Home

A sunny warm March day in Toronto,
not quite as warm as March in Miami,
Beautiful nonetheless.

Crisp air, warm sun
and bright blue skies.
It is good to be home.

Grateful today for
a sunny day,
a fun hang with an unexpected visitor,
and for frozen beef stew.

456 - Home

An easy flight home...
happy to see that most of the ice and snow is gone.

Grateful today
for the sunny spring day we returned to,
a "maria" house,
and a home cooked meal by C+C.

455 - Stormy in SobE

Rain forecasted for the day,
the clouds are filled with moisture.

Some cloud and sun during the day,
perfect for a lovely leisurely lunch at a french cafe with my mate.

Rainfall briefly during dinner at Jerry's Famous Deli...
it has been a perfect getaway from the cold Toronto March weather.

Grateful today for
a memorable vacation hanging out with my mate,
filled with good times, lots of laughter and truthful open sharing.

454 - Poolside

A change from the beach,
we spend the morning & early afternoon poolside.

The weather has been perfect.
Blue skies, hot sun
and temperatures in the high 80s.

Grateful today for
quiet and restful reading time,
natural doses of vitamin D,
and Miami Beach.

453 - On the beach

Never really thought of myself as a beach person...
Today,
it feels completely natural to slide into a second day of lounging on the beach.

Grateful today for
time with my mate walking, dining and lounging together,
unusually high temperatures in Miami
and the beautiful blue skies.

452 - Beach day

After breakfast,
we take a walk.
Through the pedestrian shopping mall on Lincoln,
north to the Holocaust Memorial
and then to the Botanical Gardens.

Returning just before noon,
we settle into our spots on the beach for a relaxing afternoon.

Grateful today for
the past few days spent with RB,
sunny, warm weather with a wonderful breeze,
and a relaxed day on the beach.

451 - Too young

Sad news today.
Cousin Tom passed on last night.

I can hardly believe it is true.

Grateful today for
memories of Tom,
and all the care, advice and love he gave me.
Thank you Tom for helping me through my teenaged angst.

Rest in peace, Tom.

450 - Segway to South Beach

Could not believe the snow this morning!
Thankfully 3 hours away,
we are in the warmth and sunshine of Miami beach.

Grateful today for
a safe, non eventful flight,
lovely walks on the beach,
and Florida sunshine.

449 - Margaret was here?

Recently we went to a newly opened restaurant around the corner.
The most exciting thing about the restaurant was this signature on the window ledge by our table.
...looks like we sat where Margaret Atwood will be next year! ;)

Grateful today for
a happy busy day,
three different visits with friends today,
and the mind exercise I am getting from "The Social Animal".

448 - Catch up

Catching up today on bills,
receipt management
and all the $$ paperwork.

Working in the kitchen,
Ken Burns' Jazz on the screen...
Can't imagine a better way to get caught up.

Grateful today for
a great workout and lunch with Maylee,
a completed expense report
and for the skype catch up with family in Korea.

447 - Sleepy Sunday

A late night out with friends,
an early breakfast together
followed by a lazy day napping
and reading The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement by David Brooks.



Grateful today for
a restful Sunday,
a lovely dinner at Clareville
and fascinating thoughts from David Brooks.

446 - Sunset Picnic in March

Always supportive of my photographic efforts and experiments,
my mate comes out for a sunset / moon rise picnic/ photo session.

Grateful today for
a sunset with the seagulls by the lake,
spontaneous and adventurous country mice,
and my loving, true-hearted and brave mate.

445 - Photowalk

A gloriously warm sunny day to walk about with camera in hand.

From Queen to Davenport and up the stairs
to the morning's destination of Casa Loma.

3 hours of walking before the afternoon's session with Maylee...
My muscles may protest over the next few days...

Grateful today for
a beautiful warm sunny day to walk about,
a good workout to start the weekend with,
and a fun friday evening with my matie.

444 - Happy St Patrick's Day!

A day of cataloging, tagging and reviewing of photos taken in 2011.
So far 2,320 photographs taken in the past 76 days.
275 selected as the year's collection to date.

Photographing the streets on a walk to Betty's for a green beer with a few envisioneers...
An interesting style of photograph comes from shots from the hip...

Grateful today for
north american life,
the continuting photographic journey,
and a warm day for st paddy's day festivities.

443 - Banking

A beef stew started in the morning,
and bank appointment at 4.

A 2 hour long experience in the blank bank offices.

Grateful today for
having angry birds to play while we waited,
a great beef stew,
and a fun evening in & out with CB.

442 - Morning Sun

The morning rays of sunshine decorate the walls.

The sun is warm today and winter's end seems near.

Grateful today for
good news on electrical + plumbing at Wellington,
lunch with Maria
and the warm sun today.

441 - Happy Monday

Picking up a few items for cookie making today,
the usual stop sign has been vandalized.

Don't think the sign will be misunderstood...
and liking this sign vandal...

Grateful today for
a good cookie yield,
happy stop signs,
and the great student ensemble we saw at the Rex.

440 - Dynasty Dim Sum

Up to the mink mile this morning
to Dynasty's new location.
Dim Sum with Phillip is terrific and fun.

Getting there was a bit tricky as the northbound roads to Bloor were all closed off.
Once we were at Bloor,
it seemed there was a St Paddy's Day parade...still uncertain...

Grateful today for
a walkabout with my mate,
a visit from FG
and our success in the usenet world.

439 - Little papers

It feels it has been busy lately.
Getting together with friends to share meals
has been a theme of the week.

Today is a quiet day for 2 mates.
Morning market visit,
breakfast with Isabella
and back home to clean up all the little papers.

Grateful today for
a day of relaxation for my mate,
time to sort through and organize little papers
and a quiet weekend,

438 - Catching up

An evening catching up with friends,
over food, drink, pie + coffee...

It is good to share time + space together.

Grateful today for
food, drink and time shared with friends.

437 - Angry Birds

Saw today in the news that Angry Birds raised $42M.
Played the game today...cute sounds, funny little pigs with helmets,
highly engaging in a time vampirish sort of way...

not sure why the birds are angry....
okay, so the pigs stole their eggs...
could it also be they want spring to be here quicker?

Grateful today for
rain that makes spring seem closer,
a working afternoon reminiscent of many years ago,
and the comfort foodness of KD.

436 - Chicken Soup Connoisseur

Rain, snow, winds, cold...

Chicken noodle soup is the meal of the day.

An exclamation of 'Yum!' from a chicken soup connoisseur,
I am delighted to have pleased a connoisseur.
Bow, wow, wow!

Grateful today for
the chicken that has given us 9 soup servings + 2 meals since Saturday,
the odd, goofy and fun shows on Netflix,
and a warm home.

435 - Sunset Scrabbling

Playing games at sunset..
with my mate and friends.
Each game is carefully played in our open book, friendly game style.

This evening's game is a great match.
Even after opening the game with a bingo,
I was not able to win.
Win or lose, it's always fun.

Grateful today for
the great scrabble matches with my mate,
laughter and fun shared during games,
and all our shared sunrises and sunsets.

434 - Moral Courage

A busy day,
productive and full.

In the evening,
we are off to Roy Thomson Hall
for the Unique Life and Experience
of Irshad Manji.

A muslim reformer with moral courage,
it is an incredible experience to be there and hear her speak.

Grateful today for
the morning message left for me in the scrabble board,
reflections and sharing of TED over lunch,
and the incredible experience of a "muslim reformer with moral courage".

433 - I love you Guh!

Happy Birthday C.B.S!

Delighted to celebrate your birthday with you.

Grateful today for

family gatherings and surprise birthday parties,

the fantastic pepperoni sandwich that Guh made for me,

and the fun goofy movie we watched, Date Night. 

432 - Chicken Broth for the Soul

 

Making Chicken Broth from Alice Waters', The Art of Simple Food

soothes my soul.

Raining all day today,

An early morning start at the farmers' market,

a chicken broth afternoon,

and dinner with pals - great scrabble game, food and sharing.

 

Grateful today for

the farmers' market,

chicken broth,

and friends to share it with.

431 - Only If. If Only.

Last Day and session of TED2011

4th day, 4 words - Only if.  If Only.

Believing that there is a better future...

My mind is full.

Inspired, Moved and processing all that was taken in.

Grateful today for

the notes taken to keep a memory of the conference,

the hope and opportunities everywhere

and for rediscovering wonder.

430 - Shared Sessions

All sessions today were shared with others.
Grateful to those who came to watch the sessions together.

From wows at Invention + Consequence to amazement in Threads of Discovery,
the breaks are welcome to let the minds rest for a moment to end the day in Beauty, Imagination and Enchantment.

Grateful today for
a different kind of friendly gathering,
friends to share these sessions with
and for wonder...

429 - Full day of Sessions

A full day of TED sessions today.

From atomic, biological and cognitive mysteries to incredible imagined worlds of directors, inventors and corporate leaders...each talk is amazing and rich in its ideas.

A short break and then it is a special session Knowledge Revolution curated by Bill Gates and the day ends with Radical Collaboration...and my mate's return home!!

Grateful today for
the big pot of Yuk Gae Jang that is keeping me fed during the breaks,
the incredible passions, imaginations and work of people everywhere,
and the connections to things much bigger than myself via TED.

428 - Rediscovery of Wonder

The morning is busy,
cleaning and getting ready for the first day of  TED2011 sessions.

The speakers are incredible with spot on session titles,
Monumental, Majestic and Mindblowing

Delighted to share the Mindblowing session with EK
over Korean food and wine.

Grateful today for
a lovely lunch with Maria,
a steady and consistent net connection today,
and the TED talks that moved, intrigued and inspired me.