549 - Travel Day

St Lawrence Market in the morning with my shopping soul sister, to pick up goodies for our weekend away.
By noon, we are packing up and getting the bikes on the car to head out on our road trip.
The 401 is a complete nightmare! Cars everywhere...and our 5 hour drive turns into a 7+ hour journey.

By 10pm we reach our destination. Within an hour, everyone has arrived and we settle in for a fantastic late dinner and a weekend at Meech.

Grateful today for
a comfortable ride in Otto,
safe arrivals,
and for "reunioning" with great friends.

548 - The Stuff of Life

Over the past few days,
I have been shooting babies and families...
Very much enjoying the love and joy shared.

In the same few days,
news of a friend diagnosed with cancer,
and other friends dealing with recent and sudden deaths...

The cycle of life...
and the precious short time that we are here,
remind me to be grateful and appreciate all that is.

Grateful today for
my roomies at Huron and the time we are sharing together this summer,
hope and love that keeps us going through rough times,
and for being signed up for the upcoming TEDGlobal conference - The Stuff of Life.

547 - In Awe of Technology

The phones are again not working.
Yesterday's fix was temporary. A call to Bell and the repair man will be here tomorrow in the am.

Still, an awe for technology...
The wonders that are dreamt of, created...continually improving and breaking down...

Perhaps my awe is really for the capabilities, talents and efforts of humans....
and what we can do today with a mobile phone....

Splitscreen: A Love Story from JW Griffiths on Vimeo.

Grateful today for
an evening cycle on Queen street to the book launch for Another Ventroliquist,
seeing friends,
and for the technology that brings and keeps us together.

546 - Telephones + The Tower

Morning is taken over by phone troubles...
Running up and down, checking hardware,
unplugging lines, replugging lines...
Mystery seems solved by removing a phone.

Lunch is at the top of my favorite tower today.
It has been years since I've gone up the tower...a bit surprising to see the security checks on the way in...a sign of our current times and of my aging.

Grateful today for
time spent with people from my childhood,
the incredible green-ness of our beautiful city,
and for the tower.

545 - Babies

A Sunday afternoon family gathering by the pool.
Great to see everyone, and excited to take photographs.
Yesterday's family photo shoot was inspiring.
A baby in the midst of the generations gathering adds a tender and magical element...

Grateful today for
the beauty and magic of babies,
family gatherings,
and being surrounded by love.

544 - Family

A photography gig today - the objective to take a family photo.
Weather is uncertain with occasional breaks of sunshine...

The family gathering is at the home I visited 30 years ago, when in grade 9.
It is remarkable to be there, sharing in a sabbath lunch and the joys of a family gathering.

Grateful today for
a high school friendship that continues today,
new experiences,
and for a fun family shoot.

543 - More rainy weather

Not quite the hot warm summer days that we are hoping for.
Another day of spotty rainy weather...
Perfect for a geek out day of blog theme changing, customizing and mostly clicking about in confusion...

Grateful today for the
cool air,
rain for all the plants,
and for warm spirits in the house.

542 - Wild Weather

The weather is wildly weird.
Gusty winds and torrential downpours,
mixed with misty overcast skies...

In the evening,
a gardenista friend cycles by Huron, wet and cold from working and riding in the rain...
A brief stop-in for a change of clothing, and some lasagna with a glass of wine...
Then, she's off again...

Grateful today
for the great kitchen window to watch the weather from,
and for being home to help our gardenista dry off and warm up.

541 - Back to the Farmers

With Lou at hand, I set out with my mate to the farmer's market at Nathan Phillips Square.
Hankerings for fresh farm produce, the rain doesn't bother me.
The pie was a bit out of shape after a bumpy ride home with Lou..

Our evening's meal uses the herbs growing in our kitchen window,
meat, and fresh vegetables are local...
Delightful to have a home made meal with the whole crew at Huron.

Grateful today for
the farmers,
the local markets ,
and for these 2 great websites that I came upon in looking for cooking radish ideas...
http://wellpreserved.ca/
http://seasonalontariofood.blogspot.com/

540 - Kisses to BEE

Happy Birthday BEE!
A lovely birthday celebration with the Huron Crew.
Short walk to dinner, followed by frozen yogurt and scrabble at Huron.
Ending the evening with a music playlist with "kiss" as the theme....
not that we need any reminders to kiss the birthday girl!

Grateful today for
friendships that span decades,
joyful celebrations,
and for my first birthday celebration with BEE!

539 - A New Week

Got myself to the gym this morning.
A good start to a new week....

New adventures today,
Walk to Yonge + Dundas to a great middle eastern restaurant, Paramount,
followed by a walk around the upper gardens at Nathan Phillips Square,
New sights in a familiar place.

Grateful today for
great walking weather,
seeing new sights,
and open dickenses to share the experience with.

538 - Weekends

A fun weekend comes to a close.
My mate returns home to a neighbourhood excited and ready for the MMVAs.

Thousands of people on Queen Street...
walking a block north,
we are away from the crowd and in neighbourhoods with beautiful blossoms.

Grateful today for
my mate's safe return home,
an incredible rose garden,
and a great weekend.

537 - Intimacy

When Yahoo Answers was first released,
three dickenses posted a question.
"Can you have intimacy with no attachment?"

Never forgot one of the answers that came in...
"I define intimacy as 'in to see me'."

Sharing this in conversation prompted looking up the latin origin of intimacy.
The word "intimacy" stems from the Latin intimatus, to make something known to someone else. (Another derivation is the verb "intimate," which originally meant "to notify.") In its original meaning, in other words, intimacy did not mean emotional closeness, but the willingness to pass on honest information. (Charlotte Roberts)

Grateful today
for my first botched attempt at barbecuing,
the patience of my 2 dinner companions.
and this evening's personal and intimate sharings.

536 - Fun Times, Everywhere

Festivals, street parties and events are happening everywhere.
Our neighbourhood is host to the giant street party of the Much Music Video Awards.
Parking lot is turned into a Top Shop outdoor store,
KD Lang is doing a live outdoor show...

Grateful today for
this vibrant city,
public festivals,
and fun times, everywhere.

535 - Uncle Stu

Whenever my mate goes away, I carry a bit of sadness.
Only away for the weekend, still I miss him from the moment he leaves.

A few hours after he has left,
Uncle Stu takes me out for a patio lunch at a French bistro.
A lovely treat.

After dinner, Uncle Stu and I head out to Maylee Todd's European tour fundraiser.
What a super fun time!
Thanks Uncle Stu!

Grateful today for
the great talent I saw tonight with the incredible Maylee Todd,
friends who help make my mate feel near,
and Uncle Stu.

534 - Midnight Cycle

Feeling a bit wimpy before my workout - fortunately Maylee has a wimpy workout for me...

After the workout, the Cuba photo committee meets at Huron.
A good discussion that moves the book further...and we even have a surprise visit from one of the group of 8.

The afternoon moves into the evening quickly...
A great meal by BEE and the final game for the Stanley Cup.

At the end of the game, we go for a midnight cycle under the full moon.
Ending our day by the kitchen window, a neighbour passes by and stops in for a short nightcap...

Whew! What a day.

Grateful today for
the group of 8,
the lively energy at Huron,
and for a full moon bike ride with my mate.

533 - Time

After a relaxed morning and a leisurely lunch,
I find myself running behind schedule and feeling a little frazzled.

Back on track after a few deep breaths,
much is accomplished in the afternoon.
Christmas gifts for Envision clients are selected, and some time to share with my favorite Christmas gift / party planning expert.

Amazing to think that we are ready for Christmas in June!?!

Grateful today for
the beautiful artwork created by Marlena Szabo,
her hospitality and enthusiasm,
and for a great day.

532 - Toronto

In the last few days...
Cycled by Moss Park and saw 6 people providing food to people in the park,
In a hospital waiting room watched one person waiting share his sandwich with a patient - a stranger.

Touched by the kindness seen.
I love this city.

Grateful today to be living in a city where strangers talk to one another and share.

531 - Mates on the Twomates

After a special breakfast of Eggs Benny by BEE,
we ride our bikes to do some rigging and cleaning on the Twomates.

Trying to remember where everything goes and connects
takes some clearing of cobwebs in the brain archives...
Fun to be back at the dock with my mate.

Grateful today for
the incredible meals we are having at Huron
leisurely bike rides,
and weekend snuggles.

530 - Checking in

Saturday drives...
Checking in on Wellington and Twomates,
All is good, except the challenging traffic jam around the Rogers Centre.

Blue Jays fans all out, eating hot dogs and milling about outside.
Happy to catch this moment of 2 kids meeting one another...

Grateful today for
the incredible progress on Wellington,
a launched and docked boat,
and for a nice day with my mate and my ma.

529 - Street Photography

Before the Cuba workshop, it had been a long time since taking candid photographs of people on the street.

The workshop introduced me to street photography.

In the past, I often wondered about the privacy of people vs photography in public places.
I considered how I might feel to be the unknowing subject of a photograph...
No clear answers.
Thinking that intent matters...
My intent comes from expressing myself through photography and sharing what I see through the lens.

For now, I am enjoying practicing street photography and sitting in the park.

Grateful today for
the continuing learning of street photography,
a beautiful city to photograph in,
and for park benches.

528 - Cool Air

Charged up this morning...
Off for a big cardio / cycle first thing...
Happy I missed the 'forecasted' afternoon rain,
and delighted by a lawn of poppies in bloom...

Grateful today for
a good cardio workout,
the beautiful poppy blooms,
and the cool night air.

527 - Not Fully Charged

A quiet day,
energies not fully charged...
Allergy sniffles and a little achy and icky feeling...

Grateful today for
a quiet day...
hoping to be fully charged tomorrow...

526 - Any Given Tuesday

Lively at the house
with friends over for dinner and new puppy, Kali.

Fantastic food and summer cheer shared.
Nice to have good weather.

Grateful today for
a dog walk in the park,
our friendships,
and fun times.

525 - AstroBoy

A full house,
new one on the go,
and a company to run.

Observed that in addition to collaboration and cooperation,
households need a master.
Huron is pretty lucky to have AstroBoy!
....he always manages to get it all done,
while having fun.

Grateful today for
AstroBoy - for his quiet contemplative nature,
wise and generous spirit,
and for moving things forward.

524 - AlexK

A photographic morning moment with AlexK.
2 months new to the world,
wide eyed and beautiful.
A perfect start to a glorious sunny day.

Our first cycle ride to Cherry Beach,
and an evening dinner at Clareville.
Feels like summer!

Grateful today for
experiencing the newness of AlexK,
the beautiful day,
and a wonderful weekend with my mate.

523 - Scrabblin' Saturday

Heavy rains and thunder all morning.
Slept in hours beyond our usual waking time.

A quiet Saturday,
scrabbling' and hanging out with my mate.

Grateful today for
a relaxed and relaxing Saturday.

522 - Cruisin' King

After a fun Friday night party at V's,
walking home on King,
the night is vibrant and lively.

Grateful today for
the friendships formed in the early Envision days,
and all the fun times shared dancing and laughing together.

521 - The Invisible College

I sit in the kitchen window,
looking out at a cobalt blue sky.

A cool breeze blows in
as I continue reading Is the Internet Changing The Way You Think?, a question posed by Edge.org.

Grateful today for
the people in my life that are part of my invisible college,
the sharing of knowledge and experience that moves us forward,
and for all that The Invisible College can be.

"Given what we have today, the Internet might be seen as the Invisible High School, with a modicum of educational material in an ocean of narcissism and social obsessions. We could, however, also use it as an Invisible College, the communicative backbone of real intellectual and civic change. To do this will require more than technology. It will require us to adopt norms of open sharing and participating, fitted to a world in which publishing as become the new literacy"
Clay Shirky, 'The Invisible College'

520 - Neighbourhood Love

When we lived at Kingsmount, my mate commented
that once our place was perfect, it would be time to move.

I am often reminded of this and reflect on the balance between stability and change.

7+ years at Huron,
Wellington construction is underway...
The slow spring,
and sunny days bring out a new beauty in the neighbourhood.

Grateful today for
this neighbourhood,
nestled in the middle of Queen West, Chinatown and the AGO.