It’s been a good week with many hours outdoors and lovely chats with my longtime friends. On the blog, this week I accepted two photography challenges: 1) Terri’s Sunday Stills Brown monthly colour challenge and 2) Anne’s Lens Artists Filling the Frame challenge.
A quick lookup on my phone camera yielded the following pictures with various shades of brown and most objects fill the frame. Have a look and let me know in the Comments if you have a favourite.
At Home
Brown fungi, oak leaf and tree bark, seen on one of my recent hikes
A delicious cappuccino at Arvo to warm up after a hike in cool weather
Public Art: Rustic brown Symbolic Peace sculpture by Mathew Rosenblatt
Abroad
Three handsome leather chairs on a reddish-brown floor in Portugal
Brown and white tile in Portugal
Brown soil and water in a glacial lagoon in Iceland
A beautiful brown Icelandic horse stood on brown dirt
Chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and fresh blueberries (yum!)
Weekend Coffee Share
Looking at the photos above, I feel so grateful for the experiences I had in those moments at home and abroad.
I’d love for you to share your week’s highlights and/ or photos of public art around the world in the Comments or Weekend Coffee Share link-up #141 below. I’m linking up with Min’s #WWWHIMSY post. Have a great weekend!
Hello and welcome to Weekend Coffee Share #14! I’m glad you’re here. Please come on in, help yourself to a cup of coffee, or tea, or hot chocolate at my coffee station and let’s chat.
What’s New
It’s been a fab few days here…
Beautiful spring weather has been ideal for my cycling, walking, playing disc golf, visiting local beaches, gardens, parks, and the city centre. I choose to go outside on weekday and Sunday mornings and to places that are quiet so I can keep a safe distance from people.
I mapped out new cycling and walking routes that offer me plenty of things to see and photograph. I usually cycle to the destination, lock the bike, go for a walk, then pick up the bike, and cycle home. Fitness and fun combo wins! See my walk in Yorkville and my photos below.
I had a fun interview with Marsha Ingrao at Always Write blog about hosting the weekly Weekend Coffee Share blog link-up. Click here to read the full interview. (Virtual) coffee and beignets from the historic Café du Monde in New Orleans were on the table. Marsha retrieved comments from my blog for the interview so you may see your name and comments in her post.
My Walk in Yorkville
Yorkville is a historic and upscale neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. Established as a separate village in 1830, Yorkville was annexed into Toronto in 1883. In the last three decades, many smaller buildings in Yorkville were demolished and office, hotels, and high-priced condominiums built.
Yorkville is now home to some of Toronto’s most expensive condominiums. It has art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, spas, and luxury hotels catered to the wealthy clients. Fortunately, it still retains its attractiveness with pedestrian traffic, narrow streets, quaint row houses, and charming curb appeal.
Let me show you a few of my favourite Yorkville murals and architecture in pictures.
Yorkville Murals
Yorkville Murals in August 2020 was a cultural event that celebrates contemporary muralism and public art. It was a huge success despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s scheduled to return in August 2021.
Yorkville Mural by Canadian artist Ola Volo.
OK mural by Toronto-based artist Ben Johnston.
Party Hat mural by Getso
Citrus mural by XRAY
Yorkville Mural by Jason Botkin.
Canada Geese mural by local artist Bacon. The building is the famed Sassafraz restaurant.
Yorkville Architecture
Church of the Redeemer, an Anglican church, founded in 1871.
The Church of Redeemer main doors in Gothic Revival style.
Yorkville Park walkway looking south.
The Festival Walkway looking north
About The Festival Walkway
Cafe Nervosa
Boutique stores
Chanel boutique
Click on any image in the image gallery to see it bigger.
Hello and welcome to Weekend Coffee Share #13! I’m glad you’re here. Please come on in, help yourself to a cup of coffee, or tea, or hot chocolate at my coffee station and let’s chat.
My coffee share today includes two recent walks and a monthly review:
Early spring flowers – Shared with Becky’s #BrightSquare, Cee’sFOTD.
March at a glance – Shared with Denyse’s #LifeThisWeek.
1. Early Spring Flowers
Tuesday March 30, 2021 was sunny with daytime high 17C (63F) and ideal for my walk in the Toronto Music Garden. A variety of bright and cheerful early spring flowers made me smile. Here’s my selection.
Purple croci
White croci
Winter aconite
Squills
2. St. Andrew’s Church
A second walk was to St. Andrew’s Church, a large and historic Presbyterian church in downtown Toronto. St. Andrew’s was founded in 1830 as the first Church of Scotland congregation in the Town of York. It was first located at the southwest corner of Church and Adelaide Streets but this building was abandoned when it became too small for the expanding congregation.
William George Storm was chosen to be the architect for a larger building. The present building at King and Simcoe Streets was opened for worship in 1876 and is built in the Romanesque Revival style. The geometry of the church’s facade is amazing.
St. Andrew’s Church
St. Andrew’s today is a living church. The church interior includes rich and handsomely carved wood, the Gallery Organ and choir loft, and beautiful stained glass windows.
History
Main doors
West doors
Church Tower
St. Andrew’s manse, located south of the church, is in the Second Empire style with a Mansard roof. Again, the geometry of this building makes it attractive.
St. Andrew’s Manse
3. March At A Glance
We had a mild March with plenty of sunny days and warmer than normal temperatures. Daylight saving started on March 14. Spring arrived on March 20 with clear blue skies and sunshine. The nice weather was ideal for my outdoor explorations.
Lake view
Birch trees
Health
In March, I cycled, walked, did body weight workouts, practiced meditation and yoga regularly. I started playing disc golf as the weather warmed up.
March was also the month when Ontario entered Wave 3 of the COVID-19 pandemic while the vaccination rollout made small progress. Toronto has been in lockdown since November 2020. I continue the 3Ws to stay safe and healthy: Wash my hands, wear my mask, and watch my distance.
Home
In March, I celebrated virtually with two family members and one longtime friend on their birthdays. I baked a blueberry banana loaf, first of 2021.
To support local businesses, I ordered Pad Thai and curry dishes from Salad King, a new-to-me eatery. The delivery was quick. The food arrived hot and tasty. I got a break from cooking. Win-win-win!
Leisure
Architecture – I visited Campbell House and Osgoode Hall, before St. Andrew’s Church, to satisfy my interest in architecture and history.
Art – I saw amazing ice sculptures at the IceFest 21 A Trip Around The World event, colourful portraits at Femme de Fleur exhibit and attractive art items outside the Gardiner Museum.
Sydney Opera House
Femme de Fleur
Cracked Wheat
Blogs – I hosted four Weekend Coffee Share blog link-ups and participated in several other fun link-ups in March. Great turnout each weekend kept me actively reading blogs and writing comments.
Books – I enjoyed reading 9 books from 5 authors. I’d definitely read more of their books:
Ridgerunner – Gil Adamson. *
Just Listen – Sarah Dessen.
The Moon & More – Sarah Dessen.
This Lullaby – Sarah Dessen.
What Happened To Goodbye – Sarah Dessen.
An Ocean of Minutes – Thea Lim. *
The Suspect – Michael Robotham. *
The Chalk Man – C.J. Tudor. *
The Hiding Place – C.J. Tudor.
Asterisk indicates new-to-me author. I keep track of what I’ve read on my Books in 2021 page. Year-To-Date Reading Totals: 25 books, 10 new authors, and 10 categories.
Languages – I continued taking French and Spanish lessons on Duolingo. They’re fun exercises.
I’m grateful for the bits of joy in March. I look forward to exploring more local places in April.
Happy Easter to those of you celebrating. Enjoy the weekend and keep safe. I’d love to hear your comments.
Hello friends! This is my post to share some of my ice sculpture photos from Toronto’s Bloor-Yorkville IceFest21 event with the theme A Trip Around The World. As I type this, Toronto is still in lockdown. The IceFest21 is a nice change of scenery without traveling out of town.
From Canada to the USA, Mexico, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, Japan, and Australia. Bon voyage!
Natalie the Explorer 