[caption id=“attachment_2261” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] The artist is a receptacle for the emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web. ~Pablo Picasso[/caption] ...
Romance is one of the sacred temples that dot the landscape of life. (Marianne Williamson) A friend and I were in Toronto’s Distillery District for the production “A Tender Thing” at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. As we made our way to the theatre, we came across a wedding party dotting the landscape replete with their umbrellas, as it was a rainy afternoon. What occasion speaks more about romance than a wedding? ...
Success is one of those abstract concepts that affect our lives in a myriad number of ways from cradle to grave. Depending on our upbringing, education, economic circumstances, social relationships, and life experiences, we hold many different views of what it is to be successful in life. As children, we mainly view success with regard to how we perform in school. How we perform then continues to be the yardstick to measure success in life. ...
“The arrival of a good clown exercises a more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than of twenty asses laden with drugs.” ~ Thomas Sydenham The above photo is of my friend, Inge, who is eighty-six years young and a graduate of Ryerson’s Caring Clown Program. The photo is not mine but was one that Ryerson used on their 2013 Brochure for the Program. For several years Inge’s been telling me about her clowning and especially about her visits with other caring clowns to Nursing Homes. We talked many times about me seeing her all dressed up and taking her picture. It just never happened though. ...
It doesn’t seem so long ago that I wrote the post “Summer’s Gone” and here I am writing about Thanksgiving. In Canada, this long holiday weekend falls in October. Fall is definitely here in all its beauty and the harvest has been reaped. The weather is cooler now and the colors have changed. Time does go by! It’s fun to pick up the leaves and admire their colors. The ones I’m holding here are from the St. Martin’s church yard where I had stopped to take some pictures. My father died in October 2000 and as the date approaches, I’m thinking of him. He wrote a poem called “Autumn Leaves” which I shared in its entirety in another post. In that poem, he was wondering when the leaves show their true colors. The first verse talks about Spring, and in the second, he’s wondering whether it’s in the Fall: ...
“Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairy tale.” (Anonymous) Every couple wants their wedding to be memorable and to reflect their own tastes, styles, and traditions. While I’m very aware that a wedding is not a marriage, but only the start - these occasions come filled with a promise and hope for love, family, and life, that matches no other earthly celebration. All the images in the collages here were taken at memorable weddings of close family and friends. Enjoy! ...
[caption id=“attachment_2132” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] Gerrard’s India Bazaar - Toronto[/caption] Culture is transportable. There’s a huge Indian diaspora in Toronto and the Gerrard India Bazaar area is where many people shop for ethnic Indian clothing. I read that it’s the oldest and biggest bazaar in North America. Thousands of people were there recently for its Annual South Asian Festival. “The ethnic diversity of South Asian Canadians reflects the enormous cultural variability of South Asia’s people. About half of South Asian Canadians were born in India, where 14 major languages are spoken and hundreds of discrete ethnic groups exist.” (Canadian Encyclopedia) All the images for the collages in this post were taken in that area. ...
[caption id=“attachment_2100” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] “If you think squash is a competitive activity, try flower arranging.” (Alan Bennett)[/caption] Hydrangeas are so beautiful - even when they are all by themselves. Our garden is filled with hydrangeas and my favorite summer activity is to go into the garden, cut a few stems and arrange them to beautify the home and porch. “Each of us is an artist of our days; the greater our integrity and awareness, the more original and creative our time will become.” (John O’Donohue) I’m hoping that my time here will become more and more of a creative endeavor - the enjoyable and fun kind. There’s no competition here because the hydrangeas are so beautiful! ...
Age does not make us childish, as some say; it finds us true children. - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe [caption id=“attachment_2081” align=“aligncenter” width=“584”] “The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.” – Richard Bach[/caption] Celebrating life whenever we have the opportunity and savoring all the special moments is an opportunity we should never pass up. Sixty-fifth and seventieth birthdays have their own blessings - because we didn’t ever expect to live this long. To wait for a child to be present for the celebration who also had a birthday we were not present for is a gift beyond words. “Love is, above all, the gift of oneself.” (Jean Anouilh) Our enjoyable celebration took place at Sassafraz in the Yorkville area of downtown Toronto. We savored the food, each other, and the passage of time. ...
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