Bill Andersen blog
This review appears in a product listing for a gadget that extends home wi-fi signals.
“bought this because i could not get a strong reception in my bedroom; now i can get wife everywhere”
It pays to check and see what our auto-completing word processors are “helping” us say.
Yesterday’s test run for a farmer’s market in Fairmount Park got a good turnout but it presented Danica and me with a problem, too. We liked the idea of eating farm-fresh eggs that had been laid by happy little chickens who ran around on grass all day. Maybe the eggs even taste better. So how much of a price premium is chicken happiness worth?
Danica bought some Eggy-Weggs that cost 3 times more than supermarket eggs. She cooked up some of each and we taste tested. Both kinds of eggs were good, and the farm-fresh eggs may have been slightly better than the supermarket product. Hard to say, because the supermarket eggs had been in the fridge for a while and weren’t quite as fresh.
So the taste test was inconclusive. It all comes down to chicken happiness. The verdict? As much as we favour pleasant lifestyles for our egg producers, we are not likely to pay triple the price. That would have a negative effect on our happiness.
My choice in the Greatest Canadian poll has died at the age of 90. I admired Henry Morgentaler’s courage and determination. He put his personal freedom on the line to help win the right of Canadian women to choose medically safe abortion of unwanted pregnancies. His efforts are now enshrined in Canadian law.
Tucked away on Old Kingston Road in Scarborough, the Miller-Lash residence is just the sort of place Danica and I would have built, if we had been wealthy 20th century industrialists. Just a summer place, you know.
Yeah, too much vacuuming and yard work. Better to just visit.
The University of Toronto owns the place now, using it as a venue for meetings, special events, wedding receptions and such. The house is exactly 100 years old this year and it’s in excellent shape.
Gag currency is doing the email rounds… not my work.
Life isn’t fair. How come Duffy gets all the attention? Maybe when the investigation is over, Senator Wallin will get her share.
The big Buddhist Temple on Brimley in Scarborough was consecrated only last October, so everything is bright and new. What a spectacular building, put together with volunteer labour, under the guidance of experts and with the assistance of specialist Chinese craftsmen.
For Doors Open, heathens like yours truly were invited to enter, hats, shoes, cameras and all. The welcome was warm and short tours were very well organized. We even got to hear a performance of chanting with musical accompaniment of drums, and bells. Have a listen.
Inside, there was so much to see, I can only suggest a visit. Three o’clock Sundays. Everyone welcome.
Below are just a few details…
Left: Brian snapped my photo with his iPhone last weekend when we had lunch at Allen’s patio. Seeing Ruth Comfort’s picture of me (centre), Joni created a synthesis (right).
One of the last Doors Open venues we went to on Saturday was close to home…in Little India on Gerrard Street East. The Riverdale Hub is full of surprises. A century-old, narrow warehouse building has been opened up and stripped to its bones. Heavy wooden beams and rough hardwood floors give the place a nice warmth. Bright accent colours have been introduced on new drywall, making the space modern and old at the same time. Woven carpets define areas in large spaces and soften the feel. Furnishings are recycled bookshelves, hutches, counters and tables. There’s art on the walls.
The Hub is actually two buildings, adjacent to one another and connected inside to become one. The eastern side has raw cinderblock walls, polished concrete floors and shiny, exposed ductwork. The west side is old warehouse… brick and beams.
Our first choice for today’s Doors Open visit was Old City Hall down on Queen Street. Inside, the original slogan is written all over the place:
Integrity
Industry
Intelligence
The current judicial occupants have added:
Paranoia
Picture-taking was banned inside the building. Of course, the public blithely snapped away at every bit of carving, marble and stained glass. Who knows what ghastly consequences will occur as a result.
Above left: A long-suffering Lennox, architect of the Old City Hall, had himself portrayed among the grotesques that adorn the capitals of the thick exterior columns. City fathers fought him over bills, stalled payments and held up work. He must have felt surrounded by goons and ghoulies.
Anyway, you’re not supposed to see the interior shots below.
On previous year’s Doors Open days, the Campbell House lineups looked too long, but today we saw our chance. The old judge’s house stands now at University and Queen. It was moved to the spot in 1972, to save it from a wrecker’s ball being wielded by the Coutts-Hallmark greeting card company.
Upstairs, the refined life. The period furnishings are not the same ones the judge owned, but they are similar in kind and quality.
Downstairs, the kitchen attracted most visitors. The floor is particularly nice. Each brick was numbered when the building was moved, so that everything could be repositioned, just so. Not too different from some of our present houses, but remember, there was no electricity and Niagara Falls was a 3 day trip away. This is the Withdrawing Room, to which the ladies would withdraw after dinner, leaving the men to themselves.
Downstairs, all kitchen business. A simple, practical work space where the family meals were prepared. The hearth is enormous for the size of the low ceilinged room. It was relatively dark, but then, the candles weren’t lit. Candleholders were backed by sheets of polished copper, for reflections to increase illumination.
