Coolish weather made a perfect day for pedalling, so we challenged ourselves to a ride through the downtown construction maze to the Distillery District. It was pleasant getting there, most of the way … lakeside bike paths, greenery and breezes. We had to walk the bikes on Parliament after crossing Lakeshore Boulevard. Two blocks, not bad.

I wanted to show Danica a new park just east of the District but there was NO WAY we could find through the dust and dump trucks. Traffic is a total mess down there. We both agree that it’s going to be an excellent ride when all of the Pan Am Games work is finished next year.

A decommissioned East End factory has, for years, displayed an odd mural to drivers on the Gardiner Expressway. It is too faded and complex to really see from a speeding car, so I am slowing it down for you.
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Mouseover the best view to hold and examine the details. You’ll see that the picture is intended to give you a cutaway view of the interior of the building. A worker gazes at the skyline toward the CN Tower. Except that you are facing away from the CN Tower as you look “through” the cutout. Facing the way you are, and using your x-ray vision, you would be seeing the workman’s face and the room behind him. Heck, you wouldn’t even need x-ray vision … the guy is in a window.
The whole concept is so weird, I wonder, did they make drugs in that factory?

How does Tim Horton’s new dark roast go over with me? I wasn’t a fan of their usual brew.
Surprise! I liked the new stuff. It tasted like an “artisanal” coffee I bought earlier in the day.
Now, if they could just stop the jingoistic flag-waving in their advertising …

Denise and Dennis Lim pose with the “Helen Andersen” gouache they chose for their home in Ottawa. It’s a signed original done in 1982 as part of Helen’s Mt. Newton Series. The series consists of compositions, somewhat abstract, with landscape elements and colours drawn from the district in which Helen lived … Vancouver Island’s Saanich Peninsula.
Denise is Thorne Won’s sister, for any of you who are keeping track. She and Dennis are very pleased with their piece and have given it a prominent place on their walls. We, in turn, are happy to see Helen’s work on display in yet another city, being enjoyed by a charming couple.

Helen Andersen would have been pleased. A signed lithograph of her oil pastel painting The Spirit Moves Him To Dance will hang in the Gathering Place at Selkirk College. It was given as a gift by Helen’s daughter Joni who shares her mother’s respect and appreciation for First Nations culture.

We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.
— Anais Nin

As mentioned below, here is the poster for Melanie MacDonald‘s upcoming show at Andrew Horne‘s Flying Pony Café. I hope to make it to the opening. Some of MacDonald’s paintings are quite large and they appear to be skillfully executed.
Hey, Melanie, you might enjoy my old Valentine Cards slide show, if your browser can handle Flash. Give it a try …

Inset: artist’s conception
Old guys like to peer into construction sites. They put little windows into the hoardings, just for us. Nobody else uses them.
Today the whole gate was open, revealing the demolition that is finally underway, readying the site for Beach Hill Residences at the corner of Woodbine and Upper Gerrard. The Beach Hole on Beach Hill will soon be filled with 7 storeys of modern accommodation.
Enjoy the view while you can, I say. BTW, planning for this condo began more than 7 years ago. I attended a couple of early public meetings.

A Taste of the Danforth always struck me as a strange name for the annual street festival. Danforth is an avenue. How do you taste it?
The problem is being addressed. Bite-size Danforth can be had east of Woodbine.

There’s always something interesting on the walls of my favourite café, the Flying Pony, but next week a new exhibit will go up … figurative pieces, large and small, opening on Aug 23rd. It’s going to be crazy in there! The opening coincides with the annual Gerrard East street closure for the Gerrard India Bazaar, August 23-24 from 12:00 – 11:00 p.m