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A man and a woman in vivid red t-shirts stood in Kensington Market, poring over a Toronto city map. The man shouted, "Does anybody know where there's a Mona Lisa around here?"

djjo knew. We were standing on Baldwin Street. He pointed down the street to the light, turn right (on Kensington Avenue), and down a block. It's on the side of a building. But ( Read more... )

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Today in Kensington Market I stopped at King's Café, a Chinese Buddhist restaurant I've previously raved about. It has been renovated and the menu expanded, but the prices are still very reasonable. The new menu also lists branches in various cities...

Guelph! What?

Online later, I identified this mysterious Guelph branch as the Zen Garden on ( Read more... )

Analekta has released the recent recording of Beethoven's Symphonies Number 7 and 8 performed by Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra conducted by Bruno Weil. Danny, Dad and I heard the live performance last spring, and I had eagerly awaited this CD. It is an exciting and refreshing take.

I had wondered what a Baroque orchestra could say about these ( Read more... )

Just a quick check-in to mention I'm working away from home this week. Les and I are installing the refurbished manuals and pedalboard into the organ at St. Paul's Basilica. This is a fussy and delicate job. We expect to finish on our third day, tomorrow. Meanwhile, I get to spend my nights with Danny.

But I'm away from home in more ways than one. ( Read more... )

Les and I are spending about two weeks restoring the two manuals (keyboards) and pedalboard for the pipe organ at St. Paul's Basilica, Toronto. It is the oldest instrument I've worked on, built in 1898 by R.S. Williams & Sons. It was restored in 1977 by Gabriel Kney. Les was working for Kney at that time, so he has a long history with the organ.

It ( Read more... )

Midday today found me by chance at Allan Gardens in Toronto, with a chrysanthemum exhibition underway.

Mums remind me of Mom. I loved her garden, but wrinkled my nose at two of her favourite flowers, mums and petunias. They smelt acrid and featured garish colours that didn't appeal to me. I've grown to appreciate yellow and orange in contrast with ( Read more... )

Until the invitation from bobalone, I hadn't considered it. Stay up for "a free all-night contemporary art thing" in downtown Toronto? He suggested several of us gather to take advantage of the photo op.

So Saturday evening he and paulintoronto invited me and brunorepublic to convene at their house and plot our course. It would be impossible for one person to take in everything ( Read more... )

Yesterday afternoon djjo was featured along with other fibre artists in a show presented co-operatively by Vogue Knitting magazine and Toronto's Downtown Knit Collective. It was organized to entertain a tour of knitters visiting from New York, but the majority of the audience was local: about 120 people in all. For the first half, the magazine ( Read more... )