China Lily factory sign, Leslieville

The bottle came out when we ate stirfry with rice. Its elongated, giraffe-like neck stretched upwards from a fat base stickered over with the distinguishing canary yellow and black label. The inky blackness…

Hot-air balloon parade over the Ottawa River

Perhaps the most charming part of our recent Labour Day Weekend getaway to Ottawa, Ontario, was our inadvertent participation in the 2009 Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival.

No matter…

Bathtub basil planter

I snapped this shot in an alleyway just north of Trinity Bellwoods Park during Toronto’s 2007 Alley Jaunt event. I was visiting Michael and the rest of the Wireless Toronto Art…

Forsythia blossoms, Broadview Avenue

To my mind, forsythia is the quintessence of spring. One of these flowering shrubs grew in the backyard of my first childhood home, and my mom would bring a branch into the house the…

Abandoned suitcase, Broadview Avenue

[This little scrap of memory surfaced recently. It is the first I have that’s linked to my idea that I’m awkward with children and lack parenting instincts.]

Left Behind

As I so often do,…

“Sweet tooth” graffito, Riverside District

Jess over at O Solo Mama would like you to know the seven weirdest things about me. Because I tend to be rather long winded (see? I’m admitting my problem. It’s…

Christmas tree at Berczy Park, Front Street, between Yonge and Church

The winter solstice arrived in fine style this year, holding up the skirts of her ice-encrusted gown and dancing through the city in the wake of howling…

Red maple leaf, Bolton Avenue south of Dundas

Where are you now, red maple leaf? Where did October’s winds take you?

The winds that whipped up the clouds, sending them careening across the skies like a band of…

“Breathe Your Dreams Alive” graffito, alley near Trinity Bellwoods Park

But what if your lungs feel just plain empty?

Goose parade

The denizens of the Love Nest hatched just in time for Mother’s Day.

After a disconcerting Wednesday morning, in which we all arrived at the office to find Mother Goose off her nest and…