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 of the bottle’s contents stained the glass and the inside of the plastic cap a muddy brown, while sticky dribbles from wayward shakes adhered ...
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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 moment the screaming-yellow flowers popped open. Seeing that spray of blossoms in the kitchen or on the dining-room table was a signal: It was ...
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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, I remember exactly what I was wearing: periwinkle blue corduroy knickers and a chenille sweater with broad periwinkle, cream, and navy stripes. My tights were off-white ...
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Downtown Toronto from Riverdale Park East, at 28 degrees below zero

Riverdale Park East | Friday, January 16, 2009, 5:23 p.m.

Orange reached up, dug its nails into the flat body of the sky, and hung on for dear life. With Blue rising up to swallow it whole, Orange resisted, kicked Blue back down to the snow-covered ground, and shook the last of ...
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“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 the first step towards recovery), I’m only going to give you five. But to put a little twist on this meme affair, I will ...
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