November 6, 2007

Expansion

They call it a “booktique” but I’m not frightened (yet); that Type Books is opening up a second location can only be seen as a good thing.

October 6, 2007

Lunch

I had some marvelous lunches this week, and would like to pass on some recommendations. Dessert Trends Bistro at Harbord and Brunswick is as lovely inside as it looks from without. I had a roasted eggplant and tomato sandwich on olive bread, which came with a side salad and figs. Dessert was too much to choose from, which only means I now have to return again and again. I had a chocolate pear cake, which did not disappoint, and next time I shall go for the mango raspberry tart. And then yesterday I had lunch at Mangiacake on McCaul just south of Baldwin. As temperatures remain especially not autumnal, we sat out on the back patio, and I had a roasted vegetable sandwich, and a mediterranean salad (I do love feta). The food was amazing, service could not have been friendlier/more efficient, and we had their brownies for dessert, and everyone was particularly satisfied. Lunches are such a pleasure, and if you take yours at either of these establishments, they won’t be wasted.

September 28, 2007

Packed

This weekend: I plan on checking a number of things off a list I should have done ages ago. In terms of fun, workshop reunion at RR’s. Nuit Blanche. The Victoria College Book Sale starts tonight (though I’m saving myself until Monday morning). You should check out the booksale– it’s right in the neighbourhood of Word on the Street, which I’m going to Sunday. Exciting! I went last year, but spent the day in a booth. This year I’ll get to browse. Will you be there too? Let me know, and I’ll come say hello to you.

September 13, 2007

Elusive boys are hard to find

Now reading Gifted, which has been wonderful from the start, and, interestingly enough, wholly in compliance with my previous observations regarding the difference between British and American fiction about immigrants. The British is so much grittier. Tonight I went out to Le Bar a Soup with my friend Jennie, and then we had coffee and dessert on a patio, staying out talking until it was too dark to see.

September 11, 2007

Blowing off dust

Today was exciting for a number of reasons: that I woke up and sat down to spend the morning working on my manuscript, which has been living under my bed since April. Had to blow off a layer of dust, but it was easy to get started, and strange to be affected by words I’d written so long ago they’ve ceased to belong to me. My goal is to finish this final revision by the end of this year, and then what’s next would, quite naturally, come with the future. Further exciting, was lunch with my old dear friend Erin Sanko who I’ve not seen in at least five years. Nice to have it feel like no time had passed, and her boyfriend is lovely. (I was also happy to hear that she had so much enjoyed Half of a Yellow Sun). I spent the afternoon shopping, for skirts, shoes, and turtleneck sweaters. Also for a new backpack, and any number of things to replace hideousness. And then I had my first visit to Ben McNally Books, which was a marvelous experience, and I had the good fortune of picking up a copy of Jonathan Garfinkel’s new book Ambivalence. It’s a beautiful book, and I am very happy for him. I also look quite forward to reading it.

August 19, 2007

If you want your local bookstore to prosper…

A word of advice: if you want your local bookstore to prosper, a good tip might be to give me a gift certificate for it. I regard gift certificates as licence to spend twice as much as usual (naturally– one wouldn’t want to look cheap). I was fortunate to receive a gift from Nicholas Hoare recently, and so yesterday we made a journey out of walking there and back. (I like long long walks. I regard them as licence to eat cake en-route.)

When we arrived at the bookstore, Stuart settled down on a couch with a book of interest to wait out my selection process. (Which is to say that Stuart has come a long way since our trip to Paris’s Shakespeare and Company in April 2003 which was the scene of our very first fight.) And I chose very carefully: I am deeply interested in reading Arlington Park and A Celibate Season, but neither was in stock. However I found eight others, and then narrowed the pile to five, and then three.

What won out in the end were Claire Massud’s first novel When the World Was Steady, Simple Recipes by Madeleine Thien, and Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. Each of these writers have wowed me with their more recent works, and I am excited to be venturing into their back catalogues for more.

August 13, 2007

Piedust Memories

I’ve been too busy having fun lately to take pictures, and so I bring you one of my favourite shots from our trip to England in June.

This weekend has stretched long with the fun. Someone gave Stuart tickets to We Will Rock You for Thursday eve, and fun was had. Friday evening we met up with Natalie Bay for an authentic Japanese meal at Ematei, followed by authentic ice cream from Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe. Saturday evening was a housewarming at the gorgeous new abode of a certain Ms. Kim Dean (special guest appearence by E. Smith). And then today, a whole day with the future-Smiths. We went out for Chinese food, and then came back to ours for a game of Scrabble on the porch while the rain poured down. And I won! Word I longed to be a word was “piedust”. Best actual word of the game was “zygote”, and Carolyn and Steve didn’t get too angry when Stuart and I cheated (I handed him a tile in the bowl of popcorn). They stayed over until the sun came out, and then dinner was tea and freshly baked scones and jam, which would have been perfect had I not added too much salt. Everyone was very understanding though, and copious dollops of jam rendered them absolutely edible.

Now reading The Raw Shark Texts. I think I will be up quite late tonight reading to get to the very end.

Tomorrow night we’re going to see Crowded House!

July 31, 2007

Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market

And so the garden continues to churn out baby tomatoes, cucumbers abounding, no critters have yet eaten the melons, in a few weeks we’ll have red peppers. We’re a bit worried about the big tomatoes, which may have been living a bit too close to the bbq lately and just don’t seem to be ripening, but fingers crossed. All goes well. And tonight we went to Trinity Bellwoods Farmers Market which is very close to our house, and we were thrilled to find their bounty a-plenty still at six o’clock when we were able to get down there. Brilliant! We got swiss chard, pattypan squash, yellow zucchini, baby eggplant, basil, beets (red and yellow), and corn. How fun is eating local in August? Tonight we had pizza and it was absolutely delicious.

In related news, I’m now getting a bit of Laurie Colwin’s Home Cooking on the side.

July 23, 2007

Not Kurashiki

And so here we are, anticipating next weekend in Muskoka in a big way (ha ha). Yesterday we got to Toronto Island, finally, and so it won’t be this summer’s Kurashiki. (Kurashiki was the city in Japan we meant to vist almost every weekend that we lived there, and then we moved away). We had a brilliant day, riding our bikes down to the ferry docks– we adore riding through the financial district on the weekend when the sidewalks are as wide as usual, but perfectly empty. We landed on Ward’s, and had an ice cream. Spent some time on the beach reading our books, and then we rode along the boardwalk. To Centre Island, which was perfectly madhouse, and great in its own way, and then along to Hanlan’s Point where we got the ferry back. And then we rode up to Kensington and picked up blueberries, and then up to Mexitaco on Bloor Street for food aplenty plus Coronas which surely undid all the good our exercise did. Oh well.

Today was not so notable, except that we tried our carrots– they may look bizarre, but they taste good. The big tomatoes are coming out now too, and they’re extraordinary. If all goes well, we might soon have more watermelon than we know what to do with (imagine that predicament!). And a bit of a low point as whilst turning off the hose I fell seven feet off a ledge to the bottom of our concrete basement steps. That was not so fun, and yet fascinating also as I’ve not been so scraped in years, nor can I remember the last time I lost my footing and failed altogether to find it.

In better news, I finally replaced the $10 Canadian Tire helmet I bought when we were broke, and got a fabulous new one— in pink!

July 19, 2007

The Bake Shop on Harbord

I’ve been noticing The Bake Shop, the understated establishment recently opened in a former bike shop on Harbord Street. Something about it had me wishing it a fighting chance, as it’s quite clearly the fruit of someone’s efforts to start a small business up from nothing. And the shop has been shaping up well these last few weeks, with a fresh paint job and a mural on the side. Every day on my way home I’ve been tempted to check it out, try a cookie. Today I succumbed, and met the best cookie I’ve ever eated– and all for 80 cents!

The owner told us she’s been busy, actually, with lots of orders for her cakes and cookies. She said it’s just her working right now while the business gets started, and I said that must be tough. I asked, “Do you work all day?” She said, “Oh no, only fifteen hours.” She gave us a sample of her homemade chocolate ice cream (a cone for $2), and the flavour was heavenly. Stuart and I ended up having to split one cookie as there were only two left, and apparently one of her customers had called ahead and asked for one to be set aside. I understand why. We’re going back there. And you should go there too.