Commuting

Ontario Place

     Well, I have been commuting from my town to Toronto for just over a year now and thought I'd share some photos I've taken from the bus.  Above is a shot of Ontario Place (soon to be a casino?) taken from the bus while it goes along the Lakeshore at about 7 in the morning.  At least the sun is starting to come up en route now.  I get up at 5 a.m. on weekdays and am usually out the door by 5:25, so that I can walk or bike to the bus station and catch the 5:45 into Toronto - that usually takes about an hour and a half and I try and nap/sleep/rest for most of that.  Fortunately, I work 1-2 minutes away from the bus terminal in Toronto, so it's a quick trip there.  Most days, I leave work at 3 p.m. to catch the 3:30 bus back home.  Tuesdays, I have a lab meeting from 4-5 in the afternoon, so i take the 5:30 bus home.  Coming home is also about 1.5 hours, but the weather or an accident can make it longer still.  One day last week there was an accident on the QEW and it took 3 hours to get home!  Luckily, I always have a book or a puzzle magazine handy to help pass the time away.  There's also my jPhone, so i can play games, surf the net or send e-mails.  Best of all, there is a community of regular commuters and even if we don't know one another's names, we know almost everything else about one another.  There's a lot of camaraderie and laughter amongst us and it definitely helps with the journey to and from Toronto.  There are some people who have been commuting for 20 or more years, and once you get into the swing of it, it's not so bad.  My only big complaint is that it can make my back quite uncomfortable some days, especially if I'm tensed up about traffic conditions outside, but hey it beats driving in and having to focus on the road the whole time!

Urban view

No More Stress

A long path ahead...

     I haven't added anything new to the blog in a while because there had been a family emergency.  My brother had a series of seizures and ended up, heavily sedated, in ICU for over a week.  To make matters worse, no one seemed to know what was wrong with him, and once they took him off the sedation he was paranoid, delusional and psychotic.  It has been a very stressful time but I am happy to say he is back home and making progress every day.  Count your blessings.

Hope springs eternal.

Brrrr!

Kitchen bay window

     It's very cold outside today, but at least the sun has finally come out.  The first Amaryllis has bloomed and the African Violets are starting to pump out their blossoms, so at least it feels like a spring garden inside.  CC brought one of the bonsai Azaleas upstairs and put it in the kitchen bay window, so we can enjoy the flowers.  The kitchen bay window has provided us with a lot of enjoyment - we have red and white Cyclamens in bloom and all of the orchids have sent out flower stalks that will soon reward our patience.

African Violet

Belgian Nurseries

The new addition

     Even though it's a sunny January day and there isn't much snow on the ground, it's still cold outside and there is definitely a lack of greenery in my life.  CC is forcing bulbs in the greenhouse, but none are flowering yet and we needed a hit of spring.  So, we got into the car and headed to Belgian Nurseries, one of our favourite plant destinations.

Colourful leaves

     My favourite area is the cactus/succulent room where they have cleverly put tongs beside the numerous cacti so one doesn't injure one's self when trying to pick one of the damned, pointy things up.  They have some specimens that were clearly planted there many years ago and , as a result, are quite large and imposing.  Some are getting ready to flower, so we will have to make a return trip for that.  Our second favourite area is the orchid room which has many verdant, moisture-loving plants and I can feel my dry, flaky skin breathing out a sigh of relief from the much-needed humidity.  CC buys some bug spray - damn aphids are invading our house begonias - and a couple of spray bottles.  I get the Kalanchoe (pictured above) for it's very unusual flowers.  I have a different one growing in the greenhouse that has beautiful, bell-shaped, orange flowers but is still a couple of years away from producing.  So, if the winter blahs are getting to you, go for a stroll in your local nursery and take in the beauty - you will thank me for it and who knows what new discoveries you will make.

Orchid room

Happy New Year!

     Although there is still some snow on the ground, it has been raining for most of the day and is quite damp out.  CC and I have had a busy couple of days after three glorious days of rest and relaxation at home.  On the 30th, we went up north to Devil's Glen near Creemore and stayed at a friend's family ski chalet for the night.  It was a very foggy drive up, but very relaxing once we were ensconced  with a roaring fire, drinks in hand and lively conversation.  We came back to Guelph yesterday, stopped in at the grocery store, and came home to prepare for a dinner party at friends' nearby.  We made a fennel and orange salad and mustard beans as our contributions.  There were fifteen people altogether and we started the evening with a bunch of appetizers: garlic Boursin and olives on pumpernickel, pear and cheese on endive and radicchio, cheese and bacon on toasts and broccoli cheese squares.  We then sat at the table and had small bowls of a hearty beef stew, followed by baked, stuffed peppers and lots of salads.  We ended with an almond cake with pomegranate seeds.  Guests were asked to talk about news stories or quotes that affected them this year.  Some guests left before midnight but a few of us hardcore types greeted the new year with champagne, hugs and kisses!

Devil's Glen

     Today, CC and I packed away all of the Christmas decorations and took the Christmas tree and the evergreen boughs outside.  While I vacuumed and dusted, CC cut the greenery up into manageable pieces to put around the Rhododendron, Azaleas and Japanese Maple.  They act as a good shield from the winter sun and will eventually add to some acidity to the soil.  We noticed the Cyclamen had started poking up through the snow, adding some green to a somewhat monochromatic landscape.

Early Cyclamen!

jPhone

Goodbye Canon...

...hello iPhone!

     Okay, for months now I have been thinking about getting rid of my old Motorola Razor cell phone because the battery was starting to die, the screen was getting obscured, and every time I opened it to make a call I had to restrain myself from saying, "Beam me up Scotty."  Yes, it was that old-fashioned! Well, I finally got the new iPhone 4S and I have to say my life has changed for the better.  I can make phone calls, send emails, take pictures, listen to music and make voice commands (it still won't kill anyone for me, but I know it's just a matter of time... ; ) ).  Best of all, I can do all of this on my sometimes gruelling commute home from work on the bus.

Park Christmas Lights

     I have spent the past few weeks uploading all of my CDs (remember those?) onto my laptop and then transferring selected tunes to my iPhone, or as I have renamed it,  jPhone.  As well, ALL my digital photos are now on my laptop and my favourites have been transferred to jPhone.  Same goes for addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.  I even have everyone's birthdays saved to jPhone and will be reminded when their birthdays come up.  Wow!  Best of all, the photo quality is superb.  I took some shots last night, while it was snowing and getting dark, and I am amazed at the light quality in the pictures I took.  So, JDPegs has gone iJDPegs!

Winter light

Merry Christmas!

Where did all those presents go?  I feel so naked!

     Well, we tried to sleep in a little bit, but GC had been up since 6, lying in her bed, desperately waiting for everyone else to get up, so she could open her gifts.  CC, FC, GC and I gathered around the tree, passed each other gifts and they were open in a flash.  GC is particularly adept at getting the gifts out of their cozy wrapping quickly!  We then got cleaned up, had a bacon breakfast and checked out the new additions to the household.

Mini Microscope Painting

     I was very happy with my gifts and now have to figure out where the new mini-painting will go.  The kids are off to their mother's at noon and we are off to Oakville for Christmas dinner with CC's parents, a sleepover, and then to Toronto to have Boxing Day with my brother and his family.  Can't wait to sleep in and play with my new iPhone 4GS (a Christmas present to myself!) - post on that to follow...

Merry Fishmas!