The Scriptorium

( It's taken me two weeks, but here are some pics from this year's Doors Open Toronto )

I decided to share some of the photos I took this past Thanksgiving weekend when visiting my parents. Most of these were taken on two different walks that I took with my siblings. ( Lots of trees this way. )

On Friday, I met my dad and brother downtown so that we could take in some of the holiday sights. After having a very nice lunch at Harvey’s, we went out in search of some holiday cheer (e.g. cool Christmasy type stuff). ( It gets better. There are fewer words and more pics. )

Last weekend, I stayed with my parents. On Sunday, I visited the Guild Park and Gardens with my mom, sister and brother. The weather was beautiful, and I took a lot of pictures. ( When don’t you take a lot of pictures? )

There was a lot to see this year at the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition). In addition to the annual cat show and sand sculptures, there were giant gnomes and an incredible indoor lantern exhibit. As usual, my mom and I had a good day at the EX. ( Let’s go to the EX! Click here for pretty pics! )

As this year was Canada’s 150th birthday, I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion other than popping Strange Brew into the DVD player (though I totally did that too, eh?). ( Cooo, loo, coo, coo, coo, coo, coo, coooo! )

This year, my brother was brave enough to accompany me during this year’s Doors Open weekend. As usual, it was a challenge to narrow down the choices when there were so many buildings to choose from. In the end, we decided to focus on the area around Yonge and King and visited St. James Cathedral, Tom Jones Steakhouse, and the Commerce Court North. I think we managed to sample a good variety of buildings, each of which serves very different purposes. ( Sorry it took two weeks to post this. I'm hoping it was worth the wait. )

It’s only taken two weeks, but here are some pictures from the April 9th Fort York tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Many consider the Battle of Vimy Ridge to be a defining moment in Canadian history as it was one of Canada’s greatest (if not the greatest) military achievements. In fact, some historians view Vimy Ridge as the moment when Canada finally came of age as a nation and played a major role on the world’s stage. I should point out that Vimy Ridge was not just a Canadian victory. While it was the first time that all four Canadian divisions participated in a battle, the British 5th Infantry Division (and supplementary artillery, engineer and labour units) provided essential support. Whatever the Battle of Vimy Ridge might represent, the victory came at a huge cost: 3,598 men were killed and 7,004 men were wounded.

Naturally, the main commemoration ceremony took place at the Vimy Ridge Memorial itself, but there were several events throughout the country to mark the anniversary. It was my dad’s idea to attend the Fort York tribute. I’m glad we did because of all the historical displays and reenactments. The reenactors really worked hard to recreate aspects of the First World War experience. I was pleasantly surprised by how many items I saw from the period. My dad, brother and I were even able to partake in the mess hall experience by dining at the The Great War Heritage Café, which had rows of long tables. It was a great opportunity to actually talk to people as you were sharing a table with strangers. I ate something called Canadian Stew, which was basically baked beans mixed with maple syrup and bits of bacon. What really impressed me, though, were the homemade butter tarts. They were the best butter tarts I’d had in years.

Well, I think I’ve provided more than enough background. On to the photos! ( There really are more pictures and fewer words ahead. )

On Friday, my mom and I went to an excellent Chihuly exhibit at the ROM. Chihuly is the brainchild of artist Dale Chihuly, who began experimenting with glass as an art form several years ago. Chihuly can be anything from intricate small scale pieces to major installations in public spaces. And words really don't do this artwork justice... ( I'm not kidding. This artwork is going to seriously impress you. )