July 10 2022 - Gardens

 

A garden walk is a non-curated garden tour.  It means the gardeners self-select, volunteer, their gardens.  All kinds and variations get volunteered.  Some exquisite, and others less so.  They may be close by or farther away to reach. Each typically comes with the gardener available for conversation and questions or to relay the history of the house and garden.   A garden tour is curated - a committee decides the number of gardens, their style and size, and location is a consideration, seeking clusters of houses so that it is easy to get around. The Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society had a garden walk yesterday - over 30 gardens volunteered themselves.  I saw less than half of them.  It was the distance to get around to them all that took the time.  It would have been a full and packed day to get to all 30.  That's part of the enjoyment - to see as much as one can. It is immediately clear  how much more diverse the gardens are than on a curated garden tour.  What the public might want and expect given the've paid some money.  This  is in the forefront of the organizers' minds.  When that's not the case, we can welcome all manner of gardens -  smaller and larger houses and gardens - some starting out, others mature..  Two were on the lake-front street and one on the water with its huge boat, swimming and infinity pool.  The view across the river is wonderful as the river narrows there. So we have the contrast of  what was Niagara-on-the-Lake and what is now.  The first picture today is a picture one might have taken 75 years ago. A screen door with a view of  the stained glass transom windows.  These were the houses of Niagara-on-the-Lake back then. Seaside/lakeside cottages and homes.  It wasn't the pretty town it is now.  The next porch - this is a new house only a few years old.  It is built in the style of the grander stone cottages. It has a contemporary interior.  Its porch looks like a luxury hotel to me.  It is beautiful and elegant.  This represents the town of today - a destination location for the rich who are attracted to the restored architecture set in quaint streets meant for walking and biking.

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July 21 2021 - Jeff and Wally with the Right Stuff

 

There I am interested in dryer lint, and Wally Funk, 82, has made it to space - the oldest person, and a female astronaut in the US program who didn't get a chance to get to space the first time.   She' was one of 13 women in the 1960s astronaut program.   Jeff Bezos took the opportunity to one-up Richard Branson with this media-style gesture.  She had purchased a ticket for $200,000 on the Virgin Galactic for when it becomes commercial.  So one way or the other, she would have gone to space.  "In her senior year of college, when she earned a trophy recognizing her as the most outstanding pilot, the airport manager gave it to her said, “Mark my words, if ever a woman flies into space, it will be Wally, or one of her students.” Her interesting biography is HERE.  Trust me to be transfixed by her name - Wally. And then Funk.  What a regrettable combination.  We remember Wallis Simpson the Duchess of Windsor.  But to shorten it to Wally, which I consider a less desirable name for men or women - that would have been a remarkable person.   She has an engaging smile and lots of energy at 82.  Lucky for us we get to see her happy moment in space. Our final pictures of the Fun Run - this one the Porsche dealer garage windows, and then the Falls View from the Victoria Restaurant.  That's dining with a view.

No 13 2020 - It's Friday the ...

 

My guess is that such a time as this has gone by: In the late-19th century, a New Yorker named Captain William Fowler (1827-1897) sought to remove the enduring stigma surrounding the number 13—and particularly the unwritten rule about not having 13 guests at a dinner table—by founding an exclusive society called the Thirteen Club. The group dined regularly on the 13th day of the month in room 13 of the Knickerbocker Cottage, a popular watering hole Fowler owned from 1863 to 1883. Before sitting down for a 13-course dinner, members would pass beneath a ladder and a banner reading “Morituri te Salutamus,” Latin for “Those of us who are about to die salute you.” Four former U.S. presidents would join the Thirteen Club’s ranks at one time or another. We should celebrate the 12th day of every month as we western cultures consider this number to represent completeness. Wouldn't it be great to know what's next in American politics at the cross road of democracy - and for it to be a peaceful solution? Looks messy outside this window.

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Pencils

Graphite is what makes a pencil a pencil although it started as lead in Roman times.  Graphite being non-toxic, it became the 'lead' in the pencil. The history of pencils at pencils.com tells me that Graphite came into widespread use following the discovery of a large graphite deposit in Borrowdale, England in 1564.  Later, the graphite was inserted into hollowed-out wooden sticks and, thus, the wood-cased pencil was born.  Nuremberg, Germany was the birthplace of the first mass-produced pencils in 1662. Pencils have been painted yellow since the 1890s for an interesting reason. During the 1800s, the best graphite in the world came from China. American pencil makers wanted a special way to tell people that their pencils contained Chinese graphite. In China, the color yellow is associated with royalty and respect. American pencil manufacturers began painting their pencils bright yellow to communicate this “regal” feeling and association with China. How is the graphite put into the hollow wood? Two wooden halves were carved, a graphite stick inserted, and the halves then glued together.  According to the Guardian in a recent article, children struggle to hold pencils due to too much tech.  An overuse of touchscreen phones and tablets is preventing children's finger muscles from developing sufficiently to enable them to hold a pencil correctly.  You an see the methods of holding a pencil in the article HERE. Here's a contrast between two doorways - the first in Toronto and then Buffalo on the garden walk.

Sometimes a Cigar

When did sometimes become 'a time' that people referred to?  Have we always had the notion of time as a precise and as a vague thing?  Sometimes means "occasionally, now and then."  It is truly a vague idea. The expression "sometimes, always, never" refers to a man wearing a three-button blazer.  The middle button should always be fastened, the top button is up to you, but the bottom button?  Clearly it means don't even think about it. This is known as a fashion edict.  It came about with King Edward VII - the Prince of  Wales.  He was known for overeating and being overweight.  Hence the button remained unbuttoned.  Alternately, we can explore this scientifically:   "Sometimes, often, and always:  exploring the vague meanings of frequency expressions".  Linguists are mathematicians and the article describes a two-step procedure for the numerical translation of vague linguistic terms.  "The suggested procedure consists of empirical and model components, including (1) participants' estimates of numerical values corresponding to verbal terms and (2) modeling of the empirical data using fuzzy membership functions (MFs), respectively."  US National Library of Medicine.   "Sometimes" is present with us in famous expressions and quotes.  It has become the handle for "life is tough"  and "what I know about life, I think." For example:  "A question that sometimes drives me hazy:  am I or are the others crazy? - Albert Einstein One of the first expressions that comes up in a search is:  "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar" - This is attributed to Freud.  It refers to the search for significant meanings where none are to be found.  It turns out that there is no written record of Freud as the direct source of this quote.  It is considered a false quote as tracked down by QuoteInvestigator.com  Here is some of the investigation of the cigar quote in Freud's life: "He was so addicted to smoking that he grew annoyed with men who did not smoke.  Because of this, nearly all his apostles became cigar-smokers." Poor Freud, he seems to be attributed with excellent quotes that he didn't say. Another famous quote attributed to him:  "time spent with cats is never wasted."  But there is no evidence that he ever said this.  What he did write to a friend was:  "I, as is well known, do not like cats". Here's another that is researched and found to be fake: "Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility".  This expression has approximately 73,700 attributions to Freud.  It was found to be falsely attributed to him. There are hundreds and hundreds of Freud quotes.  As I look through the list, some have the reference source, but many do not, so I wonder how many of these are true vs falsely attributed.   The site that investigates false quotes is Shimmer College Wiki - the Fake Quotes Project.   And here is their Facebook page.  While I've provided the links, the site is difficult to navigate in that it doesn't have a search function.  Too bad, it would be fun to know Freud's False/True score. We have Longwood doors today - the first speaks to the mystery behind the door and the second points out the long path ahead - different stories about doors..

Walk Right In...Have a Seat

The facades that face the commercial streets in Toronto have a minimalist approach to texture and surface. Less seems to be better. All the surface and texture lie in the back alleys.  The pictures today show back alleys in the King Street West area yesterday.  I was in search of doors and chairs. The first picture is the remaining wall of a building under deconstruction/reconstruction. This is the alley-view of a second story door - I didn't go around to see the facade from the street view.  The door got my attention as it looks like a swing door.  What would have been on the second floor? These back alleys are grimy and gritty.  They don't get washed down like the sidewalks out front of commercial and retail stores.  At Yonge and Bloor, the gorgeous black granite sidewalk along Bloor Street got washed every morning before 7:30 as I was on my way to work. In the alleyways, back doors are open to the kitchens of restaurants.  Loud voices pour out, releasing the vitality and energy of the City.

Jan 2 Drop Off!

Drop Off

This is the day after all the celebrations that started well before Christmas in November and end on New Year's Day  We might be looking ahead to Twelfth Night (Jan 5) and Epiphany (Jan 6) in some cultures with a strong religious orientation.  Here in North America, it all goes quiet.

It turns out that Costa Rica is full of early January celebrations.  The Palmares Fiestas starts the first week of January and is "two weeks of concerts, bullfighting, folklore dancing and general debauchery".  The first week also has the Coffee Cup:  "a much-anticipated, week-long juniour tennis tournament.  And there's the Alajuelita Fiestas - "an oxcart parade and party to honour the Black Christ of Esquipulas, Alajuela." So there's no end of fun in Costa Rica, no cliff after January 1st.

Perhaps it is time to schedule for next year's after-Christmas holiday in Costa Rica.

Here are two images from St. Augustine, Florida oldest house museum complex.