Isabel's Blog

Tag: Toronto

Cheltenham Badlands

September 29, 2014 / / 1 Comment

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A few weeks ago, it was B’s birthday, so we rented a car and  went to the Cheltenham Badlands.  I’d never heard of the area before and it sounded like something fun to do (was it just me who hadn’t heard of it before?).

The area came up in because I had mentioned how, having recently travelled to Seattle and Portland, Ontario was a bit “boring” compared to either of North America’s coastlines. It’s just sorta flat. But it was cool climbing up and down the red sandy dirt. It just seemed so out of place, those bumpy dunes. The area itself is pretty small, so we explored a bit, took some photos, walked around another park that claimed to have a “waterfall” for a bit, and headed off to dinner.

But what I realized after that mini-adventure was that it would be pretty neat to scour Ontario for out-of-the-ordinary / “undiscovered” places. The intern at work mentioned I should check out a place called Ball’s Falls 🙂

 

Summer sky

June 23, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Not a lot of drawing lately, mostly a lot of biking (it’s actually summer now, and I know I gotta take advantage of every chance I can to enjoy the warmth and sunshine and gorgeous skies). But being the klutz I am, I took a tumble off my bike on Friday biking along the lakeshore to Dave’s baseball game (thank you to the strangers who made sure I was okay). I’ve got a giant bruise across my thigh and I’ve been doing a limpy walk since… but I didn’t want to be scared of biking so I made myself get back on my bike right after the accident and then made myself bike right past where I fell.

On Saturday I was up in Markham to watch the older munchkin do a dance recital thing at the main street festival (so precious!). The smaller munchkin had a balloon tied to her wrist but it undid itself and flew away. She pointed at it with her chubby finger while my sister exclaimed in Cantonese, “Oh, it’s flown away.”

I wish I got a photo of the yellow balloon drifting away. We watched it sail up and up for a long time, til it was a tiny dot in the sky and we lost track of it. When I was a kid balloons gave me so much anxiety because I’d be terrified of losing them, so much so I’d rather not have one at all. Even watching the baby lose her balloon gave me a little twinge in my heart. I wonder if my therapist would suggest something about my fear of loved ones flying away and never coming back (don’t go!).

I like biking because I get a break from dwelling on stuff that upsets or worries me. I’m just in the moment and it feels really good. Besides when I go flying headfirst into the pavement. Glad I was wearing a helmet.

 

Toronto Islands

June 9, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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OK, so if we move away, one thing that I will miss about home is Toronto summers. I’m basically living for the weekend these days, because I can do things like bike to the ferry and spend the entire day lazing around in the sun on the Toronto Islands with my friends. Dave marinated a flank steak and grilled it on Danbo’s portable cast iron grill. We ate it with a chimichurri sauce that was tasty. Picnics are pretty awesome.

When the sun started to set we made our way to a little hill just past the clothing optional beach (and boy did we see a lot of dong!) and built a fire. Biking was also fun! We formed a little bike gang, befriending other cyclists and forming an impromptu bike bell symphony while waiting for the ferry. It was a lovely and memorable day on Dong Island.

PS: the loving portrait of Danbo above was taken by Dave

Exploring bike trails

May 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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I’ve been so excited to ride our bikes in the good weather! We went biking a few times even though we haven’t got locks and lights and helmets and bells yet.

Yesterday was a beaautiful Sunday spent in the sun at the Jays game. Afterwards, Dave and I made a short trip up the bike trail on the Lower Don before we did groceries at T&T and then caught the new X-Men movie with some friends. We didn’t get very far but it was so fun. I can’t wait to go back!