day 404 - preening in the spring cold

a mother swan with her ducklings (or is it "swanlings"? hahaha) were enjoying the afternoon sun on lake ontario; when i pressed my shutter, the three little ones were right beside the mother but they moved so fast that this is the result of that shot.

day 403 - 682

a house, or a very large house, on one of the more tony streets of toronto. just look how wide those bay windows are - on either side! and the neighbour to the right is equally large. oh boy!

day 402 - minaret, part 2

in day 217 we featured this minaret but i took that photo from inside the car i was riding in. and the arches at the time weren't finished yet on this mosque. five months later, here is the mosque as finished. it used to be that this was just a non-descript building, but they have beautified it into this lovely structure. it is a sight to behold along the danforth.

day 401 - bubbles?

my cheap but lovely, lovely pearls. need i say more?

day 400 - windows

i wonder how this photograph didn't make it to my 365 album? in any case, walking around the downtown core on a quest to find something worthwhile to photograph, i chanced upon this old building with this window. behind the building is a more modern glass structure. i'm pretty sure i'd be back this way again in the summer. this is a very interesting window.

day 399 - tea for the weary

i was so tired tonight and made it home quite late, because i was sure i wouldn't want to make anything for supper, so i went to my favourite chinese restaurant and had my favourite shrimp in lobster sauce. it was snowing and the owner gave me a cup of tea as soon as i sat down. beautiful!

day 398 - gilded glasses

believe it or not, these tumblers are decorated with 24 karat liquid gold, whatever that means. tumblers for the blue-blooded! they're not mine, though.

day 397 - "java"

this is on queen street west, along the trendy fashion district, where anything about fashion is sold, and coffee houses abound.

day 396 - my reading list

the books that i have to read so i can be a little more up to date with the literary world around me. daunting task, ain't it? maybe i will use my super-reading prowess to tackle these, or maybe not!

day 395 - antique mugs

these belong to my ex-partner's late mother, which of course, he wouldn't give me, whereas i would be able to take care of it more than anyone else in his family. but i have a picture so that's all that matters. at least i can show this to him when the mugs are gone.

day 394 - the Cathedral of St. James

taking a break from the monotonous office lunch, i sauntered by king and church streets to take photos. the bells of St. James actually beckoned me.

day 393 - sunset in the city

we were driving home from picking up the children and the sunset was quite pleasant to look at. so even at 120 kph on the highway, i had to take a picture.

day 392 - tulips

forgotten on the sill to die; my bad!

day 391 - caught!

poor is the kid who lost this bunch of baloons!

day 390 - just an old fashioned mailbox

it's a good thing that i was able to take this picture of this mailbox when i did, because a week later on, when we came back to the place this had been vandalized with graffiti's. i love this mailbox, it's like peeking at the old days and you don't even need permission to peek. damn those people who vandalized it!

day 389 - emily's orchid

my niece emily has a knack for resurrecting almost dead or dead plants. for example, this orchid plant was considered dead by its owner until emily saw it and asked to take it home. a few weeks later here's the flower.

day 388 - a white birch

all alone in the snowy park.

day 387 - suspended

this is a view of my building's backyard. look at that piece of tree trunk (or whatever that is) that is caught between the thick hydro wires. no matter how i try to figure it out, i can't fathom how it got there. if it's light enough to toss, you'd think the winds would have blown it off already. and if it's heavy, how the hell was one able to toss it that high?

day 386 - winter wonderland

using the fish-eye effect of my new canon point and shoot, this was yesterday morning's scene at that parkette near my apartment building - with the sunrise at the top of the roofs of the townhouses, the white snow on the ground and on the grass and trees, it was really winter wonderland.

day 385 - here we are again

in day 229 and day 283 we've seen these guys in their fall season get up. so now, here they are after that snowstorm last night, all decked in snowy ice that would soon melt.

day 384 - downtown toronto's skyline

part of the toronto city skyline, taken on a dull winter day.

day 383 - golden grass

using my olympus camera's super macro, this is the detail of those tall grasses growing around the metro convention centre in downtown toronto.

day 382 - quaint

a building on queen street west, in the fashion district, with interesting detail work above its windows. and the windows themselves are kind of unique. taken on a really cold day.

day 381 - magnify it!

my friend at the office owns all these reading glasses which she uses to match whatever outfit she wears. i especially like to borrow the middle one even when she's using them, just to spite the woman or to rattle her nerves.

day 380 - mural on a bridge

it's a railway bridge, though. somewhere in the east end.

day 379 - windows

on a cold winter day, i go around the downtown core and try to get shots of old buildings. people look at me funny, like they've never seen a person with a camera before. then they see me aiming at the upper windows of buildings and they cover their faces, like, come on, people, i'm not even aiming at you!

day 378 - gazebo

this is the gazebo that can be found on the grounds of St. James Cathedral on King and Church Streets.

day 377 - i am a hotel

this is the top floor of the king eddie hotel on king street. this part of the hotel is not open to the public, except once a year during the "doors open: toronto" event. the first time it was shown to the public, a lot of people came to see what it was like. it's like entering a haunted house in the middle of the day. this floor contains the old ballroom of the hotel and is the inspiration for leonard cohen's poem "i am a hotel".

day 376 - one more time for the frozen lake

we were having a big 'thaw' in toronto today and this was how the lake looked like in the afternoon when the temperature got to around plus 5, but with the 61 kmph winds, the water was a tad stirred that's why there is that gap in the freezing water. and until i zoomed in, i didn't realize that there were two huge barges docked right there. hah!

day 375 - an architrave

this is the facade of the metropolitan united church on queen and church streets. it's always giving me a good invite whenever i am in the area, so, why not take a few shots. it's a nice and engaging subject to photograph, all the time.

day 374 - run for the cure sunglasses

today, i received a gift from the canadian breast cancer foundation, for simply fundraising more than $300 last october during the annual run for the cure. this is a lovely pair of sunglasses from eyewear pink, something something. i'm pretty sure it will see a lot of use during the summer. and of course i shall wear it on run day in october.

day 373 - crystal heart

no, this was not a gift from yesterday's valentine celebration. i was only testing the macro ability of my new canon powershot! and boy, do you see that detail on the cameo.

day 372 - mini icicles

we had a thawing period during the weekend and then it got freezing again today. this was what's left of the melting ice from yesterday. damn! i haven't captured any real icicles yet this year. but then again, at the same time, i don't want it any more freezing cold than it is now. say, why don't we just bring in the sunshine, huh?

day 371 - a healthy breakfast

oatmeal and blueberries. not for me though, i can't eat this stuff in the morning. the oatmeal i can take, but the berries will give me a good case of gas throughout the day. but this morning, when partner was about to have it, i said, "hold! photo of the day!"

day 370 - early gift?

well, surprise! i got an early valentine's gift from the soon-to-be-ex-partner. a small box of chocolate truffles. and since i do not refuse chocolate especially that i know where he purchased it from, i suppose we are valentining. NOT! for the record i didn't get nor do i plan to get him anything. yes, it will be just me, me, and me.

day 369 - antique wine stoppers

these are hundred-year old wine stoppers that belonged to the mother of the man i call my partner but he's not going to be anymore come march 1st. why are they called wine stoppers? actually the better term is bottle stoppers. well, let's find someone who can explain. but there it is, photo of the day.

day 368 - images above seen from underneath

i have a bag that i carry with me everyday to work and i just throw it underneath my desk beside my recycling bin. looking around my desk for something to photograph, i saw the reflection of the overhead lights on my sunglasses on top of my scarf inside the bag, and voila! photo of the day.

day 367 - didn't we see this one already?

yes, but this is from a different view. taken at the corner of bay and lakeshore. i swear to you, this tower is stalking me!

day 366 - cold, cold toronto

lake ontario taking on the sunset...it is a miserably cold day today. miserable. really.

day 365 - i did it!

well, congratulations to moi! this is my 365th picture on this blog which i started last year. and to celebrate, i will eat another half a dozen of these wonderful white chocolate lavender truffles. yum yum yummy!

and just to keep me on my toes, i will perhaps continue to post photographs here and get it on to the second year. so, yeah! whooo-hooo!

actually, in january, i also joined 365 project and there, i am not so lonely because there's a lot of photography savvy people in there and there is more challenge there because people get to view the postings. if you care to join us, view my photographs at: http://365project.org/summerfield/365

day 364 - super bowl dinner

these were cooking in my oven yesterday for this "what's the big deal" super bowl event that partner and my niece were so gung-ho about. i don't care much for meat as i don't eat them myself, but the house was filled with a delicious aroma, but that is because i made myself some gambas al ajillo.

day 363 - testing the newly-found knowledge

as in newly-learned knowledge in taking photographs with two smart kids from work. we went to henry's, paid a not-so-serious sum of $75 to learn mostly what we already know, and forget the new ones just learned. bien, c'est la vie! so we hung around the Metropolitan United Church and despite the snow that had started to fall, we took some pictures.

day 362 - lake ontario after the snowcalypse

footsteps galore on the snowy embankment going down to the waters of lake ontario.

day 361 - the danforth after the "snowcalypse"

yes, it was overhyped, that big snowstorm. in the end we only got about 15 cm. of the white stuff, and this morning the sun was shirning brightly and warmed up so most of the stuff started to melt.

but look at this photograph, using my new gizmo (see day 361). one shot and i got the other side of the danforth. in my old olympus i'd get only 2/3 of the scenery. sweet!

day 360 - my new point and shoot

on sale at black's, and i couldn't resist it. this is the third camera i bought in one week, and the most expensive. there was a blue nikon coolpix i got for less than $80, and yesterday an olympus (that was supposed to be the upgrade of my present p&s) for $40. i would've also bought a kodak easyshare which was on sale for $29, and i had to pass it up because of this baby. yes! now, if i only could learn how to take better pictures.

day 359 - one more time for the CN tower

i think i've posted too many CN tower pictures but never mind, this one's an accident because the roof of the rogers centre (nee the skydome) got included in the frame. partner was driving 110 kmph when i took the picture and it still turned out well, albeit tilted, but i thought it looks kind of good that way, n'est-ce pas?

day 358 - flock of geese weathervane

against the backdrop of a partially cloudy sky but with bright sunshine peeking through every now and then, this weathervane got my attention and took probably about 20 shots before i could get a decent one. coming to the end of the year now. eight more days to go and i have to decide if i will continue.

day 357 - a flock of geese

on my drive around the city, i chanced by this rarely seen formation of Canada geese on lake ontario. it was hellish cold again today but there was no wind, thank heavens, so taking pictures around wasn't so bad, unlike yesterday morning.

day 356 - a pink van

yay! for pink vans. i wonder how the driver of this van feels everytime he sits in his pink truck. do people refer to him as "ah, you drive the pink van, don't you?" or "is that pink van yours?" but, it's a nice pink anyway. i'd be proud to drive it myself.

day 355 - the view

this is the view from one of our office floor's lounges: the full length of the CN tower with the Rogers Centre (nee the Skydome). although if i have to attend a meeting here, i probably would just want to watch the lake and everything else that i can look at.