day 589 - rice harvest

this is typical of rice harvesting scene in the olden days in the philippines. families and neighbours help each other in harvesting their rice fields, and it is a chance to share stories (i.e., gossips) and partake of food. again, this is a photo of a repro hanging on the wall of a filipino restaurant.

day 588 - bibingka!

that's filipino rice cake, a delicacy made especially during the Christmas season in the philippines. this is a picture of a repro hanging on the walls of a filipino restaurant.

the bibingka is baked upside down on a clay pot/oven. it is usually baked on the spot, at little kiosks that dot the churchyards during midnight masses leading up to Christmas eve. it is usually served with freshly grated coconut meat and butter, and either a hot tea or hot chocolate to fully savour the taste of this delicious cake.

day 587 -birthday wishes

today, little darren had his birthday party, with cousins and friends. he had wanted a taro cake as it is his favourite. but of course, he was surprised by the design we had requested. that is 'sac boy' from his favourite game "little big planet".

day 586 - birthday!

today, little darren turns seven. i told him the story about how, on the day he was born, i visited him briefly in the hospital but had to leave right away, his big brother at the back of the van and i was driving like mad because i wanted to get back home and watch the finale of canadian idol.

he was surprised with the cake. he liked the idea of ice cream cones with ice cream scoops decorating his chocolate-chip-cookie-dough ice cream cake from baskin robins. i, of course, had been wanting to order this beautiful cake for ages but just couldn't find the reason. he had his official birthday cake (on us, his father's side) the next day.

day 585 - serenity now

a couple of ducks out for their early morning swim.

day 584 - empty boardwalk

it baffles me greatly. summer might be ending and it's a few degrees cooler but i fail to see why people would abandon such nice scenery. if i lived a little bit closer to here i'd be plying this boardwalk morning and evening. but, i prefer it when there's not a soul around, then i can enjoy the place more.

day 583 - moon flower?

i have an absolutely distorted mind so i will not comment on this mural lest i be incriminated :-)

day 582 - high moon

at the beaches waiting for a good photo op, but no such luck. only the moon and the boat anchored well away from the shore.

day 581 - "the moon is like a lovely tune..."

beware my foolish heart." the moon at dusk.

day 580 - at the end of the highway

you'll find the CN tower. taken at dusk, on my way from the beaches. the CN tower looms at the end of lakeshore blvd. i didn't realize it is visible from this vantage. and to think in june when i was taking its pictures i went everywhere else when in fact it was just in my 'backyard'. and that was the longest sentence ever written by me. no, not really.

day 579 - weird cloud formation

this morning, the skies generally looked like this. weird, eh?

day 578 - a space ship inside

i know, it's not a space ship, but it does look like one, doesn't it? it's actually a chandelier and this is the old office of an old canadian bank in their old building. that's a lot of olds.

day 577 - roadside

roadside beauties, marred by a styrofoam garbage.

day 576 - missed opportunity

this afternoon, the cloud formation looked weird. beautiful, but weird. apparently, when the sun was finally setting, these clouds turned deep orange against the blue of the sky. well, i just saw it on tv and in posts on the internet the next morning. i chose to have good food rather than looking out. that is what i call a missed opportunity. dangit!

day 575 - it's a boy!!

saw this on the front lawn of a house on coxwell avenue this morning during my walkabout.

day 574 - smart car?

this was parked in front of my building today. i don't think i'd feel safe riding or driving this car. i think i'd rather walk or take the bus.

day 573 - work in progress

here's another mural that john kuna is yet to finish. it's looking beautiful and i look forward to seeing the finished project.

day 572 - mural again

there's a sort of 'festival' of murals in the west end of the city. a lot of the business establishments had commissioned local artists to do murals on the walls of their property and they are all well done, like this one above. this is only part of one large mural.

day 571 - wind turbine

is that what it's called? in any case, this thing, when you're near it, looks so intimidating. there was a movie quite a while ago that featured a lot of these wind turbines, i think the title was 'here comes the langoliers', or something like that.

day 570 - the rock

the fountain rock to be exact. at the rosetta mclain gardens.

day 569 - bicycle lady

there was an incident in one of the subway stations and the train i was on going home was asked to go back and we were stranded. since i am in the vicinity and only five subway stops away, i decided to just walk home. on the way, i espied this lady making an illegal left turn, and of course, biking without her helmet. i don't understand why people risk their lives this way.

day 568 - a garden full of flowers

this is part of the rosetta mclain gardens. i used panoramic view but i made a mistake with the third photo so that it looks disjointed. oh, well.... click on the photo to view large and you will appreciate the photograph better. thanks.

day 567 - ironic, isn't it?

may contain traces of ... peanuts and other nuts. hmmm, i think it contains cashew nuts! what a nut!

day 566 - no way out!

two flies got fooled by this little sneaky spidey into its web. and i caught it in the act. yeah! i suppose that takes care of dinner, breakfast, lunch and dinner. smorgasbord!

day 565 - well, mr. presley is...

in the building...or in the middle of the road, front street, to be exact. 'one for the money, two for the show'...yeah, baby, shake it good!

day 564 - humiliation

yes, it is humiliation - to be standing there flat naked for all the world to see and then have a seagull stand on your head, and worse, poo on your head. yup! this little guy (no pun intended) is humiliated enough. but he's a man (obviously) so i'm sure he can take it.

day 563 - and then i drowned it

yes, i did it! for art's sake i drowned this lily. but didn't get the effect i had in mind. oh, well.

day 562 - calla lily

it's on it's way out, so to speak. but the colour is still as vivid as when it was new.

day 561 - it feels so cramped around here

"am i really getting old and shrinking?"

day 560 - shelter

two bees taking shelter inside a hosta flower during the storm.

day 559 - which is the better of the two jobs?

a lawyer labours his way through documents and the law; the window washer pauses to fix his iPod up 35 storeys.

wait, a minute! didn't you guys just cleaned the windows two or three days ago?!

day 558 - one more time

for the flatiron building's famous mural. why not? it's a delight to the eye, isn't it?

day 557 - going up

the steps to where?

day 556 - all in a day's work

squeegee in action 35 floors above ground. what a brave soul.

day 555 - go and see if the water is cold

the lazy bums, just sitting around there.

day 554 - time to go

back to reality of the everyday life. like job, i suppose, to be able to afford getting this baby on to the waters the next time. ah, some people are so lucky.

day 553 - a father and son moment

nothing like a father teaching his son how to fish. taken early this morning at the toronto yacht marina by the beaches. i'm shooting the ducks, they were in the way.

day 552 - what the...?!? #2

now, i love ivy vines especially when they're climbing and covering the walls of a very old building; i think it is romantic. but this? i think this is where "cousin it" lives, you know that character in the adams family! i mean, don't the people who live there want to see any sunlight at all?

day 551 - what the...?!?

i have never seen this thing before, around here at least. i've been monitoring them, waiting what becomes of this 'fruit' or 'pod' and what it looks like inside, short of plucking it and cutting it myself just to see. it looks daunting and i won't even touch it as it might be poisonous or something.

day 550 - long legs

on my way back from taking pictures at lunch, these two young women

were waiting for the lights to cross the street. one was standing beside me, the other in front of me. and great god, they are so tall. how tall, you ask? the top of my head was at level with their boobs, i really had to strain my neck looking up to see their faces. i think that they are runway models.

day 549 - a stray lily

a lonely lily sits alone among dead grasses and other bushes on the side of the road going to the beaches.

day 548 - rain threatens

this is the west entrance to the eaton centre. you can see in the glass window the reflection of the national life insurance building as well as the dark clouds carrying so much rain it got me wet afterwards. well, as long as the camera stayed dry. because heaven knows there's no medication for a camera that's got a cold!

day 547 - the millstone

an old millstone on display at the distillery district.

day 546 - stray flower

not really a stray flower, it's just that it was sticking out like a sore thumb, it being so different in colour and shape amongst daisies and such.

day 545 - after the rain

the plants around the neighbourhood looked happy after several days of hot and humid weather.

day 544 - reach for that sky

the quirky sky serves as a backdrop for the church tower on danforth street, while everyone below are merry-making.

day 543 - window talk

a window reflecting the building opposite it. taken at the distillery district.

day 542 - yellow herbie

haven't seen this baby in a long time, in a decent shape (and of course this is quite new so it's more than in decent shape!) and this lovely pastel yellow colour. yay!

day 541 - seafood platter

ahh! lunch of champions: scallops and fish fillet, lightly battered, garlic shrimp, mashed potatoes and gravy and what's not shown are the freshly steamed broccoli. healthy lunch, i say!

day 540 - if you build it...

...perhaps they will come.