August, 2008
-
@ The Distillery District
August 27, 2008 by Gail
Posted in Mobile Blogging | No Comments
-
Frolicking On Lake Ontario
August 26, 2008 by Gail
I wasn’t on the water, but I was happily shooting along the shore on Saturday after my amazing flight (which I haven’t posted yet!). At least these jetskiers were sticking to the waters along Hamilton and not frolicking over by the border waters of Niagara, unlike these unfortunate people on Saturday who got caught in rapids, nearly drowned, and ended up on the American side… only to face charges of illegal entry after being treated in hospital.
Watch that U.S. border, people, it’s very protected and I doubt the guards believe in accidents of any kind.
Back to frolicking, this little dog was getting so carried away the owner didn’t even make it into the picture!
Posted in Linkage, The Great Outdoors | No Comments
-
My Toilet Seat Cover Named Xena
August 26, 2008 by Gail
Posted in cameraphone, Critters + Creatures, Xena & Beano | 3 Comments
-
Sunday Brunch At The House of Fielding
August 25, 2008 by Gail
I talk a lot about weekend brunch in this space because it’s my favourite meal: it’s leisurely, there’s an emphasis on fruit and other raw goodness, I can have coffee AND orange juice and spritz it up with champagne (mimosa!), it’s easy to accommodate all sorts of dietary restrictions and choices, and it can be made very cheaply. Best of all, it follows my other favourite activity: sleeping in. Really, what’s not to love about brunch?
It was quite the bustling crowd over yesterday for Sunday brunch #3 at the current House of Fielding, including the next-door neighbours and my neighbour’s dog, Shatzi, who loved all the attention and brunch bits shared with her. I sequestered Beano and Xena in my room along with their stuff since they were feeling shy, even Xena who ordinarily likes to work the crowd, herself. I don’t know if they’ve ever seen a dog before, but Beano was sure in a hurry to hide. Xena likes to act fearless, but it’s all a ruse.
My apartment was brimming with people and I don’t have air conditioning, so everyone piled up in front of my single, overworked fan. It was super humid and far too hot to cook eggs and potatoes, so I put out all the cold food and two people scrambled eggs later in front of the fan. Maybe in the winter when the temperatures drop I will attempt my favourite brunch: Eggs Benedict!
The brunch started at 11:00 and continued until around 5:00, when people had to head for the airport and the dog was ready to go outside — just like the rest of us, it was time to walk off some of the food! Florian and I took Shatzi around High Park and if Grenadier Pond wasn’t so grungy, I would’ve raced the dog in to cool off!
Posted in House of Fielding | 1 Comment
-
Post-brunch In High Park
August 24, 2008 by Gail
Posted in Mobile Blogging | No Comments
-
O Canada
August 24, 2008 by Gail
It’s after six o’clock in the morning and I only now — !! — have had a moment to upload a single photo out of the hundreds I shot yesterday in Hamilton, from both the sky and ground. It was blazing hot yesterday (30+ degrees C) and I baked myself pink because I was outside for most of it. But the (short-notice) flight in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum’s Beech 18 Expeditor was NOTHING SHORT OF THRILLING! I even shot some video, but that’s going to have to wait to be edited.
I’m hosting a brunch at my place in a few hours, so I’d better get some kip so I can prepare the food and hold a conversation for more than five seconds (and make sense!).
Posted in Blah Blah Blah | 1 Comment
-
Over Lake Ontario In A Beech 18!!
August 23, 2008 by Gail
Posted in Mobile Blogging | No Comments
-
Brunch @ Kensington Market
August 23, 2008 by Gail
Posted in Mobile Blogging | 1 Comment
-
Heynabonics
August 23, 2008 by Gail
I’ve spoken about the dialect of northeast Pennsylvania before, but now I’ve got examples! I heard about this YouTube video when I was driving to Philadelphia last weekend and listening to the radio station David and I always tuned into, besides NPR. The DJ mentioned that his friend made this video poking fun of the local dialect, and I just now remembered it and went digging for it on YouTube.
You probably won’t find it amusing unless you’ve heard it from the natives, but I can tell you it is SO SO SO true. (Helma, back me up here! You say “dooper”!) David slipped into this dialect now and again, but never for very long since he actually liked words… and not mashed up word combos. He was pretty good with accents: Yiddish (his grandmother spoke Yiddish), Boston, New York City, even Long Island (his cousins lived there), but he never failed to crack me up with the Heynabonics.
Posted in Humour, Local Colour, Videoclips | No Comments
-
Tempest In A Pastel-Coloured Teacup
August 22, 2008 by Gail
This old post has been attracting unsolicited attention for several years, but even moreso this year, for some reason.
If you Google “Azalea Trail Maids”, guess what shows up?
March 22, 2005: Azalea Trail Maids (gailatlarge.com)
March 22, 2005: Azalea Trail Maids (gailontheweb.blogspot.com)(I imported all the blogspot posts to my current domain at the end of 2005, but I imported the comments directly into WordPress and closed down my Haloscan account, which is why the blogspot site has no comments.)
The post was not written in a mean-spirited way, but it sure got a bunch of Southerners in a huff.
I’ve never been to Mobile, Alabama, the photo is Gene’s. I should make a trip south, if only to document these dresses up close. Seems part of the look of uniformity is that all the detail work is completely lost in the monochrome pastel. The complete lack of contrast washes out any uniqueness in textures. None of this is the girls’ choice, however, which is why they shouldn’t take my critique of the dress to heart. It is, after all, a costume.
Aviation and cancer-related topics are still my highest Google rankings, but crazily enough, the Azalea Trail Maid post is making serious gains. If the Trail Maid website (what’s with the TECHNO music?) had more information and were maintained properly, I don’t think I’d be getting as many views and comments. The internet sure is a funny place…
Posted in Wacky WWW | 1 Comment
