Leftovers!

This week: you decide!

But first, about last week:

We had an interesting morning! But it was definitely not what we’d expected.

So, Big on Bloor Festival took place on Saturday. The plan, as I understood it, was to leave up some interesting painted and sculpted art installations from the day, for the full following week.

Imagine my surprise as none of the three I was seeking (based on the festival’s website) were anywhere to be seen!

Anyway, we had a great walk, and then met a couple more walking friends for an excellent High Park brunch. It was a lovely day for looking around and just sharing some Sunday morning time with really nice people!

Have a look:

We walk through what, yesterday, was Big on Bloor festival – very little left, despite the promise that art installations would be up for a week! Alas. We enjoyed the walk, though.

Big on Bloor, the day after, left us a fun goopy kids’ mountain to check out!

fun Andre Kan decorated SmartCar (I still think they’re too small, though!!)

some great recent tagging, around the corner (again, not sure this is new – looks new-ish, though)

the northern few of those very colourful tags – fun work!

Next to the now-closed Through Being Cool (which I already miss!), is/was Credit Strand Clothiers – a building clearly under some renovation – nice sign reveal – probably hidden for many decades!

a pretty Gosia Komorski painted Bell box (not new this week, though, I think)

Saw quite a few What’s Victor Up To? sidewalk works! VIBES is still fresh and sparkly. Sorry for poorly framed shot!

Photo on louvred screen – Taras Shevchenko, national poet of Ukraine – nice! (And just try to escape that gaze.)

Dudeman and Bacon provided this great visual flourish on our way up Roncey – far left is a great peacock feather

High Park brunch for four! (no Pepsi was consumed at this meal.)

Sunday 28 July 2019:

No walk is planned!

I’ll be away, so I’m going to suggest that you dream up (or look up) something fun to do, or somewhere interesting to walk. And then just go out and enjoy the Sunday. I’d love to hear about it, next time we meet. Or share photos? Yes!

I will say the same thing for the following week… when several of us will also be away. I’ll still post a newsletter, so you’ll be reminded. Then, we’ll meet in a few weeks for WestWalking’s Sixth Anniversary walking celebration. A walk. Some public art. And iced tea? You bet!

See you then!

Coming Right Up:

⇒ WestWalking Sixth Anniversary Walk – let’s do something festive! (Hmmm, we may need sparkling beverages!) I’ll make a couple of suggestions for this, soon. We shall have the formal “celebration” on Sunday 11 August, so please save that morning! If you haven’t joined us for a walk in a while, please come along!

⇒ Women Paint 2019 – another lane full of amazing paintings – .

⇒ Open Streets Toronto 2019 – let’s join a historical Yonge Street walk with them. The September date for this event will suit most of us, best, so that’s something great to look forward to.

⇒ Summertime is a great time to re-visit the rivers. Let’s reconsider:

– the Don River (Upper & Lower! Definitely not on the same day!)
– the Upper Humber River (back to Lower Humber, too!)
– and a bus trip out to the National Urban Park setting of the Rouge! We had a great walk there when it opened, a couple of years ago. We’ll see if ParkBus still offers free trips there. I think cooler weather, for that.

⇒ Also, a trip to McMichael Conservation Area and Canadian Art Collection. By bus. With picnic. Can’t wait! We’ll do that sometime late September or early October. Teaser: the forest there is home to some of the sculpture collection. Lovely!

Other stuff to look for, look at, and enjoy: gargoyles, historical buildings, modern buildings, public sculpture, parks, murals and art fairs, forests, the lakeshore – all in summer and fall walks, just ahead.

Feel free to bring a friend along to share our walks around Toronto.

Are you just finding WestWalking for the first time?!

Welcome. You really should walk with us!

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Sorry. Pancakes!

I always have the same thing for brunch…
But this time I didn’t.

About last week:

My total walk was 10.8 kilometres. Nice! I walked alone along Dundas to High Park, to meet Louise, who was driving there. But waiting to be seated for brunch, I found that Nilla was already there! Excellent! Louise arrived shortly and we shared a tasty meal (see comment above and photo below), and some wonderful conversation. It turns out that brunch for three is just as terrific as brunch for ten. (But we did miss the rest of you. :-)) Two hours flew past, and suddenly, it was time to leave.

Have a look at a bit of what I saw on the way there, and… pancakes! There was more walking involved, to head home via Bloor Street, so all calories consumed were swiftly and neatly converted into energy expended. (Really!) I note my own distance here because I was the only one to walk from, and back to, the Y. And I enjoyed every pancake-powered step!

bright walk into High Park with light snow (I thought flakes might show – they sort of do, if you enlarge)

the path not taken… this time, anyway!

tiny llama, nursing, and a Christmas tree for play… I’d like to let all these guys out.

pancakes!! (after promising online to have French toast) oops!

even the sidewalk planters showed bit of colour (and old TTC transfer… )

I ♡ da streets

As always, click on any photo above for carousel of larger images.

This Sunday, January 23, 2016:

Meet at the Y at 9:00 a.m. While the trees are still bare, we can catch an interesting higher-level view of the city without even taking an elevator. We’ll admire the downtown towers and lake view from a hillside school ground, just north of us, on Regal Road. It’s a nice walk there, some of it uphill. Mind you, the reward for that is a comfortable stroll home, you guessed it – downhill! I didn’t plan it that way. It’s just the result of a very, very old glacier-dragged lakeshore… in what we now think of as mid-town. Bring a camera, if you like skyline shots. Let’s share photos afterwards, and compare what we each see. If we’re lucky, the sky will also provide some interest.

Coming right up:

In February, we’ll certainly return to see Winter Stations, on Kew Beach and thereabouts. The new installations look amazing. I hope there will be snow. Remember that last visit? Wow! We may transit over there on February 14 or 21. More on that, soon.

Again, some Megathon details, as I know some of you may wish to participate, in one way or another. Great! I don’t want to be a pest about this, so do let me know if you have questions. And I’ll leave mentioning it again until the event gets closer! For now, if you want to organize: Visit the website. Sign up online as a Megathon participant, team-member, fundraiser, or donor. Then register at the Y’s front desk to walk (or bike or whatever… ) in our March 5 event. (I can take care of desk-registration for you, if you’ll let me know.) In order to join our walk, you should make your own Megathon donation page or join our Megathon team page. Search under Participants / Westwalking. You can also re-use your page from any previous year, if you can still sign in. You’ll do a bit of fundraising, if you like (seek pledges or make a small donation yourself – if either is comfortable for you). Our team page is still a work in progress. You may join and/or contribute there, anytime… or you can sign in and organize individually. Either way, you have my thanks and the YMCA’s gratitude for participating, in whatever way you like. There’s plenty of info on the website. Be sure to read about Megathon’s fundraising goals. It’s a worthy community contribution!

Details: Our final lap of MEGAWalk: Bracebridge or Bust! will occur Saturday, March 5, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Last year, we had no trouble rocking the walking 10k in two hours. It was an excellent workout, on our cushioned indoor track. I hope we’ll have about that same amount remaining, to reach our “Bracebridge” total. We can do it!

In the meantime? A lovely view of our city. See you Sunday!
To several of our walking friends who are travelling, we wish you wonderful journeys. Care to share a photo or two, here?

Are you reading about our club for the first time?

Welcome. You really should walk with us! See you in the morning!

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French toast, again

I always have the same thing for brunch!

But first…

About last week:

We walked 10.9 kilometres. Nice! A couple of us went to mid-town to seek a couple of interesting sculptural installations – both new to us, One, still being installed. The morning was rainy, interesting, and even a bit adventurous (the concierge at one location politely asked us to leave, without really asking us to leave… ). We found and enjoyed more than planned. Most of our route is noted with the photos. Have a look:

Foggy downtown through U of T campus and past Soldiers’ Tower

We arrive at Artifacts of Memory – a sculptural installation by Eldon Garnet (still being installed!)

Donna viewing Artifacts of Memory (Eldon Garnet)

closeup: Artifacts of Memory (Eldon Garnet)

Foggy mid-town, looking up Yonge Street towards Bloor (that’s the new tower, obscured by mist)

Closer to Bloor, we see the sculptural window pattern in the new tower, One Bloor (76 storeys, or is it now higher than planned?).

The concierge at 1 St Thomas Street told us we were on private property. Sigh. This was despite the sculpture being listed online in various places (including the artist’s own site!) as “Public Art.” Ah well, we looked at Shift, by Carl Taçon, then walked around to the other side, to get another view of the long carved marble wall.

Here’s another view of Shift. Made up of 20 carved panels of slightly-veined marble, it’s a wall installation. And there’s a little private garden enclave on the site, too.

The long carved marble panel, from the other (public – haha) side, along the driveway.

Here’s a great public space concept and initiative: http://thepatchproject.com/projects/7-st-thomas/. We’ll definitely visit some of the others.

Canadian Zebra (by Craig White), part of The Patch Project. Nifty! I presume it will only survive in photographs, so… visit it!

Contemporary idea: international news headline ticker at Munk School entrance, U of T (on Devonshire). This installation has its fans… and detractors.

As always, click on any photo above for carousel of larger images.

This Sunday, January 17, 2016:

Meet at the Y at 9:00 a.m. It’s time for another cool, fresh walk, and a hearty winter brunch in the park… That’s High Park, baby. No matter what the weather brings. Forecast: cool and rainy. A perfect morning to walk, then warm up in a booth near one of those Grenadier Café windows! Yes, to the French toast, thanks. If the rain isn’t too bad, a walk around the pond before heading home? Excellent. Bring a brolly, so you don’t get totally soaked before brunch. (Or afterwards!) Budget for brunch: $ (that is: reasonable!).

Coming right up:

Your walking requests are humbly sought and most appreciated. Soon: the wonderful Winter Stations begins again, with seven new beach installations. I’ve seen design photos – they may be even more intriguing than last year’s entries, if that’s possible. A little teaser: one is… a sauna! Grand! I hope some snow accumulates before we go. Remember that last visit? Wow! We may transit over there on February 14 or 21. More on that, soon.

Megathon update, again, to get you considering. Maybe you’ll participate? Great! Visit the website. Sign up online as a Megathon participant, team-member, fundraiser, or donor. Then register at the Y’s front desk to walk in our March 5 event. (Or any of the other Megathon events that appeal to you! I can take care of that desk-registration part for you, if you like.) In order to walk, you should make your own Megathon donation page or join our Megathon team page, Westwalking. You can also re-use your page from last year, if you can still sign in. You’ll do a bit of fundraising, if you like (seek pledges or make a small donation yourself – if either is comfortable for you). Our team page is still a work in progress. You may join and/or contribute there, anytime… or you can sign in and organize individually. Either way, you have my thanks and the YMCA’s gratitude for participating, in whatever way you like. There’s plenty of info on the website. Be sure to read about Megathon’s fundraising goals. It’s a worthy community contribution!

Details: Our final lap of MEGAWalk: Bracebridge or Bust! will occur Saturday, March 5, starting at 1:00 p.m. Last year, we had no trouble walking 10k in two hours. It was an excellent workout, on the very comfortable indoor track. I hope we’ll have about that same amount remaining, to reach our “Bracebridge” total. We can do it!

In the meantime? Brunch! See you Sunday!

Are you reading about our club for the first time?

Welcome. You really should walk with us! See you in the morning!

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