crazy ladies

Sara and Annie.


If you want to see what Ruth and I looked like almost 20 years ago, check this entry in Reid's journal. Egads.

Today's photos were taken earlier in the week when I took care of the girls while Ruth was doing a workshop at a summer book camp. I love having Sara and Annie to myself. When I arrived, both girls were at the dining room table, researching flight. No, this wasn't homework; they are still on summer holiday... they were doing this for FUN. Sara is now 9, by the way, and Annie is 6.

Sara was focusing on the mechanical aspect, trying to design her own machine that could fly, studying books about planes. The pieces of paper spread in front of her were filled with copious notes and diagrams. Annie was on the other side of the table, going through books about birds, looking at different types of wings, reading about how different types of birds could fly, taking her own notes.



Annie mugs for the camera while Sara makes us
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch.


it was a wonderful afternoon. We played outside in the backyard (my arms are well enough to throw a ball, yay!), then came inside and played Crazy Ladies, a game that the girls had invented themselves. It consisted of going downstairs to the basement and rummaging through The Costume Box and putting together an outfit from various bits and pieces.

We dressed in secret, then presented our outfits with great pomp and circumstance, admiring ourselves and each other in the hall mirror. Then we rushed down and repeated the process, trading scarves and hats, discarding and adding pieces of clothing.

When we were finally happy with our costumes, we organized a pretend picnic upstairs in their parents' bedroom with lots of imaginary cake and tea, and a talent show. Sadly, our picnic was rudely interrupted by a massive thunderstorm which washed away our refreshments but not our spirits; we retreated downstairs to the living room where we constructed imaginary houses for ourselves and then took turns visiting one another.

It was great fun, and I was as disappointed as the girls when we had to stop so I could take them to piano lessons. :-)



Sara and Annie ride their scooters to piano lessons.


My Blatherings over the next week will be sporadic, just to warn you, since I'm taking afternoons off for pre-Torcon activities. Torcon itself runs from Thursday August 28th through until Monday September 1st.

Phil and Lissa Allcock arrive from England tonight! I'm having breakfast with them tomorrow morning. Paul Kwinn arrives from California on Monday.

Bill Roper has been informed us that our "Sushi and High Tea" CDs -will- be ready for Torcon, woohoo!

By the way, my tendinitis is healing nicely, but I still have problems sitting still for long periods of time... for some reason, the inactivity makes my arms hurt. So if you see me get up in the middle of your concert at Torcon between songs and leave, please don't feel insulted.



Waiting for their piano lessons. Sara is currently
reading the third Harry Potter novel. Annie is partway through the
Secrets Of Droon chapter book series by Tony Abbott.


For those interested, here is a partial list of programming activities that Allison, Jodi and I are involved in:

"Greasy Grimy Gophers Guts and Other Silly Songs"
(Children's music programming)
We'll be entertaining the kids with A. Porter, P. Thomas, H. Borean, E. Mason.
Friday, Aug 29 at 1100-1200

Performers' Circle - Folk
"Filk music is the stepchild of folk music. Here are pieces from the other side that resonate with the filk community." Gary Ehrlich (M), Daniel & Melissa Glasser, Urban Tapestry
Friday, Aug 29 at 1900-2000

Columbia Remembrance and Space Celebration
We've been asked to perform "Starsoul" during this panel.
Friday, Aug 29 at 2000-2200

Concert: Urban Tapestry
Saturday, Aug 30 at 1500-1600

Theme Filk: Media
Songs based in television and movies, from Star Trek to Buffy.
Host: Urban Tapestry
Saturday, August 30 at 2300-2400

Open Filk (Chaos style)
Host: Urban Tapestry
Saturday, August 30 at 2400-0100

Please do check the Torcon program book for confirmation, however. Hope to see some of you there!



"Crazy ladies".

August/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

Torcon area tour: restaurants (part 2)

Ho Tsu Bistro on Queen Street.


Allison is participating in the Terry Fox run/walk in September and is a tad shy about asking for pledge donations (it's her first time, eh?). If you're interested in supporting her, please visit her Livejournal entry on the topic to find out more.

Congratulations to my music partner Jodi, whose song "The Lady" has been nominated for a Best Filk Song Pegasus award! To see the other nominees/categories, here is the 2003 Pegasus Final Ballot. Congrats to all nominees!

Thanks so much to those who have posted in the Urban Tapestry memory message board so far. Some of your entries made me pretty nostalgic. Some made me teary-eyed. if you haven't already visited the Urban Tapestry 10th Anniversary Scrapbook that Allison put together, please do!

Today's Blathering continues to cover some of the restaurants that Jeff and I frequent in our neighborhood, most within a 15 minute walk of Torcon. Keep in mind that there are also many restaurants much closer to the convention, if you hate to walk. :-)

Ho su Bistro (245 Queen Street West, Toronto ON M5V 1Z8 (416) 782-7877) offers delivery as well as dining in. Japanese and Korean cuisine. I know, I know... crossover culture food can be scary, but I've enjoyed everything I have ever ordered at this place.
MENU: pg 1 | pg 2 | pg 3 | pg 4

King's Garden (214 King W., Toronto,†ON†M5H3S6 (416) 585-2221). Upscale Chinese cuisine, about 5-10 min walk from Torcon. One of our favorite local Chinese restaurants, even before it got a rave review from Joanne Kates, a well-known Toronto restaurant reviewer. Order from the regular menu, lunch special ($9.99), or dim sum. Great dim sum! Not sure if the dim sum is a regular offering (so call ahead), but we enjoy going on the weekend. More often than not, we run into my cousin Andrew and his partner Rob, both of whom are regulars. If you are fluent in Chinese, do ask for the Chinese menu, which appears to have more choices but no English whatsoever...I've been offered this menu accidentally when the waitstaff thought I was Chinese.
MENU: regular dinner menu | specials | dim sum

Milestones (132 John St. 416 595-1990). A bit more of a walk but hey, it's right beside Chapters bookstore and around the corner from Paramount movie theaters. :-) Personal favorites: California spring salad, red curry chicken bowl. Tends to be noisy (nightclubby) at night, but good for lunch.
MENU: pg 1 | pg 2

Additional resources:

TorDine: searchable restaurant guide.

Toronto underground guide to Queen Street West


To get a map of any of these locations:

Just type the address into Mapquest. If you want to include the location of Torcon venues like the Royal York hotel (100 Front Street West, Toronto, ON M5J 1E3) or Metro Convention Center ( 255 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2W6), use the "Add Location" feature.

August/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

Torcon area tour: music stores & poll

Steve Music Store


In response to a query from Brenda Sutton, today's Blatherings is about music stores in Toronto. Here are a few that I've visited:

Steve's Music Store (415 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, 416 593-8888) is the closest music store to Torcon, about a 15-20 minute walk. I believe that Allison bought her 12 string guitar here. Go all the way to the back of the store to check out the room full of sheet music.

Long & McQuade (925 Bloor W, 416 588-7886). Nearest subway station: Ossington. Standard instruments for rental and purchase, accessories.

Saved By Technology (10 Breadalbane St. Toronto, Ontario Canada M4Y 1C3 Fax: 416 928 0262 Hours: Mon-Thur & Sat 10AM-6PM Fri 10AM-8PM). Great store for keyboards, computer/audio gear.

The Recorder Centre (984 Dovercourt Rd. Toronto 416-534-7931) has "the best selection of Tin Whistles, Low Whistles and wooden flutes in Toronto - a good selection of Irish and Scottish and English tune and song books, as well as an excellent collection of whistle books", according to this directory. Small store; I advise calling ahead to make sure it's open before you go. I bought a rosewood flute for my father here a couple of years ago.

Poll for musicians out there: favorite instrumental music store(s) ever?

My favorites include Hobgoblin Music (in Bristol? I visited with Fox when Urban Tapestry was invited to the U.K.) and a music store that Scott and Amanda Snyder took me in California. I am still dying to visit Lark In the Morning and another store whose name suddenly escapes me but I think has the word "elder" in it. (?)

Additional resources:

Cleverjoe.com's list of music retailers in Toronto

To get a map of any of these locations:

Just type the address into Mapquest. If you want to include the location of Torcon venues like the Royal York hotel (100 Front Street West, Toronto, ON M5J 1E3) or Metro Convention Center ( 255 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2W6), use the "Add Location" feature.

August/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

Torcon area tour: restaurants (part 1)

According to the Toronto Star, today could be the "toughest test" for getting the through without rolling blackouts because of high temperatures and complacency of people who think that the power crisis is over and start using electricity as normal. Continuing this super-conservation is getting to be more of a challenge now; I haven't done any laundry for nearly a week, and the temperature of my small home office soars into sweltering because of the afternoon and early evening sun. The combined implication is scary long-term :-), so I think I might wash some items by hand in cold water later today.

Thanks to those who alerted me to the misplaced Blathering on Monday; I've fixed it. I have caught up on nearly 1000 messages in the past few days but am still behind about 980. To those who are waiting for a reply: thank you for your patience. I am still relying heavily on ViaVoice.

Today's Blathering focuses on restaurants, most within a 10-15 minute walk of Torcon. Please be aware that this is not meant to be a list of The Best Places To Eat, but merely an overview of the places that Jeff and I tend to frequent most often, many of which I've already talked about in my Blatherings. I've been getting e-mails from people asking me for recommendations, so I figure I might as well post the information once rather than having to do it multiple times. :-)

The menus listed are current as of Monday, when I walked around and collected them from each restaurant.



Fune (Japanese)


Fune (100 Simcoe St, Toronto, ON M5H 3G2 416.599.3868) is our local favorite Japanese restaurant. I've had birthday celebrations there, and so has Jeff. Personal favourite items here: salmon sashimi, sushi pizza, butterfish (when they have it), white tuna.
MENUS: lunch | dinner (p1) | dinner (p2)



Babur (Indian)


Babur (273 Queen St. W., ON 416-599-7720). Indian food. Weekday daily lunch buffet: $9.95.
MENU: pg 1 | pg 2 | pg 3



Tiger Lily (noodle shop)


Tiger Lily (257 Queen St W. Toronto, ON M5V 1Z4 416.977.5499).
MENU: pg 1



Queen Mother's Cafe


Queen Mother's Cafe (206 or 208 Queen W. (416) 598-4719). Parki and I have had lunch here more times than I can count. Favourite item: Ping Gai. Ginger tea.
MENU: appetizers (lunch and dinner) | lunch | dinner



Cafe Crepe (crepes, grilled sandwiches)


Cafe Crepe (246 Queen W. 416-260-1611). Opened in March. Eat in, or order from outdoor stand in busy periods.
MENU: pg 1 | pg 2 | pg 3

To get a map of any of these locations:

Just type the address into Mapquest. If you want to include the location of Torcon venues like the Royal York hotel (100 Front Street West, Toronto, ON M5J 1E3) or Metro Convention Center ( 255 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2W6), use the "Add Location" feature.

August/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ

Torcon area tour: bookstores

Nicholas Hoare bookstore.


Today's Blatherings focuses on my favorite neighbourhood bookstores, most within a 10-15 minute walk of Torcon.

Nicholas Hoare (45 Front E, Toronto,†ON†M5E1B3 (416) 777-2665) may not have as wide a title selection as chain bookstores like Chapters-Indigo, but it has a lot more personality. I love the fireplace and couches, high ceilings, library atmosphere. Knapsacks and other large bags must be left with the front desk clerk.



Inside Nicholas Hoare.


Pages Bookstore (256 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5V 1Z8 Canada, (416) 598-1447) is another of my neighbourhood favorites, with a much larger selection of small and alternative press titles than other bookstores. Further down the street is David Mason Books (342 Queen St. West, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON Canada M5V 2A2 (416) 598-1015), a wonderful used bookstore with creaky floors and narrow aisles. A good source of out of print and rare titles. A stroll along Queen Street West will also take you to Steve's Music Store, Silver Snail (367 Queen St. W. Toronto, ON M5V 2A4 (416) 593-0889) for comics, and other interesting shops (more on this in an upcoming Blathering).



Pages bookstore.


And of course there is the mega-bookstore, Festival Hall - Chapters (142 John Street, Toronto, ON M5V 2E9 (416)595-7349), which is located beside the Paramount movie theater at King and John as well as beside one of our favorite brunch restaurants, Milestones. Neil Gaiman is signing copies of his latest children's book, The Wolves in the Walls, on Aug. 30th at 1 pm at this Chapters store.

Another mega-bookstore is World's Biggest Bookstore (located on Edward Street, one block north of Yonge and Dundas), now under the Chapters-Indigo umbrella. About a 20-30 minute walk from Torcon, much shorter by TTC.

If you're interested in a much longer walk (or are willing to take the TTC), you should also visit Bakka Books (598 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4Y 1Z3, (416) 963-9993), Toronto's oldest SF bookstore. Bakka's past employees include published authors such as Robert J. Sawyer, Tanya Huff, Cory Doctorow and Michelle Sagara West.

The Cookbook Store(I'm mentioning this for the avid cooks out there) is located at 850 Yonge Street (at Yorkville), phone 1-800-268-6018. You'll have to take the TTC unless you're keen on a 45 minute walk.

To you other Toronto residents: do you have other bookstores to recommend?

To get a map of any of these locations:

Just type the address into Mapquest. If you want to include the location of Torcon venues like the Royal York hotel (100 Front Street West, Toronto, ON M5J 1E3) or Metro Convention Center ( 255 Front Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 2W6), use the "Add Location" feature.

Some other online resources:

Here's a map of some local bookstores I found online.

'Show Me Toronto' Toronto bookstore list (appallingly incomplete).

Toronto: A Writer's Tour by sf author Robert Sawyer. Excellent article, written specifically for Torcon attendees.

August/2003 comments: Read | Post | LJ