Traffic and Signs Toronto

I loved spotting these unusual traffic signs in Toronto, and wanted to share them.



I don't know how they do it, but by the looks of some of the traffic we were a part of on Toronto's highways, I hope it works!






How polite!



And while we're at it, here's a sign of the price of gasoline in Canada. No, it wasn't $100, but it was over $1 per LITER.



And here's my chance to talk about the unusual way of getting a traffic ticket in Toronto. The officer was standing (yes...STANDING!) with the radar gun and stepped out in front of us to wave Steve over to a parking lot. He couldn't have been nicer...really! We were impressed, and it was almost worth it just to experience the politeness of the officer and the uniqueness of the encounter. Not to mention that it was only $40 Canadian (less in US currency.) I've never met such a nice traffic officer in my life. When we saw it, this storefront was just a comical reminder to us of the incident.

New Calligraphy and Art Blog

Because this blog has become so family oriented, I have a new blog for art and calligraphy postings. To view what's going on artistically, please see my new blog: http://letterladysletters.blogspot.com/ You can go to the links section below right and click on it there as well.

For those who want to see travel notes and photos, and keep up with Jace, this is still the place.
: )

I have a third blog too, Keep This Ticket. It contains essays on daily life. You can also reach it via the links on this page, or directly at: http://letterlady-keepthisticket.blogspot.com/

My website is: www.PictureTrail.com/letterlady, an archive with many albums of various art photos.

Thanks!

Niagara Falls

Beautiful water. This is a whirlpool further up the road from the falls.
We didn't ride on this tower. We did go up in CN Tower in Toronto later though.
Jace and Daddy in the state park on USA side of Falls. The mist was a cool bonus - very comfortable on this already comfortable sunny day.
Jace flying.
Gull flying. (Jace is cuter.)
Double decker tour buses were in both Niagara Falls and in Toronto.

Fireworks our first night. It was fun to be at the same level rather than looking up.
Here's a night view from our room looking toward the touristy town area.



A wall of falls - this was taken street-side with zoom.
A night view from our room.
Sssshh! Don't tell anyone. Steve and Sandy moved their mattress down on the floor by the floor-to-ceiling window for the first night...a fun way to view the amazing scenery.
A close-up view from the USA side. Being able to get so close and hear the roar and feel the mist - fantastic!
We were in the first room directly under the awning at the top left. 31st floor of Sheraton Fallsview, Canada.
See the rainbow? This is a view from our room. Note the third room down at the Marriott (in the deep grey area.) We had a surprise 'floor show' when a guy danced in front of his window straight from his shower - towel in hand. Sandy caught him with her camera...I only got an 'after-show' photo - I was in shock, and definitely not thinking fast enough. We roared with laughter.

Our 'floor show' guy, enjoying the scenery a bit more sedately with his female companion. Newlyweds perhaps. : )

Night view of falls from room.
Zoomed in on this view from room.
See the mist! The little black speck top left is a helicopter.
The awesome power of the Falls.

Niagara Falls and Toronto with Steve, Sandy & Jace the Face

Vacation with Steve, Sandy and Jace. Niagara Falls (both USA & Canadian sides) and Toronto, with an overnight in Cleveland, Ohio on the way, and a day stop in Niagara on the Lake, Canada.
I took a lot of photos on vacation, and so did Sandy. These first images are hers. I haven't had time to go through all of mine yet - but I really love the range of my new Panasonic Lumix camera with 16x optical zoom, which really got a workout on this trip. Niagara Falls was spectacular! Toronto is a busy, exuberant BIG city! We enjoyed the charms of each.

Here's my sweet traveling companion in the back seat. My vantage point allowed less range for photography, but better baby-doll viewing and interacting. I won! The next photo is one Steve took in my driveway before we left to document how everything fit into the rented Edge. It was tight. I think of it as his way to prevent a lot of souvenir shopping. We did alter this arrangement to allow for safety with a bit of a rear-view.Here is a photo of Jace enjoying the Toronto Zoo. It's a shame he won't remember how much he enjoyed it except from photos. He was so 'into' everything we did. He acts much older than 5 months old. I've never seen a baby so alert and interested in his surroundings. He was a joy on this trip, as always...and he's teething, for heaven's sake! What a sweetie! If we weren't entertaining him, he was content to entertain himself (his feet were a huge amusement.) Frankly, he entertained us as much as we entertained him.



I'm calling the next photo 'Muscrat Love'. (I'm telling my age. Anyone else remember The Captain and Tenille?) I think it's a mama and baby groundhog. Sweet!


Many more photos to come. I need to get to some calligraphy jobs right now. The current work is on big, beautiful envelopes in a mixed grey ink. Letter style is Rook rather than my usual ornamental script. It's going more slowly than usual because of the mixed ink, which must be stirred frequently, and the less familiar letter style. Very pretty though, and not much time to finish them. Sayonara for a while.

Mental illness as art_ I am lonely

I was totally transfixed by this framed piece of cloth at a Mental Hospital Museum in the midwest. A poor soul embroidered her random thoughts into this fabric and the art and words held me tranfixed for many long minutes, wondering about her. Of course the calligraphic nature of it appealed to me - the power of words, the need to communicate. Fascinating. I don't recall the age of the piece, but I believe it's from several decades ago when the museum was a mental hospital.

Indian wedding envelopes

Art fix: Gorgeous Indian wedding envelopes...this is the second time I've lettered envelopes for an Indian wedding. Both times the envelopes have been over-the-top gorgeous. After the wedding I'll try to remember to post a few close-up photos.

Jace eats peas

Jace was all smiles when pea-time was over. The next photo shows how he really felt about them. This was his first time to try peas. He was game, and ate several spoons-ful, but he made this same face each time. To avoid the anticipated mess, he was stripped down to diaper and I sat on the kitchen floor to feed him. No need. He was pretty neat.

It's rare to see little man without a smile.