It’s been some time since I posted some photos.  When I started to play with my camera again, I forgot how to change a lot of the settings again.  It’s a bit frustrating because I do enjoy photography.  I just wished my mind could remember all of these things. 

Since I work from home now, I sometimes will go for a quick walk after work.  I can still catch a few rays by the park and walk around a bit before heading back to make dinner.

One weekend, I went out for walk after dinner and heard music by the park.  It was Portugal Day festival.  The neighbourhood has a large Portuguese heritage.  There was a concert (all in Portuguese of course) as well as some rides.  A lot of folks wore the red and green colours. 

A picture of one of the rides (yeah yeah… the guy with the bike is not Portugese).

Since it’s the summer, the Farmer’s Market (2 in my ‘hood!) are on again.  This is in the same park.

I stocked up with some jams, muffins and maple syrup. 

This sign started to appear in the ‘hood a couple of years ago around Pride (July 1st in Toronto).  It’s a play on the neighbourhood name of Queen St. West.  A lot of the stores have this on display to support Pride week.

I decided to spoil myself recently as I was working from home and checked out a new coffee shop that opened in my neighbourhood.  Dark Horse Espresso popped up in the location of a long time neighbourhood grocery store.  It caused a fuss (link here) when that store closed.  I’m not sure why they opened a coffee shop here.  There are easily a dozen coffee shops within walking distance from my condo (4 of them are Starbucks).  Since I watch my money a bit more carefully now (I watch it leave my wallet a lot) I try not to spend too much time on coffee shops.  The atmosphere was nice and the staff was friendly.  I had a large French Press (they tell you when 4 minutes is up) with a sandwich.  The large communal table was packed so I just sat on a small table for 1.  It’s sort of like a half table with a stool and it reminded me of an old school desk. The coffee was flavourful and not too acidic.  The panini seemed a bit under done.  But the smoked turkey inside was fine.  The total was around $12 which was a bit too pricey.  It was the equivalent of about 2 1/2 mugs of coffee though. 

It was a good way to spend a long lunch and I got a bit of fresh air.  I think if I was a writer, I could get used to this lifestyle.  Wake up whenever I want to, jot down ideas and notes where ever I can park my butt and then spend a quiet afternoon composing my stories.  But I’m not sure if I have the discipline to do that.  Although it would be a nice fantasy. 

Speaking of fantasy, I just love this design.  It’s an interesting development that came online in my neighborhood a year or two ago.  I think the previous homeowners made a nice profit on their homes when they sold it to the developers.  It’s called Richmond Town Manors and they are decent size units (1,700 sq ft to 1,800 sq. ft).  I read somewhere that the units were around $860k to $930k.  It’s way out of my price range and it would take me another lifetime of savings to purchase them.  Sorry for the bad composition of the pictures.  I wanted to shoot from the other side but someone from inside the end unit was staring at me when I took my camera out.  So I snuck around to this side.

I could use a bit more colour in my life.

After showering from my workout, I decided to hang out at a local park to enjoy the sun and fresh air.  I brought along my camera and a book to read.  The park was packed with many people enjoying the last of a long weekend.  There were many people playing football, tossing frisbees, playing softballs, walking their dogs, cycling, eating, sleeping and just lounging around.  I only read a few pages and decided to walk around.

I saw these big white chairs.  People would look at them carefully before sitting down.  They must be relatively new.
 

This was a first sighting for me at the park.  It’s nice to see a park getting so much use by the community.

 
 

I walked along Dundas, just west of Bathurst. It has a large Portuguese community here
but it’s changing.  It’s always interesting watching neighborhoods growing and changing. 

Now I know most of you don’t remember the Grateful Dead.  This is a barbershop.

There are a lot of old style coffee shops here but here’s another one “The Communal Mule”

I noticed this house with a small front yards that was exploding with flowers.

Here’s another coffee shop, notice the coffee pot above the door?  This one is called Ezra’s Pound.

I also noticed another store selling these.

These are just waiting to be renovated.  Just across the street were some relatively new developments.

A Buddhist temple and an Ukranian Church just steps away from each other.

The Oak Leaf Steam Baths.  (uhm… nope, I haven’t been inside.) 

Some bar stools were being held captive at this store. 

I love this sign – it’s just so simple. 

That’s probably the first time I’ve had 3 entries in one day.    I missed it by 27 minutes.