Themed Thursday : Signs signs, everywhere a sign

Because this week we are celebrating our wedding anniversary, I wanted my 'Themed Thursday' post to reflect this occasion.So, for today's post, here are some signs that I have found around our neighbourhood, that describe Nick, as seen through my eyes.

Long Since Burried : Garrison Creek

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-3196 blk-brdr" title="Garrison-Creek-West-Bank" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Garrison-Creek-West-Bank.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="405">Toronto is located where it is primarily because there used to be a river that ran south and drained into Lake Ontario, just west of the city centre today. Because of the natural protection provided by the banks of this river, the first structures of city, at Fort York, were situated at its mouth. Then the rest of the city was built where it is because the fort was there.But today there is no river flowing through the city, and unless you were particularly keen on history, you'd never know there had ever been one. That's because by the late 1800s it had become polluted and therefore a health risk, so it was buried. This was done by channeling the water into a massive sewer system which still courses under this residential neighbourhood today. The building of this sewer was the most advanced engineering feat of its kind at the time; as you can imagine burying a whole river back then was no small endeavour. From what I can glean in the historical write-ups, there were several collapses and the project encountered many problems. But it did happen, and now, unless you knew what to look for, you'd never know it had been there.Today I have some pictures to show, that hint at this river's former existence.

Coffee Half Way

This is our 12th anniversary week. Nick and I met on a blind date, set up by our friend Alison who he met at university, and who I met during our first 'real' jobs after uni. She actually told me about her friend Nick twice, after I didn't take her up on meeting him the first time she had mentioned him. I had misunderstood something she had told me about him, and as a result, didn't think we'd be suited to one another, at that point in time of our lives. But she persevered because she really thought we would hit it off, and I'm so thankful that she did. She helped me find the love of my life!

Nick and I first met in November and we married exactly one year later (minus one week because we couldn't book the location for the week-end we would have liked). The first meeting was in a coffee shop on a sunny Sunday afternoon. He told me he would be wearing a red shirt, so I would know him by this. I entered the cafe and looked around. There were quite a few single men in there that day so I stood at the door looking around. No red shirt. But there was this one guy sitting in the back corner, wearing a black jacket. And truthfully, what went through my head when I saw him was, "Oh wouldn't it be great if that was my blind date". Then, while gazing at me across the room, that same man slowly pulled down the zipper of his jacket to reveal a red shirt.

Three months later we were engaged to be married.

People were a bit concerned at how quickly we decided to spend our lives together, but we just knew. To this day, we continue to show each other that we still 'just know', by performing kind acts for one another whenever we can.

Black and Blue

I sprained my ankle yesterday and today I can barely walk, so I have no choice but to hang around the house and not do much.

It happened while out for a walk and I'm annoyed with myself for letting it occur. Though there was a reason .. Earlier I had been reading the weekend paper (Globe and Mail, Saturday), where they had a story about how Toronto currently has more new highrise towers going up than any other city in the world. It's a good thing for the city, because apparently we need the housing, due to the fact that a very large swatch of land north of the city has been officially designated a no-build zone, having been allocated for farming and forestry only, halting any urban expansion to the north. It's really good farmland so that totally makes sense. And to the south of the city, new housing is prevented due to the fact that we are situated right on Lake Ontario. So as a result, it means that in order to provide enough housing for the planned population growth required for the city to thrive, they have to allow for vertical growth. Hence right now there are more towers being built than there are anywhere else. The article closes by saying that Toronto was previously considered a 'short' city in comparison to other world-class cities, so we have some catching up to do, which is what is happening in the downtown core right now.

But all these construction zones make things difficult for the people currently living here, because the downtown sidewalks are all torn to sh*t. As a result, while out on a simple walk home from the shops on Spadina yesterday, going along Adelaide Street, I sprained my ankle on the uneven terrain. I was actually quite concerned when it happened because I thought that maybe I had broken it; not to get into too much detail but I did hear a distinct snap. I was alone so had no choice but to hobble on home. Nick took a look and helped to determined it was a sprain. He is not a doctor but he has had such an injury several times in his life, and concluded that if I could move my toes and was able to walk the rest of the way home, I did not have a broken ankle.

But it sure hurts. So today, I have had to stick around the house.

I found this fancy earring on the ground on the way over to the shops so I turned it into a necklace. I love the colour blue.

Pretty Ladies