Patio Dinner Party – 2018

We had some friends over for an outdoor dinner on the Sunday of the Labour Day long-weekend, just past.Aside from the small dinner for four we had on our deck on Canada Day (described in this post), it had been a full two years since we'd shared our deck with company, and it was definitely time!Last summer we didn't end up eating out there a single time. In fact, we didn't even set out the furniture in any semblance of a comfortable arrangement. That was because Eddie, our dear much-loved cat of 15+ years, had died on June 9th. He loved it so much out there and the space is so intensely steeped in memories of him, that we couldn't bring ourselves to sit outside without him. The plants and herbs we'd purchased just before he passed, sat there on the ground for weeks, outgrowing their tiny seedling containers, before I could halfheartedly transplant them into bigger pots. I barely went out back to water them, but, as viewed through the kitchen window, I could see that the flowers still grew and bloomed, in spite of there being nobody to admire them.But, of course, time heals and, while we were shockingly saddened by the loss of our pet, and still a week does not go by that we don't say something like "You-know-who would have loved this", we got back to using our outdoor space this summer.Sorry, that was a much more depressing beginning to a discussion about a happy get-together than I'd intended, but I can't pretend that we don't wish that he'd been there to enjoy it with us. He so loved it when people came over.I've mentioned before that we used to regularly host a big annual "come-one, come-all" party, but after realizing that, while we appreciated seeing so many friends all at one gathering, those ended up being quite stressful and were more work than they were fun, plus we never seemed to have had a chance to really visit with people. And the neighbours (understandably) complained about the noise. So, after giving it much thought, we stopped having them. Nowadays, we prefer to have more frequent dinner parties for 10 or 14 people, (including us) -- that's 10 when we're inside, based on the size of the table, and 14 when we're outside and guests are eating from plates on their laps.Here's how our recent gathering went ...By the way, you can't tell by the pictures, but it was quite hot out. So much for Labour Day denoting the end of summer weather. That is never the case here in Toronto, actually, and we can expect heat for a few weeks yet. Bring it on!

A Gift Wrapping Idea : Recycle While Keeping Those Gift Cards Safe!

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/repurposed-tetley-tea-cans-for-gift-wrapping-especially-gift-cards-how-to-gift-wrap.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-40437">Not long ago I overheard a conversation on the streetcar between two woman ... One had given her niece a gift-card for her birthday, which had been presented to the child at her birthday party, slipped inside an envelope with a card. It had been a busy party with lots of kids and a bunch of other gifts. A few days later, it was realized that the gift-card was nowhere to be found. After a good search, it was assumed that it had accidentally been put out to the trash, along with all the torn wrapping paper and ribbons, and, naturally, the garbage truck had already been by. Funny thing was that the birthday card was there, along with all the others.The woman was annoyed with herself for not having wrapped the gift-card in a way that it would not so easily have gotten lost. She was hoping that the shop would replace the card if she explained what had happened and showed them the receipt, but she wasn't counting on it.And, while I sat there eavesdropping (I couldn't help it, they were right behind me!), I had the urge to jump right in and join the conversation. Why, I had recently been to a baby shower where a gift-card had very nearly gotten lost! One of the guests had to shout out a few times, stating there was something else inside the bag, as it was being set aside after one gift had been admired.And, that was not the only time I'd witnessed something like that. The previous time, it had been at a Secret Santa Christmas gift exchange, where "Santa" had been outed after she had to run up and pull the gift-card out of the wrapping herself!My message here is not that gift-cards aren't good presents because they can so easily go missing. On the contrary, I thing they're great and very much enjoy receiving them and giving them. Rather, this is all to say that a gift-wrapping idea which will keep those cards safe, might be in order.So, here's a suggestion that rescues a handy piece of trash and turns it into a gift-card giving receptacle!The piece of trash in question is one of those round containers that Tetley tea bags come in (at least they do, here in Canada). I don't think I've ever thrown one of those away, as they are so useful! I have a few in my make-up drawer, keeping brushes and crayons organized. I also used one to pack my larger jewellery pieces the last time I traveled, which continues to be used to store accessories. Their nicely fitting lid makes them so satisfying to snap shut!And, lo and behold, your standard sized gift-cards fit inside them perfectly! All that's needed to turn them something pretty enough to give, is a piece of card-stock or thin cardboard, a bit of gift-wrap, some tape and a length of curling ribbon. In under two minutes, you can be ready to go. Add a couple more minutes and you can also have a coordinating tiny greeting card to go with the wrapping.Of course, this can be used to wrap any small item.How to do it :The easiest way to cover your tea container in paper is to first make a template from the card-stock or thin cardboard. I'm not sure if the containers are exactly the same size everywhere, but here in Canada, a template that is 3 inches by 10 inches will fit precisely, with enough overlap at the seam.Once you have your template cut, you don't have to worry about perfectly cutting your gift-wrap, as long as there is a border of about 1/2 inch all around the template.Then, you just fold the paper around the template, remove it, and stick the gift-wrap into place. The template can be saved and/or reused.

A Memorable Night at the Movies : The Open Roof Festival

Given all the fun things there are to do in the summertime, you might think it unlikely that a midweek evening at the movies could be an outing that you look back upon as having been one of the highlights of the season. However, if that movie-night was spent at the Open Roof Festival, I believe you'd feel just that.

This festival, now in its ninth year, is Toronto’s only outdoor event that offers a live performance by a local band, followed by the screening of a movie created by an independent filmmaker. There is also good beer and wine and delicious food served, all brought to you amidst a warm and friendly vibe.

Almost entirely volunteer-driven, the Open Roof Festival is not-for-profit, with proceeds going towards Canada’s independent film production and music communities. This year, the gatherings were held on Wednesday evenings, in an empty lot on Sterling Road in the Junction neighbourhood. This year the festival ran from mid-June and will end with one more installment to come, next week on August 22nd.

My friend Julie and I had the pleasure of attending this week and had a really good time.

Oh, and I haven't mentioned that dogs are welcome at Open Roof!

The film we saw was Wes Anderson's "Isle of Dogs", so I'm not sure if there were more dogs in the audience thanks to the choice of movies, or if this was normal, but we couldn't get over all the cute dogs that were there, ranging in size and breed! We spotted one tiny enough to be carried in the front pocket of a woman's jacket and one so large that he resembled a big fluffy white bear.

While Julie and I are cat lovers at heart, we certainly understand the appeal of canine friends!

Awesome Quilts and an Epic Ice Cream Cone

Hello! My friend Leslie and I spent a lovely afternoon together recently, checking out a museum and getting some ice cream.The museum was the The Textile Museum of Canada, where two temporary exhibitions are currently on display.I wouldn't say it is common knowledge that the country's official Textile Museum is right here in downtown Toronto, one street east of the corner of Dundas and University Avenue. I first heard about it a while back from my friend Julie, who highly recommended it, so it's been on my list of places to visit. Then, while at the library, I saw that passes for the museum were available, thanks to Sunlife Financial and their generous supporting of the "Museum and Arts Pass" program, where anyone in the city with a Toronto library card can get passes to a variety of museums and galleries, on a first-come-first-served basis, with new passes distributed every Saturday morning. So, I picked one up.When I later looked at the Textile Museum's site and saw that an amazing sounding show was on, Color Improvisations 2: An International Exhibition of Contemporary Quilts, I knew exactly who I'd ask to come along and see it. Leslie's favourite artistic pastime, (aside from baking, and if you've been reading along, you'll already know that her creations are wonderful and delicious works of art), is colouring. She loves her big box of pencil crayons and adult colouring books. So, when I saw images of some of the quilts that were in this show, I knew the colourful pieces would appeal to her.

At The Gallery : The AGO Celebrates the Power of Inuit art

Nick and I saw an exhibition at the AGO on Wednesday that has popped up, over and over again, in our conversations since. The two of us have seen a lot of art together and I can't remember a show that sparked as many discussions as did Tunirrusiangit, on display at the gallery until Sunday.

The title means "The Gifts They Gave" in Inuktitut, with the givers of those gifts being an artist who is known as having been the "grandmother of Inuit art" Kenojuak Ashevak, and her nephew Timootee (Tim) Pitsiulakand. This is the first time that Inuit art has been showcased in the AGO’s largest exhibition space.

Kenojuak Ashevak was born in 1927 and died five years ago at the age of 85. Her nephew, Tim, was born in 1967, and sadly died too young at 49, in 2016. Influenced by his aunt, he began drawing at a young age. This show marked the first retrospective of his work.

Coming from Nunavut, Canada's newest and northernmost territory, which separated officially from the Northwest Territories in 1999, these two artists created their beautiful art in one of the coldest, and most remote and sparsely settled regions in the world. The uniqueness of their home is very much reflected in their choices of subjects for their art, which very much focuses on nature. Some of Tim's pieces captured the introduction of technology to this northern environment, including unexpected images of laptops and digital cameras.

One of the most remarkable things about the work of both artists is that their original drawings were done using plain old pencil crayons and felt-tip markers. Seeing these common supplies used to create such stunning artworks was mind-blowing. In the case of the elder artist, many of her drawings were then turned into lithographic prints. The exhibition includes a number of examples of the original and then the prints.