What I like about my friend Meghan, aside from the fact that she's an all around excellent person, is her sense of adventure. She seems to always be on the go, and when she's not working at her enviable day-job in the media business, she is either travelling someplace great, taking a course, or seeing a show of some sort.
This being so, it's inevitable that she plans ahead, making dates for future good times. I too am an advance planner so our styles mesh perfectly in that concern.
This is all to say that the outing I write about today -- our experience on Saturday afternoon, exploring a neighbourhood neither of us knew well, had been in our calendars for a couple of weeks and I was glad to know it was there. The part of town she suggested we check out is the short strip of Bloor Street West, between Dufferin and Lansdowne.
Now, I'll be honest and say, while I was happy to spend an afternoon with my pal, I didn't hold high hopes for what we'd find there; I used to live just east, near Ossington and Bloor, so had walked that stretch and I was familiar with what was there. My recollection was of a somewhat bleak area with little feeling of community spirit.
I'm glad to say that my previous exposure happened a long time ago, and after having visited it on the weekend, there's no doubt that the neighbourhood has changed a lot since then. It now even has a name, Bloordale Village!
After taking the Bathurst streetcar and subway westbound to get there, I met Meghan outside the Dufferin station at 2pm. During the days prior, we'd been warned that a big snowstorm was heading our way on the weekend, but fortunately, it waited until Sunday to arrive. So the weather was quite perfect for our walk.
When my friend Andrea asked if I'd like to see a play on Saturday night, in which her buddy Matthew was performing, I didn't hesitate before saying "yes".
She speaks about this friend of hers and his lady, also called Andrea, with much fondness, so in addition to wanting to see the play, I was also looking forward to meeting them. And now, after having done so, I see why she holds them is such high regard.
The play was an original take on Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which happens to be my favourite Christmas movie. This version came with a unique twist, in that it was more about the people working at an old-time radio station, as they put on a live broadcast of A Christmas Carol.
The building was something to see in itself, being one of Toronto's first fire halls. This Wiki list of "Toronto's Oldest Buildings Still Standing", states that it was built in 1859. I found it interesting to discover that eight of Toronto's oldest buildings are located on Berkeley Street, considering it's a relatively short one, only 1.9 kilometres long going from Carlton Street down to The Esplanade. This is a result of it being part of what was the heart of the city when it was first developing, and that so many of the historic buildings built along it were thankfully saved from the wrecking ball over the centuries.
Ha, considering the previous time I wrote about hanging out with my sister was also a story about a shopping trip, (it was at the vintage stores in Kensington market, posted here), you're going to get the impression that shopping is all we do together!This is somewhat true in that we do enjoy the experience of spending an afternoon together, hunting and gathering, so to speak, but we also make sure our excursions include a nice lunch, during which we can have a good talk, as well.Truth is, we are good at shopping together, given we have a lifetime of practice doing it, so we're good at helping each other out and spotting what the other will like. Also, we are completely honest with one another, ensuring that what we end up buying is just right. In fact, on this particular trip I would have ended up spending good money on a coat that I thought was ok, but that she thought was not as flattering as it could be. I left it behind but if I'd been by myself, I probably would have gotten it, and then never felt quite comfortable wearing it, or having to make a return trip to the store to return it.For as long as we've been shopping together, there's no question that there is one particular destination that we both love, and that would be The Hudson's Bay department store, especially the downtown Toronto flagship location. It has recently received a total makeover so, while many departments have moved causing us to be unable to rely on our memories when looking for something, the transformation is beautiful!The thing about The Bay, aside from having the convenience of departments offering a wide range of high quality merchandise, is that their prices are reasonable.Not to dwell on prices and thriftiness but everything Camille and I got during this shopping trip was on sale, except the make-up I got, but that came with a very nice "gift with purchase".Of course, we're not alone in liking The Bay, considering it has survived for centuries, outliving the other competing major Canadian department stores, Eatons and Simpsons Sears, which were forced to close in recent decades.Hudson's Bay is Canada's oldest corporation, having begun in 1670, when Canada was still pretty much a forest, and animal pelts were exchanged for necessities with European traders. One thing they traded for were warm woolen blankets, hence the iconic symbol of Canada, the cream and green, red, yellow and blue striped Hudson's Bay Blanket. It might surprise you, as it did me, that a blanket that we've come to associate with our country has never been made in Canada. Rather, they've been, and still are, made in England.So, this would be a good time to show you an awesome toy we saw, that, oh my goodness, my ten year old self would have loved loved loved to find under the Christmas tree! Check out Barbie in her Hudson's Bay coat, complete with real tiny toggles, and matching skirt. And her dog has the sweater! And the striped coffee cup ... and toque hat ... those eye-glasses. Her cellphone even has a striped phone case. (She's a limited edition, available here if you prefer to shop inline. There are some great photos of her at that link too.)
My friend Julie got two tickets to join the audience for the taping of The Marilyn Denis Show, and lucky for me, she invited me to join her!The way it works is you apply for tickets (which are free) by filling in an application and giving them three different days that you'd be able to attend. Then, because more people apply than can be accommodated, your name is put into a raffle to determine who gets to participate. Julie was offered two tickets for the program that was filmed a week ago Thursday, but we were sworn to secrecy about what went on at the show, because it wasn't airing until the following Thursday (which was yesterday).
My friend Meghan and I celebrated our 7th Friendiversary with an art-date on Saturday evening at the AGO, where we saw something that was mind-blowing -- some stunningly small carvings made out of wood. The exhibition is called "Small Wonders : Gothic Boxwood Miniatures" and features 60 wooden miniatures.
