Bata Shoes With My Bestie

My bestie, Judit, lives rather far from me & I only get to see her once or twice a year...

once or twice that is, if I am able to travel to the city, which is sometimes impossible with the buns

and it's a bit too tricky for her to come my way because the usual 4-5 hour trip

ends up being an exhausting 7 or 8 hours with her little one, ha ha.

But last time in the city, I did get to spend a whole day with her

and we decided to visit the Bata shoe museum together...

it never matters what we do,

as soon as we're together, we're home, we're with family

and we feel settled and warm and hugged and happy.

One of the many things that binds us in friendship is our love for history and historical fiction...

I took a lot of photos but it was the Victorian wing that really had us intrigued and interested...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We weren't aware of what a horrible toll fashion, especially shoes

and crinoline cages took on the 18th century ladies and gentlemen.

Right from the horrific conditions of picking the cotton for the fabrics etc to the super poor and dangerous working conditions for the bone-weary souls who were the makers, right down to the people who actually wore the clothes who were often times poisoned to death because their dresses and shoes contained high levels of containments like arsenic and lead!

We also had no idea that way back when there was no left and right shoes, only one to fit both sides!

Or that corsets and such dress cages actually killed woman because they were so flammable,

unfortunate woman would go up in an horrific blaze of no escape if they happened to near a candle!

Or all the poor little kids who died because they were put in pretty blue or red velvet shoes

not knowing that that particular dye was more poisonous any other colour...holy crap!

Can't you imagine....

we'll we walked out of there feeling rather quite grateful for our comfy jeans & comfortable boots!

 

(for more of my Bata Shoe photos just visit my Flickr album...

it's a catch all for many shots I don't show here on the blog)



Mexican Magnificence

I was lucky to be able to get to the city a few times this past Spring & Summer,
because like a lot of people with animals, it's next to impossible for us to travel anywhere.
 It's proven impossible to find someone who will willingly navigate days and nights of
multiple boards & gates to climb over with the constant worry of making sure they are secure,
9 little constantly hungry begging mouths with big veggies dinners to chop up and make every night,
13 potties and 9 water dishes that need to be changed every single night,
hay and poop and pee having to be cleaned up atleast twice a day,
possibility of biting, wet socks & stolen toast & stomping & harrumping & chewing & naughtiness
and never a solid nights sleep because rabbits are nocturnal after all...

It really kinda sucks though because everyone seems willing to bend over backwards
to watch other people's human children (and well I think my babies are way cuter!!)
But apparently this is just the way things are, fair or not, so we have to make all of these city trips
as rather exhausting daytrips, meaning 8-10 hours of driving.

 

But we pack in as much as we can on each and every trip because that much driving in 1 day

AND being away from the buns for such a long period at such a far distance

is never a decision lightly made. 

  

Anyhow, one of the last times I went I spent the whole entire day

at the Royal Ontario Museum all on my own

(this was the same day that I saw the Pompeii display).

it was wonderful to be able to go through at my own pace & linger when & where I wanted.

I really really enjoyed the special exhibit on Mexican design & wardrobe.

Having studied Frida Kahlo in my college days and loving her since, this exhibit really hit home

because it's the exact like of clothing that she would have worn.

 

One of my favorite things about the day was when one of the guards came to me and said

'Psst...want to see something really cool and kind of like a secret?"

to which my response was "Um, Yes, I do..."

and he lead me to drawers that pulled out and revealed tons of super delicate Mexican samplers.

Needless to say I had to pull out every single one to oohh and ahhh

for my heart may belong mostly to coloured pencils but my heart has secret love for embroidery too.

 

I took tons of photos because I am pretty sure some of this will inspire and appear in future pictures.

Thanks for letting me share some of my favorites with you today...

now back to my sweet Jaks I go.

Have a wonderful day.



Peter Gabriel

I saw him again...

my favourite all-time musician...brilliance & light & talent & beauty...

I just saw Peter Gabriel

AHHHHHH.....

This is the 2nd time seeing him in concert, last time was his 'Growing Up' tour.

I am feeling so so blessed.

This was Peter's 'SO...Back To Front' tour.

The concert we were at is the one that will make up the dvd/blue-ray for the tour. Cool.

We enjoyed spiced pumpkin lattes, excellent food, a sweet new hotel,
and the brand new super long subway cars.

It was so fun to scramble and play about the city with my honey.

And of course, 'Secret World' made me cry profusely, not because it's a sad song, but because it's incredibly beautiful & in the moments of that one song,
I realized exactly where I was and how lucky lucky lucky
I was to be there seeing Peter in person for a 2nd time
& to be standing next to the guy I was standing next too.
 

SO Happy...Back to Front.

An Enchanted Garden

So when last in the big city, we made a fantastic discovery.

It was an enchanted Garden full of sweet surprises...

Such as vultures perched high above our heads...

...ready to welcome in all who were willing to leave the heaviness of the adult world behind...

...a walking stick stopped to say 'how do ya do?'...

...A turtle shuffled out to ask us if we needed directions,

he instructed us to just follow our care-free hearts and let whimsy be our compass...

...It was a quiet place where shy snails wanted to talk about the weather...

....and where you were invited to tea with a tortoise and a berry picking bear...

...where long secret pathways amongst tall and towering grasses lead you to smiling snails...

...Where on top of a sweet little hill you spot a wooden gazebo and what looks like

a wonderfully secretive spot that your feather light heart craves to leads you next...

...but where on your way you meet one of the happiest of rabbits who invites you to spread your smile

and of course to frolic and play...

...and who requests a shy peck adieu before your off on your way...

...It was a place where that secret spot we glanced upon the smiling snail hilltop was finally found...

And what wonderful energy the place held...

you could feel magic sparkle and shimmer all around you...

...It was where I met a fellow book lover who read me a story so fantastic I dare not even try to repeat it

for it's something you have to hear on your own...

...I was very reluctant to leave, but the storyteller promised he'll be there ready with another grand story whenever I am able to visit again next...

...This was a magical garden which seemed to even enchant grown up boys...

...It was a most wonderful place for hearts that like to believe in magic...

...For souls who believe in the beauty of their dreams...

It was a place that reminded one that the most ordinary of days can suddenly

be turned into the most splendorous soul drenching moments.

That moments of pure unexpected blissful delight can tingle your soul,

if only you'll let your heart be light & open your eyes to enchanted magic...

Thanks for hopping in this week everyone...have a great weekend and see you all on Monday.

XO An Enchanted Bijou

Biking Adventures On Center Island

Back in August, after a blues festival in Drayton, my honey & I made our way back
to Toronto and hopped on a ferry with our bikes

(after spending a crazy $25 for parking!!!)

and spent a whole day playing about and biking on Toronto's Center Island.

We fell in love with the place and were kicking ourselves that we never bothered to

explore it when we actually lived in the city!!!

(mind you, back then we were quite broke and a cup of coffee a week was sometimes a stretch, ha ha!)

The day was very hot, humid and quite gloomy but we had a complete ball anyways...

Here is abit of our day...

As you can probably tell, I was hogging the camera, hence my handsome guy being in most shots.

I have to say, Jonathan was super patient with me constantly hopping off my bike to take shots.

He was even more patient with my constant and sudden screeching out 'OHHHH LOOK' followed by my zooming off on him because I saw something in the distance that I just had to photograph.

I think he's used to me & my camera by now, bless him, ha ha...

We can not wait to go back.  What a brilliant and refreshing place to bike and picnic.

By the end of our day we were pooped

and I was slightly bruised and sore from a spill on my bike, ha ha! 

We had to call our day to and end by a certain time so as not to spend too many

hours driving the Northern highways in pitch dark! 

But our timing to leave was serendipitous because the skies grew quite threatening and

stormy and we were more than ready to head back to the bunnies.

Have any of you been to the Toronto islands?

Thanks for hopping by.

XO A Bijou whose missing the city