August 29, 2011

The Summer Is Not Over Yet


For me, the summer lasts as long as there is nice warm weather outside. Right now, I tend to glance at the calendar now and again, in order to make sure I don’t miss the deadline for a certain exhibition. If there are no deadlines to keep track of, then there’s no reason to even know today’s date. In a similar fashion, I have no interest in people’s age. Perhaps this is because I’ve met people in their 80s who wouldn’t climb trees only due to their physical inability to do so, and who wouldn’t toboggan down every snowy slope they encountered simply because they didn’t wish to frighten everybody around. The most important thing is to be young in your spirit, isn’t it?

And now, a few things about my weekend.
                          
We Canadians don’t necessarily need to wait until Halloween to run into a pirate at a hardware store – or to see Batman rushing to complete a mission as we roll down the street to visit a friend’s house.





On Saturday morning, the pond in High Park was covered in a fog. You could stand with your back to the sun, and feel the wind carrying strands of the veil that made the fog. It was an incredible feeling.













We also have met a dog named - Ziggy.



We also found an interesting store, and made friends with its owner. This store is really amazing, and deserves its own post. The handmade designer objects that are displayed there are from Japan and Scandinavian countries.



The husband of my friend Natasha is really into fishing. This means that, from time to time, we have the opportunity to taste a freshly caught salmon. This time, the fish was enormous. Another reason why it’s wonderful to visit Natasha’s home is because she creates these unbelievable collectable dolls (which will also appear in a separate post). I’m so proud of my friends.



Other things that made the weekend so much fun was Busker Fest, visiting a new restaurant, and going to Cirque Du Soleil. The summer continues!

51 comments:

  1. The park and the dolls your friend makes are both absolutely wonderful, and I'd like that No Parking sign for my garden.

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  2. Love all your pics, dear Olga. The cape-wearing dude on the scooter earns high marks, of course. The world needs more eccentric people, don't you think? My favorite photo would have to be Ziggy the pug. Easiest dog to draw, even for non-artistic types like myself. One barrel. Four sticks for legs. ;-) As for your friend's dolls, they are amazing, especially that last one holding the roses. Gorgeous. A bientot, Olga. I am glad you had a fun-filled weekend. Veronique aka French Girl in Seattle

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  3. Oh no summer is still with us here today, it has been really hot. Where do you find these fantastic 'things' to take photos of, they are brilliant. Diane

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  4. My eye was catch in the photo of the ancient man shoppinhg along with his parrot =)

    I love it =)

    Regards

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  5. Good words and interesting paintings of flowers, the park and all life on the streets. Sometimes life pokes fun moments that are nicely captured. For instance, man with a parrot and sinks, horse scooter and dog scarf. Have a nice summer days yet. Peter.

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  6. Hi Olga and thank you for visiting my blog today. It was nice to hear from you. x

    I loved this post. So many fun things you shared. Love your pictures, and of course leaned in close at the sight of all the Swedish designs in that store you discovered..!

    Hope you pop over again. I would love to have you.

    x Charlotta
    Space for Inspiration

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  7. Olga, my friend, thank you for sharing! your amazing park!you are a very gifted artist and you write very very well too!" I feel the wind carring strands of the veil that made the fog"!!! Excellent picture!!! I feel it too!!! I like it very much! THANK you Olga, you carry me there!Kisses from Greece.

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  8. Great post as usual! I wasn't into dolls growing up but I really like these-your friend is so talented! The Scand/ Japan motif sounds like a perfect furniture store. Okay and Ziggy... is too cute for words....that tongue yikes! =)

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  9. I like all the rest as always, of course, but freshly caught salmon! Who cares about summer with such a treat on hand! You are a spoiled girl my dear :-)

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  10. Nice shots. Summer's hanging on here too. I love the guy with the parrot in the store!

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  11. Voilà des photos, reflets du week-end, vraiment très intéressantes. Un dépaysement total.
    Tu nous fais rêver, Olga!

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  12. i love all of your random pics. and wait, is today supposed to be the last day of summer??? oh no way, not here!

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  13. Hello Olga:
    You always offer your readers such a zany and witty collection of photographs to set our minds racing. We love them! Yes, we are definitely holding on to Summer here in Budapest with temperatures at 30C+ although the golden evening light is heralding the fact that Autumn is close on Summer's heels.

    What a wonderful weekend you had and what marvellously talented friends. We shall look forward to reading more in future posts.

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  14. Hello Olga,
    beautiful flowers, dog, colors!!!
    Amazing!

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  15. Summer sadly seems to be over here... decidedly autumnal in the UK today! Love your summery mix of pics...

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  16. Hello Olga. Very good series of images!
    Haha, never seen a motorcycle with Batman:))
    I like the garden with the maple leaf.
    Good night. Laura

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  17. Summer's not over yet. I love "traveling" to other places via your beautiful photos. Thank you!

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  18. Hola Olga

    que suerte ver tus sitios , bellas imágenes y tu verano, ya llegara a mi pais. abrazos

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  19. That doll looks so real! I don't even know today's date - I'm never quite sure what day it is, but I'm certainly enjoying my life in Malaysia!

    Beautiful pictures Olga!

    Where nature Presides

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  20. Wow that is so funny that those people were dressing up! I wish I could see that around here....because even during Halloween Australians don't really do anything! I love your pictures :)

    x x x

    ashandbelle.blogspot.com

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  21. Ziggy is so cute!
    Good to hear that you also belive that summer is not over:)

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  22. It was such a treat having you visit my blog yesterday! Thanks much.

    From the post prior to this one (Steve Martin's book capped off with floral images) and now this post I can only say that I am in love with High Park! Those white hydrangeas (?) captured my heart. Ziggy's photos were superb.

    Couldn't believe the first shots indicating how whacky Canadians can be! And your friend's dolls? They are amazing.
    Great post, Olga. Now have a great week!

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  23. Summer is still here too, although it's cooler now at the beginning and end of the day - no bad thing! On Sunday we started the day with an amazing sky clear of any clouds and the most beautiful azure blue.

    I love the dashing doll, your friend is so clever and creative.

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  24. I like Canadians!!! great pictures!!!! I can smell now in the early morning the autumn, though it is still warm and sunny, the autumn smell came in already...

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  25. As always Olga you have turned your day into a work of art for us, thank you! That store is elegant, and your friend's dolls are indeed incredible. I love the idea of feeling the wind blowing in the mist. My favourite bit, though, was the dog in the neckerchief. It looks so pleased with itself!

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  26. Hi mise,
    I can't promise you that exact No Parking sign, but if you collect these kinds of things, I will keep it in mind :)

    Hi Veronique,
    Lol, I pictured this dog exactly as you've described :) What a lovely image.
    It's incredible to see the way a lump of clay transforms into this beautiful doll.

    Hi Diane,
    I regret to hear that it's hot where you live. We are having quite nice weather these days. If I weren't busy, I would probably be taking walks for entire days :)

    Hi Sergio,
    This photo was taken with an iPhone. The parrot was also talking :)

    Hi Peter,
    Now you see how many eccentric people there are on the loose. The most important thing is to bring your camera!

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  27. Hi Charlotta,
    Thank you for visiting. I will definitely make a post about this store in the near future. I'm so glad I've found your blog. There are so many interesting things in it.

    Hi Φανή Παπαγεωργίου, Ζωγράφος,
    I'm glad that you got the strange sense of your back being warmed by the sun and your face clouded by the cool wind and fog. It was definitely one of the strangest moments in High Park.

    Hi Sandy,
    I'm glad that the owners of Ziggy let me photograph him. Despite his proportions, he was very quick :)

    Hi Pet,
    You don't even know how spoiled I am. They let me have a jar of caviar :P

    Hi Al,
    I often regret not having the courage to photograph many of the eccentrics that I encounter on the streets of Toronto.

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  28. Hi Richard,
    Merci pour le compliment. Vous trouvez toujours les mots justes pour égayer ma journée:)

    Hi Krystal,
    Let's not pay attention to the calendar. Let's just enjoy the summer weather :)

    Hi Jane and Lance Hattatt,
    Isn't it pleasant when the summer lingers, and gives you those golden days that remain in our hearts forever?

    Hi Antonio,
    I'm glad you liked it. You see, I'm really enjoying the remainder of the summer, because, in Canada, there aren't too many sunny days in the winter.

    Hi Nat,
    Come to Canada! :)

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  29. Hi Laura,
    Of course, Batman doesn't often ride down the streets of Toronto, but sometimes, we do encounter him on a lucky day.

    Hi Lydia,
    I'm very pleased when I don't forget my camera, so I can take some photos to show :) I'm glad you enjoyed them.

    Hi Maelgi,
    Me encantaría venir a su país si pudiera:) Obviamente, es uno de los destinos más tentadores.

    Hi Duncan D. Horne,
    It's wonderful to know that we are from the same tribe of people who don't pay attention to dates :)

    Hi Estelle,
    Halloween is a big deal here. I promise that, this time, I will go hunting when that time of the year arrives. Can you imagine several Elvises gathered in the same place? We had that type of event in Toronto :)

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  30. Hi Ola,
    I'm glad that the owners let me photograph him :) He is so cute.

    Hi Lydia,
    I don't know the names of the flowers, unfortunately. I always marvel at the landscape design in High Park. I'm glad you enjoyed the my friend's dolls. I'll show the whole process at some point; it's really fascinating. She creates things in such detail.

    Hi Sarah,
    During the transition of the summer to fall, there are many magical moments. My friend makes dolls in such detail that you wouldn't even think to make such a thing. For example, her latest doll has a tiny letter that you can actually read :)

    Hi Colores,
    The smell during the mornings is very much like fall. Although, during the day, it is still really warm. I'm glad you like Canadians :)

    Hi Jenny Woolf,
    The dog is wonderful :) And the mist that we encountered stayed throughout the whole day.

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  31. What a busy week-end you had, Cirque du Soleil I love it!!! Yes I feel the same way you do about age, especially as I get older and realize there is so much life in me waiting to happen.

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  32. Hi my friend....miss you and your pics too;) You know the summer is still inside me...and I adore Cirque du Soleil, I really envy you...hugs, hugs!!!

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  33. Bonsoir et belle reprise après ces vacances et ce repos bien mérité !

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  34. I'm so with you on the age thing :)

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  35. I hope you are right on the age thing too!

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  36. I agree with you totally in fact my favorite actress "Sophia Loren" in an interview when asked of her beauty secrets she said, never act old, when you stand up, spring up and never act like anything hurts or creaks....or something like that, I have followed her advice as the years go by.

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  37. Beautiful pics, that dog is too cute by the way! :-)

    I´m sure you´re right, thanks for comforting me. This morning I woke up and felt a bit strange, but as long as it´s just a cold or something I don´t care - I could be half dead and still go! :-D I´ll be energized by seeing another city as well. :-)

    Hugs!

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  38. Очень интересный байкер)

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  39. I'm SO jealous. I don't think we even had summer this year in London! Blah.

    Love the doggie!

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  40. Hi lilylovekin,
    I'm glad you like Cirque Du Soleil. Not everyone appreciates the circus. I love their skill and the goofiness of the clowns. I also relate to your feeling of appreciating how much life there is within me :)

    Hi ne mora ne bionda,
    The clowns were spectacular this time :) They were unstoppable.

    Hi versus,
    Merci de votre visite. Je suis content que l'été est toujours en cours au Canada.

    Hi T. Becque,
    It's apparent in your photos!

    Hi R. Jacob,
    I uphold this point of view only on days when I'm not in any kind of pain :)

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  41. Hi 1-2Punch,
    I adore Sophia Loren. She is so extraordinary! Like with wine, she just gets better with time :)

    Hi tinajo,
    I also have strange illness-like symptoms before every big trip. I think it's due to nerves! I hope you're feeling better.

    Hi Ирина,
    Он был очень хорош и немного позировал, и посматривал искоса на меня :)

    Hi Talli,
    Come to Canada! We are having some lovely days :)

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  42. Natasha does make some outstanding, evocative dolls. And your photos were excellent. Thanks, Roland

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  43. По случаю Дня Блога 2011 я порекомендовала ваш блог своим читателям :)

    http://forest-lair.blogspot.com/2011/08/blog-day-2011.html

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  44. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  45. Sorry, that was a typo above -hopped over from Pierre's blog - lovely summery pic (your first one) and the guy in the cape made me laugh:)

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  46. I can relate to all of these things as I too am a person with very wide horizons.I love change.
    beautiful post

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  47. Your photos are absolutely gorgeous ♥

    Love the first one so much,

    flowers never fail to lift up my mood, thanks ♥

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  48. Although I a not a doll collector, the ones your friend created are so delicate and beautiful.

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  49. Hiya Olga what a lovely post to read upon my return from London. I think Natasha's dolls are absolutely amazing. I love love love them. And Ziggy, hahaha he looks a real star :)

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  50. Hi Roland D. Yeomans,
    Natasha is a very talented doll maker. She started making dolls not so long ago but the results are already sunning!
    Thank you for your kind words about my photos :)

    Hi Ekaterina Trayt,
    Большое спасибо! Я рада, что вы меня читаете. Мне кажется, что у нас много общего. Самое первое - любовь к природе.

    Hi Emille,
    Thank you for visiting and commenting :) I try to show all aspects of the Canadian life from my point of view. It is so nice that you enjoyed it.

    Hi A Lady's Life,
    Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed my post. Change is essential to a fulfilling life.

    Hi Ann,
    I also never get tired of flowers - looking at them or photographing them.

    Hi My Little Home and Garden,
    Natasha is herself very delicate and beautiful. It reflects in her work :)

    Hi Dolly,
    I'm glad that you are back. I hope everything is well. Ziggy was posing a little bit :)

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  51. Ольга, мне всегда нравится находить общее с разными людьми :)

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