Eating out with Food Allergies: Tasting Menu at George Restaurant
Is it possible to try a tasting menu when you have a list of food allergies as long as your arm? That was the challenge we presented to George Restaurant in Toronto during our vacation. They went for it and this is the story. Amuse bouche When The Boy and I first started dating, we…
A Streetcar Named Freedom
Ask any person with a disability about the main challenges to living their life and almost all will talk about transportation (and, of course, housing). In Toronto, we have WheelTrans, the parallel transit system for people with disabilities, some accessible regular buses, some accessible subway stations, and now, new and accessible street cars. I have…
A Hotel That Heals: Le Germain Maple Leaf Square Review
The first hint that we weren’t in real life anymore was the name of the toilet. OK, so I’m sure it was the name of the brand of this kind of toilet (total? Really?), but it set the tone. I got kicked out of house and home the last week while a big part of…
Photo Friday: First Pride
There is a first time for everyone. Your first Pride. I still remember mine — the first year after I’d moved downtown, I went with a friend and felt completely overwhelmed and overjoyed. It’s a feeling you like to spread around, so last weekend, we took a couple of kids I know to see their…
A Different Way to Look at a Wheelchair
“You sound really chipper,” The Boy said. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard you like this.” He was right. I hadn’t felt that good about life and myself for a long time. And all it took was a long walk. Well, to be fair it was a bit more complicated than that. A brief…
A Duck and Some Lumberjacks: Canada 150 in Toronto
One of my favourite things about summer is Canada Day and the Redpath Waterfront Festival. And really, is there anything better than long weekends in the summer? Well, Christmas arguably, but it requires wearing more clothes. And no, I’m not tromping about naked, but there are no socks and no sweaters. Back to the Canada…
Homeless Judgement
“Do you have any change for the homeless?” He asked this over and over again, of almost everyone who passed. To a person, they kept walking, only a few acknowledging him, saying sorry, they didn’t have any change. So did I. And we were all lying. Sure, most of us pay for purchases, even small…
Walking in A Cloud
It was a fairly dismal March day — cloudy, with tiny pellets of snow pelting my face as we walked west. We were in need of adventure, but uncertain what kind, so decided to pick a direction and see what happened. Union Station loomed ahead and since neither The Boy or I could remember when…
In Which a Zombie Is Conceived
Some people call it their re-birthday. This is more fun. A year ago today the seeds of my becoming a zombie were sown. Well, truth be told they were probably sown a few days to a week before that. If we are going to stay in this metaphor, a year ago today was the moment…
Photo Friday: The Squirrels of Queen’s Park
A few weeks ago, we walked home from the Royal Ontario Museum and decided to wander through Queen’s Park. This is both the seat of the provincial government of Ontario, as well as an actual park. And I’d never been there before. It was absolutely lovely, the low light of a November afternoon filtering through…
Santa and Lucia Converge
The two most important events that herald the beginning of the Christmas seasons are — to me at least — the Santa Claus Parade and the Swedish Christmas Fair. They happen to be on the same weekend, and the parade is much closer, so it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I started…
Photo Friday: Blessed Are the Animals
Every year on the first Saturday in October, there is a special service at St. James Cathedral in Toronto. it’s the Blessing of the Animals and it is all sorts of lovely.