junctqin keyboard collective

thanks to facebook i was able to reunite with a long lost high school friend. turns out she's a concert pianist now!

she is also part of a cool trio (a group of self-professed keyboard geeks) that performs contemporary music written for none other than toy pianos!

last week her group, junctqin keyboard collective, performed at a beautiful outdoor stage as part of the 'plein air concert series'.

the concert made me feel like i was transported into a live version of an episode of brave new waves or the signal. all the songs were unique and the trio gave us some background info on all the pieces the performed.

i loved all the songs (especially the ones that were duets or for trio), but the last song was performed by all three on table in perfect synchrony. here's a version that i've found on youtube:



the other amazing thing, in addition to the music? the plein air concert series, is a series that is organized and run by susan brown on a volunteer basis so that the artists can benefit from the ticket sales! ... i think that it's also her backyard and stage that is being used for the concert series. what an benefactor of the arts!

i love yoko ono.

she has totally embraced social media and connects with her fans daily through her facebook and website. she is also a prolific tweeter! among her tweets for peace, she frequently proposes small actions or thoughts for her followers to try - mini, personal conceptual art projects for the masses.

what an amazing artist and activist. how she stays free of cynicism to keep on believing and fighting for world peace is beyond admirable. after decades of unwavering activism, she is still sending out messages and tips for attaining world peace.

and at the age of 66 she had her first song reach the top of the dance charts last year!

my little urban jungle

as you can see, my little garden plot has grown into a mini jungle and since these photos were taken, it's kind of gotten out of hand. all the stems are growing over each other and despite the bamboo stakes they are toppling over.

last year, my little garden was a bit sad with very few tomatoes harvested. so this year, with the help of a lot of organic compost, the 4 tomato plants became large bushes with lots of tomatoes growing.

the basil is doing really well too and is probably 4 feet tall now.

lessons learned for next year:

• leave waaaaay more space between the plants so that they don't end up growing on top of each other
• get thicker stakes
• trim the sucks

two for joy paper studio

my package from the lovely two for joy paper studio arrived - all the way from london, england.

i ordered a super cute art print that i want to frame and hang in my kitchen and also a set of personalized notecards (that are made of 50% recycled fibres)!

... and because two for joy is run by the ever talented, miss bee, she included a beagle notebook that she created when she was still working at the national gallery just for me! her design even has silhouettes of two beagles howling in unison - too cute!

if you are getting married and need some invitation sets or want something thoughtful and cute to spruce up a room, you definitely need to get yourself over to two for joy paper studio.

a most satisfying weekend

finally, despite questionable weather, we were able to have a cupcake ride on the day that it was originally planned for. i don't know why, but i get wracked with guilt when i have to call a rain date to postpone a ride ... it must be the japanese in me. so to have a ride on the set date felt like a big (weird) accomplishment.

i had such a relaxing, fun time with lovely ladies on the toronto islands. we fought the ferry crowds and landed at hanlan's point and then biked the width the of the island and also explored the residential area and some interesting nooks and crannies.

for more of the report, check out my blog post on the cupcake ride blog.

today, i hung out at andre's dog school in the morning and took photos of extremely cute puppies and smart dogs. and then in the evening hung out with some friends that are moving away from condo land on queen west into a house of their own by degrassi street!

i was also able to squeeze in some cleaning and reading.

i think i'm ready to face the work week!

happy 1 year, petey

today marks the one year anniversary since petey came to live with us!

when we were still fostering everybody kept on saying how we would never let him be adopted and that we would eventually keep him. i guess all those people - friends and strangers - were correct!

thank you, petey, for teaching us:

• to let sleeping dogs lie
  
• that it is possible for dogs to sniff each other on the sidewalk without an altercation
  
• to respect and be mindful of dog body language
  
• that with positive reinforcement anything is possible - even teaching you a bite inhibition

we are so happy that we will be your forever home - we were always a bit worried about what would happen when/if you bit your new owners.

andre, duke and i are looking forward to growing older with you.

we love you!

melting

a heatwave is hovering over ontario and south eastern quebec, making temperatures unbearable even for me!

we've had 3 consecutive days at 40+ with the humidex and all duke and petey can do is lie around and nap to cope with the heat.

everyday of the heat wave the weather network has been stringing us along, telling us that there is a chance for thundershowers in the afternoon. so far we've had none.

it looks like we will get a bit of a reprieve over the weekend, but the temperatures creep back up next week. power consumption from air conditioners working overtime has been putting pressure on the electric system. hopefully we won't have another major blackout (which i secretly wished for every summer when i used to be an employee).

an interesting article about how air conditioners seem to have a direct relationship with voting patterns in the USA.

photos: petey and duke, sunbathing before the heatwave