Friday, January 11, 2013

We Go Boom....?

A while back I did a post called Inspirations about, well, obviously, things that inspired me.  At the time, one of the things that made me happy was the pretty view from my apartment.  You can see a handful of different aspects of it halfway down that post, but this will give you the idea:

Autumn in downtown.
I just really loved the whole scene, the different architectural styles, the wildly varying weather we could see over the harbour beyond the buildings, the patios and people that lined Argyle Street during the summer every day (though I'm not gonna lie, coulda done without the rowdy drunks every night), watching snow accumulate on everything in the winter.  

Anyway, things have changed.  You see, the empty lots between our building and Argyle had, for ages, been land that a company proposed building our city's new World Trade and Convention Centres upon.  And this past fall, they started to do just that.  Here's the scene this morning:


It's the beginning of the end of our view.  Soon there will be a complex of two towers, one apparently eighteen stories and one fourteen (or at least that's what the last article I read states).  

Don't get me wrong, I am all for progress in our city's downtown, in fact I readily encourage it.  I'm just being selfish in that it's a bummer that we are loosing such an interesting view, plus I have to say the actual construction happening directly across the street from where our bedroom is, has been HELL.  

It starts at 7am each weekday morning, about an hour later on weekends, and let me tell you, these guys are punctual.  They're there an hour beforehand getting ready, which means backing their trucks in, moving equipment around and so on.  They are there all day, every day, sometimes well into the evening, and a few times, well into the wee hours of the morning (apparently with special permits in place!).  

A couple days ago we got a notice under the door:


Kind of them to exclude statutory holidays from their blasting schedule.  

I'm am super curious and at the same time pretty nervous to see what it is going to be like when the blasting starts. They even had an inspector tour our building and make videos of the walls, corners, windows and so on, in the condition they are in now, so I guess we're at least going to feel it.  I wonder if it'll be something like this:


Till next time folks, love from your sleep-deprived gal, H.
  

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Traveler's Blues

Lonely nomadic penguin contemplates yet another night on the town alone, and wonders if he was mad to stray so far from home.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Owls Annonymous....

...is a group I should belong to.  I've got a problem.  Hello. My name is Helen, and I am addicted to owls.

It all started a few years ago when I noticed a crop of quirky little pieces of jewelry popping up here and there.  I came across a ring I immediately fell in love with...
  

It used to be silver plated but I've worn it so much it's rubbed all off to it's copper base.  I think I like it even more this way!

My birthday is in December and my Mum and Dad, every year, send me a little somethin' somethin' in the mail for me to treat myself, the sweeties.  Well a couple years ago I was browsing through Fireworks Gallery, a simply amazing jewelry shop here in the city, and I found this:


It's pretty little, like the size of a dime but look at all that lovely detail. So pretty!

When my friends caught on to my new love, they kept me in mind whenever they came across something owl-y.

This little guy, a gift from J, is made mostly of feathers and he clips onto whatever you want him to.  He and Arlo have been hanging for a while now.


This beautiful carved wood ornament was a gift from M. 


This pendant is a painted ceramic disc, by an Ontarian artist, a gift from R.

 http://dottipotts.com/

This little wooden folk-art piece was found by BF in an antique shop on Queen Street in Toronto.


This adorable print by Susan Black was a gift from M&M for my last birthday.


I haven't gotten around to framing it yet, but when I do, I'll pick a frame to match the one that this print is in:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/29blackstreet
I'm a big Susan Black fan, you see! I love that she names each owl.  We've actually got quite a few of her prints at our house, most from Inkwell, a shop on Market Street.  Not all owls though.

This past Christmas I participated in a Secret Santa thing through Reddit.  You plug in a bit of info about who you are and what you like and Reddit matches you up with someone.  Well my Secret Santa was bang on:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/collageOrama
I mean how cute is that?  It's from Collage-O-Rama.

Then there are the little owls I've just randomly found.  BF and I found this guy in a shop in Baddeck, Cape Breton while we were on a week long road/camping trip a couple summers ago.  We brought him home but waited to put him up until we moved in together, our first piece of decor!:


This amazing clock is from the wonderful little shop I mentioned above, called Inkwell, which, if you haven't been to, you must go now (http://inkwellboutique.ca/).  We'd been needing a clock for our apartment, something interesting as well as practical, and as soon as I saw this...well.

http://decoylab.com/  
We found this weird little pillow at Wicker Emporium when they were having one of their awesome clearance sales.  It ended up being, like a buck.


This little velvety photo holder was something we found in a bin at Home Sense, also ridiculously cheap.


We got a Groupon for Oddjects two Christmases ago and among the treasures we brought home was this awesome painted iron door knocker.  Good thing too because our entry-way hall is so long that we can hardly hear visitors when they are at the door.


Whew.  So yeah, addicted, but as I always say there are far worse things to be addicted to, and as most of my friends have been enablers I will never have to worry about going through some dreadful intervention. ;)  

Any obsessions taking over the space in your house?

Till next time!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Our Oval

The Halifax Oval was constructed in 2010 for speed skating events during the 2011 Canada Winter Games, and was opened for the public to enjoy before and after the events, and it was a HIT.  Then came the warm weather and plans for removal, which would return the North Common to it's original state - a ball field.  The suggestion that we keep it instead of tearing it down was, at first, met by some with mixed reviews.  Who would pay for it and it's upkeep - we, the tax payers, or a sponsor?  And if so, the Commons is for everyone, how can we allow a corporate sponsor to step in, will they have signs all over the place, will we have to pay to use the ice?

Well, turns out we don't.  The Oval is sponsored alright - it is officially called the Emera Oval - but it remains free for all, and honestly, you really can't say a bad thing about it, even if you aren't so much into corporate sponsorship.

Last night I was walking home from a coffee date with my friend E and as I approached the Commons I noticed in amazement, hundreds of people out on the Oval.  It must have been -15 at the time, but there they were, in droves.  There were little kids who'd never strapped on a pair of skates before, inching their way around while their moms and dads looked on, seasoned pros whizzing smoothly and surely around the middle, lovers hand-in-hand, friends out enjoying a time together.  It was awesome!  I wonder what those hundreds of people would have been doing on a -15 degree Monday night in January if the Oval wasn't still around.

I was so impressed by the turn out that I wanted to try to capture the exciting feeling in the air so I turned off my flash and let everyone zoom on by.








It looked like such fun that I'm gonna dig out my old skates soon and see what happens.  

Here is a link to the Oval's website, and specifically to a page that has some neat technical information about it.  There is also a live web cam you can check out for mere curiosity, or to see what the crowds are like if you're thinking of heading down yourself!  http://www.halifaxoval.com/about.htm

Have any of you been out skating yet?

Till next time!



Monday, January 7, 2013

'Sup

 Photo #7. Monday, January 7, 2013
Friendliest horse ever @ Halifax Junior Bengal Lancers

This handsome devil came strolling across the grounds toward me as soon as he saw me approach the fence.  As you can see in the background, everyone else is still munching away, oblivious to my presence, so I can only assume that this is the ladies man of the group. I mean look at those eyes, what a flirt!

Till next time!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Winter Wonderland

Photo#6.  Sunday, January 6, 2013

Citadel Hill

It's a perfect, beautiful winter night here in Halifax.  I snapped this one while crossing the Garrison Grounds on my way home from work just now.  The snow has been slowly and silently falling for a couple hours, all big, fat, fluffy flakes, light and soft.  The city is quiet except for the delighted shouts and laughter of a couple groups of sledders on the Hill, including a family I met as I was walking, who asked me to take their photo.  Turns out they just arrived here in Canada yesterday from Senegal and have never seen snow before!  The ultimate Canadian welcome, don't you think!  

Till next time!


Saturday, January 5, 2013

Arlo

One mellow Saturday afternoon a few months back, BF and I were strolling through our city's wonderful Farmer's Market, sipping our coffees and taking in all the sights, smells and sounds.  We had our usual list of things to pick up - some Darn Hot sausage from Sweet William's, some garlic and cayenne goat cheese from Ran-Cher Acres, some veggies and, of course, a cupcake from the adorable Jenna at Little Red Kitsch'n.  We were just about to get started when, along the harbour side of the market, we spotted something that stopped us dead in our tracks.

This is Arlo.


Arlo (don't ask me where we got that name from) the Robot Lamp was created by metal artist Joel Sullivan of Iron Designs.  As soon as we laid eyes on him, we knew he had to come home with us.  He's made up of all kinds of things, like forks, spoons, bolts and so on, and is super sturdy despite his one-legged stance.  He's definitely one of the things people comment on the most in our little apartment full of things to comment on, and we couldn't love him more!  

Check out Joel's Facebook page, he's got mad skills! https://www.facebook.com/pages/IRON-DESIGNS/270087608294

Here are some other links too, in case you're interested:

Halifax Seaport Market:
Little Red Kitsch'n:
Ran-Cher Acres:
Sweet William's Country Sausage:

Till next time folks, thanks for dropping in!