Category Archives: Leslieville

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Happy 180th Toronto

06 Thursday Mar 2014

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As I was driving up the Don Valley Parkway this morning to a client’s office, I was reminded that today the great city of Toronto is celebrating it’s 180th birthday.  I started thinking what a great city I live in and how fortunate I am to be able to live and work in such a world class city. I knew from a very young age, when I would visit my family here in Toronto, that this is where I would end up. The energy of the city was intoxicating (as a teenager it was, some days now it is exhausting!)

The Toronto list of greatness is quite extensive and substantial. We have some of the best hospitals in the world with researchers who are leading the way in finding cures and treatments for disease. I don’t even need to mention Sick Kids Hospital and the amazing work that is done there every day! Top notch universities that students flock to from all over the world to study at. Theatre, film, music, museums, art – where else can you find musicals, an international film festival, concerts, a documentary film festival and small venues where budding talent can showcase their skill? You can spend the day lost in culture, history or the work of the Impressionists How about the food? And ethnic neighbourhoods where you feel like you have been transported out of Canada to another country. And don’t forget the sports teams! 

Toronto Skyline

Toronto Skyline

Now, Toronto does have quite a few “needs improvement” areas but today for it’s birthday let’s not complain about the traffic or our crazy mayor, the crumbling Gardiner Expressway or our Maple Leafs (all though they did win last night). Let’s share with each other what we love about this city.

Tell me, what is your favourite thing about Toronto?

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New Option for Movie Rentals in Leslieville

03 Sunday Mar 2013

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Friday night I stopped in at the 7-Eleven to get my lotto tickets (couldn’t pass up the chance to win 30 million… side note – I won $10) and noticed a shiny new box in the corner. A Best Buy movie box! I haven’t been able to rent a DVD since Jumbo left the Loblaws building and Rogers shut down.

I know, there is a thing called iTunes and Netflix – I have and use both but this little box will give me a DVD for $1.50 and the first one was FREE! Saturday morning we stopped at the 7-Eleven to grab two DVDs for a trip to the cottage – no wifi so iTunes and Netflix were not an option.  Grabbed two movies effortlessly (as was the return) … and if I wanted to buy them I could just keep the DVD and the charges come to my credit card.

Some cool features:

(Note: I wasn’t compensated by Best Buy or 7-Eleven for this post)

Twas the night before Christmas in Leslieville

25 Tuesday Dec 2012

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Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not Lola or Otis was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung on the ledge with care,IMG_3616

In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

Pups were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of rawhide danced in their heads.

And me in my jammies, not wearing a cap

Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.

When in the spare room Otis made such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the patio door I flew like a flash,

Flipped on the light and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a Leslieville raccoon without much fear.

Merry Christmas 'Coon!

Merry Christmas ‘Coon!

A teenage Procyon lotor, looking for a place to rest,

I knew in a moment that scaring it off would be best.

We barked, we growled, we banged on the glass,

Until that ‘coon decided he should move its ass!

His eyes-they were beattie! his belly robust!

He knew that vacating the deck he must!

He jumped on the ledge and reached for the tree,

Looking for one that would allow him to flee!

It took him several moments to actually get away,

Merry Christmas he did not actually say

He cursed and he mumbled and growled as he left,

I will be back again another night to make a great mess.

Raccoon Destruction Continues

15 Wednesday Aug 2012

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I had hoped this post would be about our victory over the urban raccoon (who with it’s dexterity and ability to retain it’s learnings has become a nightmare for our yard) but sadly I think we are waving the white flag.

Loving the new grass

Many of you may have read the post about the lovely landscaping we had done with a pond and fountain; well we went a bit further and laid sod and stones in our parking pad.  We loved just how great this looked compared to the gravel.

However, it didn’t take long for the raccoons to come out and start rolling the sod in search of grubs.  So after some research we tried coyote urine pellets  (don’t ask me how they get the urine in the pellets!) as the coyote is a predator of the raccoon.  Well the urban raccoon knows that

We were so hopeful…

there aren’t many coyotes in the city and was not deterred.  Next was the chicken wire laid over the sod with pegs to hold it down. While not pretty nor soft under our feet, we were hopeful and thought this was the end of our problems.  We’re we ever wrong.  In a violent rage (I am sure this is the emotion they felt when they saw the wire) the raccoons ate our water hyacinth’s from the pond and threw the remnants around the yard like chewed apples.  We decided to leave the pond free of vegetation…

With nothing to eat out of the pond the raccoons started digging through the holes in the wire to get to the delicious grubs so I paid $40 for the natural grub killer and sprayed the yard.  We also replaced the bulbs in the motion detector lights and left the shed lights on and all the back porch lights.

Some nights were good… some not so good but we thought we were starting to win! After one particularly bad night and on the recommendation of some friends we went and bought the ScareCrow® Motion-activated Animal Deterrent – a motion sensored water sprinkler complete with neon stickers (at Canadian Tire for $79.99).  While every penny was worth the laughs we had trying to set it up I have to report that our yard now looks like this:

Shouldn’t have removed the wire…

 

Getting a quote tonight for interlocking brick…