A New Sign

I made this sandwich board myself, from scratch. I like it. Now lets see if it is effective.

Summer Night's Laughs

Thank the universe for our love of dark humour. This one took me a few seconds:

"....and aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the show?"

A Lesson in How Not To Be A Man of Substance

This story is a sad one, for me. It might not be the best business-like approach to tell you, but I think people need to know how not to behave:
A consignor came in yesterday, after vanishing for 2 and a half years, to claim his share. I looked up his file, and recapped what I paid him then for the items I sold, and what was left at the shop for all these years and did not sell - I said I gave it away eventually since no one wanted to buy it even from the $5 bin.
He got angry.
Let me explain what these things were: an old red polyester pyjama (he thought it was silk) and an old red sweater.
The man said - you have to pay me for them. I guess these things were so dear to him he forgot them at my shop for close to 3 years.
I wanted him out of there. To cut it short I said - lets assume someone did buy them from the $5 bin, which they didn't - I'll pay you for that. He didn't like that either. I gave him $5. For donating his old pyjamas.
He took the money. Thanks for nothing, he said at the door.
Shame, I guess, is not in his repertoire.

White Cherries - Summer Treats

The most succulent, sweat and juicy cherries I've ever tasted. The little Chinese man at the grocery store around the corner was absolutely right about them - they are the best, he said, you'll love them.

Africa, Oh Africa

Today we went to Africa - or so it seemed in Woodbine Park.
Music, fragrant spicy foods, goods with colour and substance, and a magical mix of people. This is the beauty of Toronto - the world is here.

Bring Good Luck, Little Fellow

In the shop, on this hot afternoon, this butterfly came to rest for a short while:

Rockport Shoes Rock

OMG - readers with shoes size 12 who love good solid walking shoes need to come here asap - I just got a fantastic collection of perfect condition shoes of excellent brand names: Rockport, Ecco, Williams, and L.L. Bean.
I LOVE SHOES - everyone who knows me knows this to be true. Sadly my size is considerably smaller, so I leave them for my good customers to enjoy.
My favourite today:

Moonrises and Waltzes - Summer Movie Review

The amount of movies coming out regularly is staggering, but the good ones are so very rare. Why is that? we know money is no guarantee for quality, and neither is star power.
Anyway, whatever the formula, one thing is true - good writing is always at the root of them all.
Moonrise Kingdom is the best of the crop at the moment - a solid, funny, smart and effective story that keeps moving along at a summery pace, packed with little visual and literal surprises that warm our hearts and remind us of our own past dreams and unlived adventures, family craziness, and the simplicity of life in the summers of our youth, before technology invaded every aspect imaginable.

Then there is Take This Waltz - a Canadian production, filmed in Toronto's familiar downtown streets and neighbourhoods. It's like watching a Tourism Ontario promotional video, starring Michelle Williams, for 2 hours.
The visuals are stunning, both Toronto and Michelle never looked better than through the lens of Sarah Poly. Beautiful eyes, luminous skin, graceful body and lips to die for, and the lovely decrepitness of those Victorian houses we know so well, the beaches and markets - but all that beauty is not enough to save us from wondering why we are watching this predictable story. We are bogged with that familiar nagging question: "are we there yet?" every 5 minutes or so in the last 45 minutes. The soundtrack is also very Canadian and lovely, which helps but - we know from the title that Leonard Cohen's song is bound to resonate, and when at last his comforting voice comes on, when the credits start to roll, all we want it to be released.