All The Way

Last night we heard Toronto's "Swing Shift" orchestra at Humber College in a recording evening of their favourite tunes. This number was one of them, sung by a local singer who's voice I loved but unfortunately can't remeber the name.
Here's a good old version by a man who's ethics may have been lacking, but his dress style, hats and all, were not too bad. After all, that's what matters, right?

Weather Report - Sunny Days

The winter seems to really be gone now, and this blog demands updating the images.
It is gloriously sunny in Toronto. It's true that the garden is still covered with snow, and sitting outside is not pleasant, and I'm wearing a heavy coat and boots and gloves, and the shop is stock full of winter garments which men are still buying. It's all true.
Yet spring is really in the air, I can feel it. Faces are brightening up all around me.
I dusted my bike off, figuratively speaking, and despite the fact that my ears still freeze when I ride them hatless, when they are parked in all their decrepit glory beside the shop, people know I'm in.
I'm preparing for a trip during March break - the shop will most likely be closed for a week and a half while I'm busy gallivanting with my magnificent and gracious blood sisters in places far far away.

Snow, at last

For the first time this winter, at the very end of February, I had to shovel the sidewalk after a mild snowstorm.
One admits winter passes faster when there's less inconvenience of snow removal, salt-stained boots, bitter-cold air that hits your lungs as you come out of your cocoon. Still, it's been a strange winter.
We managed to go for a few x-country trips this year, and I'm getting a little braver each time, forcing my tense & scared body to put myself on the tracks and relax into a breezy slide down those gentle slopes. It's a mental exercise more than anything, so they say. If that's true, why do I feel every muscle I have for days after?
No, that's not someone I know in the following picture. I just like it...

V-Day

Here's to love.
May we all want it, get it, keep it, protect it, regard it, always.
I had a conversation with my mother a few days ago - she talked about her first love. She was 15 or so at the time it happened, and has not forgotten a thing, 65 years later. Love does not allow us to forget.

February - a month of gloom?

I resolve to not let it be.
January was not as bad as it could be, or used to be in the past. It could be the mild winter, or my new boots, or the fact that I got to do something I have not been able to do for 2 decades - make a dance, with dancers.
Yes, that must be it. It made me happy, but it also makes spending time in a quiet little shop a lot more challenging.

This is a different version of the music I used - it's much slower. When G.G. was younger he played it with a youthful vigor and dynamic that I still love.

Blindness and Earthquakes

I'm almost done reading Blindness by J. Saramago, and as I read I realize that the imaginary chaos and sense of doom in the book must be what people in Haiti are experiencing for real, now, and for a long time to come. For them life as they knew it has come to an end, and the future is even scarier.
I'm not sure yet how it all ends in the book, but when I read how they manage eventually to celebrate the very simplest things in life, precious, no longer taken for granted - such as a slow and tender toast of a crystal glass filled with fresh water, a quickly diminishing commodity, to the even rarer one of human kindness - I wonder how we lose track of these elements in our daily lives, and what price we pay for this neglect.

Perspectives

This week I feel lucky to cope with whatever life throws at me, in light of the tragic events in Haiti - everything fades in comparison, and the little, petty life issues we are dealing with here seem not to matter much in the greater scheme of things.

So when my kid needs assistance applying to universities, or money matters bog me down, and the ceiling in my kitchen crumbles, or any other small daily aches and pains bother me, all I need to do is shift my gaze to that unfortunate place, to know I am lucky.

Many people talk of late about their heartaches, these days many feel troubled by matters of relationships, and here are a couple of songs that can sum it all up pretty good:

Peter Gabriel and Robert Lepage in Come Talk To Me:

Barenaked Ladies in You Run Away:

Lhasa Is Dead!

This is the second time I post about an artist I admire, and shortly after they die. (No, I don't think it's deadly to be on my blog, I don't have such grandiose ideas).
Lhasa De Sella died of breast cancer at age 37. What a dreadful thing to hear this morning on my school run with the kids. It made me tear up.
I was looking forward to hearing more music from her. I love her voice. I did not know about her illness.
It makes me sad. Another beautiful voice lost to the world.

My New Title

This young aspiring journalist interviewed me (ok, so what if she's only 14) as her chosen subject for a project about immigrants. She later said I am the most interesting woman in Toronto. How can one refuse to be that? I just wish I knew what it was that I said that made her think that. I would use it to impress more people.
Here's a photo she took of me after the interview:
I guess I should have made an attempt at clearing my desk...

Merry Christmas

Happy holidays everyone.
I've had busy couple of days, which I love, and I'm very happy to have such a devoted group of customers who make a point of thinking about me at this busy time of year, coming to see me and spend some quality time and hard-earned money. Thank you.
This year has been challenging so perhaps it was a blessing that it passed so quickly. A new era is beginning next week. The future has arrived. Lets hope it's not as dismal as si-fi movies have been predicting for decades, that in fact we would be able to find the quiet simplicity which can make life more enjoyable. Here's something worth a toast. Lechayim!

Simply Fabulous

Joseph Aboud Jacket, hand knitted green sweater, white shirt to die for (details you wouldn't believe), silk bow tie, Ecco shoes, cuffed tailored wool gray pants, Fornazzetti pocket square, and that hat to finish it off. Wear this combination and you're worth being featured in the Sartorialist blog...

Motorcycle jacket with unique beaded details and very special buttons, J. Lindberg black skinny jeans, wool sweater crazy Argyle-like in pink and gray.
Embroidered white shirt, funky cotton jacket with a fun lining, classy and timeless wool scarf, belt buckle for the holidays.

Things You May Want To Buy

The shop is loaded with such great things. Yesterday a lovely woman came to do her xmas shopping for her son, and bought a beautiful Yamamoto shirt, a couple of Lacost shirts, and some other items. I love when that happens. It reaffirms my belief in what I do.
Here are some examples of what I have in stock - whoever gets these would be making a wise purchase:
Fabulous Gocci black formal suit (size 42 tall)
Harley Davidson black leather authentic jacket (XXL)
Green suade (Robin Hood green) Valentino shoes - fun and whimsical.
Oakley briefcase, olive green heavy duty nylon, with a removable shoulder strap and pouches.
Burberry trench coat
Etro raincoat
The North Face winter jacket
Classic silk house robe
Silk men's kimono
Etro ties

Ryan Larkin - Walking

Things you can stumble upon when idly surfing the net, such as this beauty - observation, exploration and admiration of the human walk, by Ryan Larkin (yes, the subject of the Oscar winning film 'Ryan').

Click on the post title to go to the NFB site.

Literary Cats

They are so smart they read the news with their eyes closed. They love the Globe and Mail.

Serge Gainsbourg

I forgot about him completely. His songs were quite popular back home in the old days. I like him better as a jazz pianist and a poet, in fact, than as a singer.
This one is quite lovely and light:



Here's another fun song of his (originally sung quite badly as a duet with Catherine Deneuve) done to perfection by Stacy Kent (a new one for me):