Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Our Canada Day Weekend

What have we been doing?

Well, we visited two museums in two days, one of them free for Canada Day.  The first one had both a special exhibit of Egyptian replicas (all the classic stuff), and the Cosmopolis Toronto exhibit by photographer Colin Boyd Shafer. "Shafer set out on a yearlong journey (June 2013 – June 2014) to photograph someone born in every single country of the world who now calls Toronto home. For each person participating in the project, a portrait is taken of them in a place where they feel  ‘at home’. A second photograph features them holding an item that connects them to their birthplace." The personal objects, particularly, are so carefully chosen and photographed that they do seem to tell a thousand words. 

The museum had a map of the world on one wall, with red dots you could use to add your country of origin or ancestry.  Ponytails puzzled over where to put our dot, but settled for a point between Germany and France, because we are from "'everywhere."

The other museum is more about the history of this area--natural, industrial, ethnic, everything.  Most of the Squirrels hadn't been there since before it opened properly a couple of years ago.  (We had seen some of the exhibits before the official opening.)  It was really packed--both with Canada Day visitors taking advantage of free admission, and with permanent and special exhibits.  I would like to go back when it's quieter, and have another look at some of the photographs and artifacts.

We got pizza from our favourite place down the street where they don't mind making it with half one set of toppings, half another.  The advantage of "buy local" is that when I phone in the order, the owner asks if we want our usual half and half, and when I pick it up she wants to know if we're going to the fireworks tonight.

No, not this year.  But Mr. Fixit and I are entertaining ourselves by listening to an original 1957 boxed record set he bought for a dollar, Satchmo.
(Enthusiastic review of the reissued version here.)

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