cycling

Jul. 21st, 2014 01:16 pm
avrelia: (Default)
Cycling brings me the pleasure of freedom – I am alone – moving fast – wind swishes – and intense nostalgia for Toronto. I used to cycle in Russia, of course, and I cycle now, but only in Toronto I had this magical feeling of a big city disappearing as soon as I am in the saddle. All those hidden trail where it was always summer (well, try to cycle there in winter!), all the ups and down, vodka in my backpack (cycling was the fastest way to get to LCBO), or trip down to the lake and back...

an illustration: 10 years ago, after cycling all the way down from Eglinton

 photo 20040801-p8010025.jpg

I don't cycle much now, not with the baby, but I enjoy every little moment of it. Alas, yesterday nobody thought to make a picture ;)
avrelia: (Лошадка)
I go with Daniel to a swimming pool where he is taught to swim. Well, they don't actually teach babies to swim, but to get used to water, blow bubbles, kick and splash and jump in the water. D. loves it, and I love that he loves it. The interesting moment in the whole swimming is that all classes in community swimming pools are thought by teenagers. Or early-early twenties who look like teenagers. It didn't feel strange when our class was taught by a girl, but now it is a boy, extremely young looking boy, and I suddenly look so old by comparison... Weird feeling.

Also: my mom is here, and I enjoy a vacation from 24/7 child care. Yay!
avrelia: (Rowan)
When did it happen that half of December has gone away? In my mind it is still the very beginning, but then I look at the calendar, and see that it is well past its middle, and the next week it's Christmas holidays already. We spent most November taking turns in having a cold, and now we seem to be in the clear. As most people in our part of the world we are covered in snow, which means I can hardly get anywhere with Son, but without a car. No stroller can get through these mountains, and no 15-months toddler, either. Right now, Son is jumping and playing in his crib, and I am hoping he'll fall asleep any minute now, so I could go about my business. He just learned to walk on his toes and I am falling in the floor from laughter looking at him.

I look in the window, and I see vast expanses of Mississauga covered in snow. It's nice there. We have a park nearby, and a creek with ducks on it (guess who is a great fan of ducks?), and a community centre with a library, a gym and a swimming pool. Today we bought a baby sled and went for a walk - all three of us; the day was a perfect winter day, and we've had a jolly good time in the snow. Except for Son - he didn't appreciate being in the snow yet. He liked the sled though. Besides humans one can see lots of animals around - we see squrrels, baby raccoons, cardinals, rabbits, and - attention - a snake. In a meter distance from me with a stroller. I froze and waited till it went away, then ran to the Internet to find out that it was a harmless garter snake, and this area doesn't have venomous snakes anyway...

All these nice things nonwithstanding, I miss Toronto. I miss the city-ness, the crowd, the subway, everything I got used to in five years. The differences isn't huge, but it is there, and it feels so strange... Trips to Toronto are now a bug adventure, and it's hard to make myself to go - but if I go, I spend teh whole day there, enjoying the crowds. ;)

ok, Daniel is asleep, gotta run!
avrelia: (Sunpearl)
We are home from our road trip. Toronto looks positively homey, and this is a nice feeling. The last two days (since tuesday evening when we arrived) we were doing mostly nothing, but now I am starting to feel the need to do useful things - after all, I had plan to clean up both the apartment and the computer, and many other plans for which I never have time usually. But the inevitable return to work makes me sad already...

we liked the trip very much, though P. found both Boston and New York too much like Moscow - not something I object since I love Moscow.

the good time was had though - we walked, we wandered, we shopped, we ate in strange places, we spent lots of time in subways and buses, we made pictures. Pictures that have to be uploaded.

I got to do the most touristy thing ever - to climb the Empire State Building. I've never ever felt the smallest inclination to climb Ostankino TV Tower in Moscow or the CN Tower in Toronto... but here it goes... It cost me two hours of standing in line and money I could spend on shoes and books, but I feel accomplished and don't regret it.

I did buy two pairs of shoes, though I didn't planned it.. and a handbag (I was looking for one), and 6 books. and 6 t-shirts for presents and some other stuff. I most happy about books. Canadian dollar is on the rise, but book prices are the same and buying in US makes total sense at the moment.

my favourite finds are: The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker and How to read a Poem by Terry Eagleton, both bought at Harvard Co-op bookstore, where we spent several very pleasant hours...

while driving, the fate proved several times that the line we are in moves the slowest. In heavy traffic it could be explained by mistake in perception, but at the Canadian border it really was the slowest - in all other lines cars hardly stopped to show the documents, but in ours every car took 5 or so min to move into Canada. Of course, we had the maniac officer who asked the strangest questions like Whom did we meet in NY? and How can we prove we were there?

anyway. all was good, and we are home now!

I have received cards from [livejournal.com profile] asta77, [livejournal.com profile] swsa, [livejournal.com profile] janedavitt, and [livejournal.com profile] masterslady, for which I am thankful, as they made my return even sweeter!

Hope everyone is having great time and I wish a very belated birthday to [livejournal.com profile] swsa!
avrelia: (Sunpearl)
Why was not the weather this nice over the weekend? oh well. I still managed to do some jogging - not that it would make a difference. and I slept rather well - but later about that.

Since I posted the last time, I've got a wonderful and totally unexpected gift of two paid month! Thank you, dear anonymous and sorry I didn't get to post it earlier! /hugs the world with you in it

The autumn is getting even more beautiful in the last days. I was jogging at the cemetery and there was no one but me and squirrels seen around, the rain drizzled, and leaves were falling... mmm, pretty. I wanted to grab a camera and return today to make pictures, but then decided that going to cemetery today is lame, and stayed home having dinner instead.

I think I am getting to love Toronto. I liked it well enough before, but walking around on Sunday (and wasting my fresh salary on pretty clothes from Nepal) and felt all warm and fuzzy about the city... I still love Moscow the most, of course, but this is not a zero-sum game. I can love a lot of places.

Getting more up-to-date with my TV watching - finally caught an episode of Heroes. Spent most of the time figuring who is who and what is going on. Same with Veronica Mars - I mean, I watched the first two seasons, so I know most of it, but the problems at hand are confusing. Still, it's shiny.

I also have watched Torchwood. I enjoyed watching it, and though I have some problems with it, and some questions, I am going to watch it more and think and - it's been awhile since I wanted to discuss a TV show. I like this feeling.

Finally, I wish a very happy birthday to [livejournal.com profile] musing_mia!

Profile

avrelia: (Default)
avrelia

May 2025

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
1819 2021222324
25262728293031

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated May. 29th, 2025 03:29 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios