Julia Child

Bring on the roasted potatoes!

Comfort Food

Tonight Bill baked penne with three kinds of sausage and sweet peppers. When it came out of the oven he called me in to take an official picture. Yum!

One hot Italian, two Great Canadian and one wild boar sausage -- all from Sanagan's Meats in Kensington Market. Romano and smoked mozzarella cheeses -- Bill has found this very tasty mozzarella at Cheese Magic next door to Sanagan's. Red, yellow and orange sweet peppers in tomato sauce.

Bill served it up with swiss chard. It was fun having different kinds of sausage. Good Yuletide grub.

Ed Hanley Restrapping a Tabla

Our friend Ed Hanley, tabla player in Autorickshaw made this fun video. That's Ed on the soundtrack.

Our Home Featured on Etsy

Christine Domanic of Etsy just posted a profile about Bill and my apartment on her Etsy decorating blog: "Get the Look Decor". Not all that stuff is ours -- some of the details are ads linking to various Etsy sites, but it's a nice profile. http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2012/get-the-look-decor-the-artists-library/

Two Goyas

 On our last visit to the Met Bill and I had time to have a good look at this popular Goya. I see from the tag that it is now only attributed to Goya. Majas on a Balcony, c. 1810. Oil on canvas

Below Goya's Manuel Osorio Manrique de Zuñiga, 1784-1792 

Philip Guston and Mark Tansey

 Wandering aimlessly through the Met, Bill and I descended into one of the modern painting galleries.

 Bill sat down in front of the Philip Guston. I didn't know the other painter.

This is wonderful. What a nice surprise.

 We didn't "get" Guston until we saw a wonderful show of his drawings a few years ago at the Morgan. Now we love his stuff. 

Anish Kapoor at the Met

 The more of Anish Kapoor's work we see, the more interested we become in his work. So we were delighted to find a magnificent one on our last visit to the Met.

 The Met hung one of Kapoor's reflective discs adjacent to one of El Anatsui's hangings. Good idea.

 We recently learned that El Anatsui never supervises the installation of his pieces -- he leaves it up to the institution. Nice job. (El Anatsui, Dusasa II, 2007. Found aluminum, copper wire and plastic discs)

 It was impossible to get close to the Kapoor. It always had a gaggle of admirers

taking pictures

and gazing at their own reflections.

Anish Kapoor, Untitled, 2007. Stainless steel

Bernini, Sculpting in Clay

During our stay in NYC in October John and I enjoyed an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They were showing Baroque Italian sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini's clay models for his commissions in Rome.

His marble sculpture, Bacchanal: A Faun Teased by Children (ca. 1616-17) greets the visitor at the entrance of the exhibition.

Photography was forbidden but as you can see visitors, myself included, simply can't resist recording the experience. That's a terracotta study for the drinking lion from the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi in the foreground.

This is a study for one of the River Gods from the same fountain.

And here's my photo of the fountain in the Piazza Navona from our visit to Rome in 2010.

I loved this terracotta study by a contemporary of Bernini's; Sea Deity with Dolphin (ca. 1652-53, attributed to Antonio Raggi).

Equally thrilling is this early study for Angel with the Superscription (ca 1667-68)

and here is my photo of the final version in marble

which was commissioned for the Ponte Sant'Angelo in Rome.

The Royal Winter Fair

John and I had a great time at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair today. It has lots of elements of the Fall Fairs that we experienced in our youth. 

The vegetable competitions for instance  

with the giant pumpkins and squashes 

 and tubers.

This gent was great at presenting his collection of exotic animals. 

The Future of Agriculture won first prize in butter sculpture. 

I liked this charming, standing pig. 

John said this sweet sleeper reminded him of me during one of my afternoon naps. Animal pleasure.

These young men were presenting prize sheep for their photoshoots. 

Don't you love sheep heads and faces?

 Does anybody know the answer? I didn't check. Is this a trick question?

I caught farmers leading their cattle to waiting cattle trucks.

It was the last day of the Royal Winter Fair after all. 

These young ladies were in love with this patient pony. 

 As always we found lovely steeds and riders in the Horse Palace.

After a lovely visit, I led the way home through the Prince's Gate and along Coronation Park.

Reta's New Home

John and I got up before dawn yesterday morning and caught an 8am bus to St Catharines to help move   furniture and clothes into the new home of my Mom, Reta.

It was a foggy and mild morning along the Queen Elizabeth Way.

We walked from the bus station along St Paul Street until it turned into Niagara Street. We always enjoy the vernacular architecture of St Catharines. 

Niagara Street has two stand-out disused service stations. 

John loved the facade of the Social Ease Dance Studio.

At last we arrived at Reta's new home, Niagara Gardens Manor.

She was pleased to pose with her handsome moving crew; grandsons, Ryan and Craig and great-grandson, Ryan.

Here's Ryan sitting in the hall during a break checking his text-mail.

Reta was looking good in a new pixie-cut and pleased and thankful to have her favourite furniture and the help of her team-Kimber helpers.