Nervous Lemons

I should probably 'fess up and say that this painting of mine is greatly influenced by a painting by Colin Wally titled Lemons and Limes.

Basil Doesn't Rhyme with Hazel

At least in my books it doesn't - but it seems to be 50/50 split. I think it should sound more like the Basil in Basil Rathbone not Bayzel. In Latin it's Basilicum. The Italians call it Basilico. The purple variety I have, ocimum basilicum, is instantly redolent of an Italian trattoria. Yum. Here's a series of pronunciations via Forvo.

Victoria Day in My Garden

Not much going on in my garden yet. Layers of green but not not many blooms. That's how it always is in my 17- foot-wide garden. The weather was perfect. Here's some shots of from the Victoria Day Weekend.

Not Dark Yet...

Happy 69th Birthday, Mr. Bob.


Milton Glaser, 1967

Busy Old Fool, Unruly Sun - Rave on John Donne

This is what my husband said to me upon waking.

This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.

We could do with a small fridge up here.

Not my bed. Image found at www.maisonapart.com

Sold

My parent's house. I moved in the day after my 3rd birthday. I'll be saying goodbye to it the day before my 48th.

Roncesvalles

Yesterday I fell upon the word "Ronces". After translating it, I found that the word Ronces means  Brambly and Valles - Valley. So Roncesvalles, the predominant street in my Toronto neighbourhood, means Brambly Valley.  I think that's very cool. But ever since I was old enough to be cognizant of Toronto street names, I felt that  Roncesvalles Avenue was most likely pronounced incorrectly.  Most Torontonians pronounce it "Ron-sez-veils".

Colonel Walter O'Hara was an early settler who owned the tract of land comprising our neighbourhood. In 1813 he fought in Spain at the Battle of Roncesvalles, taking an active part against Napoleon's army.  After 1850 O'Hara divided up his land and was responsible for naming the streets. He named the main artery "Roncesvalles" after the battle he had been in.  Parallel Sorauren Avenue was also named after a battle in which O'Hara was present. Constance, Geoffrey and Marion were named after family members. Fern Avenue used to be called Ruth after his daughter and Grenadier was once called Walter Street after his son.

When I moved into the neighbourhood I wondered if one should just call it Roncesvalles or throw in the Spanish "TH" and the fricative Y-sound and pronounce it "Ron-theth-vayes". I had a polyglot Czech friend who couldn't cope with the Canadian pronunciation so he called it "Ronces-val" and let it tail off at the end. My mother-in-law always threw in an extra N just to spice it up. A lot of people call it by its nickname "Roncey". Google Translate and Forvo.com pronounce it Ron-sis-VAY-es. But no one would know what I was talking about if I pronounced it correctly which led me to wonder if  the 19th-Century inhabitants pronounced it en español.

Now if only the  neighbourhood could come to a consensus on how Geoffrey and MacDonnell are supposed to be pronounced. Really - why would a Scotsman pronounce his name MacDon-Elle - I ask you?

Top picture - a mural on Roncesvalles found on travelpod.com
Bottom picture - a mural in my neighbourhood by Joey Devilla on Flickr

A Freudian Slip for Mother's Day

"A Freudian Slip is when you say one thing... but mean your mother."

                           Happy Mother's Day to all!

His Royal Purpleness

Wait for it... at about the 3:35 mark Prince appears and reminds me that despite his flakiness that he is a great guitar player. That is George Harrison's son Dhani.

Prince bought a house in Toronto in 2004. I think he's still here - I haven't heard that he moved. It's just off the Bridle Path. I heard a clip on CBC Radio, when they were asking for "brushes with fame", from a middle-aged fellow who said he and his teen-aged son used to jam at a Yorkville bar; he played guitar and his son drummed. Prince jumped on stage unannounced and joined them. Dad bowed and gave up the spotlight and let his son bask in the experience of drumming with Prince.

You know - I was going to place the video of the half-time show here but Prince wants all unauthorized clips of him taken of Youtube. The performance can be viewed here at dailymotion.com if you're curious.