Like every summer, the end of August means that it’s time for the Canadian National Exhibition, the CNE. For two weeks the Exhibition grounds come alive with games, rides, food, exhibits, concerts, and other events. Here are some photos from opening day last Friday.
Kitsch. Such a great word. From the Merriam-Webster dictionary: ” kitsch, the various bits and bobs of popular culture—fuzzy dice, plastic flamingos, cartoon-themed plastic lunchboxes, etc.—that enjoy widespread popularity but don’t hold much cultural esteem.”
And where is a great place to find fine examples of these bits and bobs? A thrift store. Maybe you’ll recognize one or two of them!
below: A snail on a bare baby fairy bum and bears playing accordions, oh the things that people will collect! The bears are from Cherished Teddies which were very big in the 1990s. There were a vast number of them for all occasions, all seasons, and all ages.
below: Can you read this little piggy’s expression? I am afraid that is confuses me, …but the coffee cups are nice. I made a small mistake and googled this image – to my horror, you can get a 12 piece pig/piglet set with the pigs in different “cute” poses, of which this is one, for about Cdn $80 on Ebay. Google it as your peril!
below: This one almost came home with me! The glass that is, not the frog. Sorry Mr. Frog.
below: More confusion – she’s kinda cute in a kitschy kind of way. The little person at her feet though – is this a mother and child? Or is this an angel watching over a child? Mother Nature dressed in lavender and feathers?
below: Wise advice, especially if it comes with glittery pink cowboy boots!
below: He’s not listening; he’s not taking good advice…. he needs to buy some shoes….
below: Another anthropomorphic animal…. a long eared rabbit this time. She’s wearing a hat and a dress and very blue footwear. She’s also wearing a surprised expression that makes you wonder what the goose said or did.
below: I’ve got one hand in my pocket and the other’s carrying something blue….
below: A smart purchase! A steal at $3.99
below: All that Mardi wanted was to be gras…..
below: Maybe it’s the hair? …. but I suspect that no one is going to mistake me for Wonder Woman!
below: Not really kitsch, but that’s a lot of weird looking bikini undies!
Have fun! And maybe find a bargain or two while you’re at it!
It’s early April and we’re all tired of winter but it lingers on. How are you coping? Yes, you!
below: Is this wishful thinking? or maybe just a little too optimistic?
below: Spring is in the air? They forgot the question mark. Is the cat reacting to the disconnect between the sign and the reality? … or maybe its expression is because it’s just realized that it’s sitting beside a book about Justin Trudeau?
These were the only signs of spring that I saw yesterday as I walked although I noticed that someone was trying to cheer things up. Not sure how long these have been sitting outside. They’re looking a little weather worn and grubby. Hope may be wearing a bit thin?
below: Elsewhere yellow birdies were playing hockey.
Spring was elusive but what I did spot were a couple of stikmen that I don’t remember seeing before. I also noticed more smiley hearts popping up in unexpected places again. First, some of the hearts…
below: Cool Woodstock makes an appearance too (a yellow birdie of a different kind). I don’t think she’s too happy to have a bird sitting on her head.
below: The guitar player is now playing with heart.
And the stikmen….
below: Instead of wooden, this stikman is a drawing in a frame.
below: Is that a little orange head of a stikman in the bent frame?
….. and then back inside for some warmth!
I will leave you with one last look at a window full of yellow chicks and Easter bunnies, hope for spring (Hope springs eternal? Hopes of spring are eternal?).
A small collection of a few of the things that I’ve noticed over the past while.
Pictures of little things that haven’t found a home yet.
below: It’s not two people each riding an old fashioned bike even though that’s probably the first thing that you think of when you see it. It’s one bike with two wheels and two riders going in different directions. Going nowhere probably. Seen in the front window of Tandem Coffee on King Street East.
below: Don’t just peer out the window, get outside and be a part of the world. There’s so much to be seen!
below: Love letter to a bike.
below: The mannequins on the balcony in Kensington are now gold!
below: I’ve seen a couple of these images now. This one is a paste-up on a black metal box near Bloor & Borden. I’ve also seen another painted on hoardings around a construction site, possibly on Bathurst Street. There was a similar image on the wall of Honest Ed’s but this one has a bit more detail in it, especially the hair.
below: A small sticker, slightly creepy, almost as if the poor girl is being stalked.
below: An old clock hiding under a newer sign, forgotten. Stopped long ago.
below: It looks like Mary’s been discounted.
below: Always good advice! Painted in pink on a window that catches the afternoon sun and makes interesting shadows on the blind behind.
below: Take one ball, a stool, and paint and add some imagination – a unique garden ornament to brighten the day of passers by.
below: Decorative tiles on the front of a brick building on Yonge Street (two photos).
below: I wonder what the T stands for?
below: Keep your eyes open and you’ll be surprised too!
Today I’m going to end with the photo below. To me it encapsulates the idea that photographers can be a weird bunch. Somewhere out there someone has a close up photo of these pipes and dials. It’s probably a great picture! …. because if they hadn’t been there, I may have taken the same picture. Instead I took a picture of the photographer in action. Never stop seeing.
Never stop noticing.
as I walk Toronto 