May 2026 – slightly weird

Friday, 29 May, 2026

Yesterday I dug into my stored enthusiasm and energy to do a mini-explore. The plan was to check out a small neighbourhood, then pop into the supermarket, then on to my friend Judy’s place nearby for a coffee.

I have a memory of being south of King Street one day, driving. I rarely drive in the city so this is vague. Down there was what I thought was a hidden Toronto, a time portal, a place where nothing had changed. In my memory, this was several narrow streets with old but beautiful homes, and factories. Things have really changed down there, and I would often look for those streets, and they weren’t there. I thought maybe I’d imagined them, but more likely and sadly, they were gone, eaten up by developers and skyscrapers.

Then I heard about Draper Street. My brother visited it a couple of years ago with my niece. All I knew was that there were old homes, almost buried among the new buildings. I took a quick look on Google Maps, but not too closely. I wanted to see this in person. It took me until yesterday to do that.

If this is what I remember, then it’s a small part, but it’s there. There are 28 nineteenth-century row cottages, now protected on this Heritage site. Toronto bustles; the traffic is notoriously jammed and noisy, and skyscrapers are going up everywhere with no end in sight – commercial and residential. Draper Street is indeed that time portal, what’s left of it. This was a workers’ housing area when it was built between 1886-1889. The street itself was first noted on a map from 1883. I doubt the street looked then as it does today. Yesterday it was colourful, bathed in sunlight, green in the finally-Spring day, and dotted with flowers. I found a listing for one of the workers’ cottages – 1100-1500sq ft – which sold for about $2,000,000 Canadian – 1,448,090 USD, 1,077,250 UKP. I would have guessed much higher, based on condo prices, and perhaps it is by now.

Draper Street row cottages. You can just see the students who were visiting

Draper Park, built after two cottages were torn down. 2026 encroaches at the back. Dizzy, a plump orange and white cat, was a popular fixture on Draper Street. Now he is a permanent one in Draper Park

When I arrived, the street was empty. Then a school group arrived. Their teacher asked them, What do you notice about this street after what we’ve seen so far? It’s quiet, said one teen, and that was pretty much it. I hoped there would be more, but the class was doing a scavenger hunt where it was their job was not to collect objects but facts. They moved on. I followed for a short while to see what they’d be shown next, but then turned away as we were suddenly travelling back to 2026.

Wellington Street, a little old, a lot new

A tree-lined walkway along Wellington Street

Along Wellington Street, it’s clearly 2026 for the most part. This area was once a centre of industry. There’s not a lot left, although there’s more a short walk away in the Niagara district. I did spot the old Copp Clark building at 517 Wellington Street West.

Copp Clark was originally a newspaper publishing venture, lithography, printing, bookbinding and stationery shop of Mr. Hugh Scobie. He was an energetic, ambitious young Scotsman who founded the business that would become Canada’s oldest continuously running book publisher. Copp Clark now specialises in information targeted to the needs of businesses in the global financial markets. It’s now headquartered in Etobicoke, a suburb of Toronto.

West from here is Victoria Memorial Square Park by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe. It’s a combination cemetery, park and memorial area. Before Toronto was a city, from 1794 to 1863 it was the burial place for Fort York (the Toronto Garrison) . In the 1880s the ground was levelled. Some of the surviving gravestones are kept here, and there’s a monument to the War of 1812 erected in 1902.

Salvaged gravestones and more scavenging teens

Down to Judy’s where it’s tall and modern. No energy to look around. We had coffee and cake and talked about this and that. This was our first home when we returned from London so it’s all familiar. Still, perhaps a little modern exploration is in the future.

Fleet Street, the streetcar stop for Judy’s. It’s all condos here until you cross to the housing Co-Op where I’d have coffee

Stadium Road. It’s the home of the historic Maple Leaf Stadium, now long gone. The Maple Leafs were Toronto’s baseball team (Now it’s the name of the hockey team). Babe Ruth was an early player, and his first ever home run was hit from here. Legend says it landed in the lake (Lake Ontario) at the bottom of the street

On the way back, there were lots of people on the street on Ossington Avenue (“The Strip). The weather was sunny and warm with no humidity. Torontonians go through long winters and cool Springs thinking of days like this

Back home. The restaurant has started setting out furniture on the side patio for the summer. On Wednesday, business will shift to the back

The lovage is growing so quickly. Time to pick more!

Getting the back patio ready for Wednesday. They’ve been sanding and varnishing natural wood planks and hanging and arranging flowers and plants

Why new style (styleeee, GenZ)? These days explorations are brief and not frequent. I know I’m stronger than I was and going further, but I’m not there yet. I’m doing what I can, when I can, and I hope it gets easier. In the meantime, I tell myself, You’re doing your best, Jan.

FRIDAY(ISH) PHOTOS (Life as it is) Scroll down if you’re an Old Man fan

There’s some advanced al fresco dining at the side now – end of May

From the back. The tarpaulin is up and there’s growth in the Old Man”s garden – end of May

Look who it is. Slowly but faithfully, things are getting done. The Old Man – end of May

Sunday, 10 May, 2026

(Admin: Live! is updated here)

I have so many photos and so little to say, really. Yet I always manage to say a lot. A friend told me I might say too much – well, that’s a bit of misquote, but it refers to my entire family’s predilection for stream of consciousness speaking and, in my case, writing. Ho hum. Should I apologise? Not really, but I will say that, for my cancer journey, especially, I am writing as much for myself and my recovery and survivorship as to entertain or educate. It’s just one reason I kept it separate. I am very conscious of my habit of speaking aloud what I’m doing or thinking. I don’t suppose I will change, but I do my best not to overdo it, and I acknowledge this every day. For those who read me, or listen to me, sorry not sorry applies. This is who I am.

Shopping for tulips. Proof (to me, at least) that I do get out

We have a friend. He was Krish’s closest friend in high school and we still see him a few times a year. He’s a quiet soul but with definite opinions. He’s also gay. This has been a curiosity for Krish, who asks, was he always? Yes, I say. Hmm. I love that his partner is his opposite. Not loud, but vocal, doesn’t care much what you think of him or his lifestyle. It’s an interesting dynamic. Yesterday we went to his birthday dinner at his chosen restaurant. Krish and I don’t like the food, but I said it was about the birthday boy, not us. WheelTrans picked us up an hour late, and we raced (can I even do that?) in, then needed to leave before the cake had appeared. Damn. The only straight people there, this time we found someone to chat to. Interesting guy. Maybe we can meet again.

My feta, zaatar and spinach scone with a macchiato at Field Trip. For those carb-shunners who read my blog, it’s worth the walk. One of my favourite spots for coffee in the neighbourhood

I lived in San Francisco in 1969, and my best friends were a bunch of gay men who lived next to us. We shared a back porch, and we crossed it at will. Chats, communal dinners, even sleepovers were common. It was a good city to be gay. Toronto in the early 70s was that place too. There was no overtly gay village, but it did exist more loosely in its current location. My husband’s boss owned a gay nightclub in the area, and we often went to support them. We even helped with the food table they’d put out as part of admission. They infamously used dog food for pate – I’m serious. I’d dish it out. In those days, I loved the cabaret. Now I can’t be bothered with it. We made many friends, some infamous, some famous, and we lost them. My family reads my blog, so I’ll be discreet and say we also lost a family member whose gender would now be considered pansexual. Did we know that? I know I did, but then my life experience helped. Other people in my life helped me get there. I’ll leave their stories out for now. Anyway, no time for photos of Toronto’s gay village this time, but I’ll be back there in early June to catch up.

So excited to see things starting to bloom. Soon it will be overgrown like winter never happened

There’s news. The Old Man is alive! We both saw him, or what we thought and hoped was him, walking to the bus stop with a cane. No WheelTrans for him! We kept looking out the back window, and still the garden remained untouched. I told Krish that Torontonians often don’t plant until what’s called the May Two-Four weekend (so called because it’s the date around which the holiday falls and the Canadian slang for a case of twenty-four beers (a “two-four”) the most popular drink for the weekend, and to take to cottage country (more about that in a minute). Before that, frost is a deterrent. People plant seedlings to take out once the danger has passed, or they buy small pots of vegetables and herbs to start their own gardens (again). But they’re usually preparing their gardens before that – tilling, filling in the soil, planning out their patches. We had seen nothing. This week, that changed. Someone was out there turning the soil and then sowing seeds. Certainly not the Old Man judging by their energy, but perhaps a child or a friend. We hope he’ll be out there himself when the work isn’t so heavy and we look forward to following our own personal next-door drama.

Meanwhile, they are hard at work getting the restaurant patio ready for the summer season, which will begin in June. Yesterday, on our way in from the birthday dinner, I could see right into the restaurant. I normally pass it in the day and it’s not really visible. I was surprised at how modern and sophisticated it looks in there. The back garden patio is another story. It’s what Krish calls Muskoka style. For the uninitiated, Muskoka is north of Toronto in an area people here call cottage country, where people have summer cottages near the lakes and park forests. In the restaurant’s backyard, there are plants, wood chips, wood stoves, fire logs, and the like. If you’ve been to cottage country, it’s logical. There are no lakes, but there will certainly be mosquitoes.

The chef-owner, Justin, is from Actinolite, hence the name of his restaurant. Actinolite is not Muskoka County. It’s considerably south of there. Actinolite can sound romantic if you only know the restaurant, but it’s named after the form of asbestos that was mined in the area. Ouch.

The staff, mostly Justin, is getting the side and back of the restaurant ready for summer. There are planters and the herb gardens that border the seating area are growing. The most favoured herb is lovage. It began sprouting about a week ago and has grown so quickly that it shocked me. We’re invited to pick any herb we want, and we used a lot of lovage during our last stay here. It tastes like celery leaves but without the bitterness.

Lovage on 10 May. This much growth in less than a week!

Justin filling the planters at the side. It was like a meditation

Industry downstairs. A steady pounding of something on the left, like cracking open nuts. On the right, a good fire and earnest conversation

Today is Mothers Day here, and I’ll meet my son, Robin, at the Waterworks, which is a food hall in his general area, in Toronto’s Fashion District where once all the tailors could be found. I’ll add photos. Our meeting is not about Mothers Day, but just because. When I told my autistic son I wasn’t sure where to meet because everywhere would be busy today, his response was ‘Why will it be busy?’ I’m used to it.

(Later) My visit with my son was great. We went to Waterworks, a lovely building, which I thought I’d documented before and need to look at more closely again before saying more. My lunch was dreadful, but who cares? (What I do care about is not having taken a photo of us together.) The day exhausted me – I did a lot more than I thought I could. That’s a good thing. So is mother and son time.

Waterworks Food Hall, Brant Street, Toronto. We once rented a condo that overlooked this building before it was refurbished. Loved that condo!

How the food hall looks when you first enter. It’s airy and not overcrowded. A nice change from mall food halls

Looking towards Spadina Avenue from Waterworks. This is the Fashion District of Toronto

Friday Photos:

Month: May 2026

Explorations are new styleeee

Not much yet so much