Celebrations

partrioticplanters
Originally uploaded by amkb

Anna: Yesterday we had a full day of celebrations. I've uploaded photos in a Canada Day flickr set, some of which are also in my updated The Works Festival set - that festival ended on Canada Day.

Canada Day

We left too late, couldn't find a parking spot, and so got a really, really bad view of the fireworks..


Test shot to make sure the focus and shutter are right; if you notice the river boat, *that*'s about where we should have been :P

k.. the last picture refuses to actually *go* below the others, so it's staying here.

Reunited

Anna: After almost 4 years and a side trip to the east coast, we have finally been reunited with our piano!

The movers had one heck of a time getting it up the stairs to our door. It took six guys, and they were all huffing and puffing by the time it was over. An upright grand is considerably bigger and heavier than a regular upright.

And here it is, half opened up. The front panel under the keyboard comes off, too. If you click on the photo for full size, you can see a problem.

Over on the left, lying above the keyboard, is one of the hammers. As soon as everything we settled in, one of my daughters started running through the keys and discovered there was no sound coming from a B flat key. We opened it up to look, and my other daughter found the hammer lying inside.

I called the owner back soon after we discovered this. When they checked the piano over before picking it up, no one opened it up to look inside. It was wrapped with padding and straps the entire time it was in the truck, so it's hard to know when or how it broke. I'm currently waiting to verify that it wasn't broken before they picked it up. It seems a strange place for a hammer to break - it's the 14th key from the end - but I wouldn't know one way or the other.

Still, it's good to finally have it with us. There's a lot of history connected with this piano. We just have to find someone who can fix it for us.

Now I have to go digging into the storage closet and bring out my old music books. :-D

Cool Catfish

feature4292
Originally uploaded by amkb

Anna: Today we took in the advance opening event for passholders at the Muttart Conservatory. This was one of our favorite places to visit and take photos until they shut down for renovations. Full set available for viewing here.

Muttart features 4 glass pyramids. Three feature different climates, while the forth is a show pyramid that changes every few months to a new theme. For the grand opening, the theme is, quite appropriately, "All Jazzed Up." This photo is of the central decoration in the show pyramid.

They did a grand job renovating the place! Now that we've moved, it's a handy walk through some parks and across the river on a pedestrian bridge. We look forward to visiting often! :-D

the Muttart Reborn :)

Pass holder day today; general opening tomorrow. I'm thinking I might be going a little more in the next bit :)
(EDIT)
- Blogspot is refusing to actually line up these pics, so they're messed up.. I, of course, won't be using the type of language I'd like to describe my appreciation for this software...

Fried

deepfried
Originally uploaded by amkb

Anna: The girls and I have been taking in The Works Art and Design Festival downtown. I've started up a set of photos you can see here.

Going past the food booths, we saw a sign for deep fried Oreos. I know deep frying unusual foods is popular in some corners of the world, but really, who thinks up these combinations? LOL Of course, we had to try some.

They were ok. Nothing spectacular. Worth trying once, but not something we're interested in trying again.

Ultimate Father's day present

Not that I like pepper or anything.... ;)