The heat is on, in more ways than one. The week started with record-breaking heat and humidex...
But we have been planning to re-occupy an apartment in Toronto for months. So we had 22 hours to load the rental van, drive to the city, unload, and get the van back.
The main floor seems huge and is mostly original from 1928. Formal dining room with French doors. A hallway long enough for a sprinter or a bowler or a curler! Smallish bathroom and kitchen, as was standard back then. But an enlarged master bedroom big enough to practice your polka.
But the place has been severely neglected in upkeep and cleaning. Lots of repairs, adjusting, replacements but mostly deep cleaning needed. All rooms painted, carpet steam cleansed. Pat could have used a flame thrower on the fridge and oven. All the windows grotty and all the grooves silted, to name a few. How can people live like that??
The heat wave was broken with torrential rain. The eavestroughs poured over, proving they had not been cleaned out either. And the keys were wonky, locking us out--- Pat found an emergency entrance.
So it will be a while yet before we can set up. 90-year-old maple strip floors have to be refinished and grungy kitchen vinyl has to be replaced, for example. But it's great to be back in the Beach in the summer. We love the multi-cultural, multi-national, multi-gentle vibe on the boardwalk. Family picnics featuring exotic aromas and decor. Little boys playing in the sand instead of being trapped in a flooded cave. Crowds enjoying the last rays of the day.
As Bruno Mars said, there's 24-carat magic in the air. There's a guitar out there, but the buskers now include drum kits and even a baby grand piano as you stroll by.
Even with all this work and distraction, a part of my soul is in Pamplona this week. I still run with them, my heart pounding as fast as my feet...Yay bulls!
But we have been planning to re-occupy an apartment in Toronto for months. So we had 22 hours to load the rental van, drive to the city, unload, and get the van back.
The main floor seems huge and is mostly original from 1928. Formal dining room with French doors. A hallway long enough for a sprinter or a bowler or a curler! Smallish bathroom and kitchen, as was standard back then. But an enlarged master bedroom big enough to practice your polka.
But the place has been severely neglected in upkeep and cleaning. Lots of repairs, adjusting, replacements but mostly deep cleaning needed. All rooms painted, carpet steam cleansed. Pat could have used a flame thrower on the fridge and oven. All the windows grotty and all the grooves silted, to name a few. How can people live like that??
The heat wave was broken with torrential rain. The eavestroughs poured over, proving they had not been cleaned out either. And the keys were wonky, locking us out--- Pat found an emergency entrance.
So it will be a while yet before we can set up. 90-year-old maple strip floors have to be refinished and grungy kitchen vinyl has to be replaced, for example. But it's great to be back in the Beach in the summer. We love the multi-cultural, multi-national, multi-gentle vibe on the boardwalk. Family picnics featuring exotic aromas and decor. Little boys playing in the sand instead of being trapped in a flooded cave. Crowds enjoying the last rays of the day.
As Bruno Mars said, there's 24-carat magic in the air. There's a guitar out there, but the buskers now include drum kits and even a baby grand piano as you stroll by.
Even with all this work and distraction, a part of my soul is in Pamplona this week. I still run with them, my heart pounding as fast as my feet...Yay bulls!
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