
One of the reasons Toronto really is an amazing city is that this beach is only a 15 minute walk from our house. It’s a Blue Flag beach, and is perfectly swimmable, like several others in the area.
This was not always the case. When I was younger, these beaches were too polluted to swim at, which was sort of sad. A massive cleanup of the Toronto waterfront over the last two decades has rendered Toronto – the largest city in Canada – home of several beaches clean enough to swim at. I wonder how many other major cities can make such a claim.
This was taken yesterday, on Canada Day. Unfortunately because of a civic worker strike, the city was not able to celebrate such a beautiful Canada Day with fireworks as it normally would have, but at least we had sunshine. All the surrounding areas were drenched with rain.
This was the sky yesterday.

I can’t remember the last time I saw a sky so angry.


That, my friends, is a picture of walls. And a ceiling. Last night, actual reconstruction started in our kitchen.
All the electrical is done, the plumbing has been updated where it needed to be updated, and all the other little things that needed to be done (roughed in central vac, for example) have been done. Pay no attention to the extra circle beside the kitchen sink drain pipe, or the diagonal crack near the top-left of the door. Accidents happen, okay?
95% of the ceiling is up, barring the edge where we still have to put the vapor barrier up, and the walls have been started. The ceiling is tough, because 5/8” drywall is heavy! The 1/2” drywall on the walls: a) is lighter, and b) does not need to be hoisted over one’s head.
It’s very exciting to see a room turn back into a room!