Jazz Goddess

Sugarland - Martha Conway

2016-05-13T14:03:00.001-04:00

Ah the "Roaring Twenties"..this novel set in 1921 is only a few years removed from the tragedy of the First World War but is in many respects light years away socially..if not for African Americans.

The 1920s were a time for new freedoms especially for women including higher hemlines, shorter hair, cocktails and being able to vote..not necessarily in that order. It was also a heady period for the developing American music known as "jazz".

Yet underneath the fizzy era depicted by F. Scott Fitzgerald of bright young things, boom times, flappers and cocktails was a seedy underbelly that viewers of "Boardwalk Empire" may be all too familiar with...prohibition, bootlegging and the rise of the gangster particularly in the midwestern mecca of Chicago where this novel takes place.

Martha Conway's Sugarland immerses the reader into this sparkling but shadowy world through her protagonist an aspiring young pianist Eve Riser, who also happens to be African American and of course a female in a very male dominated sphere. Conway says she was inspired by musicians such as the great Mary Lou Williams and others who held their own against the men creatively but are unless recorded lost to the mists of time.

Eve has her hands full with trying to make her living when she is suddenly witness to not one but two shooting deaths the first perpetrated by her new man saxophonist Gavin Johnson. Escaping with her life and a stack of money foisted upon her she makes her way to Chicago in search of employment and her half sister Chickie, a singer. Further complicating things Chickie is carrying the child of her shady nightclub owner boyfriend who also happens to be white.

Caught in the crossfire of another shooting outside Cobb's club , Eve joins forces with Lena sister of the victim Rudy. Her nursing skills come in handy for Eve and Chickie and their common love of jazz and quest for the identity of her brothers killer plunges them in the dangerous world of gun running and bootlegging where everyone is suspect.

The author's characters are richly drawn and her description of the "conversation" onstage between musicians is beautifully evoked. The current running underneath is the ever present racism and descrimination many of the characters face at every turn sadly not something limited to the distant past. But lest it all seem so bleak there are rays of hope - there is even time for some romance between Eve and supportive bandleader Henry. Eve is a great character and I look forward to a sequel or two....

Espana - Barcelona, Toledo, Granada

2015-09-17T16:21:00.002-04:00

After our voyage at sea it was time to return to port -in this case one of my favourite cities - Barcelona.

Here are a few photos of one of the hallmarks of the architecture of that city - the work of Antonio Gaudi.

There are fine examples of his work throughout the city including a park and the famous Sagrada Familia cathedral..

Since we had explored a lot of central Barcelona on foot before we decided on one of the hop on/hop off bus tours which would take us further afield

We had a lovely dinner at a restaurant down in the seaside area "La Barcelonetta" - then it was time to say goodbye to our fellow travellers and take the train down to Madrid to pick up our rental car.

Chanel and Monique


Our meal - we also had wine AND sangria.

This is the outer walled of the famed city of Toledo - a Unesco World Heritage site...it was a bit of a steep climb but worth it to check out this well preserved Medieval city. We stayed some distance away but had a view of it from our window..

There was a church (not this one) the exterior was more modest that had been turned into an art gallery which featured a number of El Greco's paintings - when you see them in their larger than life glory they are quite astounding..thanks for the tip travel guru Rick Steves!

Looking down on the central courtyard of the gallery/church. I was also asked to take a survey by a young Spanish student about my experience...which I think worked with our combined English and minimal Spanish!

We also bought some delicious chocolate and the specialty of the area..marzipan made with "almendras" there's a Spanish word I remember.

Again with my limited Spanish we managed to get a vegan meal at our hotel the Eurostars Toledo - a very modern place geared to a business traveller. The staff were very helpful and accomodating - we had a huge room and they went above and beyond when Fraser lost track of the car keys and we had to contact the rental agency in Toledo to get us a taxi to their location at a car dealership outside the city and a new car plus make arrangements for the other one to be picked up. F did find the keys a few days later in an expected place - in his defence he hadn't been sleeping since he was in some discomfort in his back and foot that we later discovered was shingles...thanks to a hospital visit in Granada!

Although we were behind a couple of hours due to the key mishap - we still had a lot of time to explore the fabulous city of Granada. We stayed at the charming Hotel Anacapri - another Rick Steves recommendation. It certainly was a challenge manoeuvreing the vehicle in the narrow streets and then finding parking...next time - no car...however it does make it easier to travel Andalusia

Let there be food - dining at Hicuri - we ate there twice!

A gazpacho like soup with avocado - yum.

And of course ...dessert.

Granada is a beautiful city - since we hadn't been able to book tickets to go to the Alhambra on our own we decided to splurge and go on a guided tour the next day

A square near our hotel...and down the street from Hicuri

- which was totally worth it - highly recommended.

You can read up yourself on the history of the Alhambra - just know that it's a fort/castle/garden and so much more. The Muslims or Moors as they were know were in Spain for 7 centuries and during that time as rulers were far more tolerant of other religions than Ferdinand and Isabella who came after them...

These are just a few of the amazing photos Fraser took...and the gardens were spectacular. Look at these roses....

They were fascinated with mathematics and numbers so the decoration inside is very geometric with a lot of recurring numbers such as 8 pointed stars..I'm sure I don't do justice to the artistry and mystery - you just have to go there yourself - or look up more images online...

The other adventure we had that day was of course visiting the hospital to get some help for Fraser - and thankfully we did. Due to the fantastic front desk people at Anacapri they directed us to a hospital where they knew someone spoke English. Again my minimal Spanish skills were employed and we managed to communicate our needs and Fraser's problem. They found a British lady from another department - she had been in Spain some 30 years and graciously translated for us..we were soon on our way with prescriptions and instructions. The young resident in dermatology looked up the symptoms on his laptop! Most important - at no time were we asked for payment of any kind! Wow. F did have insurance coverage but they didn't ask for that even...imagine that happening in the U.S.

While we were waiting for the specialist to come on shift we explored the neighbourhood - there was a bullring in the area!

After feeling relieved and getting the necessary meds we returned to the hotel for a rest and then it was out to dinner at Paprika.. We got there a little early so we hung out on the steps waiting for them to open...

Our final full day in Granada we booked another excursion - this time the Olive Oil Tour - which I also highly recommend. They pick you up at your hotel - Fraser and me and couple from Australia and drive you out into the gorgeous countryside to check out how olive oil is made - from tree to the finished product. Sampling of olive oil and a wine tasting were a must!

Almond tree?

Our wonderful guide Violetta

In the mountain village where we went for our tasting there was a delicious opportunity to fill up our water bottles from a pristine mountain stream. The Arabs also were instrumental in setting up irrigation systems which exist to this day.

This is how the olives used to be processed...complete with donkey/mule power


Further innovation - without donkeys.

I had never had flavoured olive oil before - we bought a few mini bottles to take home as gifts including orange, basil, chile and lemon...so delicious and complex. Naturally we enjoyed bread and olives and then wine and sherry. I also bought some skin care products made by La Chinotta that I hadn't heard of before - an olive oil scrub, hair and scalp treatment and some soaps. This is a must on your trip to Granada.

Back in town the next morning before departing for Nerja on the Costa del Sol I picked up some teas at a street market..

A glimpse of my next installment...

Nerja

Mediterranean and Spain trip - my post is loooong overdue!

2015-09-16T17:07:00.003-04:00

This was one of the lovely views from our room onboard Norweigian Cruise Lines - I think island may be Sardinia...we also got to see dolphins frolicking as we sat on our balcony one morning - what a treat.

I can't believe I forgot to blog about our trip. It was a reward for my husband and 20ish fellow co-workers and their spouses/siblings/children/significant others for 25 plus years of service at Levitt Safety. What a great recognition - but it tells you something about a company if people are staying there that long!
We started out our journey in one of my favourite cities - Barcelona! Curiously, the customs people didn't seem very concerned about all these Canadians landing in on them.

Fighting off jet lag we wandered the Ramblas and checked out the Gothic Quarter - Fraser and I found a vegan restaurant - much to our delight. The Ramblas has changed quite a bit - it is much more touristy. I didn't see any flower sellers or bird sellers or fruit/vegetable vendors as we did in the past. That being said it is always fun to wander around...

Each night on board we were greeted with different towel/nightdress animals...this was one of our favourites....

Loved the elephant too!

Ha! Sea turtle!

We are new to cruising and had a lovely room with balcony. I understand the appeal of staying in one place - that is having a regular place to lay your head and your clothing - it's not normally the way we travel. The ship was huge! 4,000 plus passengers and crew and a little overwhelming at first until we figured out how things worked...that is to say where our room was!

After an evening at sea and acclimating our selves to our new home we landed in Naples the next morning and it was off to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. I had always wanted to go to Pompeii and it was a thrilling opportunity. Many, many other people had the same idea and it was at times congested - though not that you could tell from the above picture. Our tour guide said this was NOT one of the busiest times. If you can I recommend going to the Pompeii exhibit at the ROM where you can see more artifacts and learn about the deadly eruption of Vesuvius. In fact many artifacts are in the museum in Naples. Our guide assured us that in fact, most people escaped the volcano's wrath.

Interesting note - you can see the ruts in the road made by chariot wheels and notice the stepping stones across the road...to keep onself above the mess as it were - although Ancient Romans were much more hygenic than citizens of the Dark Ages. Also indicated by the stones - one or two chariot streets...
Another interesting fact - Pompeiians enjoy "fast food" since most dwellings were too small to cook in they went out to streets such as this for "takeaway"...

How the more wealthy citizens lived....with businesses at the entrance to their homes...

In the shadow of Vesuvius...which is still active by the way...

Our niece Shannon has also been to Herculaneum the other town buried by the volcano which is also apparently fascinating - they are still working on excavating that site since it was closer to the explosion and lost to public knowledge due to the sands or earth of time.

Then, it was time to get back on the bus and enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the Amalfi coast....

Fresh limones anyone?

We had lunch overlooking the sea high up on the hillside and visited the town of Amalfi itself...

I'm not sure I would want to live there..the roads are, to make a terrible allusion as twisty as Fusilli! We did make it back to the ship a little late but they did wait for us...they were warnings that those who didn't make it on at the scheduled departure time would have to go to the next port and board there! In our case that would be Civitavecchia - the port closest to Rome.

We had been to Rome many years ago and true to form it was still its enchanting and chaotic self..several marches were going on - possibly to due with police or firefighter strikes/public services...

We didn't have any real agenda since we had seen most of the sites on a previous trip..just made our way over to the Borghese Gardens from Termini Station, looking for health food stores and a bite to eat..we did get some juice at a raw place we had looked up prior to arriving...

Eureka - a health food store near the Villa Borghese which also had some take out - we got a tasty wrap and supplies such as cookies (ha!), chocolate and alternate milks - since those were MIA on board ship. I felt like a pirate because we smuggled the food aboard "illegally"..but what else are two vegans to do? We quickly figured out that our best source of food was the Garden Cafe/self serve area since most of the sit down restaurants - which you needed a reservation for seemed mystified about preparing vegan food. Fortunately the head chef on board was South Asian so we had lots of lovely curries to choose from and of course salads, fruits, breads etc.

Some of our party chose to go the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's - alas it was closed due to a private papal audience.

Our next port of call was Tuscany! Because again, we had spent some time in Florence we chose to go along on a tour of the Tuscan hill towns booked by Chanel, the lovely and charming daughter of Monique Perrier one of Fraser's co-workers. We got lucky to be in the van with Maurizio who not only spoke English but at Chanel's prompting discussed his life in Italy, politics, religion etc. We visited the charming town of Greve in Chianti and two wineries...

The port of Livorno in Tuscany

Greve in Chianti - che bella!

Just thought I should show our room on board....

I might add I couldn't resist buying some delicious "Panforte" while in Tuscany and had a perfect espresso!
(For those who don't know Panforte is like a spicy compressed fruit cake).


Chanel and Monique enjoying the view...

If I had unlimited funds I think I would prefer to live in Tuscany compared to Amalfi. We sampled some wine here and I bought some saffron..

Francine and her sister Colette..

We stopped in a lovely medieval town on our travels..that's me walking down a street.

We had lunch at this winery and the food and wine was delicious! One of the servers was even vegan - so she knew what we needed!

And, because some on the tour were under the mistaken impression we were supposed to go to Pisa, Maurizio kindly made a detour for us...

In spite of myself I found it quite awe inspiring...

Our next stop - Cannes - where unbeknownst to us at least - the film festival was going on! Plus some rough weather and because the ship wasn't able to dock the lifeboats were used as taxis to take people ashore. Luckily for us we went in at 9:30 and returned a couple of hours later. The water was so choppy it bent the anchor and folks who came back a little later than us were stuck onshore in line for the lifeboats until they stabilized the ship and used the back up anchor.

We had lots of time to explore, see the papparazzi and red carpets, visit the MonoPrix for some snacks and Fragonard for me! I bought some perfume "Diamant" and soap Jardins de Fragonard - Heliotrope and Gingembre - which is heavenly. Fragonard is seemingly impossible to find and I fell in love with this fragrance house when we visited their main HQ in Grasse years back. Do check them out in France as they are not only beautiful shops with heavenly one of a kind fragrances - their staff are tres gentile, belle et chic - naturellement elles sont Francaises!


A fan's shrine to Sharon Stone....

Here is yet another towel creation...

And a beautiful sunset on some very rough seas..one of the staff said it had been the roughest he had experienced after working for the line for some years..

Because the choppy waters had delayed things..we only had a few hours in Palma de Majorca the next day, our last stop before heading back to Barcelona...

There was a farmer's market going on and we were obedient - not buying anything to take back..argh. Such yummy looking breads and olives too! We did buy some pottery.

One last towel animal before we said goodbye...


One of our buffet meals!

Next up..return to continental Europe and travels in Spain!

The Polar Sea

2014-12-03T14:12:00.004-05:00

I am riveted by this amazing TVO series - it has it all - gorgeous scenery, art , music, an environmental message, science, an international cast of explorers and it's just breathtaking. It mainly follows the journey of a trio of Scandinavian friends on their lifelong desire to explore the Northwest Passage - cue the great Stan Rogers.

Mixed in are portraits of Greenlanders such as a activist musican and a chef, an ice sculptor from New York who is creating instruments for an avant garde Norwegian musician, a family from France, a luxury cruise and we're only at episode two - we haven't seen a lot of wildlife yet except for some curious whales. Fascinating and a good reason to make a donation to TVO!

http://tvo.org/story/polar-sea-unprecedented-look-northwest-passage

Brenda Lewis at Musideum

2014-10-09T23:54:00.000-04:00

Just a brief heads up - my friend and talented vocalist Brenda Lewis will be at Musideum along with fabulous guitarist Margaret Stowe on Friday October 17th at 8 p.m. In case you haven't been, Musideum is a cozy venue at the 401 Richmond building, which houses a lot of artists studios and non profits (they also have a fun Christmas craft sale and open house. The Musideum seats about 50 people who are there to listen and not talk over the music. Only $20 people..that's barely more than a movie!

/http://musideum.com/concerts/brenda-lewis-margaret-stowe/

or you can phone 416 599 7323

Brenda is also recording a CD and you can support that very worthwhile project here:

http://www.kapipal.com/brendalewiscd

To quote her press release:

Together this dynamic duo - have captivated audiences in the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival, Guelph Jazz Festival, Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival, the prestigious McMichael Art Gallery’s concert series, The Flying Beaver Pubaret and many more venues. This past summer, they wowed audience members in the acclaimedBrookside Concert Association summer series at the brand new Midland Cultural Centre.

You can read more about Brenda at her website : http://www.brendalewis.ca

New Orleans - episode deux

2014-09-22T16:29:00.000-04:00

Another of our chicken friends

Sadly we had to bid adieu to our temporary home at the Dragonfly Garden and move over to the CBD/CBA - (Central Business District/Area) for Fraser's conference and our stay at the Intercontinental - a lovely hotel, nonetheless. F realized afterwards he probably could have communted from Bywater..:)

Before we left the area we had breakfast at the New Orleans Cake Cafe - see appetizing photos below!

Breakfast at the New Orleans Cake Cafe....www.nolacakes.com

One of the more unique houses in Bywater...

You can't see it but this tree has numerous Mardi Gras necklaces hanging from it.

After settling into our new digs it was off to ride the historic St. Charles streetcar through the Garden District with a brief stop at Audubon Park. I believe it is the oldest operating streetcar line in North America - wooden benches!

One of the beautiful houses of the Garden District...

Fraser couldn't resist a photo of me "tripping" over the sidewalk. This is a common feature in older neighbourhoods with mature trees...be careful if you are tipsy after dark....

We also stopped and checked out Magazine Street where we sampled a green juice from FARE( 4838 Magazine Street) along with a chocolate pecan cookie and bought some crackers - they are gluten and soy free and have a few vegan options as well as catering to a paleo diet. Further along we stopped at Superfoods Bar (4113 Magazine) www. superfoodbar.wix.com - they have lots of juices/smoothies (F got a nut based one) salads and sell some healthy supplements like protein powders etc.
They had photos on the wall of Bathsheba in Barbados!

Many places were closed due to it being Sunday so we walked a bit further and then took a bus back to the hotel...travelling through another interesting area of Magazine - is this area known as the Irish Channel?

After an air conditioned break it was off to SEED a new vegan restaurant on 1330 Pyrtania - below is their version of a Po'Boy with tofu - scrumptious! We also had a kale and mango salad and for dessert as per our server's recommendation a Chocolate Mousse to die for! He also gave us a sample of their raw onion flax crackers...yumm.

Afterwards another ride on the streetcar brought us back to Canal Street and a stroll through Bourbon Street..below is me having a famous Hurricane at Pat O'Briens.

No Zydeco tonight but over on Frenchmen street was a guitarist singing Neil Young! Also a duo of saxophone and guitar/vocals doing "Bring It On Home to Me". Pat O'Briens by the way is a BIG place - F's brother used to work there many moons ago as a bartender.

On Decatur street we ran into our across the hall neighbour Shane and his friend Todd. Oddly enough they had planned a trip to NOLA too! Shane is a pilot with Air Canada and was on standby so he unfortunately got bumped from our flight when they changed to a smaller plane. No matter - being resourceful they flew to Houston and rented a car! Of all the people to run into in New Orleans! We had been wondering what had happened to them and now we knew...they were enjoying lots of gumbo!

It seems I didn't take a picture or F didn't of our lunch on Monday at Meals from the Heart (www.mealsfromtheheart.com) - this great counter in the French Market. It's low fat, low salt, healthy food with vegan options and food can be prepared whenever - so you can have afternoon pancakes if you want. We enjoyed Black Bean Soup, a nice salad and complimentary fruit while we waited. I got a roasted Portobello and vegetable sandwich prior to my flight the next day - delicious. They got a chuckle out of us switching plates half way through our meals.

On my own it was time to do some shopping - I bought a cool t-shirt created by a local artist in CocoAlly . I didn't realized until afterwards that she is also vegan! My shirt is grey..I love it. I think I may have to order another one..so comfy. I also got a onesie for my great niece Sophie and some "wish dogs".

www.cocoally.com

I also found Rouse's grocery store where I bought a bunch of spice mixes including one for Red Beans and Rice! I also bough a great retro style dress from a store called Trashy Diva!

It's a 1940's style "flutter" dress - www.trashydiva.com

Next stop - a New Orleans institution - Hove Parfumeur on Chartres Street in the Quarter - enchanting little shop that features a wealth of in house scents. I bought "Mantrap" a spicy oriental and the lovely "Habanera" - which features tobacco flower. They also special in a number of traditional scents associated with New Orleans such as Sweet Olive and Vetiver, Spanish Moss and Heliotrope (one of my faves) - there are perfumes and eau de toilettes, in a variety of sizes, solid perfumes, shower gels, talcs and massage and body oils as well as soaps and candles. The salesperson said they have a number of Canadian customers who mail order..I think I may be one of them...I had such a hard time deciding since many of the scents were wonderful. I also liked "Flame" and "Whirlwind".

www.hoveparfumeur.com

Closer to the hotel I discovered a sleek cafe called Merchant and enjoyed an iced latte. They can also do some veg items like salads etc. They are located at 800 Common Street.

Another night on Frenchmen Street - we stopped again at Maison but since they didn't have anything vegan on the menu I hopped across the road to 13 Bar and Restaurant and got an Herbed Tofu sandwich which was good.

A couple of last photos here from the French Quarter - after coffee at the Spitfire Cafe, grabbing from sandwich from Meals from the Heart and some cool earrings from Dutch Alley Artists Co-op - "Glamour Trash" is the label, it was homeward bound.

I bought some choclate at the Vosges kiosk in Chicago O'Hare. I have to say I now know what Louis means when he sings "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?"

New Orleans - Bywater

2014-09-19T17:29:00.001-04:00

The Big Easy. The Crescent City. The City that Care Forgot. The Birthplace of Jazz, a feast for the senses, a big pot of delicious gumbo....New Orleans is all those things and more.

I will have more photos to come - once I get my husband to forward his photos from his new toy/iPhone. But above we have the classic beignets from Cafe du Monde. The gentleman below were performing out front...

Everywhere you go there is music in the air and an amazing number of phenomenal street muscians...

Our first few days were spent in the area called Bywater - not far from the French Quarter to the east. Filled with colourful little houses, like little wedding cakes and also a number of interesting and delicious restaurants, cafe and clubs - patronized by the oh so hip residents - i.e. lots of guys with full beards..this area was a delight.

At the edge of Fabourg Marigny - the next area from the French Quarter heading east and neighbouring Bywater.

We stayed through Air B and B at the wonderful "Dragonfly Inn B and B" - our host Victoria was a wealth of information about the area - she also had restaurant menus and maps etc. In our backyard were some enchanting resident chickens and two rescue pigs! The accommodatiosns were lovely with a big high bed our own kitchen facilities including coffemaker, blender, microwave, stove (in case someone wanted to do some cooking /baking). There were also lots of snacks provided and an Emerg-C Electrolyte replacer - thoughtful!

Me and one of the bicycles in front of Dragonfly Garden B and B

Loved the streets signs embedded in the sidewalks....

Taking her suggestion to check out Frenchmen Street (a better alternative to Bourbon) we listened to the great Shotgun Jazz Band at Maison - the leader of the group is a Canadian and she provided powerful vocals and trumpet. The trombone player, also female, was a standout! They of course played traditional jazz. While wandering down the street we also heard a fine brass band a la Dirty Dozen and visited the artists market - which happens at night. For dinner we had some yummy Mediterranean food at Mona's, stuffed grape leaves, a big salad, hummous and pita etc. We also checked out Bourbon Street - which was loud and busy - but no where near as crazy as during Mardi Gras Fraser assured me, where it takes half an hour to walk a block. Frenchmen Street is like what Bourbon Street used to be..when F last visited some 30 years ago all the venues had jazz - not the case any more...most are rock and roll.

Shotgun Jazz Band

Brass band on the corner of Frenchmen Street

I remained frustrated with my Zydeco search, though....caught the last tune of a band at a place in Bywater. Drat.

FRIDAY

Another sultry Southern day with the temperature hovering around 31 -32 C. It seemed common for thunderstorms to happen mid-day or early afternoon and then clear out. We decided to get out of the city for a few hours and took a plantation tour through Cajun Adventures. En route to the pick up spot on Decatur (The French Market Inn) we perused shops at the French Market, the restaurants/take out places and for me - jewellery - yes, I bought some from Oscar. I had also researched all the veg options prior to our trip - I suggest checking out this blog:

http://neworleansingreen.blogspot.ca/p/vegan-friendly-restaurants-in-and.html

This post was extremely helpful to us!!

Breakfast at Satsuma!

We got on our bikes - provided at the Dragonfly and set out over some verr-r-r-ry bumpy roads to Satsuma Cafe on 3218 Dauphine street for some vegan brunch, enjoying a black bean and tofu scramble, salad and a juice. They sure love their ginger in juices here - I guess they have a more spicy palate. Also avocado and asparagus show up in salads alot! We arrived over on Decatur before the heavens opened up and it was off to the country and the Laura and Oak Alley Plantations.

Our shuttle driver - Elly - gave us a steady stream of tourist info as he drove such as the Mercedes Benz Superdome holds 97.000 people. He had us introduce ourselves to our neighbours - across the aisle from Nottingham, in front from Australia and behind us two ladies from....Mississauga. We drove over a lot of elevated highways - a necessity where there is so much swamp!

Laura Plantation with Camille our guide

Our tour guide at Laura was Camille, a live wire Creole, herself a descendant of plantation owners on the river. At one time there was possibly 300 slaves on the plantation and 67 cabins..slaves worked up to 14 hour days and didn't have the most sustaining or nutritious diet. I could sense this overwhelming feeling of sadness. The plantation was run by the women (most efficiently by Laura's fearsome grandmother) as the Creoles chose not necessarily the eldest son but the smartest child to run things. Seems a lot of the menfolk didn't live that long or well - lots of drinking,carousing and gambling...sometimes they were sent to France to straighten themselves out. Laura wrote a book about plantation life in the 1930's at the urging of her daughters and due to that other massive bestseller of the time period.

Interestingly, the most "troublesome" slaves were placed furthest away from the house and the prettiest...ahem, closest.

Fraser on the upper porch looking over Oak Alley

The next stop was "Oak Alley" - which I'm sure you've seen in any number of films. It was featured in "Interview with the Vampire". It's what you would expect a plantation house to look like - Greek Revival columns etc. It's gorgeous and impressive whereas Laura is much more a working plantation - everyone grew sugarcane. Several of our fellow tourists (myself included) enjoyed a mint julep on the tour..powerful stuff. Our driver recounted that recently he had a lady on board who had THREE during the tour and subsequently left a pungent reminder on the bus..oh dear.

Yours truly on the porch of one of the remaining slave cabins. Very tiny. By the way, front porches are de rigeur everywhere here.

Our day concluded back in New Orleans in the French Quarter and dinner at Bennachin - a wonderful African restaurant...see meals below. We had Kone Mi Makondo - Black eyed peas in Onion and Tomato Stew with coconut rice and fried plantain and Baham - Broccoli Cauliflower and Carrots in a Light Ginger Sauce with Couscous. We had leftovers the next day..yumm! The dishes were definitely flavourful with a nice kick - I was not bold enough to try Bikai ni Curry - a spicier dish!

There ain't body here but us chickens......

SATURDAY

En route to the St. Charles streetcar we perused shops at the French Market, the restaurants/take out places and for me - jewellery - yes, I bought some from Oscar - iridescent blue feather shapes and red rectangles and a butterfly pin. We plan on going back to check out the "Meals from the Heart" cafe.

One of our backyard residents....

Another lovely house in the neighbourhood....

We decided to go over to Santa Fe Tapas on St. Charles and enjoy their noted Vegan Brunch - we were not disappointed. Fraser counts it as one of the highlights of his trip! He especially enjoyed the vegan gumbo! It think below those are some sort of croquette - I have posted the menu below so you can check.

Gumbo!!

Mushroom Tostada

Our waiter/entertainment

The menu...you might need to enlarge it...

Our waiter/entertainer even did a Gordon Lightfoot tune when he learned we were Canadians...Since we were in the neighbourhood we walked down Terpsichore where Fraser's brother Murray lived when he worked at Pat O'Briens many moons ago...

Then it was back to check out the cemetary next to Louis Armstrong park and Louis' park itself. We squeaked in just before closing at the cemetary and were shooed out along with a few other tourists...

Taking the bus back along St. Claude to our Bywater hood we walked down to Poland Avenue to Bacchanal a fun little bar/restaurant close to the river where they have a wine shop and an amazing selection of wine. There was a free wine tasting and we were already getting a little tipsy before we had our glasses of rose and went downstairs to the patio to enjoy the jazz trio...

The music was great and the mosquitoes were having quite the feast. Our landlady told us and we observed that it's very popular to order a bread and cheese plate to go with the wine.

Before heading to dinner at "Feelings" we checked out the new riverside walkways/park that they have been working on..

This is the view from a bridge over the railroad tracks that's fairly steep..you can apparently walk downtown to the French Quarter from there.

The lovely courtyard at "Feelings" and our meal - they have a separate vegan menu. There is also a strictly vegan restaurant upstairs called "Bhava" and I believe a yoga studio.

Next installment...we move from Bywater to downtown - the Intercontinental for Fraser's Inforum conference.

Restauraunts:

www.bennachinrestaurant.com/

www.satsumacafe.com

www.feelingscafe.com

Santa Fe Tapas is on 1327 St. Charles Avenue - so you can take the St. Charles car there. By the way transit in NOLA is super cheap - you can get a day pass for $3!!!/ Each fare is $1.25.

Wanda Stafford

2014-08-20T16:00:00.002-04:00

I'm a big fan of Marc Myer's Jazz Wax column - it's so well written and knowledgeable and I'm always learning something new...or undiscovered.

Witness the album pictured above for example. Recorded in 1960 by fledgling vocalist - but with great pipes - Wanda Stafford with a great band including the legendary Bill Evans. Initially the young singer wanted a friend of hers on the piano bench but said friend convinced her that she shouldn't miss the opportunity of working with his replacement! Her voice is in the vein of the cool stylings of June Christy and I would say Irene Kral.

Read more at Marc Myer's Jazz Wax column..suffice to say Miss Stafford briefly burned bright and gave it all up to raise her young daughter. Miss Stafford never completely disappeared, she has been busy recording and performing live - witness her 2011 release pictured below (among others). She lives in the San Francisco Bay area

...www.wandastafford.com

Not really jazz related - except for the 20's era jazzy theme song is "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" - an Australian series I've gotten hooked on via Queen Video....the jazz age era sleuth is a cool customer - smart, wry, gorgeous and possessing a stunning wardrobe..she is the nemesis/sparking partner of a Melbourne police inspector Jack Robinson. Divine! I am on series two - must get series one and I gather there is a series three in the making.

Someone even has a blog called "thefabulousmissfisher.blogspot.com all about Phyrne (fry knee) - what an amazing name...

Sublime Norma

2014-06-27T12:26:00.002-04:00

What a rare treat to hear the wonderful British vocalist Norma Winstone at the Jazz Bistro last night. She was in fine form and the audience was filled with great musicians and vocalists - Mike Murley, Jim Vivian, Don Thompson, Fern Lindzon, Beverley Taft and Maureen Kennedy to name a few... you just know the performer is highly respected when so many talented individuals show up in the midst of the jazz festival.

Relaxed in slim fitting jeans and blazer and sporting a tasselled sparkling necklace that I soooo covet - she delivered a magical evening covering tunes written by her fellow trio members - from Germany Klaus Gesing on soprano saxophone and bass clarinet and Glauco Venier a proud Italian on piano. There were even some soccer references.

Highlights included a fanastic opening number - Nick Drake's "Time of No Reply" and Madonna's (!) "Live to Tell"...which never sounded so good. It was nice to be in the room with a focused and receptive audience and to see the trio having a great time and working seamlessly together. As one of her encores she performed the timeless Cole Porter - "Every Time We Say Goodbye".

Right now I'm listening to her latest CD - " Dance Without Answer" - lovely and ethereal. I just love the instrumentation. Norma Winstone is so adept at choosing great material and musicians you know you will not be disappointed. The last time I heard her was at another stellar concert at the CBC - with Fred Hersch. It has been too long since my Norma fixes..maybe I need to visit Britain again? :)

Williamsburg, aka Hipster Central, Brooklyn

2014-05-12T16:45:00.000-04:00

After a fantastic few days in Manhattan it was time to venture into new territory - across the East River to Brooklyn.

There we were meeting up with my dear friend Richard and staying in a wonderful AirBandB find in Williamsburg near Bedford Avenue - a hot spot in this oh so happening area. Our host, Paul left a lovely basket of cereal, chocolate, coffee and snacks for us as well as almond milk in the fridge and permission to eat and drink what we liked from the fridge and pantry.

Richard and I enjoying the view of Manhattan

On our first night in Brooklyn we decided to check out "Champs" an amazing vegan diner - it was such fun - great atmosphere and food. A blast from the past.

Here's where we stayed:

I highly recommend you check out AirBandB - Richard said the previous place he stayed was also fabulous! His host Donald showed him around the neighbourhood.

On Saturdays down by the water where we were last night - near B......street is something called "Smorgasburg" - a cornucopia of food offerings - many vegan including the famous "Dun-well Donuts" - which lived up to the hype - F had a chocolate peanut butter pretzel one and I am ashamed to say I forget what I had save to say it was delicious! I also got yet more tea from Bellocq - Queen's Blend - with lovely roses and Hindu Holiday a spice filled rooiboos chai. We also had yummy tempeh dish..further down the street on Sundays is a flea market which also has some artisans - I bought a very cute mug there from SKT ceramics...

If you're interested and you should be - head up to Greenpoint to visit the Dun-well Donuts shop and also have pizza at Paulie G's - I had the InagoddadaVegan one - with fennel sausage...even better the next day! Also check out Achillelle's Heel bar...

I really enjoyed the area - shopping at Meg - one of my faves here in Toronto, checking out the coffee shops, Mast Brothers chocolate - FREE SAMPLES! - pretending to be sophisticated and enjoying an absinthe cocktail at La Maison Premier, eating at Wild Ginger, Egg and more. We found a tea place on our last day called Tea Bar - must remember that for when we return.

I also got the opportunity to dine at Franchia in Manhattan on Saturday night as we were meeting up with Monique and Norma to go to the Kitano Hotel to hear Denny Zeitlin, Buster Williams and our favourite drummer Matt Wilson - fantastic, hot show! I just love watching Matt Wilson play.

Richard and I also got discount tickets at the Tkts booth in Seaport - much less busy that Times Square if you don't mind going off the beaten path to see Pippin thanks to the very helpful young information man outside the ticket booth. How can you go wrong with Bob Fosse choreography, Annie Potts, a great cast and a cirque du soleil influenced background?

Sadly our sojourn had to come to an end but I'm so glad I checked out Williamsburg - next time I could explore more the borough...it was just fun to walk around and check out all the shops. By the way there is a great kitchen ware store called "Whisk" on Bedford.

On Saturday, with the unexpected access to a vehicle we decided to check out a veg restaurant we were curious about in Markham called "Wu Tai". After being stuck in traffic and having to do a detour we had about half an hour before we had to return to Toronto to go and see Denzal Sinclaire and Kurt Elling in concert at Koerner Hall.

The staff were so lovely and accommodating, the venue is very glamourous and the food delicious - we will be back when we can have a more relaxed dining experience. In the meantime, we are enjoying the leftovers!

Yesterday we had the privilege of celebrating not only Mother's Day but Sophie's dedication (she is my great niece) or as my friend Richard calls it - "Gals Are Great Day" so no one feels left out. I am really mom to two furry someones - Lester and Billie. Here's a photo of Meredith and Sophie and also one with Meredith's mom - my sister in law Becky - she is on the left.

New York, New York, it's a hell of a town...

2014-05-09T12:41:00.000-04:00

Well, more of heaven really if you love theatre, art, jazz, shopping, food...I could go on. Central Park was filled with blossoms - see photo to the left, a gorgeous cherry tree in full blossom - Fraser had to take a photo because my outfit matched! Yes, I am all about matching the flora wherever I go..

Our first night there (staying at Riverside Tower again) we had dinner at Candle 79 - delicious!

We had fiddleheads and morels as a starter as well as Spinach Ravioli....

Fraser had a crepe, I forget what I had - but it was a special - I really need to be journalling these things!

For dessert a chocolate peanut butter concoction.....

On Tuesday we decided to check out "Smalls" a funky little jazz club in Greenwich Village. We chose to eat dinner at "The Hummous Place" - which I believe has 3 or 4 locations - it was yummy. We forgot to take pictures - but had natch, hummous and I think a few appetiziers. Our friend Monique had a delicious cocktail with anise in it.

"Smalls" is kind of like visiting someone's rec room - it's very cozy. The band was great - the Enzo Carpentieri quartet - particularly the guitarist Yotam Silberstein and the cocktails were amazing as was our bartender. One of the wonderful finds at the club was artist Robert Kendall who paints the band as they are playing - he was waiting to paint a big band that came on later in the evening. Monique bought one of his works which featured her friend Lew Tabackin...check him out at robertkendall.com - the gallery doesn't begin to do justice to seeing his work in person - you can see one of his works to the right...

One of the not so pleasant things was the drummer's yappy girlfriend and her friends in front of us, fortunately she became absorbed in using her ipad. The two showed up the next night at the Jazz Standard but were seated far far away from us.

On Wednesday - one of the most torrential rains I've ever experienced - we were excited to go and see "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill" with Audra McDonald (4 time Tony winner). Lunch was at Cafe Blossom...I had a fettucine dish and Fraser the salad special...

Now onto the play..

We were astounded from the first note - it was shiver-time, spooky how phenomenally well she captured Miss Billie - if you are in NYC and a Billie fan - you must go and see this production. Audra captured the essence of Lady Day - recounting the people and places and incidents in her life - from the highest of heights to the lowest of lows - racism, prison, bad choice of men but great choice of musical partners. Stunning.

Later on that evening we caught Hillary Kole at Iridium - we shared a tiny table with her a few years back when we were fortunate enough to catch Blossom Dearie. She is an amazing performer - I think she should do a show at the Jazz Bistro..anyone listening. She is charming, talented and nice. Rex Reed says so.

What a difference a day makes - after a long, rainy day - surprisingly we were able to get a cab to the theatre on Wednesday, but it was a matinee - the sun came out so we decided to venture down to the Lower East Side to shop at Moo Shoes and go to the Tenement Museum.

We had brunch at Peacefood Cafe - one of my favourite spots - again, we forgot to take pictures because we were enjoying ourselves too much - I'm pretty sure there was a fantastic salad and also vegetable biscuits which were so good we had to get some to go..Monique got a maple scone which was also great.

While down on the Lower East Side and having another great tour of a tenement - this time the "Hard Times" tour we went in search of Lula's Apothecary - the clerk in Moo Shoes gave us some great suggestions on places to eat - especially in Brooklyn where he lives. One of them was Champs..more on that later...

En route we went to McSorley's Bar - one of the oldest in New York for a refreshing beer. It was fitting because like going to the Tenement Museum it felt like we were time travelling.

No signage we had to hunt around...in the East Village. It's between Avenue A and B, 516 E 6th Street. There was scaffolding in front of the building, but seeing many people with ice cream cones on the street was a dead giveaway. We tried the peanut butter and chocolate chip - OMG, plus strawberry and some other delicious flavour which I now forgot..d'oh. Journal. Journal!

We happened upon a lovely little community garden down the block, open to the public...

That's Monique and I enjoying our ice cream - it's made with cashews so that's why it tastes so rich and delicious.

There is a contribution box at the front if you want to support their efforts...

We also visited the exterior of this building that Charlie Parker lived in..and paid our respects to Bird. That night we saw the fabulous Clayton Brothers at the Jazz Standard.

On Friday lunch at Candle on Amsterdam - again scrumptious...

I think this was tofu and kale salada and the dish below sauteed vegetables iwth artichoke. We also had a potato and leek? soup.

Strolling over to Central Park we came upon another community garden - it was incredible!

I can't imagine the work that went into this garden - many dedicated volunteers - there are also vegetable garden plots here. Next up, we take our leave of Manhattan and travel across the Brooklyn Bridge to Williamsburg for our next adventure....

A Cappella Jam at the Wychwood Barns

2014-04-14T11:17:00.000-04:00

Thanks to one of our regular front desk volunteers at Jazz Fm , Jane I found out about this wonderful fun experience which happens bi-monthly at the Wychwood Barns. It's called Circle Collective and is led by the effervescent Nicole Andre or Niki as she is known.

Isn't that a great enticement on the left? It's very true!!

It's also described as "mostly improvised, somes freestyle, always a capella".

There were about a dozen of us - most of us first timers with a range of ages and vocal experience - some admitted shower or even "stairwell" singers. Niki is a singer/songwriter who has studied with instructors from Berklee who in turn studied under the amazing Bobby McFerrin and were part of his original "Voicestra". If you've ever been to a Bobby McFerrin concert you know what an uplifting experience that can be!

We did some warm up and after determining our range were grouped with like individuals in a cozy circle. Niki started phrases and then gave each section their own phrase until we produced an amazing whole from interesting parts. Those who felt brave (not me this time) could step into the circle and "freestyle". I am not doing a great job on explaining it suffice to stay you have to come and experience this!

Niki said she realized after studying at Berklee that there wasn't anything like this going on in Toronto -so kudos to her for initiating this project.

Check out the website for upcoming collectives:

http://www.sheilluminatesit.com/circle/upcoming

S Lefkowitz and appreciation of Jazz FM volunteers

2014-04-14T11:03:00.000-04:00

Photo from BlogTo. I think the hummous I had is on the right.

In the former location of Ezra Pound - a mighty fine coffee shop is now one of the latest trends in Toronto - Mediterranean food and in this case homemade hummous. It is being referred to as a hummuseria.

I dropped in for lunch on a nice sunny day last week and enjoyed the hummous with warm olives which come with warm pita bread and also sipped a refreshing mint tea - made with fresh mint - how very springlike.

The owner - Ezra Braves is super smart to convert his place because as much as I love cafes, we are becoming a bit oversaturated with them.

There are variations on the hummous toppings - including some for meat eaters, eggs, tahini and labneh and also green salad as well as a medjool date concoction with mint and orange rosewater syrup. You can order snack size for full meal size - that was quite satisfying for my lunch. I can't wait to go back and enjoy the outdoor patio.

This past week was volunteer week and we had a wonderful (catered) celebration of our great Jazz FM volunteers - including moi at the station and a Live to Air concert. Jaymz Bee was our host with the most and it featured performances from Big Rude Jake, the delightful Barbara Lica, Heather Bambrick, math professor by day/crooner by night fabulous Sam Broverman and to my delight Carolyn Credico - one of our "Jazzology" graduates from Mohawk. Thanks to Churchill Cellars for the lovely tipples i.e. wine - I particularly enjoyed a Spanish Rose. Volunteers are the life blood of the station as Bernie Webber and Ross Porter pointed out and we like to think we have the best volunteers out there!

Golden Age - Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester

2014-03-05T11:48:00.001-05:00

Picture yourself in your best attire - a slinky satin gown or impeccable tuxedo, enjoying a cool glass of something illicit relaxing at a nightclub table surrounded by Art Deco fixtures. A suave, slim figure glides onstage clad in his signature white tie and tales - he turns to the orchestra in behind him, nods and an effervescent cascade of champagne vocals emerges.

This the delightful experience of listening to Max Raabe, the German baritone who has immersed himself in the glamourous period of the Weimar era of 1920s era Berlin. According to the press release he first fell in to love with the period in his teens and sought out all the old 78s he could get his hands on. He intitially went to Berlin to study opera but his evening activities of singing these classics in nightclubs sent him on a different path - lucky for us. For over a decade he and the Orchester have been entertaining audiences at sell out concerts worldwide.

This morning while baking cookies - cinnamon if you must know - I was transported back to that glittering time between the wars via the new recording "Golden Age" a mixture of recorded and live performances. Of course there are the classics - Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek" and Cole Porter's "Just One of Those Things", a yearning "These Foolish Things" but for me some of the lesser known material was just as compelling. The teasing "Though You're Not the First One" by Walter Jurmann, the slightly cheeky "Love Thy Neighbour", the lovely "Youkali" by the great Kurt Weill to name but three. Since these songs were the popular tunes of the day, in the mix are two pop tunes of our day given the Max Raabe treatment " Oops...I did it Again" and "Sex Bomb"!

I think this would be marvelous to play at a dinner party perhaps while enjoying a cocktail or two or escape to that heady time in transit to wherever you're buys life leads. The group is embarking on a 6 city U.S. tour - one of the stops at Carnegie Hall. How I would like to see them in Toronto!

For more info - www. palast-orchester.de/en

Majesteas and Bella Bio

2014-03-03T16:36:00.000-05:00

True to my British roots - I do love a good cuppa...I discovered this Leslieville tea shop at the Tea Show at the Reference Library a little while ago. The staff were lovely and welcoming and I ended up sampling teas and purchasing an Edinburgh Breakfast , because really I love anything associated with Edinburgh.

I braved the Polar Vortex last Friday and decided to check out their shop on Queen near Carlaw. It's a wonderfully cozy spot and there is lots of opportunity to sniff out your favourite teas without asking someone to haul down a large tin from the top shelf. Although they are very welcoming and helpful if you have questions. I fell in love with French Blend a mixture of teas with jasmine, lavender and a hint of vanilla - since I am a sucker for teas with rose in them and also an Earl Grey Rooibos because I fall in the camp of Earl Grey lovers - Bergamot can be very polarizing!

I settled in at the front window table and basked in the welcome warmth of sun - the tastefully upholstered chairs are comfy and the staff person or perhaps proprietor assured me that it is now unknown for people to catch 40 winks in that spot. I enjoyed a delicious Matcha Latte with soy and noticed a letter from Buckingham Palace thanking the shop for the Royal Wedding Tea - apparently the owners have a friend in high places which allowed the gift to reach Will and Kate!

They also have treats and a beautiful selection of teapots, cups and accessories. So get some comforting tea and settle in to watch "Coronation Street".

www.majesteas.ca

On Sunday we went on an excursion to Toronto's only vegan Italian Restaurant "Bella Bio" - we had heard good things about this space on Mt Pleasant Road so were eager to check it out. The owners were very warm and gracious as I would expect of Italians - I do love all things Italian and the restaurant also has a number of things to purchase including organic pasta from Italy - so you know it's good - homemade sauces, soups, giardiniera (that's picked vegetables to us mangiacakes) tiramisu and a wide selection of organic and vegan imported Italian products such as an artichoke spread and a variety of seitan - from cutlets to roasts and something called "Muscolo di Grano" yet another type of vegan protein.

We had a tasty and simple kale salad, penne with peas and seitan and a Margherita pizza. I indulged in a perfect cappuccino with soy. Some pasta, giardiniera and artichoke spread came home with us. The business has been in operation 7 months - it would be lovely do have some takeout when the weather finally warms up and take it across the street to the park.

www.bellabio.ca

My Contribution

2014-03-02T13:02:00.001-05:00

The Music Industry’s Most-Loved Albums Of All Time Part 20 | That Eric Alper:

'via Blog this'

I wrote about this a while back as Eric was looking for contributions. Nice!

Endangered Species Creme Filled Chocolate Bars

2014-02-20T16:56:00.004-05:00

Bet I had you at "chocolate" right? I was privileged to receive a sample box of these new treats. Already a big fan of their regular chocolate I couldn't wait to try a new dimension in confections.

I particularly enjoyed the Almond Creme one and am now enjoying the Sea Salt and Lime - salty and tart! The Lavender Mint is delightful and of course Coconut is luscious. Raspberry and Orange - a perfect combination. 6 flavours in all. I have yet to sample the Blueberry..oh the sacrifices I make for you! The cocoa content is a healthy 72%.

Now in case you didn't know - this company donates 10% of proceeds to help non profit groups worldwide - yup - save Endangered Species. Not only that people these bars are VEGAN! They are also : gluten free, non GMO, ethically traded, rainforest certified and use sustainable palm oil. You can also learn about the animals featured on the packages on the inside while you're enjoying the goodies. For example the Red Panda is one the Raspberry Orange and a Lemur on the Coconut. My husband Fraser has kindly volunteered to review the bars..ha ha.

Remember people chocolate is good for you and good for your soul.

Valentine's Event - Jazz and Indian Food!

2014-02-11T16:41:00.001-05:00

I'm just going to use this press release from Keita Hopkinson - letting those of you who have procrastinated about Valentine's Day or haven't been able to get a reservation...and hey it's not restricted to couples - you can definitely fly solo.

Briefly, it takes place at Trinity St. Paul's on Bloor and features such musicians as William Sperandei, Marc Rogers and Lee Wallace

https://www.prbuzz.com/business-entrepreneur/198422-valentines-event-fun-jazz-for-foodies-also-promises-elite-live-jazz-online-that-doesnt-suck.html

In case you have a short attention span..visit www.torontojazzbuzz.com

Grasshopper

2014-02-03T14:25:00.000-05:00

There's a new veg restaurant on College just west of Spadina...just north of Kensington Market. Yes, you guessed it - it's called "Grasshopper", run by two George Brown grads...that's how we found out about it..one of our dinner guests last Friday (Sara) is a culinary instructor at GBC. She was encouraging us to check out this little spot, newly opened as of Saturday.

In fact, they announce that they are doing a "trial opening" on their door...so after some shopping in Kensington I couldn't resist partaking of some lunch. They are open from 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. and have a succinct menu for now as they work things out - salads, comfort food like burgers and quinoa mac and cheese, soups...I was told I must sample the Vietnamese "Pulled Pork" Banh Mi so I did and it was yummy.
As you can see it came with a side salad and I chose the kale version over a basic green - you can also get fries of course. Served on the traditional bun it's sweet and sour, chewy and crunchy with some marinated carrots and cabbage and radish I believe..this could be addictive.

I also tried some deliciously simple kale chips - made with salt and olive oil. Basic but tasty.

Here is the interior of the restaurant - clean and bright...you can't see the wooden bar along the opposite wall - let's hope it's filled with hungry people.

A great addition to the neighbourhood. 310 College Street.

www.grasshopperrestaurant.ca

The Perils of Posting

2014-01-27T15:08:00.000-05:00

The Internet is wonderful - it allows you to reach out and share your thoughts and experiences with thousands of unseen readers. The Internet is terrifying it allows you to reach out and share your thoughts and experiences with thousands of unseen readers.

As much as I like blogging I guess in a way I am blessed that I have an infinitesimal readership..or is that a curse? I usually blog about music - jazz and sometimes what I'm reading, food I've eaten, things I've baked, movies I've seen, books I've read
and places I've travelled to, stuff I've bought..all seemingly innocuous and I haven't received any negative feedback per se...knock on wood. It's therefore surprising to read about someone like Vanessa Bruno here in Toronto who was cyberstalked due to her blog and threatened with violence - and not just violence to her - but those around her which is extra creepy.

Heather Mallick - who is one of favourite columnists, in a recent Toronto Star column wrote about anonymous haters responding to her columns - though she is blessed with not only one but several cyber creeps and I believe also good old fashioned postal stalkers.

I bemoan that fact that because the internet provides usernames and anonymity it seems to give license to those wackjobs who feel it is okay to threaten bodily harm through their keyboards. I'm willing to bet that a number of these people would not dare to say to someone's face what they have the audacity to type.

I for one have no hesitation about attaching my name to feedback or comment..but then it may also stem from the fact that I haven't written anything vitrolic..to paraphrase Thumper said to Bambi.."If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all". I would much rather someone be blunt to my face than be false and insincere. Many of our favourite quotes from the likes of Winston Churchill and George Bernard Shaw to Dorothy Parker are because those individuals had the guts to say to someone's face what was on their mind.

As with many modern conveniences it seems sometimes that civility has gone by the wayside. I was chatting with friends recently about the phenomenon of texting and personal space and courtesy - so many are walking around texting or listening to their ipods that they appear oblivious to people in their path or their vicinity and also dangerously oblivious to oncoming traffic while crossing the street.

Where am I going with this? I guess I'm hoping that those nasty individuals out there hiding behind their screens are shamed by other higher minded folk. Yes, you are entitled to your opinion but no you are not entitled to frighten, stress out or imperil the recipient. Please choose light instead of darkness. Thank you.

Yah mon - Jamaica!

2013-12-23T17:01:00.001-05:00

Just got back from the Gem of the Caribbean - into one of the worst ice storms in GTA history! When we left last Saturday we were the last flight out for the day...what a difference arriving in this beautiful sunny place, able to stroll down to the beach, immerse ourselves in warm water and enjoy tropical drink concoctions as well as be surrounded by vegetation that usually grows only as houseplants where we are.

So nice to listen to the lovely Jamaican accents - even though when they speak patois I feel like I am listening to a foreign language!

The company Fraser works for - Levitt Safety was having a sales conference - so it was partly work for many people, but not the spouses or other guests. I enjoyed relaxing in the shade, doing a few yoga classes - the instructor was from Toronto on a working vacation - and a couple of bike rides outside the compound.

Secrets Wild Orchid/St. James is a lovely resort in Montego Bay - we had lots to eat - no worries for the vegheads - there were also local specialties like calaloo and rice and peas and delicious fruits like mango, papaya (which we saw growing our on day trip) and a first for us - soursop - creamy, custardy and a taste like a flowery pineapple. The Blue Mountain restaurant on the complex even had a tofu dish - however, we did have to explain ourselves a few times at dinner at the French, Italian and Mexican restaurants. The chef came out to talk to us at Portofino - and we had such a lovely meal the first time - we went back there on our last night. Our French meal was also lovely. Strangely we had to go back to the Mexican place to be more specific as our first dinner there was an Asian stir fry!? The next time we had tortillas and veggies, beans and guacamole. Our Asian dinner was also delicious - spring rolls, miso soup and a stir fry with rice. Our waitress there was super - wish I remembered her name!

There were all kinds of on site activities like cooking and speaking Jamaican, crafts like painting a t-shirt or painting, hat weaving, making jewellery, "name that tune" and at night lots of great musical entertainment.

We did a few off site excursions - including a visit to Rose Hall - home of the infamous "White Witch"

Annie Palmer - which may or may not be true - she could be a amalgamation of the owner's first wife, Ros- who was supposedly virtuous but nevetheless buried FOUR husbands..hmmmm...Annie apparently had 3 husbands - the first lasting 7 years, the second 2 and the third 6 months as well as numerous slave lovers. She also was good at hiding the evidence of murder, having slaves go far out on the property to bury the bodies, then have her overseer kill them as "runaways". It is a cool and spooky place at night - that's for sure. Annie was orphaned at a young age and was brought up in Haiti where her nanny - a Voodoo priestess taught her everything she knew. There is also graphic description of slave punishment and talk of haunting...wooooo. It certainly gave the six of us on the tour a few frights - dim lighting, full moon and people jumping out at us..yikes.

This fellow was walking around on stilts at the resort and selling Jamaican flags...

Sunrise...

These are some photos I took from the van when a few ladies went on a shopping excursion into Montego Bay...

All ready for Christmas...

From one of my bike tours...that's our wonderful guide on the end!

Me and one of the many crocodiles on the Black River

On one of our last days we took a trip - or the world's longest amusement park ride as Fraser said to Black River and YS Falls - the road was verrrry bumpy and winding with extra large potholes. We were getting a "butt massage" as our guide Desrine said..LOL. We had an amazing driver - Michael. Thanks to Helen of Air Canada Vacations for telling us about and booking these little getaways!

Our new friends from the Edmonton office - Dean and Charlaine

Don't try this at home kids...our guide would "call" to the crocs, pet them, shake their paws and here he is tickling one under the chin!

A few more photos of the Black River..

YS Falls...gorgeous!

Fraser having a dip...

Fundraising time

2013-11-17T10:58:00.000-05:00

Just a quick reminder - it's fundraising time at Jazz FM -that 's photo of me yesterday during my shift in the Long and McQuade Performance space area.

1-800-811-2400 or go online at jazz.fm. We need you and appreciate your contributions...plus you get wonderful thank you gifts, giveaways and a chance at many wonderful prizes!

Long Island Medium sighting!

2013-10-11T10:53:00.003-04:00

Yes, Theresa Caputo - the Long Island Medium of TLC fame was at the Chapters Indigo store at Eatons Centre yesterday. Yours truly stood in line for about an hour and a half - along with numerous others to get the opportunity to say hello and get our books signed. I can tell you she is very much like what you see on TV. Warm, friendly, genuine. I love her!

One of the kind Chapters staff members took the photos with my iphone.

Her book is called "There's More to Life Than This".

If you haven't seen the show it's a hoot - what's the madda wid you? Her husband Larry was equally popular at the signing getting many shout outs "Hey Larry!!!" and photos taken with fans.

It's nice to see someone so sweet and gracious under what must be a somewhat exhausting experience. She was gushing over a very cute baby girl ahead of me in line. The baby was very well behaved. I have had experiences at other signings where the author, also a psychic was less than enthusiastic.

Here are a couple of photos from my Cape Breton excursion - I wrote more about it on my other blog "Beginning to Blossom" as I haven't been filling the pages here these days with much jazz related scribblings.

Taken at the Celtic Lodge at Ingonish. We were a little disappointed to find out they weren't serving tea and oatcakes..

The spectacular Cabot Trail - a little wild and windy..

Mary Coin and A Beautiful Truth

2013-09-28T21:13:00.000-04:00

Just finished this amazing novel which examines the (fictionalized) lives of subject and photographer of this iconic Depression era photograph taken by real life photographer Dorothea Lange. It was riveting - I couldn't put it down and that says something to me as a reader. It travels from turn of the century Oklahoma to modern day California - to the modern day descendent of this migrant mother.

The second book is equally riveting. Colin McAdam's "A Beautiful Truth" tells the heart wrenching story of Walter and Judy Ripke,a childless couple who decides to fill their void by acquiring a chimpanzee - with tragic results. Paralleling their story is the saga of the lives of captive chimpanzees at a research facility in Florida - partly told through their unique voices. Utterly compelling, disturbing and poignant.

Krazy for Kiwi

2013-09-19T14:05:00.000-04:00

I was contacted by Eva a rep from the Zespri Organic Kiwifruit people to extoll the virtutes of that fuzzy brown fruit with the juicy emerald centre. As we are coming into the fall and winter months we still need our fruit - that's where this little power packed gem comes in - I especially like the non fuzzy ones with a more golden centre - you can eat the whole thing!

Below are some nutrition facts courtesy of Zespri:

One serving of Zespri Organic Kiwifruit has more vitamin C than an orange, more potassium than a banana, is packed with iron, and has a naturally occurring enzyme called Actinidin, which aids in good digestion. Zespri Organic Kiwifruit comes from a grower-owned network in New Zealand, where it takes over three years to prepare the soil and orchards to become certified organic. Zespri also uses 100% recycled packaging.