Cherry Blossom Walk

 

Apparently I am an old Japanese lady who likes to view the sakura.

But heck, what’s wrong with that?

Enjoying the natural beauty of our world.  Simple pleasures.  Trees that are pink.

Let’s face it:  it’s the pink that wins me over every time.

Coming from Vancouver, I am incredibly spoiled with a long and colourful spring.  Often the blossoms start appearing in late-February and can last almost until the end of May. (Simply google Vancouver 'cherry blossoms' and you will find it is the season of engagement photos)

During that time, the city is a wonderland of cotton-candy trees, magnolia blossoms, and pink petals drifting in the air.  It’s pretty awesome.

http://www.newjetsetters.com/cherry-blossom-festival-springs-into-bloom/

http://www.newjetsetters.com/cherry-blossom-festival-springs-into-bloom/

http://www.newjetsetters.com/cherry-blossom-festival-springs-into-bloom/

It’s no wonder then, that this spring I was saddened to have missed it.

Toronto is not as sakura-plentiful as I had hoped.  Granted, they get kick ass weather much earlier than Vancouver.  But it’s brown kick-ass weather.

Therefore, imagine how excited I was when a friend said that High Park would be full of blossoms in May.  Imagine how much more excited I was when it was on CBC that the cherry blossoms of High Park were in full bloom. 

I need you to go one step further in your imagination:  please envision the immense excitement and pleasure my husband, the Engineer, displayed when I told him we were going for a walk.

I’ve seen him excited twice in our relationship.  Once was for the Stampede and the other the night he arrived in Italy for our wedding.  Other than that, I can never tell if he likes/loves/hates/loathes anything.  I hope to someday get used to his nonchalance when it comes to things but it’s still a work in progress. 

Look honey, the Eiffel tower. 

Shrug.

Babe – a flying pig!

Nod.

Snooky-snoo, Mr. Mop just performed a soliloquy from Hamlet.

Nod & shrug.

That is the level of his excitement.

So basically taking him to look at cherry blossoms was the height of his social calendar.

I was sooooooooooooo excited.  I missed my Vancouver spring and was so excited to see what CBC had touted as “Cherry Blossom Walk” and what I assumed to be hundreds of trees in shocking pink.

Urm, no.

The Engineer, Mr. Mop and Brooklyn and I proceeded down “Cherry Blossom Walk”.  It started as three trees.  The Engineer immediately made fun of me.  And the cherry blossoms.

Okay, three trees.

But they were very pretty.

Then we continued. 

And we found about 15 more trees.  And HUNDREDS of people.

We were both confused.  

The Engineer’s early ‘excitement’ at being dragged to see the blossoms was suddenly real as he began to be heavily entertained by what was unfolding before us.

I’m going to quote the Engineer here because he is of Chinese ethnicity and he can say this without being racist “It’s full of Asians.”

He was not wrong.

The place was full of Asians.  I wondered which ones were from Japan and if they were terribly disappointed in our fifteen, albeit pretty, cherry blossom trees.

There were families, old people, teens, a couple in wedding garb, and what appeared to be a generation of girls who believed they should only view cherry blossom trees in costume.

Again, we were confused.  Were we missing something?  Is there a ‘thing’ around that says you should wear Sailor Moon costumes while looking at blossoms? Or electric Hello Kitty scooters?

Then we crested a small hill that happened upon a much bigger hill bursting with people.  I mean bursting.  

We couldn’t quite figure it out.

Is there some non-written rule among Torontonians that this one hill is the place to be on a Friday night?

Families and friends were sitting on blankets very close to the next set of family or friends – drinking wine, eating picnics, and taking photos of themselves and the hill.  We thought maybe there was some sort of concert thing as there was a DJ and speakers set up in the middle.  

But the only people who were dancing were some hippies and their hula-hoops.

My first thought (due to the dislike of overcrowding) was:  why would you sit here when you could sit somewhere much quieter on the other side?

My second, and the Engineer’s, was:  who the hell are these people?

It was the most bizarre mix.  Bay street men and their young families sitting next to hipsters who sat next to hippies.  It was like Occupy Bay Street meeting, well,  Bay Street. 

It was weird.

And then don’t forget the Asians making their way down Cherry Blossom Walk.

The Engineer said, (and again it’s okay because he is Chinese) “The universe is colliding.  Math and hula hoops.”

We sauntered back to our car, past the 20 or so cherry blossom trees.

Glad that we had explored a new part of the city.  Sad that these trees were not quite comparable to Vancouver.  And confused at the non-written rules we were still not quite understanding.

The best thing the Engineer got out of it was that I probably wouldn’t drag him next year.

The Engineer continued to work

Brooklyn turned 4 that day!

Working!

 

The 32-year old Princess

The other day I saw a little girl, about three years old, walking down the street with her mum and baby sibling in a stroller.

The little girl caught my eye because she was wearing a Snow White dress with her little pink sneakers.  I don't think she was coming from a birthday party, or a school recital, or a Halloween party.  I'm pretty sure she woke up that morning and told her mum she was going to wear her Snow White dress and that was that.

I love when kids do that.  Little boys who wear their Superman PJ's to the grocery store or little girls who wear their super fancy flower girl dress to go to Starbucks with dad.  I once wore a huge hat that was destined for my tickle trunk around Ottawa during a summer holiday much to my mother's embarrassment.

I told the Engineer later that day what I saw and remarked how I love how quirky kids are.  He mentioned that it wasn't just kids that wore costumes in public.

This comment sort of confused me.  Who else has the guts to walk around town on a non-costume day in a Disney Princess costume?

Then I remembered.

Me.

Yes, I have worn a Disney Princess costume in public.  Twice. And not on Halloween.

The first time was for my last birthday.  You read that right. My last birthday.  It was my fellow-Virgo and work partner's idea.  There are about 4 or 5 of us who have a birthday in September. Every year we have a common Virgo party.  And Aubrey set the theme this year as Disney Princess.  I would like to note here that I am the youngest of this group at 32.  So in September a group of mid to late 30 year olds all dressed up as princesses and went out to sing karaoke.

I went as Snow White.

Nothing makes you feel like you stand up more than walking to the cash machine mid-September (as in not October 31st) in a flowing Snow White dress complete with black wig.

Let's just say that by the end of the night, and after many glasses of wine later, I made my way home and was propositioned more than once by a guy willing to be a 'dwarf'.  Hmmmm, I wonder why none of them wanted to be the Prince?

Ick.

The second time I got out the Snow White costume was a few weeks ago.  For the event of Disney Princess's on Ice.  That's right.  This 32-year old woman dressed up as Snow White to go to ice capades.

To be fair, I wasn't the only gal there dressed up as a princess.  I was surrounded by several hundred other princesses.  They just happened to be in the three to six age range.

The reason I dressed up and went to ice capades in the first place was for my little friend, Miss M, the daughter of one my oldest friends.

Miss M was Ariel and very much delighted in my choice of dress.  

The plan was I would wear my SW costume in the car ride and change in the parkade super quickly. 

Unfortunately, traffic was terrible and the threat of being late was palpable.  My girlfriend didn't want her daughter to miss the opening so I offered to jump out of the car with Miss M and grab our seats.

I clearly forgot what I was wearing.

So while my friend and her two-month old son parked (he had on a Prince Charming cape),

 I escorted Miss M down the steps to Skydome. She with her little Ariel dress floating behind her, and me with my SW cape blowing in the wind.

 I got many stares and smiles, to say the least.

Due to the fact I opted not to wear the black wig, I was a blonde Snow White.  Therefore many dads of mini-princesses mistook me for Cinderella.  I had to correct them.  HELLO?  Did they not pay attention to their daughter's myriads of Disney movies/books/stickers/dolls, etc?

Other women said that I was a 'great mum' - but I feel they were a tad judgemental.  I am sure they were thinking that I was coco-bananas.  I corrected them telling them that I was a coco-banana 'aunt'. 

My biggest fans were the little girls who also had dressed up and stared at me in wonder while having their photos taken with me.

I should have charged their mothers.

Miss M and I found our seats and she shyly asked to sit on my lap.  There we were:  two princesses watching grown women in Halloween costumes lip-sync to Disney songs while doing figure-eights on the ice.

All in all, it was a great experience.  I enjoy being able to play with kids on their level.  Or at least dress up like them.  I enjoyed the cheesy-ness of Disney Princess's on ice.

It reminded me of when I was a kid at ice capades.  I LOVED it when I was little.  I remember once seeing it with my parents in Calgary.  We went for Chinese first and my fortune cookie read "You will have fun at the Ice Capades".  I remember the wonderment of that fortune and that I did have fun.

It took me 20 years to realise that my mum just made that up.

So I hope that when Miss M is all grown up, she will also have warm fuzzy memories of ice capades and the fact her nutty aunt wore a Snow White costume for her enjoyment.

Too much princess excitement

The Easter Bunny Always Rings Twice

I LOVE Easter.

Well, I love any holiday really.  I tend to get carried away weeks before the holiday sorting through Pinterest and various blogs devoted to yummy recipes I save and then forget.  I look at holiday decor and ways to make our house Halloween/Easter/Valentine's Day/Martin Luther King Day ready and bookmark various websites.

Martha Stewart

Then I sort of drop the ball.

The holiday swiftly approached and my months of careful Internet-time-wasting have been, well, wasted and I don't do anything.

Squat.

Nada.

My enthusiasm turns to watching re-runs of Golden Girls instead.


There is not a spring wreath on our door, no toile pumpkins, no heart bunting dangling from our ceiling, no leprechauns peeking out behind fake pots of gold (that's for Martin Luther King Day in case you didn't know).

Shabbychicmania.it

Shabbychicmania.it

Martha Stewart

http://wwwourunexpectedjourney.blogspot.ca/

Country Living

Save Christmas.  I always have time for Christmas.

Anyhoo, Easter was upon us this past weekend.  And Passover.  I learned all about Passover this weekend and I like it.  Well, I liked that we were at a wedding and the father, straight out of Tel Aviv, told us that on Passover Seder one should drink four glasses of wine.  I actually feel quite an affinity to the Jewish faith (and no, not because of the four glasses of approved wine.  Heck, if that got me into religion then I definitely would be a Christian - they drink wine every Sunday) but that is an entry for another day.

I think I love Easter (and Passover) for what it symbolises.  Renewal, rebirth, rejoicing and peace.  But due to the fact that I don't really believe in Jesus (see above affinity to Judaism) nor that he rose from the dead (see my entry from 2009 here) I would say that Easter for me is more about the original Pagan celebration.  The welcoming of the newly returned sun.  The joy of daffodils & tulips blooming.  Warmer mornings and sunny days.  Pastel coloured dresses and bright pink patent leather shoes.

Kate Spade

Yes, those are my wedding shoes.  I just really really really love them.

Urm, okay, maybe not all of that is from the Pagan Easter tradition.

If you want to know more about Eostre and the celebration of moving toward the sun you can laugh here.

So I guess Easter for me is the springboard into  . . .  yup, you guessed it!  Spring.

Who doesn't love spring?  Longer days, cherry blossoms, magnolia trees, warm afternoons that still have a bit of a chill so you need to wear a cardigan, colourful dresses, colourful shoes . . . . yes, there is a definite theme.

Nonjadedblogspot.ca

http://parisinthespringtime.tumblr.com

And who doesn't love Easter?  It is yet another holiday that endorses eating copious amounts of chocolate.  But in this holiday you get to go on a little hunt AND you get to find my personal favorites: Cadbury Creme Eggs & Cadbury Mini Eggs.

Dear Cadbury, I love you.  That is all.  Love Sarah Groundwater Law.

I love Easter Egg hunts.  My grandmother was the queen of Easter egg hunts.  Well, she was the queen of all holidays - I guess that is where I get it from.  Our hunts were mega events on the farm.  My two cousins and me would search around the yard for treats left by the Easter bunny. My one older cousin would take eggs out of my basket when I wasn't looking (this is what happens if you are the baby) and my other cousin would put his extra eggs in my basket to replace the ones stolen. 

And we got more than just chocolate and boiled eggs.  I remember getting a massive Smurf one year.  Dolls, games, books.  It was like Christmas part deux.

Fast forward twenty-odd (or thirty) years and I still love and insist on an egg hunt.  The Engineer gave me one a few years ago that I felt was too hard.  So he has learned over the years to make it somewhat 'easy' - like you have to hide an egg in a surprising yet visible place.  This entices me to work harder to find more in less obvious places.  If I can't find any eggs right away I give up.

I am the kind of person who loves riddles but only if you tell me the answer right away.

This year I wanted a hunt.  But the Engineer was 'too busy' to go get the chocolates.  Even though the Easter Bunny sent him a thoughtful card reminding him to purchase chocolate with exact instructions on what I wanted and where to find them.

The Engineer suggested I go purchase the treats and he would hide them.  MISSING THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF AN EASTER EGG HUNT!  I not only love the fun of finding eggs, but I love the mystery of what I will find.

Whatever.

I relented and went and bought myself some UK Cadbury eggs, including an extra large one, from my favorite UK store on Queen street.  Then I got a ton of cream eggs & mini-eggs on sale at Loblaw's (the Engineer loves sales).

I only ate two eggs in the car ride home. I should get a medal.

Come Easter morning, I wake up to a house that is mid-disaster.  We are in the middle of a move after all.  And like I said earlier, my enthusiasm for the holiday actually dwindles by the actual holiday.  So I half-assed looked for the eggs I bought and the Engineer hid.  He chose very good hiding spots I must say, and I slowly collected the chocolate and put it on our kitchen counter.

Then I had a nap.

When I woke up, the chocolate was all gone.

Apparently he felt my hunt was lack-lustre and I needed to actually hunt rather than just happen upon the eggs as I cleaned our house.  So he hid them again.

Even though I bought the chocolate myself, I admit it's still quite fun to open the Cheerios this morning and find a bag of mini-eggs waiting for me.

I did learn a very valuable lesson this Easter. It's not that I should not expect my husband to have an Easter hunt ready for me.  Nor that being over 30 perhaps I am too old for an Easter egg hunt.

No.

It's that next time my husband gives me permission to go buy my treats for him to hide, I should stock up on shoes, bags and dresses.

I really missed an opportunity there!

Happy Spring everyone. I hope your Easter bunny was less lazy and you managed to find some incredible treats.

Oh, I should also point out that Eater symbols like eggs & rabbits go back to Pagan days as well and symbolise fertility. The Engineer was not hearing this and did NOT try to embrace the fertility of the season.

Maybe next year.

Ellen Degeneres Show