Half Light

Driving home from the city, after a lovely dinner with Son #2, we stopped at a service station for a carton of milk and the weekend newspaper (planning a long breakfast). This was the view from the parking lot.  Breathtakingly peaceful Mahone Bay.  At dusk.  In half light.  

WPC – Half Light

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A Garden Door

Summertime! Historic Home & Garden (and boat!) Tour.  Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. A delightful find.  A secret little summerhouse tucked into the corner of one property……

  

The door is open…… Let’s step inside….

  
Looks like an invitation to sit, perhaps read a little (maybe a seed catalogue), dream a little …..croquet, anyone?

  
Oh!  Or have a nap in the hammock! 

Norm’s Thursday Doors

A Book Walk

My past few posts reflect some of my travel experiences, so let’s bring it a little closer to home.  Come with me for a walk through the (relatively) brand spanking new Halifax Central Library – Opened December 2014.

In a city settled in 1749, and which celebrates it’s history, change does not come easy.

So, when it became apparent that the existing library building no longer met the city’s needs, a series of public meetings and consultations followed by proposed designs and more public meetings, wringing of hands and fretting ensued.  In the end though, we have this stunning piece of architecture in the heart of our old city.

Designed to resemble a stack of books, the outstanding feature is the 5th floor cantilever over the entrance plaza.

Inside, many public and private spaces are created around the central atrium and its criss-crossing staircases.

The roof-top terrace offers a broad view of the Halifax Harbour, the historic South End and the Downtown (CBD).  Inside, all that glass provides an appealing interaction between the urban neighbourhood and the cosy spaces within. There are small meeting pods, living room-like spaces, an auditorium, community rooms, an enormous children’s  section, banks of computer games as well as…….lots and lots of books!!

And coffee!  Gotta have coffee!

The reference section keeps safe and available the documents which record the history, of which we are so proud.

There are information “booths” on all floors…..

…. And the sparkling main circulation desk is backed by an interesting art installation.  Each of those wee pieces of art on the wall behind the desk is an individual painting.  And each is exactly the size of the card that librarians keep in the pocket of a library book.  Lovely, don’t you think?

The Central Library has been an architectural success, garnering many awards, including the “World Building of the Year Award in the Civic and Community Category”  in 2015 at the World Architcture Festival in Singapore.  But even better than that, with 6,000 visitors per day in a city of 414,000 souls (298,000 in the urban core) Haligonians and visitors alike have embraced this place – making truely the “city’s living room”, just as the designers proposed.

Thanks for walking with me.  Now I’d better get reading before my books are due back…….

These photos were taken with my iPhone just last month (Feb. 2016).

Dance!

Some wee Irish dancers in the St Paddy’s Day parade in NYC, where I found myself last Thursday.

Me, and few million other people were graced with this parade which reached out along 5th Ave. –  the largest civilian parade in the world.  Six. Hours. Long.

But these young sprites are looking fresh, don’t you think?

WPC – Dance

LOVE is the Answer

From the Highline, Chelsea, NYC.  Kinda says it all …

  

Photo taken with my “old” iPhone.

WPC – One Love

One Love

One Love, One Heart, One Destiny – Bob Marley

  
In Toronto’s historic Distillery District you will find this love-lock structure. 

It’s an obvious copy of the idea in Paris where lovers expressed their passion and (presumably) their commitment by attaching a lock to the Pont des Arts and tossing the key into the river. This purpose built structure is designed to hold the weight of the love-locks, unlike Paris where last June officials had the locks removed for fear that the extra weight would compromise the bridge.  

Perhaps not quite as romantic as the Paris love-locks (and just a little contrived), I still think Toronto’s version is charming.  But I wonder…. Where to they toss the keys?

WPC – One Love

Harmony

“You don’t get harmony when everyone sings the same note.” – Doug Floyd

  Here, wooden schooners are jockeying for position at the start line on a glorious July day. This is the Nova Scotia Schooner Races, Mahone Bay, 2015. The annual schooner races last a week, but this particular race day was dedicated to women skippers.  Each of these schooners had an able woman at the helm and they were racing for the Willa Creighten Memorial Cup. What a day!

A nod to International Women’s Day.

WPC – Harmony