storage yard, Davies Industrial West

A storage yard in an industrial area of town, with wooden pallets and crates stacked high... a sketch from my car while the kids nap, as I kill some time before an in-law's Kiju (喜寿＝77th birthday) celebration.

High Level Bridge Streetcar

Inspired by my son's recent infatuation with trains, we took the opportunity this Victoria Day to take the street car across the High Level Bridge for the first time. The rickety ride over the equally historic High Level Bridge on the beautifully restored 1912 streetcar is a real gem of an experience that I have overlooked until today...

 

Afterwards, lunch at the New York Bagel Cafe, right by the south terminal, surrounded by more antiques (this time, some old accordions and a piano, among other artifacts...).

cousins

My son watches Youtube clips with the help of his much older cousin, who is visiting from out-of-province on this Victoria Day weekend.

downtown vignettes (part 2): motorcycles

There are a few places where motorcycle enthusiasts seem to convene spontaneously in the city, creating a display of parked vehicles along the busy sidewalk in the warm months. This one is along Jasper Avenue, where many passersby take a moment to admire the variety of machines.

downtown vignettes (part 1)

Some (somewhat unremarkable) views in downtown Edmonton, now coming to life during the warmest week of the year. Hopefully, it will stay warm enough for a Part 2 later this week.

yoroi-kabuto

I heard that my mother's mother (my grandmother) bought this elaborate yoroi-kabuto ornament for my first Kodomo-no-hi (children's day) celebration in the 1970s. I recently shipped it from my mother's apartment in Japan to Edmonton, just in time for May 5th to set it up for my son, who will soon turn two.

It's the first time it's been displayed in decades, and I am humbled by the thought that the hopes and prayers for the well-being and future of a baby boy, embodied in this replicated miniature armour, will have now involved four generations. As I sketched, I thought of those hopes and prayers... the same ones that my parents must have had decades ago.

red trio

A banjo, trombone, and clarinet trio playing Vaudeville-ish music livens up a busy street corner during a beautiful, sunny lunch hour downtown.

construction hoist

a pair of hoists at the side of a building under construction...

Jasper Avenue bus stop

The bus stop at Jasper Avenue and 108 Street, at the top of the stairs from Corona Station on the warmest day this spring. St. Joseph's Basilica is down the street in the background.

afternoon sketch session

My 4 year old daughter decides to capture a moment on this glorious spring afternoon before church as she draws some people walking their dogs along the Mill Creek Ravine.

LRT entry at Corona Station

A lunch time sketch on a warm spring day, along a building that is gradually being abandoned (probably in preparation for redevelopment)...

Good Friday service

Two very different versions of the Good Friday service at our much larger "sister" church, as we remember the Cross and prepare our hearts for the celebration of the Resurrection...

My daughter is catching on... she's now suggesting I sketch certain moments, while she herself tries to capture them at the same time.  As she responds (to my delight) to what I am passionate about, I am reminded again of our roles as parents in nurturing our kids' sensibilities and sense of wonderment in their own faith journeys.

construction site

A staging area on a downtown construction site, full of masonry, plywood, scraps of insulation, and other miscellaneous material. It was warmer to be in the shade protected from the brisk wind, rather than to be in the sun but exposed today. Contrary to the previous post, the winter is still lingering... snow is forecast, with temperatures down to minus 14 C tomorrow night.

opening day

After a snowfall on April 1st, today is warm enough at last to make it the first outdoor sketching day in this city.

the visit

We visited my wife's great aunt, who will turn 98 this year, in Calgary. She was doing well. My daughter also decided to record the visit in a drawing.