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.