Photos | Keri Cronin

February 6, 2011
by Keri 1 Comment

A Mini-Break in Toronto

In order to beat the winter blahs I took a mini-break in Toronto this weekend. While it wasn’t the sun, sand and surf of a destination like Cuba or Mexico, it was still nice to change up the routine a little bit.

After going over to the p|m Gallery to attend the opening of a show called “Immersive” (a great show featuring work by my friend and colleague, Duncan MacDonald), we stumbled on to some fabulous live jazz at the Communist’s Daughter. We had just planned to go there for a post-gallery pint, and had no idea of the treat we would discover once we walked in. The tiny bar was packed to the rafters with people enjoying the “Saturday afternoon Gypsy Jazz” show. Musicians were crammed up against the front window, and behind the bar was Michael Lewis Johnson – pouring pints, playing the horn and belting out jazz tunes. We ended up staying for two sets, enjoying the music, the atmosphere and the people. While I have included a picture below, no camera footage could ever come close to capturing this experience, you really have to be immersed in it! I hear this takes place every 2 weeks – I’ll certainly make a point of heading back for another show!

Earlier in the day, we had brunch at Sadie’s Diner. I was especially looking forward to checking out Sadie’s this weekend because of a fabulous exhibit of work by 6 artists, all of whom are either currently students in the Brock Visual Arts program or who have recently graduated from our program. The exhibit is called “Playing House” and it will be up until the 28th of March – if you are in Toronto, be sure to check it out! (and grab some delicious vegan pancakes or a tofu scramble while you are there too!) Congrats to Miranda Austin, Carley O’Hara, Julia Prudhomme, Bethany Scholl, Bruce Thompson and Michael DiRisio on a great exhibition!

I was also happy to have a chance to check out Panacea and The Loving Hut (vegan AND nut free!! Yay!). I also discovered that places like Rancho Relaxo veganize many of their dishes by adding Daiya cheese and/or faux meats. This seems like a simple enough premise, so why can’t other eateries do this? That evening I was dining with a vegetarian and an omnivore and we all were able to find something we liked on the menu. Don’t get me wrong – I love an all-vegan place and I am not at all suggesting that everyone should run around and eat “fake” cheese and meat every day. However, there are times when it becomes necessary to pick a vegan option at a “mainstream” restaurant and I’m always impressed when there are more options than a measly “garden salad” on the menu.

All-in-all, a whirlwind trip into Toronto complete with good fun, good friends, good art, good beer and good eats. And really, what else could I ask for?!

Happy February! Spring will be here before we know it!

November 21, 2010
by Keri 6 Comments

For the Birds!

This weekend we drove down to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY to attend the Celebration for the Turkeys. This event, of course, takes place around the same time as American Thanksgiving and is a symbolic way of both celebrating the animals rescued at Farm Sanctuary and remembering those millions and millions of animals who are not as lucky. At this event turkeys like Daphne and Velma get fed tasty treats like cranberries and mashed pumpkin.

We spent a few hours at the farm, hanging out with the cows, pigs, chickens, geese, goats and rabbits. I absolutely love Farm Sanctuary — one of my favourite places on earth!

After spending time at the Farm, we all gathered at the Harbor Hotel for a vegan thanksgiving dinner. So delicious! The menu included: a yummy salad with pomegranate, a pumpkin soup that might just be the best soup I’ve ever had in my entire life, mashed potatoes, a beans and greens mix, Tofurkey, assorted veg and some delicious desserts (including chocolate dipped strawberries).

We stayed at the Marmalade Cat B & B in Watkins Glen and enjoyed a delicious vegan breakfast, complete with french toast. (thanks Sally!) There were 3 lovely cats who lived at the house — Charlie, the orange and white cat, was especially friendly!

Good Groceries was right next to the B&B and it was great to shop for products that we can’t yet get in Canada — things like the Tofurky pizzas with Daiya, Soy-based Whipped Cream and Field Roast sausages. (I know, I know! Prepared foods are not the most nutritious and we generally don’t eat them, yet it was really exciting to see and purchase products I’ve heard about in the vegan blogosphere but have not yet had access to. I promise to use them sparingly!)

While we were down in the Finger Lakes region we decided to nip over to Ithaca. I was so looking forward to going to the Moosewood Restaurant, but it is only open for dinner on Sundays. My disappointment was short-lived though — we found a funky little waffle house that had vegan waffles. Yay!!

October 1, 2010
by Keri 4 Comments

Trains vs. Planes

I’m in Boston for the NEASA conference. The theme of the conference is “The Arts and the Public.” Should be good.

I opted not to fly to Boston this time. With each recent flight I have found myself growing more and more fed up with airline travel. I realized that even “short flights” become agonizingly long by the time one factors in security, customs, weather-related delays, over-crowded runways, etc.

For this trip I decide to take Amtrak down from Niagara Falls. It was a lovely trip, but the goddesses of travel wanted to make sure that I understood loud & clear that things like weather-related delays are not just limited to air travel. Ho hum. I was hours late getting into Boston because high winds knocked out power on the rail lines between New York and Boston.

Ok. Message received loud & clear. Travel can be a royal pain in the butt no matter what form of transportation one takes. I get it.

Having said that, I still think I’d opt for a train over a plane in the future if circumstances permit. It is just a more pleasant way to travel. On both the Niagara Falls – NYC and the NYC – Boston journeys the cars I rode in were nearly silent. It was quiet and peaceful, and I found the gentle sway of the cars relaxing. (so much so that I had a few naps along the way. I can’t recall the last time I was able to sleep on a plane!) The autumn scenery whipping along outside my window was beautiful to look at, and the dining car (yes, there was an actual dining car!) had vegan burgers and Sam Adams. I wouldn’t say it was the world’s best burger, but it sure the heck beats any airline food I’ve had recently (oh wait, that is because they generally never have anything I can eat!). Even the several hour delay in NYC wasn’t so bad — I mean, really, there are worse places to have to kill a few hours! I was thinking about how easy it was to just walk out of Penn Station and go for a stroll. Compare this to when you are stuck at an airport — airports are generally in the middle of nowhere and even if you decided to take a cab from the airport to another part of the city, there is the whole matter of having to go back through security, customs, etc. upon your return.

Plus, it is just a whole lot more fun to take pictures along the rail lines, and, really, doesn’t it always boil down to visual culture in the end anyhow?

May 2, 2010
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Jane’s Walk

I just heard about this weekend’s “Jane’s Walk” initiative (thanks CBC!) — I love this idea! Even though St. Catharines isn’t listed as an official participant (yet), I’m going to get out my walking shoes and my camera and explore my new adopted neighbourhood in downtown St. Catharines today.

Updated — photos from my walk.

April 28, 2010
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Dandelions in Boston

I just got back from a wonderful research trip to Boston, which included many days in the archives of the MSPCA. Before my trip I knew a bit about George T. Angell and the founding of the MSPCA, but I now have a much better understanding of the significance of this organization to the early animal welfare movement. I had such a great visit — I learned so much and everyone was so friendly (hi Jan!).

I would love to post more (including some pics from my weekend tourist breaks to the Arnold Arboretum and the historic North Church), but I’m up against a writing deadline, so these yellow beauties will have to suffice for now.

November 25, 2009
by Keri 3 Comments

A Piece of History, A Piece of the Future

This week I had the good fortune of participating in a tour of the Canada Hair Cloth Building in downtown St. Catharines. This was a working factory until 2007 and will (hopefully!) be home to the new Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts at Brock.

This is an absolutely exquisite building and I look forward to seeing this space transformed over the coming months.

October 16, 2009
by Keri 2 Comments

…Is in the Details

This week’s Photo Friday Challenge theme is “…is in the details.”

I took this picture on Botanical Beach last June.

Our visit to Botanical Beach was one of the highlights of the trip out to BC, however it was the one aspect of the trip that also caused the most post-trip stress. Imagine our surprise when Budget just went ahead and put a $1500 charge on Laurie’s credit card for “damage” to the rental car we used to get out to Botanical Beach. The alleged damage was that the display in the Prius we rented wasn’t working properly. Well, since neither of us had driven a Prius before we weren’t sure how the display panel was supposed to look/function, couldn’t figure it out and ended up switching it off so that we could, instead, focus on the lovely scenery around us.

It still infuriates me that car rental companies can get away with this kind of crap — google it, you’ll be amazed at how prevalent these trumped up “damages” are!! The good news is that Laurie had insurance through her credit card that covered this for us, the shitty thing was that it was our word against theirs and that this all took place a month after the fact. By the time we even found out about this we were back home, about 4500 km from the car rental shop and there was little we could do.

So, yeah, “…is in the details” is a relevant theme for this picture for more than one reason.

July 30, 2009
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