George Street - St. John's, Newfoundland

August 2008

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

The photograph is from a trip to the rock in 2008, but it reminds me of a visit this past May. Thanks to the May 2-4 long weekend, everyone was out camping and partying deep in the woods leaving the atmosphere on George Street uncharacteristically tepid. "What's wrong with you guys.. no cabin to go to?" one of the bartenders smirked. But hey, as usual, I take what I can get. We had fish and chips in one bar, and checked out a couple of others before settling in at Shamrock City around the corner from here. It seemed to be the only one with live music at the time - still relatively early in the evening.

After feeding our stomachs and ears, we decided to venture out into the street. If you haven't been here, George Street is a partier's dream: a full street lined up one side and the other with eclectic bars, each holding its own, each expelling its own flavour and niche. As the sun begins its descent, the street is closed to traffic, safely enabling its mostly inebriated temporary inhabitants to zig zag from one door to the next, spreading the cheer and adopting the easy going climate of Newfoundlanders in general! Quite the beautiful thing!

For us, we knew we'd eventually make it back to Shamrock City to hear some more quality East Coast music. We discovered upon our return that the crowd had grown subtantially and the only place for us to sit and have yet another draft was all the way up to the front! The band, Greeley's Reel, was already captivating the audience with their mindblowing showmanship and crystal clear sound; I felt as if I were being pulled in to their spell. The tune they played next was delivered without any instruments except for a thigh slapping metronome to keep the tempo, with one man singing most of it himself, a heartily bearded character with great presence and a genuine smile that echoed his obvious love of the music he was helping to weave around the cozy bar. It was a quintessential Newfoundland experience, and one I was elated to experience so intimately on that evening.

John Hancock Building from the Gray Line Trolley Bus
Chicago, IL



I think it is quite okay to let life take you for a provocative ride into the unknown. Yes, it can be unnerving to forge ahead without certainty that you're doing the right thing. But really, as long as you live passionately, if you trust the very essence of life, of each new day, of your own capabilities and values, then it will always work out the way you need it to work out.

And quite often, the best adventures and interactions come into your life not when you are seeking them, but when you are open to them! I believe this is what attracts such enhancements in the first place! Best to just embrace them and allow them to take you somewhere phenomenal.

Besides, how maddenly mundane would our days be if we knew what was going to happen every time the long hand passed the twelve? I rather enjoy the thrill of not knowing what's going to happen next, and even though I realise that much of what's in my future is dependant on what I do today, some events take place without my involvement. I'm content to let these things just happen, with my head in the clouds, and my shoulders brushing the leaves as they dangle from their branches, as I breathe in everything that's good about life. Because that's how I choose to live.

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

Dufferin Islands, Niagara Falls, Ontario
December 2009



© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved



Alright, all you summer-loving people. You've had your fun. You've had all kinds of time to indulge in your delightfully lazy book-reading marathons as you become a long, late afternoon shadow on your freshly cut back yard lawn..... your endless summer nights consuming your sugar laden daiquiris and your minty mojitos and your lime infused Coronas on your cottage deck as the mosquitos drool over your exposed skin and the spiders come out to play..... your long, gratifying weekend getaways on your Harleys and your Hondas buzzing up and down the quiet streets letting everyone know that you're in town.....

Okay, so perhaps I may be speaking a little harshly! I am really not the type of person to display cynicism and even less the type of person to discourage activities that make people smile and contribute to the masses in a content and satisfied manner. But as of this week, the book of seasons has once again turned a page and it's now Autumn!!

Now I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be reduced to a molten heap of uselessness as the air licks your skin and the sun cooks your body... but it's just not for everybody!! For example, I am the person emphatically flipping my calendar to the -embers with unbridled exuberance as I breathlessly wait for the refreshing waves of cooler air to wash over me and fill my lungs and my spirit with energy.

Of course, where I am, in Southern Ontario, I am still holding my breath for that and it's becoming a little trying to continue doing so. It still feels like summer. Granted, it's a more comforable summer, but its time has come. Enough is enough. I see all these comments from my Facebook friends who still reside past the eastern point of the weathervane who get to announce the signs of the arrival of fall, mostly with acceptance: the multi-hued leaves that crunch underfoot, the chilly morning air that induces wakefulness and allows you to don that great fall jacket, adding another element to the day's ensemble, and yes, even the promise of colder days as winter awaits its cue to emerge onto the stage. That's right, people, I said it: winter is just around the corner!!  Fresh crystal clean air with vibrantly blue, clear skies... rich hot cocoa and fragrant wood fireplaces, cozy blankets and textured sweaters, thick spicy soup simmering on the stove.... exhilerating skiing excursions and rejuvenating afternoon jaunts as the snow compresses underfoot and thin sheets of ice hover over puddles and ponds just waiting to be stepped on with a big satisfying crunch!!!

I am also not the type of person to wish away any of my days, but I AM excited to be on the verge of the full blown arrival of my favourite time of year! And I'm not afraid to proclaim it!!!!

An inhabitant of Jackson-Triggs Niagara Estate Winery

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON

I enjoyed becoming a part of the Jackson-Triggs alumni this past weekend, on a refreshing afternoon, accompanied by desirable company. Our tour guide, Paul, was fantastic, his love of all things wine seeping into his words and their delivery. Obviously, we were just another cluster of wine lovers to be walked through the viticultural process of one of Niagara's most successful wineries, but one feels as though it is a exclusive peek into its inner workings, particularly upon our descent into the delightfully moody cellar. I'm positive that the wine tastes better down here!!!

I have always loved watching tidy rows of vines fllitting across my gaze whenever I tour Niagara wine country. (I'm certain that if you look up the word Niagara in some dictionaries, it will be defined as "wine country"!!) I've driven through some Niagara-on-the-Lake backroads around this time of year and have literally smelled the sweetness of the grapes in the air, virtually tasting it on my tongue. And the gnarled old grapevines that have been granted new life from having new limbs spliced onto their extremities (a fact that we learned from Paul!) always exude such character. As I watch them from the vehicle, while en route to nowhere in particular, I liken their existence to subjects in a flipbook, collaboratively dancing their obscure, quirky dance as my eyes jump from one twisted stalk to the next, each one exhibiting its own personality.

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

Late Afternoon on Tuesday, September 14

I take a deep breath.... which is followed by subsequent deep breaths.... and soon I realise that every single breath penetrating my lips is that of the deep cleansing kind.... the kind that I focus on ingesting when I feel stressed or frustrated... the kind that is sometimes elusive but typically intentional... the kind that is now flowing in and out of my lungs effortlessly... repeatedly... multiple deep cleansing breaths!!!

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

And so this is the view from my location this past Tuesday afternoon as I am enjoying a post work run, complete with my iPod and a healthy dose of determination. Okay, it is technically a post work 'walk-to-run', but I won't chastise myself with such minor details. The important thing is that I was never a 'runner', and now here I am.... running! And feeling pretty darn terrific, too! I find myself tickled with chills as I hear John K. Sampson's lyrics to Aside weaving out of my headphones : "....I am so much better than I used to be."  (Psst.. it's The Weakerthans. Google them. You won't be sorry. My somewhat recent exposure to the quirky and ingenious world of indie music is just one of the ways my life has been enriched in the past year or so.)

So I step on... running, then walking, then running again, listening to a myriad of auditory stimulation, both old and new.... everything from Pete Yorn to Madonna, Metric to Blue Rodeo, Gaslight Anthem to Black Eyed Peas.... it's all working for me here. The air is refreshingly clean and the trees are standing tall and proud along the Welland Recreational Canal, their mature leaves dancing in the wind, as if waving at me and cheering me along. I love watching them.. almost as much as I love watching the clouds which, on this day, are crystal clear and vibrant in every possible shade of white... a metamorphic background to my hour of "me time" that I've unapologetically carved out of my busy cluster of responsibilities.

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

As I run, and walk, I find myself erupting into spontaneous releases of laughter, just because I feel so good and so alive and so free. And the best part is it flows out onto the rest of my day, seeping into every facet of my routine, nourishing my evening with confidence, patience, and vitality, not to mention an ample supply of endorphins tossed in for good measure!!! This is definitely one of those activities that I am happy to have made a part of my life! And by the way, I have every intention of removing "walk-to" from the equation some day!

Peter Pan - Bowring Park

St. John's, Newfoundland

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

Whenever I venture home to Newfoundland, a leisurely afternoon at Bowring Park is always on the itinerary. We love to meander around the pond, contributing to the shower of breadcrumbs and Cheerios floating down from the bridge, much to the delight of the ducks and trout below who have probably come to expect it in life!

Here, I have photographed Sir George Frampton's conception of Peter Pan, a replica of his original statue in Kensington Gardens in London, England. Peter frolics on his earthy tower close to the entrance of the park, atop an enchanting assembly of forest creatures and fairies that appear to be morphing out of the mound of earth below him. I can walk around and around this creation, discovering each being as if it were the first time I saw it, marvelling in its dreamy quality.

The day I took these pictures was dusted with a refreshing mist, causing the foliage to glow with its vivid greenness, and casting a tempered calmness onto the afternoon. As I photographed some of the inhabitants of the statue, I discovered some well placed raindrops that stood out from all the others:

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

In a classy city like Toronto, the streets are like aisles upon aisles of candy just waiting to be devoured, treats to delight the eyes and stimulate the psyche on any day of the week.

I recently made the opportunity to partake in just one of these offerings: the Steam Whistle Brewery. I am a fan of the immensely refreshing beer, but I had no idea just how cool its birthplace is: Steam Whistle Brewing Company was conceived and created by three guys who refused to sit in the corner and cry upon losing their dream jobs but instead went on to create an even more perfect vocation not only for them, but for their enthusiastic and fortunate employees.

Some more reasons this place intrigued me so: this company has been greener than its retro bottles long before it was hip and essential to be green. It provides space for original and passionate local artists to showcase their work and retains one piece from each artist for its own growing collection. Finally, it lives and thrives in the historic John Street Roundhouse, happy to be occupying bays that had been used for servicing steam train cars, and proud to call the mighty CN Tower and energetic Rogers Centre its neighbours.
© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved

The Beach at Conception Bay

Just skipping along on one massive stretch of Canada's frame as it is kissed by the ocean again and again. Navigating this geological carpet certainly tests your balance, and like anything, the more you do it, the more deft an adventurer you become. The rocks along the grass are much larger and more fickle than the ones at the shoreline, particularly where they peak, as in this photograph, increasing the possibility of a slip.

I like looking at a picture I've taken and not being able to distinguish what I like best about it. For example, do I like this one for the magnificent cloud formations against the contrasting blueness? Is it the spirited silhouette becoming one with the brooding rocks? Is it the successful use of the rule of thirds?

I took a similar picture, but with more of the rocks than the sky, and I enjoy this one more. So I suppose with that, I have answered my own question!

© Christine Mastroianni, all rights reserved