Five Boros / Five states

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve posted. We took a mini-break over last weekend, heading back to New York to take part in the annual Five Boro Bike Tour. We added an extra night for the drive down and another on the way back to make it a bit less hectic. Our route took us through the Adirondacks, where we stopped to eat our sandwiches by the side of Long Lake. Our return route skirted around the Adirondacks from Utica up.

The night on the way down was to allow me to get to Woodbury Commons Outlet Mall. We scored our Samsonite suitcases there for a sweet deal, and this time I had shoes and some stuff for the house on my list. When I started to research accommodation near the mall, only two places popped up, and neither were particularly good value or scored high on satisfaction. So I expanded the search north, looking for something off the I-87. We got a great deal on the Days Inn in New Windsor/Newburg. The town is close to Westpoint, and even has an airport! We took our usual route through the Adirondacks, joining up with the I-87 at Warrensburg. It saves a few bucks in tolls over the interstate route via Syracuse.

In other developments

NosyNeighbour was reading the latest edition of the Kitchissippi Times and stumbled across an ad for a new development coming to Hintonburg/Wellington West. The building looked intriguing, but very tall. So he visited the web site and twitter feed to get more information.

The web site boasted of “communal rooftop urban farm and weekend farmers market … pet borrowing service …and geothermal heating”. It was going to be 48 storeys located between the “Digestive Tract” and Artist’s quarter. And we both thought it’s got to be a joke, but who would go to all the trouble of paying for an ad (albeit in a community newspaper) and developing a web site. And if it were for real, what a contrast to the developers at the Pro Shine site.

On twitter, the Wellboron tweeted:

The Wellboron ‏@TheWellboron 31 Mar

Shabby just got chic…come visit the interactive sales centre in our grand opening April 19th. Live where you feel alive…The Wellboron.

A new developer comes to town

A few years ago, a developer attempted to come up with a plan for the northeast corner of Island Park and Wellington St. West / Richmond Road. They wanted to build taller than the neighbours wanted (no surprise there) and originally proposed parking garage access through a back street. The neighbours were up in arms and forced the city to move the access onto Wellington. Eventually the developer gave up on the site.

Neighbourhood news – the Spring 2013 edition

My last update was heading east to Hintonburg, and I promised to go west next time. I did, I just didn’t get around to posting the pics and updates until after I’d headed east again. Pics are at the bottom for those who don’t like words.

So I’ll start in the west first, but it would really be a later winter update.

• Heathers, which was a consignment store, has now closed. The windows are papered up, with no sign of what’s going in next. The PostNet store in the same strip mall is also for lease. I suspect rents will or already have gone up since the whole strip is going to be re-faced. I wonder how long the Piggy Market will be there?
• The newish Second Cup has new perpendicular sign that I haven’t noticed before. I like these types of signs because they’re meant for pedestrians who can’t see the signs 20 feet up the building as they walk along the sidewalk.
• Belgian Chocolates is moving to Bells Corners.

Neighbourhood update: Hintonburg and Wellington West

Spring was in the air today, which meant a walk around the hood for this no-longer-working woman. Oh, and my library books were due soon so I figured I’d head in that direction first.  This time I remembered to take pics with the phone and finally got the bluetooth transfer to work. So heading west to east, here are my updates:

• Flowers Talk is moving to Orleans. No indication of when on the sign.
• The former location of Renee Levesque has been leased. No indication of what’s moving in.
• Lots of busy beavers in the future Wellington Mags / Toy Soldier Market(which is moving from its current Byward Market News location) and the future Flying Banzini. The dividing wall in the former Collected Works shop has been reinstalled, and the east wall of the future restaurant is now exposed brick. You can see more pics and read about the restaurant’s progress here.
• Cambridge Design Gallery is closing its location on Wellington and is having a moving sale. I believe the sign said March 16 was the last day. Could it be higher rents in that building? I remember when Artistic Cake Design left for that reason.
• The former FiNet computer/home security …. let’s face it I never really knew what it was but suspected it was a front for shady dealings … on Wellington just east on Holland is being converted into a medical clinic and pharmacy.

So I dropped off my library books and continued along. I was going to pop into Giant Tiger for some Frank’s Red Hot (on sale this week for $3!) Because well …. I put that shit on everything. But it wasn’t 9:00 yet so I continued on towards the Dollarama. Along the way I noticed:

Neighbourhood updates – March

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. After this morning’s walk, I’ve finally got enough to tell you about things going on in the hood.

First up, Alteriors furniture store has moved. I first saw a sign saying they were going to move. Then I saw the furniture being moved out. Then we saw a mannequin in the window wearing ladies clothes. And today the windows were papered over, except for an intentionally cut out flap for nosy people like me. At the bottom of the window was the explanation for the mannequin:

March 21-24th Pop in to a temporary boutique created by locals Twiss & Weber. For more information use the QR code. And, keep your eyes on this space.

I couldn’t get the QR code to work. Maybe it it was too cold or I wasn’t getting the whole pic in the shot. Oh well. Will let you know what happens.

Heading to the far east of my morning walk, the Ging Sing restaurant has closed and has a big for lease sign in its window. It’s on the east side of the Somerset Bridge over the O-train on the north side of the road.

As I came out of GT, I noticed workers were busy inside the Elmdale. I suppose it won’t look much like a tavern when it reopens as an oyster bar. There are some restaurants that I probably won’t visit. Supply and Demand comes to mind because not much on the menu is cooked.

Furniture Habitat continues to have its retirement sale. The building is now for lease or sale. Initially it was just for lease.

Back in Wellington West, Polanco Furniture is holding its moving sale as it consolidates into one location near the Stupid Store. (Yes, that’s what I call it ever since a neighbour used the expression).

 

Too bad I missed this …

Last October, NosyNeighbour and I attended the Craft Brewers’ Market in Hintonburg. I’d read a quick blurb somewhere so we stopped after hiking the morning away in the Gatineau Park. Nothing like sampling a few beers to rehydrate, right?

And while I’ve wandered down to Winterlude three times this year (that’s what happens when you have photo assignments for class!), I didn’t hear about this new event until after the fact:

I know there’s a lot happening for Winterlude, but I find the NCC’s web site isn’t well organized. At the start of Winterlude I tried to find out whether there were fireworks. I still don’t know if they had any. So, here’s the new event I missed (from the NCC’s web site buried at the bottom of a page).

WinterBrewed

Ottawa’s newest annual craft beer festival is here!

On the final weekend of Winterlude, join the award-winning team from National Capital Craft Beer Week for two days of fun and activities.

• Celebrate the 200th anniversary of craft brewing in Canada’s Capital Region with fantastic seasonal craft brewed beer and artisanal food.
• Warm up to a hot beer, or enjoy one of your craft-brewed favourites from around the region and beyond.
• Cheer on your favourite team during our winter games, and participate in the largest snowman building competition around!
• Enjoy our on-site sugar bush in the beauty of Ottawa’s oldest pedestrian mall.

We have fun planned for adults and kids alike. Age of majority is required to enjoy the beer.

Activities are free; however, attendees will need to purchase the official festival glass in order to buy beer, as well as festival tokens to sample beer and food.

Saturday, February 16 and Sunday, February 17
11:30 am to 9 pm

Presented by the National Capital Craft Beer Week in collaboration with the Downtown Rideau BIA.

If anybody reading this attended, let me know if it was any good. Hopefully next year I’ll hear about it BEFORE it happens!

Neighbourhood Update and not working

I have to admit that I’ve been meaning to post for a while. In fact, my plan was to blog even more after I left work. Well, I’ve been busy enjoying life, which is more than I can say when I was at work.

So here’s what’s new around the hood:

The Flying Banzini is moving into the former location of Collected Works on Wellington. This restaurant is all about meat, something NosyNeighbour will appreciate. I’ve walked by a couple of times and will follow along on their blog as they move from conception to restaurant opening.

In the quest for taking some photos for my photography class, I took a very cold slippery walk along the Ottawa River on Monday. It made me wonder why the NCC doesn’t do more for this valuable recreational green space. Either plow it and install wind blocks so cyclists can use it all winter, or open up the parking lots so people can snowshoe and ski in the winter.

I was surprised that I one jogger, one snowshoer and one pedestrian in my travels. It was incredibly cold on the fingers trying to set up my camera to take “selective motion” pictures of the rapids. But I am getting better with the camera. When I get really good, I’ll post a link to some pics.

Some funny things have happened since I stopped working. When I went grocery shopping a few Fridays ago, I accidentally bought day old bread because I didn’t know the date. I had to argue with cashier saying it was on sale, despite what it said on the label. She gave it to me at a reduced price, so at least I didn’t pay full price for day old bread, but it made me think that I’ll have to check the date before I buy next time.

I’ve also noticed that old Italian ladies like me in the store. At a recent visit to Walmart, one approached me about plant food. She wanted to know if the liquid had to be diluted. So I read the bottle for her and confirmed that yes it would. Then she asked what the difference was between two packages of plant spikes. I replied that it was the price, smiling to myself. She wanted to know if there was a difference other than price. So I told her she’d be paying for the Miracle Gro name. We both bought the cheaper spikes.

I’m still trying to establish a schedule for my life. I was someone who loved structure, but I’m not so sure now. I used to be a morning person, but when NosyNeighbour suggested leaving at 6 a.m. for our day trip to Whiteface over the weekend, I thought he was off his rocker. Then he asked me to drive there, and I really had to wonder what he was on. I did manage to drive part way there. And I wished I’d brought my new camera. We saw the most amazing sunrise. You’ll just have to take my word on it. It was a bit challenging driving because it was typically right in your face as you came up over the top of a hill.

Anyways, I’ve blogged now. So I don’t feel so guilty.

Around the ‘hood

Just a quick update on things I’ve noticed walking around Wellington village:

• the sign is up for Supply and Demand (the oysterbar replacing Santorini’s)
• Viña del Mar is no more. The sign is gone, but the chairs and tables remain.
• workers are busy inside the former Carbon Computing, now Nomadic Training

And they finally removed the snow from our street! And managed not to rip up the grass! woo-hoo!

Neighbourhood happenings

Last week I walked home from with my walking pool buddy.

Going through Hintonburg, I noticed a sign, but no other signs of change, at the former location of Carbon Computing. It’s the one that used to be a bingo hall. The sign now says Nomadic training. But I didn’t see anything else different. Maybe it’s a Hintonburg thing to put up the sign first, then open six months later. A bit like the panini place at Parkdale and Wellington.

Of course it’s old news now, but since part of this blog is about my hood, I have to include Collected Works closing its doors on December 24. If your business plan is wishing for a mystery buyer to bail you out, maybe you were in the wrong business. I bought a few books from them before the expansion. But the expansion just looked completely mismanaged. It never looked like one store, and always seemed not finished. While I like the idea of a having a local bookstore, Collected Works just wasn’t doing it for me.

As we walked along Wellington, chatting away, I noticed paper on the windows at Renee Levesque jewelry and clothing. When I stopped to see what was up, I realized the sign was missing too. I checked the web site and it didn’t say anything. In fact, it showed two locations in Ottawa. So I’m glad I waited a week to post because now it says “No locations in Ottawa.” It’s too bad. I really like the store. I’d bought a few gifts for my niece and a friend. Each time, the service was excellent. Maybe there are just too many clothing and jewelry stores in the hood. But I’d rather have them than another baby store!

Next up on the other side of the street, progress is being made in the former Santorini’s restaurant. Unlike in Hintonburg, businesses in Wellington Village wait until they’re ready to open before they add a sign. It’s supposed to be an oyster bar, opening  mid-January. It’s called Supply and Demand. You can read more about it here. Apparently it will be dinner only. Don’t they know those Tunney’s Pasture workers LOVE to take long lunches?

A bit farther west, Illume is now open. The benches seem a bit odd, and they could use a better garbage can. Maybe that will come in the spring. I hope they’ll have bistro tables too.

Over the holidays, we also walked down to Westboro. Of course Moe’s Newport restaurant has now moved in with its sister Donna Express. Two new signs are on the same side of the street heading east:

• NRML, which seems to be some kind of gangsta rap place (sigh, I know, I’m getting old) and
• Dream Weaver, a gift shop that has expanded from its original Brockville location. I walked past it this morning but it was too early for it to be open. Maybe in the coming weeks.