A different kind of snowman

What's in your coffee?

Last winter, I had a latte at The Good Neighbour Espresso Bar in The Junction (238 Annette).

The barista made a snowman in my coffee.
If the current staff still know how to do this, I'm sure they could make it on top of a foamy hot chocolate. That would help to chase the February blues, wouldn't it?

Check my snow fun board on Pinterest, with many activities not requiring actual snow!

Like Toronto Fun Places on Facebook!

(Feb. 26) One word to describe

There's only one word...

... to describe how I feel now, regarding my self-imposed deadline of sending the material to the printer at the end of February 28th.

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The making of a Toronto walking guide

(Feb. 24) About caffeine

About the role of caffeine in the making of a guide

Sometimes, there's lace in my latte!

In our last email exchange, I was telling my illustrator that everyone but me got a nasty cold in my family. I suggested that maybe the fact that my body is saturated with caffeine helped.

She told me that she has to thread carefully between enough coffee to get a buzz but not enough to prevent her hand from being steady. Good girl!

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The making of a Toronto walking guide

(Feb. 23) About staying connected

About keeping in touch with our friends (anyway we can)

I was laying out the Roncesvalles Stroll, which I did with my friend Julie. As I was placing her photo, I was thinking about her and decided to post the page I'm working on on her Facebook wall.

Little nods, here and there, to say I still exist and to remind myself that I'll get my social life back once the guide is done!

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The making of a Toronto walking guide

(Feb. 22) About the layout

About laying out the photos on the guide's pages.

For the last five days and the next two, I've been adding the photos to the texts in Toronto Urban Strolls 2. On one side, I have the full text of a stroll. On the other, a file with a selection of the best photos for the stroll.

1) First, I need to re-read the text to see when a photo would potentially be most useful, and mark the place with a number. (I write down what the photo should describe.)

2) I open the Best photos file to see the selection of the best photos I pre-selected (out of approx. 1,000 +) and note the photo # of potential choices for each number in the text (there's a system to my madness...).

3) I select all the potential photos and run them through iPhoto to enhance each one.

4) Then I "test-drive" them on the pages, selecting one photo per spot in the text according to horizontal or vertical options. It often takes a few trials.

When it goes from a text-ony page to a fully completed one, it's a great feeling!

Related blogs about:

The making of a Toronto walking guide

(Feb. 19) About mistakes

True story!

If you cut & paste around titles when working on the layout of your book, the titles:

Author's favourite TOP-3 STROLLS 
and 
TOP-3 STROLLS for shopping therapy

could become:  

Author's favourite therapy

Not good! When this starts to happen, it's time to take a break.

Related blogs about:

The making of a Toronto walking guide

Fun with (whatever little) snow we have

I was absorbed in my work. When I looked out the window, big fluffy snow flakes were falling over the city. Then I blinked...

Whenever I find a fun snow-related activity, I collect it on my Snow Fun board on Pinterest. Have a look! You'll find:
• a link to the full clip of The Snowman (drawn by Raymond Briggs)
• an activity to create a storm in a bag
• the most original treasure hunt (with coloured ice cubes)
• a snow ad shooting gone wild
• and more...

You need a Pinterest account to see this bord (if you're new to this, I like this tutorial by ThriftyNinja on how to use Pinterest).
Once you have an account, go to pinterest.com/NathaliePrezeau and look for my Snow Fun board.

For winter fun see the kids' outing of the week on torontofunplaces.com.