Leslieville Lives; Stories from the 'Ville

Welcome to a Special Edition of Leslieville Lives. I couldn't 'officially' finish this project without doing a story on my friend & fellow Leslievillian, who made me wait til she was about to leave the hood. A mover and a shaker, Kelly decided to pack up and start a new chapter in her 60th year. A mother, grandmother, dog walker & blogger, her retirement begins Friday, with her dog, Booboo, an RV, the open road and no doubt many stories to come. Enjoy Kelly's story!

After two years and 41 stories, I've decided to wrap up this project. What a wonderful experience getting to know (better) these incredible people and hear their stories. I'm so glad you came along on this journey with me. In honour of all the brave souls who let me pick their brains and tell their stories, and that it's Valentine Week <3, I've put together this little love letter to them. Enjoy! And thanks for tuning in. If you want to keep up to date with other things I'm doing and re-read some of these stories, I have a separate website: dayinthelife.ca, which has these stories, photos of my neighbourhood and beyond. Diane xo

Welcome to #41 in the series. Meet a woman whose natural talents led her towards fame and fortune in the theatre, when her life was blown off course by a series of setbacks that few of us will know. Somehow, the fighting spirit always wins. Enjoy Lou's story!

Welcome to #40 in the series. Meet a woman who is synonymous with Christmas - Pop-Up markets that is. She's also a mover and a shaker in Leslieville's small business and events community and after only 3 short years, she's made her mark. Enjoy Christiane's story!

Welcome to #39 in the series. Many of you will recognize these faces. You may have seen one of them skating by on their rollerblades, another cycling or even juggling! Aside from the fun stuff, there's plenty more to know about these Sisters. And what better day to post this than today, Nov 1st, which falls in the middle of the Catholic holy three; Hallowed Eve, All Saint's Day and All Soul's day. Enjoy their story!

Welcome to #38 in the series. Meet a woman who devoted (and still does) much of her life to caring and working with animals and whose past reveals a connection as to perhaps why. Enjoy Rachelle's story!

My summer hiatus is over! Welcome to #37 in the series. After story #36, I felt it was a good idea to run a 'feel good' story. Meet a guy who many of you might know through his local website, Good Hood. A mover and a shaker and an all round nice guy, Dean and his family are some of the new(er) faces - and future - of Leslieville. Enjoy his story!

*Oops. I tried changing the previous photo and deleted the whole post. I'm not techy savvy. Afternoon readers! It's been a while since I posted my last 'Leslieville Lives' story, but I'm not done. Since my sweet girl, Sunshine, passed away in May, I decided to take some time and do a bit of travelling before I open my door to another senior pooch (probably early 2018). I'll be back mid-September with more stories from the 'Ville. I hope you've been enjoying this crazy weather summer. For now, I'll leave you with this sweet scene I saw last Sat morning outside a local Leslieville cafe, Sweat and Soda. I call it 'Waiting for Mom' (which they were) ;). Diane

Welcome to #36 in the series. Many of you know this face, but behind the smile has been a life of pain and heartbreak . Meet a man who makes the saying 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' an understatement and any of my (and maybe yours) past/present and future problems seem entirely conquerable. Enjoy Bear's story! *This story is longer than usual (if that's possible!) So you might want to grab a coffee (and maybe a tissue or two) for this one.

Welcome to #35 in the series. I'm sure most of us spent some of the this past weekend celebrating Canada Day and being thankful we're Canadian. In the spirit of living life, joyfully, here's a bright light story of a small town east coast gal making it in the big city & beyond. Enjoy Cara's story!

Welcome to #34 in the series. Meet the Pied Piper of dogs. Outspoken, flamboyant and the friendliest guy you'll meet on the streets of Leslieville, he's a pleasure to know. Enjoy Jimmy's story!

Welcome to this Special Edition of Leslieville Lives. As many of you know from my Sunday post, Sunshine passed away. She was the inspiration for 'A Day in the Life of Leslieville' which spawned this project, and instrumental in bringing me closer to this great community where we've forged many wonderful friendships. So today, I'm honouring her spirit by sharing a little bit of her, with you. This is also an appeal for anyone interested in adopting a pet, to rescue a senior. The rewards are immeasurable and their last few years should be lived well and loved. As hers was. RIP sweet girl. <3

Welcome to #33 in the series. Meet a treasure hunter who dreamt of one day being Jacques Cousteau, but took the long way there: first as an addictions counsellor, then as creator of Toronto's first club magazine and online community. Enjoy Alex's story!