Leap Day Memories

Leap day was just an extra day until coincidentally I travelled to Hawaii on Leap Day 2020. Now I want to celebrate every Leap Day! I’m not travelling this time. Since I LOVE the CN Tower, I am having a CN Tower theme celebration to better remember Leap Day 2024. 

Do you have memories from past Leap Days? Special days give us the opportunity to make memories. TimeHop is a phone app that shows you past photos and social media posts from today's date. I opened my TimeHop app on February 29th 2020 and had no memories. No photos and no social media posts. I had never made a point of doing something or capturing something on Leap Day before (that I can remember).

The title on my calendar page in 2020 gave me the idea to make Leap Day amazing! I wrote a blog post in 2020 that you can read by clicking here.

Celebrating a day makes it more memorable. We want to involve all our senses and add uniqueness to better remember the moments. I also ensured that I captured unique moments by taking photos of ways I could recreate later. Something as simple, yet unusual, were the mini gold sparkling wine bottles we had on the plane. I recently saw these at LCBO and bought some to celebrate this year.

When we arrived at the resort, instead of my regular glass of wine, I had my first ever Mai Tai on the beach. I think of Leap Day whenever I hear or think of Mai Tais.

This year, I'll be staying in Toronto for Leap Day but I am planning on making it a memorable day. I imagine being a tourist coming to Toronto. What would be on my list of things to do if I didn't live here?

Luckily or gratefully, I have done most of the big tourist attractions that I'm interested in. I went up the CN Tower as recently as last summer and have had meals in the revolving restaurant on a few special occasions. Going again would not make Leap Day memorable. I wanted to find something I hadn't done before.

I searched for Hawaiian restaurants in Toronto and learned that there's a poke place just down the road from me. I had seen the word Poke in a couple of places and figured that they were restaurants who also served Poke, but this one is actually a Hawaiian Poke restaurant. My husband had a few pokes while in Hawaii but it's not really my favourite, so I kept searching. I found a Tiki bar that could be fun to have a drink at. 

But then I wondered if I wanted to make Leap Day have a Hawaiian theme or if I wanted to do something different. I celebrate Lei Day on May 1st with a Hawaiian theme. Wouldn't going to a Tiki Bar be more fun when it's hot? I let go of recreating Leap Day Hawaiian memories but made a mental note to go to the Tiki Bar this summer.

I love a view so I researched restaurants and bars that have a view of the CN Tower. Being up the CN Tower is amazing, but you don't actually get to see the Tower; except for its shadow. My husband took this incredible photo in 2019.

I have been to a few places with a view of the CN Tower, but I wanted to go somewhere different. I booked a table for a before-dinner drink (or early dinner) at The Writers Room Bar at the Park Hyatt (Avenue Road and Bloor) just in time for the sunset (hopefully we end up with a table with a view of the CN Tower and the sunset). I am writing a book, so I liked the writing theme.

"Writers Room is a reimagined interpretation of the revered rooftop bar's 50 years storied past, paying homage to the history of literary legends who shared moments in the space."

I wish my palette wasn't so picky or I'd order a drink from the "curated selection of stirred cocktails, inspired by renowned Canadian literary icons." We'll see if I am adventurous like I was in Hawaii when I ordered a Mai Tai (not as adventurous as the cocktails at The Writers Room Bar); or settle for a glass of wine.

I kept searching for other unusual things to do in Toronto and saw a few ideas, but nothing that seemed special enough. I then googled "bucket list" Toronto and came across an Instagram account called Toronto Bucket List (@torbucketlist).

They had a recent post with 8 Date Ideas for Valentine's Day that included "Paint & Sip at Pinot's Palette". Intrigued, I went to their website and saw the class they offered that night (a couple of days after Valentine's Day) was "Monet's Lily Pond - Date Night". I LOVE Monet and I LOVE hearts! 

It was perfect for me, but it was the last night they were offering it. I scrolled down through their schedule. In a few days, there would be a Monet bridge class and a tropical one (great if I hadn't seen the Monet heart). As I continued to scroll, I thought, we'll see what the Leap Day class is, and whether it's meant to be.

I couldn't believe that it was this:

I LOVE the CN Tower AND sunsets!! How serendipitously perfect!! I had tears in my eyes realizing I had a reservation at a place with a CN Tower view and the sunset! The timing would be tight (I changed the restaurant reservation for earlier) but will still need to rush over to the painting place after the sunset.

I took an acrylic painting course once. We learned very basic paintings like this one I painted:

I don't know if I could paint the CN Tower scene well enough, but it will be a memorable way to celebrate Leap Day. When I wrote a list of dreams in 1996, I wrote "to write a song I like". Perhaps I will paint the Toronto Skyline in a way that I like by the next Leap Day (no pressure for this Leap Day). I'll keep trying until I can take it out to enjoy on February 29, 2028.

This gives me another idea for Leap Day. At Christmas, I bought a CN Tower-themed gingerbread house.

It ended up not working out for us to make it, so I put it in the freezer. How perfect, that I could make a CN Tower gingerbread house and then go (try to) paint the CN Tower at night!!

I may be ridiculously overdoing it, but I also have a CN Tower 4-D puzzle I haven't completed.

This is sounding like I will celebrate Leap WEEK...😂. I can't complete this puzzle in one day, so will start it and hope to complete it by Leap Day.

The 4th dimension of a 4D puzzle is time. The puzzle includes a time poster that will lead me through time as I rebuild Toronto’s skyline history. I have been up the CN Tower many times over its 48 years. The first time being for a Grade 7 school trip. When I first moved to Toronto, I lived on The Esplanade and would see the CN Tower when I walked to Union Station every work day. I wish I carried a camera with me in those days. I love to take a photo of the CN Tower, especially when I see it from a different view.

I'm also happy to complete projects I had plans to do "someday". Someday is now. I love connecting moments from the past while creating new memories to make it more meaningful.

I have wanted to make a CN Tower photo album for years. I am going to take this celebration as the nudge I need to get it done. The Toronto skyline has changed so much in the last few decades. It will be interesting to revive those memories by looking back at my photos while making the puzzle. 

How do we do a theme album or project that doesn't have an end date? Create an artificial deadline, so I will make a CN Tower album that will end with the photos I take on Leap Day 2024.