Larissa
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purlgurly.bsky.social
Larissa
@purlgurly.bsky.social
2.6K followers 1.4K following 4.9K posts
She/her/elle. Alto, ADHDer. Interested in politics (esp.TOpoli), stories, disability, food, knitting, geekery, cats. Unrepentant leftie in 🇨🇦
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purlgurly.bsky.social
#Toronto folks - found out today that my local outdoor pool has extended hours this year until September 20. Woohoo! 🎉 Extended swim schedules available here: www.toronto.ca/explore-enjo...
Photo of an outdoor pool with bright blue water, bright blue sky, and surrounded by tall pine and other trees.
September 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
My favourite lake, Ontario
A dramatic photo of Lake Ontario taken at Bluffers Beach. White-capped waves and a deep blue sky with streaky white clouds.
August 27, 2026 at 10:58 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
I love the conclusion of this piece. The writing by wealthy lefties handwringing over placing their kids in private schools was exactly what came to my mind when I read one of the surgery pieces referenced:
Like the U.S. education system, in which rich people can pay their way into private schools, thereby weakening the public schools their neighbors must attend, female aging poses a collective action problem that only some of us feel invested in solving. If you're rich and want to look hot, and you make the most obvious decision by buying a new face, you're opting out of the pool of women demonstrating that life with an aging face can be fulfilling, sexy, and fun. That's your right to do, and it's my right to judge you for doing it. Certainly, it's no one person's job to defeat ageism and sexism. But there's nothing particularly noble about explaining why you didn't want to try.
August 24, 2026 at 11:20 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Two lovely colleagues were meant to be seeing the BTS show tonight... ⛈️

Seems like Rogers Stadium is still holding on making the final cancellation call.
UPDATE OUR TEAM IS CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE WEATHER. ANY UPDATES WILL BE SHARED ON OUR SOCIALS AND IN THE APP. THANKS FOR HANGING IN THERE, ARMY!
August 22, 2026 at 11:26 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Also, they employ an actual artist, not AI (cough, looking at you, Moleskine: cjleo.com/blog/moleski...)
CUSTOMER CARE, ARTIST - Jess Couture wears two hats at Hemlock & Oak: the illustrator behind our exclusive sticker collections, and the friendly voice on the other side of your emails. A Vancouver-based illustrator and painter, she fills every sheet with hand-drawn, nature-inspired whimsy. Playful icons and little moments of soft magic designed to make planning feel less like a chore and more like play. That same care carries into customer support, where no question is too small and every parcel matters. If an email from us ever brightened your day, it was probably Jess!
August 22, 2026 at 12:57 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
I have actually been using it? For almost a month! And I like it so much that I went ahead and ordered a 2027 one, and then got a smaller 2026 one for free (yay end-of-season inventory) that I think I might be able to use for a specific purpose beginning in September.
Two hardcover cloth-bound planners in a stack. The top is a deep red, and the bottom is a deep teal-green.
August 22, 2026 at 12:54 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
I read this as "Friday is for rocks" and I'm down with that!
Photo of the rocks on Woodbine Beach in Toronto. Lake Ontario is blue and a sailboat is visible on the horizon. The sky is blue, dotted by fluffy clouds.
August 21, 2026 at 1:31 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Apparently tickets went fast, but there's going to be a rush line on the day of the event. ⚾️
What to expect Beloved Toronto Blue Jays sportscaster Hazel Mae shares her open and insightful new memoir, in conversation with Ernie Clement. Please Note: Pre-booked tickets for this event are sold out, but we will be running a rush line beginning on the day of the event. Any seats that become available will be opened up to the rush line on a first-come, first-served basis beginning 15 minutes before the show starts. Please continue to check back as more tickets may also become available.
August 19, 2026 at 5:04 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
But no, probably better to hear from Dr. Heath: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iona_He...
"She has been particularly interested to explore the nature of general practice, the importance of medical generalism, issues of justice and liberty in relation to health care, the corrosive influence of the medical industrial complex and the commercialisation of medicine, and the challenges posed by disease-mongering, the care of the dying, and violence within families."
August 19, 2026 at 2:05 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Living in Bookstonbury for the year? I'd get to go to the Summer Bonfire and the Festive Market and help the youths build a stage to perform outdoor Shakespeare? How do I sign up?
A MacBook open and displaying the start screen of the game "Tiny Bookshop"
August 19, 2026 at 3:26 AM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Shared by one of my brothers to the family chat this AM:
A Louis Varland meme based on The Princess Bride: LV: "I'm on the committee" Miracle Max: "You *are* the committee"
August 16, 2026 at 4:11 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
I present the Pumpkin Bomb:
Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two wedges of pumpkin pie, on a stick, dipped in chocolate...
August 15, 2026 at 10:11 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
August 15, 2026 at 9:57 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
The Star's reporting this afternoon makes it clear that the purpose was to surveil her and surreptitiously obtain photos that would be professionally damaging. It would be great to see some charges.
"Stuff happens during the elections," Ford said, even though it was more than a year away from the 2025 provincial election. Tory sources, speaking confidentially in order to discuss internal deliberations, said the idea was to get pictures of Crombie and her then-boyfriend enjoying themselves at the resort to use in a multimillion-dollar attack advertising blitz in an attempt to show that she was out of touch with voters. The PC Party did not immediately respond to the Star's request for comment.
August 13, 2026 at 9:03 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Stiles is absolutely right:
NDP Leader Marit Stiles called the Jamaican mission "disgusting" and "despicable," and said it was the latest example of Ford importing "Trump-style" politics into Ontario. "As a woman in politics, as one of his political opponents, I find it deeply disturbing," she said in an interview. "Obviously, it's not the first time I've worried about my personal privacy, and what lengths this government will go to try to dig into our lives. I'm so offended and appalled that they would do this to Ms. Crombie." Stiles added: "The premier has a 24-hour security detail from the OPP. I don't have that, and none of the other opposition MPPs have that. I would like to know whether he was aware." Stiles said it represents "yet another reason" women may think twice about running for office. '(Ford) needs to apologize and heads need to roll here," she added. "And frankly, the rot starts at the top."
August 13, 2026 at 11:44 AM
purlgurly.bsky.social
So no one else has to click on the Daily Fail:
I'm sitting alone in my flat with my laptop open, being assessed online for a condition I'm fairly sure I haven't got. The assessment cost £1,200, paid for by a TV production company for a documentary on the rise in ADHD - and I want to be fair about the subject. I'd deliberately selected a consultant psychiatrist as l knew they would do the job properly, since the point was never to go hunting for some rogue clinic dishing out diagnoses. So over the next hour-and-a-half I answered everything the psychiatrist asked me honestly. Yes, I keep going more or less every night until half two in the morning and then fall asleep on the spot. Yes, my phone lives in my pocket and nowhere else, because otherwise | lose it multiple times a day. And yes, I've a dreadful sense of time, which is why every clock in my flat is deliberately set to a different time, to keep me on my toes. At the end, I was diagnosed with ADHD, combined type - characterised by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Even though it's the judgment of a highly qualified professional, I don't accept it, and lil explain why later. Having been handed the diagnosis I was eligible for medication, so for the purposes of this experiment I took it. It was lisdexamfetamine - the same drug thousands of children swallow every morning. Before my first dose I read the side-effects: Agitation, anxiety, low mood, irritability, tics, uneven heartbeat, raised blood pressure, weight loss, teeth grinding, blurred vision, nosebleeds, aggression, and the list goes on. ADHD drugs are amphetamines, Class B controlled drugs in the same schedule as morphine, and there are sound reasons we warn everybody else off them. The experience was horrible. I'd heard people say the tablets turned them into zombies and assumed they meant dopey, but it's subtler and stranger, because what I felt was dulled, mute, compliant and withdrawn, as if somebody had turned the colour down on the television. My thoughts came more slowly, I wasn't interested in anything. An hour after taking the first tablet I wandered down to the shops: As you'll see in my documentary, a man who normally can't stop talking stands mutely at the counter, while the poor shopkeeper tries to make conversation. stare blankly at him. (I went back the next day to apologise for my strange behaviour.) If I exist at about a ten, this had me down at 7.5, and those missing couple of points are what make me who I am - with just one pill.
August 12, 2026 at 9:13 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
One of my family members is an opera singer, and lifting has improved her life in so many ways, including helping with the stamina to comfortably perform!
An opera singer with amazing pipes standing on stage next to a piano, singing with a smile on her face.
August 11, 2026 at 1:37 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
We're seeing wind gusts, but no rain or hail.
EMERGENCY ALERT / 1m ago ALERTE D'URGENCE Environment Canada: VERY LARGE HAIL in this mobile coverage area. Take immediate cover if weather threat approaches. Avoid windows. Protect your head if outdoors. Severe Thunderstorm Warning, 3:32 p.m. EDT Saturday 8 August /// Environnement Canada: TRÈS GROSSE GRÊLE dans votre zone actuelle de couverture cellulaire. Réfugiez-vous immédiatement en cas de phénomène météo menaçant. Éloignez- vous des fenêtres. À l'extérieur, protégez votre tête. Alerte d'orages violents, 15h32 HAE le samedi 8 août
August 8, 2026 at 7:46 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Happy #InternationalCatDay from Nika
Photo of a black-and-white cat with a pink nose curled up in her cardboard box cat nest and looking at the camera with a small smile.
August 8, 2026 at 5:06 PM
purlgurly.bsky.social
The year that The Odyssey was at Withrow Park ❤️
Photo of a woman sitting with two boys on the grass, with an outdoor stage being set up in the background.
August 8, 2026 at 2:56 AM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Post the best picture you have ever taken of your pet
An upside-down black-and-white cat clutching a gecko toy in her paws.
August 8, 2026 at 2:01 AM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Silly pictures ahoy. Nika has absolutely no dignity when she plays.
Photos of a black-and-white cat in a cardboard box, playing with a ribbon toy, legs akimbo. Photos of a black-and-white cat in a cardboard box, playing with a ribbon toy, legs akimbo. Photos of a black-and-white cat in a cardboard box, playing with a ribbon toy, legs akimbo.
August 7, 2026 at 2:39 AM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Final vacation fun project was the new LEGO Botanicals Golden Pothos 🪴 It was a fun build!
The LEGO Golden Pothos set on a wood nightstand with a white lamp in the background.
August 6, 2026 at 2:32 AM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Such a pretty sunset today:
Photo of a sunset in shades of pink, orange, yellow and blue. Black silhouettes of trees stand out against the sky, and the top of a cucumber plant frame is just visible in the foreground.
August 5, 2026 at 1:15 AM
purlgurly.bsky.social
Made a Blueberry Galette today, and I think this is some of my best-ever pastry - so buttery and flaky! Usinf vodka instead of water really makes a difference. Recipe here: bromabakery.com/the-best-blu...
A slice of a Blueberry Galette on a white plate. The rustic edge is topped with coarse sugar.
August 3, 2026 at 11:50 PM