The friendly streets of west side Ottawa

Outside this never-quite-finished rona-vating house, an impromtu living room has appeared on the city boulevard. Your seating choice: floral sofa ... or mod leather armchair? Or mid-century modern plastic chairs set out especially for Robert? The pink carpet marks the residents as breast-cancer savy. There are even coffee tables for your ... coffee, sometimes served in unique stubby brown glass cups.

I love it, if only because it would never work in Orleans or Barrhaven. Now, to wander down one block . . .

In contrast to the informal sidewalk enhancement on Cambridge, is this corner lot at Somerset/Bell. The manufactured stone blends in reasonably well with the limestone foundation of the old building. Lots of materials here: limestone, fake stone, tile doorstep, mod brick commercial front on an old painted and unpainted brick house.  The garden plants are very new and I hope they will fill in. Perennials or shrubs would have been better though, as they provide four season planting. Still, its a good step toward making Somerset Street sidewalks nicer.