Photo: untitled by aggie_sai, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):

Go on strike, don't get paid. That's the gist of how it works, the possibility of union-provided compensation aside. But striking Toronto indoor and outdoor workers were able to negotiate earning sick leave and vacation time while on strike. Although supposedly standard practice, it seems awfully good for the union to bank sick time while on strike when a major reason they went on strike was the issue of the city trying to cut bankable sick leave. But will the deal be Miller's "poison pill," or perhaps his successor's? Stay tuned.

Rain, rain, go away... err, trash, trash, go away [don't] come again another day... The trash piles are dwindling and city services are ready to get back to normal this week. I'll be interested to see just how big the trash piles are at the curb come collection day, or if most people used the dumps.

It's Big Picture month at the Star. Not to be confused with the Boston Globe's incredible Big Picture, a regular feature. The Star's first entry may be a touch underwhelming (for me), I like the inclusion of technical photo details in addition to the cutline.

I always think most everything is closed today (Derek already filled us in on what we should be doing), but while out yesterday I realized that most grocery stores, malls and beer/liquor stores will open, although often with limited (12-6ish) hours. CityNews has the scoop on who's open and who's closed. But if the weather is as good as it is this morning all day, who wants to go shopping?

Going clubbing in the Annex? Be prepared to piss off the neighbours. The Brunswick House seems to be at the centre of the controversy, which would amount to "well back in my day we didn't.... kids today," if it weren't for the recent shooting near By the Way Cafe. Still, nightlife in downtown Toronto - near a university - doesn't sound like an outrageous notion to me.

And for those of you who were out and about and offline all weekend (so far), here's a quick recap of what blogTO was up to:

• Caribana came and went but blogTO was at the parade and has the pictures to prove it.


• Lisa filled us in on what's happening at Summerworks Toronto.


• Beverly loves Brittany style crepes (and so do I, for that matter), but she's had the advantage of dining at La Brehandaise to satisfy the craving. She also has the pictures to prove it.


• Tim hit Essential Bar #28: Lee's Palace.


• Got a "great" bike? Tim announced a photo contest and all I'm saying is the tag is "beaterbikeblogto."


• Looking for the best rooftop patio in Toronto? We've got you covered.


• Got Jesus? Err, clarity? What is it exactly you get at the Church of Scientology? Christopher visited and has the answers for us.


• Emily and Alyssa acted like mommies - without babies - to check out Gingerbread House Cafe in the Junction and I think they liked it. I know I like the pictures.