Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Heritage

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..precious gifts from the past

My parents and grandparents lost much during the WWII. When they escaped from the east they literally could only take what they could carry on their backs. Consequently my family has very few family heirlooms. My husband’s mother came to Canada from Ireland as a war bride. She came to this country with a suitcase of clothes and a few wedding gifts from her family.

Over the years I’ve collected a few items from the two families. When I got married my grandmother came over from Germany and gifted us one of the few items that they had saved from their home in Magdeburgh after the war. It was a lovely blue cut glass carafe.

From the time I was a little girl I remember a very old silver serving spoon that my mother used all the time. No one in the family wanted it and I was happy to adopt it. The date stamped on it is 1909 and it’s got a dent in the bowl. I love it and use it regularly.

My mother-in-law loved her tea set and when she passed on I inherited it, along with her silverware and a couple of quirky teapots. My oldest daughter helped herself to the teapots and both my daughters inherited some individual cup and saucer sets.

Photographs also didn’t survive the war. There are a few of my father’s family but my sisters are the proud owners of these tidbits of our family history. My husband’s family on his father’s side who have lived in Canada for over a hundred years have some wonderful photographs of his grandfather and his great grandparents that we have also inherited.

For more Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Heritage posts check out Across the Bored.

One Day Left in April

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..and I’m still shy 2 new followers to reach my goal of 300

April has been an interesting month. I reached 10 000 views and in fact this month I set a record for the most views in one month since I started blogging one year ago. I also had my best day for views yesterday.

Recently I mentioned that I’ve met some wonderful people since I started blogging. We comment back and forth so often that I feel we’ve really made a connection. Thank you for all your kind words and your support.

This weekend I experienced a first for me. Someone I’ve never met before came across my blog while she was helping her daughter with a homework project. They were researching watercolour painters and they saw my post Painting at 91. The mom realized that she knew the family in the photo. In fact she’d been looking for my friend L for years. They met during high school when L was studying in France. They lost touch with each other about 18 years ago. Now they’re about to reconnect, despite living an ocean apart. Isn’t the internet wonderful?

Love hearing from you? What was the most interesting experience you’ve had since you first started blogging?

Cheers!

Felt Pretty Good Until I Sat on the Bike Today

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Mama Cormier

……ouch!

The day started out nice and sunny and it was warm enough to enjoy our morning coffee and breakfast on the deck. I made breakfast today. I made a vegetable hash with shredded Brussels sprouts, chopped kale and diced shallots. I sauteed the vegetables in olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper and then near the end I splashed some balsamic vinegar over it. I plated the hash and then topped it with a couple of fried eggs. It was surprisingly good! Oh I almost forgot, I also added a little bit of diced Polish sausage to the mix.

While I was checking my FaceBook page this morning my young cousin sent me a message and asked if I was going to be home. I told him I was about to get ready to go out but I would wait for his phone call. I really like this relationship that I’ve developed with my 21 year old cousin from Germany. Some of you may remember that I met him for the first time last August when he arrived in Toronto with his girlfriend, Marie. Toronto was their last stop over before heading to New York to catch a plane back to Germany. They had spent almost an entire year in Canada but most of their time was spent out west. Anyway we spent a great 10 days together and ever since he phones me regularly (about every 6 weeks) and keeps me updated on his studies and how the family is doing.

We talked for about an hour (he has a great phone plan) before we said our farewells. At this point in the morning I was still in my pyjamas and hadn’t made breakfast. K and Frances went for their morning walk without me and I was still on the phone when they returned.

After breakfast, which was more like brunch (again) we decided to take the bikes out again and do our vegetable shopping for the week. This time we headed west, along the Lakeshore Trail to a vegetable wholesaler in Mississauga. I had no muscle or joint pain after yesterday’s 17 kilometre bike ride but when I sat on the seat I realized that not all parts of my body were pain free. Ouch, ouch, ouch!

I rode through the discomfort and after awhile I was able to block it out and enjoy the ride through the Humber College grounds, along Lake Promenade, over Marie Curtis Park and past the old Arsenal Grounds where ammunition was manufactured and stored during WWII.

When we left the house it was a bit overcast but the ride to Lanzarotta’s was dry and quite warm. So warm, in fact, that I had to stop and remove one layer of clothing. The quality of fruits and vegetables at this place is always so good. I don’t mind spending more for some of the produce because I know that it won’t spoil the minute we get home.

We bought quite a bit. We didn’t let the fact that we were on our bikes keep us from stocking up on this beautiful produce. Our panniers hold quite a lot.

I love my pannier. So pretty on my new red bike.

The trip home was a little more difficult because we were riding into the wind, which had picked up considerably. It was so windy that there were a couple of kite boarders out on the lake. You know that summer is just around the corner when you see sailboats, windsurfers and kite boarders on the water. I had to stop and take a picture. They were pretty far away but I was able to capture some of the action.

Can you imagine how cold that water must be? Only last week we were still experiencing temperatures as low as freezing.

When we got home I got into the car and headed over to Costco to pick up a few things that we couldn’t buy on our bike trip.

I made dinner tonight. Come to think of it I’ve done a lot of cooking today. I baked the fish that we purchased yesterday, made lemony smashed red potatoes and made a killer salad. I don’t know why we don’t eat more fish. It was delicious.

By the way, when I got back from shopping my husband had been on g-map pedometer and figured out that we rode for 14 kilometres today. That’s a total of 31 kilometres on the bike this weekend. Wow!

Hope you had a great weekend. I know I did.

Cheers!

Exploring a Village Within the City

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. and getting an incredible amount of exercise doing it

Today was a perfect day in many ways. The sun was shining, it was somewhat warm, I got out for a walk/run with my husband and I got on my bicycle for the first time this year.

I always feel better when I move. Today I may have over done it. I started the day lifting a few weights. Then we snapped on Frances’ leash and headed out for our morning walk. When we got to the park I started to run but this time Frances started to follow me instead of K so I found myself backtracking to get her back to my husband. When she followed me a second time she headed straight for the pond, went for a swim and then ran through a field of burrs. She finally came back to me as I was heading back in K’s direction where she immediately found a huge puddle and splashed around in there for awhile.

We decided to put her back on the leash and I gave up on running and walked with the two of them instead. With all the backtracking, today’s walk/run totalled a distance of 3.8k.

Before we left for our walk my husband and I planned out some meals for the week and we decided to have fish for dinner tonight. After he prepared a hearty brunch for the two of us I suggested that we go out and buy some of the items on the list. K knew of a fish market on Roncesvalles Avenue and he suggested that we cycle there. This would be my first ride of the season.

K checked the bikes and got the panniers ready while I readied myself for the trip. The temperatures were a bit on the cool side so I put a scarf around my neck under my jacket and put on my leather gloves.

Roncesvalles Village is another vibrant community in the heart of Toronto. It is located east of High Park and north of the lake at Sunnyside. Roncesvalles Village is home to a diverse population of new families, seniors and numerous ethnic groups. It has everything you need at your doorstep; green grocers, coffee shops, flower shops, bars and pubs, a vintage movie theatre, grocery stores, clothing stores, gift shops, specialty shops for dogs, nail salons, hair salons, churches and a plethora of restaurants. My husband and I have often said that if we ever move, this is one neighbourhood that would be high on our list of places to consider.

The bike ride was a lot of fun. I was a little apprehensive about riding on the Lakeshore but it’s a very wide street and parts of it do have bike lanes. When you get to Sunnyside there are bike lanes all along the way. There were tons of people out today enjoying the beautiful weather, walking, running, roller bladding and riding their bikes.

After we crossed Lakeshore at Colborne to the Queensway there was another bike path that takes you all the way to St. Joe’s hospital and then we proceeded on the side streets over to Roncesvalles. We parked at the library and started to explore the retail neighbourhood. Our first destination was the bank because neither of us had any cash on us. We walked all the way up to Dundas only to discover that the bank we were looking for had been turned into a Starbucks over four years ago. Unfortunately it was still listed as being there when we did a Google search.

After asking someone on the street for the closest bank we walked a little bit south and found a bank on the west side of the street. Our next destination had to be a place where we could get something to drink. We didn’t think to pack any water for our trip so we were very thirsty after our long ride. We found a great little independent cafe where we ordered a pot of tea and an iced coffee. We also treated ourselves to two small French macaroons.

Roncy’s Bean

One of the things that I really like about this neighbourhood is that they support their local artists. In the cafe there were great paintings on display by Laura Hains. You can see more of her work on her website.

The street had a feeling of joy, as people shopped, sat in the outdoor cafes and stopped to talk to neighbours and listen to the street musicians. There were cute dogs everywhere. We found the fish market we were looking for and purchased a beautiful piece of lake trout. We didn’t want to buy the fish too early on our visit so we ended up doing a lot of walking to take in all the sights and sounds of the village within the city. When we were satisfied that we saw what we came for we backtracked to the fish market and then backtracked again to find our bikes.

The bike ride home was a little more difficult for me because of all the exercise I had already done today but I only had to stop once to give my knee a rest and then the rest of the ride was more comfortable and pain free.

When we got home I was curious to see how far we had travelled on the bikes and how much more walking we had done. I went to g-map pedometer and traced out the route. We thought the ride was longer but the whole trip on the bikes was 17 kilometres. The walk surprised us though. We walked an additional 4.7 k for a total of 8.5 k for the day. My husband thinks that we don’t need to get out for another walk tonight but Frances may have something to say about that. We’ll see. As for how I’m going to feel tomorrow, I’m thinking that I might be feeling a few twinges here and there. Hopefully not.

What did you do on this beautiful ‘spring’ day? Love to hear from you.

Cheers!

A Busy Eight Weeks Coming Up

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….we had a staff meeting to set dates for our year end activities

I’m not the best when it comes to writing down dates for meetings, events, birthdays, etc., but a few weeks ago I took out my agenda and started to list everything that was coming up. I’m pretty good at remembering dates or I rely on others to do it for me, however, too many things that I was personally responsible for were coming up so I needed to start keeping track of them.

One of my frustrations is trying to coordinate mutually acceptable dates for tournaments where four or more teams are concerned. This year we volunteered to host the boys’ and girls’ soccer tournaments at our school because we have two large soccer fields. The tournaments have to run on separate days and in case of thunder and lightning we have to set rain dates as well.

The boys got a head start on us and reserved two prime days in May. The Monday of that week was a holiday and on Friday the West Conference Track and Field Meet was being held. The following week all the schools were beginning EQAO testing so any kind of tournament was out of the question. That meant we had to choose a date a week earlier. We chose the 16th but it turned out that one of the schools had already booked a field trip that day and couldn’t change it. So we picked our rain date from the following week and created a new rain date the week after, a day before EQAO testing is to begin.

We asked everyone to reply by the end of the day so that we could send the schedules home. Of course two days later one of the other schools wrote back and said that those dates conflicted with one of their tournaments for the boys because they were happening on the same day and the same teacher was coaching both the boys’ and the girls’ teams.

We were running out of dates so we went to our boys’ team and asked if we could use their rain date for our tournament. I’ve now informed my girls and my parent coach of 3 different dates for the tournament. It doesn’t end there.

Today at our staff meeting our principal told us that she purchased tickets to the Wizard of Oz for all the grade 3s,4s and 5s for May 23rd, the last date we chose for the tournament. When she checked the main calendar we hadn’t posted the final date for the tournament because we hadn’t heard back from all the teams.

So where does that leave us? Well we emailed all the teams again and told them that we had to go back to the 21st and that the team with the double tournament conflict would have to find someone to supervise one of her teams on that day. I hope this is the end of it but I know that not everyone will be happy about it.

Here’s a quick list of all that is coming up this week alone, over and above my regular teaching day:

April 29th – meeting with rep from Jump Rope for Heart, soccer practice in the morning, open report cards on the main computer so that teachers can start inputing comments, assist with school track and field meet throughout the day when not teaching art or giving teachers prep

April 30 – last day for voting for the Forest of Reading and submitting the votes, soccer practice in the morning, retirement workshop at lunch,Girls on the Run after school

May 2 – soccer practice in the morning, concert at Koerner Hall in the afternoon, pottery class in the evening

May 3 – soccer practice after school

I’m sure I’ve missed something but someone’s sure to remind me. Have a great weekend.

Cheers!

Back on Track

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….at least with my eating

The temperature was sitting at zero celsius when I woke up this morning but the sun was shining and there was no wind. I made a great omelet with shallots, mushrooms and spinach. I didn’t have time to eat it so I packed it up and took it to school with me. We had a 7:40 soccer practice. Coach S and I were debating whether we should play outside or in the gym. The field was pretty wet from all the rain yesterday but it had warmed up a bit so we decided to do the drills on the field.

An hour after I made my breakfast I finally got to enjoy it. I filled up my sports bottle with water and took it back to the library and sipped on it all day. For lunch I had a big salad with chicken.

At the end of the school day the weather changed drastically. The temperature dropped again and the wind picked up. We went outside with the girls for Girls on the Run but I didn’t run with them tonight. It was too cold and windy for me and the ground was too soggy.

For dinner we ate the leftover vegetables from a couple of nights ago and we finished the chicken from last night. I had my pottery class tonight so we didn’t have time to prepare anything more elaborate. Luckily it turned out to be a pretty tasty meal.

When I arrived at the class the students and my instructor were still having their pot luck supper. The week before they had kindly invited me to join them but I knew that arriving earlier and with a dish to share would be very difficult with my tight schedule on Thursdays. Nonetheless they asked me to join them and offered me wine and dessert. I passed on both but I did sit with them and got to know them all a little bit better.

In my class tonight I cut the lid way from the pot and finished the edges. It is now sitting on the shelf waiting to be fired. I started a second project. D showed me a simple way to make a plate using a Chinette paper plate as a mold. I rolled out a slab and placed it on top of the plate and then gently pressed it to fit the shape of the plate. To add interest to the plate I stamped designs onto the rim of the plate and I etched a simple design in the middle of the plate. It now also sits on the shelf waiting to be fired.

All in all it wasn’t a bad day. I didn’t get to the gym because yesterday I forgot about my pottery class. Tomorrow we’re taking my daughter and her partner to the airport after we take them out for dinner so I won’t have time to get to the gym. I’ll have to make a point of getting there on the weekend. I did drink a litre of water and ate well today. More of the same tomorrow.

Cheers!

The Curse is Lifted

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..I didn’t gain weight

Yesterday I told you about how a friend used to insist that I had lost weight and when I weighed myself I would discover that I had actually gained weight. This week I received similar compliments from numerous friends and I was afraid to get on those scales. If I had been exercising regularly and watching my calorie input I wouldn’t have worried, in fact, I would have been weighing myself regularly looking forward to seeing how much weight I had lost.

Today I stepped on the scales and discovered I hadn’t lost any more weight (not a surprise) but I also hadn’t gained any weight. I’m still down 32 pounds.

I’ve learned a couple of things about myself. First and foremost I’ve discovered that I can eat carbs and not immediately gain weight. A couple slices of bread, a little pasta and even an occasional sweet isn’t going to put all my weight back on. Basically the way I’ve been eating has been a maintenance diet.

The problem is that I’m not satisfied with the weight that I carry now. I’m still overweight and am still considered obese. I hate that word. I feel better than I have in years but I know that I can do better. It’s time to start anew.

Tomorrow I’ll start the school day coaching soccer and at the end of it I’ll be out running with the girls who are in Girls on the Run. I’m going to stop into the gym on the way home and make an appointment with a personal trainer. In the morning I will have a high protein breakfast with lots of vegetables and lunch will be a large salad with chicken. Dinner will be more vegetables and a protein. I need to drink more water, so I will keep a water bottle close at hand all day. My good friend, D, told me today that she used to keep a one litre water bottle by her desk and made a daily vow to herself that she wouldn’t go home until she had finished all the water from that bottle.

I feel like I am starting all over again, except this time I’m starting 32 pounds lighter. I know I can do it. I will do it. I am doing it.

Taken in February at the weight I am now. My mid-way before picture.

Cheers!

The Curse and a Hazy Moon

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..it never fails, when people tell me I look like I’ve lost more weight…..

Years ago a good friend of mine often commented that I looked like I had lost weight and when I checked the scales I was always heavier. As much as I loved this friend I dreaded hearing those words from her.

This past week I’ve had numerous people comment that I’ve lost more weight. I shudder at the thought of stepping on those scales this week. Why? Has the curse returned? To be honest I haven’t had the best food week. Way too many carbs. As for exercise I feel I could have done more. For weeks now we’ve only done our walks together on weekends and I haven’t been to the gym in over a month.

Today I started the day coaching the girls’ soccer team and then at the end of the school day I spent an hour and a half with Girls on the Run. I ran with the girls but I found the ground too soft for my liking and I only ran 1 lap (.6k). Tonight my husband and I got out with the dog and we walked for 3.9k. It felt good and I was happy that my husband was up to doing a second walk today.

On our walk I took the camera in hope of finding some interesting subjects to photograph. I love that the days are longer. When we started the walk it was just starting to get dark and by the time we got home it was completely dark. The moon had a slight haze over it. I wasn’t sure that my camera could handle the low light but I played with some of the settings, hoping for the best.

A Little Flower Power

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..hiding behind a couple of moustaches

Here it is, the photo of my daughter and me at the Have and Hold Designs Photo Booth from City of Crafts.

Thanks, I’m at 10 000 Views!

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Mama Cormier

Just a short post to let all my followers know that I’ve reached the first of my goals before the end of April. I’ve reached 10 000 views. My second goal was to get 300 followers. I’m at 288 and need 12 more followers to reach my second goal. That’s 1.3 new followers each day over the next nine days. Can I do it? It’s up to you.