From Zero to Hero – Day 3

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….. in a previous post I told you I didn’t fix things that involved electricity…I lied

Today’s assignment: write the post that was on your mind when you decided to start a blog.

This post is one that I hesitated to publish because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I was feeling somewhat melancholy after spending 3 wonderful days with my entire family. I think I was at a peak of euphoria when everything around me seemed to crash. Luckily the feeling was short lived and I’ve had more memorable moments with my son. For that reason the following post has been altered somewhat to reflect on the positive more than the negative.

Feeling a Little Melancholy

Posted on January 4, 2014

….after three wonderful days with family

I knew that when my son came to visit, he would need to spend time with his friends. I just didn’t know that it would hit me so hard. I’ve looked forward to his visit for so long and when things didn’t go exactly as had been planned I experienced deep disappointment. There were times when I felt I was doing a lot of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. So unlike me. I usually make things happen.

On the 30th of December, my son and his twin sister celebrated their birthdays. Earlier plans changed slightly to accommodate extra guests that been invited. Originally G and Az were suppose to prepare the meal at G’s place and we were all going over there for a big Iranian feast. G’s place, however, is just too small so the party was moved to my place. All in all it turned out to be a great meal and the important part for me was that I had my family together again.

I’m not complaining. I’m just overwhelmed and emotional. I love all my children and they all left the nest years ago. I wasn’t one of these moms that couldn’t cut the apron strings. When they left I was happy that they were starting on a journey to establish their own lives and when they call or visit I’m happy. My son, however, moved far away and I haven’t been able to hug him and reach out to him. So now that he’s here I think I expect more from him.

B and Az left on Thursday and took a train to Montreal for a three of day adventure. They’ll be back late tonight and then on Sunday they fly back to the Netherlands. Sigh!

Now I have a wedding to look forward to. The dates and the venue haven’t been decided but Turkey was mentioned as a possible destination. Smiling!

Day 3- My Task for the Day

Early this morning I fixed the lamp. I mentioned in an earlier post that I was not comfortable doing anything electrical but the lady in the store, yesterday showed me how easy it was to replace the part on the lamp. She was right. Here are some pictures documenting this momentous occasion.

Here is the part I had to replace.

Notice how I use my dining room table as a work bench.

Success!

The lamp with its brand new shade.

Once the lamp was repaired I checked my list to see what other job I would tackle today. I decided to wash and organize my night table and the ledge on the bay window behind my bed. Over the holidays and probably some time before that those two areas had become dumping grounds for my jewellery, hair accessories and creams and cosmetics. I love costume jewellery and never seem to have enough. As you can see from the before and after pictures it had become quite impossible to find anything.

On the window sill I needed to reorganize my jewellery and dust off the pictures. I actually threw a few things away and found a new home for some of my heavier and longer necklaces (in my closet). I really do have too many pieces and I should probably separate the pieces that I wear all the time from the ones I never wear. What I do with the latter I’m not sure but I’m sure I can find them a good home somewhere.

I was on a roll and when I finished this area of my bedroom I also decided to clean off my bookshelf which also becomes a dumping ground. Here is the after picture.

I’m enjoying this job a day challenge. Tomorrow might be a bit more difficult. My son and his fiancé are leaving for the Netherlands in the late afternoon and company is arriving tomorrow to see them off. One of the ‘jobs’ that I have to complete is read The Rosie Project before Monday and I need to start on some books for school. So I think tomorrow’s jobs will involve reading.

Day 3 – Walking

I was worried that I might not get out for my walk today so I made sure that my husband was up for a walk after dinner. It’s warmed up considerably since yesterday so the walk was very pleasant. In fact, on the way out we were almost too warm but coming back we were walking into the wind and were glad for our warm coats and mittens. In total the walk covered 3.7k.

Daily Prompt: Beyond the Pale

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..todays challenge asks the questions: When was the last time you did something completely new and out of your element? How was it? Will you do it again?

I didn’t have to think too hard for this one. Last fall I took a group of grade 5 students to an outdoor education centre for three days. I’ve done this many times so the actual trip wasn’t out of my element. What was new for me was a brand new activity that the centre introduced that month – Treetop Trekking.

Yikes! The ropes were 25 to 30 feet off the ground. I practised on the lower ropes and learned all the signals and how to clip on and off to go from one section to the next. That wasn’t too bad and I felt that maybe if I could get over my fear of heights that I might actually be able to do this. What I didn’t figure on was how strenuous it was just getting to the first treetop station.

There were two ways to get up there …..either climb up the ladder, then up the tree and then hoist yourself over the edge of the platform and walk across the ropes to the first station or climb up the rope net. I opted for the rope net. I managed to climb 25 feet but I was still 5 feet away from the top. I had no idea how much upper body strength one needed to climb up the net. I was just too tired to go any further.

Now one thing I’ve always wanted to try was repel down the side of a cliff or wall. If I couldn’t make it all the way to the top then at least I could experience repelling. That was fun and it encouraged a few of the students who were afraid to try it to actually go back up and give it a go.

Would I do it again? If I can get into better shape I think I would absolutely give it another try. For more photos of the experience go to my post Up in the Treetops.

From Zero to Hero – Day 2 – “What’s in a name?”

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..the challenge is to change the name of the blog

The name Mama Cormier has been with me for a long time. My daughter first used it when she was coming up with a user name for my email account. It’s a name that has just stuck with me all these years. Are there advantages to changing it at this time? I guess my biggest concern is confusing those who already follow me. I have considered using Mama Cormier with an added phrase but nothing grabs me. On the other hand, I have expanded the tag line that follows the name. It used to be ….memories and so much more and now it reads….my journey to a healthy life, making new memories and so much more.

I like having an eclectic blog where I can write about whatever comes my way. Maybe my readership would increase if I had a main focus but that’s not who I am. My life is eclectic. I have eclectic taste in music, art, design, clothing, and furniture. I like to try new things and explore different places.

Day 2 – Walking

Today I decided to try walking again. This time the sun was shining and the winds had disappeared. It was still very cold, -20 celsius but the lake had calmed down and the waves moved slowly like molasses with thin crusts of ice floating on the surface.

: So much better than yesterday

: The city skyline is back

: The sun glistening on the lake

: Ice floating on the lake

: ….more ice

The lake hardly ever freezes because of its immense size so when you see ice on the lake you know it’s cold out there. The city skyline came back into view today and only wisps of fog settled close to the surface of the water.

The three of us dressed warmly for today’s hike (Frances always wears the same fur coat) but the salt and the frigid temperatures were too much for our little dog. We headed back home after a very short walk to the park at the end of the street.

I recently purchased special booties for the dog but she didn’t want any part of them when I tried to put them on her today. Oh well, too bad, so sad, I went for the walk on my own. I was already dressed and I wasn’t the least bit cold today. I walked all the way to Col. Sam Smith Park and proceeded to the lookout by the yacht club.

It was eerily quiet today. There were very few people out walking and there were stretches where I didn’t see a soul. In the last couple of weeks there have been sightings of coyotes in the area and my mind started to think about the possibility of meeting up with one or two of them along the walk. What would I do? I took some comfort in the fact that I had my cell phone with me and if need be I could always call 911 if I got into some kind of trouble.

As I got closer to the point I finally ran into another walker and his dog. I told him how glad I was to see him and he told me that he had seen the coyotes a couple of times in the last two days. He assured me that if I made some noise that they would probably stay away from me. I remember my friend D, telling me that I should sing if I was ever in the woods alone and that would keep away any wildlife.

After I said good-bye to the dog walker, I headed back towards the college and I started to hum and sign O Canada. If anybody heard me they probably thought I was a bit off my rocker.

Closer to the campus there is a great new figure 8 outdoor skating facility and lo and behold other people were also out today enjoying a skate on the ice. I watched for a few minutes while I took some photos and then realized that my morning coffee was pressing against my bladder and that I needed to quickly find a washroom. This is the down-side of going for long walks at my age but luckily there was a Tim Horton’s close by on the campus.

After using the facilities I purchased a medium coffee to warm my insides and keep my hands warm. Actually the down mittens that I was wearing were so warm that I had to take them off periodically because my hands started to sweat. For awhile the coffee cup kept them warm but in -20 degree weather the coffee didn’t stay warm for long.

When I got home I tracked the distance on Google Maps and discovered that I had walked a total distance of 5.15k. Not bad considering the conditions but I have to admit that I really enjoyed being out in the sun today.

Day Two – Job

I’ve written down numerous jobs that I want to tackle this month. One of them is fixing a lamp that I painted years ago. The electrical hardware had come loose and the shade wobbled back and forth. I wasn’t sure why it did that or how to fix it so I took it to an electrical lighting store today.

The clerk kindly unscrewed the parts and informed me that the thread on the one part had become stripped and needed to be replaced. I could leave it with them and wait three weeks for it to be fixed or I could purchase the part and do it myself. I chose the latter option but they didn’t have the part in stock. I bought a new shade from them and then drove to the closest Canadian Tire and found the part there.

When I got home tonight I was going to fix the lamp right after supper but when I sat down to check my emails I discovered that I had forgotten about a get together with friends tonight. I had started supper already and my husband told me not to worry about him and go and enjoy myself. I made sure that everything for dinner was well underway and I quickly got ready to go out.

I didn’t get home till after 11:00 so I didn’t finish the lamp and I wasn’t even sure I’d get to writing this post but here I am about to finish it. Tomorrow is another day. The lamp should only take a few minutes to fix and I can think about the next project I want to start. I decided when I started this challenge that the jobs that I chose to work on didn’t have to be finished in one day. Some of them may take several days to complete.

Well I’m going to add a few photos and then off to bed. Oh my, it’s almost 2:00 in the morning. Good night!

Cheers!