New Flower (November 6, 2015) – Purple Basil Flower

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….amongst the decaying plants in my daughter’s garden I found this beauty

Three Day Quote Challenge – Day 2

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Elizabeth from Tea and Paper for nominating me

For day two of this challenge I had to share a photo of my new grandchild.

If your baby is “beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time,” you’re the grandma.”
— Theresa Bloomingdale

The Rules for the Three Day Challenge are as follows:

Thank the blogger who nominated you.
Publish 3 quotes on 3 consecutive days on your blog. It can be your own, or from a book, movie or from anyone who inspires you.
Nominate 3 more bloggers to carry on this endeavour.

The second person I’d like to nominate is Jodi at Life in Between. I love her wonderful outlook on life, her delicious recipes, amazing photos and her beautiful handmade cards. She is a very gifted, creative and talented person. Check out her blog

Three Day Quote Challenge – Day 1

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Mama Cormier

I was invited by the talented photographer, Elizabeth, from Tea and Paper to participate in a “3 day quote challenge”. I was hesitant at first because I’m not one to recite quotes from memory but I did find that the internet has an abundance of quotes on practically any topic. Thank you for challenging me, Elizabeth!

The rules are:

“Food is better in November than any other time of the year.”
― Cynthia Rylant, In November

My husband made this delicious roasted vegetable tart. He got the recipe from Ottolenghi’s cookbook, called Plenty. He’s made this recipe several times and even though there is a fair bit of prep work to roast the vegetables and caramelize the onions, it’s well worth the effort.

My first nomination for this challenge is Melissa over at Aran the Artisan. She is a young woman who originated from the U.S. and moved to Ireland where she married her sweetheart. Melissa and her husband live on the Aran Islands, raising their five beautiful children all the while learning how to use traditional and modern methods to live and forage off the land and the sea. Her blog is a must see.

Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – Week 44

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..Cee is taking a week off from blogging but she’s still encouraging everyone to continue with her challenges

I love taking photos of odd ball abandoned rusty things.

I’m not sure why you need a fire hydrant on the edge of a rugby field. There are no buildings close by.

Master Pumpkin Carvers

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….in the Cormier family

This is my husband’s 37th pumpkin that he’s carved and my son-in-law’s first. I think my husband has some serious competition.

Yesterday I luckily found this large beauty. In my neighbourhood they were almost completely sold out when I finally got around to purchasing one and they weren’t reduced in price. It weighed a ton and I was glad that I parked close by.

This year I had the pleasure of cleaning the guts from the inside of the pumpkin.

Now that the messy part was done, my husband could focus on the design and carving out the face of this year’s Jack O’lantern.

Here are the two finished pumpkins, side by side. You be the judge.

It was a perfect night for trick or treating. Both my husband and I sat outside with a glass of wine in hand as we greeted about 46 children. That may not seem like a lot of children to you but last year we only had 2. I leave you with a few more photos of Hallowe’en at the Cormier and Turner house. Enjoy!

Sunday Trees – 207

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Becca for hosting Sunday Trees

Super Heroes, Princesses, Cheerleaders, and Ghoulish Monsters

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….plus an assortment of other interesting characters

Ah, Hallowe’en! An excuse to dress up and express our creativity.

Every year at this time I wrack my brain to come with an original idea for a costume. In the past I’ve been a gum ball machine, a jellyfish, the lion from the Wizard of Oz, and an assortment of witches. My favourite costumes, however, are those that are a play on words. For example I’ve been a chipmunk where I’ve dressed as a monk and then pinned potato chip bags all over me. I also dressed up in a bird costume and put a large clock around my neck and called myself ‘Time Flies’. Another time I hung a huge quarter around my neck and carried a large hammer and called myself a ‘Quarter Pounder’. This year I designed a costume that was an interpretation of my last name ‘Cormier’.

Three days ago my friend L called me and asked what I was going to wear on Hallowe’en. I was stumped. I felt burned out and that there were no more creative juices flowing. I told her that I would probably just recycle one of my old costumes and go as a witch. She had already decided to go as her name so she was going to be a cat with a tail announcing her love for music (she’s the music teacher). I glibly said that I’d have to be an apple ‘core’ and she got very excited. We talked for a few minutes more and when I hung up I had my costume in my head. Here’s what I came up with.

Core + Mi (as in doh, re, mi) + eh! (a Canadian interjection)

Every year I’m always amazed at the wonderful costumes that the teachers and children parade around in (literally). At the end of the day we have a big parade that the entire school participates in. We walk around the school which borders on two streets and the parents and the community are out to witness the ‘spook..tacular’ event.