Sunday Trees – 418

Posted on November 17, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Becca Givens for hosting Sunday Trees

My Little Princess

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…convinced our granddaughter to put on her princess costume that she wouldn’t wear on Hallowe’en

Most children love to dress up. Our granddaughter is no exception. On Hallowe’en, however, she decided that she didn’t want to be a princess. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but her parents purchased this beautiful costume which was non-returnable.

Last weekend when we were in Hamilton for a visit we convinced Winnie to show off her Belle costume. Out came the wand, the necklace, the special shoes and the dress. The only part missing was the crown.

With any luck she’ll still be able to wear the costume next year.

New Flower (November 13, 2019) – Purple Mum

Image

Snow, Snow and More Snow

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…it’s looking more like January than November 12th

Yesterday the snow started to fall and the temperature stayed below freezing so it didn’t melt. It just kept snowing and snowing and snowing. The leaves are still on the trees, my garden furniture isn’t put away and my snow tires are not on my car. Apparently we’ve set a record for the amount of snow that fell and the low temperatures that we experienced for this time of year.

Today my husband got up early and started shovelling the snow in front of our house and the homes of some of the neighbours and later in the day I had to spread de-icer on the stairs and the driveway. More snow on Thursday.

This last photo is of my snow tires waiting to go on the car but I couldn’t get an appointment until Dec. 11 to have them installed. I made the appointment a few days before this storm.

Getting Ready for an Art Show

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…small gems

Last year I joined the Women’s Art Association of Canada. Actually I won a membership for a year and this year I extended the membership for another year. I was really hoping that if I belonged to a group like this I would be inspired to paint more. Unfortunately circumstances beyond my control made finding time to paint difficult.

Despite these time constraints I still managed to find some time to paint ‘small’. Often my inspiration came from on-line classes, especially Carla Sonheim’s classes. Every year at WAAC (Women’s Art Association of Canada) a special show just before Christmas is featured in the large gallery called ‘Small Gems’. Members are encouraged to submit small pieces, no larger than 48″ around the perimeter, framed. Also, the pieces can be sold for no more than $200.00.

This year I managed to complete four small pieces. Two I made earlier in the year and the last two I started and finished last week. You may have already seen the first two but they are now framed.

The next two were inspired by Carla Sonheim’s Flower Crazy 2 class. I love working with my Pilot Pens over a watercolour background.

New Flower (November 3, 2019) – Purple Autumn Flower

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….if anyone knows the name of this flower, I’d love to hear from you

A Photo a Week Challenge – Atmospheric

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Nancy Merrill for hosting A Photo a Week Challenge

A cool overcast day. A great day to spend indoors and enjoy a quilting show in Orangeville.

Friendly Friday – Whereabouts

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Snow for hosting this week’s Friendly Friday

where·a·bouts

/ˈ(h)werəˌbouts/

adverb

where or approximately where.

“whereabouts do you come from?”

noun

the place where someone or something is.

“his whereabouts remain secret”

Similar:

location, position, site, place, situation, locality, spot, point, placement, locale, neighborhood, vicinity, home, address, bearings, orientation, locus

My whereabouts is my neighbourhood as it transitions from autumn to winter. Blue skies and warm temperatures are appearing less frequently and are being replaced with rain and cooler temperatures. We’re enjoying the final days of autumn flowers. Gardens are being put to bed as the leaves begin to fall and blanket the roads with reds and yellows.

Happy Hallowe’en

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….a wet night but that didn’t deter the trick or treaters

The weather for Hallowe’en was suppose to be so bad that there were parts of the country that were talking about postponing Hallowe’en night. Here in Toronto it was decided to leave Hallowe’en as is. We all have memories of going out on rainy and sometimes snowy nights to fill our bags with sugary treats. Back in the 50s crepe paper costumes were all the rage and I remember wearing one on a very wet night. Needless to say the costume fell apart and I was covered in dye that bled from the costume.

We never get a lot of children coming to our door. We are at the bottom of the street and many of our neighbours don’t turn on the lights or are purposely out for the evening. There are about five houses that always make an effort to decorate the yard and/or put out a Jack o Lantern. This year was no exception but it rained very heavily for most of the day and well into the evening. There were brief periods of time when the rain subsided but it kept returning and later in the evening the winds really started to kick up.

The surprise this evening was that the children and their parents came out in droves. Many carried umbrellas, some were driven from house to house but most of the children walked. At first it seemed like Hallowe’en night was going to be a bust but at about 6:45 small groups of kids of all ages started to appear at the door.

Normally we only get 15 to 25 visitors on Hallowe’en but tonight we had a record number of 62. I ran out of chips (56 bags) and only had 6 chocolate bars out of 120 left over. The only downside is that there is no candy to munch on for the next few days, especially since we don’t have any young children living at home any more. In hindsight it’s probably a good thing.

Here are a few photos of some of the decorations in the neighbourhood.

Our pumpkin this year was a happy fellow and some of the kids allowed me take their photos.

Our granddaughter is posing next to her father’s amazing pumpkin. She was suppose to dress up as Belle and that’s why the pumpkin was carved in the Beast’s likeness. As you can see Winnie had other ideas and wore her Owlette costume from last year. My theory is that because her father dressed up as Spiderman she also had to wear a super hero costume.