Introducing Tober

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….a couple of weeks ago I was cat sitting for my neighbour

I’m more of a dog person but I have owned a cat in the past and I usually like other people’s cats. About a month ago my neighbour was taken to the hospital and I was asked if I could look after the cat. This wasn’t the first time I had to do this so the cat was familiar with me. If I had known that Tober would be alone for two solid weeks I might have brought him to my house but I’m pretty sure that our dog Frances would not have been happy with that arrangement to say nothing of the fact that my husband is allergic to cats.

Every day I went into my neighbour’s house, brought in the paper and the mail and changed the cat’s water and refilled his bowl with fresh food. Out of guilt I stayed anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to keep the cat company. I started to read a book to pass the time of day but Tober made sure that I paid some attention to him.

I brought over a cat toy but Tober really wasn’t interested. He liked to be petted and have his ears rubbed but he also seemed to want me to speak to him. On my last day with him I took some photos of him.

New Flower (April 14, 2019) – A Posy of Mixed Flowers

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Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge – Cousins Rock

Posted on April 13, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Xingfu Mama for hosting Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge

This is my granddaughter with her older cousin from her father’s side of the family. Thanks to my daughter for sending me this photo.

An Evening Walk

Posted on April 13, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…today was a beautifully warm day and before dinner I needed to make up some steps to reach my goal

No wind, the setting sun and temperatures hovering around 10 degrees Celsius were ideal conditions for an evening walk through the neighbourhood. I headed west and entered Col. Sam Smith Park where I opted to walk through the naturalized area and over to the marina. Here are a few of the sites I encountered along the way.

Can you guess what that lump in the pond is?

When I returned home I prepared a simple supper of eggs, avocado and tomatoes.

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Raindrops

Posted on April 12, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Amanda for hosting the Friendly Friday Photo Challenge

I adore photos of raindrops. Since we’ve only just seen the last of our snow I had to dig into the archives for these photos.

New Flower (April 11, 2019) – Frilly White Tulips

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….had to buy these when I saw them at the fruit market

Fandango’s One Word Challenge – Natural

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Fandango for hosting FOWC

Since January I’ve experienced the death of 7 friends and family members. It’s only April and more people that I know have passed in the last three months than I’ve experienced in the last 10 years. Is that natural? Probably.

Is it natural to feel sorrow or surprise when you haven’t had contact with people for over 20 years and then find out that they’ve passed? Probably.

Is it natural to take pleasure from fond memories of people recently deceased? Probably.

People say that we’re at that age when this will happen more often. I suppose that is probably true but I’d rather not think about it. I still think of myself as being only in my 30s or 40s. Is that natural? Well for me it is.

As I look around I see beauty in the most unusual places, especially in nature. I love the look of dried leaves and isolated berries. For many it signifies ‘death’ but it’s just the natural part of the circle of life. I suppose it signifies that new growth or rebirth will soon happen.

Signs that new life is about to rise up:

Friendly Friday: Photo Walk

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Snow from The Snow Melts Somewhere for hosting Friendly Friday

My photo walk takes place on Sunday. Friday and Saturday were exceptionally busy and I didn’t get out for my long walk. Today I made sure to get out before noon.

I left my house and walked toward the park that edges onto the lake.

I continued along Lakeshore Drive and turned onto 4th St. which ends in a dead end but the property on the east side is abandoned so I walked toward the lake again.

I noticed that a large flock of swans were swimming together at the foot of Prince of Wales Park so I continued east.

After taking a dozen or more photos I decided to continue on my walk along the shores of Lake Ontario before the swans decided they had enough of this intruder with her iPhone camera. You can see from one of the following photos that there’s still a little bit of ice hanging onto the shoreline.

As I left the park I continued through the neighbourhood until I reached a tiny parkette on Sand Beach Road.

I then turned north and walked towards the busy street of Lakeshore Blvd. and headed home.

A Photo a Week Challenge – Sunshine

Posted on April 7, 2019 by Mama Cormier

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

It seems like we haven’t seen too much sunshine as of late but between blizzards last Wednesday the sun did come out for a brief spell.

Celebrating Women Who Are 80 and Older

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…..at the Women’s Art Association of Canada

As of yesterday WAAC is hosting a series of parties called BASH. Each party has a slightly different theme but they all celebrate the wonderful work of its members who are octogenarians or older. Last night’s theme was a Mai-Tai party.

The evening featured a pianist and the Ukulele Ladies (who were about to turn 80 or already there). The silent auction was revealed and of course the featured drink was the Mai Tai (lovingly made by one of the co-chairs of WAAC, Dale B.) The art on display in the main gallery was created by the members who were 80 years old and older. The work was beautiful and one of the members in attendance last night sold her piece. She was delighted.

There are four more parties. Not sure I will make them all but the money raised will go to building a much needed ramp to make the building accessible to all.