Fun Family Day

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….last weekend was a long weekend here in Ontario to celebrate Family Day

Family Day has become a tradition in our family where food takes centre stage. This year my husband and youngest daughter thought it would be fun to have a soup exchange. So in three households three different soups were prepared and ladled into containers for sharing.

Four of us drove to Hamilton where Gaelan had a lovely lunch of roast chicken, mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli ready to serve. Andrea and Josie brought a yummy salad and my husband volunteered to pick up the gourmet donuts from San Remo.

Winnie and I were the only two that won a prize in the Tim Horton’s Roll up the Rim contest. We both won a cup of coffee which we handed over to our hostess.

When I’m Not Drawing

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….I’m knitting

I’m loving my collage class but sometimes I just need a change of pace. A while back I started a hat for my daughter and I had wool left over so I decided to knit a matching hat for her daughter (my granddaughter). I wasn’t sure there would be enough wool and it did look a tad small when I finished. I opted not to attach the pompom until I made sure it was going to fit.

Yesterday we drove to Hamilton to celebrate our Family Day. I presented Winnie with her hat and it just fit. Of course she wanted the pompom so I got out my sewing needle and promptly attached it.

Baking During a Blizzard

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….crazy weather didn’t keep us from baking outdoors this week

A couple of weeks ago the weather forecast was dismissal so the Farmers’ Market was cancelled. A lot of vendors come from out of town so with their safety in mind calls were made and notices went out to the community that Montgomery’s Inn would be closed for the market.

This week the weather looked grim again but we went ahead and prepped for the market. On Tuesday morning the snow was coming down pretty heavily so I opted to forgo driving to the Inn. Luckily three of the other bakers braved the snowy roads and prepared a smaller batch of dough than normal. Instead of 7 breads they prepped for 4. The turnout to the market has been down this winter because of bad weather so the decision was made to make less and hopefully have less waste. Not that the bread is wasted. In the end whatever doesn’t sell goes into the freezer or is given away to the other vendors.

On Wednesday the sky didn’t look promising but I drove to the Inn to join my colleagues and get ready for the market. Everyone showed up so I was in charge of making lunch. All the ingredients for a homemade lentil soup had been bought so I started preparing the onions, carrots and celery. It’s a pretty basic soup and the lentils don’t need to be soaked ahead of time. I added a small diced smoked sausage, about a cup of tomato sauce and some leftover mashed potatoes along with the broth and water. Then I let it simmer for a couple of hours and before serving I seasoned it with salt, pepper, basil and thyme. It turned out to be a very hearty soup. Perfect on a cold winter day.

Getting the wood oven to heat up turned out to be a bit of a challenge this week. Since the oven hadn’t been used in two weeks it was ‘stone cold’ and it took quite a while to get the inside up to temperature. When it finally did reach the desired temperature the snow and the winds picked up and we had to proceed with putting the loaves in the oven during the worst part of the day. We decided to score the bread inside to keep our stay outside to a minimum.

The bread turned out exceptionally well this week. I don’t know how many people showed up for the market but hopefully the bread sold. At least the vendors and those who showed up had a nice warm fire to cozy up to inside the inn.

Meet Harold

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…the official Valentine’s Day hedgehog

Today’s drawing is a hedgehog and when Winnie asked what his name is my husband declared that it is Harold.

An Early Valentine Bouquet

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thank you Dad

My Dad was hinting at buying me chocolates for Valentine’s Day and I asked him not to. I also warned him that flowers are very expensive as well and it would be better to wait. On Sunday I took him to Costco with me because he loves to shop and there are things that he only likes to buy there. We usually split up and meet at the checkout. He was just ahead of me and I noticed that he had a bouquet of flowers in his basket. Thanks Dad.

Red – One Word Sunday

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Mama Cormier

… thanks to The Photo Junkie for hosting One Word Sunday

Red is my all time favourite colour. I like to dress in red and I usually pick the red crayon first when I’m drawing with my granddaughter.

Friendly Friday: Comfort Zone

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Snow for hosting Friendly Friday

We often hear ‘get out of your comfort zone’ if you want to get ahead in life. On these cold, windy days I just want to stay in my comfort zone rather than brave the elements. Yesterday (Friday) was one of those days. My husband was feeling somewhat better and we decided to treat ourselves to a meal. The question that arose was: stay in and order take-out or go out to a restaurant?

We chose to go out. We definitely went ‘out of our comfort zone’. Even dressing warmly didn’t help us against the 90km winds. I can’t remember tackling winds like that in my lifetime. We could barely open the car door to get out. My husband removed his hat before the wind blew it away and we slowly crossed the street to the restaurant. The other thing we had to navigate were sheets of ice on the road and the sidewalk. We took baby steps which is apparently how one is suppose to walk on ice.

In the restaurant we were definitely in our comfort zone. Unfortunately I didn’t take any photos even though the meal was excellent. I’ve gone through my gallery of photos to find other occasions when I was in my comfort zone along with some of my family.

“It’s Fishy Friday!”

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….that was Winnie’s only comment today

Personally I think it’s Kevin’s best fish so far.

A Photo a Week Challenge – Depth of Field

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Mama Cormier

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

Nancy describes depth of field like this:

Depth of field in photography (and light in general) is how narrow a strip of what you are looking at is in focus. In photography, the depth of field is controlled by two things: your f-stop (aperture) and the length of your lens (mm). To narrow your depth of field using aperture, use a smaller f-stop number. This will open your shutter wider and let more light in.

So if you want to shoot something up-close and personal with great bokeh (blurring) in the background, use a smaller f-stop and a longer lens.

Most of my photography is hit and miss, especially with my Panasonic Lumix camera. When I use the iPhone I’ve figured out how to get bokeh or blurring when I want it. The first two shots were with my Panasonic.

The next two were taken with my iPhone.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Comfortable and Cozy

Posted on February 5, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Travelling at Wit’s End for this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge

When thinking of comfortable and cozy I immediately think of a big puffy blanket or an oversize sweater. It can also be how a place makes you feel when walk into it or an oversized armchair or sofa that you can sink into. What makes you comfortable and cozy?

The Inn in Prince Edward County