Share Your World 2015 – Week 12

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….some unusual questions this week

When was the last time you sat on a park or garden bench for more than ten minutes? Describe the occasion.

The last time I sat on a garden bench was two summers ago. My cottage neighbour had built a bench on the beach for anyone to use. I used to love going down to the beach early in the day to have my morning coffee. Unfortunately the powers that be decided that all things left on this ‘public’ beach had to be removed. When we returned last summer the bench was gone.

Would you ever be interested in observing a surgery or do you turn away when the nurse brings out the needle?

When I attended university I had thought about being a doctor but teaching became my chosen profession. I actually contemplated about taking a gross human anatomy class where I would dissect a human body. A 400 level floral design class won out. I used to watch live surgeries on TV but I do turn away when the needle to draw blood comes out.

Where’s your favorite place to take out-of-town guests?

If people are coming from another country I like to take them to Niagara Falls. For my Canadian out-of-town quests I like to take them to the AGO (art gallery) and treat them to any special exhibitions that are featured during their visit. Luckily most of my friends like art.

If my guest come in the summer and they like a rustic setting I might suggest that we go to the cottage for a few days.

If you had an unlimited shopping spree at only one store, which one would you choose? Why?

It might seem strange that I would choose a discount store but Marshall’s has it all for me. Beautiful designer clothes that fit me and suit me, shoes, purses, kitchenware, gourmet food, dishes, and children’s and men’s wear. What could be better?

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week I was grateful for being treated to a trip to the new Aga Khan Museum, here in Toronto. My friend, D, is a member and we spent the morning walking through the galleries. I really enjoyed looking at the old Persian vessels, art and tapestries. When so many artefacts are being destroyed in the Middle East because of war and acts of terrorism I was grateful that these treasures have been preserved for all to enjoy.

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After exploring the entire museum and checking out the gift shop we had a very nice lunch at the restaurant located in the museum. The space was decorated with beautifully carved wall panels and mirrors and the food was attractively presented and very tasty.

I’m also grateful for slightly warmer weather and sunny days. On Sunday we had the family over Sunday lunch and game day. My husband made an incredible Irish meal in honour of St. Patrick’s Day (only a week late) and A and J brought Zeppole for dessert in honour of St Joseph’s Day.

This week I’m looking forward to doing more art, not only my own personal art but also art with my students. I’ve already started some interesting projects with the kids and today my kindergarten class made wonderful art with objects from nature (last 4 photos). The first six photos are mine. The owls are samples I created for my older students. They are designing their own owls and then transferring the design onto a foam plate and then colouring it and pressing it onto paper. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the kids can do.

Sure Signs of Spring

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Mama Cormier

……March 20th marked the first day of Spring

The snow has melted in this part of the world but the east coast of Canada has been hit with more snow storms and we’re talking about a lot of snow.

I’m thrilled that Spring has finally arrived even though the signs aren’t always obvious to the naked eye or to exposed skin. This morning when I woke up I could see that it had snowed last night. Nothing significant but enough to know that winter isn’t done with us yet and if that tiny bit of snow didn’t convince you, the cold wind certainly did.

Later in the day the sun did warm things up a bit but walking into the wind did make the trek a little uncomfortable. I, however, was on a mission to find signs of spring that I could record with my camera.

Much of the plant life still harbours the brown tones of decay but the sun added a certain warmth and brought out a richness to some colourful naked branches.

One of the signs of spring was the hidden treasure that lay inside the snow all winter and now appeared everywhere. Hardly photo worthy though. On our way home we looked up and I saw my first robin of the season. I have noticed that the birds are singing more brightly in the morning when I wake up and the squirrels are more active in the backyard.

I was hoping to see signs of new growth coming up through the ground but It wasn’t immediately obvious. When I returned home I walked up to the front garden and pushed aside a few leaves and lo and behold I found my crocus starting to push up through the ground. Spring is definitely here despite the cold and gloomy forecast for April.

Well at least it’s warm inside and my husband has brought Spring indoors with his gift of fresh tulips. I’m a lucky girl.

Cheers!

Share Your World 2015 – Week 11

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Mama Cormier

……thank you Cee for some easy and some thought provoking questions this week

List 2 things you have to be happy about?

I’m happy to be on vacation. I have time to get a few things done around the house, time to spend with family and friends, time to read and time to make art. I’m also happy for reasons that I cannot share but will in the near future.

Do you prefer ketchup or mustard or mayonnaise?

I like mustard on my hotdogs and sausages, ketchup on my burgers and fries and mayonnaise on my BLTs, turkey sandwiches and sometimes with fries (something I picked up when we were in the Netherlands).

If you were to paint a picture of your childhood, what colors would you use?

I would choose happy and calming colours like blues, greens and yellows with just a dash of red for excitement.

Do you prefer a bath or shower?

I always prefer a shower. Long hot ones in the winter and cooler showers on hot summer days. I have a hard time with a bath because I find that the water cools too quickly and the thought of sitting in dirty water isn’t my idea of relaxing. I guess that’s why the Japanese wash before they get into the tub.

If I wanted a bath it would be in a nice deep tub like this one.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for the warmer weather and that all the snow has melted away. I’m also happy that the last week of school finally came to an end and I’m looking forward to a week of rest and relaxation.

Places – The Beach, Hands Down

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Mama Cormier

……the beach, mountains, forests or somewhere else entirely?

Today’s Daily Post asks us to choose where we would like to be.

I’m happy anywhere where I can relax, explore and learn. I worked for a summer in the Alps in southern Germany, skied in the Rockies and drove through the mountains in Yosemite and up Mount Washington. There is something magical about waking up in an area where you are surrounded by the majesty of these beautiful mountains but it can also be somewhat claustrophobic.

I love the coolness and freshness of being in the middle of a forest. I’ve hiked through the forests of Vermont and New Hampshire and camped in Quebec and Ontario. My cottage is nestled inside the forest but I’m only 100 steps from the beach and that is where I prefer to be.

I seem to be naturally drawn to water. According to Chinese astrology I am a water dragon. My home in the city is only 50 metres from the shores of Lake Ontario and I feel blessed to be able to walk down to the park by the lake and look over the entire city. I love how it changes with the seasons. It’s always a little cooler here in the summer and slightly warmer in the winter.

I’ve been on the beaches of Hawaii, the coast of Maine, the wharfs of San Francisco, and the east and west coasts of Ireland. I haven’t travelled extensively but the places I remember most fondly were bordered by an ocean or a Great Lake.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 10

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Mama Cormier

……I’m a little late this week answering Cee’s questions…I’ll blame it on the time change

When you lose electricity in a storm, do you light the candles or turn on the flashlight? How many of each do you own?

I might turn on the flashlight to light the candles and the oil lamp. I have one head lamp and several flashlights. I probably have dozen of candles. My husband loves to burn candles and sometimes we’ll have electricity free evenings and only use candles as our source of light. At the cottage I don’t have electricity so we use candles and battery operated lamps all the time. I’ve got a couple of solar lights but they don’t produce light for very long.

You are given $5,000 and the chance to exchange it for one of two envelopes. One envelope contains $50,000 and one contains $500. Do you make the trade? Why or why not?

I guess it depends on how lucky I’m feeling. If I had to pay off a $5000 debt or something that I really wanted costs $5000. I wouldn’t exchange the money. The fact that I get at least $500. might entice me to take a chance and try for $50 000.

What’s your first memory?

In my first memory I’m about 3 or 4 years old and I’ve gone for a walk with my friend Irene. We decided to go looking for my Dad who was at work. We lived between Bloor and Annette in the west end of Toronto at the time and my father worked downtown at the Royal York Hotel. I remember crossing the street and tripping on the streetcar tracks. I cut my lip so we turned around and headed back to my house. Two elderly women in a car picked us up and drove us home. When we got there I remember seeing police cars in front of the house and my girlfriend told them a car had hit me. Of course that wasn’t true but they apparently went back to where I fell and looked for evidence that there had been an accident.

What do you do if you can’t sleep at night? Do you count sheep, toss and turn, or get up and try to do something?

I rarely have difficulty falling asleep. I focus on my breathing and inhale deeply. I usually fall asleep within 10 minutes of putting my head on the pillow. If I have to get up extra early to catch a plane or bus I might toss and turn a bit and wake up periodically throughout the night but other than that I’m a pretty sound sleeper.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful that the weather has finally turned and that I’m able to go outside without my winter boots. I’ve enjoyed spending time with family and friends this past week and I’m grateful that I can still bowl and hold my own with much younger players.

This week coming up I’m looking forward to more warm weather, getting out and walking more and just enjoying my week off. I’m also looking forward to posting more regularly again and getting caught up with my reading.

A Week of Highs and Lows

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….I haven’t posted in days

My lows include not posting for a number of days. I had over 500 emails that I hadn’t opened and I tried to read as many as possible. I deleted many of them without reading them so I apologize if I missed an important message or one of your better posts. If I made a comment or ‘liked’ your post you know that I read it. I actually do read your posts and I feel unusually guilty if I have to pass them over. I’m trying to read my emails daily but there are over a hundred in my inbox again.

It’s been a tough week with the kids at school. I’m sure that it’s partly due to the time change. Everyone was tired and a bit cranky and with March Break in front of them many found it difficult to focus. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation for this holiday.

I also haven’t done any art for myself. Every day this week I planned to spend some time on my art and it didn’t happen. I’m planning on fixing that during my time off.

Now that March Break is here, I’ve come down with a head cold. Wouldn’t you know it! I’m not sick all year and on the first day of the break I have a scratchy throat and runny nose. Oh well, I have 9 days to rest.

On the high side I managed to get more of the books in the library labelled and shelved and I finally put in an order for supplies and more books. I know that may not seem like a high for some of you but I always feel good when I can get something accomplished.

Last Sunday I took my family to see Ray Cattell’s art show at the Arts and Letters Club. I’ve know Ray for over 25 years. His daughter, L and I work together and have been best friends for all those years. Ray is now in his 90s and it was nice to see the range of work that he has produced from the 1960s to the present day.

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The temperatures have finally warmed up and the snow has started to melt. In fact so much of the snow has melted that I’ve finally been able to go outside without my winter boots on. A few crazy people have also been seen wearing shorts in Toronto. Plus 4 is hardly warm enough to go outside without a coat never mind wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

I also went to a concert this week. It was part of the Music in the Afternoon concert series put on by the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto. The concert featured Jens Lindemann on trumpet. I had no idea what to expect but it ended up being one my most favourite concerts to date. I’ll write more about this in my next post.

I also spent time with my friend CL who I hadn’t seen since Christmas. We had lunch together and then headed downtown for the concert. Afterwards we stopped for coffee and continued to catch up on what we’ve been doing for the last three months. As with most of my friends she asked about my retirement and gave me some food for thought as to what I might want to do when I finally take that step.

On Wednesday a group of us from school decided to have a bit of a staff social and we went bowling and then out for dinner. Most of us are not very good bowlers but it was a lot of fun and we vowed that we would plan another outing after March Break.

Last night my daughter and her husband came over for an impromptu dinner of homemade pizza and salad. My husband and I are very spontaneous and we love it when things like this just come together.

To top off my highs for the week my husband bought me another fresh bouquet of flowers.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 9

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….March has finally arrived but winter doesn’t want to leave

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

It depends on the day. I feel at least 10 years younger than I am, most of the time. Last week when I had trouble standing up after falling while skiing I felt much older. If I have to put an age to it I’d say I feel like I’m in my late 40s or early 50s. Having said that there are days that I think I’m in better shape, physically and mentally than many people who are actually in this age range.

Are you left or right handed?

I’m left handed. I write, paint and eat with my left hand but I do much with my right hand. I bat with my right hand, play the ukelele and guitar with my right hand and knit with my right hand. When I golf and bowl I use my right hand. I iron and type with both hands.

If you HAD to change your name, what would you change it to?

I’m really struggling with this question. I’ve gone through the alphabet trying to pull up names that would suit me. I’ve tried thinking of people that I admire but my husband would leave me if I chose Meryl or Hilary. I’ve gone back to my German heritage but people can’t pronounce most German names and Heidi is just too cutesy. My name, Carol, comes from Charles so I thought I needed to find a more masculine name but Carla, Karen, Connie and Karine are too close to Carol. Then I turned to numerology and settled on a name with German roots and one that suits the number 8. My new name would be Erika.

Where do you hide junk when people come over?

Everything goes into my bedroom. Don’t ask me for a tour of the upstairs of my house. I’d be too embarrassed.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for a special day spent with my friend AB. We met when I first started teaching in 1976. Our rooms were next to each other. I was the Family Studies teacher and she was the art teacher. We had a special relationship right from the start. She is God mother to my children and we’ve stayed close all these years. She’s 11 years older than me and has been retired for awhile. She’s looking forward to the day I retire so that we can ‘play’ again.

On Saturday morning she called me to see if I wanted to look at a condo building with her. She has been preparing to sell her house and down size to a condominium. Both my husband and I thought we were just going to look this place and then walk away so that AB could think about this major purchase. We were blown away when she took out her cheque book and made a down payment on a unit. We were touched that she wanted us there to help her with this life changing investment. We love the location. In fact my husband and I lived in the same location for two years before we bought our own house.

The other thing I’m grateful for was being able to drive to Oshawa with my oldest daughter and her partner on Sunday and help my Dad pack up some dishes and clean the fridge before the mover came on Monday. We drove over to their new apartment and filled up the new fridge with food from the house. They were both very pleased with their new accommodations and I was happy to see the place first hand.

This week I’m looking forward to going to Kiwanis with the Grade one classes to hear them sing. My friend’s father, Ray Cattell is having a major art show at the Arts and Letters Club and the opening for the public is this Sunday. I’ve already had a sneak preview and it’s a wonderful show and I can’t wait to share it with my family. I’m also looking forward to a new on-line art assignment from Carla Sonheim this Thursday.

More Snow, Cuban Food, Cheese, Tarts and Jazz

Posted on February 22, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….despite the snow it was a very full and delightful day

On Saturday we woke up to more snow. Lots of snow. We had made plans earlier in the week to meet up with friends for lunch and because we had already cancelled the last get together because of illness we didn’t want to cancel again. Luckily the drive wasn’t too long.

We had lunch at a very popular restaurant on Roncesvalles in the west end of Toronto. The weather certainly didn’t keep people from going out for a meal. The place was packed but our wait was relatively short. La Cubana specializes in Cuban delights and because we were there on a Saturday the brunch menu was being served.

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The food was very tasty and the service very friendly. I would definitely go back. We hadn’t seen our friends, D & D, since New Year’s Day so we had a lot of catching up to do. They talked about their recent trip to Singapore and shared some beautiful photographs of this island country. We brought them up to date on K’s recent surgery and his even more recent accident. You can see from the photograph that he’s healing nicely.

After lunch we said our good-byes, scraped off more snow from the car and then carefully drove off. On the way home we decided to stop at one of our favourite cheese stores in town, The Cheese Boutique. It was a good day to go. We sampled some delicious organic olive oil from Turkey, were served some hot turkish tea and met a lovely lady who was promoting her homemade lemon curd tarts and butter tarts. I asked her if she lived close by and she told us about her store and bakery on the Queensway called the The Tartistry. She also told us about the live jazz band that played there every Saturday, all day long. Seeing it was on the way home we decided to stop in and check the place out. Before we left we picked up some great cheese that was on sale, a free range chicken and a nice big steak to share for dinner.

The Tartistry is a small store, crammed with beautiful antiques, jewellery, art work and of course tarts. We sat at a small table and ordered two pots of tea and because we hadn’t had dessert with lunch we also indulged in the best tarts I’ve ever eaten. The jazz band was very good. The place was pretty quiet, probably due to the bad weather, but I can see how on a nicer day the place could be very busy. I would definitely go back here again as well.

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After spending about an hour listening to jazz we finally drove home, stopped to pick up some fresh vegetable to go with the steak and quickly shovelled more snow and took the dog for a walk before preparing dinner. Actually, we were pretty full from our mid afternoon snack so we waited quite a while before making dinner. The steak was amazing and even though one steak is normally enough meat for both of us my husband did wish he had an entire steak to himself (only because it was so good). We laughed when he said that because when we have in the past eaten a steak each he usually complains that it’s too much meat.

All in all it was a wonderful day. Full of new and unexpected and spontaneous adventures.

5 Day Black and White Challenge – Day 4

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks to Becca Givens of On Dragonfly Wings with Buttercup Tea for inviting me to participate in this 5 day challenge

Day 4

For my Day 4 of the Challenge:
I ask Colline of Colline’s Blog to share her talent.

∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴∴

If any one of you would like to participate in this 5 Day Black & White Challenge, please let me know.

Rules for 5 Black and White Challenge (there are only 2) 😀

For 5 days create a post any past or present photo in black and white.
Each day you invite a new photographer to join the fun.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 6

Posted on February 12, 2015 by Mama Cormier

……Cee’s Share Your World

What was the last time you went to a new place? Two weeks ago, after my husbands post op appointment with his endocrinologist we treated ourselves to a dinner at a restaurant that I had never been to before. It was a BBQ place called Barque’s in the west end of Toronto. Delicious!

If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels, other? And what type of genre would you prefer?

I guess as bloggers we are all writers but I prefer to write short stories and free verse poetry. I’ve often toyed with the idea of writing and illustrating children’s picture books.

Out of your five senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, hearing) which is your favorite? As an artist and photographer I’d have to say that sight is my favourite sense. I wouldn’t be able to produce the following pieces without my sight.

If 100 people your age were chosen at random, how many do you think you’d find leading a more satisfying life than yours?

Based on the people I know who are my age I’d say that there would probably be 20 people who might lead a more satisfying life than mine. I think I’m better off than most people my age but I wouldn’t be so cocky as to believe that no one has a better or more satisfying life than mine.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

A few days ago my husband was in a bicycle accident and I’m grateful that his injuries weren’t more serious and that he didn’t suffer a concussion. He looks bad like he was in a bar brawl or street fight but he’ll heal and be as good as new in a couple of weeks.

I’m looking forward to a long weekend. We have parent teacher interviews Thursday evening and Friday morning. I’m off Friday afternoon and on Monday we celebrate Family Day in Ontario. We’re planning on going to Chinatown and partaking in some dim sum. Maybe we’ll even go to the art gallery which is just down the street from the restaurant.

It’s suppose to be very cold this weekend so it’ll probably be a good weekend to make art and snuggle up with a good book.