I love this message and the fact that the entire video features cyclists resonates with me. Enjoy!
Holstee Manifesto
Reply
Category Archives: About Me
Share Your World – Week 36
…..another great set of questions from Cee’s Share Your World
Do you prefer reading coffee table books (picture), biographies, fiction, non-fiction, educational?
I really enjoy looking through coffee table books but I love reading fiction.
What is your biggest fear or phobia? (no photos please)
I don’t know why but I have an unexplainable fear of bears. I’ve never encountered a bear and I don’t want to. Two years ago a family of bears swam across the bay to our island and have lived there ever since. I will not walk by myself through the woods anymore. Luckily the island is very large and very few people have even seen the bears but there is evidence that they’re around. I think my fear may have come from reading a book my aunt gave me over 30 years ago about bear attacks.
What is your favorite cheese?
I love all types of cheese. I don’t think I can just pick one. My favourites include old cheddar, brie and Emmenthal.
What is your favorite month of the year?
Right now I’ll say August. Usually it’s the best month to be at the cottage because the water has warmed up and the mosquitoes are almost non-existent. It’s also the month when I celebrate my anniversary and my birthday.
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 all the help that I got from the parents and students who helped me organize the library. It’s not quite finished but it looks 100% better.
Next week I’m looking forward to getting together with friends from high school. Some of these women I haven’t seen in over 40 years.
Share Your World – Week 35
….can’t believe that it’s already week 35…check out Cee’s Photography for more great posts of Share Your World or join in
Have your blogging goals changed?
I think they have. I started as an incentive to lose weight and record stories from my childhood. I still do a little of both but now it’s become a venue for sharing my art, photography, and life’s adventures and challenges.
If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?
I don’t know why this came to my head first but I thought clown. I’m not a big fan of clowns but I do like to make people laugh.
If you could go back and talk to yourself at age 18 what advice would you give yourself? Or if you are younger than 25 what words of wisdom would you like to tell yourself at age 45?
I would tell myself to pursue my interests, take risks. I was very practical and played it pretty safe at 18 but I was also somewhat romantic and probably naive. My biggest piece of advice would be to put aside money for retirement and not touch it. I’ve been lucky to have a job with a great pension plan and to own a house in the city. Not everyone is as fortunate and sometimes I think we could have been better prepared.
What is your favorite comfort snack food?
My favourite comfort foods are ice-cream and cheese. Not at the same time. When I want something sweet it would be ice-cream and for my savoury moments it has to be cheese.
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 wonderful birthday week with family and friends. I spent the day with one of my oldest friends at the spa earlier in the week. My good friend L took me to the nail place and she treated me to a pedicure. My aunt and cousin sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, my sisters sent me gifts through the mail, my son called me long distance from the Netherlands, my daughters and I spent time together at the CNE, my husband cooked a magnificent meal for six of us and my dear friends at the cottage prepared a birthday lunch with cake done in the BBQ and gave me a set of beautiful earrings. WOW!
I’m looking forward to using my new Jawbone Up (a gift from my family) to record my fitness and sleeping patterns and learning some new songs on my ukulele from the ukulele book that my sister sent me. I’m also looking forward to going back to school (believe it or not) to catch up with my colleagues and meet my new students. Getting the library up and running is number one on my priority list. I just hope I get some help doing it.
My broken birthday cake. It didn’t travel well on my husband’s bike.
Things That Can’t Be Carried on a Bike
….I follow a blog Urban Simplicity that regularly posts Things That Can Be Carried on a Bike
Well last week we discovered something that definitely doesn’t travel well on a bike. As you may know it was my birthday and my husband was in charge of the meal and the birthday cake.
The meal was a fantastic five course Indian spread that K made completely from scratch. It was fabulous and there was enough left over for another meal for two. The only problem was with the cake. My husband is also a good baker but time ran out so he rode his bike to the local Italian bakery to buy a German Black Forest cake. I know….Indian, Italian, German?
Anyway San Remo makes wonderful birthday cakes and it’s always our go to place when we don’t have time to bake. K didn’t think carrying the cake would be problem because he has a flat carrier on the front of his bike and he was able to strap it in place so it wouldn’t slide around.
I guess the ride must have been a little (or a lot) bumpy because when he got home and opened the box this is what he saw:
As you can see he was a little embarrassed. No need. It was delicious just the same.
Have you experienced anything that CAN’T be carried on a bike?
Girls’ Night Out at the CNE
….the Canadian National Exhibition is one of the biggest and oldest fairs in Canada
Last evening my three girls and I paid a visit to the CNE. I’ve been going to this fair since I was a little girl. As a teenager it was one of my favourite events of the summer even if it did mean that school was about to start. The fair runs for 2 1/2 weeks at the end of August through to Labour Day.
The Food Building was always a highlight of our visit but it has changed considerably over the years. There was a time when you could fill up on samples alone and take home great bargains. Now it’s more about the outrageous meals that one can purchase. One of the big draws this year was the Thanksgiving Waffle. If you’re thinking turkey, stuffing, gravy and cranberries you’d be right and all wrapped in a waffle made with mashed potatoes and topped with more gravy. Sounds pretty disgusting but it was actually quite tasty. Both G and J each bought one but it was so large that the four of us shared them.
After our somewhat unhealthy dinner we walked along the midway and played a few games of chance. Whack-a-Mole is one of my favourite games but none of us won a prize this year. We also went to the Farm building and took in the butter sculptures and enjoyed learning about farm animals. My favourites were the turkey and the piglets.
After three hours we called it a night and headed back out through the Dufferin gates. Luckily the entrance fee is greatly reduced after 5:00 pm and we found parking on the street so the entire evening was relatively inexpensive. Until this time next year my CNE experience is over.
Cheers!
Share Your World – Week 34
….more great questions from Cee’s Photography
What is your favorite smell? What memory does it remind you of?
My favourite smell has to be cinnamon. I love the smell of Christmas baking. Another smell that I really like, especially in a perfume scent is lemon or a citrusy smell. It reminds me of a perfume my mother always used to wear, 4711 or Tosca. 
Name a song or two which are included on the soundtrack to your life?
The songs that come to mind are Let it Be by the Beatles and Your are the Sunshine of my Life by Stevie Wonder. The later was the song that my husband and I danced to when we were dating and on our wedding day.
Do you play video/computer game? Which one(s) or most recent?
The only game I play on-line is Scrabble. I’m addicted. I play with my sisters and a few good friends.
Which of Snow White’s 7 dwarfs describes you best? Plus what would the 8th dwarf’s name be? (Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey)
I think I’d be Doc, the voice of reason. Although not perfect and often mixing up this words, Doc is kind and keeps the other dwarfs in check. If there was an 8th dwarf his name would be Techy because in today’s world the dwarfs would need someone who can tinker with modern technology.
Photo courtesy of: http://statici.behindthevoiceactors.com/behindthevoiceactors/_img/chars/thumbs/char_17116_thumb.jpg
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 nice weekend at the cottage with my husband and daughter, A and her partner, J. We finally had decent weather. I’m also grateful for everyone’s help getting the outhouse properly set over the new hole and that it is no longer sitting on an angle but is perfectly level.
This week I’m looking forward to having lunch with my friend, AB and going to the CNE with my daughters. I’m also looking forward to celebrating my birthday on Thursday with my family.
ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and Railpath Run
….started running again yesterday
I decide that I needed a goal to keep running more regularly. I was surprised that after not running for so long that I was able to run 2K without stopping. My daughter, A, has recently started running and told me about a fun run coming up in September. It’s not about a set distance in this run but it’s based on time and how far you can run in 45 minutes. Sounds perfect for me.
The money raised for this event goes to STOP which is a community organization that feeds the homeless and families in need of food in the community. I think that all the money comes from the registration fee so I won’t be asking for any donations. The date for the run is Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. This should give me plenty of time to work up to 45 minutes of running but because it’s a fun run/walk there will be a lot of walkers so if I need to stop and walk for a bit it’s no big deal. I’m really looking forward to this day. If you’re in the Toronto area and want to participate check out the Railpath Run website here.
The other thing that I did today, after getting home from the dentist, was complete the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Again my oldest daughter, A, nominated me and because it’s for a good cause I decided to follow through. Here’s my video.
If you haven’t participated in this challenge and would like to I will be happy to nominate any of my followers. Just say that Carol Cormier nominated you. The important thing, however, is to donate to ALS. I just googled ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and I was able to donate right on line. The one thing I didn’t know was that every country has an ALS chapter and I ended up donating to the American site. No matter, it all goes to a good cause.
If you do participate I’d love to see your video.
Cheers!
Back to School…..
….I’m procrastinating
I should be at school getting my classroom ready but I’m really procrastinating this morning. Knowing what awaits me is keeping me here in front of this computer screen. It has to be done though, so I’ll put in a few hours this morning and then head off to my dentist appointment. Wow! Two exciting, fun events on the same day. No wonder I’m procrastinating.
Got to do it. See you later.
Cheers!
Back to the Cottage for a Couple of Days
…..hope this fog lifts and the rain stays away
Next week I’ll be returning to school to get ready for the kids who start back on Sept 2. I know I’ll have a lot of work to do so I’m hoping I can get in a couple more days of relaxation up at the cottage. We’re picking up our oldest daughter and her partner and will be heading up in a couple of hours.
While we’re there we’ll have to make the decision as to whether we’ll partially close the cottage or make plans to go up for a few more days before school starts. I don’t traditionally like going up on the last long weekend but I might choose to do that this year, at least for a couple of days. I always like to be back in the city for a day or two before heading back to work.
So I won’t be posting until Sunday. See you then.
Cheers!.
Share Your World 2014 – Week 33
….check out Cee’s blog for more posts about Share Your World
Do you believe in ghosts?
I do actually. I strongly believe that a ghost stood by my bed years ago. I woke up and screamed. My poor husband woke up but didn’t see anything. I’ve always felt that the ghost was my mother and that it was a warning to me. Our son who was 19 at the time wanted to travel to Mexico and hitch hike through the country by himself. I begged him not to go and told him about my ghostly visitation. He reluctantly agreed and later confessed to me that he crossed the border for one day and felt very uncomfortable and that my fears were probably somewhat justified.
Irregardless of your physical fitness, coordination or agility: If you could play any sport professionally what would it be? Or if you can’t picture yourself playing sports, what is your favorite sport?
If I were to play a team sport it would be volleyball. I’ve always loved the game. I don’t even know if there are professional volleyball teams. If not I’d choose baseball. If I were to compete in an individual sport it would be rowing. When I turned 50 I joined a group of women and learned how to row in the 8 man boats and then the 4 man. I loved it.
Do you prefer long hair or short hair for yourself?
Even has I get older I prefer my hair on the longer side. I’ve worn it really short and very long and I like it somewhere in the middle. The notion that long hair makes you look older doesn’t hold true for everyone. I have an oval face that lends itself to lots of different styles but when I look back at my photos of myself I like the medium length cuts best.
If you were on an small island, who would you want to be with? And where is it? How big is it?
If I were on a small island I would want to be with my husband. It would have to be somewhere warm and with lots of resources to build a shelter, make fire and of course have drinking water. The size of the island wouldn’t matter as long as it had interesting places to walk and explore. How long are we staying on this island, anyway? Is it inhabited or not? I may have to rethink these answers.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I am grateful for a wonderful weekend with my husband. We celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary. Even though the weather didn’t cooperate we ignored the rain and enjoyed each other’s company (check here).
This week I’m looking forward to no more doctor’s appointments for awhile and going back up to the cottage with our daughter A and her partner J. This may be the last time I go up before school starts. I haven’t decided if I’m going up for the long weekend. If I do it will be for only a day or two to partially close the cottage. Every year I say I’m going up in the fall and then I don’t until it’s time to close it up for the winter. Maybe this year will be different.
Mama Cormier 
