Hallowe’en Night at the Book Fair

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….the one I stay open late so that the parents can shop while the children play

Last Friday the halls were decorated with cobwebs, zombies, witches, skeletons and ghosts and several classrooms were set up with interesting and engaging activities for the kids. The party started at 6:30 and 150 children and their parents came dressed in costume. There were scary masks, long wigs, bushy beards, and store bought and handmade costumes.

I took a few pictures of some of the children when they came to the book fair. Posting them is always somewhat tricky but a number of the parents gave me permission to include them in this blog and others are so covered up that no one would know who’s behind the mask or the beard.

Some of the kids are former students who came back to celebrate with their younger siblings. It always amazes me how much some of them grow over the summer. The book fair has been a big success so far and it was definitely worthwhile having it open during the party. Our goal this year is to sell $7000 worth of merchandise. So far, after 3 days we’ve brought in over $4800. Four more days to go. The library will get about 60% of the total sales back in books when all is said and done. Not bad for a week’s work.

Here I am with my talking witch’s hat and my number one ‘go to guy’ at this year’s book fair. Thank you M all your help.

Don’t Let Your Dog Chew Tennis Balls

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

……after two hours of surgery they removed the offending piece of ball

Lucy loves tennis balls. G and B don’t buy them for her but she manages to find them in the park all the time. It wouldn’t be so bad if she wanted to play with them, i.e. throw and fetch, but Lucy doesn’t do that. She’d rather eat them. Up till now her special finds are taken from her but I guess she managed to sneak one past her family.

Tonight Lucy underwent surgery to remove the blockage. Part of her small intestine had to be removed as well because it started to perforate. Apparently dogs can survive quite nicely with only half of the small intestine. Currently she is in recovery and everything is progressing as it should.

I’m looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. Get a good night’s sleep Lucy and DON’T dream about tennis balls.

Waiting for News…..Any News

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…….took our grand dog to the emergency vet clinic yesterday

I just got off the phone with daughter number one on Saturday when the phone rang, literally seconds later, and I could see that daughter number two was calling me. I cheerfully picked up the phone and greeted G with an exuberant ‘Hello’. My mood turned instantly when I heard her sobs on the other end of the line.

G and her husband, B had made plans to go on a vacation cruise and they were due to leave today. Earlier in the week their dog, Lucy became quite ill and they had made a couple of trips to the vet’s office. X-rays were taken but the vet couldn’t see what the problem was. If she didn’t get better she was suppose to have an ultra sound done but lo and behold she started to eat and every one thought she was on the mend.

All was well till the wee hours of Saturday morning when Lucy took ill again and kept her family awake for hours. With very little sleep under their belts, G and B called a taxi and took Lucy to the emergency vet hospital in their neighbourhood. When G called me she was exhausted and had just been told that Lucy might need surgery.

My husband and I drove to the north end of the city to lend moral and financial support. We sat in the waiting room for awhile and then got some food for everyone. We waited 4 hours before Lucy had an ultra sound done and then another hour to get the news that she required a hospital stay and possibly surgery.

We convinced G and B to go on their trip. They would have lost all the money if they cancelled and B needed that vacation. We signed on as Lucy’s guardians and would be the contacts if Lucy’s condition worsened. Sure enough the worst case scenario happened and Lucy requires the surgery.

Now we’re waiting by the phone. Lucy is in surgery while I’m writing this post and our daughter is thousands of kilometres away waiting to hear from us.

Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.

Forgot My Computer at School

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…….can’t access my report cards, upload my photos

Yesterday I stayed at school until 8:00 pm. The school council hosted a Hallowe’en party

for the kids Friday evening and the book fair was open for the parents to browse and shop while their children enjoyed the activities that were organized for them. The principal stayed and helped me at the cash desk while I restocked the shelves, helped parents with their purchases and took a few pictures. When it was time to go home I quickly grabbed my things, locked up and drove home.

It wasn’t until I got home that I realized that I had left my laptop at school. It was too late to go back. All I have to work on is the iPad and again I’m having some difficulty writing my post. I’m unable to upload my photos from the camera and as you can see I’m having some spacing issues. The other problem that I have is that our report cards are due on Monday and I can’t access them with the iPad. Hopefully I can input my marks first thing Monday morning before the report cards are printed in the afternoon.

I feel lost without my laptop. How sad is that! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. I should be back up to speed on Monday.

Book Fair Mania!

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….it’s that time of year again

You would have thought it was Christmas at our school today.

Just before lunch today the book company delivered 7 large cases of books and numerous boxes of more books and accessories. As the children passed the library they let out shouts of joy. Many wanted to come in and start spending money they didn’t have.

I have numerous student volunteers for the library this year. Many join just so they can help out with the book fair. The steel book cases, however, are so large and awkward that I move them and position them on my own or with the help of another adult. I let the students open the smaller boxes but they get so excited that they want to open everything, even though many of the items are duplicated and don’t need to come out right away.

Sometimes I think it’s more work for me to delegate jobs for my eager workers but they love it and in the end they do get the job done. I think I’m going to have to make a schedule and assign specific days and times for my volunteers, otherwise I will have 20 bodies at my door every day asking if they can help and there won’t be any room for our paying customers.

For the next 7 school days our somewhat quiet library will become a bustling hive of activity with children and parents looking to purchase one or two special books, posters and accessories from the boutique case. The benefit of doing a book fair, of course, is that a sizeable percentage of the sales comes back into the library in the form of new books and classrooms also receive books and teaching aids. It’s a great community activity that brings people together and promotes reading.

Cranberry Festival in Bala

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. rain, hail and wisps of blue sky

The Cranberry Festival in Bala always falls after the Thanksgiving weekend. My friends L and B and I decided to drive to Bala on Sunday. The entire weekend was cloudy, rainy and cold all over southern Ontario. It was really a last minute decision to drive to Bala at all. We wondered if we had made a wise decision when hail started to hit the wind shield but in the distance we could see traces of blue sky.

The drive in was uneventful and traffic was light. In years past the flow of traffic would slow down to a crawl as cars and buses approached the town of Bala. We found a parking spot easily and with umbrellas in hand we started our walk through town. One of the first things I did was buy a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm. We checked out some of the vendors that were outside and then we made our way into the arena where more vendors were set up to sell their wares. We picked up some stocking stuffers for Christmas, sampled some yummy chocolate and tried on some trendy designer clothes.

When we headed outside the sun finally decided to make an appearance and it warmed up considerably. A vendor selling hot sauce looked at us as if he recognized us. He asked if we were teachers and if we’d ever taught at a middle school in Etobicoke. Well it turned out that all three of us had been at that school but it was our friend B whom he recognized. What a small world. He must have been one of her first students because he was already well into his late 40s or early 50s. He got very emotional at meeting her again after all these years and told her that she had made a huge difference in his life. Talk about making your day!

As we made our way back to the car we stopped and picked up some fresh produce from one of the stalls. Our bags were so heavy with our harvest vegetables and apples that we decided to take advantage of the school bus that transported visitors to and from the festival. When we unloaded our parcels we decided to go back to the church by the falls and have some lunch before heading back to Toronto.

Lunch was a bowl of homemade turkey soup for each of us and a Canadian bacon sandwich cut into three pieces. For dessert L bought one cranberry crepe (it was the cranberry festival after all) with chocolate sauce and whipped cream that we shared as well. We took a few more pictures of the falls and the rushing water and then walked back to the car. Just before we left Bala for good we made one more stop to purchase some more twigs with red berries. The urns outside L’s and B’s places will look very festive this Christmas with those red berries adorning a bouquet of evergreen boughs.

Thanks ladies, for a very enjoyable day!

Ai Weiwei – Part 2

Posted on October 21, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..one week to go

If you live in Toronto or are visiting this is your last chance to see the Ai Weiwei show. Last week I posted some of the installation pieces at the show. Featuring photographs, sculpture, installation art and audio and video pieces, Ai Weiwei: According to What?examines how the artist spotlights the complexities of a changing world and probes such issues as freedom of expression, individual and human rights, the power of digital communication and the range of creative practice that characterizes contemporary art today both in China and globally.(as cited in the AGO newsletter).

China Log 2005

This sculpture is made from 8 pillars salvaged from Qing Dynasty temples that were carved at the centre and when joined together they formed an opening through the entire length of the ‘log’ in the shape of China. The China log implies that present day China is made up of a variety of cultural and historical elements.

Kippe, 2006

This sculpture is made with parallel bars as the frame for a three dimensional puzzle of tightly fitted pieces of wood salvaged from Qing Dynasty temples. Ai Weiwei’s memory of childhood school yards that were equipped with a set of parallel bars and a basketball hoop were part of the inspiration for this sculpture. The other part came from the beautifully stacked firewood outside his family home that was openly admired by the people in his neighbourhood.

Wenchuan Steel Reebar, 2008-2012

Ai Weiwei uses rebar recovered from the rubble of collapsed schoolhouses following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. It is a large physical work, designed to remind people of the individuals in danger of being forgotten.

Forever, 2003

These 42 Forever bicycles were dismantled and reassembled to form a circular sculpture. The Forever Co. was established in 1940 and became the largest manufacturer of bicycles in China. In recent years with the onset of modernization the bike is disappearing from city streets but many Chinese still cherish memories of their bicycles that will last ‘forever’ in this work.

Coloured Vases, 2007 – 2010

This series consists of Han Dynasty vases dipped in industrial paints covering the patterned surfaces of the jars with bright modern colours while maintaining the original forms.

I love this man’s work and I discovered today that we share the same birthday. The show will be leaving Toronto this coming weekend and will move to Miami, Florida to the Perez Art Museum (November 28, 2013 – March 18, 2014) and then moves to Brooklyn, New York to the Brooklyn Museum (April 18 – August 10, 2014).

Cheers!

Grade Three’s X-ray Paintings

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. using Norval Morrisseau’s painting style

Norval Morrisseau was a First Nations artist from Canada. He is often referred to as the Picasso of the North and his style is characterized by thick black outlines and bright colours. He developed his own techniques and artistic vocabulary which captured ancient legends and images that came to him in visions or dreams. The lines in his paintings represent energy and often connect one symbol or body part to another. The x-ray technique allows the observer to see the energy within the person or animal.

After discussing Morrisseau’s style the boys and girls were directed to draw something that was important to them. The beauty of this activity is that drawings should be simple, and don’t even need to look like the animals that they represent. The students learned how to apply bright watercolours to their paper after they outlined their line drawing with black markers. Once they finished painting they went over the black lines again.

I love each and every one of them. Here are the first 8 pictures that were completed today:

Things Didn’t Go As Planned

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..but the concert was fabulous

Before I left the house this morning I gathered up all the documents I thought I would need to get my new health card. The only thing I couldn’t find was my passport but I had a photocopy of it.

I headed over to the x-ray and imagining lab to have my bone density checked. There was no waiting and the procedure was painless and went without a hitch. I picked up a cup of lemon jasmine tea from the French baker on the corner and a couple of loaves of day old bread, rye and muesli. Next stop, the medical lab for my blood work. When I got there, however, the waiting room was so busy that there was at least a 30 minute wait. I was told if I came back before 4:00 I wouldn’t have to wait.

Plan B …..I made my way to the government office to get my new health card or so I thought. When I got there I showed the receptionist my papers and she told me that the photocopied passport couldn’t be used but I only needed two pieces of ID and the other two items I had would suffice. She gave me a number and I took a seat. There weren’t a lot of people there but it still took 30 minutes before my number came up. I no sooner got to the counter when I was told that I needed three pieces of ID and not two like I had been told. The clerk could see that I was visibly upset so she gave me a special pass so that when I returned with all my documents I wouldn’t have to wait.

I didn’t have time to drive home and get downtown in time for the concert. Luckily the offices were open till 7:00 tonight so I rushed to the subway station to catch a train into town and meet my friend, CL. When I got to the platform, one train had just left and then the sign came up saying that the next train was delayed. Fortunately it was a short delay and the next train arrived in three minutes. I arrived about 10 minutes late and CL was waiting patiently for me outside of Tim Horton’s. The lecture was starting in 10 minutes and we hadn’t had lunch so we decide to forgo the talk and grab a bite to eat instead.

The concert was sold out and the auditorium was already packed when we arrived. The only seats left where we could sit together were in the front row. When I read that we were seeing a piano duo I thought that meant two pianos and two pianists but there was only one piano on stage with two benches. The piano duo was one piano with four hands.

Bax and Chung have been described as a musical love story. Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung are married in real life and when they play together there is a sensuality and connection between them on stage that doesn’t go unnoticed by the audience. Today my favourite numbers included Stravinsky’s own four hands transcription of his ballet Petrushka and the duo’s own transcription of Three Tangos by the great Argentinian master Astor Piazzolla. After a standing ovation and three curtain calls, the audience was treated to another tango duet for their encore presentation.

I found an awesome video on Youtube that shows the couple playing Piazzolla’s Libertango. The camera is situated above the piano so that you can see the interaction between Bax and Chung. It is a great way to see the complexity of the piece and the difficulty of playing with four hands on one keyboard.

I didn’t get back in time to have my blood work done but when I got home, I found my passport and returned to the government office to have my health card processed. It should be arriving in the mail in a couple of weeks.

Getting Ready for a Busy Day

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….mixing pleasure with those things that never get done

I started my morning going through all my bills and then going on line to make some payments. I have three stops that I have to make this morning. First I’m going for a bone density scan that I should have done much earlier in the year, then I’m heading to the blood lab for more blood work and finally I’ll be standing in line to fill out the paperwork for a new health card. They finally caught up with me and after all these years of using my original health card I now have to get the new one with photo ID.

Once I’ve finished with these mundane tasks I’ll be getting on the subway and heading downtown to the university to take in the first of five concerts in a series called Music in the Afternoon. The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto, in its 116th season, puts on a series of concerts every year, featuring outstanding Canadian and international artists in a blend of instrumental and vocal chamber music. Many of these musicians are on the threshold of international recognition.

Today’s concert features Bax and Chung, a piano duo. I’ll be meeting a friend downtown and together we will walk over to the Edward Johnson Building for the Tuning Your Mind lecture which proceeds every concert. The guest speaker will give the audience some insight into the pieces that we will hear and perhaps some information about the artists who are performing. Shortly after the lecture, which is optional, the concert will begin in earnest.

I’m looking forward to the day and will report on the experience in a future post.

Cheers!