….thanks to Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Threes
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Category Archives: Celebrations
Roses, Music, and a Fabulous Meal
This has been an extremely busy week. It started with a trip up north to visit our youngest daughter and her family at the camp where they are living for the summer. The next day I attended a garden party at the Women’s Art Association of Canada house in Downtown Toronto. Last year I volunteered to take over the position of library chairperson and in appreciation for the work that I did along with other new volunteers we were each presented with a rose.
The meal was outstanding and my only regret is the I didn’t take any photos of the event. The president, however, did take photos and she sent me one the same day. I thought that she was only taking a photo of the band but she managed to capture me next to the balloons where I stopped so I wouldn’t get in front of her shot.
The Colours of the Pride 5K Race
….today our son, daughter and daughter-in-law all took part in the Pride 5k Race
There is probably no race more colourful than the one that takes place during Pride Week here in Toronto. It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine, warm temperatures and colourful decorations and runners.
All three of our children did very well. Of the three Andrea arrived first at just over 22 minutes.
Brenda came in next in just over 24 minutes. Not bad considering he hadn’t trained in over two months and only had four hours of sleep the night before.
Josie wanted to break 35 minutes and came in at just over 33 minutes. Congratulations to all of them for a job well done.
Next year I promised I would do the run with them. I better start training now. I’d be happy to break 45 minutes.
I Can’t Believe She Ate the Whole Thing
….it seems that my granddaughter is going through a growth spurt
I was blessed this weekend to have my daughter and granddaughter stay with us for the weekend. On Friday they will be moving to the summer camp that my son-in-law is in charge of and unless I go up there during the summer there’s little chance of seeing them for the next two months. Hopefully I will find the time to drive up and spend a day or two, here and there over the summer months.
So this weekend was very special to me. We started the day with lunch on the deck and Winnie enjoyed a sandwich, juice and strawberries. She discovered that dipping strawberries into almond butter made for a tasty treat.
After lunch Mommy left to visit a friend for a couple of hours so Winnie and I walked up to the Lakeshore where a grilled cheese festival was taking place. Before we got there she was already declaring that she was hungry again so the first thing we did was purchase a grilled cheese sandwich. She didn’t eat it all but she did want to take it home (which she finished later). Then we went to the yarn store and the owner kindly offered both of us a drink of juice with ‘strawberries’ in it. Of course Winnie loved it.
When we left the yarn store Winnie once again said she was hungry so we headed towards the ice-cream store. She ordered a ‘strawberry’ cone and I had a cup of ‘sweet cream’. Her cone had a very generous scoop of ice-cream for a kiddie cone but she had no problem finishing the whole thing.
In between all the treats Winnie bounced around in the Bouncy Castle and played several games where she earned some coupons for a few small prizes. All in all it was a wonderful afternoon that I will always cherish.
Happy Victoria Day
….to all my fellow Canadians
As far as long weekends go this one was pretty uneventful. Daughter number two went up to the camp to continue cleaning out their cabin that they’ll be living in this summer but they only stayed one night. The black flies are pretty bad this time of year and it was cold.
On Saturday I got some gardening down and cleaned out part of a flower bed and trimmed back the Rose of Sharon and the ornamental grass. Even though it was warm enough to garden without a jacket it wasn’t warm enough to sit outside without a jacket to enjoy a cup of coffee.
On Sunday daughter number one and our daughter-in-law came over to drop off their dog, Olive so that they could camping in a yurt up in Tobermory. While they were there my husband felt well enough to make a fabulous dinner that he had seen on Jamie Oliver’s show, Dinner in 30 Minutes. This is a photo of the salad he made with fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, roasted peaches, olives and salad greens.
Olive seemed to settle in quite nicely and she certainly made herself right at home when her mommies left. Unfortunately night time was a bit rough and I ended up sleeping on the couch with her until 4:30 in the morning and then my husband took over.
Today started out promising but the winds picked up and the temperatures were well below normal. Later in the day I bundled up and took the dogs for two separate walks. Frances would only let me take her around the block but Olive went five times as far. We ended up in Col. Sam Smith Park. The water levels are still high and one of the pathways was completely under water.
No sunburn or tanning this long weekend but the good news is that I walked over 13000 steps today. How was everyone else’s weekend.?
What to do With Old Paint Brushes
….I’ve been meaning to write about this for awhile now
Back in February or March I received a request to donate old unwanted paint brushes, spools of thread and old frames to the Women’s Art Association of Canada. A couple of very creative women had come up with an idea of how to use them as decorations for a major fundraiser that ran over 5 days in April.
I managed to attend the first evening and was delighted to see how Janet and Deniz had used the old brushes. Here are a few of their creations.
Silent Sunday – April 21, 2019
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Easter With the Cormiers
….celebrating a day early makes for a nice restful Easter Sunday
On Saturday I got up early to put the turkey in the oven. I made the stuffing the night before so that saved me some time and I hid a few eggs before I retired for the evening. Despite all the advanced prep work I still found myself working right up till the moment the first of my kids arrived but I must admit that it was considerably less stressful than other years. I did manage to get the table set and hide all the Easter eggs.
My daughter and daughter-in-law took over the egg decorating job and my husband started up the BBQ where he cooked all the vegetables.
Our granddaughter and her parents and other grandmother were the last to arrive and little Winnie didn’t waste any time looking for the treats that the Easter Bunny hid around the house.
After dinner most of us decided we needed to get some fresh air and walk off some of the calories that we had consumed. Our son-in-law made us some wonderful cocktails to start the meal, Gaelan prepared a delicious cheesy cauliflower bake and Andrea and Josie made a decadent chocolate panna cotta for dessert. On top of the turkey and the rice stuffing I also made gluten free spring pasta salad. Luckily the rain had stopped so we headed to the park and continued to the playground a few blocks over.
I hope all of you had as wonderful day as I did. Happy Easter everyone!
Fun Family Day
….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
….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.
Mama Cormier 