Master Pumpkin Carvers

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….in the Cormier family

This is my husband’s 37th pumpkin that he’s carved and my son-in-law’s first. I think my husband has some serious competition.

Yesterday I luckily found this large beauty. In my neighbourhood they were almost completely sold out when I finally got around to purchasing one and they weren’t reduced in price. It weighed a ton and I was glad that I parked close by.

This year I had the pleasure of cleaning the guts from the inside of the pumpkin.

Now that the messy part was done, my husband could focus on the design and carving out the face of this year’s Jack O’lantern.

Here are the two finished pumpkins, side by side. You be the judge.

It was a perfect night for trick or treating. Both my husband and I sat outside with a glass of wine in hand as we greeted about 46 children. That may not seem like a lot of children to you but last year we only had 2. I leave you with a few more photos of Hallowe’en at the Cormier and Turner house. Enjoy!

What’s the Significance of the Number 1337?

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..the other day WordPress notified me of a milestone

When I started this blog three and a half years ago I had no idea that I would still be blogging this far down the road, never mind posting 1337 articles.

Congratulations on writing 1337 posts on Mama Cormier!

My question, however, has to do with the number 1337. Why is that number a milestone in the blogging world or at least at WordPress? When I think of milestone numbers, 500, 1000 and 10 000 come to mind. Am I thinking in metric terms? Is 1337 an important number in the Imperial system?

What am I missing? If anyone can help me I’d be most appreciative. In the meantime I’ll celebrate this recognition doled out by those wiser than me at WordPress.

Upon doing further research I did find in Urban Dictionary that 1337 means ‘elite’. Is this the answer?

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving (Still no Baby)

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..today is officially Thanksgiving but we had our big meal yesterday

All week I stressed that having dinner at my daughter’s place might not be such a good idea. I envisioned her going into labour during the meal, before the meal and actually being in the hospital on the day we were suppose to get together. My daughter, however, was determined to have the dinner at her place. At least she would be close to her doctor and the hospital where she plans to have the baby. We did discuss a plan B but it wasn’t necessary.

There were 10 of us there for dinner. My husband and I delivered the turkey and all the equipment for deep frying the bird the day before. On Sunday we brought roasted Brussels sprouts, a melange of other roasted vegetables and homemade cranberry sauce. Our other daughter, A, made a kale, rice and pomegranate salad and B’s mom prepared the spaghetti squash and gravy. G made the mashed potatoes and B’s brother was in charge of dessert.

It was B’s first time deep frying a turkey so my husband was close at hand for advice and moral support. The dogs were also hovering around everyone’s feet hoping for bits to fall to the ground.

Before dinner B and G put out a lovely spread of meats and cheeses, crackers, pates, dips and toasted breads. Lucy was a bit of a challenge because all the trays were placed on the coffee table which was just the right height for Lucy to lean in and grab whatever she could. Despite our best efforts she managed to walk off with some bread and cheese.

The dinner was delicious. When dessert was served we also celebrated the birthdays of G’s husband and her husband’s brother. If the baby comes today it will mean that we have birthdays on the 2, 7, 12, 13, and 14th of October to celebrate and those are just the immediate family. There are quite a few October birthdays with the extended family as well.

Today was another beautiful day. It feels like summer out there. We’re in the middle of a federal election and the advance polls were open today so my husband and I decided to walk to the polling station and get it over with. We’d pretty much decided who we were voting for anyway and so we decided to avoid the rush on the actual voting day.

Since the weather was so perfect we decided to walk to the polling station. It was a bit of a hike but we walk that far with the dog every day anyway so we took her along and made our way to the Assembly Hall. Unfortunately my husband misread the times and we got there two hours before the doors open. We went back home and then walked back two hours later but without the dog this time. The station was surprisingly busy and it took us about a half an hour to get to the front of the line to vote. When we got home the second time I had clocked over 12 000 steps for the day up to that point.

Back in Hamilton my daughter still waits for her baby to arrive. To kick start her labour they decided to go on a fairly strenuous hike along the Bruce Trail but so far it hasn’t made a difference. Here’s a photo of part of the trail that they hiked on.

Hopefully in my next post I will declare the safe arrival of our first grandchild. To all my Canadian friends, have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and don’t eat too much turkey. Remember that leftovers make great lunches for the rest of the week.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 35

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks to Cee for four more great questions

What made you feel good this week?

My family and friends sent me wonderful birthday wishes this week and brought me very thoughtful gifts. I got to go to the AGO (art gallery) with my husband and had a wonderful meal in Chinatown. The next day my girls and their significant others and a couple of dear friends came to the house for a BBQ and my husband outdid himself.

For potlucks or parties do you cook it yourself, buy from a grocery store, or pay for catering?

I went to a potluck yesterday and I brought an arugula and apple salad and spinach and cheese crepes. If I have time I usually prepare something on my own and I like to make appetizers. If I’m short on time I will sometimes go to a take out place and bring samosas, pakoras, fried calamari or sushi (things that I wouldn’t make myself). Cheese and crackers and veggies and dip are also easy.

What is your favorite part of the town/city you live in. And what Country do you live?

I’d have to say that I really like where I live in Toronto. I live right by Lake Ontario (I can see it from my house). I’m right on hiking and cycling trails so going for walks is very enjoyable and I’m only a 15 minute drive from downtown or a 10 minute train ride. The streetcar is about 45 minutes and the subway is 30 minutes (including the 10 minute car ride to get to it). For those of you who don’t know Toronto, I live in Canada.

Complete this sentence: My favorite place in the whole world…..

My favourite place in the summer is my cottage on Georgian Bay. I don’t travel extensively but every place I’ve ever been to I’ve really loved. Some of those places are Ireland, The Netherlands, Hawaii, San Francisco, New England and Quebec City. Funny how all these places are on water.

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 time spent with family and friends on my birthday. I’m also grateful for a wonderful day spent with my Dad. He treated me to a very special lunch at the Royal York Hotel and a visit to the Ripley’s Aquarium. Yesterday I spent a few hours with my daughter, A and her partner, J at the CNE. We played some games, took in the sights and tried some new food.

Today I was grateful to my good friend L who stepped up and helped me clean up the library and transferred all my art supplies to a new home in the school. She came just at the right time when I needed her moral support the most. In the end many people chipped in to make sure that the library would be ready for the first day of school.

For the rest of the week I’m looking forward to spending a few more days at the cottage before I head back to work on Tuesday. I’m also looking forward to getting back to working on my art. Have great long weekend. I’ll be back on Sunday or Monday.

Onesies Art

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….at the baby shower guests were invited to decorate white onesies with personal messages and art

Our daughter, A, has never been too excited about party games but for her sister’s baby shower she acquiesced and found a fun activity for people to participate in. Actually she found three activities but I’d like to share the onesie project with you.

We weren’t sure if people would gravitate toward this task because it did require some thought and creativity. Surprise, surprise….people loved it. First of all A went out and purchased about a dozen plain white onesies in a variety of sizes. She was able to get them for about $3.00 a piece. You also need fabric markers and cardboard for this project.

A and J cut up cardboard to fit inside each onesie so that the marker would not bleed through to the back. In the backyard a work table was set up and people went outside throughout the afternoon and created their masterpieces. When they were all done, G, the mother to be, judged them all and picked her favourite. The winner went home with a bottle of wine. It wasn’t an easy task (the judging that is) and some of us who organized the shower quietly took ourselves out of the mix and made sure that our designs didn’t win. I had already won the matching game, my sister had won the guessing game and A and J felt it wouldn’t look good if someone else in the family won another prize.

All the finished onesies were put on a clothesline to dry. I forgot to take a photograph of the finished pieces but my daughter kindly photographed each individual onesie from her home and sent them to me. By the way she photographed them after she washed them so it’s good to know that the marker didn’t fade in the wash.

Which one is your favourite?

Share Your World 2015 – Week 32

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..didn’t I just do this

Are you a collector of anything?

About twenty years ago I started to collect teddy bears. I wanted vintage bears or bears with a vintage feel but family and friends bought me all types of bears. It soon got out of hand and I didn’t have the space for more bears. I’ve asked people not to buy me bears anymore and I’ve even given some away.

What is your biggest fear or phobia? (no photos please)

I have two phobias. The first one is standing at great heights. I think the actual fear is the fear of falling. I could never jump from a plane or go bungee jumping. I don’t know where the second fear comes from. I’m terrified of bears. I’ve never had an encounter with bears. My aunt, who recently passed away, did buy me a book many years ago on bear attacks.

Do you prefer reading coffee table books (picture), biographies, fiction, non-fiction, educational?

I like looking through table top books but I love reading fiction.

Complete this sentence: If I Must Be Reincarnated, In the Next Life I Want to Be…

I can’t imagine being any kind of animal so I think I would like to come back as another person and probably as a woman again.

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 to my oldest daughter and her partner for putting on a wonderful shower for our younger daughter, G and her husband. I came back early from the cottage to help with the preparations but the girls did most of the work. I made the lemonade and brought over the china cups and saucers for the coffee and cake and I purchased some nice disposable dishes and cutlery from Costco that we can actually reuse. I’m also grateful that my father and his wife made the trip from Oshawa along with my sister from Chatham. It was a bit of a family reunion and when I dropped my Dad off at the train station he told me that he had a wonderful time and felt like the ‘king of the world’.

The shower was a bit different from a normal baby shower in that we had a ‘taco bar’ that we had catered. We played a few games and people painted onesies with special messages for the new baby. There were about 19 people in attendance and almost the same number of people sent regrets because they were away on holidays. This is the one downside of having a shower of any kind in the summer.

This week my husband is having his surgery on his lungs. I’m looking forward to a full and speedy recovery.

For more Share Your World stories check out Cee’s blog.

Who Does That?????

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..if I sound a bit angry, I am ! ! !

Yesterday was suppose to be a lovely day with a birthday celebration and attending our final Pan Am Games event.

The day started off well. I finally had an appointment to get my hair cut and I left the salon in a good mood. I walked to the Farmers’ Market and bought a delicious cheese and herb bread and then made my way to the gas station to fill up before our trip to Hamilton. All good!

We picked up the girls from the subway station at 1:00 and then headed out to the highway. We got into the HOV lanes because we had four people in the car and we were flying down the highway and making great time. All went well until……everything slowed down, even the HOV lanes.

We weren’t surprised when we slowed down because we were approaching the part of the QEW where Hwy 403 merges with it. In past trips to Hamilton, London or Niagara Falls we’ve experienced these slow downs before. A couple of times traffic literally stopped in all the lanes.

Unfortunately the last time we stopped the Jeep behind us didn’t and slammed into our rear bumper. Luckily no one was physically hurt but I was emotionally scarred from the experience. Now before you think I’m a complete wuss let me explain my situation.

This is the third time that I’ve had an accident with this car. All three times I haven’t been at fault. Twice, including this time I was rear ended and the other time a dump truck backed into me in a turning lane. The first two times the drivers exchanged information with me and apologized for their mistake. Damage to the car totalled over $9000. for the first two accidents.

After the Jeep hit us yesterday, my daughter and her partner, declared that the driver was laughing at us. They turned around after the impact and they saw both the driver and his passenger point at the car and start to laugh. I was sure that they had to be mistaken. Who laughs after they’ve caused an accident?

I pulled onto the shoulder, to minimize the traffic jam that would occur because of this fender bender. To my shock and horror the Jeep passed us and kept going and the driver was laughing at us. What??????????

We managed to get the license plate number or we thought we did. It was a New York State plate. We called the OPP to report the hit and run and they suggested that we stay safe inside the car and wait for a police officer to arrive.

An OPP officer did call us soon after but he was about 20 minutes away and he advised us to move to the other shoulder, four lanes over. By this time, however, traffic had picked up again and was moving very quickly. We stayed where we were until another accident took place about 100 metres ahead of us. Of course traffic slowed to a crawl, so with my husband sticking his head out of the window and directing traffic with his hands, I managed to move over the four lanes to the ‘safer’ side.

After waiting for 30 minutes and being passed by four separate OPP vehicles we were worried that our officer had missed us. Then I saw a fifth car about to pass us but I managed to get his attention as he was driving by. I watched him put on his lights and pull over to the outside shoulder and back his car to where we were parked. Well it turned out that he wasn’t the officer assigned to our case but he stayed with us. In the next five minutes two more officers arrived, one on a motorcycle and one in a cruiser. Now we had three OPP vehicles around my little blue car with all their lights flashing.

The last car to arrive was the officer we had been waiting for. He took all our information and then he gave us the bad news. After putting the license plate number into the computer it came back null and void. That number didn’t exist. I thought the girls had given him one wrong letter so I suggested that he try a ‘c’ instead of a ‘d’. This time he got a hit but it wasn’t for a Jeep. The girls were sure of the numbers but not the order. The officer wasn’t comfortable playing around with the numbers. The last thing he wanted to do was accuse the wrong person of hitting our car. I don’t blame him.

Everyone felt badly for not getting the plate numbers right but the last thing we expected was that someone would actually ‘run’ from the accident. We were in a panic and not thinking straight. I just remember swearing over and over (something I don’t normally do) and my husband was shaken up and the girls were appalled that the Jeep occupants were laughing at the situation.

So I guess in the end the Jeep driver got away with this one. The damage to my car will be at least $1000. and who knows what will happen to my insurance rates. The good news is that no one was hurt, we made it to our game and we managed to have a nice birthday dinner for my daughter-in-law.

My First Pam Am Games Experience

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..couldn’t have asked for better weather or a better outcome

There was so much negativity in the media about these games that I felt compelled to actually buy tickets for some events. The prices were very reasonable and I questioned why wouldn’t we want to support our athletes. People were critical of how memorable these games aren’t and challenged people to remember where the last games were even held.

One day, recently, someone phoned in and actually answered those questions. I decided to do some research and I also learned a little bit about the last games. They were held in Guadalajara, Mexico in 2011 and opened Oct. 14th and closed Oct. 30th. There were three mascots for these games: Huihci, a deer, Gavo, a blue agave and Leo, a lion.

Image courtesy of: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/90/Guadalajara2011logo.JPG/220px-Guadalajara2011logo.JPG

This year is the first time that golf was added as a sport. I learned that bit at the soccer game during intermission when they hosted a trivia game.

Well I think the support for the games has been quite a surprise for the naysayers in the media. Many events have sold out and so far traffic hasn’t been the nightmare that they predicted.

On Saturday, my family and I drove to Hamilton to attend the women’s soccer game. There were actually two matches for the price of one. The first game was Brazil vs. Costa Rico and then it was Canada vs. Ecuador. We could have taken the Go Train free of charge but we weren’t sure how late it would be before we returned home so we opted to drive and park at our daughter’s house. She lives a couple of blocks from the new train station, that was actually finished on time for these games. At the station there were shuttle buses to take people to the stadium. It was a sea of yellow school buses or ‘cheese wagons’ as the kids call them.

It was barely a 5 minute walk to the station and we boarded one of the complementary buses to the stadium. The ride took only 10 minutes, if that, and then it was a short walk to the entrance. There were volunteers everywhere to assist people and they were extremely friendly.

We were sitting on the sunny side of the stadium but luckily the sun was setting so we weren’t staring into the sun for too long. We missed the first half of the first game but we really were there to see the Canadian women play. In the first match the Brazilian team won over Costa Rico.

There were easily over 15 000 people in attendance at this game. The camaraderie and spirit in the stands was amazing. It was a sea of red and white with a smattering of yellow from the Ecuadorian fans.

The Canadian team didn’t disappoint. They easily won with a score of 5 to 2.

When the game was over thousands of people lined up for the shuttle buses. We were glad to be in the line for the Go Trains because the line up for the buses going to the parking lots were crazy. There are a few kinks that need to be worked out with this free service but all in all it was a wonderful experience and we’re looking forward to returning in two weeks for the final game. Hopefully Canada will be in the finals.

No More Excuses!

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….well I can always find more excuses

I’ve been looking forward to going to the cottage for months and I’ve been off school since Friday and I still haven’t made it up there. What’s wrong with me? Well nothing actually. I have some good reasons for not being there yet.

On Sunday my very good friend, AB, was having one last party at her house before she moves to her new condo. She’s been in that house for over 30 years and we’ve had many a celebration there. It was great seeing a lot of the old faces from past parties and we also celebrated AB’s birthday.

On Monday we had to wait for the guys from the appliance store to determine if our new washing machine should be replaced. They were there less than 5 minutes but it was at the end of the day. They delivered the new machine today.

Before the appliance guys arrived I did some shopping and I purchased flowers for my containers in the front and back yards. I don’t know why but I always leave my planting till well into June. Of course I couldn’t go to the cottage with that weighing on my conscience. I also renewed my membership for the concert series and mailed the cheque.

Today I filled up the car with gas. Tomorrow is a holiday in Canada so I wasn’t sure if the Costco gas station would be open. The store is closed for sure. I also filled one of our propane tanks to take with me and I purchased two large bottles of water and a few supplies that I will need for my trip.

At home I cleaned the bird cage, cleaned the debris off my lawn (branches and leaves that had fallen during Sunday’s rain storm), pulled a few weeds, and swept the porch, sidewalk and the street in front of our house. Actually I couldn’t believe that I was compelled to sweep the leaves off the street. It seems that I kept finding jobs to do that kept me from getting in the car and driving north.

After the new washing machine arrived today I did a couple of loads of washing. It seems to be working just fine. I went for a long walk with the dog, helped my husband make dinner and then watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup game.

Well I think I’ve run out of excuses to not go to the cottage. Except that my oldest daughter called tonight and thought I was driving her to the airport tomorrow night. She’s okay with me not doing it but I’m feeling a little guilty.

My husband won’t be coming with me tomorrow and I hate opening the cottage by myself. I have to take the board down over the main door, move the fridge and connect it to the propane tank and set up the BBQ. Then there’s checking all the rooms for evidence of rodents and possible water damage from all the rain. I have to clean out the water barrel and fill it up and put away the food, make the beds and sweep the floors.

Once this is all done I can relax, assuming that no problems are lying in wait for me to fix. Of course I could stay home and not go up until my husband is able to join me but that could take another week or more. I think I’ll have to chance it and go up on my own. Wish me luck. By the way, I have no electricity or wifi connection so it may be a few days before I can post another article.

School’s Out So Why Am I So Emotional?

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….it’s been an exhausting week

The week started with rehearsals for the grade five farewell. I narrated an adaptation of Oh, the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss and I emceed the assembly. On Tuesday the actual farewell took place and it was a beautiful ceremony. Many of my favourite students were leaving us for middle schools and of course so were their families. Some of these parents I’ve known for ten years because I also taught their older children as well.

At the end of the day my friend L and I were invited to attend one of the house parties. The children were all playing in the backyard while the adults gathered in the living room. I had a great time. There were lots of great nibbles and wonderful adult conversation.

The next day when I arrived at school I had a meltdown as soon as I entered the school building. I’m not sure why. The grade 5s were heading out for their special activity day (swimming, BBQ and mini golf) and for the rest of us we had a play day at school. I was in charge of the water boot race. I felt completely unprepared but I had all the equipment I needed and all the organization had been done by our amazing PE teacher. I think it probably had something to do with the fact that this was the first time in 16 years that I didn’t go away with the grade 5s.

In the end, my activity was a big hit and I actually had a lot of fun doing it. In the afternoon, students from one of the grade 4 classes helped me sort through all the prizes from Jump Rope for Heart and they delivered them to all the classes. That was a huge help. The final total for money raised this year was just under $9000.

After school we had our staff party. PJ hosted at his place as he does every year. He has a pool and I think there were more people than ever in the pool. It helped that it was a warm humid evening. We said good-bye to two staff members that were leaving to continue their careers at other schools and two teachers are going on a leave for a year.

Today students and parents approached me all day with gifts, cards, flowers and warm wishes in between teaching classes. We also had one final assembly in the morning where we recognized students of the month. All the summer birthdays, including mine were, were announced on the PA and we were given birthday ribbons, stickers and bracelets. It’s strange being wished a happy birthday when it’s still two months away (Aug. 28th). Even my last kindergarten class of the year sang Happy Birthday to me.

As I mentioned earlier I received numerous gifts throughout the day but the one that brought tears to my eyes came from four students who were leaving this year. They were also the same students who have attended the tea party for the last two years. They knew that I have a Pandora bracelet and they purchased a charm, a tiny silver teapot, to add to my collection.

I’m not sure why this year was more emotional than past years. Maybe because I’m getting older and I know that my time as a teacher is soon coming to an end. Whenever I mention retirement, the staff and students won’t hear of it but I know that I can’t go on forever. I’m now looking at one year at a time but I’m pretty sure that in two years I’ll be saying good-bye.

Tomorrow the teachers will be back at school. Our principal is hosting a breakfast for us and then we’re off to clean our rooms. Last year I knew that the library was being renovated and I had a big job packing up books in that last week of school. This year I found out that the storage room where I store all my art supplies is being turned into a new office for the caretaker, so all the paper, paints, art supplies and art carts have to be removed. Guess where they’re going for now? The library. I know what I’ll be doing that week before school starts. Can’t worry about that now. I’ll cross that road when I get to it.