….I wish I could say that this beautiful rose is from my garden but alas it’s not
On our walk this morning I came across numerous beautiful flowers to share with you this week. My neighbourhood is a haven of gorgeous gardens. My poor peony plant still hasn’t opened completely. In fact at the moment it is looking rather sad. Hopefully in a day or two the blooms will erupt to their full potential.
Three block over the house on the corner lot is awash in pink roses.
…..first you see it, well what’s left of it
…..and then little by little over the next four hours it starts to come down
….until nothing is left but a bit of saw dust
….and now my view has completely changed
Thirty five years ago
you were barely three feet high
You grew wide and tall
Your lower branches spread across the lawn
and encroached on the neighbour’s roof
trimming was a necessity but you continued to grow
until you shot above our two story house
You were home to birds, squirrels and racoons
You provided shade and nourished the soil
I cursed your shedding needles but
you always stayed green season after season
Your demise was swift, we barely saw it coming
Sun shines where before you provided shade
and our view is forever changed
Farewell dear tree
….Cee’s been posting peonies in full bloom but mine are still buds
….for more Sunday Trees check out Becca Givens site http://beccagivens.wordpress.com/2014/06/15/sunday-trees-135/
On Wednesday of this week this grand old tree in my backyard is coming down. In the grand scheme of things this Ontario White Pine is not that old. When we moved into our house over 35 years ago this tree was barely as tall as me. It should have outlived me but some kind of boring insect infected the tree and it is beyond saving. When the arborist from the city came to check that we weren’t cutting down a healthy tree he said very matter of fact that the tree was dead.
…..everything is a little late and when it does bloom it is short lived
Mini Iris
Yellow Day Lilies
….I like how Cee posts a photo a day of a new flower
I don’t know if I can do this every day. This iris is from my garden. I’ve also have a peony that is about to blossom but I’m not sure I’ll have enough plant material to post daily. We’ll see. My neighbours have beautiful gardens and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if I took photos of their gardens.
….a lot of questions involving tight spaces
Would your rather be stuck in a small plane with mild turbulence for 2 hours or be a passenger in a car racing the Daytona 500?
This is a difficult question because I dislike any kind of turbulence on a plane and I suspect a small plane would be worse but I also would not be a good passenger in a racing car. I would constantly be stepping on the imaginary brake, hanging on to the overhead strap for dear life and covering my eyes for most of the race. If I had to choose I think I would take the small plane. At least I might enjoy the aerial views of the landscape below.
Would you rather be alone with nobody in the vicinity for one month or never be alone not even for a minute for one month?
Again another difficult question. I enjoy moments of solitude but I also like being around people. If I was well stocked and had plans to be very productive for one month I might enjoy that more than never having a moment to myself. At the very least I’d need a phone so that I could talk to loved ones and friends once in awhile just to make sure everyone is well.
Would you like to sleep in a human size nest in a tree or be snuggled in a burrowed spot underground?
Definitely in a human size nest in a tree. I remember watching the movie Swiss Family Robinson as a kid and I thought it would be really neat to live in the trees. I like the thought of being able to see who’s approaching the nest, the openness and fresh air and the breeze that would waft through the branches. Underground would be too claustrophobic and the air would be stale and damp.
In a car would you rather drive or be a passenger?
It depends on the situation and who’s driving. I like driving but on long trips I enjoy being able to sit back and take in the scenery. My husband very much dislikes driving in the city now so there are times when I would rather drive than listen to his complaints about the traffic.
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 that I’ve finished writing my comments for the report cards. This is probably one of my least favourite things in the world to do. I’m also grateful for time spent with old friends last week.
I’m looking forward to this week’s soccer game where the girls are competing for the city championships. I’ve been there a few times but we’ve never managed to secure the title. I’m also looking forward to catching up on the painting assignments that I’ve had to put on the back burner because of report card writing and numerous social engagements that took place last week.
Here are a few things I would enjoy if I had a month alone.
Reading the collection of books that I bid on at the silent auction.
Puttering around in the garden and enjoying the fruits of my labour.
Painting, painting, painting. These are the first two assignments out of 4 from lesson one. Lesson four arrived today. I have a lot of catching up to do.
For those of you who read my post from Saturday you might be interested in knowing that we went back the next day to the yard sale and bought the mandolin. It’s a beauty and we got it for a good price.
For more answers to this week’s Share Your World check out Cee’s blog http://ceenphotography.com/2014/06/09/share-your-world-2014-week-23/
….these are the toughest questions yet
If you could make a 15 second speech to the entire world, what would you say?
This is the only world we have. Love it, look after it and keep it safe for the next generation. Love yourself and your fellow man. Be generous with your time and share your knowledge to create a better world. Use your words to solve problems, not weapons. There is no place for hate in this world. Be kind.
If you could take a photograph, paint a picture or write a story of any place in the world, what and where would it be?
I have no idea. There are so many great photographers and travel writers and subsequent photographs and stories of magnificent places in the world that the work has already been done for me. Maybe a better question would be what would I like to see first hand. Even this question is difficult for me because there is so much I haven’t seen. Off the top of my head I’d like to see Machu Picchu, the Pyramids of Giza, the Coliseum in Rome, Stonehenge and the canals of Venice.
If you had to spend one weekend alone in a single store but could remove nothing, which store would you pick?
I thought this question would be fun to answer and then I read that I couldn’t remove anything. Does that include gourmet goodies and bakery delights. I am spending the weekend there after all and one does need to eat. Seeing that I have to sleep there I’m thinking about a department store that sells beds, comfy chairs so that I can curl up and read and exercise equipment so that I can get in a bit of a workout.
I would want to try on shoes to my heart’s content and pull designer clothes from the racks to see if they suit me and are comfortable to wear. Of course I would return everything to its rightful place and leave everything no worse for wear. In Canada I would choose Holt Renfrew and in the U.S., Saks Fifth Avenue.
If you were given a boat or yacht today, what would you name it? (You can always sell the yacht later)
Owning a boat is not high on my priority list so I haven’t given much thought to naming one. How about ‘Get Me Home Safely’ or ‘Slow and Steady Wins the Race’. As you can see I’m a bit of a nervous Nelly when it comes to riding in a boat, especially at high speeds. I’ve always been amazed at how much time and money it takes just to get a boat onto the water and then again when one returns (more fuel, repairs, docking fees, on going maintenance, etc.). Maybe a good name would be ‘This is Where My Money Goes’ or ‘Four Hours of Prep for One Hour of Enjoyment’. To all boat lovers I apologize for my sarcastic response.
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 girls won all four of their games at the soccer tournament last week. I’m also grateful that the weather was so warm this weekend that the flowers actually started to bloom and I was able to really clean up the front garden.
I’m really pleased that my rhododendron survived the winter and blessed us with some blooms this spring. My Dad’s aren’t nearly as bountiful.
This week I’m looking forward to finishing up the art projects for the silent auction. It’s being held this Saturday at the Fun Fair. Also Jump Rope for Heart is this Friday and so is the playoffs for Girls’ Soccer. It’s going to be a busy week.
For more great posts of Share Your World check out Cee’s Photography.
….the only thing missing is painting
What a perfect day. I woke up early and started reading the book The Silent Wife. After a couple of chapters I made myself a cup of coffee and then started practising Somewhere Over the Rainbow on my ukulele. I’m hoping I can play it well enough to accompany the kindergarten class at this years school concert at the end of June. I then made myself an omelet and prepared fresh berries for breakfast.
My husband wanted to start planting in his new raised bed but we decided that it needed more soil and it needed to be sectioned off with string. So I made a quick trip to the dollar store for twine and the nursery for more soil. When I returned home I found that the front lawn had been mowed but now I could see where the dandelions were starting to expose their yellow heads. I donned my gardening gloves and pulled the weeds from the flower beds and the dandelions from the lawn. Then I took my trimming shears and trimmed away the long grass around the tree, at the edges of the flower beds, sidewalk and driveway and around the telephone pole…..all the areas that were missed by the lawn mower. 
It took me hours but it felt good to get out in the sun and fresh air and the yard looked so lovely and groomed. It was almost 3:00 before I finished and I had a party to attend at 4:00. I quickly showered, washed my hair, blew it dry and dressed for the afternoon birthday celebration.
It was a perfect day for a backyard get together. It was warm enough for people to sit outside and I got to meet M’s sisters and friends. M was celebrating her 70th birthday. She looked stunning and her son did a fantastic job organizing the entire affair. His friends did all the serving and bar tending. A great time was had by all.
The day’s not over yet, Maybe I’ll get a little painting in as well.
Cheers!
…..the end of a long weekend brings us to a new Share Your World
If you could go back and visit any time period, what time would you travel to and why?
I saved this question for last because I’m not sure which time period I’d want to travel to. Having studied and taught early civilizations, the medieval era, and everything else up to the present day I know too much about the downside of each era, i.e. the plague, wars, disease, poverty, discrimination, persecution, unsanitary living conditions, etc.. If I had to choose I think it might be the early 1900s when the first wave of technology really started to impact people’s daily lives. Imagine experiencing the telephone, cameras, sewing machines, typewriters, electric lights, refrigerators and washing machines powered with electricity for the first time. It must have been a very exciting yet controversial period in history. Abstract art became popular then because with the invention of the camera, artists didn’t need to recreate realistic images onto canvas. They were now free to try new art forms and express their creativity using new techniques and materials. It was also a time when women started to fight for equal rights and fashions changed dramatically. Reminds me a little bit of growing up in the 60s and 70s. 
If you could have three wishes granted for you alone, what would they be? This is a time for you to dream and have fun.
My first wish would be to be able to pack my bag at a moment’s notice and fly to anywhere in the world that my heart desires. An opening to a Broadway show in New York, a week on an island in the South Pacific, time spent with my son in Venice for his biennale, or attending an art retreat in the mountains in British Columbia would all be possible in the blink of an eye.
Image courtesy of: http://www.travel-south-pacific.com/images/site/south-pacific-1.jpg
Image courtesy of: http://www.nycgo.com/images/broadway/broadway_default_310x218.jpg
My second wish would be to completely renovate my house from top to bottom. Never mind moving. I love where I live. My only stipulation would be that the work is started and finished by professionals. No more DIY for me.
My third and final wish would be to live a long and healthy life so that I can enjoy the first two.
Wanting something to quench your thirst, what would you drink?
For quenching my thirst, nothing is better than plain old water. I love the water at my cottage because it comes from deep in the ground through a sand point. It is cold and free of chemicals. It’s also tested every year and is about as pure as it gets. No e-coli, bacteria, excess minerals, pollutants, etc..
At home the tap water isn’t bad but I also enjoy a good cup of tea, especially on a chilly night. I’m not usually a beer drinker but on a hot day an ice cold glass of beer with ginger ale, also known as a shanty, also quenches my thirst.
If you watch TV what are your favorite three television shows?
I had to answer this question first because the answer didn’t require a lot of thought. The first show to come to mind is Survivor. I’m a fan through and through and have watched every season since the beginning when Richard Hatch won.
Image courtesy of: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Survivor_8_Logo.png
The next show that I love is Dancing With the Stars. I wasn’t always a fan. I don’t think I even bothered watching the first season but it was during season two that I became a fan. One of the reasons why I love this show is because my husband and I took ballroom dancing for about 13 months. We spent three days a week at the dance studio taking private lessons, group lessons and participating in dance parties and competitions. The only reason we stopped was because it became financially burdensome. Dancing with the Stars
Now before you think that I am a reality show freak, which I confess I probably am, my third choice is a drama. Actually I like about three or four dramas. My first choice is The Good Wife.
Image courtesy of: http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/100525/the-good-wife_320.jpg
In second and third place are Elementary and The Mentalist. All three shows have great actors and great writers.
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 another positive visit to the oral surgeon. Everything is healing on target and I’m able to eat more normally. I’m also grateful for getting out for two long walks this weekend and spending a great day with my daughters and husband on Sunday.
This week I’m looking forward to walking more and for the soccer team’s tournament on Tuesday (that’s tomorrow). I’m also hoping to get out into the garden and plant some flowers, now that the temperatures are starting to warm up. It was pretty cool this weekend.
For more Share Your World posts check out Cee’s Photography.
Mama Cormier 
