Three Sisters and Dad

Posted on December 21, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….an unexpected visit from my sister in Calgary brought us all together

Ten days ago my sister flew in from Calgary to spend three days with me in Toronto. When my sister in Chatham heard that Cathy was staying over she made the four drive to have lunch with us. My Dad, who lives with me, joined us for a simple lunch at home and retired to his apartment after the meal to rest (he’s been suffering with a cold). We had a nice gab for a few hours and then Chris (the sister from Chatham) left to visit her daughter, son-in-law and grandson in Burlington.

Before my sister left to visit her family we all posed with our Dad for a nice group shot.

London – Day 6 – Palace of Westminster to Gordon’s Wine Bar

Posted on December 14, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….day six continues along the River Thames

After leaving the Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey we continued walking towards the River Thames. Right behind the Abbey lies the Palace of Westminster which holds both houses of Parliament for the United Kingdom. It was originally built in the eleventh century and rebuild in the 1800s after it burned down.

As you can see from the photos the structure was under quite a bit of construction. The one big disappointment was that Big Ben was also under construction but we knew this before we arrived in London. What I didn’t know was that the entire tower would be covered in scaffolding. The refurbishing is scheduled to take three years to complete and during the renovation the clock bells have been turned off.

From many parts of London one of the sites that stands out above many of the building is the giant Ferris wheel called the London Eye. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames in London and is Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom with over 3.75 million visitors annually.

As we continued along the River Thames we came across the Golden Jubilee bridge built in 2000. It is a steel truss bridge located in Lambeth borough.

From here we headed over to Gordon’s Wine Bar but on the way we passed through the Courtauld Institute of Art. At the time we had no idea what we were looking at but we liked the sculptures and the architecture.

Gordon’s Wine Bar is located on the Strand. It is thought to be the oldest wine bar in London having been established in 1890. The bar is very much a family affair, owned by Wendy Gordon who is the wife of the late much loved Luis Gordon, and now overseen by Luis’ eldest son Simon. The building itself was a warehouse built in 1790 and in 1880 it was converted to accommodations.

We entered through the cellar doors. You need to stoop to get to your rickety candlelit table – anonymity is guaranteed! If the sun is out you can also sit outside in Watergate Walk and enjoy watching the world go by. The bar is loved by many and seems to be a place where time has stood still. It serves only wine, sherries and port and simple food, ranging from homemade pies to mature cheese. If you’re in London you should definitely check this place out. You can find more information here.

A word of warning. If you do go into the cellar watch your head because the ceilings are low and it takes awhile for your eyes to adjust to the dark. I hit my head three times in the space of a minute making my way to our table.

Happy Birthday Frances

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….December 13, 2018

I can’t believe that our dog, Frances is already 12 years old. We got her as a puppy from our daughter when she got a new job that made it impossible for her to properly train a new puppy. Frances immediately became my husband’s dog. It was love at first sight.

Over the years Frances has brought us a lot of joy. She’s a strange mix and whenever people ask about her breed they’re surprised by the answer. To the best of our knowledge she’s a cross between an Australian Sheppard and a Dachshund.

Here are a few photos of her over the last 12 years.

Bringing Home the Tree

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..a tradition that happens sporadically

Is it a tradition if you don’t do it every year?

This year we decided as a family to cut down our Christmas trees. We’ve done it in the past and always get a lot of joy out of it. Two years ago there was a ton of snow on the ground and this year there was next to nothing. Nonetheless we had a lot of fun and I discovered a new landmark that I didn’t know existed.

The tree farm we used this year was a smaller place, owned by an older couple. There were no sleigh rides or wagons, hot cocoa or tree balers. It didn’t matter though because we were able to walk through the grounds at our own pace and not worry about hoards of people all eyeing the same tree. The dogs were also allowed to run freely. We just had to make sure that they didn’t wander off because there are coyotes in the area.

I don’t think the place even had a name. We just looked for the signs directing us to ‘Cut Your Own Christmas Tree’. From Toronto we drove westbound along the QEW and Hyw. 403 until we reached Hwy. 6 going north. From there we drove till we hit concession road #6 and went east. Luckily we had our daughter, Gaelan on the phone and she directed us onto the property.

In the next post I’ll describe the surprising landmark that we discovered while out ‘hunting’ for the perfect Christmas tree.

Pic and a Word Challenge – Steps

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Pic and a Word Challenge for this week’s theme – Steps

Every day I walk

Ten thousand steps, sometimes more

Sometimes less – feels good

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Memories

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Frank over at Dutch Goes the Photo for hosting Tuesday Photo Challenge

I know I’m a bit late for this week’s challenge but better late than never. I particularly liked this week’s theme because it’s so open ended. So I went back a year ago to see what memories I could stir up.

A year ago I spent quite a bit of time with my Dad (the oldest member of our family) and my granddaughter (the youngest member of our family). My Dad and the family attended a wonderful wedding together, the two of us went to the Royal Winter Fair and I accompanied Winnie to the park, lunch at a restaurant and the Hamilton Santa Claus Parade.

London – Day 4, Part 2

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..Diana’s Memorial Fountain, Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens, the V & A and happy birthday to my sweetie

While walking along the Serpentine we came across Princess Diana’s Memorial Fountain. It was officially opened in 2004 by Queen Elizabeth and the opening was attended by Prince Charles, her two sons and her brother Charles Spencer. It was the first time in seven years that the Spencers and the Windsors came together to honour Diana.

The fountain itself was designed by an American, Kathryn Gustafson. She had wanted the fountain, which was built to the south of the Serpentine, to be accessible and to reflect Diana’s “inclusive” personality.

From the fountain we walked further west towards Kensington Gardens where we came across the Albert Memorial. From the size of the memorial you would have thought that Albert had been a king but it was commissioned by Queen Victoria in memory of her beloved husband Prince Albert, who died in 1861. The memorial was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

After Kensington Gardens we headed south to meet up with my husband Kevin and our son, Brendan. Brendan is a curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

The V&A is the world’s leading museum of art and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects that span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance. (copied from the V&A website – www.vam.ac.uk)

Brendan gave us a wonderful personal tour of some of his favourite rooms at the museum.

The last five photos were taken in the casting room. The gold leaf that you see here was used to cover the private parts of the statue, David, whenever Queen Victoria would come to visit the museum.

Opened in 1873, the Cast Courts display copies of some of the world’s most significant works of art reproduced in plaster, electrotype, photography, and digital media. The cast collection is famous for including reproductions of Michelangelo’s David, Trajan’s Column, and Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, amongst many others.(copied from the V&A website).

Brendan explained to us that the whole idea of making these copies was to bring the world to the people at a time when most people couldn’t afford to travel to exotic places. Over the years these copies have become invaluable reproductions because many of the original pieces have been damaged or disappeared because of environmental factors or conflict.

It’s impossible to see everything in this museum in one visit. I went back a couple more times I was in London.

After an exhausting day of walking we went back to our apartment to rest and freshen up. October 2nd is Kevin’s birthday so Brendan and Azadeh booked a reservation at a restaurant in Central London called Polpo Smithfield. We had a wonderful time sharing numerous plates of delicious Venetian food.

London – Day Three – Part 2

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..after Highgate Cemetery

Down the hill from Highgate Cemetery we were directed to look for a pub that came highly recommended. Unfortunately when we got there the pub was being completely renovated and wasn’t open for business. We didn’t have to walk far before we found another place with a lovely patio. It was a little chilly to be sitting outside so we opted to go inside The Vine. Only one other table was occupied but the bartender greeted us and directed us to a table for four and handed us menus.

Normally an empty pub doesn’t bode well for good service or food but in this case it was completely the opposite. Our waiter was delightful and the food was delicious.

After a pint of larger or cider and a few sharing plates we headed off towards Camden Market.

With hundreds of stalls selling clothing, crafts, and food, Camden Market is one of Europe’s largest markets. It is divided into different markets. We started in the Camden Lock Market which is on the street level and next to the locks. There were lots of food vendors here and a variety of stalls selling anything from books, music and flowers to vintage clothes.

At first glance I thought the market was actually quite small but then we walked through a hole in the brick wall and we experienced a whole new world. There are literally hundreds of vendors in the Stables Market.

The Stables Market is located in historic former stables and the Grade II horse hospital which served the horses pulling Pickford’s distribution vans and barges along the canal. Many of the stalls and shops are set in large arches in railway viaducts.

It is very easy to get lost in this place. If you like this kind of market give yourself a couple of hours to really see this place and check out all the vendors.

Which Way Photo Challenge – Oct. 25, 2018

Posted on October 29, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Son of a Beach for carrying on the Which Way Photo Challenge

From running the marathon on the car free road in Toronto to driving on the highway and side roads up north. Can you tell which runner is our daughter?

Kammie’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – Oct. 25, 2018

Posted on October 28, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Kammie from the Nut House Central for hosting the Odd Ball Challenge

This week’s photos are from the Highgate Cemetery, an art installation, flowerpot art, Clifford the Dog and my granddaughter’s quirky pumpkin that we worked on together.