Share Your World – Feb. 6, 2017

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….thank you Cee for continuing to come up with new questions for Share Your World

Regarding your fridge, is it organized or a mess inside?

Since we got our new fridge just before Christmas it’s pretty organized. In the old one many of the shelves and bins were broken and removed so it was really difficult to see what was in the fridge. I’m loving my new fridge.

Do you prefer your food separated or mixed together?

I’m not too fussy either way but I do love casseroles and soups. I’ve never understood people who can’t have their food touching other food. I think it’s some kind of mental disorder.

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

I like looking through coffee table books but my favourite genre of books would have to be fiction. I’m partial to historical fiction and mysteries. I’ve tried reading biographies but I find many of them to be too dry and factual. I guess if they weren’t factual they wouldn’t be biographies but sometimes too much and perhaps unnecessary information is included and that makes the story burdensome and long winded.

Close your eyes. Listen to your body. What part of your body is seeking attention? What is it telling you?

Right now the bottom of my left foot is sore. It’s only sore on the heel and once I start walking on it I forget about it. I don’t know if I need to change shoes, get orthotics or lose more weight. It’s probably a combination of all three.

Optional 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 my report cards are done. My father seems to be doing well and is making plans to travel.

Since I’m late posting this week’s Share Your World, last week’s gratitudes are from 10 days ago. I’m grateful for being invited to attend a Varsity Blues Women’s Basketball game with the grades four and five students. It was a lot of fun.

This week I was able to spend some more time with my granddaughter and I enjoyed going out at different times with two very special friends. Yesterday another good friend, D, hosted a musical bells party. It was wonderful seeing a number of people from the cottage and D’s extended family. Playing the bells was a lot of fun as well.

Share Your World – January 23, 2017

Posted on January 23, 2017 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks Cee for Share Your World

Do you prefer juice or fruit?

I’m definitely a fruit person. I stopped drinking juice a long time ago when I found out how much sugar is added to juice and how much of the fibre is removed. Eating one piece of fruit is much more satisfying than drinking a glass of juice (equivalent to 2 or 3 pieces of fruit).

Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it?

I grew up mostly in a large city. For a period of 4 years I lived in a smaller town and I have fond memories of playing in the neighbourhood and riding my bike. When we moved back to the big city I lived directly across from the skating rink, the park, my school, the tennis courts and the outdoor swimming pool. I loved it. There was always something to do.

If you were to paint a picture of your childhood, what colors would you use?

I would use bright colours like blue, red, pink and green.

Ways to Relax List: Make a list of what relaxes you and helps you feel calm.

• reading a book

• knitting

• painting and drawing

• having tea with friends

• enjoying a cup of coffee after dinner with my husband

• doing yoga

• going for long walks with my husband

• going out for dinner

• lying on the beach at the cottage

• having a pedicure

Optional 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 my father is adjusting to living on his own again and finding a new purpose at the retirement home where he resides. I spent time with my family this weekend and was introduced to our daughter’s new dog. She’s a beautiful French bulldog. A and J named her Olive. Winnie wasn’t too sure about this new addition in her aunts’ home but I’m sure both baby and puppy will adjust and get used to each other in time.

I’m looking forward to finishing my report card comments this week and doing some more art assignments from Carla Sonheim’s 365: A Year Long Class.

Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – Jan. 22, 2017

Posted on January 22, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….now moved to Sundays

Come and join the fun and post some of your odd ball photos. There’s no theme.

These two photos were sent to me by my oldest daughter who recently discovered an App called Meitu that takes your photos and distorts them. We had fun seeing how our photos were going to be manipulated. Not sure how much input my daughter had for the final outcome. We all agreed that my husband’s photo was the best.

From this to

this:

Share Your World – Jan. 16, 2017 (Getting Back to Normal)

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….a slightly different format this week for Cee’s Share Your World

Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?

I have sliding mirror doors on my closet and I tend to keep them closed.
Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel?

Absolutely! I figured I paid for them so I might as well take them home. I like them when I go away for short trips where they might not supply those things.
What is your usual bedtime?

I try to go to bed by 11:30 but often I’m up till after midnight. Not a good thing when I have school the next day and I have to get up at 6:30.
Do you like to use post-it notes?

Not really. I find they often don’t stick well enough to whatever you’re sending and they often get lost.
When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper?

I have a second cousin in Germany who doesn’t have a computer so recently I wrote her a letter and sent her photos of the wedding from the summer. I would probably write her more often if she had a computer.
Any phobias?

This may sound strange but I’m afraid of bears. I’ve never had a confrontation with one but many years ago I went camping with my husband and I swore I heard a bear sniffing around outside of our tent. I was terrified. It was probably just a racoon.
How tall are you?

I am 5′ 5″ or 165 cm tall. When I was growing up I was considered average height but now I have to buy petite length pants or take them up at least three inches.

As you can see I am the shortest of the three sisters.

Optional Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week we had a death in the family. My father’s wife of 22 years passed away quite suddenly. She had been ill for awhile but we didn’t know how ill she was until last Christmas when she stopped eating and drinking and didn’t get out of bed. On Jan. 9th, just a few hours after being diagnosed by the doctors at the hospital and taken off all life support she died. We thought it would take weeks and my father was preparing to go to the hospital every day until it happened. In many ways it was a blessing in disguise.

On Friday we had the funeral and I offered to speak on behalf of my father. I didn’t realize how difficult that was going to be until I started walking up to the podium. Luckily I managed to get through my speech. At the beginning and at the end I had to take deep breaths but the sobs and tears came anyway. Once I got going I was fine and the my family appreciated the effort.

The good news is that my father is doing very well and is already planning a trip to Germany to see his brother one more time and in the spring he is flying to Calgary to visit my sister. He has resumed playing cards with his friends from across the street and he is making new friends in the retirement home. For this I am grateful.

This week I returned to work and I’m looking forward to seeing my family on Saturday. My youngest daughter and her husband and baby are coming into town and we’re having lunch at my oldest daughter’s place. My husband is feeling much better and he’ll be joining us as well.

Other than that I have to work on my report cards, which I’m not looking forward to but they will be the last term 1 reports I will ever have to write. Hooray!

WPC – Graceful

Posted on January 20, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….initially I too thought of swans when I saw the word graceful

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Old and New

Posted on January 15, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for this week’s theme old and new

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Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge – Ground II

Posted on January 10, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….I enjoyed part I so much I decided to do a different twist on Cee’s challenge for ground

As I was searching for photos of the ground I discovered photos with different perspectives of this week’s theme. Here they are:

Flying Above the Ground (over Italy)

Walking Under the Ground (tunnel under Humber College)

Dug Up From the Ground (ruins outside Florence)

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Drawing on the Ground (drawing in Assisi)

Running on the Ground (Frances at the park)

Eating from the Ground (Horse in Florence)

Walking on the Ground/Grass (for the first time)

Playing on the Ground (Camp Kawartha)

Jumping on the Ground (Jump Rope for Heart)

Sitting on the Ground (in Rome)

Lying on the Ground (in Rome)

Examining the Ground (Stuck in the mud in Assisi)

Shadow on the Ground (in the park)

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Share Your World 2017 – January 2, 2017

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks Cee for continuing to host Share Your World

Would you prefer to receive a unicycle, bicycle, tricycle or motorcycle?

I already own a bike and a unicycle is impractical. I think owning a Vespa could be fun.

photo courtesy of : Just Bikes. in

What is one thing you’d like to accomplish this year?

One thing I’d like to do this year is continue to lose weight and get healthy before I retire in June.

What was one of the highlights of 2016 for you?

There were two highlights for me and they were the weddings of two of my children.

Would you prefer to fly a kite or fly in a hot air balloon?

I’ve flown kites and I like the sensation of getting your kite airborne but I’m curious about hot air balloons. The problem is I have a fear of heights and I’m a bit of a nervous Nelly.

Optional 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 my family and being able to talk to our son on the phone. This week I’m looking forward to some quiet down time. I’m hoping to do some art, read a book and visit my granddaughter.

The Best of 2016

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Mama Cormier

…..despite the terrible events that took place in 2016 on a personal level it was a wonderful year

Most people would agree that 2016 had to be a terrible year for natural disasters, untimely deaths of beloved celebrities, horrendous terrorist attacks around the world, the Syrian refugee crisis, Brexit and a nasty election campaign in the U.S.

Even on a personal note, 2016 hasn’t been all sunshine and roses but there were many memorable and special moments.

In January our son ended up staying with us for an extra week before heading back to London, England. The circumstances of his extended stay aren’t exactly positive but we did have him with us and for me that was special. By the way, at the end of December of last year, he slipped on the ice and broke his upper arm and he required surgery. The surgery was successful and he was released from the hospital on January 1st.

In February my friend M celebrated her 64th birthday and my niece, S, her 26th.

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The biggest event in February was our daughter’s wedding to her first love and partner of 10 years. They met on Feb. 10th so they decided on their 10th anniversary they would make it official and tie the knot. What a special day!

In March while we experienced snow, our future daughter-in-law was sitting in an outdoor caffe in Assisi planning her wedding.

In May we celebrated Mother’s Day with the family in the backyard (a little chilly) and at school we had our Forest of Reading celebration, Jump Rope for Heart and our annual Fun Fair. Winnie also had her first swimming lesson and her Daddy started Go Cart racing. Also A and J and their brother-in-law, G, ran the Sporting Life 10k.

In June two of my colleagues retired from teaching, my very good friend, A, celebrated her 75th birthday and our son and his love were married in London at City Hall.

Our school choir also sang at a Blue Jays game and we put on our annual outdoor extravaganza at school.

July was the highlight month of the year for our family. We took a trip of a lifetime. My sister and her family from Calgary and my two daughters and their families and my husband and I travelled to Italy to celebrate the union of our son, B, and his beautiful Iranian bride, Az. We travelled for the first 11 days visiting places like Venice, Florence, Bologna and Lucca and then we all met in Assisi where the actual wedding took place. After three days in Assisi we made one more stop in Rome before flying back home.

In August I was able to open up the cottage and spent about 5 weeks there off and on. My husband and I celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary and I had another birthday.

September brought a new school year and my last first day of school. My husband had been coaching a small group of boys from our extended family to get them ready for this year’s cross country team and they were all entered into the Railpath Community Run. In fact there were 11 of us from the family that ran that day. I was happy to do 5k without stopping in 45 minutes. At least I wasn’t the slowest person on the course. The boys did really well and some of them walked away with some prizes.

October was another busy month with a lot of milestone birthdays. My husband turned 65, my dad 90, my son-in-law 40 and Winnie celebrated her 1st birthday. I also organized and ran my last book fair school. We raised the largest sum of money ever. I now I have the fun job of buying books and supplies for the library and classrooms.

As you can see I am the shortest of the three sisters.

In November my oldest daughter, A, celebrated her 37th birthday. Where has the time gone? My younger daughter, Winnie and I attended the Royal Winter Fair and I, along with five other teachers took 59 students on a three day overnight winter camp in the Kawarthas.

In December my Dad moved from his apartment to the retirement home across the road. We held our annual craft night at school, held a Christmas concert and had our staff party at a local restaurant. Christmas was a three day affair; one day in Hamilton, another in Toronto and the third in Oshawa. On the 30th of the month we celebrated the birthdays of our twins who are now 35. As my principal and friend M would say ‘Carol you’re old!’

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So as you can see there were lots of bright moments in 2016 for me and the Cormier family. Wishing you all a bright, happy, healthy and prosperous 2017.

Cheers!

The Perfect Gift

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Mama Cormier

…..besides being with family over tshe holidays

I know that in a previous post I declared that presents weren’t important to me and that family was everything. Despite that sincere sentiment I did have some very thoughtful and welcome gifts given to me this year.

Anything to do with art is always most appreciated. This Christmas my secret Santa gifted me a five drawer rolling organizer and a desktop marker organizer. Hopefully this will help me get my supplies neatly organized and free up my work table so that I can actually create some art. She also gave me a new set of Pigma pens and artist’s hand soap. My son in London sent me paper and a beautiful set of pencil crayons.

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Last year my husband gave me a very nice camera, a Panasonic Lumix, DMC-GF7 and for my birthday he gave me a macro lens to go with it. Unfortunately the camera has so many features that I frequently get lost trying to use it. My brother-in-law who is very proficient with all types of cameras, confirmed that I had a very fine camera. When he was here in October he gave me a quick lesson on how to use some of the features. As soon as he left the camera malfunctioned. No one seemed to know what was wrong with the camera. When my brother-in-law returned in November he brought me one of his old zoom lenses that he no longer uses and that fit my camera. The problem with the camera, however, had not been resolved at that point so we couldn’t try it out.

Eventually we found someone who knew how to solve the problem. It turned out to be a quick fix. Now I have a working camera with two amazing lenses and I still don’t know how to use them. Voila….the perfect present arrived. My husband enrolled me in two camera classes. The first class takes place in January and I will learn all about the ins and outs of my camera and the second class in February will teach me how to get the most out of my camera and how to use the camera in some creative ways. I can’t wait.

Since my husband and I are foodies the other gifts that are always most appreciated are items of food. This year I received homemade tomato sauce, chill sauce, relishes, jams and a variety of condiments and spices. Of course chocolates are always present in our stockings and under the tree. I love dark chocolate and anything filled with marzipan. p1020167

The last gift that was very special was a beautiful Pandora leather bracelet with a silver charm with our granddaughter’s initial. This was also from my husband.

As nice as all these things were I still find time with my loved ones the most precious gift of all. Today we travelled as a family to visit my father in Oshawa. Eleven of us went to his new apartment in the retirement home. His wife is very ill at the moment so he showed off his new place quickly and then gave us a tour of the facility. Everything is very new and beautifully decorated for the holidays. We ended up visiting in the library on the main floor. We were the only ones in there. It was the perfect spot where our granddaughter could run around, look at the fish tank and play with the soft decorations and remote controls. For the adults there were comfy chairs and a fire place where we could visit and talk. After opening a few gifts we headed over to the restaurant where we enjoyed a family meal together.

After describing all the fantastic gifts I received this Christmas I’d have to say that having my granddaughter wiggle out of her mother’s arms to run over and hug me today was my most ‘perfect’ gift.

Did you have a perfect gift or a special moment to share this holiday season?