Share Your World 2016 – Week 19

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thank you Cee for some very unusual questions this week

You win a pet monkey but this isn’t just any old monkey. It can do one trick for you whenever you want from getting a pop out of the fridge to washing your hair. What would be the trick?

When I saw this question I couldn’t help but think about the Ikea monkey and all the grief the owner went through for owning a monkey. Washing my hair? Never! I’ll think I’ll pass on this question. I could never own a monkey regardless of the talent it may have.
What caring thing are you going to do for yourself today?

Today I went to see a chiropractor. In the last two weeks I’ve had chronic pain in my upper thigh and the side of my hip. It all started on the day that I walked 18 000 steps. I thought it would go away on it’s own but the pain persisted. I discovered that I have bursitis in my hip as a direct result of that long walk. I was tugged at, pushed and pulled. It hurt! The good news is that it felt better when I was done. My homework is to do some exercises, apply ice and not start any new exercise program. No running or long walks. With a few more visits my hip should be ‘all cleaned up’ before I go to Italy in July.
What color do you feel most comfortable wearing?

Believe it or not I love wearing bright colours like royal blue and red. I also like white, peach and periwinkle.
Complete this sentence: When I travel I love to….

….check out quaint little shops, markets and art galleries. I love outdoor cafes and restaurants that the locals eat at.
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 a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend. I drove to the finish line for the Sporting Life 10k Run that my oldest daughter, her partner and her brother-in-law participated in. All three finished in great times.

We then drove to Hamilton where we met up with my husband and our youngest daughter and her little family. We had a great time playing with the baby and enjoyed a wonderful meal together.

It’s been a great week at school. The children did really well at the West Conference track and field meet and many of them are moving on to the city finals. All the plans for our Forest of Reading book club celebration are now in place and the silent auction contributions from the classes have been completed by the students and are ready to be fired. Here is the platter that my grade 3 class designed and painted. I did the black lines. I can’t wait to see what it looks like after it’s been fired.

The other thing that I’m grateful for was the amazing lunch that the parents put on for the staff for ‘Teacher Appreciation Day’. They really go all out. They used the library and came in the night before to set it up and decorate it. The food was over the top and there was so much left over that we had a second meal the next day. I also appreciated the fact that there were lots of things that I could eat and still stay on my ‘diet’.

I’m looking forward to a great day on Friday when the students who earned their 12 reading credits come to our Forest of Reading Celebration. We have an author coming to talk to the students, a drama workshop and a hands on journal making workshop plus a pizza lunch for the successful students and the staff who participated as expert readers.

I’m also looking forward to creating more paintings. I’ll write more about that in another post in the next few days.

Cheers!

WPC – Admiration

Posted on April 30, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….this week’s photo theme is admiration

I admire my family. I admire the love, courage and commitment that our oldest daughter and the love of her love share. I admire the parenting skills of our youngest daughter and her husband and the love they surround their baby with. I admire my husband for his cooking skills, bravery through difficult times, and the love he showers upon me. I admire my son who after years of networking and perseverance has landed himself a job that allows him to travel, experience the world and meet some very interesting people. Finally I admire my future daughter-in-law who is working on her PhD and keeps my son grounded. Both my husband and I are extremely proud of all our children and their significant others and we admire them all.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 17

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for more great questions

When writing by hand do you prefer to use a pencil or pen?

As I was writing with a pencil today, I decided that I prefer to write with a pencil. I like how it flows smoothly over the paper and doesn’t smudge like ink does.

What’s your choice: jigsaw, word, maze or numeric puzzles?

I used to love jigsaw puzzles but now my puzzle of choice is numeric. I can’t pass up a Sudoku puzzle when I see them in the newspaper or magazines.

Do you prefer long hair or short hair for yourself?

I definitely prefer medium length hair. I saw a photo taken about 10 years ago when my hair was very short and I instantly went ‘yuk’.

List five or more of your favourite blogs.

Cee’s Photography https://ceenphotography.com/2016/04/28/cees-black-white-photo-challenge-hiding-or-camouflaged/
Life In-between https://lifeinbetween.me/2016/04/28/the-rusty-old-bridge-in-watercolor/
Jill’s Art Journal https://artjillkuhn.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/creative-play/
My Guilty Pleasures https://mygulitypleasures.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/big-girl-trying-to-be-a-bit-smaller/#comment-41729
Curious to the Max https://judithwesterfield.com/2016/04/26/frankly-freddie-parenthetically-speaking-2/
My Life Lived Full https://mylifelivedfull.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/w-washington-dc/
The Year of Living Non-judgementally https://annkoplow.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/day-1214-relationship-managers/

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 daughters. On Saturday my oldest daughter and her wife came to the house to sort out some financial issues with their financial planner (my husband) and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch together. My daughter also helped me put together a dresser that I bought months ago. Earlier in the day my husband and I went for a very long walk. With the nice weather we’ve been inundated with midges so K made us coverings for our mouths and noses so we wouldn’t breathe them in. Luckily it was a bit cooler when we headed out so we didn’t have to use them very often. My neighbours were right when they said we looked like a couple of bandits.

On Sunday we drove to Hamilton and watched our son-in-law race in his first go-cart race. The baby didn’t seem to mind the noise or the smelly fumes.

After the race we were treated to a wonderful dinner of BBQ steak and grilled vegetables back at the house. My husband and I are still on our weight loss journey together and a meal like that makes it very easy to stay on program. So far I’ve lost 13 pounds and my husband is down 17.

This week I’m looking forward to do more painting. I’ve redone a couple of paintings I started two weeks ago and have started two more. I’m also looking forward to more success on the scales this week.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 16

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for another great set of questions

Unfortunately I’m more than a week late for this post but I wanted to answer the questions, so here goes.

If you had to have your vision corrected would you rather: glasses or contacts? Or what do you use if you need to have your vision corrected?

In my mid twenties I started wearing contact lenses. I loved them until I reached my 50s. I couldn’t read close-up so I tried wearing bifocal lenses but I couldn’t wear them at night because the lights would turn into star bursts. For the last 10 years I’ve worn glasses and I would take them off to read. In the last 2 years I’ve switched to progressive lenses. It took a bit of getting used to but I don’t need to constantly take my glasses off and on.

If you had to describe your day as a traffic sign, what would it be?

I think I’m a yield sign. I move cautiously forward and look out for the needs of other people. I get the job done but not at the expense of others.

Was school easy or difficult for you? How so?

School was pretty easy for me. There were periods where I struggled with language in elementary school but I found math very easy. In high school, after grade 10, there were units of math, like calculus that would frustrate me but I learned to love the mechanics of language.

Would you rather take a 1 or 2 week vaction with an organized tour or take a cruise of your choice?

I think if I were travelling alone I would take an organized tour but seeing that I wouldn’t travel alone I would choose to take a cruise of my choice. One thing I’d love to do is take a European river cruise.

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

Seeing that I’m late with this post I have to go back two weeks. I’m grateful for the coming of warm spring weather. For awhile anyway we had very warm temperatures and sunshine.

As always I look forward to spending time with my family, especially my granddaughter. My son-in-law is racing in his first go-cart race this weekend so I’m looking forward to another trip to Hamilton.

Now I’m off to answer the questions for week 17.

WPC – Dinnertime

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….our granddaughter’s first BBQ dinner at our place

Today was a glorious sunny warm day. When our daughter said she was dropping off the dog for a few hours and then would be back around suppertime we decided to have dinner together. We spent the afternoon pulling out the garden furniture and cleaning it up. I went shopping for food and my husband prepared the charcoal fire and the food to go on it. I set the table and prepared the salad. By the time dinner was ready the temperature dropped a bit so we put on our sweaters and enjoyed our first outdoor meal this spring.

For more dinnertime photos check out WPC site.

Share Your World 2016 -Week 14

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for some great questions this week

If you could hire someone to help you, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or yard work?

Hands down, I’d want someone to help me with the cleaning. I’d love to have someone clean the bathrooms, wash the floors, dust and vacuum. We already have a family of young boys who cut our grass once a week and we love to dabble in the garden. My husband is an excellent cook and he loves cooking for me and for family and friends. I don’t mind cooking either.

What makes you laugh the most?

A good joke, a funny movie and watching my granddaughter feeding herself.

What was your favorite food when you were a child?

I loved food and was definitely not a fussy eater. It may sound odd but I loved creamed spinach and my dad made a tasty spaghetti with ground beef and peas in a brown gravy. When I was about 11 or 12 my mom learned how to make a real spaghetti meat sauce with tomatoes and that quickly became a favourite meal for me. Truth be told I don’t think I had one favourite food. I loved cabbage rolls, chicken a la king, chicken pot pie, homemade burgers, fruit torts with whipped cream, ice cream and most cakes and cookies.

List at least five favorite flowers or plants.

I love the following flowers: sunflowers, tulips, Peruvian lilies, irises, carnations, roses, daisy mums and Gerber daisies.

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 some beautiful weather last week before winter returned. I enjoyed a wonderful day with the family in Hamilton on the weekend, despite the blizzard we had to drive home in. I’m grateful that I didn’t break any bones when I slipped on the ice when I was going down the concrete steps in front of my house on Monday. Earlier in the day all of the snow on the sidewalks and pathways had melted but there were a few wet patches that froze later in the evening and that’s what caught me by surprise when I took the dog out for one last walk that night. Thank goodness for strong bones and a good amount of padding.

I’m also grateful for the support from my husband on our weight loss journey. He’s lost 10 pounds and I’m down 8 1/2. There are 96 days left before the wedding. If I can lose 1 pound every four days I should be able to lose another 24 pounds but I can’t think that far ahead. One day at a time.

Cheers!

April Fools’ a Day Late

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….clearly Mother Nature didn’t get the memo that April Fools’ Day was on the first

While visiting our daughter and her family in Hamilton yesterday we notice that a few snow flakes were coming down. We didn’t think too much of it as we donned our spring coats and headed outside for a walk. The temperature was hovering just at the freezing point so we didn’t bring scarves or hats.

Within minutes of starting our walk the snow started to fall in huge fluffy flakes. My daughter and I put up the hoods on our jackets. We walked through the neighbourhood commenting on how all winter we had seen very little snow and here it was April 2nd and we were experiencing a blizzard. We were headed to the market to pick up a few things and by the time we got there we were drenched from the snow that melted through our coats.

My granddaughter wasn’t at all disturbed by this sudden shift in the weather. She just didn’t like the cover that we kept putting over her stroller so that she wouldn’t get wet. After awhile it became a bit of a game as the cover constantly slipped away and she would give us one of her big grins every time she saw our faces. I guess we were quite the site with these mounds of snow collecting on our heads and shoulders.

After an hour we arrived back at the house and my husband and I decided we should drive back to Toronto. The visibility was bad so as soon as we could we got off the highway and took the Lakeshore all the way back to the city. It was slower but way less stressful.

This morning we woke up to clear blue skies and only a dusting of snow on the rooftops but it was much colder. We heard that another bout of snow was heading our way so we decided to go for our walk while it was still sunny. This time we bundled up in our warm parkas, scarves, hats and gloves. It turned into a great walk and on the way back with the wind at our backs it was even more enjoyable. We walked exactly 5 kilometres.

The forecast of more snow turned out to be true. As I write this the snow is coming down gently now but it was pretty stormy about an hour ago. April is fooling all of us. Winter is back….well at least for a little bit. How is spring in your neighbourhood?

The Original Fonz

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….remember the TV show Happy Days?

Back in the 70s and 80s one of my favourite TV sitcoms was Happy Days with the Cunningham family. The show revolved around the teenage son, Richie (Ron Howard) and his friends. He had a father named Howard and his stay at home mom was Marion and he had a younger sister named Joanie. Richie’s friends often called Marion Cunningham ‘Mrs. C.’ when they greeted her. When I started teaching in 1976 my students often called me Mrs. C..

Photo courtesy of: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/multimedia/archive/00142/76961606_happydays_142703c.jpg

One of Richie’s best friends, especially later in the series was Arthur Fonzarelli, better known as the Fonz or Fonzie. The part was played by Henry Winkler. I mention this because my father’s name is Heinz Winkler but when he first emigrated to Canada in 1954 his colleagues at work couldn’t pronounce his first name so they called him Henry instead. Consequently it wasn’t unusual for us to get phone calls asking for Henry Winkler.

When the show Happy Days became popular in the mid 70s my sisters and I were still living at home ( for me it was mostly in the summers when I wasn’t at university). Back then the telephone book was still widely used to find phone numbers and my father was listed as H. Winkler. Can you see where this story is going?

My father was close to 50 when the show aired for the first time and I don’t remember him being a big fan. My sisters, however, were very familiar with it and they loved to tease our father about his connection to the Fonz (in name only). They often picked up phone calls that were clearly from young girls looking to speak to the Henry Winkler from the TV show. They would play along and call my dad to the phone and tell him that someone wanted to talk to him. There were always lots of giggles at our end when this would happen.

The Fonz and my Dad did, however, have some similarities. Fonzie considered himself a lady’s man and in his younger days so did my father. Fonzie rode a motorcycle and back in Germany my father did as well. Last weekend I was looking through one of the old family photo albums and I came across this photo taken in 1952. The Original Fonz….whose cooler?

Share Your World 2016 – Week 13

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….lucky week 13

Are you left or right handed?

I’m left handed but I’m able to do a lot of things with my right hand. I write and draw with my left hand. With my right hand I knit, play ukelele, bowl, bat, golf, throw a ball, play tennis and control the mouse and scroll bar on my computer. With both hands I can iron, use scissors, brush and blow dry my hair and use a saw.

If you had only one TV, would you prefer the TV in the living room or another room?

We only have one TV and it’s in our TV room in the basement. We didn’t want it in the living room because we didn’t want it to be a distraction when we have company. Too often we’ve seen people go straight for the TV instead of sitting down and having a conversation. They might as well stay home. I also don’t like having a TV in the bedroom. When we were younger, we’d fall asleep and wake up to the white noise of the test pattern on the TV. I guess I’m aging myself. Today’s generation doesn’t even know what a test pattern is.

Have you ever participated in a distance walking, swimming, running, or biking event? Tell your story.

When I was younger long distance walks for charity were all the rage. In high school I walked 32 miles around the city to raise money for a charity I don’t recall. I do remember collecting pledges for every mile walked and stopping at check points to verify that I’d walked that leg of the walk. We started early in the morning and I finished at city hall, and it was already dark. I remember there being hundreds of people waiting at the finish line and when I arrived the first thing my father did was hug me and step on feet. Ouch!

Four years ago I ran my first 5k run. I worked with a group of young girls at school and we participated in Girls on the Run. The first year I did this I had just started to lose weight and was down about 18 pounds but by the end of the run I thought I was going to die. I think I had a bit of a panic attack and couldn’t stop crying. The following year I did it again but this time I was down 30 pounds and I had been running more consistently. It felt great.

I’ve done one other running event after that, two years in a row. The Railpath Run in the Junction raises money for The Stop to increase access to healthy food in a manner that maintains dignity, builds health and community, and challenges inequality. This particular run I’ve done with my oldest daughter who lives in the community. It’s a lot of fun and both times I’ve done the community walk/run portion. This year I was only going to walk the course but once I started I couldn’t stop running. I’m not very fast but I’m consistent.

Complete this sentence: Love is…

• a smile from my granddaughter

• flowers waiting for me when I arrive home from work for no special occasion

• when the whole family gets together

• the dog greeting me at the dog, her whole body gyrating… she’s so happy to see me

• my husband hugging me and playfully teasing me

• my husband’s home cooked meals

• my husband’s complete acceptance of all my flaws and imperfections

• my father’s weekly phone calls

• the pride I feel when I speak of my children’s accomplishments

• continuing to worry about your children’s well being even when they’re adults

• is get togethers with close cherished friends

• is supporting family and friends in good and bad times and in sickness and health

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

Last week I was grateful for a short work week and a very long weekend. I was grateful for two days of beautiful weather and being able to get out for a long hike with my husband through High Park.

Our dog, Frances, was very ill ten days ago so I’m very grateful that she’s on the mend and pretty much back to her old self. I know she getting better because she actually wants to go outside and walk but the vet told us to not exercise her too much. That’s a hard thing to convey to a dog, especially one as active as Frances.

I’m also very grateful for time together with the whole family (not including our son in London) during the Easter weekend. We had a wonderful dinner here and our granddaughter provided us with a lot of laughter as she fed herself sweet potatoes and cauliflower.

This week I’m looking forward to another short week at school (4 days) and more success on the scale. I’ve lost 6 1/2 pounds this past week and look forward to more healthy eating and walking. My husband is doing this with me so it makes it so much easier. I’m starting to look at clothes for the wedding this summer and I’m hoping to lose another 20 pounds. I think that’s pretty doable in the next 13 weeks.

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

Happy Nowruz 1395

Posted on March 20, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….according to the Persian calendar the new year begins on the first day of spring

Iranians and Persians around the world are celebrating the new year on March 20. The day changes according to the positions of the sun. Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Nowruz literally means ‘new day’. I’m not sure where my son got the number 1395 because Nowruz has been celebrated for over 3000 years. For more history about the Iranian New Year go here.

Last night our son and his fiancé sent us photos of their New Year’s Eve celebration with a group of Iranian friends in London. Clearly fish is a major part of the festivities.