Share Your World 2016 – Week 11

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

How many siblings do you have? What’s your birth order?

I have two younger sisters. I am the oldest child in the family.

The three Winkler sisters.

In a car would you rather drive or be a passenger?

I like to drive but I also like being a passenger. I guess it depends largely on who the other driver is. If I’m with my father I prefer to drive and if I’m in an unfamiliar city than my host can drive.

When you lose electricity in a storm, do you light the candles or turn on the flashlight? How many of each do you own?

We are well prepared for a blackout. We don’t have electricity at the cottage so we are well versed when it comes to using candles, oil lanterns, kerosene lamps and battery operated lights. We have flashlights that we use initially to light the candles. I couldn’t tell you how many candles we have, probably dozens because I buy the big packages of tea lights. At home we have two oil lamps and at the cottage we have at least twelve.

List at least five of your favorite types of animals? (any animal to domestic to wild to marine life)

My favourite animals are:

dogs

chipmunks

elephants

rabbits

panda bears

Our Prime Minister with the Panda cubs at the Toronto Zoo

photo courtesy of: http://www.flynewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/667.jpg

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 cold didn’t last very long. Lots of vitamin C, liquids and cold medicine and one day off work seemed to help. I’m also grateful for the week off, March Break, and being able to spend more time with my family. I’ve seen my granddaughter twice since Friday and all my daughters were over on Sunday.

My father had another fall last week and he didn’t tell me about it until Saturday. Luckily nothing is broken and he’s just bruised and sore. At least this time he seems to be in a much better mood and isn’t depressed like he was two years ago when he fell down a ravine. He turns 90 this year and is in remarkable good health. For that I am grateful as well.

This week I’m looking forward to lots of rest and relaxation. I’m hoping to visit my father and try to meet my oldest daughter for lunch one day this week. Last week was not a good walking week, partially due to my cold, so I’m aiming to get back to my daily goal of 10 000 steps. If the weather cooperates I’m hoping to get some good photographs on my walks.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 10

Posted on March 10, 2016 by Mama Cormier

…..it’s Thursday and I’m home trying to get over a cold

I don’t like waiting so long to get to Cee’s challenge but it seems like I’ve taken on more than I can manage at the moment so something had to be put aside temporarily. That something just happened to be writing for my blog. I’m trying to rest today so that I’m not sick over my March Break. Plans include drawing, reading and answering the following questions.

What would you ask for if a genie granted you three wishes?

I would ask for good health for me and my family. My second wish would be enough money to live comfortably for the rest of my life and take two or three trips a year. My last wish would be for on going happiness for my children. If they’re happy and I’m healthy what more could I ask for?

What experiences are most meaningful to you?

The experiences that are most meaningful to me are those that involve my husband and my family. They would include getting married, buying a house, having my children, going on vacation, having a great job and watching my children grow up and sharing their happy moments.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was very young I wanted to be a nurse. At the age of 12 I knew that I wanted to be a teacher and not just any teacher but a family studies teacher. I held on to that dream all through school, occasionally contemplating about going into medicine but my first choice was teaching. Well I did become a family studies teacher and did that for 15 years and then switched to become a guidance counsellor for two years and then a grade 5 homeroom teacher for 14 years and for the last 4 years I’ve been the librarian and art teacher.

Complete this sentence: The best day of my life was….

I can’t pick just one. My wedding day, the days my children were born, the day we bought our house, the day I got my first teaching job, the days when my daughters got married, the day my son got engaged and the day my granddaughter was born.

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 spending the day babysitting my granddaughter last Sunday. My husband had a lot of medical tests done this week and I’m grateful that everything looks good and that his cancers are still in remission. We have the green light to proceed making plans for our trip to Italy this summer. We’ve had warming temperatures all week and the rain that we were suppose to get didn’t arrive until today so we’ve experienced very pleasant days.

After tomorrow our March Break begins and I’m looking forward to a week of rest and relaxation. We haven’t made any plans other than seeing our children. Maybe we’ll take in the museum or the art gallery and I’m sure we’ll be doing a lot of walking.

Walking, the Bike Show, Drawing and More Walking

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….Saturday was a great walking day

The temperatures are starting to rise but not enough for the snow to become a slushy mess. That will happen later today and definitely tomorrow as we head into double digits above the freezing mark.

Saturday was perfect for a long walk with the dog. Frances loves the snow. We did walk through the field with her but for the most part we stayed on the paths where the snow had been shovelled or had already melted away. It was a fun morning and I was able to play with my new camera. We came across a sad little snowman and I tried shooting it from different angles.

When we got home I checked my fitness device and discovered we had walked about 6000 steps. Not our longest walk but it was a good start to the day. I made us a hardy breakfast that I knew would sustain us through lunch and then we got ready to take a trip to the bike show.

Every year at this time, The Toronto Bike Show takes place at the CNE grounds. It’s a very busy show and we had to park a fair distance from the building but that was okay because we knew we were going to rack up a lot more steps. My husband was a little disappointed in the show. He felt that there wasn’t as much to see this year. The show certainly is quite large and if you’re in the market for a new bike there were some deals to be had. I think because we had been at the show last year it felt like there wasn’t as much in the way of new products or at least things that were significantly different from the year before.

There were lots of bikes with large attached carriers, Dutch style, fat bikes, racing bikes, electric assist bikes, bicycle accessories, booths promoting bicycle tours and races and bikes for the littlest of riders. We came across a little boy (11 months old) who was checking out a bike that he could be riding in a couple of years.

As we walked back to the car my Jawbone Up signalled me that I had reached my goal of 10,000 steps for the day and it was only mid-afternoon. We rang up our oldest daughter and found out that she was home and happy for some company so we headed over to her house. We had a nice visit with her. At one point I suggested we go for a walk in her neighbourhood but my husband was content to just sit for a bit.

After a couple of hours, we continued on our way home and arrived just in time to take the dog for another walk. Correction…. I took her for another walk. This one was considerably shorter and I would be doing this at least one more time before I went to bed.

We enjoyed a simple supper of left overs and then started watching the new season of House of Cards with Kevin Spacey. I can only do this for couple of hours before I need a change of scene. I made my way to my sketch books and art materials which at the moment are on my dining room table. I watched a few more art lessons on my computer and then I cracked open my sketch book and got my ink and pen ready to draw. I came across a photo of a cow on one of the blogs I follow and decided that would be my subject for the day. I’ve always wanted to draw cows so today was the day.

After posting this sketch on Facebook for my daily sketching challenge I took the dog for one last walk and then did the dishes. I can never leave dishes overnight so no matter how late it gets I end up cleaning before crawling into bed. I checked my walking progress and was happy to see that for the day I had taken 14 270 steps. Ten days in a row now I’ve reached my 10 000 steps/day goal.

How was your weekend? Did you reach any goals or do something interesting?

Time to get ready to visit our other daughter in Hamilton. We’re babysitting today. Yay!

Share Your World 2016 – Week 9

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

Have you done something you truly want to do today?

I really wanted to draw today and get in my 10 000 steps. I’m happy to say that I’ve done both and I got to see my favourite show which is Survivor. I’m in a pool and I’ve chosen four players that I hope will make it to the end. There have been only three shows so far but I’m pleased that none of my players have been voted off and two of my choices are on the team that keeps winning challenges. As a result I earn extra points and another player found the idol today for which I earn more points.

What can you help the world with?

This is a tall order. I think on a daily basis I can try to be the best person possible and share my gifts and compassion for people. I don’t want to sound preachy but I think we all need to be more tolerant of all people, regardless of their income, race, religion, education and sexual orientation and be fair and equitable to all.

I try to reduce my carbon footprint by using less energy, walking more and using the car less and recycling, composting and reusing items instead of throwing things into the garbage that end up in landfill.

I think the best way I can change the world is by educating people and making them aware of how we can make a difference if we all pull together for a common cause. The argument always falls back to China’s contribution to the world’s pollution and until they change our efforts won’t make a difference. I know for a fact that there are groups of people in China, India, and parts of Africa that are protesting against big businesses that want to change agricultural lands, fresh water bogs, and rivers in their communities and they are making a difference.

If life was ‘just a bowl of cherries’… which fruit other than a cherry would you be..?

I would be a peach. Perfectly ripe and juicy.

Quotes List: At least three of your favorite quotes?

I always quake at the thought of having to write quotes, never mind my favourite ones. I know a favourite quote when I hear one or read one but don’t ask me to remember one, two or three. If I write anything here it’s because I did a little research to jog my memory and if you don’t see anything it’s because I couldn’t find a favourite quote.

“You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,
Love like you’ll never be hurt,
Sing like there’s nobody listening,
And live like it’s heaven on earth.”
― William W. Purkey

“Count your age by friends, not years. Count your life by smiles, not tears.”
― John Lennon

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
― C.S. Lewis

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 getting back on track with my walking. I’ve walked over 10 000 steps a day for six days in a row. Now if I could only get my eating back on track so that some of this weight that I’ve gained would come back off. I’m grateful for my good health. Last night I was able to shovel the snow off the sidewalk in front of eight of my neighbour’s homes and other than feeling a little tired today I feel remarkably well.

This week I hope to continue drawing in my sketchbook on a daily basis, complete the last assignment from Carla’s class and continue walking 10 000 steps a day. On the weekend I hope to see my granddaughter. It’s been two weeks since I’ve held her and I can tell from the photos that my daughter sends that she’s changing by the minute.

WPC – State of Mind

Posted on February 26, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….our photos are a reflection of our mood at the precise moment we press the shutter button

This week’s challenge is to post photos that represent a state of mind. Here are some shots I have taken when I’m at peace, happy, sad and curious.

At Peace and in Awe – Early morning sunrise

Happy – Taking joy in watching my children go canoeing for the first time

Curious – patiently watching this little fellow and seeing how close I can get to him

Sad/blue – on this rainy day

Share Your World 2016 – Week 8

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks Cee for another set of great questions

What household chore do you absolutely hate doing?

I absolutely hate cleaning the bathroom but it’s the one room that I can’t stand being dirty. Go figure!

What was the last URL that you bookmarked?

I don’t bookmark anymore. I use Pinterest instead and the last URL that I pinned was a recipe from Jodi at Life in Between. I haven’t tried this recipe yet but the last one I pinned was outstanding.(Amish Oatmeal Raisin Cookies)

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

My waistline is screaming for attention. It’s telling me to eat less and exercise more.

Would you rather have a two-bedroom apartment in a big city of your choosing or a mansion in the country side in the state or country where you currently live?

I’m not into big homes. More to clean. I would, however, love a modern well decorated two bedroom apartment in the city from Monday to Friday and a small country cottage for the weekends.

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 day spent with my granddaughter and her mom and dad. I also had a short visit with the newly weds and enjoyed a cup of coffee with them. I’m also grateful for WhatsApp because it lets my entire family keep in touch with each other from Hamilton to Toronto to London, England at any time of the day, free of charge. Almost every day we send messages and share photos.

I’m looking forward to doing a drawing assignment for my on-line art class. I haven’t been keeping up with the assignments the way I had hoped but hopefully that will change this week. Tomorrow our primary choir is performing at Kiwanis and I’m looking forward to hearing them sing.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 7

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for hosting Share Your World

What are you a “natural” at doing?

I think I’m a natural at teaching art to young children and reading stories to them.

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Would you prefer a one floor house or multiple levels?

I like multiple levels in a house. I find climbing stairs helps keep me fit. Maybe as I get older I’ll prefer a one floor house.

What was your favorite subject in school?

In school my favourite subject was Family studies. I’ve always loved practical hands on classes.

Complete this sentence: If only the rain..

….would happen only at night.

What are you grateful for from last week and what do you look forward to this week?

I’m grateful for my daughter’s wonderful wedding a week ago today. It was a beautiful and simple ceremony at City Hall. Afterwards we walked to a very nice bar down the street and toasted the girls with Prosecco. Dinner wasn’t until 6:00 so we stayed at Drake 150 for about an hour and then we headed to Terroni’s for the reception. The guest list was very intimate with only 26 family members and very close friends in attendance. The food was fabulous and a wonderful time was had by all.

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On Saturday I paid a visit to my friend Maria and brought her some goodies for her birthday, Valentine’s Day and Family Day. On Sunday my husband treated me to a very nice lunch at Snug Harbour in Port Credit to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The meal was fantastic.

This week I’m looking forward to pyjama day at school, the dance for the kids on Friday and hopefully seeing my granddaughter on the weekend.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 5

Posted on February 6, 2016 by Mama Cormier

…..thank you Cee for four more thought provoking questions

If you had a shelf for your three most special possessions (not including photos, electronic devices and things stored on them, people or animals), what would you put on it?

I don’t own many family heirlooms. My mother was very much a bare bones kind of person when it came to decorating the house. She, herself, didn’t own a lot of special possessions because so much of what they owned was lost in the war so growing up the only things I remember my mother cherishing were her photo albums. When I got married my grandmother gifted me a blue decanter that she managed to save from the bombings and when my mother passed the only thing that I wanted was an old silver serving spoon with the date 1909 stamped on it and the initials WS. The third item would be a collection of things my children made over the years, such as, paintings, photography assignments and hand made toys.

If you had a box labelled ‘happiness’, what would you put in it?

I would fill it with photos of my family, music, paintings and art supplies and books.

What do you want more of in your life?

I want to travel more, spend more time painting and take classes to learn new art techniques. I also want to spend more time with my family. If I had unlimited resources I would travel with my family and visit my family across the ocean.

Daily Life List: What do you do on an average day? Make a list of your usual activities you do each day.

My husband wakes me up at 6:30 and brings me a cup of coffee.
I shower and get ready for work.
I eat breakfast.
I leave the house between 7:25 and 7:50 (earlier when I have basketball practice).
I arrive at school between 7:45 and 8:10.
I have another cup of coffee and socialize with colleagues before the school day begins at 8:30.
My first period is usually a prep and then I have my first library class of the day.
During recess children help me in the library putting books away.
After recess I have another class or I do library administration work (labelling books, ordering books, putting books away, straightening shelves, removing damaged and old books for recycling, etc.)
Lunch is at 11:15 and I usually bring a lunch from home.
Lunch ends at 12:10 and my afternoon is usually filled teaching library and art.
3:00 the school day ends but twice a week I do bus duty at this time.
3:15 to 4:00 I work in the library or during report card time I’m in the office printing and reprinting report cards for the staff.
Anywhere from 4:30 to 5:00 or later I leave for home.
My husband usually makes dinner so when I get home I have a cup of tea or coffee and we talk about our day while he cooks.
At this time I’ll also check my emails.
Dinner is usually around 6:00. Afterwards I usually wash the dishes or we do them together.
My husband goes to watch TV and I spend time on the computer reading and answering more emails and writing new posts for the blog.
On certain nights I will watch some TV and I have started to knit. I also like to read so if there isn’t anything I like on TV I’ll read a book.
At some point in the evening I take the dog for a walk
Anywhere between 11:00 and 12:00 I get ready for bed.

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 day spent with my granddaughter. The weather has been warm and there is no snow and on the weekend I managed to get in 30 000 steps over two days. I’m also pleased that I’ve finished proof-reading report cards. On Sunday I met up with 7 friends from high school and we had a great lunch at a Thai restaurant. Then two days later I went out for Winterlicious and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner of South American fusion food.

I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend. I’m hoping to relax, buy a dress for my daughter’s wedding and clean a small corner of my bedroom. The thing I’m looking most forward to is the wedding which takes place next Wednesday.

Tea and Panettone

A gift from Australia

Discovering her toes

WPC – Time

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….nothing demonstrates the passage of time more vividly than watching how quickly a baby grows and develops

It seems like only yesterday when we anxiously awaited the arrival of our first grandchild. Now, a mere four months later, we are stunned at her rapid development. What happened to that helpless infant back in October?

Back to Normal

Posted on January 24, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….what a productive day!

Yesterday I started the day with a very long walk with my husband and Frances, our Super Dog. It was extremely cold but we extended our walk and when we finally got back home, I had already exceeded my goal of 10 000 steps for the day. We were suppose to go to Hamilton to visit with our daughter and her family but the plans changed and they were coming to us instead.

Time to clean-up. I started in the kitchen, moved to the bathroom and washed the floors. I was hoping to get to the living room but they arrived early. We enjoyed a simple lunch together and then they had to leave to visit family on his side. B’s dad had not met Winnie yet so we volunteered to look after Lucy (their Bassett hound). This meant a another walk, albeit a short one. When that dog doesn’t want to go any further she puts on the brakes and there’s no budging her.

When the two dogs settled into their own quiet spaces I decided it might be a good time to clear away the remaining Christmas ornaments that were piled on top of the coffee table in the living room and on top of the piano. I pulled out all the boxes from under the stairs and started to reorganize the stockings, ornaments, lights, candles and Christmas cloths and skirts back into their preselected bins. When I returned the boxes to their place under the stairs I must have hit my head at least three times when I was backing out of the closet.

Frances is enjoying the new ‘normalcy’

The only evidence that we celebrated Christmas and will probably be around for awhile

Once the decorations were all put away I vacuumed up any remaining pine needles from the carpet and washed the hardwood. I also decided to polish the piano. Seeing that I’ve haven’t done this in years the wood practically drank up the polishing cream. When I was done it felt good to get so much accomplished.

After I took Lucy for her ‘short’ walk I noticed the most amazing moon hanging over the city so when I returned home I took my new camera, set it on ‘hand held night shots’ and returned to the park, without the dog, and tried to capture that image. I posted a few of these shots on WPC.

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Later in the evening, G and her husband and the baby returned. We spent some more time together. While B helped me with my camera and cleaned up my computer, my husband played with the baby. She gets stronger every time we see her and she desperately wants to crawl and loves to stand when you hold on to her.

I now know a little bit more about my new camera and I was given some very useful tips about keeping my computer virus free. I updated some of my software after our company left and I was able to write a post for this blog before I went to bed. By the time I did finally go to bed I had logged 17 000 steps for the day. Not bad. All being said and done, I had a very productive day despite a nagging headache. Wonder where that came from? Haha!