My Birthday Month

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..the celebrations started two weeks ago and continued last Sunday, Monday and today

Most people celebrate their birthdays on one day. This year my birthday stretched out over two weeks. I wrote about going out with my friend D two weeks ago when we had lunch at Merryberry and then went to the Riverdale Farm. Lunch turned out to be my birthday present from D and today I received a beautiful card from her in the mail as well.

Last Sunday my sister from Chatham came over to celebrate her birthday and mine and my daughter G and her husband joined us for dinner. K made us a beautiful dinner of grilled salmon, green beans and baked plums.

On Monday I met my friend A, downtown and we spent the afternoon at the Elmwood Spa. We started with lunch on the fourth floor and despite a few hiccups with the reservation and my first meal we ended up enjoying a very visually appealing and tasty lunch.

After lunch we went to the water therapy room where we had a steam and then I went for a 50 minute aromatherapy massage. I’ve never had such a good massage. I felt my legs were getting a great workout and it made up for the fact that I hadn’t run that morning. Once the session was over I went up to the pool and swan some laps and then enjoyed a few moments in the hot tub.

A bought me a beautiful black jersey top and we decided to go the store where she bought it and see if I could get the matching pants. The store is called Endz and it carries absolutely gorgeous designer clothes and accessories. I bought the pants and am looking forward to my next visit to this wonderful store.

When I got home on Monday a parcel was waiting for me from my sister in Calgary. The box was quite heavy and when I opened it I was delighted to see a glass box with a scrabble motif. As some of you know I love to play scrabble and I play with both my sisters on line. That, however, was not the entire gift. When I opened the lid I found a set of fine paint brushes. In an earlier conversation my sister had hinted that for her birthday she’d like one of my paintings. I guess I have no excuses now.

Today started off with coffee in bed, the scarf from husband, a morning run and then a wonderful breakfast prepared by my husband. I went to work and was greeted by numerous birthday wishes from my colleagues and my friend L gave me a beautiful crocheted and beaded necklace.

When I returned home from work I was greeted with a bouquet of flowers from my father that had been delivered to the house. My cousin from Germany called me to wish me a happy birthday and my neighbours down the street appeared on our doorstep and sang Happy Birthday to me and presented me with a bottle of wine.

I wish I could have invited them in for a drink but K had made reservations for dinner at Bloom and we were running a little late. When we got to the restaurant my daughter A and her partner J were already waiting for us. The staff was extremely friendly and the food was out of this world. We had been to this restaurant for our anniversary and the service and food were so outstanding that we knew that we would return.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get better the staff at the restaurant presented me with a complimentary dessert, decked out with a sparkler and ‘Happy Birthday, Carol’ written with chocolate sauce on the rim of the plate. Our waiter started singing Happy Birthday and the restaurant patrons joined in. Even my husband was surprised because he hadn’t said anything when he made the reservations. The four of us shared the dessert before I could take a picture of it but I did manage to save the design on the rim of the plate.

All day I’ve been receiving birthday wishes from fellow bloggers, facebook friends and phone calls from family. I am so blessed and want to thank all of you for my making my day so special.

Tomorrow I have to phone my sister in Calgary and my father in Oshawa and thank them for their thoughtful gifts. The only thing that I’m sad about is that I missed several calls from my family. I hope that I can connect with them tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..38 years and still going strong

Today K and I celebrate our 38th wedding anniversary. Wow! Looking back through the photo albums it’s clear that we’ve changed physically but how we’ve grown and matured emotionally and socially aren’t as obvious.

K still has all his hair and there is very little grey. No, he does not use Grecian Formula. The big difference is that he likes to keep it really short. Drives me crazy because I’m the one who cuts it. Just when I start to like the length he insists it’s time for another buzz. I, on the other hand, still have very blonde hair but I do cover my grey and I’ve been wearing it longer.

We’ve both gained weight over the years. K used to run marathons when we were first married and even when the kids came along. Except on our wedding day, I’ve always weighed more than my husband. Even at my thinnest, 132 pounds, K weighed 2 pounds less (at the peak of his marathon running days). Although we’re both heavier now we’re probably fitter than we’ve been in years. We walk anywhere from 5 to 10 k every day and we eat pretty healthy meals.

I’ve always worked as a teacher but at numerous different schools and I’ve changed specialties over the years. K on the other hand has had a lot of different jobs but he’s happiest working on his own. He’s been self employed for over 20 years.

People often ask what our secret is to maintaining such a long relationship. There really is no secret. We have our rough patches just like everyone else but we work through them together. We also give each other a lot of freedom to pursue our interests. K has always supported my little business adventures over the years and encourages me when I take courses and classes. I do the same for K. A few years back K was travelling to Ireland on his own almost every year. I knew it was important to him to keep in touch with his family and travelling in June or October made sense, money wise. Of course that meant that I couldn’t go because I’d be working. On the other hand, however, I have the cottage and I spend a great deal of time there during the summer.

When we were first married I did most of the cooking but K has become a very good chef and he prepares at least 75% of all our meals. I can’t tell you how envious my friends are.

One of the most difficult periods of our marriage took place about 3 years ago when K was diagnosed with cancer, CLL. Last year he underwent 6 months of chemo and I’m happy to say that he is in remission for now. We know that it will return but we’re hoping that it will be later rather than sooner. Today he went for his routine three month check-up and everything looks good but more importantly he feels good. This is the best anniversary present for both of us.

July 2013 at Howth, Ireland

Back from the Cottage

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….3 glorious days with my girls and my husband

Friday of last week I spent four hours waiting to see my doctor. After the last trip to the cottage I came home with a slightly scratchy throat. Over the next three days it got much worse and very sore. I had to keep a bottle of water with me at all times to keep from choking,…..it was that bad.

When I finally saw my doctor he was very apologetic for the long wait and checked out my throat. Apparently it didn’t look that bad but he said that my glands were definitely swollen so he prescribed me with an antibiotic and a special throat rinse that actually numbs the tissue.

When I got home I packed the car for the cottage and picked up my oldest daughter and her partner and headed north. I was worried about leaving so late on a Friday but the traffic wasn’t too bad and we made pretty good time getting to the ferry dock. My husband, our younger daughter and the two dogs had left much earlier in the day and were already well into cottage mode when we arrived.

We had perfect weather all weekend. I avoided the water, except for one day, because of my throat but we all got much needed rest and by Sunday I started to feel a lot better. On Saturday evening, after dark, the four girls headed toward the beach with our blankets and cameras to watch the Perseid meteor showers. The best night is actually tonight but we managed to see some spectacular shooting stars in the first few minutes at the beach. As far a photos go we weren’t very successful capturing the night sky.

We all shared in the preparation of meals and on Sunday night we invited our cottage neighbours over for a pizza fest. A and J really wanted to bake pizza in the BBQ so they bought most of the toppings and I bought the pizza dough from our local Italian bakery.

Doing pizza in the BBQ is a bit tricky but after experimenting with the heat settings and raising the pans off the grill we managed to make 5 delicious pies. One was even made with gluten free dough for two of our neighbours who are gluten intolerant. We also made two huge salads to round out the meal. Of course what would pizza be without a glass or two of good red wine?

All of us were able to spread the weekend over to Monday. My husand, my daughter G and the dogs left on one of the earlier boats and A, J and I stayed a little bit longer. After cleaning up the cottage and packing the car, A and J went for one last walk along the beach. We relaxed for a bit on the deck and tried to get some photos of the hummingbirds.

Like I said we ‘tried’ to get photos of the hummingbirds. This camera is much better than the one I used last year so I think I’ll try it again when I go back up later this week.

The trip back on the ferry treated us to some beautiful cloud formations over the lake. I’m inspired to try painting these beauties.

Highlights of My Trip to Ireland

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….my most memorable moments

Time Spent With the Irish Cousins

Checking out Dublin With Our Son

Meeting Our Son’s Beautiful Girlfriend

Our Trip to Westport

Our Day at Howth

The Museums, Art Galleries and Beautiful Gardens

Spending Time With My Wonderful Husband

….and Finally, Finding a Good Cup of ‘Coffee’ in Ireland (something we had a hard time finding 9 years ago)

Howth…..pronounced Ho ht

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….with the emphasis on the ‘t’

When we came back from our trip to Howth and said we had been to How-th, K’s Dublin cousin laughed and told us that we were mispronouncing the name.

Regardless of the pronunciation, Howth was one of our sightseeing highlights while in Dublin. It is located north of the city centre, on the coastline and is accessible with the city bus. Our son had been there a couple of days before with his girlfriend but was happy to do the trek again with his parents.

We were actually glad that B knew about the terrain and ensured us that the walk was very doable for us. Of course the first half of the walk was all on an incline but the scenery was breathtaking. The only downside was that when we got to the top I needed a bathroom and there isn’t one on the trail. I’m not adverse to finding a secluded area and doing what I need to do but in this case we ended up at a busy parking lot. Apparently you can drive to the top of the cliffs.

Luckily for me, I’m not shy and I informed a couple of tourists who were looking at the information board with me that I needed to find a toilet. They told me that down the road (off the path) at the bottom of the hill there was a pub. What a godsend.

We found the pub easily, used the facilities, and continued back up the road to finish our hike along the trail. This part of the trail was on higher ground, with wider paths and a slight decline. Along the way we saw a few grandiose homes and as we got closer to the bottom we entered a subdivision of more beautiful homes. Eventually as we got closer to the beach area we passed some quaint stores and pubs and we decided it was time for some liquid refreshment.

As with all pubs in Ireland the atmosphere was relaxed and welcoming. After their pint of beer and my half pint of cider we continued towards the beach and made our way to our bus stop for the half hour trip back into Dublin. In total the walk measured 7k.

All in all, a great way to spend our last day with our son. The next morning he would be flying back to the Netherlands, where he works and lives. Hopefully we’ll see him and his girlfriend again at Christmas. But in the meantime good luck B with your job interview in London, England. What a great reason to plan another trip overseas.

I’m Back Home

Posted on July 25, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….after two glorious weeks in Ireland

We just got off the plane a little over two hours ago. I went through all the mail, threw away things in the fridge that I should have tossed before we left (yuck!!!), picked some vegetables from the garden and charged up my laptop. I’ve really missed the laptop. The iPad was okay but it gave me a lot of grief when I tried to keep up with my blog. I think I will write a critique about using an iPad when on vacation.

I’m anxious to upload the photos from my camera. I wasn’t able to do that with the iPad. I’ve a lot of wonderful moments and photos to share. Give me some time to sort myself out here at home (friends to phone, family to visit, and laundry to do) and I need to organize my thoughts and not repeat things that I have already posted.

First thing I need to do is go to the drug store and see if I can get some over the counter medication for pink eye. My poor husband managed to pick up a nasty case of it on his last day in Ireland; how or where he contacted it we’re not sure but I don’t want it. Poor Mr. Burgerhead. Don’t ask. It’s a name his cousin’s sons came up with after we spent some time with them. K actually loves the nickname and we miss the boys already.

The Full Irish Breakfast

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….still suffering from jet lag but this breakfast keeps me going for a good part of the day

On Friday, when we arrived in Dublin, we got a taxi and drove to my husband’s cousin’s home near Phoenix Park. Our plane arrived at 9:30 in the morning and unfortunately we had next to no sleep on the plane because passengers near the front decided to party all night long. It was the noisiest flight that I’ve ever experienced. It was going to be a very long day.

Fortunately, our hostess, P, made us feel right at home and quietly and almost effortlessly made us a great full Irish breakfast. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this protein heavy breakfast, let me describe it for you. It consists of the following meat: black pudding, white pudding, sausage, and ham or bacon. Of course there are eggs.

This breakfast kept us going but by 2:00 in the afternoon I had to take a nap. Kevin lasted a little longer but he crawled into bed soon after. We got a few hours of sleep and then we stayed up till 11:00.

The next morning we were up at 4:40. We just couldn’t sleep any longer, even though we were still tired. I think we were a little bonkers. While P slept, we drank 2 pots of tea and ate a couple of slices of soda bread. When we figured out that there was no alarm system we went out into the garden and did a few exercises. Still restless, we decided to go for a walk through Phoenix Park.

The walk is just what we needed. We went for about 5.7 km. When we got back to the house, P made us our second full Irish breakfast. What a life! We’re still experiencing jet lag and I’m hoping after a good night’s sleep tonight I won’t be dozing off in the middle of the afternoon or at the table during meals.

Living Without Electricity

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….little did I know that this was going to happen here in the city, yesterday

When I wrote the following story there was no warning of the storm to come. We set record rainfall levels here in Toronto. In two hours 90 mm of rain fell and continued to fall until 124 mm fell in total. We haven’t had this much rain since Hurricane Hazel in 1954. Roads, highways and underpasses were flooded and closed. Over 300 000 homes were without power in Toronto and at one point 80% of Mississauga was in the dark. We had no power for 10 hours. Luckily our basement stayed dry but thousands of basements flooded.

The biggest story yesterday was how the GO train ended up in a flood zone and started to fill up. Passengers were stranded on the train for over six hours and had to be rescued by the Marine Unit.

GO train flooded

People inside the train

The irony is that if I had stayed up at the cottage for one more day I would have missed all of this. Here is the story I wrote on the weekend:

Living Without Electricity

….power failure? what power failure?

The one time I’m happy about not having electricity at the cottage is when we have a power failure. Up here a power failure can last for days. I’m sitting here in semi-darkness with only a few candles burning and a couple of oil lamps aglow. I charged my laptop before I left the city on Friday morning and now, Sunday evening, after writing 4 stories and up loading all my photos I still have 30% left on the battery.

It’s not that we can’t get electricity up here, we can. When we first started building in 1989 there was no electricity on this side of the island. People had been up here for 20 years and more and got along just fine without it. In the mid 90’s Ontario hydro installed power lines up to Big Sand Bay. Many cottagers didn’t want it at first but slowly, one by one, cottages started to be powered with electricity. We are one of the few last hold outs.

People often wonder how we manage without power. Well my fridge runs on propane, I use my BBQ as my main source for cooking and our water pump is generated with gas. As I said earlier, I light the place with oil lamps and candles, and battery operated lanterns and in recent years I’ve started purchasing lights that are solar powered. Don’t get me wrong, there are days that I wish I had electricity, like on rainy days when I have to cook outside. Of course that could also be remedied with a propane stove. Lugging propane tanks back and forth, off and on the island can also be a pain but it’s better than the alternative (cooling with ice and cooking over campfires).

At least when there is a power failure I’m not leaving because I can’t keep my food cold, my water pump doesn’t work and heaven forbid I can’t watch TV or play video games. I’m happy with my battery operated radio and my favourite station, CBC. I also read a lot, walk, swim, play board games with my neighbours, and occasionally paint. The one convenience that I do have and don’t need to have electricity for is my land line phone. Cell reception up here is very dicey. We can receive messages but we can’t always reply. Literally, directly north of us lies hundreds of kilometres of open water. I don’t think we’ll be seeing a cell tower in the middle of Georgian Bay any time soon.

*****************************************************************************************************

Luckily our fridge kept our food cold and nothing in the freezer defrosted. I did put a few things in my cooler bag with ice packs to take some stress off the fridge. I lit candles, used flashlights and battery powered lanterns and I was able to keep in touch with family and friends through texting. My little transistor radio and Twitter kept us up to date with the news.

My husband and I had a huge salad for dinner and we kept ourselves entertained with a marathon game of scrabble. I won. Teeheehee!

I’m Back!

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. it’s Monday and I spent 3 glorious days at the cottage

I did something this weekend that I’ve never done before. I brought my laptop to the cottage. I charged it fully before I left and thought I might try writing stories while I was up there. To my surprise I was able to write 5 articles and uploaded photos and still had some ‘juice’ left at the end of the weekend.

I’m going to start posting the stories over the next 4 days as I get ready for our trip to Ireland. I also heard that my 86 year old dad had a bad fall on the weekend and I will probably take an afternoon to drive out to Oshawa to see for myself that he’s okay. When I talked to him today he said he was sore, bruised and scraped and may have a concussion. Did he go to the hospital after falling 10 feet, heard first off a cliff? No, of course not. He did, however, go to the doctor today and was told he was very lucky. No kidding! He did tell me that he learned a lesson. The next time the dog wants to go down the cliff, he’s going to let the dog go and he’ll take the stairs.

Girls on the Run 5k

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….today was the day

I woke up early, 6:07 to be exact. I put on my running clothes and made my way downstairs to make coffee. I checked my emails as I enjoyed my Crema and protein bar. It was lovely and quiet in the house, just what I needed before heading out to meet my fellow coaches, L and C.

We had decided ahead of time to meet at L’s house and go together in one car. There was very little traffic at 7:30 on a Sunday morning so we made good time getting to the race venue. The race this year was being held at the Vaughn Mills mall. When we got there, there was already a sea of pink t-shirts.

Our school was assigned a flag where our girls had to meet us. We handed out their numbers and safety pins and the moms and dads pitched in pinning the numbers to the fronts of their shirts.

It was great seeing so many parents get involved, not just by being there but also registering for the run so that they could run with their daughters.

There weren’t as many pre-race activities as last year but some of the moms had brought along coloured hair spray so that the girls could have racing stripes put into their hair. Even some of their teachers got into the spirit.

I’m not sure how many times I’m going to have to wash my hair to remove the pink dye. One mom, who’s a hairdresser, said that it might take three or more washes. Hmmmm!!!!!

Two hours after arriving at the mall, the race finally started and about 1000 little girls and their coaches and parents started on the 5k run.

I had set a goal for myself to run the 5k without stopping and try to do it in 45 minutes or less. Last year I think it took me about 55 minutes and I walked at least half of it. It was very warm and humid today. Before I left my husband asked me not to overdo it and to be careful not to get caught up in the excitement of the race. I know that the recent heart attack of a very close friend who lives out west was leaving him feeling a little apprehensive about me running today. I have to admit that the our friend’s heart attack was also in the back of my mind. The attack was a mild one and she’s doing much better but she’s the last person we would ever have suspected of having a heart condition.

I set a very reasonable pace for myself and was able to run the first half without stopping to walk. When I did stop it was at the water station but I started to run again almost immediately. The heat did bother me and I walked a couple more times but never for more than a minute. In the end I finished in a time of 47:27, 2 1/2 minutes slower than I hoped for but this year I felt so much better than I did last year. I didn’t experience those moments of dread like I did last year and I wasn’t as emotional….no tears.

Now that I have an official time I can work on getting that number down. I should plan to do another 5k sometime this summer. It’s good to have a goal.

Time to work on my art piece.

Cheers!