Ice Storm in Toronto

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..for days we’ve been hearing about the arrival of this ice storm

Yesterday I was hesitant to venture out of the house because of the ‘ice storm’. Well, yesterday, in the city we really only experienced rain, especially down by the lake. In the end I decided to venture out as long as it was raining water and not ice. I had my hair cut, went to the eye doctor to have my eye exam, did a little shopping to take advantage of some coupons and gift certificates that were about to expire and went to our friends, D and D, for dinner.

Early this morning, at 4:00 a.m., our dog Frances insisted that she needed to go outside. Ughhh! The temperature had dropped and the ice started to form on the trees. At 7:00, she woke me again to go outside so I decided to take some pictures. It was still dark so most of them didn’t turn out but you can see some of the ice on the yew and the ornamental cabbage is nice and frosty.

Later this morning our daughter, A, stepped into her backyard and took the following pictures:

All morning the news has been nothing but ‘ice storm’, ‘ice storm’, and more ‘ice storm’. My father lives east of Toronto in Oshawa and he was without power overnight and my friend L, who lives 15 minutes north of me has been without power since 3:00 a.m.. There are so many trees and power lines down that some experts are calculating that some areas may not get power back for 72 hours. That means Christmas morning without lights, heat, television, computers and anything that runs on electricity. So far 450 000 homes are without power. Oh, boy!

I guess I should worry about my tree in the backyard that is dying. Fingers crossed. Not much I can do about it now. I think I’ll just hunker down and wrap some Christmas gifts.

First Big Snowfall of the Season

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..the cold and blowing winds and treacherous driving conditions has kept us in most of the day

Early this morning I woke to a light dusting of snow on the ground and once again I thought the weatherman had gotten it wrong. For several days the weather station had been forecasting the season’s first big snow storm, starting Friday night. Later in the morning, however, the snow started to come down heavily and the winds picked up. We had to drive to a friends house to pick up my purse that I had left behind the night before and there was no way that my husband wanted to stop for tea or make a side trip to a store to do a little shopping. The driving was difficult and the radio was reporting on a 50 car pile-up on the highway.

Tonight I took a few shots from the front door. The snow seemed to be slowing down and our dog, Frances, was whining to go outside, despite the fact that my husband had taken her out 15 minutes earlier. I put on my parka, mittens and boots, grabbed my camera, put on her leash and braved the elements.

It was evident, early on, that Frances wanted more than a quick pee. She pulled and jumped into the deep snow and headed for the park. Seeing that I was warmly dressed, I obliged her and trudged through the snow laden sidewalks towards the park. There have been some sitings of coyotes in the neighbourhood (yes, we have coyotes in Toronto) so I wasn’t comfortable letting her off the leash. She was having so much fun that we continued our walk for several blocks before heading home. It looks like we’re not quite finished with the snow as it came down even heavier during our walk.

I did manage to take a few more pictures…..not an easy task with one hand on a leash and a very playful dog on the end of it.

I love these lights. If I ever see the owners I’ll have to ask them where they got them.

The Kids are Back, Lucy Goes Home and My Baby Turns 34

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….November always evokes special memories for me

It was a cold grey day in November, 34 years ago when I finally went into labour with my oldest daughter. I say finally because my original due date was October 10th and it was November 4th, almost four weeks later before I went back to the hospital. I remember that my rosebush in the front yard still had a beautiful bloom on it. I think that’s why I took a photo of this rose on my walk on Sunday.

It feels strange to say that I have a 34 year old daughter. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. A and her partner went away for a couple of days so we haven’t celebrated her birthday as a family. We’re planning on getting together next Sunday for a special brunch at a restaurant she’s long wanted to try.

On Sunday our youngest daughter and her husband returned from their week long cruise in the Caribbean. It sounds like they had a good time. It was a very special reunion when they came to pick up Lucy. When they left for their holiday they got a phone call just before they were ready to board the plane that Lucy needed to have emergency surgery. It took a couple of days and a couple of phone calls to the veterinary hospital before they could really enjoy their holiday.

Lucy was pretty much back to normal when G and B picked her up Sunday evening. As much as our Frances loves playing with her buddy, Lucy, I think she was glad to have the house to herself again.

Welcome Home, Lucy

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….a little sore and very dopey from the meds

This afternoon my husband, K, picked up Lucy from the emergency vet hospital. When I got home I was somewhat surprised that she was up and about. She was moving somewhat slower than normal but she came to the door to greet me.

K brought Frances’ bed up from the basement for her to lie on in the kitchen while we ate dinner. She loves that old bed and Frances has been pretty gracious in giving it over to her best friend. It’s funny how dogs can sense that something is not quite normal and how well they can adapt. We thought that we might have to ship Frances out for a few days so that Lucy could rest but so far it hasn’t been an issue.

It’s hard to tell with Bassett Hounds how they’re feeling but every now and then she wags her tail so I know she’s on the mend. G and B wanted to see the obstruction so the clinic gave us the piece of ball that they removed from her intestine. Here’s the nasty offender that caused so much pain and grief.

At the moment Lucy and the bed are downstairs with us as we’re watching TV. She’s sound asleep. It’s a shame that we have to wake her in the next half hour to give her more medicine.

A Guys Weekend

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….leaving me by myself in this big house

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that my husband is off for the weekend with one of his best friends. He doesn’t do it often and I’m so happy that he’s enjoying the cottage. Apparently so is the dog. It just feels weird being in this house by myself. K’s gone away before but he’s always left the dog with me so I’ve never felt alone.

I stayed late at work again tonight. Knowing that no one was waiting at home, I decided to unpacked more boxes of books. A lot of the books that the boys and girls were asking for were still packed away so with the help of 3 former students who came back to help me in the library we pulled out the more popular titles. We created some more space by using the top of the lower book cases. I know that the boys will be happy to see Star Wars, Captain Underpants and Wimpy Kid back in the library.

On the way home I stopped and did a little bit of shopping for dinner, picked up some supplies for my budgie birds and bought a lottery ticket for tonight’s draw. When I walked through the front door my husband called from the cottage. He’s having a great time with his friend D. They got some more work done on the staircase railing and they hope to finish tomorrow. They’re eating like kings and the sauna was warming up while we were talking. Frances, our wonder dog, has been in doggy heaven. There aren’t too many people up at Big Sand Bay this weekend so she’s had a lot of freedom. She’s had so much fun that she hasn’t even wanted to eat. She was sleeping when K called. She’ll be one hungry dog tomorrow.

My daughter, A called about an hour ago and we’ve made plans to get together tomorrow. We’ll be heading out to the farmer’s market in the Junction and we’ll see where we go from there. My husband’s birthday is next week so we’ll probably be looking at some potential gifts to buy. Unfortunately my vacuum cleaner stopped working this week so I might also be looking for a good sale on vacuum cleaners.

As I’m writing this post I’m watching the last two episodes of America’s Got Talent. This year’s show has some of the best talent I’ve ever seen. All of the six finalists are winners in my eyes. They all deserve to be there and I will be happy, no matter who wins (or won, seeing that the winner was announced earlier in the week).

I had planned to get some work done around the house this weekend but I think having fun with my daughters and friends is going to take precedent.

Cheers!

Back to Running and Back to Work

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….running is like riding a bike, once you start again it’s like you never stopped

On Sunday I started running again. I didn’t plan on it, it just happened.

My husband, Frances and I started on our usual morning walk but we barely left the house when my husband started to run. Frances kept putting on the brakes when she didn’t sense that I was right behind her so I started to run as well. And I kept running and running and didn’t stop until I hit the 4k mark.

We stopped at the Tim Horton’s in the park, where I bought a small coffee, asked for a cup of water and used the restroom. K wanted to run some more so I agreed to take the dog and the two of us walked the remaining 2k home. I was amazed that I was able to run so far after not running for about two months.

Today we started with a walk and started running at the entrance to Col. Sam Smith Park. Again, once I started running, it felt so natural and comfortable that I continued to run until we reached the point, turned around and ran all the way home. Another 4k of running and 1k of walking.

If someone had told me 18 months ago that I would become a runner I would have scoffed at them. I remember trying to run with my husband when I was in my 20s and put my back out. I was about 50 pounds lighter than I am now and I just couldn’t get into it. So why is it easier now? Shouldn’t it be harder? After all I’m 30 some years older and heavier.

I think the difference is that this time I started out slowly. Literally, I started with only running 50 metres on the first day and then going 100 metres the next. Slowly I added more distance and as the weight came off it became easier. The other difference is that I had a goal. I was coaching young girls to run and we were all training to do a 5k run. My goal was to finish the race and try to run half of it and walk the rest.

My first 5k wasn’t pretty but I did finish. I was exhausted, emotional and anxious about my health, all at the same time. When I realized that I wasn’t going to die from running, I continued to run periodically for the rest of that summer and in the fall I ran with the cross country team. It got easier and easier. During the winter, when running became too difficult my husband and I walked regularly in the evenings despite the cold and the record breaking amounts of snow that we encountered last winter.

I agreed to coach the girls at school again this spring and we worked toward completing another 5k race. This time I wanted to run the entire race without stopping and in under 45 minutes. It turned out to be a very warm day and I needed to stop 3 times, once for water and then again a couple of times to re-energize. Each time I walked I went for about 100 metres and then started to run again. I finished in 47 minutes and ran most of the 5k.

My plan was to run over the summer but for some reason it just didn’t happen. I did a lot of walking, especially when we were in Ireland and we continued to walk when I was in the city but for some reason when I went to the cottage I didn’t run at all and some days I didn’t walk very far either. As some of you know, we’ve had bears inhabit our island this year and even though I’ve never seen them I do know people who have. My biggest phobia in life is meeting up with a bear. I don’t know where that comes from because I’ve never had an encounter with a bear but I think the possibility of meeting a bear in the woods or on the beach kept me from wandering too far from the cottage.

This fall my goal is to run with the cross country team again and I think it’s time to search out another 5k race this fall. I started back to work today but I got in that run before I left for school. Next week it won’t be as easy to do that because I have to be at school earlier but I know in the first week back the gym teacher will start recruiting the students for this years cross country team. I’ll be right there with them at 7:45 every morning.

Wildflowers in T.O.

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..back to our morning walks

Today started out as an exceptionally beautiful day.

As hard as I try, I can’t keep up with my husband and the dog on our morning walks. I watched from a distance today and counted K’s steps and discovered that we both take the same amount of steps in the same amount of time but my stride is so much shorter, due to my shorter legs.

Frances runs twice as far as both of us but today she kept running back to me to make sure that I was okay. How sweet! I’m not upset that K walks ahead of me and he doesn’t worry about me. It works for both of us and so when I stop to take photographs I take my time to get that perfect shot and then continue on my way. Sometimes I run to catch up and occasionally K will stop at one of the benches and waits until Frances has one more swim and I come into view. Here are a few of the wildflowers that I observed on our walk this morning.

Frances, Our Wonder Dog

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….we think she must be part mountain goat

My Missing Husband

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….I imagined the worst

The school day had barely begun. I was in the library getting ready for my first class when AM paged me from the office. My neighbour was on the phone and had our dog, Frances, in her house. K was nowhere to be found. I had the call transferred to my office and spoke directly to N. Apparently she found Frances sitting on the front lawn and she was quite upset.

My neighbour on the north side of my house, L, got into her car and drove around the neighbourhood looking for my husband. While I was talking to N (my neighbour on the south side of my house) L returned and hadn’t found my husband. I described K’s normal walking/running route to N and how she could get Frances into our house. I got off the phone and waited for her to call me back. I waited and waited and waited.

It seemed like forever but in reality it was only 15 minutes. My colleagues encouraged me to drive home to find out what was happening. When I got in the car and started on the short trip home (15minutes) I started to think the worst. What if he’d fallen down the rocky edge by the lake? Maybe he’d suffered a heart attack and was lying on a path less travelled. I didn’t know what to expect when I got home.

Half way home my phone rang. It was my husband. He was fine, just a little shaken up for having lost Frances. He let her off the leash while he ran along the lake and normally she runs along side him and occasionally checks out a path here and there but always pops back up and joins him.

For some reason, today Frances lost track of K and when she didn’t see him she ran home. K thought that she had passed him at some point so he turned around and ran back to where the path ended. He found some other dog walkers and they tried to help him find Frances. When he couldn’t find her he was beside himself with worry. He finally decided to run home.

As he got closer to the house he could hear her barking. He found my two neighbours outside the house and Frances was already inside. Needless to say K was very relieved. The problem was that at this moment in time I didn’t know that he was okay.

Did he call me right away to let me know he was home? No! He went back to the park to let others know that the dog was safe and sound at home. When he got back home the second time he called the school but I had already left. He told me later, very apologetically, that it had never occurred to him that I would be worried about him. Hmmmm! What can I say? I love him and I’m relieved that he’s okay.

Birds of Prey and Our First Farmers’ Market of the Season

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..a very spontaneous day

My husband and I rarely plan our weekends in advance. This morning when we woke up we decided to get an early start for our daily walk/run to the park. It was sunny but quite cool this morning so we layered up and put on cotton gloves. When we got about half a kilometre from the house we realized that we forgot to bring the poop bags so my husband headed back to the house and I tried to continue the walk with Frances. She would have none of it. She kept pulling back on the leash so I finally gave in and started walking back until we met up with K.

When we finally got to the rugby pitch there were people on the field, setting up for a game so we decided not to do our run and changed our route. Frances is great off leash when we run around the pitch because she just runs back and forth between the two of us. When we’re on the path she’s better on the leash which makes it more difficult for running so we both walked today.

Just before the pitch we came across this beautiful flowering tree in the middle of this very green patch of land. I loved the contrast of the mauve blossoms with the bright spring greens.

The route was a little longer and different from the one we normally take when we head out to the point. Today we had an unexpected surprise because a Spring Bird Festival was taking place along the route. There were dozens of bird watchers and numerous displays under canopies. One of the displays featured raptor birds prominently perched on the arms of their handlers. They were absolutely beautiful.

Once we were far away from the Bird Festival we let Frances off the leash so that she could go for a swim in the lake. After retrieving her tennis ball out of the lake several times she ran and ran and ran. She must have checked out every last little path along the route and went back into the water at different points for more swims.

On the way home our noses were assaulted by a very bad odour coming from Frances. We realized that somewhere on the walk she must have rolled in something disgusting. Once we got to the house K took her immediately to the backyard while I went inside and prepared buckets of warm water with doggy shampoo. She let us rub her down with the sudsy water and then stood perfectly still while we rinsed her with warm clear water. She was cooperative but you could tell she wasn’t happy.Our walk covered 6k.

Today was also the first day for the Junction Farmers’ Market. We were debating whether to ride our bikes or drive the car. After our walk K made us a wonderful breakfast of bacon and eggs and by the time we finished eating we didn’t have a lot of time left before the market was scheduled to close. Consequently we drove but we parked a fair distance from the market and we managed to add another kilometre to our walking distance.

The market was small but the vendors were very friendly and we picked up some fresh baby greens, honey, radishes and more plants for the garden. We’ve already lost one tomato plant. It was dug up and destroyed. We’re thinking it was a racoon. We’re replacing it with a zebra tomato plant and we’ve bought a couple of Jerusalem artichoke plants. A couple of vendors suggested spraying the plants with pepper. We’ll have to give it a try.

Later in the afternoon I went to Curry’s Art Store to buy a Gelli plate to try a new type of mono printing. I had checked out two different art stores when we were in the Junction this morning but neither store had heard of them. I’m looking forward to trying this technique and sharing my results with you.

Cheers!