Axe Cancer – A Fun Day

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….and a great way to raise money for Camp Quality

A couple of weeks ago I told you about a fundraiser that I was participating in to raise money to send children with cancer to camp. I had set a goal for myself to raise $500.00 and thanks to all of you who donated I surpassed my goal and raised $515.00.

The event took place at BattL in the east end of the city and I have to say that the staff made the event a very enjoyable and memorable afternoon. We were a little concerned that the event took place on Father’s Day but the organization managed to pull together enough people to form 14 teams and as a surprise cast members from American Gods arrived and formed a team of their own.

My team, The Cormier Clan, consisted of my husband, my two daughters and me. We were instructed on how to throw the axes and the staff made sure that it was a very safe event. Everyone was given an opportunity to practise throwing the axe until we felt somewhat comfortable.

The teams were all mixed up and everyone threw against someone from another team. The staff kept track of the scores and after three rounds they tallied up the scores to figure out who the highest scorer from each team was. That person then competed in the finals to determine which team won the competition.

Our lead scorer was my. husband. For someone who was very hesitant to try this he ended up really enjoying himself and went through two rounds before he was eliminated. In the end the team from American Gods won the whole thing. Here are a few photos of the event (my granddaughter was only there at the beginning and then her father took her to the Aquarium so she would be out of harm’s way).

BULL’S EYE!!!!

…just to prove that Winnie wasn’t there during the throwing of the axes

Axe Cancer in NOT Spam or a Scam

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….this is an authentic fundraiser

CQ Southern Ontario

I don’t normally try to enlist people on this site to sponsor good causes but I wanted to ensure people who received emails from me or saw it on my FaceBook page that this is a legitimate cause. With all the spam on the internet I can understand if you thought that this might be a scam. Trust me it’s NOT.

‘Axe Cancer’ supports Camp Quality which is a camp for children with cancer. My son-in-law is Executive Director for Camp Quality in Canada and he constantly tries to find ways to raise money for these camps that are completely run by volunteers all across this country. Camp Quality also runs camps in the U.S.A. and Australia. Here is the link for Camp Quality in Ontario if you’re interested in knowing more about the organization, the history and the members who run it.

Camp Quality

Next Sunday, my husband, daughter, son-in-law and I will be throwing axes as a team. I’ve never done anything like this in the past but I know some people who have and they love it.

If you can sponsor me, for any amount, no matter how small I would be very grateful and happy that another child with cancer will be able to attend this wonderful camp at no cost. The average price for a camp like this is about $1500 per child.

My initial goal was to raise $150.00 and I raised it to $250.00. Now I think I have to raise it again. To the seven people who have already sponsored me, thank you very much. If you’d like to make a donation here is the link for ‘Axe Canada’.

Donate to Camp Quality

Happy Thanksgiving Canada

Posted on October 9, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….celebrating with a Southern flair

This year we substituted turkey and stuffing with deep fried chicken, BBQ ribs and macaroni and cheese. We started the meal with curried pumpkin soup, served in the pumpkin shell and freshly baked corn bread. Our daughter hosted the meal and because there were 14 of us we decided to share the work with a pot luck meal. I brought the soup and bread and plum cake. Gaelan and Brendan cooked the meats and the mac and cheese. Other contributions included roasted potatoes, pasta salad, coleslaw, wine and meat and cheese platters as appetizers.

As you can see from the photos our granddaughter loved the pumpkin but she loved the soup just as much. Even my Dad who normally dislikes pumpkin pie enjoyed this soup.

The recipe came from a cookbook that my friend Janice gave me as a gift last Christmas. Her church, St. Philip’s Lutheran Church, collected soup recipes from friends and members of the church and created the book It All Begins With Soup and sold the cookbook as a fundraiser. This recipe is dead simple.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

1 large can of pumpkin puree

1/4 cup coconut oil

1 chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic

3 cups of chicken broth

1 Tbsp curry paste (more if you like spicy)

1/4 tsp. coriander, salt and pepper (adjust seasoning to your taste)

3/4 cup coconut milk (1/4 cup for swirls in the serving bowls)

Saute the onions and garlic in the coconut oil. Stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, paste and seasonings. Stir and cook until boiling. Cover and continue to boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pumpkin puree and coconut milk. Whisk until smooth. Cook for a final 5 minutes before you puree the soup in a blender or food processor. Serve warm with a swirl of coconut milk in a bowl.

if you are vegan you can substitute chicken broth with vegetable broth
I doubled the recipe to serve 14 people – the bowls were small but some people had seconds
my pumpkin was way to big – the soup filled just over half the pumpkin

Share Your World 2016 – Week 25

Posted on June 26, 2016 by Mama Cormier

…..check out Cee’s Share Your World and join the fun

How many languages do you you speak?

Basically I speak two languages, English and German. German was my first language and I understand it very well but I am very hesitant to use it. Growing up I had to go to German school on Saturdays and I hated it. Whenever my parents or their friends spoke to me in German I would answer in English. When I turned 18 I sang in a German choir and did so for 27 years.

What are some words that just make you smile?

The first word that makes me smile is my granddaughter’s name – Winnie. I can’t help but smile when I think of her or hear someone utter her name. Come to think of it all the names of my loved ones make me smile. Other words that make me smile are love, art, summer vacation, cottage, puppy and party.

If you were the original architect of one existing building, which building would you select?

This is tough because there are lots of buildings that I would be proud to put my name on, even ones that have been somewhat controversial. I love old and new but I think the one that stands out for me at the moment is the AGO. It is a combination of old and new. Several years ago it underwent a renovation and I simply love the lines and all the wood on the inside. The architect is Frank Gehry.

Day 1

New addition: The Italian Gallery

Would you rather have telepathy or telekinesis? (Telepathy is the communication using your brain waves, telekinesis is channeling the energy onto physical objects to cause substantial, observable physical changes.)

I think I’d rather have telepathy. It would be neat to be able to send messages without opening my mouth.

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 being able to check off more items from my to do list. As you know June is extremely busy for me at school. Every time I’m able to cross off another item it takes a huge weight off my shoulders.

Things that are done:

2 retirement parties- collected money and bought gift for one

Jump Rope for Heart – money collected and prizes distributed

Report cards written, proofread and printed

Timetables for next year organized

Father’s Day gift bought and BBQ with the family

Year end school concert

Rehearsals for grade five farewell

book club for June

finished paintings with the students for the stage

son’s wedding via the internet

city finals for girls’ soccer

taking 78 students to Jays’ baseball game to sing the national anthems

This week I’m looking forward to the grade 5 farewell assembly, play day, cleaning up my office in the library, the staff party and making final arrangements for our trip to Italy. Most of all I’m looking forward to getting on that plane next Saturday. Phew! I’m tired just thinking about it.

Fun Fair and Baby Time

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….a busy three days, part 2

Last Saturday, the parent council at my school hosted the long awaited Fun Fair. For the cost of a wrist band the students enjoy an abundance of fun activities for four hours. There were inflatables, a dunk tank, face painting, games of chance with prizes, cotton candy, popcorn, a cake walk, a photo booth, video games, planting stations, video games, candy kabobs, fire trucks and police cars to explore, music, a silent auction and so much more.

I was suppose to go in the dunk tank but the water was too cold for me and I had been promised warmish water. I was hoping that as the day progressed the water would have warmed up but because the hose runs continuously it never really changes temperature. No one really seemed to notice that I bowed out. The grade 5s gladly took over my time slot and took turns all day sitting in the tank waiting to be dunked.

I did volunteer to man one of the inflatables for an hour with one other parent. There was a steady stream of children climbing up the steep ladder and coming down the equally steep slides. I was surprised that some parents allowed their ‘babies’ to go on this apparatus. Their little legs couldn’t get up the ladder very quickly and they slowed down the momentum of the ride. A couple of times we (actually the other mom) had to go up the ladder and bring the children down.

One of the highlights for me was the silent auction. This year every class painted a ceramic plate or teapot which were professionally fired. They were all beautiful and every item was bid on.

There were lots of other items to bid on and I ended up with a beautiful pot of flowering plants, a set of necklaces, a floral print with cards and a gift certificate for a haircut. I donated two of my paintings and my friend L and I offered a ‘Tea’ for up to 4 students. The last item went for over $100.00.

All in all it was a very successful fun fair. Here are a few more shots of some of the many activities that took place that day.

When the silent auction closed, I gathered up my merchandise and headed home where our daughter and granddaughter were waiting for me but more of that in the next post.

Cheers for now!

A Busy Three Days

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….as May comes to an end I can breathe a sigh of relief

May and June are two of the busiest months for me. Many people assume because the school year is close at hand that my workload starts to diminish as well. Nothing could be further from the truth.

May started with tryouts for the girls’ soccer team and then practices three times a week. Last week the girls played their tournament and won so practices continue for the next two weeks before they move on to the semi finals. I head up the Forest of Reading book club and last week we had our year end celebration. I wrote about that here.

One of my other pet projects is raising money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation by running a Jump Rope for Heart day. I’ve been doing this for 17 years. Every year I think that the fund raising won’t do as well as previous years and the children and the community always come together and surprise me with their generosity. Two weeks ago we had the kick off assembly for Jump Rope for Heart and sent home the pledge envelopes. On Thursday I was worried because only 12 envelopes had been returned. On Friday I was overwhelmed with the number of returns. Over 100 envelopes came back and according to one of the parents the on-line contributions were higher than previous years. Our goal this year was to raise $8 600.00. It looks like we’ve gone well above that number. I’ll know better in the next few days when the last of the envelopes come in.

Friday was a hot sunny day for our actual skipping event. Our office assistant and her husband supplied us with music for the hour while the entire school headed outside and skipped to their heart’s content. Despite the heat everyone seemed to have a good time. There were prizes for skippers who showed a lot of effort. I chose about 8 teachers to go around and select children who they thought were really working hard. These students were given a yellow ticket that they could redeem for a new skipping rope or small football. A special thanks to the Heart and Stroke Foundation for supplying the prizes.

The next two days proved to be just as busy. On Saturday we had our Fun Fair at the school and our daughter and granddaughter spent Saturday and part of Sunday with us. More about these two days in a post to follow.

Fun at the Fun Fair and My Seven Minutes of Fame

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….every year the parent council at our school hosts a Fun Fair for the children and the community

The big difference this year was that I was asked to help promote the sale of wristbands by agreeing to be dunked in the dunk tank if sales reached a certain level before the actual Fun Fair. Well, apparently a record number of wristbands were sold so I was destined to ‘go down’.

This year a photographer from the local community paper showed up and wanted to photograph me and some of the other fun activities that were taking place that day. I wasn’t too concerned about appearing in the paper because from past experiences I know that many photos are never used and sometimes no photos are used to cover a story.

The Fun Fair took place on Saturday, May 30th and I was literally in the dunk tank for only seven minutes. When all was said and done I actually enjoyed the experience and didn’t think twice about the photographer who took photos of me. The ones on this page were taken by one of the parents on my iPhone.

On Thursday, as I was leaving the school, MP ran over to me to tell me that she just got a call telling her that my photo had appeared in the paper. I heard from two more people later that evening that they saw my picture. Unfortunately I don’t get that paper in my neighbourhood so I’m hoping the someone will send it to me.

As for the rest of the Fun Fair, everyone seemed to have a great time. The weather cooperated for most of the day. Towards the end the heavens did open but the fair was coming to a close anyway and people moved to the indoors where more activities were taking place. It looks like the fair was a huge success and even though it’s not meant to raise a lot of money, a lot of money was raised.

A Fruitful and Musical Day

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….ran 4.4k, walked over 11,000 step, and enjoyed the Junction Market and Music Festival

I started my day with a trip to my daughter’s house and we both walked to the Railpath and started to run for 45 minutes. Next week we’re both doing the Railpath Fun Run. I was hoping to run at least 5k in 45 minutes but I only managed 4.4k. For those of you living in Toronto there’s still time to register.

All proceeds from this race will benefit The Stop Community Food Centre.

After our run we got in the car and drove over to the Junction to meet up with K who rode there on his bike. I actually didn’t even know that the music festival was on. Nice surprise but it did make it more difficult to find a place to park. We luckily found a spot on a side street and we walked over to the Farmers’ Market.

It was a gorgeous day but for some reason the wasps were everywhere, especially around vendors with food. I’ve never seen it quite so bad. We sat in a cafe by the window and the wasps came right into the coffee shop. We decided to ignore them and luckily none of us got stung.

The market was very busy and we bought some beautiful kale and green and purple peppers from Wheel Barrow Farms. One of the unique things that we saw on Saturday was a mobile cafe. I wonder how much one of those cost? I should check out the website on the side of the truck.

A few musical acts were set up on the side streets but the big show didn’t take place until later in the day. All in all it was a great day.

ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and Railpath Run

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….started running again yesterday

I decide that I needed a goal to keep running more regularly. I was surprised that after not running for so long that I was able to run 2K without stopping. My daughter, A, has recently started running and told me about a fun run coming up in September. It’s not about a set distance in this run but it’s based on time and how far you can run in 45 minutes. Sounds perfect for me.

The money raised for this event goes to STOP which is a community organization that feeds the homeless and families in need of food in the community. I think that all the money comes from the registration fee so I won’t be asking for any donations. The date for the run is Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. This should give me plenty of time to work up to 45 minutes of running but because it’s a fun run/walk there will be a lot of walkers so if I need to stop and walk for a bit it’s no big deal. I’m really looking forward to this day. If you’re in the Toronto area and want to participate check out the Railpath Run website here.

The other thing that I did today, after getting home from the dentist, was complete the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Again my oldest daughter, A, nominated me and because it’s for a good cause I decided to follow through. Here’s my video.

If you haven’t participated in this challenge and would like to I will be happy to nominate any of my followers. Just say that Carol Cormier nominated you. The important thing, however, is to donate to ALS. I just googled ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and I was able to donate right on line. The one thing I didn’t know was that every country has an ALS chapter and I ended up donating to the American site. No matter, it all goes to a good cause.

If you do participate I’d love to see your video.

Cheers!