My Kitchen Reno – Part 2

Posted on December 10, 2024 by Mama Cormier

…I left off with the cabinets arriving on Nov. 26

When the cabinets were dropped off the truck left and we were left with a kitchen full of boxes. The installers were scheduled to start the next day. Unfortunately they were delayed at another job. The new date for installation was Thursday afternoon or Friday.

When the installers hadn’t arrived by 3:00 on Thursday we assumed that they weren’t coming. We were, however, mistaken because at 4:00 they came and worked for 4 hours. They returned the next day to complete the installation.

The next step was to add the countertops. Unfortunately the granite that we selected was sitting in British Columbia and was held up because of the ferry strike. We scrambled to choose another design and luckily they had a very similar piece in stock in the city. The good news was that it was cheaper and we saved almost $1000.00.

The installer came on December 4th to take measurements and two days later the countertops arrived and they finished the job in one day.

Today the appliances arrived and the electrician is back finalizing all the electrical connections.

More to come…..Dec. 10, 2024

Canadian Thanksgiving Weekend

Posted on October 15, 2024 by Mama Cormier

…last weekend we celebrated our Thanksgiving with family and friends

On Saturday Kevin and I drove north to our daughters’ cottage where we enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner. Twelve of us sat around the table and consumed dishes that everyone shared in preparing. Of course there was more food than a person would normally consume in one sitting and the tryptophan from the turkey made us all sleepy.

To work off the meal half of us took a walk.

We stayed overnight and left around noon. It was a gorgeous autumn day and we decided to explore some of the farms in the neighbourhood.

We discovered Georgian Roots Flower Farm that is very close to our cottage on Christian Island. Andrea and Josie had heard about this place so we decided to check it out. It was established in 2018 as a cut flower farm.

After purchasing a bouquet of flowers to take home we continued with our autumn road trip. There were lots of pumpkins for sale along the roadside but we decided to stop at Harris Farm. It was very busy and clearly very popular with families. A new addition to the farm was a corn maze and the kids really seemed to enjoy it.

With an extra large pumpkin for carving and a few smaller ones for decorating we continued on our trip home. It was a perfect weekend.

Love is in the Air

Posted on February 15, 2024 by Mama Cormier

…leading up to, on the day and the day after Valentine’s Day

Everywhere you look there are signs for this special day.

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I’m not one for big, expensive fancy gifts. I’m more about the kind gestures and thoughtful cards with expressions of love. In the past my husband has hand painted me some fun cards. This year he posted a special card for our grandchildren. For me he made a very special dinner, with a cocktail before dinner and wine with dinner.

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32-A39307-94-B5-4236-8-BA1-3433566-EF9-CE — *…of course flowers*

A Gift to Myself

Posted on December 18, 2023 by Mama Cormier

…the most beautiful packaging I have ever received through the mail

There is a watercolour company here in Toronto called Genzäh Handmade Watercolours. Since discovering this company about 6 months ago I have wanted to try their product. I went online last week and looked at the selection of colours. I was considering asking for some of these paints for Christmas but since I had no experience with this product I decided to buy a variety of sample sizes before committing to the half or full pan sizes.

These paints are made with the highest quality dried pigments and simple ingredients like clove oil and locally sourced wildflower honey—no fillers, brighteners, extenders, or chemical preservatives; just pure colour. Since they are made in small batches and made by hand they are a bit pricy so I wanted to try them out before asking family and friends to consider them as a gift.

A few days after ordering them I received the most beautiful mailer in my mailbox. I have never before received an envelope made with gold foil. When I opened the the package there were more surprises inside. All the samples were individually mounted on beautifully painted small cards with the names of the paints hand scribed below the sample. A handwritten letter was also included with my initials on the envelope and sealed with a wax seal. So much detail to attention….amazing!

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I probably won’t get to trying these out till after Christmas. I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even had time to attend to my blog (as you have probably noticed) let alone my art table. If you want to check out this company their website is:

genzah.com

The Abundance of Autumn

Posted on September 24, 2022 by Mama Cormier

…the vegetable and fruit stands are overflowing with beautiful produce from our local farmers

On my way home from the cottage last weekend I stopped at one of my favourite farms to buy some vegetables to take home. I wasn’t disappointed. So colourful and so varied.

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Happy Mother’s Day Everyone

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Mama Cormier

…..to all women who are mothers at heart to their families, friends and colleagues

What a beautiful day. A day to be celebrated by anyone who is a mother, has a mother or knows a mother. I am blessed to have known my mother for 40 years, been a mother for 42 years and have so many friends who are mothers, step moms, godmothers, sisters, cousins, nieces and aunties.

To all those family and friends who did make it into this collage please know it’s only because I ran out of space. You are all loved and I’m thinking of you on this special day.

I Got My Booster Shot on a Bus

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Mama Cormier

….no kidding, it was a pop up clinic in the middle of a parking lot

Last Thursday I decided to go to one of the many pop-up clinics that are showing up in Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario and try to get my booster shot a little earlier. I had managed to get an appointment for January 6th but with the kids coming over at Christmas I thought I’d try to get an earlier appointment.

When I got to the outdoor plaza at Dixie and Dundas, I wasn’t sure I was in the right place but I eventually saw the GO bus where the clinic was being held. After I parked the car I walked over to the line where people were masked and socially distanced. It was hard to tell how many people were ahead of me because the line snaked around rows of parked cars. Luckily it was a mild and sunny day.

Soon after I arrived someone came around handing out tickets to make sure they had enough doses and they announced that they had run out of the free testing kits. Half the line behind me left when they heard that. I quickly got to know the lady behind me and saved her place in line so that she could find a washroom. Most of the people in line were in their 60s and knowing where the closest washroom was was essential. We quickly got to know the couple in front of us and for the next five hours (I kid you not) we chatted up a storm. Not sure I would have stayed in line if I had known that the wait would be that long. When we got there they told us three hours, which was bad enough.

Did I mention that the sun was out and it was 15 degrees celsius when we got there? It was but it changed over the next five hours and it became cloudy and very windy. We prayed that the rain wouldn’t start because there was no shelter in the line. At about the 4 hour mark our legs were becoming quite numb and we started jumping up and down to keep the circulation going and warm up our feet. After five hours I finally I got my booster shot that took all of five minutes. I said good bye to my new found friends, Suzanne, Jackie and Warren and we all went our separate ways.

Am I glad that I got my booster shot? Maybe glad is the wrong word but I am relieved. It is one less thing to worry about for me and my family.

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Friendly Friday – Summer Traditions

Posted on June 26, 2020 by Mama Cormier

,,,thanks to Sandy for hosting this week’s Friendly Friday Photo Challenge

Summer traditions may be on hold this year as we’re still not allowed to go to the cottage. Hopefully we’ll hear in the next few days when Christian Island opens up to lessee holders. When it does there will be quite a few restrictions, like no friends and only immediate family will be allowed on the ferry.

Having said that we’re still able to barbeque in the backyard and go for walks through the parks. Some of these photos are from years past.

Community Corn Roasts (cancelled this year)

Driving Through the Country

Ice-Cream with Winnie

Swimming at the Lake

Summer Fun Runs (cancelled this year)

Sunsets on Big Sand Bay

Walks Along the Beach

Sharing a Meal at the Cottage

The CNE (cancelled this year)

Relaxing on the Deck at Friend’s Cottage

BBQ in the Backyard

Happy Thanksgiving Canada

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….and Happy Birthday Onkel Günter, Winnie and Brendan

It’s been a busy weekend. Not only did we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Canada but we had four birthdays in the family on the same weekend. In fact in October we celebrate birthdays for my husband, my father, my granddaughter, my son-in-law and his brother, my father’s brother and my cousin. I’m sure I’ve missed someone.

This weekend our granddaughter turned four. Andrea, our oldest daughter volunteered to host Thanksgiving and the birthday party at her house. I was most grateful for that, especially after spending five hours in emergency with my husband on Friday. Before you become too concerned let me just say that he’s much better and gets better each day. Thankfully I had made my contribution to the dinner the day before.

The other thing that I did before going to Andrea’s for dinner was volunteer at the Inn to help with the outdoor oven for a workshop that was being put on by George Brown College. At the workshop the students were instructed in baking pizza in the wood fired oven. Everyone got to make two pizzas, one to eat and one to take home. I couldn’t stay for the whole event because I had to be at the dinner. After I left they also baked pita bread and a cranberry loaf. Dale manned the oven and took the pizzas out when they were ready.

Dinner at Andrea’s and Josie’s was spectacular but the highlight, especially for Winnie, was celebrating Winnie’s 4th birthday. Seeing all the presents was too much for her so we decided to let her open her gifts before dinner.

All in all it was a wonderful weekend, with way too much food and drink. I gained about six pounds but I’m determined to take it off as quickly as possible.