Share Your World 2016 – Week 6

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….this week’s questions were suggested to Cee by Bridget from the The Happy Quitter

What is your favorite word?

My most favourite word is ‘love’. It’s what makes the world go round, conquers hate, looks beyond your imperfections, accepts you as you are, melts your heart and “love has no age, no limit; and no death”, John Galsworthy
What is your least favorite word?

My least favourite word is so offensive to me that I can’t even print it. I absolutely hate the word Cee u next Tuesday. I find it so demeaning to women.
What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?

Long walks through the wilderness and along the beach and quiet moments at the cottage give me inspiration to be creative and reflect on life.

What turns you off?

Gross consumption of anything is a turn off for me. I hate excessive behaviours of all kind.
What is your favorite curse word?

I don’t normally curse but occasionally the sh*t word comes pouring out from my mouth, especially if I’ve messed up or hurt myself.
What sound or noise do you love?

I love the sound of birds singing in the morning and the pitter patter of a light summer rain.
What sound or noise do you hate?

I don’t like sirens, horns and traffic in general.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

I’ve often wondered what kind of doctor I would have been.
What profession would you not like to do?

I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t want to be a lawyer.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Welcome Carol, your art studio awaits you.
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 good friends and a wonderful husband. After finding a dress for the wedding my husband treated me to a dinner at a new Middle Eastern restaurant called Paramount. The food was fantastic and we had enough left over for another lunch this week.

Tomorrow is our daughter’s wedding so of course that is what I’m looking forward to the most. Everyone is excited about meeting the baby, some for the first time and having a fantastic meal at Torrone’s.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 3

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….to share your world check out Cee’s blog

What is your favorite piece of art? (it doesn’t have to be famous)

That’s a hard question for me because I love so many different pieces. I’m a huge fan of Ray Cattell’s art and would love any one of his pieces. Here’s one that I’m fond of:

A Ray Cattell painting.

What made you smile today?

A photo of my new granddaughter always make me smile.

Which place do you recommend as a Must-See? Please state which country, state or providence.

Again I struggled with this question but after a discussion with my daughter I decided that Niagara Falls should be a must-see destination if you’re visiting this end of Canada or New York state in the USA. You can see the falls from either side of the border but I think the view from the Canadian side is spectacular.

Complete this sentence: When I was younger I used to….

…..sing in a German choir. I started at the age of 18 and sang with them for 27 years. I was always one of the youngest in the choir. Even when I left at the age of 45 most of the members were considerably older than me. I did enjoy it and I do miss singing in a choir and hearing German.

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 son has had his staples removed from his arm and that his arm is healing nicely. He’s back in England now and has found himself a doctor and is part of the National Health Service. Things are going well at school and boys’ basketball is well underway with early morning practices are happening three times a week. I’m especially grateful to one of our dads who is coming out each morning to help us coach the boys’ team.

This week I’m looking forward to a day off on Friday. It’s a report card writing day. I’m not thrilled about writing report cards but I am grateful for the time to work on them. I’m also looking forward to seeing Miss Winnie on the weekend. We didn’t get to see her last weekend and by all accounts from her mother she’s growing by leaps and bounds.

Here are a few photos from our walks through the park and the snow storm we had on Monday. Notice how tired Frances is. She had just stared down a coyote during that storm.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 50

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for 50 weeks of great questions

Favourite thing to photograph? Write? Or Cook?

I love photographing nature. When I discovered the macro feature on my camera I’m became somewhat obsessed with taking close-ups of flowers and seed pods and when an insect appears on the subject, I’m in heaven.

I like to write about my daily life. It’s like keeping a personal diary that I share with the world. I’ve dabbled in Haiku which I quite enjoy.

I like baking but I don’t do very much of it because I would eat it and be even heavier than I am. I’ll probably do some Christmas baking because I like to give it to my neighbours and friends.

Did you like swinging as a child? Do you still get excited when you see a swing?

I’m not sure that I really liked it as a young child but when I got older (preteen) we used to hang around the swings and challenge each other to go as high as possible. I can’t say that I get excited when I see the swing sets in my neighbourhood. The thought of going on one actually makes me a bit nauseated.

What has surprised you about blogging?

The biggest surprise about blogging is that I’m still here, almost four years since I started. I’m also surprised how my focus has changed and how many photo challenges that I take part in.

List at least five favorite desserts.

I have to admit that desserts are a weakness. When I’m good I can go without for a long time but once I start eating sweets it’s a slippery slope. Here are some of my favourite desserts:

Anything with fruit – apple strudel (authentic is the best)

– apple or fruit crisp

– fresh fruit torte with whipped cream

Poppy seed cake

Creme Brule

Key lime tarts

Bread pudding

Ice Cream with fruit and whipped cream

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 dinner and time spent with a group of friends last Friday. On Saturday I got out for a long walk with my husband and dog and I managed to log over 15 000 steps for the entire day. On Sunday my family and I drove out into the country to a Christmas tree farm and cut down three trees for each of our homes. It was a cold and dreary day and the first time that I’ve done this when there was no snow on the ground. Afterwards we went back to my youngest daughter’s place in Hamilton and warmed up with coffee, gluehwein, hot home-made soup and grilled sandwiches.

Today the girls played in the West Conference Finals for basketball. They won their first two games and in the final game they lost in a very good game, 16 to 14. It was a difficult loss for them because it was so close and they missed out going to the city championships because of one basket. On the plus side they earned a second place banner for the school.

This week I’m looking forward to hearing the choir sing at the Holiday Concert. We’re having our staff party on Wednesday and on Saturday I’m attending another Christmas dinner with another group of friends. Friday is the last day of school and I have about a week to finish my Christmas shopping and get the house ready for family get togethers. The thing I’m looking forward to the most is seeing my son on Monday. He’ll be flying in from London, England and spending about two weeks with us.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 49

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for coming up with four more interesting questions

What would be your ideal birthday present, and why?

I love birthdays and I love to be surrounded by family and friends on my birthday. My ideal present would be a big party with all the important people in my life present

What colour would you like your bedroom to be?

I’ve had grey in my bedroom for years and I’ve hated it. I recently bought a neutral cream colour which I think I’ll much prefer.

Would you prefer snowy winters, or not, and why?

I like snow but I also like it when it melts away in March. Last winter it hung around way too long.

Would you rather go a week without bathing, but be able to change your clothes, or a week without a change of clothes, but be able to bathe?

I think I would prefer to bath every day and wear the same clothes. At least the clothes won’t get as dirty if I start out clean every day. I would probably hand wash my underwear every night.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week I was grateful for a very mild weekend. I managed to get out on Saturday for a walk with the dog and then meet up with my daughters and their families at the Junction Christmas Market. All in all I walked 16 000 steps that day. I also got to spend some time with Miss Winnie. She’s starting to smile more and when I changed her diaper she gave me a huge smile. She makes my heart melt.

Last week, the girls’ basketball team played in their first tournament. They won all three games and have moved on to the West Conference Finals.

Yesterday we hosted our annual Craft Night at the school. We invite the students to bring their parents back to school in the evening and go from room to room and make whatever craft is being featured. This year we had numerous crafts that included golf ball snowmen, melted snowman ornaments, Minion ornaments, cookie decorating and paper crafts. I usually don’t have time to go around and take photos of the different activities but this year I did manage to go to a few rooms close to the library before we became busy. Here are a few of the great things that the children made. It was all over in an hour. It’s almost like preparing a big Christmas dinner where you spend hours and hours cooking and making preparations and then it’s all over in 20 minutes.

For the rest of the week I’m looking forward to having dinner with a group of friends. On the weekend my husband and I are planning on driving to the countryside with our daughters to cut down a Christmas tree. This will be my youngest daughter’s first Christmas tree in her new home. Ideally it would be nice to have some fresh snow but the temperatures are suppose to remain well above freezing so that’s very unlikely.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. Till next time.

Carol

Share Your World 2015 – Week 46

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

What type of popular candy do you not like to get?

I don’t like most candy. I’m not fussy on Twizzlers Red Licorice or gummy worms.

What do you feel is the most enjoyable way to spend $500?

I’d like to spend $500. on a spa treatment (facial), a manicure and pedicure, lunch, hair cut and a new outfit.

Where do you eat breakfast?

I eat breakfast at home at the dinner table. If I’m running late I’ll pack my breakfast and sit in the staffroom and eat it during my prep period.

Would you rather ride one of the worlds longest zip lines or bungee jump one of the highest in the world? This will come with a 5-day all expense vacation.

I would never go bungee jumping but I would like to try a zip line. The five days all expense vacation would be a bonus. I’ve heard that Costa Rico has some great zip lines through the rain forest.

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 husband last Saturday. We had brunch at a new local cafe that hosted a special musical treat for people that made reservations. A string trio, consisting of three sisters, entertained the patrons with a selection of Sound of Music scores. It was definitely a family affair. The restaurant, Sugar for my Honey, was filled to capacity with young families and older folks like us. The Quintessence Ensemble (the Cacciacarro sisters) also performs classical and sacred music for numerous events, such as wedding showers, receptions and private parties.

The food was Austrian in origin and absolutely delicious and the coffee is outstanding. The owner, Will Weiss, is a young entrepreneur. He is hard working and a very genuine person. We’ve been there three times now and each time he takes the time to come and speak to us. My husband dropped off a jar of his homemade plum jam last week and in return he gave us some of his homemade liverwurst.

I’m also grateful for the most incredible weather we’ve had this month. You’d hardly know that it was November. I think that’s about to change but up until today it has been unseasonably warm.

I’m looking forward to spending time with my daughter and our new granddaughter this weekend. She’s already 5 weeks old, over 10 pounds and according to her doctor she’s already surpassed all her one month milestones and most of her two month milestones. When I asked my daughter what that meant she told me that Miss Winnie is already lifting her head, cooing, smiling responsively, following objects, lifting her head and rolling over from her tummy to her back.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 43

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…debating, tea, strongest sense and a title for my autobiography

Four more great questions from Cee. I had to give two of them a bit of extra thought.

If you were on a debate team, what general subject would you relish debating?

Seeing we’ve just come through a very long election campaign, by Canadian standards, I’d have to say that I enjoy debating about politics. I’m actually pretty passionate about it and I find people who make rash statements, quote political ads as facts and make sweeping generalizations very frustrating.

What’s your strongest sense?

No question that my strongest sense is visual. I have good colour sense and I love to explore the smallest detail in my photographs. My husband thinks that I have selective hearing and my sense of smell is very weak. I love the taste of most foods but I’m not sure I could pass a sommelier test.

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

This is probably the question that stumped me the most. Here are a few titles that I might consider:

Learning to Appreciate the Small Things in Life

Being Loved, Giving Love, Loving to Learn

My Life – It’s Not What I Thought it Would Be

Happy Being Ordinary

Always Looking for the Next Adventure

List your favorite flavors or types of tea.

My favourite tea at the moment is a good strong orange pekoe tea from Ireland or Britain. I still enjoy a good cup of spicy Chai and in herbal teas I like anything with ginger and lemon.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I pretty much wrote about what I was grateful for from last week on Sunday so I won’t repeat what I’ve already said but if you missed it you can check it out here. One other thing I am grateful for is being able to work with such wonderful people. As you may or may not know, teachers, here in Ontario, are going through some pretty tough negotiations and we’ve been without a contract for 14 months. Everyone is getting pretty frustrated and even though we’re still in the classroom doing our jobs and still running extra-curricular activities for the kids, the media is relentless and the rumours are frightening. Needless to say tensions are high but for the most part people are supportive and forgiving.

For the rest of this week I’m looking forward to finishing up some of the art assignments in my classrooms so that I can display them in the halls and share them with you. I’m also looking forward to Hallowe’en. I have no idea what I’ll wear this year but I may go with a traditional costume. I’m glad that the 31st is on the Saturday. The weather is suppose to improve by then and I won’t have to rush home from work to carve out the pumpkin.

Here are a few more photos of the Farmers’ Market that I visited on Saturday and photos that I took on our walk.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 42

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for four more great questions

Are you usually late, early, or right on time?

It depends on the situation. For appointments I’m almost always on time or early. The only time I’m late happens if I get caught in traffic because of an accident. For parties or social events I’m sometimes ‘fashionably’ late. If I do arrive on time I find that I’m the first one there and end up waiting for others to arrive. If someone has made a reservation for a specific time I try to be there on time. For this blog post I’ve been late recently because of my circumstances in my personal life. Cee would probably say that I’ve posted this in the time frame given but when the next set of questions come out the next day I feel like I’m late.

If you were or are a writer do you prefer writing short stories, poems or novels?

I don’t know if I have the patience to write a novel. I would probably prefer a short story or a poem.

Where did you live at age ten? Is it the same place or town you live now?

When I turned ten I lived in Oakville, a small city between Toronto and Hamilton. We only lived there for four years and my father used to commute to work in Toronto every day. By today’s standards that’s not a very long commute but my father hated it and we moved back to Toronto when I started grade 5. I’ve lived here ever since.

Would you rather be able to fly or breathe under water?

I think I’d rather fly. Flying is faster than swimming and being underwater I think might be somewhat claustrophobic.

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 walks in this lovely crisp autumn weather. I love the colours. I’m grateful for a dinner and tickets to the opera, downtown, with my friend D who treated me for my birthday. My blogging friend Judith over at Curious to the Max says that after 50 you can celebrate your birthday season for as many days as you are old. So even though my birthday was in August I can still celebrate for six more days.

I’m also grateful for a fun evening with friends and colleagues from school. We went to a great sample sale, where I bought gifts for Christmas, something for my daughter and a couple of things for myself. Afterwards we had a very nice dinner in a great Italian restaurant, Caffino, in Liberty Village.

As always, I’m grateful for time spent with my family. On Saturday, my husband and I picked up our daughter, A, and her partner, J and we all drove to Hamilton to visit G and her new baby girl. My sister, CJP, drove down from Chatham and her son came in on the Go Bus from Toronto to visit as well. It was like a mini reunion.

Our little Miss Winifred is starting to show her true colours and was a little fussier than I’ve seen on previous visits but this morning after I checked in with my daughter via What’s App she reported that she was able to get more sleep last night than she’s had in awhile.

While we were in Hamilton we went for a walk and I discovered more wonderful shops. Everyone is so friendly and I spent quite a bit of time talking to the shop owners. One of the shop keepers ended up being a former student that I taught in middle school. She made the connection before I did. What a small world we live in. Shine is the name of her store.

Next week I’m looking forward to closing the cottage for the season and spending more time with Miss Winifred.

Cheers!

Share Your World 2015 – Week 41

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….she’s finally here

I waited before posting this week’s Share Your World because I didn’t want to report that the baby still hadn’t arrived. Well on Tuesday, October 13th at 10:39 in the evening my daughter, G, gave birth to a healthy 7 lb. 15 oz. baby girl. Mother and baby are doing extremely well and Dad is over the moon.

It’s been a few days since I’ve posted anything. We’ve been a little busy driving back and forth to Hamilton. So here are my answers to Cee’s questions.

What genre of music do you like?

I like lots of different styles of music. On Thursday I went to an afternoon concert and listened to chamber music but I have to admit that I am a fan of Pop and Jazz. I don’t like heavy metal or Rap music.

What is the worst thing you ate this last week?

The worst thing that I ate was a crispy chicken sandwich from Tim Horton’s. I usually like sandwiches from this food chain but we were a little suspect on how they could make such a crispy sandwich in such a short span of time. I also had a chicken breast from Swiss Chalet which is also normally very good but this one was dry. The first meal was consumed while visiting our daughter at the hospital and the second one was at the airport where my husband and I met my sister from Calgary on a 4 hour layover.

Would you like to be famous? In what way?

I don’t want to be famous. I just want to be remembered in a good light as a kind and caring person. I used to think that fame would be fun but I do like my privacy and I think that often you lose that when you’re famous.

Complete this sentence: This sandwich could really use some …

….of my husband’s mustard pickle or tomato jam. This summer my husband has experimented with some new preserves and these two are wonderful on sandwiches.

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 Thanksgiving dinner with my family but most of all for the safe delivery of our first grandchild a couple of days later. I think she’s beautiful but I’m sure all grandmothers say that of their grand babies.

In the week coming up I’m looking forward to spending more time with the new baby but I’m also in the mood for art. I need to reorganize some of my art supplies and start framing some pieces for Christmas gifts.

Thanks to my daughter, Gaelan and her husband, Brendan for letting me share these photos with you.

Introducing

Winifred Josephine

Born October 13, 2015

Share Your World 2015 – Week 40

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Mama Cormier

If you have been to a foreign country name those you have been too?

I haven’t travelled extensively but I’ve been to a few places: USA, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, and Ireland.

Is the glass half empty or half full? What type of glass is it and what is in the glass?

The glass is half full. It’s a wine glass and it contains a hardy red wine or a crisp white wine.

If you could have an endless supply of any food, what would you get?

I have to agree with Cee and say cheese. I love cheese.

List: List at least five places worth shopping.

Winners, Marshalls, Ikea, Costco, Curry’s, Chapters, Home Sense, Apple,

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 very special birthday weekend for my husband. I took him out for dinner on Friday night and on Saturday we drove to Hamilton with the girls to celebrate with my very pregnant daughter and her husband. The food all weekend was exceptional. The only thing that could have made it better would have been the arrival of our first grandchild but it wasn’t to be.

So again I’m looking forward to the birth of our daughter’s little girl. Hopefully I won’t be saying this again next week.

Cheers!

Thanks again to Cee for hosting Share Your World.

Share Your World 2015 – Week 15

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks Cee for four more interesting questions

Regarding your fridge, is it organized or a mess inside?

I’m embarrassed to say that at the moment my fridge is a mess. Over the years all the plastic shelves and drawers have broken. We looked into replacing these pieces but the cost was ridiculous, over $700.00. The fridge itself works well but It’s become increasingly difficult to keep it organized.

Have you ever been a participant in a parade? What did you do?

Why does this question sound familiar? The only parade I remember participating in occurred when I went to summer day camp and at the end of the summer or end of the session (I don’t remember) we participated in a parade where all the different city camps got together and put on a parade. I might have been in a parade when I was a girl guide. It’s all a blur now.

How do you stand out from the crowd?

I tend to have a very loud and distinctive laugh. People always say they know where I am in a building by my laugh. When I was younger I used to be the narrator in school plays and today I find myself quite comfortable being the master of ceremonies at large school gatherings.

How many bones, if any, have you broken?

I have never broken a bone. About 20 years ago I had a very bad fall. I fell from the top of our stairs to the landing below and didn’t break a thing. Apart from a slight concussion, a few abrasions and bruises my injuries were pretty minor. I think I hit my head on the way down and knocked myself unconscious so I fell I like a rag doll. Falling into a full laundry basket probably helped as well.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

This week I’m grateful for sunny weather and milder temperatures and time spent with a group of friends from high school. I’m also grateful for small accomplishments, like finally getting my solar light drilled into the brick wall over our house number. I also found time to do some sketching this week and completed 2 paintings.

This week I’m looking forward to another afternoon concert put on by the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto. My friend CL and I will be meeting for lunch and then heading downtown to the university where the concert is being held. I’m also looking forward to a new on-line lesson from the Year of the Spark, this time given by Lynn Whipple. I was also thinking of turning some of my bird sketches into paintings.