A Perfect Weekend to Lay a New Floor at the Cottage

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Mama Cormier

…it pretty much rained the entire weekend

For years I’ve wanted to put down a nice light coloured vinyl floor in the cottage. When the flooring went on sale I quickly snatched it up and started to put it down by myself a couple of weeks ago. I bought a very small amount to see how easily it would come together and decided that with a little bit of help it was a doable project. So, last week after coming back from the cottage I returned to the store and bought 10 more boxes.

After two solid days of work we managed to lay down all the flooring we had. It was hard work but very rewarding. I’m still recuperating two days later.

B2-CAF034-0-CF3-4-E93-85-BF-EF8-FB94434-BC — *Our daughter who lives out east calls these Storm Chips…perfect snack on a rainy day*

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The other good thing that happened this weekend is that we purged a lot of items that were on an old handmade open cupboard that was meant to be temporary (kept it for over 30 years) and we cleaned out the old storage bins under the counters. We made room in the antique oak cupboard and filled it with some of the dishes from the old cupboard. The remaining items went into the new storage boxes for now. We took the old shelf outside. It looks so much better.

Happy Father’s Day at the Cheltenham Badlands

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Mama Cormier

…a sunny warm day

When our daughter invited us to join her and her wife at the Cheltenham Badlands, I thought we were driving there to look, take a few photos and then drive over to Spirit Tree for lunch. When we arrived at the parking lot we discovered that they were hiking on the Bruce Trail and were about 30 minutes away from us. They suggested that we get on the trail and walk towards them. Luckily I had on walking shoes but my pants were way too warm. Nonetheless we made the short hike, met them and then hiked back toward the Badlands.

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After a short walk back to the car we drove to the Spirit Tree Estate Cidery. We found a shady area under a tent and ordered cider and wood oven baked pizza.

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Silent Sunday – June 18, 2023

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RDP Tuesday – Indefatiguable

Posted on May 23, 2023 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to the Ragtag community for hosting RDP Tuesday https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2023/05/23/rdp-tuesday-indefatigable/

There are days when I feel like the Energizer Bunny. I can keep going and going but I do eventually crash ….for days after. Kids and animals never seem to get tired or at least that’s what they want us to think. I also have two marathon runners in the family. My husband ran marathons in his 20s and 30s and years later our oldest daughter started running marathons. She gets better with every race. They also never seem to tire during a race.

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6237-E5-EA-26-F2-4-E35-9-B4-D-8-D6-E2-A0-CBD34-1-201-a — *Olive could play all day but we know that she can* *overdo it*

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44-F9-C50-B-B40-F-4-ED5-942-A-93302-FDDFFD8 — *Winnie is constantly on the move*

D86-FC0-A6-3-C76-4606-B518-A28-A081-B9-D73 — *…and so is her younger cousin*

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D83-C6355-AEEF-40-BE-877-D-A4-E05973-F309 — *….but eventually they both crash*

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4342-C11-A-69-F1-4461-93-F1-F8-EF44233-F5-E — *These young athletes never seem to tire either*

Back in my Happy Place

Posted on May 13, 2023 by Mama Cormier

…after three years

You might think that my ‘happy’ place would be my studio and you would be right but on Wednesday I returned to baking bread at Montgomery’s Inn after a three year hiatus, due to COVID. Three of us were back from the original group and one other staff member spent the morning prepping dough, heating up the outdoor oven and shaping the dough.

This week and next week we’re preparing bread, not to sell but as a trial run for the big event in two weeks when the Farmers’ Market goes back outside. Routines and procedures slowly came back to us as we went through the process. A few times we asked what some pieces of equipment were used for and we had to search the inn for some crucial items. When we couldn’t find them we put them on the list to purchase. Back in the winter the inn had a flood so we think that some things were thrown away.

In the end we successfully baked 30 loaves of bread that we gave away this week to the staff and some of the vendors at the market. We had a fun day and I think that all of us found our ‘happy’ place once again. Can you tell from my selfie?

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Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge – Enliven

Posted on April 29, 2023 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Sue W and GC for hosting weekly promptshttps://weeklyprompts.com/2023/04/29/weekly-prompts-weekend-challenge-enliven/

I feel enlivened with all the new growth after winter and even with the rain because I know that with it comes more growth and lush greens and colours. Walking also enlivens me, rain or shine.

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More Work in my Needle and Thread Series

Posted on April 28, 2023 by Mama Cormier

…two more small pieces and two larger ones

A while back I told you about wanting to honour my past with art that reflected my family’s influence on my Joy of Making. My great great aunt and her family on my mother’s side used to own a very successful business where they made and sold ladies leather gloves in the early 1900s, in Germany. Old photos of my great, great grandparents clearly depicted how important fashion was to them and of course looking one’s best at all times.

My mother taught me how to hand sew, make clothes, embroider and knit. Later in life I worked for a needlecraft company in my spare time and taught other women the art of needle crafting, like cross-stitch and needlepoint and I worked at the community school teaching people how to knit.

The following works are collage and mixed media with some hand stitching or implied hand stitching.

C6004081-405-C-4-F08-B22-E-6-BDF8980-DE45-1-201-a — *“Stitched With Love”, 8″x10″ matted and framed*

73-B745-EB-59-DA-431-D-AC4-B-333-C66-B9-B8-FD-1-201-a — *“A Stitch in Time…”, 11″x14″ matted and framed*

4-D7-FC0-B4-B601-45-C4-B144-9-ADBEA9-C0-B5-B-1-201-a — “*Tante Paula, 1910″,11″x14″ matted and framed*

0-E6-DD20-B-1710-4891-9-C30-C41-C55-EF31-E8-1-201-a — *“Brocade”, 8″x10″ matted and framed*

Starting a New Piece and……

Posted on April 16, 2023 by Mama Cormier

….poured too much paint

I hate wasting paint. I remember an artist saying that she never threw left over paint away. Instead she took a fresh canvas and applied all the leftover paint to it and then later created a new painting working intuitively.

I had poured so much blue paint onto my palette that I ended up completely covering three small, 6″x6″ canvases and one 12″x12″ canvas. When they dried I decided to experiment on the larger square canvas and play with painting lavender flowers. Before I did that though I did paint the sky for my second 15″x30″ piece.