A Visit to the ‘Turrets’ With My Little Princess

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….turrets is what Winnie calls the playscape in High Park

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with my granddaughter so that her mom could spend some time with her father in the hospital. She was very excited when she found out that I was taking her to High Park.

The Jamie Bell Adventure Park was a community built playground and very popular with families. In March of 2012 the place was torched by a suspected arsonists. The community quickly rallied and raised enough money to rebuild the structures and the adventure park was reopened in August of the same year.

When Winnie and I arrived there were ‘hordes’ (the word used by Winnie) of children there enjoying the space. Even though Winnie is not yet four she didn’t let the crowds deter her from having a good time. I got quite the workout running after her so I wouldn’t lose sight of her.

The only way I could get her away from the turrets was to bribe her with ice-cream.

Afterwards we headed over to the zoo to see Fred the peacock. She calls all the peacocks Fred but unfortunately none of them were displaying their tail feathers. She did like this goat standing on the rocks overlooking his harem.

Like the goat Winnie wanted to sit up high above the rest of us and she convinced Oma to lift her up onto this massive stump on the walkway.

After a very long walk back to the car she collapsed onto the cool grass and had a wee rest.

These are the special moments that grandparents live for.

By the way, my husband was released from the hospital and is now resting at home.

Wordless Wednesday – August 21, 2019

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Lens Artist Challenge #57 – Taking a Break

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Travels and Trifles for hosting this week’s Lens Artist Challenge

Last week my daughters and I took a break from city life and spent four days at the cottage with our dogs. Frances (my dog) and Olive get along very well despite the large age difference (10 years). I’m very much a water person and love living by large bodies of water, both at home and the cottage. The cottage is on Christian Island in Georgian Bay which is part of Lake Huron. We had a wonderful time swimming, playing with the dogs and trying to put together an impossible 1000 piece puzzle of the moon.

During our stay these two lovely ladies put together the new barbecue while I read the instructions. After it was completed Josie made us a fabulous dinner on the barbecue. I do all my cooking outdoors when I’m at the cottage. Great food, lots of wine and spirits (but not too much) and time spent with friends and family; I can’t imagine a better way to ‘take a break’.

When it was all over Frances needed ‘a break’ from all that running and playing on the beach. She is after all 12 1/2.

A Week of the Blues

Posted on August 3, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Becky B for hosting the month long challenge, July Blues

I’ve been off and on to the cottage this month and it makes it difficult to post daily because I have no electricity or internet access. So I’ve saved up a batch of blue photos to share with you. The challenge is now over but Becky has compiled a gallery of blue photos that she’s worked hard to put together. Go check it out.

Sidewalk Cracks Art #4

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks to Carla Sonheim for the sidewalk cracks

Sidewalk Cracks – Art Piece #2

Posted on July 24, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….my imaginary fish

Back into Collage

Posted on July 22, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…another art project for the soul

Randomly gluing down bits of paper and then adding some marks is another very restorative way of making art. It started off as a way to patch up some pages in a sketchbook that I want to start using again. I took out pages that I didn’t like and discovered that I had to reinforce the front of the book if I didn’t want it to fall apart. Collaging the double spread with colourful bits of paper did the trick.

Art for the Soul

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….after a very long hiatus

It seems like I haven’t made art for a long time. I feel like I want to do too much and something has to go by the wayside. Unfortunately that something has been my art. Currently I’ve been very busy with baking bread twice a week at Montgomery’s Inn, lawn bowling two nights a week, taking ukulele lessons and trying to practise between lessons, going downtown to the Women’s Art Association of Canada to work in the library and trying to get up to the cottage on weekends.

My father tries to be as independent as possible but there are times that I need to drive him to doctors’ appointments, grocery shopping and the bank. Fortunately my neighbour has returned from the hospital and I no longer have to go next door to feed her cat every day. I did that for seven weeks.

This weekend I stayed home to spend more time with my husband. Unfortunately our plans to go out together didn’t pan out because he came down with a bad head cold. I am very grateful to our daughter and daughter-in-law who invited me to go to the art gallery today. It was a fun afternoon. I’ll tell you more about that in another post.

On Friday, I opened my sketchbook and took a line drawing that I started earlier in the week and filled it in with colour. It was very therapeutic.

I Can’t Believe She Ate the Whole Thing

Posted on June 9, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….it seems that my granddaughter is going through a growth spurt

I was blessed this weekend to have my daughter and granddaughter stay with us for the weekend. On Friday they will be moving to the summer camp that my son-in-law is in charge of and unless I go up there during the summer there’s little chance of seeing them for the next two months. Hopefully I will find the time to drive up and spend a day or two, here and there over the summer months.

So this weekend was very special to me. We started the day with lunch on the deck and Winnie enjoyed a sandwich, juice and strawberries. She discovered that dipping strawberries into almond butter made for a tasty treat.

After lunch Mommy left to visit a friend for a couple of hours so Winnie and I walked up to the Lakeshore where a grilled cheese festival was taking place. Before we got there she was already declaring that she was hungry again so the first thing we did was purchase a grilled cheese sandwich. She didn’t eat it all but she did want to take it home (which she finished later). Then we went to the yarn store and the owner kindly offered both of us a drink of juice with ‘strawberries’ in it. Of course Winnie loved it.

When we left the yarn store Winnie once again said she was hungry so we headed towards the ice-cream store. She ordered a ‘strawberry’ cone and I had a cup of ‘sweet cream’. Her cone had a very generous scoop of ice-cream for a kiddie cone but she had no problem finishing the whole thing.

In between all the treats Winnie bounced around in the Bouncy Castle and played several games where she earned some coupons for a few small prizes. All in all it was a wonderful afternoon that I will always cherish.

The Garden is Taking Shape

Posted on May 27, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….unlike other years this one is in before July

When I was working our garden sometimes didn’t get planted until the end of June or later. This year, thanks to a burst of energy, my husband was eager to get the seeds and plants in for his vegetable boxes. I’m in charge of the flowers.

The weather has finally shifted and it’s been comfortable enough to work outside in the garden. The soil is no longer swimming in water and is finally dry enough for planting. The family who cuts our grass also seeded it a few weeks ago and it’s looking very lush and healthy. Two evenings this week it’s been warm enough to eat supper on the deck and I’ve been enjoying my morning coffee outside.

Today’s dinner started with this amazing burrata, roasted peaches, prosciutto, tomato and arugula salad.