Silent Sunday – August 10, 2025

Posted on August 10, 2025 by Mama Cormier

First Breakfast at the Cottage

Posted on June 30, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…June 30, 2025

I arrived at my cottage for the first time this season. Knowing we were going to be in London for a month I hired two young men (friends of the family) to go to the cottage and open it up, tidy, sweep, wipe down counters and set up the deck furniture and build me a railing for the deck. It was the best money I ever spent.

When I arrived I only had to make up my bed, cover the couches, start the fridge and put away the food. Today I will do a deeper clean of the cupboards and give all the dishes a quick wash.

This morning I made my first thermos of filter coffee and prepared oatmeal with fresh Ontario strawberries, drizzled with wildflower honey, cream and cinnamon. Yum!

Our Last Day in London

Posted on June 17, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…watching Sevin at her school’s Sports Day and a feast with family at a Turkish restaurant

After packing my bags this morning I headed over to Finsbury Park to watch my granddaughter, Sevin, participate in the school’s Sports Day.

All the classes were divided into colours. Sevin was on the red team. As a former teacher I have to say that the activities were very well organized and the parents were well behaved. Everyone supported each other and cheered on all the participants including the children that were consistently last. It warmed my heart to see and hear the praise for all the children.

The games were also fun and the emphasis was on having a good time.

After standing in the sun for two hours I headed back towards our flat and met Kevin in the local pub where we enjoyed a light lunch.

In the afternoon we finished packing, picked up a few essentials for the flight, booked an Uber for 4:30 in the morning and tidied up the flat.

Being our last night in London Brendan wanted us to experience a Turkish meal. We got on the bus on Green Lane and headed north.

The food was delicious and we ordered the perfect amount. Farewell London. See you again in October.

Discovering Islington Square

Posted on June 13, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…after passing it several times when riding on the bus

Today we walked from our flat to Upper Street. In the last three weeks on several occasions we took the bus to Angel Station or beyond. Little did we know what we were missing. We took our time and checked out stores that looked interesting.

On our journey we discovered Islington Square. Originally it was North London’s old postal sorting office. Now it houses interesting places to shop and dine, an exclusive health club, and an Odeon Lux amidst residential options.

https://www.islingtonsquare.com/about

A little ways up the street we found a quaint Italian restaurant, Terra Rossa. https://terrarossa-restaurant.co.uk/terra-rossa-islington/

We had a lovely lunch of salad and pizza.

A Trip to the Seaside

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…Leigh on Sea

My mystery destination was a train trip to the seaside today. It almost didn’t happen because we couldn’t find the train station. We used Google Maps and when we arrived at our destination there was no train station. We tried going in the other direction and we asked at least three strangers where C2C was. No one knew and when they checked Google Maps they kept sending us back in the same direction.

We finally stopped at a pub for an early lunch and I googled train stations. Eureka! We were so close but it wasn’t near C2C. We decided to give it one more go and in a few minutes we found our destination.

We purchased tickets for Leigh on Sea and had a comfortable train trip to the seaside. Once we arrived it was a short downhill walk to the quaint town. We checked out a few stores and I explored the tiny museum.

Leigh Heritage Centre stands in the centre of the old town in the old Smithy. Over the centuries the building has been owned by several people and had a variety of uses. Now home to a photographic display tracing Leigh’s local history, and a treasure trove for all connected to Leigh-on-Sea.(from the website)

I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the cottage attached to the centre.

At the end of the road we came to the beach. As far as beaches go it was pretty small but several families and couples were enjoying the sand and the sun. Kevin and I found a bench and we took in some rays.

Before heading back to the train we stopped for a cold drink.

Wordless Wednesday – June 11, 2025

Posted on June 11, 2025 by Mama Cormier

A Surprise Visit to Abby Road

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…then lunch in a pub and a walk through Hyde Park

Kevin decided to surprise me with a secret itinerary into central London today. We walked to the Arsenal Station and took the Piccadilly line to Green Park and then transferred onto the Jubilee line. Three stops later we got off at St. John’s Wood.

As we started walking Kevin hesitated for a moment and checked his phone for directions. A kind man asked if we were looking for Abby Road. Our destination was no longer a surprise but I was very moved by Kevin’s plan. He knows that I was and still am a big Beatles fan.

The actual studio is heavily guarded but there is a gift shop that is open to the public.

We considered going to some of the other iconic Beatles landmarks but they were all very far apart and not easy to walk to so we opted to get some lunch instead.

We headed to Bakers Street and had a nice meal at the Allsop Arms. I had the steak sandwich and lemonade and Kevin had the chicken BLT and a non alcoholic Peroni.

The forecasted rain held off and we made our way south to Hyde Park. We entered from the north east side and continued along the path towards the Serpentine Lake. As we got closer to the lake we were happy to see benches to rest our weary feet.

After a short rest we continued heading south to the south end of Hyde Park.

On the way out of the park I saw the rose garden and suggested to Kevin that he could rest some more while I quickly checked out the flowers.

All in all it was a great outing and when we got home Brendan cooked us dinner and Sevin set up her hairdressing parlour and gave Oma and Big Papa a makeover. If our son shares his photos with me I might share them with you. All I can say is that it was crazy fun and there was a lot of laughing.

Judy’s Number Game Challenge

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Judy Dykstra-Brown for hosting the Numbers Game Photo Challenge https://judydykstrabrown.com/2025/06/08/the-numbers-game-75-please-play-along/

This weeks number is 197. If you want to participate just type this number into the search box on your photo page. It’s fun to see what pops up.

A Walk Through Camden Passage in Angel

Posted on June 6, 2025 by Mama Cormier

…closer to home

We didn’t want to go too far afield today because we had to pick up Sevin from school. After a good hearty breakfast at the flat we headed out to catch the #4 bus to Islington Green.

We stopped in Waterstones bookstore to look around and purchased a couple of paperbacks. After that we were desperate for a coffee and we stopped at the same coffee kiosk that we went to the last time we were here. Once we were satisfactorily caffeinated we continued our journey down Camden Passage.

We stopped in a great cheese store and purchased some yummy cheeses made in Britain. One of the cheeses, the cheddar to be exact came from a dairy in Devon. The cheese monger told us that he had been to that dairy and he claimed that the owner knew her cheese as well as she knew her cows. She has a herd of over 100 cows and she has named each one.