Celebrating Easter With a Beautiful Table, Great Food and Family

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. the only day we could get most of the family together was for Good Friday

When your children grow up and leave the nest to begin their lives with their own partners getting together for the holidays can sometimes be difficult. Our children now have two families to consider when planning where their time will be spent for celebrations. This year Easter Sunday coincided with a special anniversary and a baby shower was being hosted on Saturday. Consequently the only day that suited everyone involved was Good Friday.

I’ve been down for the count all week with a viral respiratory infection and have spent much of my time searching for easy fun ways to decorate our table for our Easter lunch. I didn’t have to go far or search too long before I found inspiration in the form of paper tulip dishes that would greet each guest as they sat down to eat. The idea came from my daughter’s wedding blog over at Uschi and Kay

For instructions go to:

DIY Paper Tulip Dish

For the other table decorations my inspiration came from Kate’s Creative Space. This woman’s creativity blows me away. I love her blog.

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it before but my husband is a great cook and he planned, shopped and prepared the entire meal by himself. Last night he prepared the Ham, Peas and Rice Stuffed Phyllo Logs and Fresh Strawberry Pie. Today he continued prepping the Melon and Grape Salad with Basil Yogurt, baked the logs and prepared the Asparagus and Fresh Beans.

At the end of the day each of my daughters took home one of the mini daffodil plants, the paper tulip dish and a slew of chocolate and candy Easter Eggs. It was a lovely day. We had a few laughs, we talked to our son in Rotterdam via Skype, we sat on the deck and I didn’t cough too much. Happy, happy, happy!

Update

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….got to school and was promptly sent home

I really thought I would be okay to go back to work today but my cough gave me away. I no sooner stepped through the doors of the school this morning when I met up with my principal and she immediately sent me home. I can’t say I was unhappy about going home. It’s easy when someone makes the decision for you.

In hind sight it was the right decision. If anything my cough has gotten worse instead of better. I’ve been drinking tea with honey and lemon all day. It’s hard for me to sit all day so I found myself vacuuming and washing the floors in the basement and doing a couple loads of laundry. After that I sat down and did a lot of reading. When I got tired of that I went on the computer and searched for a video that made me smile. I love music and art and this video has both. It’s beautifully made. Enjoy!

Who Knew?

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….how much work it is being part of a studio audience

The fact that I came down with the flu the day before probably didn’t help. For weeks I had been looking forward to being part of a studio audience for the Steven and Chris Show and after arranging the time off (that’s another story) I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. I medicated myself with cold and flu medicine and made sure I got a good night’s sleep.

I parked the car in the car park about 1.6k away because I missed the walk with the dog this morning and last night I had to pass on the walk. At least I got one walk in yesterday. After walking back to the car I got a total 3.3 k in. Happy about that!

My view on the way to the studio.

Once in the studio, we had to rehearse how to clap and cheer and keep smiling. Do you know how hard that is? The show was entertaining but my friend D who came with me had it right when she said that the hosts talk more to the TV audience than to the actual audience in the studio. At times it was difficult to see what was happening on the floor because there were so many cameras in front of us.

Between vignettes there were lots of prop and scene changes. During that time staff members from the show kept us entertained with draws, games and interviews with audience members. Chris, one of the hosts, was also sick and I felt for him. He was a trooper but he avoided contact with the audience at the end of the show. All in all we were there for about 2 1/2 hours for a one hour show.

Would I do it again? I’m not sure I would go back to the same show unless I knew they had a special guest coming. Apparently if I follow the show on FaceBook they make those announcements ahead of time. I would go to different show. I’ve already applied to be on the Marilyn Denis Show. This show airs Friday, April 5th.

After lunch I walked back to the car and I really started to feel achy again and the cough started up again. I phoned into work and asked them to retain my supply teacher so I could take one more day off. When I got home I went straight to bed. I’ve also started my lemon tea and honey regime. Rest, rest and more rest.

I wrote this post last night but didn’t publish until today because I couldn’t upload my photographs. Has anyone else had this problem? No problem today. Hmmmm?

A Cacophony of Bird Noises

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Mama Cormier

… at 6:30 this morning

My Happiness File: Day 12

Finding things to be happy about this week has been tricky. The first day of Spring arrived but the temperatures were cold and it snowed all week. Our dog Frances has been feeling somewhat under the weather so I didn’t get out for our evening walks this week.

Today Frances woke me at 6:30 to take her outside. When we stepped into the cold March morning we were greeted by birds squawking, screeching and making quite the rukus. It was so loud that Frances just stood there looking off in the distance trying to see where the noise was coming from. She never did do anything and after standing there in my pyjamas in the cold I decided to bring her back inside. I knew that this cacophony of bird sounds was a sure sign of spring so I found myself smiling despite the cold.

Later that morning my husband decided that we needed to take Frances to see the vet. Earlier in the week she suffered with vomiting and constant diarrhea and today she couldn’t go at all. When we got to the vets’ office she was full of vitality, not the same puppy we had experienced all week. Anyway, $200.00 later, armed with special gastro intestinal food and antibiotics we left the office with one happy dog. Update: she hates the one medicine, loves the ‘canned’ food and appears to be back to normal.

The upside to her feeling better is that we went back to our evening walk. I really did miss it and I feel so much better for it. Happy!

The other happy moment (yesterday – I didn’t finish this post last night) is that the sun came out. I was checking some studies about how sunshine and happiness are related and apparently people in countries where they don’t see the sun as often as other parts of the world are actually happier overall. I have my own theory about that. When Canadians and other more northerly countries actually do see the sun we’re so grateful when it happens that we become doubly happy. I can imagine that in countries where the sun shines all the time people tend to take it for granted.

Here is the perfect song for the end of winter.

Enjoy the sun. Cheers!

Three Reasons to be Happy!

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Mama Cormier

It’s Friday!

Yeah the weekend has arrived!

Hope it’s a good one for everybody.

Cheers!

Day 11

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..here are 3 pieces of art that I finished today

Doing art puts in me in a zen state of mind. I’m totally into what I’m doing and I lose all sense of time. I like to create examples of art that I can share with my students or leave for supply teachers to use when they have to cover one of my art classes. There have been times when I’ve gone to school despite being sick because the art project we were working on was too complicated or too messy for an occasional teacher to have to deal with.

Lately I’ve across some interesting, fun and very doable projects that I can leave for a supply teacher. Here are the samples I’ve been working on. The first one I’m actually doing with some of my classes right now. It’s a still life that the students outline in crayon and then fill in with watercolour. The wax crayon creates a resist which prevents the paints from running into one another. The idea came from Be Creative Mary.

The next two projects are perfectly suited for a supply teacher. Both ideas came from Artisan des Arts

If you need instructions for any of these projects check out the blogs where I got therm from. Cheers to creating art!

Grade Two Masterpieces

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..children’s art always puts me in a happy mood

Happiness File – Day 10

Today in my grade 2/3 art class we critiqued the art work done by the grade 2s. You may recall seeing some of the finished monochromatic abstract art pieces that I posted a couple of weeks ago. We discussed what worked and where some of the pieces could use some tweaking to make them better. Many of the students took their pieces back and added some more detail and then signed their work. Here are some more of their masterpieces.

Two of my happy moments happened today in my art class. The first was how willingly my students listened to the critiques and then actually took some of the suggestions to heart. The second moment was watching my students tackle the drawing assignment I assigned. Some found it difficult but after showing them some simple techniques they started to create some very beautiful designs. I’m really looking forward to their finished still life paintings.

Tonight I had book club and we discussed the book The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I love the time spent with good friends. We don’t always agree on how much we enjoy a book but the discussions are always lively and friendly as we defend our positions. I enjoy the circus and I really liked the book so I tended to give it a higher rating than some of my fellow book club members who don’t like the circus and weren’t as enamoured with the book as I was.

If you like fantasy and magic, I recommend this book. Reading a good book can increase your happiness quotient.

Cheers!

My Happiness File – Day 9

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. back to work … March Break is over

Some people may think that there isn’t much happiness in going back to work. As much as I loved the time off to rest and spend time with my husband I really do like my job and as soon as I walked through the school doors this morning I was greeted by people that I really care about.

The grade ones who came to see me this morning love being in the library. It makes my job so much easier when they’re enthusiastic about hearing a story and taking out books. It makes me smile when some of them want to do my job and scan the books in and out of the library. Today a small group of them worked very cooperatively together and there was no fighting over who got to use the scanner.

This afternoon I decided to bring my art class to the library. I really wanted to do print making with the six grade fours in the 3/4 class. I need water for this activity and their portable classroom doesn’t have a sink. The library on the other hand does have one in the office and there is a section of floor that is tiled so if ink gets spilled it’s easy to clean up. The grade 3s in that class are still sewing their quilts so they were able to spread out in the library and find a quiet spot to do their stitching. It wasn’t a perfect situation but the grade 4s finally produced some great prints and the oohs and aahs that came from their mouths when they pulled their plates made the experience worth the effort and the chaos we had to endure. I’ll post some photos of their prints tomorrow.

Finally I got to see the finale of The Biggest Loser tonight. I’m a big fan and I really liked all the contestants this season. It was great seeing how well all the players who had been eliminated early in the game had done at home. Gives me hope in my own weight loss journey.

Cheers!

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. this bread made everyone happy today

Happiness Files – Day 8

I was prepared to add raisin and currents to my bread today until I read that traditional Irish soda bread has only 5 ingredients: flour, baking soda, sugar, salt and buttermilk

4 cups (1000 mL) all-purpose flour

1tablespoon (15 mL) sugar

1 tsp. (5 mL) salt

1 tsp. (5 mL) baking soda

2 cups (500 mL) buttermilk

1. Thoroughly mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Nothing is worse than biting into a clump of baking soda. Make a well in the middle.

2. Pour the buttermilk into the centre and then using your hands move the flour into the liquid and mix together until all the ingredients come together.

3. Using your hands gently knead the dough a couple of times until you form a nice smooth ball.

4. Place the loaf on a lightly greased cookie sheet and with a sharp knife cut a deep cross through the middle of the loaf.

5. Bake the bread in a 425 degree oven for 35 minutes. Cool on a rack.

6. Slice and serve with butter.

Dinner today consisted of a beet, wilted greens, and feta salad. I used the beets and steamed greens that I prepared last night. I added feta cheese, a splash of olive oil and freshly ground pepper and salt. I felt like I was in a fancy restaurant enjoying a gourmet salad.

The main course was the Guinness Irish stew and a dollop of champ (mashed potatoes with sliced green onions) that my husband made. It was amazing.

Before dessert we took the dogs, Lucy and Frances, for a nice long walk to help burn some of the calories from the stew and make room our fresh berries and cream and hot steaming coffee.

Here are 5 more reasons why I had a happy day today. Bringing people who love each other together to enjoy a meal, regardless of the occasion, is always a happy moment. Sharing food with people who appreciate your efforts is very rewarding. Hope you had a lovely day, whether you were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day or just enjoying a regular Sunday.

Kevin enjoying a Guinness with his Irish stew.

Cheers!

My Happiness File – Day 7

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. one step closer to getting my life organized

Being organized and having a place for everything makes me happy. Today I cleaned out every drawer in my dresser and filled a garbage bag with clothes that have gotten too big for me or I just don’t wear anymore. Even my husband let me bag some of his old clothes. Amazing!

We did a huge vegetable shopping today. I’m reading an interesting book that recommends you cook all your vegetables the day that you buy them and then they’re ready for the entire week. It was a lot of work but my fridge is now stocked with prepared side dishes for seven days. I roasted a head of cauliflower, 2 bunches of broccoli, 6 beets, 2 sweet potatoes, and 1 winter squash. I cleaned and steamed a bunch of kale, beet greens and dandelion leaves and with the stems, leaves and cores I made a pesto. Very satisfying. I love trying new things. The book is called An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler.

: Steamed greens

I bought my husband a new wooden cutting board today. Our old one had split in two and K really misses having a large wooden board to work from. When my husband is happy, I’m happy.

Cheers!