A Trip to St. Jacobs

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….a great farmers’ market and lovely small town

Last Saturday the forecast wasn’t great for an outing but that didn’t stop hundreds of people from going to the Farmers’ Market in St. Jacob.

We were actually quite surprised how busy the parking lot was and then we were surprised by how many people didn’t wear masks. Coming from Toronto, we are used to wearing masks and seeing the older people in the crowd not wearing them was quite shocking to us.

On the positive side, people were socially distancing and there were barriers and directional signs to help customers move along safely through the market.

We met up with friends, who are also from Toronto and walked through the market together. There were a lot of great deals on bulk purchases so we split the cost on some items and shared the bounty. Before leaving the market, Max shared some of the freshly made apple fritters with us. I can see why they were a must have item for him.

Dining in here is still a no go in Ontario but it is about to change for some areas later in the week. After buying a variety of fruits and vegetables and meats we parted ways. Max and Monica returned to Toronto and Kevin and I decided to drive north to the town of St. Jacobs and explore a bit.

St. Jacobs is a popular location for tourists due to its quaint village appearance, retail focus and Mennonite heritage. Waterloo Region is still home to the largest population of Old Order Mennonites in Canada, particularly in the areas around St Jacobs and Elmira.

We did see some Mennonites at the market but not in town. The first place we stopped at was the local craft brewery called Block 3.

I loved this wall of mugs where local customers had their own personal mug for drinking beer. We sampled a few beers but because it was raining and we couldn’t sit outside we purchased a dozen to drink at home.

After loading up the car we started to venture out to the main street but I ended up going alone while Kevin waited in the car. (purely for health reasons). I could have spent a much longer time looking through the stores but I knew that my time was limited so I chose one store in particular to explore.

Lens Artist Photo Challenge – Summer

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Amy for hosting this week’s Lens Artist Photo Challenge

Summer is different this year. So far I’ve spent all of it in the city. I miss the Island and hope to get up there soon.

Even lawn bowling looks different this year.

Swimming off the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto

Growing vegetables in our backyard garden

Farmers’ Markets have opened again

Enjoying a meal on the deck in the backyard.

Friendly Friday – Nostalgia

Posted on July 3, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Amanda for hosting this week’s Friendly Friday

Everyone once in awhile Facebook or my Photo Stream appear on my phone and remind me of events that took place in the past. It seems that I have done a most of my travelling in July which isn’t really unusual because the summer was the only time I could get away as a teacher.

Here are a few of my favourite moments from the past.

My husband when I first met him in 1972.

Our daughter’s wedding day, 9/10/11

Hiking up the cliff side in Houth, Ireland 2011

Can you believe this is the same guy but 30 years younger?

My Dad meeting his first great grandchild, Winnie.

At Andrea’s and Josie’s wedding

Travelling with our daughter and granddaughter in Italy, July 2016

The family at Azadeh’s and Brendan’s wedding in Assisi, July 2016

Venice with my husband in July 2020

Gaelan, Winnie and me in Florence in July 2020

Visiting Brendan and Azadeh in London with the girls, 2018

Touring the neighbourhoods of London with Andrea and Josie, 2018

Wordless Wednesday – July 1, 2020

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….happy Birthday Canada

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Comfort Food

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Sandy for hosting this week’s Friendly Friday Photo Challenge

Comfort foods during COVID-19 have caused me to gain at least six pounds. Despite walking an average 13 000 steps a day comfort foods which are high in carbs are my downfall.

My husband, when he’s feeling okay, has found a renewed love of cooking. I don’t complain and I enjoy what he prepares immensely. The best meals are the ones we work on together. Here are some of my favourite comfort foods that we’ve enjoyed over the last 10 weeks.

Raisin Scones

Homemade Bread

Roast Pork and Mashed Cauliflower

Homemade Pizza

Lemon Pasta with Pancetta

Cowboy Cookies

Breakfast made by Kevin (vegetable hash under a fried egg)

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – A Sense of Tasting

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Cee for hosting The Fun Foto Challenge

Is anyone else as obsessed with food as I am during COVID-19? I suspect that most of us are if all the posts and Tweets and Facebook entries are any indication. We all started with a fetish for baking bread and then buying yeast and flour became a challenge. When we discovered that we could still buy bread and our waistlines were beginning to expand we backed off the bread baking craze for awhile (fresh baked bread is so much more tempting than store bought).

Many people were more concerned with having enough alcohol in the house. We’re not huge drinkers but I have to admit that I bought into the need for wine at the beginning and braved going out to buy several bottles. I wasn’t comfortable going into such a busy place even though the distancing rules were being followed. I wiped down all the bottles as soon as I got home.

Now that the those bottles are long gone I decided to try and order wine on line from two of our local wineries and my husband ordered beer from a local craft brewery. Both arrived within days and much faster than our grocery orders.

One way to combat boredom is to try and make our meals more interesting. My husband is the cook and I’m the baker. I haven’t done a lot of baking but I’m itching to do more. On the other hand my husband has made some fabulous meals during all of this. Here are just a few.

30 Day at Home Challenge – Day 14

Posted on April 14, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…I’ve finally caught up….today’s theme is Family

Thanks to Leanne Cole for hosting this fun challenge. Today we are suppose to photograph a family member. Since my husband and I are the only ones in our house right now, besides the dog, I decided to share this photo. I took this on the weekend when I was feeling particularly sad. He brought a smile to my face while he was doing what he loves to do….cook for me.

Care Package for a Four Year Old

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….every other day my husband and I have been making art for our granddaughter

Earlier in the week our daughter asked the family to send mail to her daughter because she was missing her family and friends. Kevin and I quickly pulled out our art supplies and started to make fun pictures and booklets. Winnie is very much looking forward to Easter so most of our projects have an Easter theme.

In our first package I made a video of what we put in the envelope but my storage space is full with WordPress so I can’t post it here. Those of you who follow me on Facebook may have seen that video. For the second envelope I made another video but I also made photographs.

Winnie and her Mom want to decorate the house for Easter so I made a bunch of hand painted Easter eggs on watercolour paper and Kevin drew her some more bunny pictures. So much fun. We hope she gets them soon. In the meantime I’ve been finding classic children’s stories on Youtube and have sent her the link so that she gets a story or two a day sent by her Oma (that’s me). She loved Strega Nona and The Emperor’s New Clothes.

Walking and More Baking During Covid-19

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….at times the streets are empty and it’s an eerie feeling

Today, however, was a beautiful sunny day. The dog walkers were all out and mostly they were alone with their pet. A few people that were walking together were clearly couples who were probably cooped up all day together anyway.

Everyone was very respectful of the acceptable distance between people and when someone came down the street in my direction, either I or the other person stepped off the sidewalk and continued walking on the road. Funny how a few months ago this would have seemed anti-social and weird.

Even in the grocery store people go about their business quickly. People seem to know what they need and they spend as little time as possible in the store. In my local grocery store there are no empty shelves and there was a lot of toilet paper today. The cashiers are all separated from the customers by plexiglass shields at the cash and they all wore gloves. There was tape fixed to the floor with six feet between strips and people observed the social distancing rules.

As soon as I got home I washed my hands, something that I’ve always done but now I’m super diligent about it.

The other thing that both my husband and I have started doing again is bake. Today we started the dough for bread that we will bake tomorrow and while I was in the mood I made an almond cake. We had the cake for dessert tonight with some strawberries and cream. Being aware of the Corona 15 (the 15 pounds that many people will gain during this pandemic) we ate only one slice and then I froze the rest for another day.

30 Day Creativity Challenge – Day 19

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Rainee for hosting the 30 Day Creativity Challenge\

I’ve been making art with my granddaughter again and making pizza with her. I’ve always loved her free style but she does have a vision and you don’t want to tamper with that. That was clearly evident when she decided to make her pizza in the shape of a ‘stop sign’. The adults kept wanting her to add cheese to her creation but she refused and when they didn’t listen she had a melt down. Oma and Papa to the rescue. Lots of dough left over so we started again. Here are our efforts from last Sunday.

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