…thanks to Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Pairs
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Category Archives: husband
Monster Monday and Tuesday’s Rabbit
….as I promised
I’m happy to share my husband’s wonderful drawings that he does every day of the week for our granddaughter, Winnie. Monday’s always feature monsters and Friday’s feature fish. So far the rest of the week doesn’t have themes but I can see that changing.
Art From Another Corner of the House
….even though I haven’t found time to make art in the last 6 weeks my husband has
For about a year now my husband has been making cartoon drawings every day for our granddaughter. Certain days have themes like Monster Monday and Fishy Fridays. For this past Christmas Winnie gave her Papa a set of markers so that he could add more colour to his drawings.
When I first met Kevin, back at University, he had just finished a graphic design program at his local college and he worked as a graphic designer for the Ministry of Agriculture. When he switched careers in his mid 30s I was a little sad that he gave up his art but his job was changing with the times and computers were the way to go in the graphic design business. Unfortunately the first computers were very expensive and with a young family to think about he switched careers and his artistic side was put on the back burner.
Over the year I’ve seen his confidence grow and his drawings are developing a unique style of their own. This past week he’s gotten a bit of a head start on his drawings and he’s created six birds and a rabbit. Winnie loves to name them or she asks her Papa to give them names, which she often declares are silly. Here are his latest creations.
III’d love to create a children’s book around some of these characters.
Happy Birthday Frances
….December 13, 2018
I can’t believe that our dog, Frances is already 12 years old. We got her as a puppy from our daughter when she got a new job that made it impossible for her to properly train a new puppy. Frances immediately became my husband’s dog. It was love at first sight.
Over the years Frances has brought us a lot of joy. She’s a strange mix and whenever people ask about her breed they’re surprised by the answer. To the best of our knowledge she’s a cross between an Australian Sheppard and a Dachshund.
Here are a few photos of her over the last 12 years.
Pic and a Word Challenge – Steps
….thanks to Pic and a Word Challenge for this week’s theme – Steps
Every day I walk
Ten thousand steps, sometimes more
Sometimes less – feels good
London Day 5 – Just the Two of Us
….after 4 days with Mom and Papa we decided to give the girls a break
Today Kevin and I ventured out on our own while Andrea and Josie did their own thing. We got on the Tube and made our way to the Bloomsbury District of London. The Tube by the way is the name of London’s subway system because it is shaped like a tube.
- The Underground is divided into nine zones: central London is covered by zone 1.
- There are 11 Tube lines.
- The Tube fare depends on how far you travel, time of day, and how you pay.
The Underground platforms lie anywhere from 41m to 58m below street level. The longest escalator at the Angel station is 60 m or 200 ft. long. All day long the PA system sends out PSAs warning people about the dangers on the escalators and advising commuters to keep to the right side.
The first stop we made on this day was at the British Museum. We were there in the middle of the week and so were hundreds of school children. This museum was built in 1753 and is a public institution dedicated to human history, art and culture.
Some of the objects that we saw included Japanese art forms from Manga cartoons to wood cut prints and sculptures made from clay, bronze and glass.
We also visited the Iraq display where we saw the Cyrus Cylinder.
We passed on seeing the Rosetta Stone because there was a class of children in the line ahead of us and my husband just wanted to leave at that point. We made our way across the street and decided to grab some lunch at a pub.
One of our biggest disappointments in London was the lack of independent pubs. Many of the pubs belong to a chain called Greene King and when you walk into one it is pretty obvious that it is part of the chain. It seems they all have the same menu and alcohol selection. The first one we ate in was situated across the street from the museum. The food was good but later during our trip we found it difficult to find a pub with a different menu.
Around the block from the pub we discovered this wonderful art gallery called the Contemporary Ceramic Centre. We were immediately drawn to the window by the display of Sophie Favre’s figurative sculptures. At the front and back of the gallery dozens of her animated sculptures greeted us with their human-like qualities.
These creatures certainly brought a smile to my face.
A Wonderful Memory Turned Sour This Week
….disturbing news leaves a bad taste in our mouths
Last week my husband and I took a wonderful trip to Prince Edward County. One of the things that my husband wanted to do was experience the pizza at one of the more famous wineries in the area. On the first day we discovered that the pizza oven was not prepped for baking and we would have to come back the next day. No problem. We would return the next day. In the meantime we sampled some of their excellent wines.
The next day we were so busy that we didn’t make it back and instead had pizza at another winery. It was okay but we’d had better elsewhere. At the end of that day we were talking to one of the locals and they highly recommended the pizza from the winery that we originally wanted to try.
On the day we were leaving my husband decided that we should go back to the first winery before we headed back to Toronto and have lunch there. We weren’t disappointed and enjoyed some of the best pizza we’ve ever eaten. The staff was very friendly and the atmosphere was very welcoming and comforting. We had no idea that there was anything wrong.
A couple of days ago we heard on the news that the owner of the winery has been accused of sexual harassment and sexual misconduct. He admitted that many of the accusations were true but says some weren’t. I feel sad about the situation, not for the owner, but for the victims and the all the wonderful staff and employees at the winery and restaurant. You know that their jobs will be affected by the news. People will stay away and Quebec and the LCBO are withdrawing his wines from their shelves and will not reorder.
Thank you to the staff for giving us a wonderful dining experience. If you are directly affected by the unwanted behaviour of your boss we thank you for your bravery for speaking up and hope that the healing has begun.
Carol and Kevin Cormier
Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – June 17, 2018
….thanks to Cee for hosting the Odd Ball Photo Challenge
I love walking through small towns and picking up on some quirky sites. Here are a few of my favourites from Picton, ON..
Silent Sunday – Happy Father’s Day
The Which Way Photo Challenge – June 15, 2018 – A Road Trip to Wine Country
….thanks to Cee for hosting the Which Way Photo Challenge
This week my husband and I did a three day road trip to Prince Edward County to take in the sites and sample some amazing homegrown wines. We started at the Montrose Inn where we were treated to luxury accommodations in the beautifully restored Montebello style inn. Our hosts Suzette and Roger and their pastry chef, Sabine, spoiled us to the core.
Many of the wineries also displayed some amazing art and some even had their own art galleries. If you love wine, good food and great art you need to check out Prince Edward County, Ontario (not to be confused with Prince Edward Island).
Mama Cormier 