Happy Birthday Frances

Posted on December 13, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….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

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….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

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….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

Posted on June 23, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….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

Posted on June 18, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….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

Posted on June 17, 2018 by Mama Cormier

The Which Way Photo Challenge – June 15, 2018 – A Road Trip to Wine Country

Posted on June 16, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….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).

Three Bunnies

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..one real, one garden variety and one drawn

I came across the real bunny this week on one of my walks. It was one of those moments when I wished I had brought my good camera with the zoom lens. The second bunny is a ceramic garden figure and the third bunny is a drawing that my husband drew for our granddaughter.

Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge – May 13, 2018

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Cee for hosting the Odd Ball Photo Challenge

Share Your World – April 30, 2018

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

Do you use paper money? If so is your money organized sequentially according to denomination?

I do use paper money and I do use debit. I try to avoid using the credit card but when I do I try to remember to pay it off right away. I’m not alway successful. I can’t get my head around people who use their debit card for small purchases like a cup of coffee. Don’t they know that they add to the cost of each cup when they do that. Maybe they just have a better bank plan or maybe things have changed in that department and I haven’t kept up with the times. Time to visit my bank.

Anyway I do like using cash for smaller purchases and I organize my money by denomination in my wallet with a separate compartment for my change. Doesn’t everyone do that?

You are comfortable doing nothing? For long stretches of time?

Not really. I don’t consider sitting at my computer or watching TV as doing nothing, although some people might disagree with me. I get too antsy just sitting and doing nothing. I have to keep my brain working and even after sitting and doing stuff I have to get up and move around.

What is your greatest strength?

I think my greatest strength is my creativity and my work ethic. The latter is what my husband said which surprised me a bit because there are days where I feel very lazy. I also like to do things for other people and I can pretty much be relied on to do what I say I’ll do.

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination

Last week was pretty uneventful. I finished reading a wonderful book that I would recommend to anyone, A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

On Friday my husband and I drove to Hamilton to spend the day with our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. We signed the ownership of our second car over to them and went to lunch at a local sushi restaurant. Believe it or not it was at Winnie’s request that we went there. How many two year olds do you know that love sushi?