Share Your World – July 23, 2018

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

In regards to puzzle what’s your choice: jigsaw, crossword, word search, mazes, logic or numeric puzzles, something else, or nothing?

My favourite puzzle is Sudoku.

List at least five favorite treats and it doesn’t necessarily have to be food.

I like to treat myself to the following:

A premium ice-cream in a cup

A manicure and pedicure

A good movie

An evening out with friends

A nice glass of wine with my husband

A piece of torte with my father (he loves his cake)

A slice of freshly baked bread slathered with butter

What is your favorite type of dog? (can be anything from a specific breed, a stuffed animal or character in a movie)

My favourite dog is hands down a golden retriever. I’ve owned two in my lifetime. We now have a mutt who is definitely my husband’s dog. He’s always said that the goldens were my dogs and Frances is his. (Scully is 15 years old in this photo and Frances is going on 12)

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.

This was a very special week because my son was visiting from London, England. There was a lot of eating and drinking, touring museums and art galleries, visiting his sister in Hamilton and attending a rugby game.

At the AGO

At the ROM

Family

A Week of Food

At the Rugby Game

Fearless

Posted on July 14, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….how does this happen?

I don’t remember my own children taking such risks. Our son discovered that it was fun to rock on top of his diaper boxes at a very young age but when he fell off the porch railing doing the same thing and split his head open that behaviour stopped.

Will it take a similar mishap to make my granddaughter more cautious? Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s wonderful that she’s so adventurous but she does make me nervous when she wants to stand on the top of the playscape.

Luckily her parents and grandparents are always close by when she goes on her climbing adventures.

Axe Cancer – A Fun Day

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….and a great way to raise money for Camp Quality

A couple of weeks ago I told you about a fundraiser that I was participating in to raise money to send children with cancer to camp. I had set a goal for myself to raise $500.00 and thanks to all of you who donated I surpassed my goal and raised $515.00.

The event took place at BattL in the east end of the city and I have to say that the staff made the event a very enjoyable and memorable afternoon. We were a little concerned that the event took place on Father’s Day but the organization managed to pull together enough people to form 14 teams and as a surprise cast members from American Gods arrived and formed a team of their own.

My team, The Cormier Clan, consisted of my husband, my two daughters and me. We were instructed on how to throw the axes and the staff made sure that it was a very safe event. Everyone was given an opportunity to practise throwing the axe until we felt somewhat comfortable.

The teams were all mixed up and everyone threw against someone from another team. The staff kept track of the scores and after three rounds they tallied up the scores to figure out who the highest scorer from each team was. That person then competed in the finals to determine which team won the competition.

Our lead scorer was my. husband. For someone who was very hesitant to try this he ended up really enjoying himself and went through two rounds before he was eliminated. In the end the team from American Gods won the whole thing. Here are a few photos of the event (my granddaughter was only there at the beginning and then her father took her to the Aquarium so she would be out of harm’s way).

BULL’S EYE!!!!

…just to prove that Winnie wasn’t there during the throwing of the axes

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

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).

Share Your World – June 11, 2018

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

If you could choose any person from history to be your imaginary friend, who would it be and why?

This is a tough question. The more I learn about famous people the more I realize that many of them were ruthless and unkind or so narcissistic that they would make terrible friends. I think I would have liked Eleanor Roosevelt. She was politically active and pretty much her own person.

60s, 70s, 80s, 90s: Which decade do you love the most and why?

Another tough question. I loved high school so the 60s hold fond memories of friends, parties and clubs. In the 70s I found my voice. I went to university, moved away from home, travelled to Germany, met my husband and got married. At the end of the 70s I had my first child. In the 80’s my family grew, I went back to teaching and started building our cottage. In the 90s I took on more leadership roles, explored new options in teaching and started to dabble in art. I can’t pick one decade.

When you die, what do you want to be remembered for?

I want to be remembered as a kind, fun loving and creative person who helped others and inspired young people to grow up and be the best person possible.

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.

This week I had my first art showing at the WAAC gallery and met some wonderful artists. I also went to the museum and took in an exhibition on fashion design and architectural design.

On Thursday I drove to Hamilton to visit with my daughter and granddaughter. We took a walk to the Workers’ Arts and Heritage Centre. The building used to be the old Customs House where imports coming into Canada were processed before being released into the Canadian market.

My granddaughter loved playing with all the levers, buttons and cranks and climbing up the old staircase.

On Saturday I went to a friend’s 50th birthday party and on Sunday I met my friend Liz at the Trinity St. Paul United Church where we attended a concert of children’s choirs. As you can see it’s been a very busy and joyous week.

A Field of Joy

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..in the eyes of children

We hate them but children all over the world love dandelions, especially when they go to seed. My granddaughter is no exception.

In an open area next to my daughter’s house is a grassy lot that hasn’t been mowed in awhile. It is a haven for dandelions. Last Saturday my granddaughter and I went for a walk or should I say my granddaughter took me for a walk and she led me straight onto this field of joy.

Share Your World – May 14, 2018

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

Complete this sentence: This sandwich could really use some …

I love tomato, lettuce and mayo added to a sandwich.

What is your least favorite candy?

I’m not a huge candy fan and I avoid most candy. My least favourite candy is liquorice but my favourite candy is Liquorice All Sorts. Does that make sense?

What sign are you? Do you believe in astrology?

I’m a Virgo and I do believe in astrology. I’m not a follower of daily horoscopes but I do find that signs influence your personality and how you interact with people. When my father met his last wife he only had one concern about her and that was that she was a Virgo like me. The relationship lasted 22 years until she died. I guess he was more compatible with Virgos than he thought. Guess in point he lives with me now. By the way he’s a Libra and so is my husband, whom I’ve been with for 45 years.

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.

This past week the weather definitely made me smile. The rain that was forecast didn’t happen here and the sun was out for most of the week. Yesterday it was Mother’s Day and it was suppose to be cool and partially sunny but it was very sunny and warm enough for all of us to sit outside.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I was able to see the cherry blossoms in High Park last week with my daughter and daughter-in-law. Time spent with my family always makes me happy.

Last week I was also able to help out a friend and get her daughter to a very important interview. I’m happy to report that she got the job.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Any Kind of Photographer or Camera

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge

Sometimes the challenge is going back far into the archives to find photos to match the theme. This time I had to scroll through thousands of photos over a two year period to find what I wanted. I really need a better system to organize my photos.

365 Days of Art & Week 14 of Collage

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..day 84

It’s been too long since I’ve created art; not sure why. I’ve had lot’s of inspiration but I think I’ve been surrounded by too much clutter. Tonight I cleared a space and produced another collage from the The Collage Workbook by Randel Plowman. In week 14 the challenge was to use stamps in our collage to create an additional layer of intrigue.

When I was a young girl my aunt had a personalized stamp made for me with my name. So it consists of my German first name Carola and my maiden name Winkler. I can’t believe that I saved it all these years. I used parts of envelopes and stamped labels and a bit of Washi tape to create my collage.