Spending Family Day With the Dogs

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….and my daughter and son-in-law

Today was another sunny but cold day in Toronto and it is Family Day. It is an official holiday in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. As the name implies it is a day to celebrate families.

Yesterday my husband and I went to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) with out oldest daughter, A and her partner, J and saw the show, The Great Upheaval: Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Collection, 1910 – 1918. I loved it. It’s not a huge show but it featured some amazing artists from the past, such as, Picasso, Kandinsky, Matisse, Chagall, Franz Marc, Kupka and Miro. There must have been at least 30 different artists whose works were on display. It was fascinating to see how this era of new technologies ( film, photography, planes, telephones, electricity, etc.) and the presence of World War I affected the art world. If you’re in Toronto the show goes till March 6, 2014. Unfortunately cameras were not allowed at this show so I don’t have any original photos to show you. The Great Upheaval.

After seeing the show we browsed through some of the other galleries at the AGO, where you are allowed to take photographs. Here are a few highlights of our morning.

: View from a small balcony above the gallery

: Lauren Harris

: Jean Riopelle

: Peterson Ewen

: New addition: The Italian Gallery

: View of the upper beams

Today, my husband, Frances and I arranged to meet our youngest daughter and her husband and Lucy at High Park. We took both dogs to the off leash area. We’ve had so much snow that all the paths are packed solid with snow and ice. Luckily K brought his cleats for his boots and our walk was relatively uneventful, falling that is. We did see a few people wipe out but no serious injuries happened.

Frances and Lucy had a great time, running and wrestling with each other. We got a good walk, as well, probably close to 4k. The humans got tired just watching those two dogs darting back and forth.

After looking at all this snow it’s hard to imagine that another storm is approaching us tonight and we’re expecting another 10 cm to fall. Sigh!

Cheers! Hope everyone had a great Family Day!

29 Faces Challenge – Day 14

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..only two days behind

I love the self portraits that Ayse Juaneda does at Art for Nothing. I’ve wanted to try her style for awhile. Here is my first real attempt.

29 Faces Challenge – Day 13

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….only 3 days behind

After browsing the blogs on my Reader I discovered a photo of this amazing older man playing his accordion. I had to try and capture his face in one of my drawings.

A Snow Owl?????

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….from a distance we thought it was a really bad snowman

A Happy Day

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….busy, too many treats and a great dinner made by my husband

After surprising my husband with breakfast and his heart shaped donut this morning I left the house extra early to pick up three dozen “I love you” donuts from Tim Horton’s and then I continued on to school for another early morning basketball practice. When I got to school I discovered that my coaching colleague was also there so I took the time to pack the donuts into the specially decorated paper bags and started to deliver my little gifts to the staff.

People were surprised and delighted to find that the donut inside the bag was in the shape of a heart. This was the beginning of an onslaught of treats throughout the day. I don’t have the heart to say ‘no thank you’ to the boys and girls who offer me their specially made treats but I did resist the snacks that were in the staffroom. For most of the treats I took a single bite and when no one was looking I discarded the rest. If I didn’t do that I’m sure I would be suffering a ‘sugar induced headache’.

For lunch our principal treated us to pizza and not just any old pizza but pizza from Mamma’s. There were 7 different varieties to cater to the different dietary needs and individual preferences. I had one piece with the crust and after that I only ate the toppings. You might think that is odd but I’ve learned over the years that it’s the bread dough that plays havoc with my weight.

Tonight when I got home my husband had prepared the most amazing dinner. Shrimp cocktail and a glass of champagne to start, followed by a medium rare filet mignon, Brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and red wine. It was the perfect amount of food and delicious to boot.

Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or not I hope you had a fabulous day, filled with love and laughter.

Happy Valentine’s Day to My Sweetie

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….an early morning surprise

Usually my husband wakes me every morning with coffee in bed. Today, for Valentine’s Day I set the table the night before with a couple of little surprises for my husband to enjoy. I went to Rabba and purchased a couple of nice fresh buns, a big juicy tomato, some havarti cheese and slices of oven roasted chicken. One of my husband’s favourite breakfasts is a German frühstück.

Can you guess what’s in the bag?

: How about now?

Hope everyone who celebrates Valentine’s Day has a special one.

29 Faces Challenge – Day 12

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….struggling to get the proportions right

It’s late and I should really start these drawings earlier in the evening. I’m not sure why I don’t erase mistakes. Somewhere in my past I was told to never erase, just keep going but I think it’s time to find my kneadable eraser and start correcting things as I go.

Fantasy Collages

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….grade 5s created these wonderful works of art, inspired by Dali

The assignment was to paint a simple watercolour landscape with a foreground, background and horizon line and then have fun cutting out pictures from magazines and newspapers and create a fantasy piece of art. The goal was to create a piece that told a story and hopefully some writing will accompany each piece of art in the near future.

A Word a Week – Violet

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…. it’s been awhile since I’ve participated in this challenge

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-violet/

Share Your World – Week 6

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….this week’s questions definitely have an ‘Olympic’ theme….how fitting

Have you watched or plan to watch any of the 2014 Winter Olympics?

I haven’t watched any of the Olympics. I’ve listened to and watched the results on the news. My husband has no interest in these Olympics. The negative politics around the treatment of the gay community in Russia has put a damper on the Olympics for us. I’m glad that there haven’t been any ‘incidents’ and I’m hoping that there won’t be a terrorist attack while the games are on or for that matter, ever. I’m sure that I will sneak a peak at a few events that I love to watch.

What is your favorite winter Olympic event? Would you ever want to be an expert in that sport?

I love the luge and bobsled runs, all skiing events and speed skating. I don’t think that I could ever be an expert in any of these sports. High speeds scare me too much, especially going downhill.

Have you ever met an Olympic Athlete?

My husband’s cousin, Wendy Weibe, was in the summer Olympics in 1996, for rowing. This is one sport that I could be an expert in. About 10 years ago I took up rowing for two seasons. I loved it. I competed in both 8 man and 4 man boats.

Do you have a favorite athlete? Name sport.

I don’t really identify with athletes. I like some team sports but I’m not a huge fan for any one sport. Consequently I don’t really know the name of athletes. Now if some of our teams actually performed well I might become a fan. I do like soccer and if some of the high profile acquisitions actually work out I might find a favourite athlete.

Toronto FC

What is your favorite exercise or sport? Is there a reason why?

My favourite team sport is volleyball because I used to play and now I coach (well I did). I also coach basketball, soccer and running. My personal favourite exercise is walking and running. I can’t wait for the weather to warm up a bit so that I can get back outside and at least walk. I also like cross country skiing but this winter has been too cold and driving to ski trails has been too treacherous. I’m also looking forward to getting back on my bike as soon as the snow melts.