Share Your World – Week 5, 2014

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….here’s how I feel in this moment in time…..tomorrow my answers could be different

If you had a choice to live anywhere would be your preference salt water beaches, forest, fresh water lakes, hot tub, ski resort or desert?

My preference would be a fresh water beach. My cottage is on the most beautiful beach in Georgian Bay. The bay is part of the Great Lakes in Ontario. I’m only there in the summer so I might not feel the same way if I lived there in the winter, especially this winter. It’s been brutally cold. So if I were to live in one place year round I might choose a salt water beach in a warm climate.

What was your favorite toy as a child . . . and now?

My mother hated clutter and if our toys weren’t put away they eventually ended up in the garbage. The only toy I can remember having for a long time was a baby doll that I named Dorothy. When you fed her she would wet her diapers and her eyes closed when you laid her down. Now my favourite toys are my laptop and my ukulele. I would be lost without my computer and I’ve only recently pulled my ukulele out of storage. Some day I might actually learn how to play it proficiently. Currently I know only a few chords. I need to practise, practise, practise…..

Which do you prefer sweet, salty or both at the same time?

I initially wanted to say sweet but I actually love both at the same time. My favourite popcorn is Chicago style which is a combination of cheese popcorn and caramel popcorn. Yum!

Would you prefer snowy winters, or not, and why?

I prefer snowy winters but this year has been a bit much. It’s not the snow that bothers me but the frigid sub-zero temperatures and icy conditions have been extreme this year. I love the sound of soft crunchy snow under my boots and it has never stopped me from going for walks. The ice, however, this year has been treacherous and I spent some time in the emergency ward with my husband after he slipped and fell. Luckily he didn’t break anything but he did collapse his lungs and stretched the connective tissues between his ribs, causing him a great deal of pain. After three weeks he is just starting to feel better. Come to think of it, the winter where we had no snow and mild temperatures sounds pretty good right now. We were able to ride our bikes all winter. Hmmmm!!!!!

Footwear is Mandatory in Restaurant Kitchens

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…I learned that the hard way tonight

I love to cook and since my husband does most of it, I’ve been a bit out of practice. Tonight I was draining the boiling water from the pasta when a large portion splashed out of the pan and onto the floor. Unfortunately my foot was in the way and I wasn’t wearing any footwear other than socks. Ouch!

I sat at the dinner table with a baggie of ice on top of my foot but I probably waited a little too long before I administered first aid to myself. The foot has already started to blister and at the moment it is stinging like crazy.

Maybe I’m taking this drawing thing a bit too far but I really didn’t think that the photograph did justice for the the pain I am feeling.

After reading about burns in restaurants I discovered that major burns are a frequent occurrence, particularly scald injuries (hot water from pasta pots). So to all my friends who work in kitchens and cook at home take this piece of advice…..wear shoes on your feet when working around hot water.

Cheers!

One Last Meeting Before Heading Home

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….and then I was down for the count with a head cold

The day after the wedding the sisters and their families got together for one last meal before heading back to Toronto, Oshawa, Calgary, Vancouver and for two lucky people, Hawaii.

There was some discussion by the more practical in the group that meeting for brunch didn’t seem to be a very economic thing to do when the hotel provided a ‘perfectly good breakfast’. After some debate, it was agreed that it wasn’t about the food but rather a chance to get together one more time before heading off in separate directions.

At around 11:00 we all met at the local pancake house allowing the early risers to take advantage of the ‘free’ breakfast back at the hotel. Everyone, including the early risers ordered brunch. I don’t know where they found room to eat again and some of us were being served lunch on the train a few hours later. Anyway it was nice getting together one last time and making final plans for dropping off the rental car and deciding what to do for one hour before heading out to the train station.

: The newly weds

: My baby sister’s kids

: My middle sister’s son

: Group shot

: My baby sister who hates having her picture taken.

Now living in Chatham has a few downsides. One of them is that the car rental place isn’t open on Sundays so there was no one to drive us to the train station after we dropped off the car. My brother-in-law agreed to follow me to the rental office, drop off the keys in the drop off box and then drive me back to the station where the luggage and my family would be waiting.

The other downside, however, was that the train station didn’t open it’s doors until 30 minutes before the train arrived. That meant that the luggage and my sister who had to give up her seat in the car for me and all my family had to wait outside in the freezing temperatures while I returned the car.

That brings me to the final downside and that is the weather in Chatham. It is considerably colder than Toronto or at least it tends to get the bad weather first as it blows through southern Ontario towards the big city. There’s not much one can do about the weather and it’s been a brutal winter all over Ontario this year but it was just one more ‘uncomfortable’ aspect of our return trip.

We said our good-byes and my baby sister and her family and then they drove off to Windsor to catch a flight to Toronto, where they would individually make connecting flights to Vancouver and Calgary. My sister and her husband had slightly different plans. They would be staying overnight at the airport hotel in Toronto and then catching a flight to Hawaii the next day where they would celebrate their wedding anniversary for two weeks. Nice!

The train trip back was most enjoyable for my father. We had the seats with the large table between us and our seat mates were very friendly and talkative. They quickly learned all about my father’s past, starting with the war, his emigration to Canada, getting his first job at the Royal York Hotel, my mother’s death and how he met his current wife. The four trip went by very quickly.

Once we were at Union Station, my daughters and I regrouped and we made sure that my Dad got to the Go Train waiting room and bought his ticket to return to Oshawa. He phoned me later that night to let me know that he returned ‘safe and sound’ and that his car was still in the parking lot where he left it, three days earlier.

My daughter and I shared a cab and we went back to her place where my husband picked me up. It was nice to be home and back in my own bed. The next day, however, I felt a cold coming on. Isn’t that always the way. I’m not surprised though; my brother-in-law was complaining about his cold all weekend and I did hug him several times.

I had plans to attend the show Les Mis on Thursday with two of my good friends and L’s mom and we were a bit worried about me passing on my cold to M. After three days of suffering at school I decided to take the day off on Thursday and just rest before going to the show. I have to say that it did wonders for me and I didn’t cough once at the show. The show by the way was fantastic. It was the first time I’ve seen it and apparently this show has been getting rave reviews.

Les Mis in Toronto

So there’s my ‘Away and Down for the Count’ post done over three days. Thanks for your patience. I know that if you started reading mid way it was a bit confusing.

Cheers!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Object

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..this week’s challenge is to share a photo of one object

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/31/photo-challenge-object/

Hope She’s Not Offended

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….I chose to draw the portrait of a good friend….the image came from a photograph

One of the assignments, yesterday, was to draw a realistic image from a photograph. I had a great shot of my friend L taken at my daughter’s shower a couple of years ago. It’s not a perfect likeness but it’s pretty close.

The assignment required that I add water to the pencil to shade the picture. Parts of it turned out darker than I would have liked so I think it ages my friend a bit. Other than that I’m pretty happy with it. Makes me want to experiment with my watercolours.

Cheers!

Exploring Faces

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….3 days into a new online course

I recently signed up for another on-line course with Carla Sonheim. It’s called Faces 101 because by the end of the five day course I should have drawn and painted 101 faces. I’m already one day behind on my assignments but the good thing with this course is that once you purchase the program the assignments and videos are always available to you. I can post up to six of my best pieces onto a group page on Flickr daily and Carla will comment on my progress.

Here are a few of my faces so far:

Share Your World – Week 4, 2014

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Mama Cormier

,,,,some interesting questions this week….had to think about some of them

Do you recharge your energy by going out with friends for a good time or by spending with quiet time alone? For a person who likes company and likes to ‘party’ you might find it surprising that I enjoy quiet time alone to re-energize. Going out tends to zap my energy. Staying home and reading a good book, painting or writing gives me a sense of accomplishment and that for me is energizing.

What is the most number of blankets you’ve ever had on your bed? I don’t like heavy blankets on the bed at night. I much prefer one cozy down comforter to keep me warm. I think the most number of blankets at any one time would be three but just the thought of that makes me uncomfortable.

You are invited to a party that will be attended by many fascinating people you never met. Would you attend this party if you were to go by yourself? I’m not sure I would go, especially by myself. If a friend wanted to go I might consider it. After all it might be fun meeting some of these people. My one concern would be that the evening could be a bust and then what would I do. If I went with a friend we could at least salvage the evening and go for a drink together and enjoy each other’s company.

Do you like talking to people on the phone? Or do you prefer voice mail or email? As much as I like the convenience of emails, I prefer to talk to people on the phone. An email and a one sided voice mail can be misinterpreted as to the person’s meaning or intent. Did that message have an angry tone to it?… is he joking? ….should I be concerned? On the phone you can address the person directly and probably hear in their voice how they’re feeling or what the intent of a statement meant and if you can’t you can ask them right away.

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/01/27/2079/

A Word A Week: Undulate

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….Sue’s word challenge this week is ‘undulate’, meaning to move with a smooth wavelike motion

From subtle ripples in the sand to man made structures (pipe organ and hallway at the AGO) and back to nature (The Cheltenham Badlands).

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-undulate-waveyripple/#like-11928

Weekly Photo Challenge: Juxtaposition

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Mama Cormier

This classic old building “The Flat Iron Building” in downtown Toronto was the focus of this shot but one can’t help but see the modern skyscrapers that hover behind it.

This is a quirky coffee shop in Queen St. West. Part of the decor includes a wall of art with old classroom desks used as tables and a hobby horse for added measure.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/01/24/photo-challenge-juxtaposition/

Away and Down for the Count

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….I feel like I haven’t posted in awhile so here’s my week in review

Friday, January 17

My bags are packed and I’m on my way to Chatham for my sister’s wedding. My husband is suffering a great deal of pain from his fall earlier this week and isn’t coming with us. I booked an appointment to get my hair cut before I headed out to meet my father and catch the train at Union Station.

I arrived an hour early and looked out for my 87 year old father who had to come into Toronto from Oshawa on the Go Train. Unfortunately Union Station is undergoing a lot of renovation and finding anybody is a bit tricky. I sat down in a waiting area figuring his train wasn’t due to arrive for another half an hour. Little did I know that he caught an earlier train. Luckily for me my Dad isn’t shy and after asking for some directions he ended up waiting in a waiting area on the opposite side of the station.

When I thought his train was about to arrive I stood up to see if I could catch a glimpse of him as he arrived. I happened to look over to the other side of the station and sure enough there he was wandering around looking for me. All ended well. We got on the train together and settled in for a very enjoyable 3 1/2 hour trip.

One of the things that my husband arranged that both my Dad and I very much appreciated was upgrade our seats to business class. My father was very surprised when he pulled out his wallet to buy a drink and was politely told by one of our seat mates to put away his money. All drinks and food on business class are complimentary. The meals were excellent, better than any airline meal I’ve ever had.

When we got to Chatham the car rental company picked us up and drove us to the rental office to pick up our van. The hotel was just down the street. We booked into the Holiday Inn Express and freshened up before going to the wedding rehearsal.

My sister came by and we followed her to the church.

After about an hour of running through the ceremony and making final adjustment we got back into our cars and headed out to Pain Court (French pronunciation – pan cour) for the rehearsal dinner.

When we finished our meal we headed back to Chatham but in the meantime it had started snowing so driving was a little treacherous. My other sister and her family were flying in from Calgary and were landing in Windsor which meant that they had to drive from Windsor to Chatham.

When we got back to the hotel we inquired about my sister’s family but they hadn’t yet arrived. About 15 minutes later my phone rang and my sister announce that they were in the hotel. A few minutes later all five of them came down to my room and we had a bit of a reunion. Dad was already for bed for he didn’t join us.

After catching up and meeting T’s ( my nephew) girlfriend we made arrangements to meet for breakfast and then apparently we were going to the hall to decorate it for the wedding.

Saturday, January 18

Breakfast was in the hotel. We all met downstairs and enjoyed the complimentary coffee and breakfast foods. Dad finally greeted the rest of CS’s family (my baby sister) and we planned out the rest of the day.

We drove to the restaurant where the wedding reception was being held. A friend of my sister who was getting married was already there with instructions on what to do to decorate the space. I organized the name tags on the tables and my baby sister helped the bride’s friend decorate the head table.

My brother-in-law picked up my girls from the train station and we had three more sets of hands to help decorate. My sister’s theme was a rifle range because that’s where she and D met over 30 years ago when they were both at university. The tables had cap guns, rifle lighters and the walls were decorated with targets.

At one point my sister proclaimed that we needed more tape so again my brother-in-law volunteered to go buy some. Little did we know that he was checking out the local dollar store and he bought most of the glow sticks in the place and bought more toy guns and caps. He returned with two huge bags.

The original plan was to meet the bride for lunch after she got her hair done but she ran behind schedule so we were on our own. We couldn’t agree on where to go so we decided to go our separate ways for lunch. I had to take the girls back to the hotel first anyway so that they could check in. Once we did that we found a Tim Horton’s close by and had a quick lunch before we returned to the hotel to get dressed for the wedding.

To Be Continued………