Swarms of Gnats

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..it’s one thing when they’re outside…. BUT INSIDE?

I haven’t been able to exercise so my husband has been going for his long walks on his own for the last few days. The weather is still pretty cool but his biggest complaint concerns the swarms of gnats that he has to walk through. On his last walk he swears that the entire walk was one massive swarm. Now he does tend to exaggerate at times but I met my neighbour on Friday coming back from her walk and she complained of the same phenomena. Gnats, everywhere!

Two nights ago I noticed a few gnats in the house but the next morning the table in the kitchen was covered in them. I checked all the windows and doors and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how they were getting in the house. When I told my husband about the infestation in the house he thought about it and came to the realization that the gnats were coming in on his black jacket after his walks. Mystery solved. Solution – shake off outerwear before entering the house.

Today is another beautiful day but windy and cool. I decided to join David Suzuki’s 30×30 Nature Challenge (here) and enjoy 30 minutes a day outside. In the spirit of the challenge my husband decided to have his coffee on the deck. He wasn’t out there more than a minute when he called me to come and see something I’ve never seen in all the years I’ve lived here. The deck was covered in gnats. I don’t know if these photos really do any justice illustrating the amount of gnats that have landed on the deck and the siding of the house but it will give you some idea. Thank goodness they don’t live very long but they do breed quickly and we need some dry weather to end that cycle. Not likely. The weatherman is calling for rain off and on this week.

A Word a Week Photograph Challenge – Water

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….I’m very attracted to water

I live by water all year round. My home is 100m from Lake Ontario and my cottage is on Georgian Bay. My walks take me along the shores of the lake and our dog loves to swim in the lake.

For more photos of water check out Sue Llewelyn’s A Word in Your Ear.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Shadow

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….. I wanted to post something new and during today’s walk in High Park I found it

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/04/21/cees-fun-foto-challenge-shadows/

I love how the shadows from the chain link fence criss cross over the emu’s face and body.

Happy Earth Day

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….it should be more than spending one day picking up garbage

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that we make children aware of their environment and how to keep it clean but maybe we need to be more diligent about making sure that it stays clean so that we don’t need community clean-up days.

For me Earth Day should be about celebrating the wonders of nature and respecting our environment. Nothing burns me more than seeing people dump their garbage from their cars onto the road, sidewalk or parking lot especially when there’s a garbage bin a mere 20 feet away. There’s a sense of entitlement that I find offensive. If you say anything to these people you know you will be accosted with profanity and rude gestures.

Now that the weather has finally turned around we need to get out and breathe in the fresh air and look up, down and all around us and take in what this beautiful world has to offer. Listen to the sounds of the birds and observe the wildlife that inhabits your backyard. Our environment is precious and we need to savour it and protect it.

Share Your World 2014 – Week 16

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….it’s almost scary how quickly these challenges come up

How many places have you lived? You can share the number of physical residences and/or the number of cities.

• born in Frankfurt, Germany

Garmisch, Germany

• lived in Garmisch, Germany for about a year

• moved to Canada when I was 20 months old

• lived in Toronto until I was 5

• moved to Oakville when I was 6

• moved back to Toronto when I was 10 and have stayed here ever since

• for 4 years I went to school in Guelph but I always came home in the summer

Photo courtesy of : http://compsci.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/university_guelph_campus.jpg

• after I got married my husband and I moved three times – for one year we lived in uptown Toronto, then moved to the High Park area and lived there for two years and finally we bought our house down by the lake in the west end of the city – we’ve lived in the same house for 35 years

What type of music relaxes you the most?

Most music relaxes me. When I was at the concert last week, even the music by Shostakovich put me to sleep. Music that doesn’t relax me is punk, heavy metal, rap, goth and grunge.

If you could instantly become fluent in another language, what would that language be and why?

I think I would pick French. I’m surrounded by it every day at school and just once I’d like to surprise everyone by answering back in perfect French. All my children went to French Immersion school and I’ve taught in two French Immersion schools but on the English side for more than 25 years. I just assumed that I would pick it up by osmosis but sadly that didn’t happen.

If you could fly or breathe under water what would you prefer?

I would prefer to fly. There are too many predators under water and I think It would be safer in the sky.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful that the snow has finally all melted away and that the garden is starting to show signs of spring. This week I’m looking forward to a short week at work (we had today off) and spending time with my friends on the weekend.

For more Share Your World posts check out Cee’s Photography.

Share Your World – Week 15

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Mama Cormier

…..I can’t believe it’s already week 15

For your blog do you basically use Windows or Mac, laptop, desktop, pad, or phone?

I’m an Apple user all the way. For my blog I work on my MacBook Pro…

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was a very young child I remember wanting to be a nurse but when I was 12, I changed my mind and wanted to be a Family Studies teacher. I was asked to attend an open house at the school and demonstrate how we were using the sewing machines in class. I was hooked. In high school I toyed with the idea of being a doctor but I kept going back to being a teacher.

Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it?

For most of my childhood I grew up in Toronto. We lived in Oakville for about four years but we moved back to the big city to be closer to my father’s job. I have fond memories of living in Oakville because it was like living in the country at the time. Our house backed onto a field with a creek running through it. We lived in a new housing development and I recall playing in some of the unfinished homes. Pretty crazy when I think of the dangers we encountered daily. We were also allowed to go to the creek without adult supervision and we rode our bicycles through the field and onto busy streets on our way to the plaza. I had one nasty spill onto the gravel road and still have the scars on my knee to this day.

When we moved back to Toronto I was 10 years old and we lived directly across from the school. There was a huge park that surrounded the school and right across the street from us was a skating rink in the winter and a tennis court in the summer. A few years later they also built a public outdoor swimming pool right next to the rink. We lived in an apartment building but I was so close to so many recreational amenities that I never missed not having a backyard. In the summers we went to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) and as I went from being a pre-teen to a teenager I started taking the subway to the downtown area. Basically, I loved living in the city.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?

I always think of myself as younger. I work with a wide range of ages but I guess I’m now the oldest person at my school. Our caretaker might be a bit older than me but not by much. If I had to put an age to myself I’d say I feel like I’m only 45. I actually feel better now than when I turned 50.

On my 61st birthday.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for the the warmer weather we experienced last week and for all the snow melting. Unfortunately we’re suppose to get colder temperatures tonight and tomorrow morning we’re expecting 5 to 10 cm of snow. Yikes!

Later this week I’m looking forward to visiting my sister in Chatham. My new brother-in-law really wants to see my husband who was unable to attend their wedding in January because of his fall. On Monday we’re spending Easter Monday at my daughter’s (A and J) place and will be enjoying a delicious Easter brunch.

Visiting my sister and my brother-in-law, D to check out his new ‘man cave’.

For more Share Your World contributions check out Cee’s Photography.

Cee’s Odd Ball Photo Challenge: Week 7

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Mama Cormier

The Nativity meets Santa in April

When Pigs Fly……

Check out more of Cee’s Oddball Photos here.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….the most famous monument in Toronto has to be the CN Tower

Visible across the lake from the west end of the city.

From the Gardiner Expressway.

From inside the Dome at the baseball game.

From the base looking up at night.

For more ‘monumental’ photos check out WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument

Feeling the Indigo Blues?

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….only if it’s a feeling of joy and accomplishment

Yesterday I attended a 6 hour workshop on dyeing fabric with indigo at Articulations in the Junction. It was a Christmas gift from my youngest daughter. It was a small class with 8 students ranging in age from their 20s to 60s. We even had one man in the class who came with his partner.

Our instructor, Jane Jacobs, was truly inspirational. She had a multitude of samples for us to look at and an infinite number of objects to experiment with. Everyone brought their own fabric and articles of clothing to play with. There were also white silk scarves and infinity scarves that you could buy for the purpose of dyeing.

I experimented with a technique that involved stitching designs and pulling them tightly. I wish I had more time to make more of these but I think I may try more of these at home. The technique is called shibori and comes from Japan. The secret is to pull the thread really tightly. It will work with any kind of dye. I loved the indigo but it has a few more steps and requires more time to get it to the stage where it’s ready to use. Here is a website that demonstrates how to stitch on the fabric. Shibori from Japan.

The dyeing techniques also included folding and clamping the fabric. I wrapped string around small stones that were buried into the fabric and I pulled fabric from the middle and put elastic bands around it. This created a real retro 60s look that was reminiscent of tie dye. I also clamped buttons and metal squares between folds of fabric. Some of the students wrapped their fabric around large plastic cylinders, then wrapped string around the fabric and kept pushing the wrapped fabric up the cylinder. That was hard work but the finished product was beautiful. If I go back for another class I will try that technique with silk.

I brought a variety of fabrics to play with. I had two 100% cotton samples, one in white and one in taupe. I had a piece of linen and rayon that was also a taupe but with a tinge of green in it and my last piece that I played with was a white 100% cotton knit.

We weren’t sure how the coloured fabrics would take the dye but another student brought a grey fabric and all of them turned out well. The contrast wasn’t as dramatic as the white but the patterns showed up nicely against the blue.

Now I have to decide what I’m going to do with my pieces of fabric. I’ve already decided to make one into a pillow, one will be a table runner and the third I will sew into an infinity scarf. I’m not sure about the fourth piece but I’m sure I’ll think of something.

The following photos are my creations after they dried.

Built Up Enough Courage to Try it Again

Posted on March 28, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….working with oil paints, that is

After my mini disaster with oil paints the first time around I was putting off trying it again. My teacher, Karine Swenson encouraged me to keep trying and continue experimenting with the medium. I was going to wait until the weekend but for some reason at 11:00 last night I was moved to paint. I got out a new 18 x 18 inch canvas and started painting squares. Two and a half hours later I was finished (well at least for now). I posted my piece on the on-line class’s Facebook page and went to bed.

This time I laid my piece flat so when I woke up in the morning there were no drips or runs of paint down the painting. This piece is quite different from the first but I think I am now ready to tackle lesson 5 which involves working really big. I have to go out and buy a canvas about 48 x 48 inches.

In the meantime though I have to get ready for another class that I am taking tomorrow which involves fabric and indigo dyes. I thought that everything I needed would be provided at the class but after reading the course description I think I need to go out and do a little shopping for cotton or linen fabric. I’m taking the class at Articulations in the Junction. Here’s a small description of the class.