I received this challenge from my blogging friend Cee over at Cee’s Photography
Rules are
Today I challenge anyone who wants to play; feel free to jump in and start your own Seven Day Challenge.
…..black and white photography challenge
I received this challenge from my blogging friend Cee over at Cee’s Photography
Rules are
Today I challenge anyone who wants to play; feel free to jump in and start your own Seven Day Challenge.
….thanks Cee for more thought provoking question on Share Your World
What is your favorite outdoor activity?
I think that it would have to be walking where ever I happen to be, with or without my dog, but always with my camera or iPhone close by. Here are some photos I took on this morning’s walk.
In a car would you rather drive or be a passenger?
It really depends on who’s driving and where I’m going. When I’m with my 90 year old father I’d rather be driving because he’s too distracted when there’s someone else in the car. When I’m with my husband and on a long trip I like it when he drives but I don’t mind taking turns.
If you could have three wishes granted for you alone, what would they be?
#1 – I’d like to take off my excess weight and maintain that loss (is that 2 wishes?). I’ve been on a roller coaster diet all my life. I feel much better when I’m thinner, my clothes look better on me and I want to be able to enjoy my walks and time with my granddaughter without feeling the aches and pains in my feet and joints.
#2 – I’d like to have enough money to finish some projects around the house and still be able to take at least one trip a year overseas or across the country without worrying about how the bills are going to be paid.
#3 – I’d like to have more grandchildren but I guess that’s not really up to me.
What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
These past two weeks I appreciated spending time with friends in the middle of the week. When I was working this would have been out of the question. Two Tuesdays ago I went to the AGO (art gallery) with my life-long friend, Arlene. She’s been patiently waiting for me to retire so we could do this. The show we saw was called Every. Now. Then. Reframing Nationhood. In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, it explores three urgent questions through the eyes of some of the country’s best emerging and established artists: where has Canada come from, what it is now, and where is it going?
Last Tuesday I spent the day with my daughter and granddaughter. We went to the mall together, had lunch and just hung out. I finished a hat for Winnie while I was there and apparently she didn’t take it off for two days. My daughter had to hide it from her. We’ve been experiencing a heat wave here and a wool cap is the last thing she needs on her head.
On Wednesday I drove to St. Catharines with my friend Diane to visit her father at the retirement home. We met her sister there and went for lunch at a great place close by. After that we got back in the car and drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake where we took in an afternoon show at the Old Courthouse. Walking through this town is always such a visual treat for me.
This week I was also inspired to finally reorganize my room so that I can start doing art again. Two of my friends gave me a timeline (end of September) to get my stuff sorted so that I can start putting shelves, a desk and a filing cabinet in my space. Hopefully I’ll really be able to organize my supplies and then get down to doing some serious art. At least now I’m not embarrassed when people go up to my bedroom. I can get to my bed now without stepping over stuff or having to worry about tripping on something in the dark. I’ll post photos when I have more ‘after’ shots.
Cheers!
…..thank you Cee for bringing me back to Share Your World
Would you want $200,000 right now or $250,000 in a year? It’s safe to assume all money is tax free.
I would want the smaller amount and invest it now. Who knows where I’ll be in a year? If I’m gone at least my family can enjoy the money.
Is it more important to love or be loved?
I think they go hand in hand. If you love others chances are you’ll be loved back and if you are loved you can’t help but give back that love. Having one without the other would be very disappointing or very frustrating.
List things that represent abundance to you.
Time with loved ones
Solitary days at the cottage
Freedom to paint
Reading a good book
A beautiful garden to relax in
Good food and drink with family and friends
Exploring new destinations, short and long trips
What inspired you this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
This past week I was inspired by the opening of a new store in my neighbourhood. It’s a wool shop with a lovely sitting area where customers are encouraged to bring their knitting and sit and share their knitting experiences and challenges. I’m very excited about this new store and wish them good success. I’ve been inspired to pick up my knitting needles and I purchased some beautiful yarn for a sweater for my granddaughter. The store is called Spin Me a Yarn. Check it out.
…..what am I easily distracted by?
There are probably a lot of things that distract me, make me lose my focus but one of them is seeing art. I’m fascinated with abstract artists and I can get lost in their paintings. This happened to me last year when I had the opportunity to see numerous famous works of art at the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice.
Check out other WPC – ooh, Shiny! posts.
….. thanks to Jennifer Nicole Wells
For this week’s photo challenge Jennifer chose the word Horse. Last summer I photographed a number of horses in Italy. They were all in large public squares and were obviously working horses.
….this week’s photo theme is order
I love things that are orderly but I tend to live in messy surroundings. Maybe when I retire I can spend some time ‘ordering’ my environment.
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…this week’s WordPress photo challenge is any photo taken from above or atop
….this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is wish
I wish I could see my son and daughter-in-law in London, England.
I wish I was feeling better so I could spend some time with my granddaughter this week.
I wish my husband would get over his cold so we can spend some quality time together and have the family over.
I wish for a smooth transition when my 90 year old father moves in with us in May.
I wish to travel back to Europe, maybe even with my Dad. It would be nice for him to see his brother one more time. I would love to go back to Venice.
I wish I could stop procrastinating and do some more art. I miss it.
Finally I wish it were warmer and I was on the beach at the cottage.
…..despite the terrible events that took place in 2016 on a personal level it was a wonderful year
Most people would agree that 2016 had to be a terrible year for natural disasters, untimely deaths of beloved celebrities, horrendous terrorist attacks around the world, the Syrian refugee crisis, Brexit and a nasty election campaign in the U.S.
Even on a personal note, 2016 hasn’t been all sunshine and roses but there were many memorable and special moments.
In January our son ended up staying with us for an extra week before heading back to London, England. The circumstances of his extended stay aren’t exactly positive but we did have him with us and for me that was special. By the way, at the end of December of last year, he slipped on the ice and broke his upper arm and he required surgery. The surgery was successful and he was released from the hospital on January 1st. 
In February my friend M celebrated her 64th birthday and my niece, S, her 26th.
The biggest event in February was our daughter’s wedding to her first love and partner of 10 years. They met on Feb. 10th so they decided on their 10th anniversary they would make it official and tie the knot. What a special day!
In March while we experienced snow, our future daughter-in-law was sitting in an outdoor caffe in Assisi planning her wedding.
In May we celebrated Mother’s Day with the family in the backyard (a little chilly) and at school we had our Forest of Reading celebration, Jump Rope for Heart and our annual Fun Fair. Winnie also had her first swimming lesson and her Daddy started Go Cart racing. Also A and J and their brother-in-law, G, ran the Sporting Life 10k.
In June two of my colleagues retired from teaching, my very good friend, A, celebrated her 75th birthday and our son and his love were married in London at City Hall.
Our school choir also sang at a Blue Jays game and we put on our annual outdoor extravaganza at school.
July was the highlight month of the year for our family. We took a trip of a lifetime. My sister and her family from Calgary and my two daughters and their families and my husband and I travelled to Italy to celebrate the union of our son, B, and his beautiful Iranian bride, Az. We travelled for the first 11 days visiting places like Venice, Florence, Bologna and Lucca and then we all met in Assisi where the actual wedding took place. After three days in Assisi we made one more stop in Rome before flying back home.
In August I was able to open up the cottage and spent about 5 weeks there off and on. My husband and I celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary and I had another birthday.
September brought a new school year and my last first day of school. My husband had been coaching a small group of boys from our extended family to get them ready for this year’s cross country team and they were all entered into the Railpath Community Run. In fact there were 11 of us from the family that ran that day. I was happy to do 5k without stopping in 45 minutes. At least I wasn’t the slowest person on the course. The boys did really well and some of them walked away with some prizes.
October was another busy month with a lot of milestone birthdays. My husband turned 65, my dad 90, my son-in-law 40 and Winnie celebrated her 1st birthday. I also organized and ran my last book fair school. We raised the largest sum of money ever. I now I have the fun job of buying books and supplies for the library and classrooms.
In November my oldest daughter, A, celebrated her 37th birthday. Where has the time gone? My younger daughter, Winnie and I attended the Royal Winter Fair and I, along with five other teachers took 59 students on a three day overnight winter camp in the Kawarthas.
In December my Dad moved from his apartment to the retirement home across the road. We held our annual craft night at school, held a Christmas concert and had our staff party at a local restaurant. Christmas was a three day affair; one day in Hamilton, another in Toronto and the third in Oshawa. On the 30th of the month we celebrated the birthdays of our twins who are now 35. As my principal and friend M would say ‘Carol you’re old!’
So as you can see there were lots of bright moments in 2016 for me and the Cormier family. Wishing you all a bright, happy, healthy and prosperous 2017.
Cheers!
Mama Cormier 