Slowly But Surely

Posted on April 30, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….the temperatures go up and then they go down but surely Spring is in the air

On the weekend we attended a soccer (football) game. The tickets were gifted to us by our daughter and daughter-in-law who had other plans and couldn’t use them. The forecast wasn’t very promising but we decided to bundle up and bring along a stadium blanket to keep us warm.

The seats are very high up in the stadium but the view is spectacular.

I wish I could say that the game was exciting and that we were victorious but TFC was off its game and we were quite disappointed in how they played. In the second half my husband wasn’t feeling well and just couldn’t get warm. We left when the game was tied 1-1 and made our way to warm restaurant for a meal. There were TV screens all through the place and by the time we got there the game was over and Toronto lost 2-1.

On Sunday, the temperatures were up slightly but the best part was the sun and no wind. I took a walk through Col. Sam Smith Park and took a lot of wonderful shots of the lake, the beach and the trees and plants that are getting ready to erupt with colours of green, pink and yellow. You know when the weather is good because everybody and their dogs are out walking.

Silent Sunday – March 31, 2019

Image

Out Like a Lion

Posted on March 31, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….good-bye March

I know that if March comes in like a lamb it’s suppose to go out like a lion. I’m not sure that this qualifies as a lion but before I went to bed just after midnight I saw this:

….this morning I woke up to this and it’s still snowing.

I don’t know why I’m surprised by this. We get snow in April sometimes. Luckily this won’t last long and it will probably be gone later today.

Sunny but Cold

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…..six days into spring and it still feels like winter

Despite the cold, the sun makes me want to walk around my neighbourhood. When the wind isn’t blowing it isn’t too bad. Unfortunately the areas that I like walking the best are always near the lake and even the tiniest breeze can be bone chilling cold. For some reason the geese, ducks and swans don’t seem bothered by the cold. It must be all that lovely down next to their bodies.

When Spring Can’t Come Soon Enough

Posted on March 11, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….take a trip to a greenhouse, Botanical Garden Centre or take in the Canada Blooms Show

On Sunday, it had warmed up slightly but the sky was grey and dreary and it rained off and on. Not a nice day to walk outside but it was warm and fragrant in the Enercare Centre at the CNE where the Canada Blooms show was up and running. Going on the weekend is probably not the best time to go (parking is more expensive and I had to park in one of the satellite lots). It certainly wasn’t a cheap outing, even with the senior’s rate but being able to walk around and see all those beautiful blooms and get some ideas for landscaping my backyard was well worth the money.

A Photo a Week Challenge – Black and White

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Nancy Merrill for hosting the A Photo a Week Challenge

This week’s topic is very broad and open ended. The trick was finding photos that translate well into a black and white format. I actually liked the following photos better in black and white.

Is There an End to This?

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….more snow in the forecast for tomorrow

I can’t believe that I was lamenting about having no snow back in early January. Now it just keeps coming. The upside is that when the sun shines you can tell that spring can’t be too far off. The snow starts to melt but overnight it freezes and the next day it’s like an ice rink on the roads and sidewalks.

Yesterday, during one of those sunny periods I got outside and started to chip away at the ice on the driveway. I think I was outside for two hours. I also walked down to the park and took some photos of the lovely ice sculptures made by Mother Nature.

Baking During a Blizzard

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….crazy weather didn’t keep us from baking outdoors this week

A couple of weeks ago the weather forecast was dismissal so the Farmers’ Market was cancelled. A lot of vendors come from out of town so with their safety in mind calls were made and notices went out to the community that Montgomery’s Inn would be closed for the market.

This week the weather looked grim again but we went ahead and prepped for the market. On Tuesday morning the snow was coming down pretty heavily so I opted to forgo driving to the Inn. Luckily three of the other bakers braved the snowy roads and prepared a smaller batch of dough than normal. Instead of 7 breads they prepped for 4. The turnout to the market has been down this winter because of bad weather so the decision was made to make less and hopefully have less waste. Not that the bread is wasted. In the end whatever doesn’t sell goes into the freezer or is given away to the other vendors.

On Wednesday the sky didn’t look promising but I drove to the Inn to join my colleagues and get ready for the market. Everyone showed up so I was in charge of making lunch. All the ingredients for a homemade lentil soup had been bought so I started preparing the onions, carrots and celery. It’s a pretty basic soup and the lentils don’t need to be soaked ahead of time. I added a small diced smoked sausage, about a cup of tomato sauce and some leftover mashed potatoes along with the broth and water. Then I let it simmer for a couple of hours and before serving I seasoned it with salt, pepper, basil and thyme. It turned out to be a very hearty soup. Perfect on a cold winter day.

Getting the wood oven to heat up turned out to be a bit of a challenge this week. Since the oven hadn’t been used in two weeks it was ‘stone cold’ and it took quite a while to get the inside up to temperature. When it finally did reach the desired temperature the snow and the winds picked up and we had to proceed with putting the loaves in the oven during the worst part of the day. We decided to score the bread inside to keep our stay outside to a minimum.

The bread turned out exceptionally well this week. I don’t know how many people showed up for the market but hopefully the bread sold. At least the vendors and those who showed up had a nice warm fire to cozy up to inside the inn.

Wordless Wednesday – February 13, 2019

Image

Nature’s Ice Sculptures

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….with the spike in temperatures this weekend I’m not sure how long these will last

Unlike parts of England where they are already contemplating spring, we will certainly see more snow and ice and low temperatures. Right now we’ve gone from an Arctic Vortex to above freezing in a matter of days. It’s not very pretty out there with all the slush and run off from the snow banks. Fortunately I went out on Friday and found these beautiful ice sculptures along the shores of Lake Ontario just a couple hundred metres from our house. The ice is created when the waves hit the rocks and come up over the banks onto the trees and bushes.

It’s rare for Lake Ontario to freeze but you can see the ice flows close to the shore in some of these photos and yes those are swans out on the lake. Most of them have their heads nestled close to their bodies under their wings.