Share Your World 2016 – Week 2

Posted on January 15, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for this week’s questions but I can’t help but think that I’ve answered one or two of these before

Do you believe in extraterrestrials or life on other planets?

Absolutely. I think it would be pretty arrogant to think that we are the only race of beings to inhabit the universe.

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

I haven’t lived in too many different places. I was born in Frankfurt, Germany and when I was one we moved to Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria. Soon after that we boarded an ocean liner and moved to Canada where I have lived most of my life in Toronto. For a period of four years, when I was 6 to 10 we lived in Oakville (a bedroom community close to Toronto) and when I went to university I lived in the town of Guelph.

If you given $22 million tax free dollars (any currency), what is the first thing you would do?

I would pay off all my credit cards and then give each of my children $1 million dollars, so they could pay off their debts and own a home. After that I would probably put aside enough money to live on comfortably and afford a couple of vacations a year for the rest of my life. Then I would share the rest with my sisters and friends and donate to different charities every year. Spread the wealth!

The Never List: What are things you’ve never done? Or things you know you never will do?

I will never and have never done the following:

Jump from 10m tower into water
Go bungee jumping
Go skydiving
Do drugs
Climb Mt. Everest
Smoke

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 my son has started to heal from his surgery and that he returned safely to London, England on Monday night. Before he left we spent some quality family time with his siblings and our granddaughter. Last Saturday, B, A, J and I drove to the Aga Khan Museum and spent a couple of hours perusing the artifacts from the middle east. It was fun watching my children take in the displays and actually taking the time to read the text that explained the history of the different ceramics, books and articles of clothing.

After our experience at the museum we drove to Hamilton and met up with my husband and younger daughter and her family. There was a whirlwind of activity in the kitchen as homemade meatballs were being prepared by the two of them while the rest of us took turns holding the baby and entertaining her. She is so curious now that she doesn’t want to sleep. The dinner was fabulous.

On Sunday I drove my son to the AGO to meet up with one of his good friends and to see the Turner show. I enjoyed our time together but I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of Turner’s work. I liked his small watercolour studies but his large pieces were too dark and gloomy for me. I am, however, very curious to see the movie on his life. I think he was one very strange man.

Later this week I’m hoping to figure out how to transfer photos from my new camera to my iPhone and computer using WiFi. So far transferring my photos onto the computer and onto my phone has been a challenge to say the least.

Hopefully I can sort out my photography problems so that I can continue to participate in photo challenges.

Cheers!

Share Your World 2015 – Week 50

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for 50 weeks of great questions

Favourite thing to photograph? Write? Or Cook?

I love photographing nature. When I discovered the macro feature on my camera I’m became somewhat obsessed with taking close-ups of flowers and seed pods and when an insect appears on the subject, I’m in heaven.

I like to write about my daily life. It’s like keeping a personal diary that I share with the world. I’ve dabbled in Haiku which I quite enjoy.

I like baking but I don’t do very much of it because I would eat it and be even heavier than I am. I’ll probably do some Christmas baking because I like to give it to my neighbours and friends.

Did you like swinging as a child? Do you still get excited when you see a swing?

I’m not sure that I really liked it as a young child but when I got older (preteen) we used to hang around the swings and challenge each other to go as high as possible. I can’t say that I get excited when I see the swing sets in my neighbourhood. The thought of going on one actually makes me a bit nauseated.

What has surprised you about blogging?

The biggest surprise about blogging is that I’m still here, almost four years since I started. I’m also surprised how my focus has changed and how many photo challenges that I take part in.

List at least five favorite desserts.

I have to admit that desserts are a weakness. When I’m good I can go without for a long time but once I start eating sweets it’s a slippery slope. Here are some of my favourite desserts:

Anything with fruit – apple strudel (authentic is the best)

– apple or fruit crisp

– fresh fruit torte with whipped cream

Poppy seed cake

Creme Brule

Key lime tarts

Bread pudding

Ice Cream with fruit and whipped cream

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 a wonderful dinner and time spent with a group of friends last Friday. On Saturday I got out for a long walk with my husband and dog and I managed to log over 15 000 steps for the entire day. On Sunday my family and I drove out into the country to a Christmas tree farm and cut down three trees for each of our homes. It was a cold and dreary day and the first time that I’ve done this when there was no snow on the ground. Afterwards we went back to my youngest daughter’s place in Hamilton and warmed up with coffee, gluehwein, hot home-made soup and grilled sandwiches.

Today the girls played in the West Conference Finals for basketball. They won their first two games and in the final game they lost in a very good game, 16 to 14. It was a difficult loss for them because it was so close and they missed out going to the city championships because of one basket. On the plus side they earned a second place banner for the school.

This week I’m looking forward to hearing the choir sing at the Holiday Concert. We’re having our staff party on Wednesday and on Saturday I’m attending another Christmas dinner with another group of friends. Friday is the last day of school and I have about a week to finish my Christmas shopping and get the house ready for family get togethers. The thing I’m looking forward to the most is seeing my son on Monday. He’ll be flying in from London, England and spending about two weeks with us.

This Can’t Be December in Toronto

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….we’ve had mild weather before but the grass is still green, flowers are blooming and some of the trees are budding

On our walk yesterday we came across a lot of signs that winter is on its way. I love the withering berries on the bushes and the seed heads on the natural vegetation. We’re so lucky to live close to a naturalized park. This is what I expect to see in the first week of December:

As we walking through the neighbourhood I looked up and thought that one tree had been decorated with hundreds of tiny lights. Upon closer inspection I discovered that those bulbs were actually tree buds. Close to the ground I found plants flowering and strange coloured fungi popping up through the grass. Is this unusual for this time of year? or am I just more observant in my advancing years? What do you think? Is this happening in your northern neighbourhood?

When a Busy Weekend Keeps You From Walking

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..3 days in a row of over 10 000 steps and then the weekend comes along

Usually the weekend is a great time for walking but this weekend proved otherwise. On Saturday I squeezed my newly pedicured feet into a brand new pair of high heels and wore them for the next eleven hours.

We left the house shortly after 12 noon and arrived at the church just in time for the wedding. The service wasn’t as long as we had expected and now we had 3 hours to kill before the reception. We thought about going home but opted instead to go to a restaurant close by and have a bite to eat. We ordered a couple of appetizers and sparkling water. Well that took less than an hour and we still had time to spare.

We decided to find some stores to browse through but we were in the middle of box store city with lots of pavement and parking lots to walk over. Not very good for someone in 3″ heels. In hind sight it seems ridiculous but we drove from store to store. My husband hates malls and box stores so we didn’t spend too much time ‘shopping’. We didn’t actually buy anything.

We didn’t have any coffee when we were in the restaurant earlier and we were now in need of a caffeine fix. Back in the car, we now drove around looking for a coffee shop. After a couple of missed turns we finally found a Star Bucks and sat down, again, for a cup of coffee.

We arrived at the reception hall exactly at 5:00 and there was no one else in the parking lot. We wondered if we had the right place but within minutes the families of the bride and groom showed up and slowly the guests stared arriving as well. I guess showing up on time is an old fashion custom. I couldn’t believe how late people walked through the door.

After the cocktail hour, dinner was served and for the next four and a half hours we were in our seats as the courses were served with speeches and formalities in between.

I was hoping we’d get to do some dancing but by the time the last speech had been delivered it was already 10:30 and we realized that our poor dog had been alone since noon. We said our good-byes and headed home. By 11:00 o’clock we arrived at the house and the first thing I did was take off those high heels. My husband took the dog out for a quick pee. I was just too tired to go for a walk. I had only logged 3400 steps.

On Sunday I slept in and then read my book for a couple of hours. I had booked an appointment with the Apple store to sort through some issues I was having with my computer and my iPhone. My husband came with me so that we could leave right from the mall and drive to Hamilton to have dinner at our daughter’s house. That’s right, my husband was in a mall, two days in a row. What a sport!

Unfortunately today was a very rainy day and when we arrived in Hamilton our plans for walking to a new area to explore were altered. The rain had let up briefly but our daughter didn’t think it was a good idea to walk to our destination because the odds of a downpour were pretty high. She was right. We drove to a quaint shopping area on Locke Street, parked the car and walked up and down the street. We stopped for coffee and a bite to eat because dinner wasn’t going to be early as we had anticipated.

There are some great little stores, coffee shops and restaurants in this area of Hamilton. I’ll be sure to return on a future visit. When we returned to our daughter’s house I went out for another short walk over to James street but most stores on Sunday close between 4:00 and 5:00, if they’re open at all.

When I returned to the house G had put out a lovely spread of cheese, dips and crackers and shortly after they served us a scrumptious dinner of ribs and a watermelon salad. I suggested going for a walk before dessert was served but it was decided that we would play a board game first and then go for a walk. Well we never did get out for that walk and in total I only logged 4000 steps for the day.

An Artful Sunday

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….I stayed home to work on samples for tomorrow’s art workshop

I started mid morning. K drove to Hamilton to help our daughter put in her garden. Normally I would have gone with him but I knew that if I didn’t get an early start on my samples they wouldn’t get done or I would be staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish them.

In our workshop tomorrow the children will be making their own journals from scratch. All the materials for the books are already laid out and ready to go. The focus of this year’s hand made book is decorating the cover with photographs, artwork and fancy paper. The collage should have some personal message on the cover. I’ve encouraged the boys and girls to bring in photocopies of family photos. At school I’ve have lots of papers, magazines and covers that the kids can play with. Thanks to Lynn Whipple for this fabulous idea. Here are my samples that I will share with the classes tomorrow.

After I finished the covers I went back to a project that I started a couple of months ago but stopped mid-stream. It’s a technique where you glue photos to the back of a piece of glass or plexiglass facing the front and then you paint the background on the back of the glass. It’s called reverse painting and requires that you turn your work over periodically so that you can see how it looks on the front. I actually enjoyed the process more than I thought I would. This was also an assignment from Lynn Whipple from Year of the Spark.

I choose a photograph of my great great grandparents and aunts and uncles. I learned that they periodically vacationed in Africa so I decided to add some large ferns from a Geli print that I had done last year and I drew a sketch of an elephant and placed it behind the ferns. I always associate orange skies with Africa but I’m not sure what the castle in the sky signifies. Freud would probably have a hay day analyzing this piece; well to do Germans, early 1900s, vacationing in Africa, castle in the sky, elephants, etc..

After finishing the books and the reverse painting I drove to three different places looking for a place to trim or buy a new mat for a painting that I’m donating to the silent auction next Saturday at the school’s Fun Fair. I have a great frame but the mat that came with it covered too much of the painting. Unfortunately I didn’t find anyone to help me. I did however get a name of a place, close to work, that I’m going to try tomorrow.

When I returned home I put the reverse painting into its frame and then I opened my art journal and decided to start this week’s assignment. I’m suppose to play with colours and come up with different palettes with five colour combinations that appeal to me. Once I’ve finished that I’m suppose to create a self portrait (very open ended) using my favourite. palette.

So far I’ve created several palettes. Most of them were done using acrylic paint and one uses pan pastels. Do you have a favourite?

From Winter Straight Into Summer

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….after months of complaining about the cold we can now complain about the heat

We never get much in the way of Spring weather here in Southern Ontario. It is usually very short lived and then we’re straight into summer. This year April was unseasonably cold and May has started out with very warm…..no high, temperatures.

This Mother’s Day weekend, my husband and I and our daughter, A, and her partner, J, drove to Hamilton to celebrate Mother’s Day with our other daughter G and her husband BT. It was so hot that I brought a change of clothes in case what I was wearing was too warm.

After our lunch at a local restaurant (we stayed inside where it was air conditioned) we took a walk to Bayshore Park where we saw people fishing, wading in the lake, cycling and having picnics. The ice-cream trucks were out and people were applying sun screen to their arms and legs.

There were lots of birds in the park and the mating rituals and bird chatter were abundant. The geese and seagulls were hovering close to the picnickers, as they always do and the dog walkers were out in droves. Most of the trees were in full bloom here and some were already losing their blossoms. Tulips were also in full bloom but the daffodils were already finished for the season.

Today my husband cut the grass for the second time this year and is now starting to get the vegetable beds ready for planting. Normally this would be too early here but these unusually high temperatures are saying otherwise.

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable Mother’s Day weekend.

Cheers!

A New Farmers’ Market in a New Home Town, a Visit From One Sister, Washing the Car and a Children’s Concert

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..needless to say it’s been a busy weekend

On Saturday my husband and I drove to Hamilton to return my daughter’s husband and dog (see yesterday’s post). It was probably the warmest day we’ve had this season. Both my husband and I were uncomfortable with the sudden heat. I’m not sure if Hamilton was warmer than Toronto but it certainly wasn’t that warm when we left the big city.

When we arrived our daughter was in the process of putting away dishes in the kitchen. There are still a lot of boxes that need to be unpacked. I really thought we were going to help with this massive job but G and B had other plans for us. B and I drove up the mountain to the paint store to pick up paint and G and her Dad walked up the street to pick up some lunch.

After lunch K and I walked to the end of the street to check out the Farmers’ Market. It was pretty big and there was a great selection of produce, meat, fish, cheese, baked goods, coffee and spices. There were also a number of vendors selling crafts.

When we returned B was already prepping for painting. I guess until the painting is done there isn’t much that can be done in the way of putting things away. We had a feeling that our help wasn’t really needed. We enjoyed a cup of coffee that we picked up at the market. It is literally only a five to ten minute walk from the house. When we left, B was well into painting the living room.

On Sunday, my sister from Chatham dropped by before heading back to the farm. She was in town to visit her two children. Her daughter was suppose to leave for Nepal this week for a three month co-op placement. She needs this in order to graduate. Fortunately for her the trip was cancelled because of the earthquake. Actually she was very disappointed but my sister was relieved. I’m sure the school will come up with another placement.

It was nice catching up with my sister. We didn’t even see each other at Christmas so one of the reasons for the visit was to pick up her Christmas gift which had been gathering dust in the corner of my living room.

I’m embarrassed to admit it but Sunday was the first time since the fall that I washed the car. It was also the first time that I took the car to one of those do-it-yourself car washes. It was the best $4.00 I ever spent. If I’d had more change I would have washed the floor mats and vacuumed the inside of the car. Next time!

On my way home from the car wash I got a phone call from my friend L and she reminded me of the children’s concert that we had talked about earlier in the week. I had completely forgotten about it but luckily it was being held in the neighbourhood at the Assembly Hall. I quickly fixed dinner and then I walked over to the college. The concert was put on by the Etobicoke Children’s Chorus. It was a special night because it was the farewell performance for the choir’s choral director.

As you can see it was a pretty busy weekend. In between all the fun things I’ve written about I also managed to do a little gardening, I cleaned up the kitchen, started cleaning the refrigerator, did some laundry and drove to Canadian Tire to pick up some household items.

Great Weather, Great News, Great Concert

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….it’s been a wonderful weekend and I can finally share my big news

1. Finally a beautiful weekend, weather-wise. Sunshine and warmer temperatures. I managed to get out on Saturday for a walk with the dog and took some photos of the neighbourhood.

2. Also on Saturday, my husband and I picked up our youngest daughter and her dog Lucy and brought them back to our house. G’s husband was on a business trip so she was looking for some company and she needed a break from packing boxes. This Friday they will be moving from their tiny apartment in uptown Toronto to a 4 bedroom Victorian semi in Hamilton. It’s a move they need to make because they needed more room to accommodate the new baby that they are expecting in October. Yeah!!!!!!!!! I’m finally going to be a grandmother. That’s my BIG news!

3. Today my friend DM invited me to a concert downtown. The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto hosted a live competition to present the Career Development Awards. The concert featured the three finalists who were chosen from a pool of 10 candidates chosen by CBC regional producers. Usually a jury of musical experts from across Canada rank all the entries based on written and audio materials and select a winner but because this was the tenth anniversary for the award (given every three years) a live competition was held. Prizes of $20 000., $10 000 and $5000 were awarded for first, second and third place.

All three competitors played magnificently. There were two pianists and one cello player. First prize went to Charles Richard-Hamelin on piano, second prize to Stéphane Tétreault on cello and third prize to Pierre-André Doucet on piano (my personal favourite).

I’ve found Pierre-André Doucet’s performance of Carl Vine’s Piano Sonata No. 1 on YouTube.

Stéphane was the youngest performer at 22 and played this beautiful arrangement of Hayden’s Divertimento in D Major.

I couldn’t find the exact piece that Charles Richard-Hamelin played today but here is a sample of Chopin.

Too Tired to Write

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….so I’ll post a few photos of my weekend

It was a somewhat busy weekend with running to clinics, grocery shopping (twice), painting, reading (but not enough), walking and running (yeah, I can still do it), blogging, laundry and helping a friend sort through 40 years of paperwork. I’m exhausted and need to get to bed before 11:00. Here is a gallery of my weekend.