I love to make things and because I use my hands they are classified as handmade. I frequently show my art but never my hands. Here are a few pieces where you can catch a glimpse of my hands. The envelope is a Turkish fold and is wonderful for messages and coupons. I gave this to a friend recently for her birthday with coupons to redeem for a girl’s lunch and visit to the art gallery or museum. The second handmade item is the art journal that I’ve shown here before. So much fun to make and helps me warm up for making larger pieces of art.
Bending implies that you or something is flexible, either physically or mentally. When a person bends mentally they are able to see both sides of an opinion or argument and can ‘bend’ or change their own way of thinking. Bending physically is easier to demonstrate in photographs.
A bend in the pathBending over to pick up a stoolBending over to get in the pictureBends in the wooden stairway at the AGOBending beams at the AGOGargoyles bending over at the castle in FranceBending in for a kissBend and stretchBending her body coming down the bend in the slideBending over to bowl
On Sunday, my daughter, daughter-in-law and I went to the AGO. It was was wonderful to be back and visit the featured Leonard Cohen exhibition and many other parts of the art gallery. It was also nice to be able to go to the Espresso Bar in the Galleria Italia, sit down and enjoy a delicious cappuccino and share two beautifully presented tarts.
The Leonard Cohen show was very busy but it was interesting to see the different stages of his life, his family and the progression of his poetry and music career. I became a fan as he got older and loved his gravelly voice and iconic hat that he wore when performing.
….this year it was more about the pumpkins, decorations and squash
Usually the turkey is a big deal but when it’s just the two of us, we tend to keep things simpler. Leading up to Thanksgiving we stopped at some favourite places and picked up some gourds for decoration, lots of vegetables and yummy butter tarts.
Gourds outside Wendy Bs shop in LafontaineInside Wendy Bs placePumpkins at Harris FarmsCream of the Crop SquashThanks for the spending the day with me, AndreaSunday night’s dinner prepared by my wonderful husband
Reviewing my day in Hamilton. Had I known that I was going to do this I would probably have taken more photos.
My daughter and daughter-in-law had appointments in Hamilton to get their hair done and the car isn’t very reliable anymore for long trips so I volunteered to drive them in my car. I haven’t been back to the downtown core of Hamilton since our daughter moved to New Brunswick.
The first thing I did was drop the girls off at the salon and then I drove to Denninger’s. It’s a German deli that has been in Hamilton since Rudolf Denninger immigrated to Canada from Germany with his wife. The family owned business has grown from the original store on King St. in Hamilton to 5 stores, a warehouse and a manufacturing facility, employing 300 people in southern Ontario. https://denningers.com/pages/about-us
The visit was bittersweet because so many things in the store reminded me of my father, who passed away almost two years ago. I picked up many things that had a special meaning for me. My father loved chocolates, herring and small oranges like clementines. The cashier asked me if I was all right because I had tears in my eyes. I told him they were happy tears. I spent way too much money.
After my shopping trip at the deli I drove back to Mulberry and MacNab because I knew that I could park there for free and I walked up James St. to the wool shop. I had some money left on a gift certificate from the Hand Knit Yarn Store. It wasn’t for a large amount but I thought I would check out the new merchandise. I haven’t been there since before COVID, over two years ago. Everyone was very friendly and using up the remainder of the gift card was no problem. Again I spent way too much money. https://handknityarnstudio.com/
After my purchase of yarns I walked around the corner to Arcana Salon https://www.arcanasalon.ca/ to check on the girls. Andrea had another 1 1/2 hours to go, so I walked back towards my car and my favourite coffee shop in Hamilton, Mulberry Coffeehouse https://www.mulberrycoffeehouse.com/. Along the way I stopped to take some photos of flowers and Interesting doors.
Once I was in the coffeehouse, I ordered a tea and a breakfast sandwich. It was very busy, as it always is and I was lucky to find a seat at a counter. I pulled out the book that I am currently reading but I didn’t get too far. Josie walked in with her new haircut and wanted to visit the Farmers’ Market which was within walking distance from the cafe. When I finished my tea we made the trek to the Hamilton Farmers’ Market and we were delighted to see that most of the vendors had survived the COVID restrictions and closures. I purchased two large bunches of basil and garlic after overhearing another customer talk about making pesto with his purchase. I thought it was a great idea. In the next post I’ll show you our busy day making and putting the pesto into jars.
Andrea met us at the market. We walked around a little bit more and I treated myself to a bunch of flowers. My Dad also enjoyed buying flowers for me and my husband used to do it weekly. We headed back to the car with our bags of produce in hand and then made our way back to Toronto.
That evening we shared a meal together and I cooked up the spaetzle that I bought earlier. Kevin had made a lovely beef stew that complimented the German noodles perfectly. To burn off some of the calories from our meal, the girls and I and Olive went for a long walk through the neighbourhood. What a perfect day!
…the vegetable and fruit stands are overflowing with beautiful produce from our local farmers
On my way home from the cottage last weekend I stopped at one of my favourite farms to buy some vegetables to take home. I wasn’t disappointed. So colourful and so varied.
Mama Cormier 