Share Your World – January 15, 2018

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

Complete this sentence: I’m looking forward to….

….doing more painting and art projects. I’ve been reorganizing my studio space for the last few months and even though I’m still not finished I have started to work on small projects.

What is your favorite comfort snack food?

My favourite comfort food is anything with carbs but I’m not suppose to eat them too often because when I start I can’t stop. My all time favourite comfort food is pasta.

What was one of your first moneymaking jobs (other than babysitting or newspaper delivery)?

I remember working in my parents’ milk store when I was 14. I did that till I was 16. When the store was held up for a second time and I was working that night my parents gave up the milk business and opened a fabric store.

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.

This past week I spent time with a friend who is going through a tough time. I helped her check out nursing homes for her partner and I consoled her on the phone. It made me realize how quickly life can change and how important it is to live life to the fullest. I also spent time with a couple of other friends. With one we went out for lunch together at a really nice restaurant in a hotel and afterwards we walked downtown and browsed around in a few stores. With the second friend we drove to the mall and had lunch and did some shopping for a gift. Then we went to Costco and did our shopping together. We ran into another friend from our teaching days and quickly got caught up with what was happening in our lives. Each moment with all these friends was special in it’s own way.

On Sunday my sister came to visit with her daughter, son-in-law and her baby grandson. She lives about 3 1/2 hours away and she had to cancel a couple of times after Christmas because of weather. I knew that my husband and I had a funeral to attend on Sunday but I didn’t want my Dad to be disappointed again so I didn’t call her back to let her know we wouldn’t be there. Luckily they arrived before we had to leave so in the end we had a short but sweet visit and my father was able to finally take them out for lunch.

At the funeral we were able to reconnect with some of my husbands cousins, got caught up with up was happening in their lives, learned a few things about the family which we didn’t know and promised each other that we wouldn’t wait for the next funeral to get together.

365 Days of Art – New Books

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….the last two days have been very busy

Days 13 and 14 are still brewing in my head. I haven’t yet learned to just grab my sketch book and draw whenever I have a spare moment or two. Today and part of yesterday I cleared away some of the Christmas ornaments and tidied up the house for my sister’s visit today. The unfortunate part was that I only spent about 20 minutes with her before my husband and I had to run off to attend a funeral out of town. I didn’t want her not to come because she had cancelled so many times since Christmas because of bad weather and I didn’t want my father to be disappointed if they cancelled again. When we got back from the funeral my father talked at length about the nice visit he had with my sister and her family. He took them all out for lunch before they had to head back home.

The funeral was out of town for a family member on my husband’s side. We’re glad we went. The service was pretty long but it was clear that our cousin’s husband was dearly loved. Afterwards it was nice catching up with some of the other cousins and promising that we would have a family reunion in the near future that wasn’t at a funeral parlour. Most of the day was spent driving to and from the funeral and spending four more hours at the memorial service.

Just before we left a parcel arrived at my door. On Friday I ordered two art books that were recommended by Evelyn Flint on her blog. Jill Kuhn also used the collage book and recommended doing the 50 collages challenge. The first book is called The Collage Workbook by Randel Plowman and the second one is Atmospheric Watercolour by Jean Haines. I’m looking forward to reading both books and am very excited about making more watercolour art. Stay tuned for more 365 Days of Art.

Action at the Hockey Arena

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….you were where??????

Most of you know that both my husband and I are not huge hockey fans. Sometimes during the playoff season, if our home team are in the finals I might take in part of a game or at least watch the last 10 minutes. My Dad thinks that we’re both very un-Canadian because we don’t get excited about the hockey game. None the less he tells us about every game that he watches and we listen politely.

Last weekend my daughter came over to help me put together a wall unit and I promised to drive her to a hockey game afterwards so that she could see Josie’s nephew play hockey. My husband agreed to come with us and we experienced first hand the hockey culture that so many Canadian families endure at least once a week if not more during hockey season. For some hockey season goes all year, with summer training camps and off season tournaments.

The arena that we drove to in northern Etobicoke has five rinks and parking can be challenging. The game was well under way when we arrived. I brought my telephoto lens with me and played around trying to get action shots, not an easy task when the boys are moving so quickly.

If you haven’t guessed, Josie’s nephew is number 00. Here’s our favourite shot of the day.

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Unfortunately, Dante’s team didn’t win that day but more importantly the boys played well and Dante’s family was out there supporting him.

Getting Close to a Pigeon

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….unless there’s food involved most pigeons don’t let me get close enough to take a picture

Last week, while visiting my daughter and her family in Hamilton, we took a walk to pick up some lunch. On the way back I saw this lovely iridescent pigeon in a bird bath. It was bitter cold so I have to think that there was food in the bowl. I didn’t have my telephoto lens with me so I kept inching closer. I was amazed that this little guy didn’t fly off.

Then with a little cropping it became clear that there was food in the bath.

As always when I stop to take photos my family continues walking and I have to run to catch up. Here they are with lunch in hand, eager to get home to eat.

Advent Calendar #2

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….another calendar for my other two girls

When I saw the jewellery organizer with pockets I knew I wanted it for another advent calendar. The only problem with this piece is that the pockets are a little on the small side and and there are only 21 of them. On the plus side there are more hangers on the back of it and it can be used after the advent season is over. If the girls don’t need a jewellery organizer they can put it in their bathroom and put small toiletries and make-up in the pockets.

I would highly recommend gathering items for this kind of organizer well in advance. I’m debating whether to wrap each individual item or just place them in the pockets as is. My fear is that the wrapping paper might make some of the items too large for the small pockets. Part of the fun of these types of advent calendars is unwrapping a new item each day. Maybe I’ll wrap some and leave the rest unwrapped.

Here is what it looks like before it is filled and after it’s filled. I’m already 3 days late giving this to my daughter and her wife so I’ll have to decide tonight how to present it. I’m hoping to drop it off tomorrow.

Advent Calendar #1

Posted on December 2, 2017 by Mama Cormier

…every day, from December 1st to the 24th a new surprise to unwrap

Years ago my daughter and husband collaborated on a project where I was given a small gift every day from Dec. 1st to the 24th. Each gift was carefully wrapped and placed in a take away container and set before me at the breakfast table. I was so touched by this gesture that I’ve wanted to do a similar ‘advent calendar’ for someone special in my life. This year I finally got my act together and did just that. In fact I created two different ‘calendars’ for my two daughters and their families. Today I’ll share the first one with you.

At first I was just going to create a calendar for my granddaughter but then I decided to include presents for my daughter and son-in-law as well. In fact I even threw in a gift for their dog, Lucy. The hard part of this project was choosing what to put the presents into. I decided to use an over the door shoe organizer that had 24 pockets. After searching the internet and several stores I finally found the perfect vessel. After Christmas, I thought that the organizer could be used to store some of Winnie’s toys.

Apart from buying things that would be fun to open and be somewhat practical and not break the bank, the next most difficult part was wrapping each gift.

I won’t kid you and say that this project is simple and quick to put together. If I were to do it again I would start buying small gifts months in advance and wrap them as soon as I bought them. It was, however, fun to do and now that December 1st is here I’ve been blessed with photos of my granddaughter’s reaction to the first gift that she unwrapped this morning.

Black and White vs Colour – November 27, 2017

Posted on November 27, 2017 by Mama Cormier

…join the fun and change your colour photos into black and white

Thanks to the Maine Paper Pusher for hosting the Black and White vs Colour photo challenge.

Which of the two do you prefer?

Standing in the rain, waiting for Santa.

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Halloween at the Zoo

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….it started out chilly but when the sun came out the layers came off

Going to the zoo during the week on Halloween had its perks. There was lots of parking, the line-up to get into the zoo was very short and we didn’t have to push through crowds of people to see the pandas. The downside is that a lot of the refreshment stands and rest areas were closed. The mono-rail wasn’t operating and some of the animal enclosures were closed.

We arrived late morning and we needed to bundle up to stay warm. Out came the hats, gloves and scarves. As soon as we entered the grounds we could see that staff had made an effort to decorate for Halloween.

Our first destination was the panda pavilion. The pandas are on loan here from China and the original two successfully mated to produce two cubs. The young cubs are already two years old and are almost the same size as their parents. In March, Toronto will have to say good-bye to the pandas when they move to Calgary. I was thrilled that I was able to get so close to get some great shots.

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As we walked from the Giant Panda Experience towards the Polar Bears and then to the African Savanna, the sun came out and we shed our hats, gloves and scarves. The pathways are beautifully laid out as they wind through forests of orange, gold and red. There were many interesting animals along the way but this post would be far too long if I mentioned them all. I’ll save that for another day.

Share Your World – October 16, 2017

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Mama Cormier

…… thanks Cee for hosting Share Your World

If you had to move to a country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?

I think I would move to Italy, in the hills of Tuscany or Assisi. I loved the serenity while I was there but I might miss being close to water.

What color would you like your bedroom to be?

I’ve lived with this horrible grey for so long and I agonized over what colour to replace it with. I’ve purchased a rich cream colour but the thought of having to move everything to paint over this dreary grey has held me back.

What makes you Happy? Make a list of things in your life that bring you joy.

My husband and children and granddaughter
My friends
Making Art
Taking photographs
My cottage
Talking to and visiting my sisters
Travelling with my husband
Baking for my father
Reading a good book
Listening to great music

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.

I’ve appreciated the warm temperatures that we’ve experienced this past week. October has had all kinds of weather but it’s been mostly warm. Even on overcast days I’ve been able to get out for my walks with the dog and take some great photos.

I got together with some friends last week. I think the one thing about being retired that I miss is the daily interaction with colleagues, so when I do get together with friends it’s extra special, even if it’s just to talk and do some errands together.

Every week I try to get to Hamilton to spend time with our granddaughter, Winnie, and give her mother a bit of a break. Last week she let me take her for a walk down her street after the three of us shared a treat at the local coffee shop.

I always appreciate when my husband cooks dinner, which is most of the time but last week he made pizzas from scratch, which he hasn’t done for awhile. We weren’t sure how Dad would like the fig and mozzarella pizza so he made two different pizzas. Dad loved both of them.

Happy Birthday, Dad – 91 Years Young

Posted on October 7, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….birthdays are a big deal for my Dad

It’s Saturday morning, October 7th, and we’re sitting around waiting for friends and family to call Dad and send him birthday wishes. These phone calls mean the world to him as do birthday cards. He was so disappointed yesterday that no cards came in the mail. My sister in Calgary never forgets but this year she was away, moving her son to B.C. and it completely slipped her mind. I’m sure more cards will arrive after the long weekend.

This afternoon we’re going to take his iPad over to Apple and see if we can get it fixed, otherwise, he’ll be buying himself a new one for his birthday. For dinner he requested that we go to Mamma Martino’s for his birthday dinner so he can order spaghetti and meatballs. Kevin and I always call that restaurant one of our ‘cheap and cheerful’ places to go.

Well I think we’ve waited long enough for phone calls. I’m sure more will come in this afternoon. So far he’s received seven calls. Three from old friends and four from family.

His one request for his birthday was for a German plum cake with streusel. I’ve got the plums. I just need to find the time to make it now. Wish me luck!