first apartment | Mama Cormier

….. thanks Cee for four more thought provoking questions

What did you or did not like about the first apartment you ever rented?

Our first apartment was a basement apartment in uptown Toronto. We were close to the subway and great shopping and restaurants. I didn’t like being in the basement. Our windows faced the parking lot and driveway so we had to contend with cars rolling past our windows.

What kind of art is your favorite? Why?

My favourite art includes abstract paintings, watercolour or acrylic and collage and mixed media art. I don’t like things that are hyper realistic. I’d rather take a beautiful photograph.

A Ray Cattell painting.

How many siblings do you have? What’s your birth order?

I’m the oldest of three girls. When my son was born he was the first male born on my father’s side of the family in 50 years.

The three Winkler sisters.

Complete this sentence: I’m dreaming of a white …. (and no you can’t use Christmas as your answer)

This one stumped me for a few minutes. In fact, I went for a walk and really thought about this question. I’ve already owned a white car and my husband has one now. It wasn’t by choice for either of us but at the time they were our only options. I’ve really learned to appreciate white flowers and one of my favourite bouquets this year was all white.

I’m not very fussy about white weddings or white clothes. I don’t like white food, unless it’s vanilla ice-cream or whipped cream and white walls leave me cold. I do, however, like bright white trim. Therefore, I’m dreaming of painting all the trim in the house white. I also love crisp white sheets and big soft white towels.

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 weekend with the family. We did a double Father’s Day celebration. On Saturday my husband and I hosted a BBQ at our place and our girls and their significant others and two of our best friends joined us. My husband did most of the cooking because it’s what he loves to do. I did all the running around and picked up things that we needed. We also went across the street for a bit to congratulate our neighbour on her retirement.

Our daughter and son-in-law couldn’t keep the gender of their baby secret any longer and they shared the news with us. Unfortunately I promised to keep it a secret for a little bit longer and not share it with the world right now.

On Sunday, we drove to my Dad’s place in Oshawa and celebrated Father’s Day with him. My sister took the train in from Chatham and we all shared a meal at their new apartment. I brought a salad made from the lettuce in our garden and Dad picked up his special treat, KFC.

One other thing that I’m grateful for was a very enjoyable Tea that my friend L and I hosted for four students from school. It really was fun and the kids learned a lot about ‘tea etiquette’ and a little bit more about their teachers.

This week I’m looking forward to the staff party and to the last day of school and the start of our summer break.

….a very special week in my household

What is your most vivid memory of the kitchen in your childhood?

It’s hard to break it down to one vivid memory. The kitchen was probably my favourite room in the house because I loved to eat and at an early age I was preparing meals. One memory that stands out in my mind is the time when my parents had a small catering business that they ran from our kitchen. We lived in Oakville at the time and there were some very well to do families in this bedroom community of Toronto.

I remember my Dad bringing home huge containers of shrimp that they had to shell, devein and arrange on platters (no pre-made shrimp platters in those days). He taught me how to clean the shrimp and as a special reward I was allowed to eat one or two of those jumbo shrimps. I would have been about 8 at the time.

When we moved back to Toronto both my parents worked and I remember coming home for lunch and preparing our own meals. As a special treat my sisters and I would put marshmallows on forks and toast them over the electric range. We were lucky we didn’t burn ourselves or start a fire in the apartment.

As a child, who was your favorite relative?

When we moved to Canada, all our relatives stayed behind in Germany. Of all the relatives that came to visit I’d have to say that my favourite relative was my mother’s sister. This is the same aunt that just passed away this week.

When I was a little girl I remember thinking that my aunt led a very glamorous life. I loved visiting her in Germany. She would take me to the hairdresser and she bought me very special presents and would treat me to the best ice-cream. When I was a teenager she would send me some of her clothes which I actually wore.

What did you or did not like about the first apartment you ever rented?

Our first apartment was in the basement of an older building. The worst part was that our living room windows faced out onto the parking lot and cars passed by our windows all the time. The one thing I did like was that it was close to the subway and that it was uptown. There was a lot of good shopping in the neighbourhood.

What kind of TV commercial would you like to make? Describe it.

I don’t like commercials at the best of times but if I have to watch them I’d like them to be funny or inspirational or both. I’d also like the same commercial to be played only once a day and not six times back to back on the same show.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week I was grateful for a very successful book fair. We sold over $7500. worth of books and merchandise and 70% comes back to the school. This week I took 29 students to the Daily Bread Food Bank and we bagged 295 bags of onions at five pounds a bag. Some of the children also sorted through donations and put food items in the correct container. When all was said and done we helped 120 families for three days who need to use the food bank.

This week I’m looking forward to reconnecting with family members and friends at my aunt’s memorial gathering. I’m also looking forward to celebrating my daughter’s birthday on Sunday and spending time with my son who is only here for 3 days.

Thanks Cee for another great set of questions.