A Productive Day and a Movie Review

Posted on April 13, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….didn’t finish everything on my to do list but actually did more than I planned to do, including watching a very bad movie

It was a perfect day, yesterday, for working in the garden. I raked the front and the back yard and bagged a lot of yard waste. I know that I said I would report back later in the day but I think I overdid it because I couldn’t keep my eyes open later in the evening. Here’s what I accomplished in one day:

I did actually put some fertilizer down over my bulbs. I think I called it bone meal yesterday but in actual fact it’s chicken poop. It’s suppose to keep the squirrels from digging up the bulbs. As soon as the snow melted away last week I noticed that something started digging in the garden so I had to take action quickly before the hundred bulbs I planted last fall are completely destroyed.

I also took down the Christmas lights on the Yew in front of the house. As I was doing that I decided that it needed a good trim so I got out the ladder and proceeded to give it a ‘hair cut’. This was not on my to do list.

As you can see from the photos, new growth is just starting to come up from the ground. Now you can see why I’m so envious of all those beautiful photographs of blossoms and spring flowers that the rest of the world seems to be enjoying. It really has been a long winter.

I also did about four loads of laundry, vacuumed the main floor of the house, dusted in the living room and I did take out some of the garden furniture. I didn’t want to push it because I was afraid I was going jinx this beautiful weather we’re having. As it is the weatherman has forecast snow for this Tuesday and I also put away the snow shovels. Well, I actually left one out just in case.

I also cleaned the oven, wrote one post (started this one) and took a few photographs.

I didn’t get to the bird cage and I didn’t put away my winter clothes and take out the summer clothes. I think the latter project is a little premature anyway, seeing that we’re in for a few more days if not weeks of cool weather.

Later in the afternoon my husband and I decided to treat ourselves and go and see a movie at the theatre. Usually I check reviews before deciding on a movie but for some reason I didn’t do that this time. Big mistake.

We went to see, Noah. It had some very good actors in it (Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson) and it was directed by the same director who did the Black Swan. How could we go wrong?

It was bad. This interpretation of the biblical story of Noah is so out there that it was barely recognizable. The only things that made it recognizable were the ark and the animals pairs (all computer animated by the way). It was a disaster movie with rock creatures called the Watchers. For a better review of this movie go to my favourite movie blog and see what Movie Joltz has to say. I usually go here before I decide on a movie. After watching Noah, my husband’s comment was, “Well, that’s three hours I’ll never get back.”

The Toronto Marathon, Cherry Blossoms and Road Closures

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….not a good day to be driving

It was another beautiful day. A great day for walking, riding your bike and other modes of transportation. With everything going on in the city, citizens were urged to not drive and to get to venues using public transportation.

My husband and I had to do a little gardening at our daughter’s house while she’s away. We know the city fairly well and we knew how to get to the house using a route that wouldn’t be as impacted by the road closures as some of the main streets. Getting there wasn’t bad but getting home was another story.

I’m not sure why we didn’t take the same route home but we didn’t. I guess we thought that the marathon would be finished but we didn’t count on the mayhem of cars trying to get into High Park to see the cherry blossoms.

Spectators were urged to not drive to High Park. The subway and the streetcar stop at the park. There are bicycle routes that go into the park. On Saturday the parking lots in the park were full by 8:00 in the morning and no one in the parks department thought to open the public washrooms that are situated throughout the park. I guess they normally don’t open until the long weekend in May. Apparently, the washrooms in the one and only restaurant in the park had huge lineups, especially for the women.

As we were driving down Parkside we couldn’t figure out why the right lane was moving so slowly. We moved over to the left lane and soon discovered that cars were lined up to get into the park. If you can see that the line isn’t moving why wouldn’t you use some common sense and change your plans?

I may not see the cherry blossoms, first hand this year but I did discover that there’s a beautiful cherry tree in our neighbourhood and on our walk this morning I took a couple of pictures.

When we finally got home I decided to do more gardening. It was too beautiful a day to spend indoors. I had already done about two hours of work in the morning, mostly cleaning the beds and pulling weeds. I worked for another two hours in the afternoon. I will probably regret it in the morning but I love the feeling of accomplishment when everything looks so clean and groomed.

I was pleased to see that my perennials are peaking through the soil. Last fall a parent at my school who works at the golf course offered a few of us some plants that she had to thin out. I loaded up the back of my car with some plants that had been cut down but the roots were still intact in a clump of soil. I planted everything in the areas of my garden that were most suitable for each plant.

Here’s my problem. As I look at the new growth coming up from the ground I realize that I have no idea what some of these plants are. I’ve forgotten what I was given. I know I have some ornamental grasses and one plant is a fern but I can’t remember what the rest are.

: Fern

: My Dahlia

: Forget-me-knot

Here are the plants I’m not sure about.

: ???????

: I think this is a grass

: This is an ornamental grass but I don’t see any new growth. It was the one plant I was really excited about.

Do any of you know what I’ve got here? Let me know if you do.

Cheers!

Sunshine, Tulips, BLTs and Working Outdoors

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..a lot of things to be happy about today

I slept in this morning so I missed out on the walk/run with the dog. I’ve been getting to bed too late this week so sleeping in felt wonderful and I’m feeling completely refreshed. Now I just need to climb into bed earlier during the week so I can have that same feeling for the rest of the week.

This morning when I checked the blogs that I follow I came across one that completely inspired me for the rest of the day. Kate’s Creative Space from Great Britain posted some beautiful pictures of purchases she had made earlier in the day. Pictures of the freshly baked bread and the fresh cut flowers resonated with me and I had an immediate craving for a BLT sandwich. We had everything we needed, except the bread, so my husband (also craving a BLT) and I bundled up warmly, gathered up the shopping bag and walked to the top of the street to our local shopping strip known as Lakeshore Village.

We picked up a nice freshly baked whole wheat bread from the Portuguese bakery and then made our way to the green grocer, just a few stores down from the bakery. We picked up a few vegetables and I treated myself to a couple bunches of tulips. The big difference between flowers here and flowers in Europe is the price. I think Kate mentioned that she paid 1 pound for a bunch of flowers compared to $5.00 for a bunch here.

When we got home I tried to arrange my purchases into an interesting grouping to photograph and I soon realized that there is a real skill needed to do this well. Kate is an expert at it and I need more practice and perhaps some lessons on how to do it properly. The shopping bag behind the food is one that I picked up yesterday at Winners. I couldn’t resist the picture of the Dachshund. It reminded me so much of Frances and the proceeds from the bag go the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

After doing my ‘photo shoot’ I started making the BLTs. Bacon, ripe red tomato slices, lettuce, toasted whole wheat bread and mayonnaise, topped with a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Yum!!!!!! I made the classic one for my husband and on mine I reduced the mayonnaise and added soft ripe avocado in its place….my new favourite sandwich topping.

After lunch I needed to get outside some more so I decided it was probably a good day to start cleaning the yard. It was definitely the sunniest day we’ve had in awhile and after raking the grass and pulling weeds I didn’t feel the chill in the air. Call me crazy but I always get a feeling of satisfaction after I finish a chore and can see the fruits of my labour. It literally makes me happy.

A good start.

The ‘fruits of my labour”.

Time to Put the Garden to Bed

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. I think we’ve seen the last of the warm temperatures today

After coming back from my reunion with my high school friends I changed into my gardening clothes and started to prepare the garden for the winter. I planted a few shade loving perennials in the front, raked up 6 bags of leaves and pulled the rotting vegetable plants from their garden beds.

I ended up with one very tiny eggplant but the cool temperatures in the last couple of weeks halted any real growth and it started to rot on the plant. As you can see from the picture it’s not very pretty. I’ll try again next year.

The Brussels sprouts look a little more promising. I’ll be pulling the plant apart tonight to see if I can salvage any of it. Love those Brussels sprouts.

A few more bags of leaves to rake and bag and a couple more perennials to plant (maybe some bulbs but the squirrels usually eat them) and gardening for the season will come to an end.

Cheers!

Beginning of Week 5

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Mama Cormier

… 4 weeks down

I can’t believe that I’ve been doing this for 4 solid weeks. When I weighed myself this morning I was down another 2 1/2 pounds since yesterday. That makes a total of 12 1/2 pounds. My goal was to lose 20 pounds before the 5 km race on Father’s Day. That leaves me 4 more weeks. I think it’s very possible.

Today I spent hours in the garden, weeding and planting. My husband managed to start his vegetable garden but his energy levels are very low these days. When he says “he’s done”, he means it. I’ll be glad when his last round of chemo is done at the end of the month. I’m not sure when he’ll start feeling better. Each round has been different but it has taken him longer each time before he feels somewhat normal again. When K doesn’t have the energy to take Frances for a walk you know he’s not feeling well.

It looks like it’s just you and me again, tonight, Frances!