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.

The Changing Seasons – October 2016

Posted on November 3, 2016 by Mama Cormier

…..thanks to Cardinal Guzman for hosting Changing Seasons

October has been a month of birthdays in our family and all were special birthdays. We started with my husband’s 65th birthday, then my father’s 90th birthday, my granddaughter’s 1st birthday and my son-in-law’s 40th birthday. October also saw the colours finally change and mostly towards the end of the month. Finally the month ended, as it always does, with Hallowe’en and what a glorious day it was for trick or treating.

New Trends – Hallowe’en Inflatables and Flaming Pumpkins

Posted on November 1, 2016 by Mama Cormier

Walking around the neighbourhood before Hallowe’en night I noticed that more and more people are decorating their homes using inflatable monsters, pumpkins and ghosts.

But the best inflatables were the costumes. This one taken at school was the best.

On Hallowe’en Day we had our traditional parade at school. Students and teachers dressed up for the occasion and parents watched from the sidelines.

On Hallowe’en evening the conditions were perfect. There were lots of children and parents on the street but very few crossed the intersection to make their way to our block. We even walked out to the sidewalk and hailed people to walk a little further. It was tough competing with the flaming pumpkins up the road. Three pumpkins were hollowed out, carved and then doused with kerosene. Someone said that there were toilet paper rolls inside the pumpkins.

Sunday Trees – 259

Posted on October 30, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Becca for hosting Sunday Trees

Just had to do it to honour Hallowe’en week.

WPC – Transmogrify

Posted on October 29, 2016 by Mama Cormier

…..this week’s WPC theme is transmogrify which literally means “to change in appearance or form, especially strangely or grotesquely; transform.”

What a perfect theme for Hallowe’en week when young and old change their appearances for a few hours to collect treats and attend parties. On Friday, the parents at our school hosted a Hallowe’en party for the children and all last week the library was transformed into a book store for the annual book fair.

The strangest and probably creepiest transformation had to be achieved by this mask:

WPC- Partners

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Mama Cormier

….this week’s photo challenge is Partners

Frankenstein’s Spooktacular Castle

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..check out Igor in this video

My oldest daughter works at the University of Toronto School of Dentistry. She is a medical illustrator and specializes in computer animation. Every year her department at the school of dentistry participates in a friendly competition to see which department can come up with the best display for Hallowe’en. This year they turned the department into Frankensteins’ castle with props, lighting and sound effects. The staff all took on different roles and dressed up and applied make-up to look like their characters. My ‘quiet’ daughter is Igor. Check out those eyes.

Needless to say the department won the competition. It took about a day to put together.

If you’re interested in seeing some of my daughter’s work you can see it at the U of T School of Dentistry Chanel on YouTube. She created the video on Early Embryonic Facial Development

Master Pumpkin Carvers

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….in the Cormier family

This is my husband’s 37th pumpkin that he’s carved and my son-in-law’s first. I think my husband has some serious competition.

Yesterday I luckily found this large beauty. In my neighbourhood they were almost completely sold out when I finally got around to purchasing one and they weren’t reduced in price. It weighed a ton and I was glad that I parked close by.

This year I had the pleasure of cleaning the guts from the inside of the pumpkin.

Now that the messy part was done, my husband could focus on the design and carving out the face of this year’s Jack O’lantern.

Here are the two finished pumpkins, side by side. You be the judge.

It was a perfect night for trick or treating. Both my husband and I sat outside with a glass of wine in hand as we greeted about 46 children. That may not seem like a lot of children to you but last year we only had 2. I leave you with a few more photos of Hallowe’en at the Cormier and Turner house. Enjoy!

Happy Hallowe’en

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….a fun day at school but not so nice this evening for the trick or treaters

Day 5 of my Book Fair had to end on Hallowe’en. Getting dressed up, lots of candy, sick children and very excited children and last minute purchases made for a very exhausting day. Pretty much every child dresses up for Hallowe’en and so do most of the staff at our school. At the end of the day we have our parade where the entire student body walks through the school and then outside around the the property. Unfortunately it rained all day so we had indoor recesses and we tried to keep the children calm with a movie during lunch. The rain had let up a little bit towards the end of the day so we decided to brave it and take the parade outside.

My friend L and I led the school throughout the halls and then around the school. Every year we try to come up with new costumes and when I saw this idea on Pinterest I knew that it was the costume for us. It was also extremely easy to put together and we had fun making the kids and parents try to figure out what we were. We dressed up as the Black Eyed Peas.

Here are a some pictures that I can share with you. The parents do an amazing job decorating the school and many classes took the time to decorate pumpkins.

It’s almost 8:00 and I’ve only had one knock on the door. Even my husband’s fabulous pumpkin isn’t attracting children to come up our walkway. Too much rain. I guess I’ll be taking a lot of candy back to school.