Rusty Spikes

Posted on March 25, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Becky B for hosting March Squares

Fun Family Day

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….last weekend was a long weekend here in Ontario to celebrate Family Day

Family Day has become a tradition in our family where food takes centre stage. This year my husband and youngest daughter thought it would be fun to have a soup exchange. So in three households three different soups were prepared and ladled into containers for sharing.

Four of us drove to Hamilton where Gaelan had a lovely lunch of roast chicken, mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli ready to serve. Andrea and Josie brought a yummy salad and my husband volunteered to pick up the gourmet donuts from San Remo.

Winnie and I were the only two that won a prize in the Tim Horton’s Roll up the Rim contest. We both won a cup of coffee which we handed over to our hostess.

Our First Major Snow

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Mama Cormier

…..in week three of January

I thought we were never going to need the snow shovel this year but a big storm has moved into the northeast of the U.S. and southern Ontario. Here in Toronto it’s been snowing all day but very lightly. I did sweep the snow off the porch and did one pass with the snow shovel over the sidewalk this afternoon.

Forty kilometres west of here in Hamilton it’s been quite a different story. Lucy, our daughter’s dog, had to make a path through about 10 to 20 cm of snow to find a place to pee. This photo was taken about six hours ago. I’m sure the amount of snow has doubled since then.

Hopefully I can get out tomorrow and get some of my own ‘snow’ photos. They’ll be the first this season but Toronto often gets bypassed by the bigger storms.

Two Birthdays – One Here, Another in Uruguay

Posted on January 5, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….my twins are 37 years old

Last Sunday my babies turned 37. Our son travelled to Uruguay this Christmas to spend time with his wife’s family. Her uncle rented a ranch house by the ocean and while we were enduring the cold here in Canada they were basking in the sun at the beach. My son was literally burning (at least his feet were).

For his pre-birthday dinner he was treated to a South American BBQ with lots of meat on the grill.

Meanwhile back here in Canada we celebrated his twin sister’s birthday in her home. We decided on a Persian themed pot luck supper. My husband picked up some meat kabobs and eggplant dip from our local Persian restaurant and he made a pot of Gormeh Sabzi (Green Herb Stew). Our son-in-law made a Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut Stew) and a Jewelled Rice (rice with nuts and dried fruit). Andrea made a Cauliflower Kuku (cauliflower frittata made with eggs). Everything was delicious. I think Azadeh would have approved.

Winnie insisted that Mom needed a birthday cake so Gaelan whipped up a cheesecake with a hazelnut base. It was outstanding.

Of course it wouldn’t be a birthday without opening gifts. It turned out that some of us also got to open some Christmas presents from our friend who was unable to come to our house on Christmas Eve.

All in all it was a great day.

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Memories

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Frank over at Dutch Goes the Photo for hosting Tuesday Photo Challenge

I know I’m a bit late for this week’s challenge but better late than never. I particularly liked this week’s theme because it’s so open ended. So I went back a year ago to see what memories I could stir up.

A year ago I spent quite a bit of time with my Dad (the oldest member of our family) and my granddaughter (the youngest member of our family). My Dad and the family attended a wonderful wedding together, the two of us went to the Royal Winter Fair and I accompanied Winnie to the park, lunch at a restaurant and the Hamilton Santa Claus Parade.