My Happy Place

Posted on June 18, 2023 by Mama Cormier

…yesterday I went north to open my cottage

With the help of my dear friend, Liz, I drove to the cottage to open it up for the season. I always dread the first visit because it is often a lot of work. This year, however, the cottage was very clean. There was very little evidence of mice. They hadn’t run over the dishes or gotten into the cupboards.

We raked the leaves off the deck and the pathways, set up the BBQ, filled the water barrel, made the beds and put away the clean linens, blankets and pillows that I had brought home last fall to clean. When most of the work had been done we made dinner and took a walk on the beach.

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This morning we woke up early and Liz actually went swimming. June is very early to be diving into Georgian Bay but Liz did it and actually swam for about 10 minutes. She went for a second swim later in the day. We went for another walk along the beach but this time we walked to both ends and took lots of photos.

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E33-CFD61-0-B57-40-D7-9913-F7-E498-DB0-A5-D — *Our first meal at the cottage*

52614-F57-84-BA-4536-8-E62-FAE19-F27-CCDC — *Heading down to the beach for a swim*

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5-EB505-D3-0-C3-C-4-B0-F-B175-AD8-D862423-C4 — *She did actually go under and swim*

86-A2-D604-199-F-437-F-B879-4-DEBDBCD0-F3-E — *I on the other hand, paced up and down the beach to make sure she was okay*

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622-A939-E-396-B-4703-BC28-4497-F312-E278-1-201-a — *This is as much as I could handle…it was very cold*

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It was difficult to leave because the cottage truly is my happy place and the day was perfect. I can now go back up knowing that everything is in place and most of the hard work is don

At 5:30 we caught the ferry to go home. I wanted to be home for Father’s Day so that our daughter, daughter-in-law and I could take Kevin out to celebrate this special day. As the ferry headed for the other side I noticed that it took a turn and was headed west instead of south. We soon discovered that we were in pursuit of a disabled boat with three passengers. When we reached them they climbed on board but before that one of them fell into the water. Thankfully he was all right. Then the crew tried to tie the disable boat to the ferry. After some trying moments they succeeded and we headed back to the island to drop off the exhausted boaters. Eventually we were headed back to the mainland and arrived about 40 minutes later than expected. Being a Saturday night the rest of the trip home was quick and uneventful.

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The Simple Things in Life

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Mama Cormier

….are often free or cost very little

My granddaughter and daughter are leaving today and flying back to New Brunswick. We’ve had a wonderful time going to the CNE, buying new clothes for school and Gaelan and I went to the theatre to see the show, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. All of these things were fun to do but when I asked Winnie what her favourite activity was, she said she loved swimming in the city pool and my neighbour’s pool. She also enjoyed our picnic lunch in High Park, walking through the High Park Zoo and climbing on the huge tree stump in the park. Twice she was treated to ice-cream from the ice-cream truck, once from me and then again from her aunt Andrea. You can see from the look on her face how special that was.

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9449929-F-3-F53-490-C-A90-A-E6487-FD98-F22 — *The Infamous Capybara*

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7-E7-B9-B45-9-FB5-416-A-A07-C-E68-E033244-B0 — *Standing inside the hollowed out trunk*

Miss you already, Winnie! Love Oma

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Summer Scenes

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge

Something to look forward to.

Friendly Friday Photo Challenge – Day Trip

Posted on July 13, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Manja for co-hosting this week’s Friendly Friday Photo Challenge

A few weeks ago my son and I took a day trip to Sparrow Lake Camp in Gravenhurst. Our daughter and her family are living up there for the summer and it was our only opportunity for Brendan to see his twin sister before returning to London, England.

The staff was busy getting the camp ready for the first group of boys and girls who arrived earlier this week. We enjoyed a day of hiking and playing and some of the braver souls went for a swim.

Why Three Year Olds Love the Crazy Uncle

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Mama Cormier

….maybe it has something to do with the fact that they can be as goofy as the three year old

Our granddaughter doesn’t get to see her uncle Brendan very often but when she does he makes sure that he gives her his undivided attention. Yesterday was no exception when we drove up to Sparrow Lake to visit Brendan’s twin sister and her family. From the moment we arrived he was placing banana peels on her head, swinging her in the air, playing pretend sword fighting with sticks, playing with balls and doing cannon balls into the lake. Here are a several examples of the two of them at play.

Frances’ Perfect Day

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..a lot of running, a little swimming and wrestling with her buddy Lucy

Yesterday was a cool but sunny day…. a perfect day to walk the dogs down by the lake.

Earlier in the day we picked up our daughter, G, and her basset hound, Lucy. G’s husband was away on a business trip. She needed some help buying plants and she was hoping to see her older sister who was coming home from her three week vacation in Argentina.

After buying the plants we had some time on our hands before we had to pick up A and J from the airport. We got the dogs ready for a nice long walk and headed out for Colonel Samuel Smith Park.

Both dogs love to play with each other and run. The biggest difference between the two of them is that Frances loves the water and Lucy hates it. I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that Basset hounds have short legs and long ears. After a long exhausting run, even though she was surrounded by water, Lucy would not drink from the lake. She came close but changed her mind as she approached the water.

Frances on the other hand would live in the water if we let her. She dives right in. The following pictures of her clearly show off her joy as the waves roll onto the shoreline.

We took a few detours off the main path today and when we got home we discovered that our walk was 5k long. The dogs of course probably doubled that distance with all the running they did, back and forth through the grassy knolls and up and down the rocks.