January 2013 Photo a Day – Street

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. views of my street, neighbourhood and city during different seasons

It was my first day back to work since the holidays and by the time I got home it was already dark. Consequently I wasn’t able to take new photos for today’s theme. Luckily I have a pretty large file of photos. Some of them were taken from my bedroom window at different times of the year and others from the front door and one from the car window.

Spring

The street below looking through the blossoms of the crab apple tree.

Summer

The CN Tower while driving along the Gardner Expressway.

Pedestrian bridge at the mouth of the Humber River

Autumn

View of the street below through the autumn leaves.

The gravel road we take on our daily walks.

Winter

The view from our front door after our first big snowfall this winter.

Walking the dog. On our way home.

To see more amazing photos following this challenge go to Jeanne’s blog….a nola girl at heart.

A Word a Week Photo Challenge – Clouds

Posted on January 6, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…..whether it be cirrus, stratus or cumulus, clouds make great subjects for photographs

For more photos of clouds check out Sue Llewellyn’s blog A Word in Your Ear.

The View From Here

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. day 4 of the 2013 January Photo a Day Challenge

Today’s challenge was to take a picture of wherever you happen to be, today. On our daily walk I decided to experiment with the panoramic setting on my new camera. I braved the cold and the wind to get these shots. Unfortunately it was very grey today and the city in the distance is barely noticeable.

Panoramic view of Toronto. This is what I see when I walk to the park 100 feet from my house and face east.

This is the view at the bottom of my street, looking south towards Lake Ontario.

I love looking toward the city. I’ve often thought that I should take pictures every day so that I can document how the view changes with the different seasons and weather conditions. The view at night is stunning.

If you want to take part in the challenge go to Jeanne’s blog…nola girl at heart.

A Word of the Week Photo Challenge – Glitter

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. tried to stay away from the traditional Christmas ornaments but I caved

It was a beautiful cold, crisp morning this first day of 2013. The sun shone brightly and reflected off the lake and snow causing them to ‘glitter’ and ‘shimmer’ for the camera.

If you want to see more glitter photos check out Word of the Week Photo Challenge – Glitter.

Snow

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. it snowed again today

Story #5 for the Daily Post Writing Challenge

Snow

It snowed again today

Like icing sugar falling from the sky

it was soft, dry and cold on the skin

A new layer of pristine lacy crystals

blanketed the already greying layer of snow

that had fallen the day before

Walking was not without effort

With each step the powdery stuff reached the top of our boots

as we carved new trails into the virgin snow

The dog was in paradise

She leaped like a deer and buried her nose

in the freshly fallen mana from heaven

Once we reached the wooded area in the park

the stillness and serenity were deafening

The sounds of the city were completely muffled by the blanket of snow

It felt like we were a hundred miles from civilization

with only the birds and snow covered boughs surrounding us

For an hour we were transported to a

magical fantasy world

My only regret is that I didn’t lie in the snow and make

a snow angel

Snow in TO

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. haven’t seen this much snow in almost 2 years

View from the backyard

View from the front door, early this morning.

…..sporting his new winter hat, busily shovelling the snow.

An Old Fashion Christmas Market

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. Toronto hosted a great Christmas Market at the Distillery

The Christmas Market at night. Photo courtesy of http://storage.canoe.ca/v1/dynamic_resize/sws_path/suns-prod-images/1297349897629_ORIGINAL.jpg?quality=80&size=650x

One of my fondest memories of Christmas occurred when I was 11 years old. My father had a good year in real estate and decided to take the family on a three week vacation to Germany over the Christmas holidays to reconnect with family and friends that we hadn’t seen in almost 10 years.

My mother’s side of the family lived close to Frankfurt and we were treated to an evening at the Christmas Market in Frankfurt. It was magical. I remember that it was cold and there was a light covering of snow on the ground. I was in awe of the lights, sounds and smells. The entire event was hosted outside with vendors selling their wares from small wooden stalls. The treat that I savoured the most that evening was a small pink, green, or white confection made from coconut and sugar. To this day I can still taste the wonderful sweetness of those Kokosflocken. I’ve never been able to replicate those exact candies but I have sought them out, especially this time of year. I think I’ve come close to finding them but it’s never been the same.

Yesterday, my husband and I braved the cold and grey weather and made our way to the Distillery District in Toronto where Lowe’s was hosting this years Christmas Market. It was as magical as the one I remembered as a child. There were bier gardens, mulled wine stands and vendors selling everything from old fashion European ornaments, traditional German and Dutch Christmas baking to whimsical winter hats and mittens and children’s books. Of course Santa was on hand to have pictures taken with the kids and there were guest choirs singing classic Christmas songs. And if that wasn’t enough at the far end of the market there were rides for the whole family to enjoy.

After walking around for about an hour it started to rain and it came down hard. We quickly made our way to The Mill Street Brew Pub and stood in line with a mass of people who were also trying to escape the wet weather. We managed to put our name on the waiting list to be seated and to our surprise we were paged after only waiting for about 10 minutes, if that.

K and I enjoyed a lovely lunch together in the warmth of this very popular restaurant and we watched the rain come down from the window next to our table. It rained off and on all day but it didn’t stop the crowds from wandering around the market. My friend L, was there much later and it was still crowded after 5:00. I look forward to going again next year. Maybe I’ll go in the evening so I can enjoy the lights. The only other thing that would have made it perfect would have been a light dusting of snow and a bag of pink and green kokosflocken.

One happy husband, after a warm, healthy meal.

Spreading a Little Joy

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….I decided to save my rant for another day

One of my new followers inspired me to write about events that bring me joy or in her words ‘what delights’ me. Earlier today I started writing about political issues that I feel passionate about but after my delightful afternoon with my husband I decided to put that piece on hold and share with you some of the happier events that I’ve attended in the last two weeks.

My youngest daughter has been working with a friend to promote their blogs and businesses. Earlier in the year I wrote about the stamp making workshop that they hosted. This time around they created a workshop around creative Christmas wrapping and featured numerous ideas for creating your own ties, tags, embellishments and paper. As always they were highly organized and personable and offered their eager clients all the materials they would need to experiment with. My daughter also made some delicious shortbread to serve with a variety of teas.

The group enjoyed the evening so much that the owners of the art store where the event was held allowed us to stay an extra half hour to finish our projects. Some of the things people made were package toppers, tags, bows, tree ornaments and stamped paper. Unfortunately the battery in my camera gave out and I didn’t get any pictures of the finished projects.

The next day my book club had their annual Christmas dinner. Since the book we were discussing was Erik Larson’s In the Garden of Beasts and was set in Berlin, we decided on a German theme. I was in charge of dessert so I brought a tray of German stollen and other festive cookies and chocolates. I posted a review of the book earlier in the year. In the Garden of Beasts: A Book Review On average the group gave the book a rating of 4 out of 5, much higher than what we gave his last book, Devil in the White City.

A week later another group of friends got together for another annual Christmas dinner. We lovingly call ourselves the “Over the Hilltop’ gang because we worked together at Hilltop Middle School over 15 years ago and continue to meet three or four times a year. My friend L hosted the party and cooked the entire dinner. What a lovely gift. Again the food was amazing, the company warm and joyous and presents were exchanged.

The Sunday before this last dinner my husband and I treated our daughter, A, and her partner to a day of wine touring and dinner. We managed to visit 6 wineries, each unique in its own way. The winery that intrigued me most was the one called Organized Crime. The owner explained to us that years ago in the area there were two orders of Mennonites, a traditional ‘old’ order and a more modern order. The traditional order didn’t like that the other order played music during their services so in the dark of night they got in their buggies and stole the organ from the modern church. Hence the name ‘Organ’ized Crime.

The day before the wine tour I found myself at a fantastic craft show in the city. The crafters were all local and predominately young, although there were a few people there closer to my age. The crafts were original and beautifully made and displayed. The show was held in the Great Hall and in two other stores, all in the same block on Queen St. W.. I spent hours browsing and buying.

Today K and I attended the Toronto Christmas Market but I think I will save this experience for tomorrow’s post. Till then, cheers!

Music That Brought Tears to My Eyes

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. I’m very emotional this time of year and music touches me to the core

Today L, K and I went downtown to enjoy the CBC’s Sounds of the Season concert. All day long radio shows were broadcast live with a studio audience and performances from musical guests. This year’s lineup included Nelly Furtado, Maestro Wes Williams, The Skydiggers, Rita Chiarelli, Blind Boys of Alabama, Liona Boyd and many more.

Between shows you could take part in the silent auction and bid on many wonderful packages put together by the celebrities at the CBC. All the money raised goes to the Daily Bread Food Bank. There was also an opportunity to meet your favourite CBC personalities and get their autographs and speak briefly with them. I can’t believe that I actually stood in line to do that but I have to admit that it was fun meeting the on air celebrities and putting a face to the voices we hear every day.

Dwight Drummond and Anne Marie M. from the CBC TV news

Mary Ito (left) from Fresh Air. I taught all three of Mary’s children. She’s as charming and outgoing as her picture appears.

The first show that we saw had the Skydiggers as the musical guest.

The Skydiggers

One of the numbers they sang was a cover of 2000 Miles by the Pretenders. As soon as the lead singer started the lyrics I started to sob like a baby. I couldn’t help it. I thought of my son in Amsterdam and how he wouldn’t be spending Christmas with us this year.

I couldn’t find a cover done by the Skydiggers but I did manage to find a video with the Pretenders doing this number in the 90s. I hope you enjoy it!

Painting at 91

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. Ray Cattell

Ray with his granddaughter and daughter.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of going to Ray Cattell’s opening for his latest group of paintings at the Moore Gallery in Toronto. I’ve known Ray for over 20 years and he never ceases to amaze me with his beautiful collection of paintings. He’s been displaying his work since the 1960’s.

We were all surprised that he wanted to do one more show. Most of the paintings are smaller than what he’s produced in years past but with his recent health issues it’s not surprising. He also recently won an award at a juried art show to add to his list of numerous awards granted to him in his lifetime. Some of his work can be found in the Vatican LIbrary, Windsor Castle and in the private collections of The Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth and Henry Ford II.

If you’re in Toronto between Dec 1 and Dec. 22 you can catch the show at the Moore Gallery on 80 Spadina Ave. For more details you can go to the website: Moore Gallery Ltd.