A Busy Weekend

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Mama Cormier

……surrounded by family and friends

This weekend started on Friday when my husband and I drove up to Vaughn to buy a porchetta for our family dinner on Saturday. I really should have taken a photo but I didn’t. I find more and more that I’m just enjoying the moment without having to document everything with my camera.

On Saturday I continued to organize my studio and I started to put together the last piece of furniture from IKEA. At least everything is now in neat piles and I’m able to move around the studio without tripping over boxes and random bits of paper, frames and canvases.

Later in the afternoon I went to a surprise birthday party for a friend from my teaching days. It’s been a busy week for this lovely lady as she and her husband are getting ready to fly to Mexico for her son’s wedding. Her son and future daughter-in-law were in town for a few days so they were able to attend the party. They actually boarded a plane later that night and are now in Mexico to make final arrangements for the wedding.

When I got home around 5:30 my family were already at the house and my husband had prepared all the food for dinner. Again I didn’t take any photos. We had a very nice time and Winnie and I snuck off after dinner to give her parents a few moments to relax with the rest of the family. Winnie’s favourite TV show is Peppa Pig and she was mesmerized for about 15 minutes.

Today started off nice and sunny but quickly became very grey and overcast. Fortunately is was very mild so when Kevin and I went to visit a friend in the hospital we were able to park on the street a little ways from the hospital. We didn’t mind walking and I was able to get in about 4000 extra steps. After our visit we decided to walk up one of our favourite streets in Toronto, Roncesvalles, and look for a coffee shop.

When we got home tonight, Kevin made dinner again and afterwards I phoned my sister in Calgary and then my Dad and I played a game of cribbage. I haven’t yet painted today but the evening is still young and I tend to do my best work at night anyway.

Here are a few shots that I took on Friday when I went for my walk.

Getting Close to a Pigeon

Posted on December 15, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….unless there’s food involved most pigeons don’t let me get close enough to take a picture

Last week, while visiting my daughter and her family in Hamilton, we took a walk to pick up some lunch. On the way back I saw this lovely iridescent pigeon in a bird bath. It was bitter cold so I have to think that there was food in the bowl. I didn’t have my telephoto lens with me so I kept inching closer. I was amazed that this little guy didn’t fly off.

Then with a little cropping it became clear that there was food in the bath.

As always when I stop to take photos my family continues walking and I have to run to catch up. Here they are with lunch in hand, eager to get home to eat.

Wordless Wednesday – October 18, 2017

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Share Your World – Sept. 25, 2017

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….thanks Cee for more thought provoking question on Share Your World

What is your favorite outdoor activity?

I think that it would have to be walking where ever I happen to be, with or without my dog, but always with my camera or iPhone close by. Here are some photos I took on this morning’s walk.

In a car would you rather drive or be a passenger?

It really depends on who’s driving and where I’m going. When I’m with my 90 year old father I’d rather be driving because he’s too distracted when there’s someone else in the car. When I’m with my husband and on a long trip I like it when he drives but I don’t mind taking turns.

If you could have three wishes granted for you alone, what would they be?

#1 – I’d like to take off my excess weight and maintain that loss (is that 2 wishes?). I’ve been on a roller coaster diet all my life. I feel much better when I’m thinner, my clothes look better on me and I want to be able to enjoy my walks and time with my granddaughter without feeling the aches and pains in my feet and joints.

#2 – I’d like to have enough money to finish some projects around the house and still be able to take at least one trip a year overseas or across the country without worrying about how the bills are going to be paid.

#3 – I’d like to have more grandchildren but I guess that’s not really up to me.

What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.

These past two weeks I appreciated spending time with friends in the middle of the week. When I was working this would have been out of the question. Two Tuesdays ago I went to the AGO (art gallery) with my life-long friend, Arlene. She’s been patiently waiting for me to retire so we could do this. The show we saw was called Every. Now. Then. Reframing Nationhood. In honour of Canada’s 150th birthday, it explores three urgent questions through the eyes of some of the country’s best emerging and established artists: where has Canada come from, what it is now, and where is it going?

Last Tuesday I spent the day with my daughter and granddaughter. We went to the mall together, had lunch and just hung out. I finished a hat for Winnie while I was there and apparently she didn’t take it off for two days. My daughter had to hide it from her. We’ve been experiencing a heat wave here and a wool cap is the last thing she needs on her head.

On Wednesday I drove to St. Catharines with my friend Diane to visit her father at the retirement home. We met her sister there and went for lunch at a great place close by. After that we got back in the car and drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake where we took in an afternoon show at the Old Courthouse. Walking through this town is always such a visual treat for me.

This week I was also inspired to finally reorganize my room so that I can start doing art again. Two of my friends gave me a timeline (end of September) to get my stuff sorted so that I can start putting shelves, a desk and a filing cabinet in my space. Hopefully I’ll really be able to organize my supplies and then get down to doing some serious art. At least now I’m not embarrassed when people go up to my bedroom. I can get to my bed now without stepping over stuff or having to worry about tripping on something in the dark. I’ll post photos when I have more ‘after’ shots.

Cheers!

A Day Trip to Hamilton

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….Brendan wanted to spend the day with his twin sister and her family

My daughter-in-law hadn’t seen Gaelan’s place in Hamilton so we took another road trip on Wednesday (one day after Niagara Falls). Luckily it’s only a 40 minute drive when traffic isn’t too busy.

Gaelan’s husband Brendan had the BBQ going when we got there and we started our visit with a wonderful lunch of sausages and salads. Soon after we decided to go to the Rock Garden at the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was a gorgeous day and the Rock Garden provided us with shade and cooling waters from the fountains and the waterfall.

We walked through most of the grounds when a dark cloud quickly appeared over head. The same thing had happened the day before when we were in Niagara Falls so we decided we needed to run for cover. We arrived back at the entrance when the clouds opened up but now we had to get to our cars and mine was parked in a lot on the opposite side of the street. My son-in-law graciously offered to drive me over in his car but the moment I stepped out of the car it rained even harder and in that split second I was completely drenched. I drove back to pick up Brendan and Azadeh.

We all returned to Gaelan’s house to dry off and have a cup of coffee before we headed back to Toronto. The worst of the rain had stopped by then. Despite the rain we had a wonderful time. This summer we’ve had to make the best of what Mother Nature has thrown at us. I only remember one summer worse than this one and that was in 1992 when we were building our cottage and living in a tent trailer. It rained every single day that summer and at the end of the summer on my 40th birthday the canvas gave way and the water came in at the foot of our bed.

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Cheers!

Sunday Trees – 283

Posted on April 16, 2017 by Mama Cormier

…..Happy Easter Becca Givens

Easter greetings to all. So happy to finally share some colour for Sunday Trees.

From Record Breaking Highs in February to Bone Chilling Temps in March

Posted on March 5, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….it was too good to be true….winter is still with us

In February we set records for the warmest February ever in Toronto and southern Ontario. People were wearing spring jackets, tee shirts and some brave souls wore shorts. In Toronto all the snow had melted but north of the city there was lots of snow and skiers were enjoying spring skiing conditions.

Every year our physical education teacher organizes two cross country ski trips for our grade 4 and grade 5 students. It is usually the only time I go skiing but I love it, so when I was asked if I wanted to go again to supervise the students I jumped at the chance. The first group went on the 22nd of February and the second group went the next day. Both days were exceptionally warm, 15 degrees celsius. Luckily Hardwood Hills had a lot of snow this winter so the base was good and the conditions were excellent.

I went on the second day so I was warned that I wouldn’t need heavy clothing. I packed three tops and extra socks. I’m glad I did because every time I came inside I had to change my top and socks because I was soaked through from perspiration. Many of the kids skied with only their tee shirts on. It was a beautiful day and the more I skied the more confident I became. My goal was to not fall. I’m happy to report that I met that goal and I skied the equivalent of 13 000 steps and 50 flights of stairs.

March 1st didn’t enter like a lion but by the evening the temperatures had plummeted from double digits above zero to minus zero in a matter of hours. Today and yesterday the temperatures went even lower to minus 13 celsius. The good news is that warmer temperatures are forecast for this coming week. The ice that formed along the water’s edge will give you some idea of just how cold the last few days have been.

Playing With the Camera and Getting my Steps In

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….losing the lens cap and having to retrace my steps helped my reach my walking goal

Despite having the special attachment on my lens cap that fastens itself to the camera body I still managed to lose it. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your perspective, I didn’t notice that the cap was missing until I was almost all the way home. I started to retrace my steps but since I was close to the house I decided to pick up Frances and take her for her walk. At least this way I was multi-tasking and hopefully I could get in enough steps to make her happy and find my lens cap.

Luckily I did find the cap close to a park bench where I had taken a moment to try to figure out why my camera wasn’t working. I guess I was so excited when I was able to shoot some more photos that I didn’t notice that the cap was no longer attached to the camera body.

Frances seemed content to turn around and go back home at this point and I knew that I was going to be close to my 10 000 step goal for the day and it was still morning.

Here are a few of the shots I took yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny morning.

Happy Family Day Weekend

Posted on February 18, 2017 by Mama Cormier

….in most of Canada we’re celebrating Family Day on Monday

What a wonderful way to start a long weekend with a 6k walk. The weather was perfect. Sunny and mild. A great day to take photographs. Here are a few shots that I took this morning.

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