Rest, Tea and Fresh Air

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. healthy eating and a little exercise and I feel better

When I woke up today I still had a sore throat. I read some more and then made myself a breakfast of whole wheat toast with avocado and tomatoes and a great cup of coffee. Yummy! I don’t often eat bread but when I do it’s almost always for breakfast.

After breakfast, K and the dog went for their morning walk. I decided to pass. I wrote to my son in Rotterdam and tidied up the kitchen. For lunch I heated up some leftover homemade vegetable soup. Why do soups always taste better the next day?

After lunch the dog wanted to go out again and my husband wasn’t home so I decided to dress warmly and get some fresh air. It felt good to get out and I ended up walking much farther than I had planned. I also took my camera in case I came across some interesting shots. Winter hasn’t left us and signs of Spring are few and far apart. There are still patches of snow and ice but large areas of brown grass and mud are starting to take over the landscape. I was hoping to see some signs of new growth but it’s still too cold. It felt great getting out but I’m afraid I had too much tea with honey and lemon before I left the house and I had to get home in a big hurry. I love how the pictures of the grasses and the decaying Queen Anne’s Lace turned out. Taking my camera on my walks has opened my eyes to the beauty of the most mundane things.

For dinner tonight we roasted the capon we picked up at the market yesterday. The lady at the meat counter was right about how delicious this bird would be. It weighed almost 7 pounds and we probably have enough meat left over for three or more meals.

To go with the chicken I made a great Brussels Sprouts, spinach and bacon side dish and fresh green beans. My husband made a mushroom sauce but the chicken was so moist that it didn’t really need it.
After dinner K went for his walk without the dog or me. He felt that the dog probably had enough exercise for the day and I wasn’t sure that I should push my luck by going out again. As it turned out the dog had to go out again so I ended up going for a shorter walk anyway. All in all I walked for a total of 4.3 k. Not bad for someone who wasn’t planning on any exercise today.

Cheers!

A Trip to the Market

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. not just any market….the St. Lawrence Market

I woke up this morning with a sore throat and a very raspy voice. I lay in bed for a spell and read while my husband and the dog went for a walk. When I finally emerged from the bedroom it was going on 10:00. I took a Tylenol, made myself a cup of coffee and K whipped up some eggs for us.

After we cleared up the dishes I started to feel better and in a low whisper (my voice wasn’t back to normal) I asked my husband if he still wanted to make a trip to the St. Lawrence Market. He was game and seeing that it was going on noon the market would probably be less busy.

Well if it was less busy it must have been horrible earlier in the day. The place was swarming with people. We walked around to take in the sights and compare some prices but we soon realized that we were hungry. I guess our morning eggs didn’t stay with us for very long and we knew that shopping when you’re hungry is not a good idea.

It was so crowded that we were feeling somewhat claustrophobic and finding a place to sit down to eat was next to impossible. We left the market and walked up Front Street and found a restaurant where we could sit and have a leisurely lunch. It was also easier to make healthy choices. We both ordered salads with a protein and tea. After our meal we shared a cookie. We were both shocked when we saw how big the cookie was. I’m glad we shared it but I really thought it was going to be half the size. I guess I could have eaten half of my half but that old European custom of cleaning your plate won out.

When we went back to the market we bought a capon to roast for Sunday dinner and lots of fresh green vegetables. One big change we’ve made in our eating habits is to include a lot more leafy green vegetables that are high in anti-oxidants. Some of the vegetables we bought included kale, dandelion leaves, romaine and arugula.

Even though it started off bitterly cold this morning you know spring can’t be too far off when tulips appear in the markets. I bought 3 bunches. Nothing lifts my spirits faster than fresh cut flowers.

When we got home I went out again to purchase the things we couldn’t get at the market. For dinner we had a kale salad and oven roasted chicken breast. No dessert.

I arranged the flowers into 3 separate bouquets and placed them around the house. The buds are still pretty tight but in the next day or so they should open up nicely.

As the day comes to an end my throat is still sore and raspy. I think I’ll make myself a hot tea with honey and lemon and read some more of my book. Hopefully I’ll feel somewhat better tomorrow. No plans as of yet but if the weather is nice I’d like to get out for a walk again. I’m missing my walks.

Cheers!

Happy Family Day!

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Mama Cormier

…. to all my fellow bloggers who live in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, Canada

This got me to thinking about how other people in the world might be celebrating today. Is it a normal work day or do you have the day off today as well. For years, we Canadians envied our U.S. neighbours who had an official day off at least once a month. In the last decade or more our Ontario government officials toyed with the idea of creating an official holiday in February.

Here’s a little history of when Family Day came to be in Canada that I copied directly from: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/family-day

Family Day was first held in Canada in the province of Alberta in 1990. It is supposed to reflect the values of family and home that were important to the pioneers who founded Alberta, and give workers the opportunity to spend more time with their families. Family Day was introduced in Saskatchewan in 2007 and in Ontario in 2008. British Columbia observes Family Day as a statutory holiday for the first time in 2013. One of the reasons for introducing Family Day was that there was a long period when there were no holidays from New Year’s Day until Good Friday.

Here are a few photos of my family taken in the last year or so.

My three ‘girls’.

My son, home for a short visit before heading back to the Netherlands.

So how is everyone celebrating today? We had our official Family Day celebration yesterday. All the immediate family that live close by came to the house and we had a

My daughter and her husband.

family dinner. My husband made a great pasta and sausage bake, my oldest daughter and her partner brought a yummy Iranian quinoa rice and sweet potato salad and my youngest daughter and her husband made a decadent flour less chocolate cake…..not exactly diet food. To top it off I got into one of my Martha Stewart moments and just had to bake chocolate spice cupcakes with pink buttercream icing in honour of Valentine’s Day.

The cupcakes and the leftover food were all packed up and divided amongst the girls and the freezer (except the cupcakes….all but two were given away).

My middle sister and her fiancé.

My baby sister and her husband.

A rare photo with all three sisters together, our father and his partner and my husband and my sister’s son.

This morning I slept in till 8:30 and then caught up on some reading. I finally emerged from the bedroom at about 10:30, had a cup of coffee and then got ready to go for our morning walk. It snowed again here on Saturday night so the ice is covered with a pretty substantial layer of fresh snow. I brought along my camera as I always do but the sun was so bright that I had a hard time focusing on anything.

When we got back from our 3k walk, K made us a delicious omelet with lots of vegetables. I’m trying to convince him to go with me on a bit of a photo journaling expedition this afternoon. In the meantime I’ll finish writing this blog, read a bit more and probably work on some samples for my next art project at school.

I’d love to hear from you and how you’re spending the day. Drop me a line. Have a great day!

Cheers!

What a Difference a Day Can Make

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Mama Cormier

….. temperatures were holding steady around the 0 degree (freezing) mark

It was a lovely balmy day and the ice and snow on the sidewalks and roads are now melting away at an alarming rate. By tomorrow we should have a slushy mesh as the temperatures rise to six degrees (well above freezing).

The good thing about the warmer temperatures today was that the roads had cleared enough to make driving doable and bearable. I drove downtown to meet up with my daughter, A and her partner, J to check out the Junction Flea Market. We’re not quite sure why it was held in the Queen West area when the Junction is north and further west but the Great Hall housed the affair and the turn out was good.

After a coffee, a few Asian dumplings and purchasing a couple of old record albums, some flowers and a vase we headed north to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario). The girls wanted to see the Evan Penny show and today was the last day.

While we were there I discovered a great lookout from the fourth floor and took a few shots of the city from an angle I’ve never seen before.

To the left is OCAD, the university of art and design and in the middle is the CN Tower.

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!

It’s Official….winter’s here

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…..snow, grey skies, biting winds and the Santa Claus parade

I looked out my bedroom window this morning, hoping to take an interesting shot of the tree outside my window. To my horror, I discovered that the tree had been cut back so drastically by the city that all the interesting branches outside my window had all but disappeared.

A couple of months ago we called the city because the tree needed a trim. The branches were always hitting the house during wind storms and some of the branches were hanging so low that they were brushing up against the cars in the driveways on both sides of the property.

So earlier this week the crew from the city’s maintenance department showed up and did their thing. All week I’ve arrived home in the dark and in the mornings I’m always in such a hurry that I never looked up at the tree. When I finally looked out at the tree from my bedroom and could see the houses across the street I was stunned. I hope come the spring we’ll still have a nice shade canopy.

On our walk this morning the wind by the lake was biting cold and the waves were crashing onto the rocks. Frances didn’t seem to notice the cold and enjoyed the brisk walk to the park where we threw the ball over and over again to tire her out.

While we were on our walk we kept hearing the sound of sirens coming from Lakeshore Blvd. just north of us. We soon realized that we were hearing the police cars, ambulances and fire trucks that were in the Lakeshore Santa Claus parade. We extended our walk and made our way to the parade. When we got to the Lakeshore the parade was just starting to pass where we arrived. Great timing. Well at least it was for me. K and Frances didn’t stay long and headed back through the park to get home.

It’s funny that I decided to stay to watch the parade because I had just made fun of a friend at school who was so devasted that she had to miss the Bolton Santa Claus Parade that was happening today as well. A couple of us thought it was strange that a grown woman whose children were now adults still took so much pleasure from the parade. I’ll have to apologize to her when I see her on Monday.

Here are a few of the colourful sights of the parade: Enjoy!

It’s Finally Friday

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….it seemed like the longest week ever

I’m sure that the full moon had a lot to do with it. The students were unusually chatty and restless. For the first time it was a struggle to get them to finish their work. Our mayor was found guilty in a conflict of interest case by the courts and stripped of his position. The teachers’ union made work to rule official and is threatening rotating one day strikes across the province. The minister of education is trying to convince the media that the government is putting students first and that the teachers are bargaining in bad faith. City council was caught in the middle of a shouting match between the mayor, with the aid of his brother and a few councillors on issues that turned out to be non-issues. A crazy week, all in all.

So if the mayor’s appeal is denied we might be looking at a by-election and the same judge that found the mayor guilty clarified today that he could run again in the by-election. He’s convinced that he would win again but I’m not so sure and the polls aren’t in his favour at the moment.

I had my fitness test this week and signed up for 24 sessions with a personal trainer and then the next day I found out we are be in a strike position and could be walking the pavement. Yesterday I cancelled the sessions with the personal trainer until things are a little more settled at work.

Last Friday I discovered I have mice in my library office. They’re living under the sink and have been chewing through my paint mixing containers. All week I’ve been throwing away containers that have big holes in the bottom. I haven’t seen them but there’s lots of evidence that they’re around.

I started to mark some of the art projects. I have to use my time more wisely because as of December 10th we have to leave school 1/2 hour after the students leave. This will be a challenge for me and a few other teachers who regularly stay at school till 6:00 most days. After the 10th, no more field trips, sports teams, extracurricular activities, and anything that involves collecting money and administrative paperwork. I marked about 100 projects tonight. Only 320 to go.

Art classes will continue but displaying the work could prove challenging when I have to leave the building early every night. Some of the work may have to stay up longer than it would normally. Here’s what the halls look like at the moment.

Not everything was bad. At the school council meeting this week the parents put my new art cart on the top of the priority list of things to purchase. It was ordered the next day and arrived yesterday. It only has to be assembled.

On Thursday I went to the One of a Kind Show with my daughter and her partner. They made me a great dinner. I had a free pass into the show and parking was free (that’s never happened before).

The weekend looks promising. I’ll start the day with a walk with the dog, workout at the gym and then to an art show opening in the afternoon. My friend’s 91 year old father is exhibiting his work at the Moore Gallery in downtown Toronto. He is a very accomplished artist and has had many shows in his lifetime. Just a month ago he won another award for one of his pieces at the Watercolour Society.

On Sunday we may be taking a trip to the Niagara region and do some wine touring. This is what my daughter wanted for her birthday and it looks like it should be a nice day weather wise. With Christmas just around the corner and winter on our heels we need to make this trip sooner rather than later.

We had a dusting of snow today in the afternoon. By 4:15 it was already dark, partially due to the overcast sky. Of course for the next 21 days it will continue to get darker earlier in the day. How depressing but I can’t let the stress get to me.

Update on my Weight and Fitness Level

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….I’m feeling good about my current status

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about my weight loss journey. It’s been 7 months since I started on this journey. In the beginning the weight came off quickly and the visible results were amazing. I reached my first goal of 30 pounds after 4 months.

The Benefits of Losing Weight

I felt great. I liked how I looked. It was wonderful buying new clothes and wearing size 16 pants for the first time in over 20 years. My blood pressure is back to normal levels and I’m able to run without feeling pain or gasping for air. I used to hate running and now I look forward to doing more and improving my time and overall distance.

My Love Affair With Food

I still enjoy food and eating but now I eat to nourish my body and I don’t constantly think about my next meal. I no longer feel deprived or crave sweets and junk food. On special occasions I’ll allow myself a very small serving of dessert or I might have a bite of something just to taste. It seems to satisfy me. I might enjoy a glass of wine once a week. Before the journey I’d regularly drink 2 glasses 3 or 4 times a week.

How Stress Affects Me

When I started back to work in September I was really worried about gaining some of my weight back. Years ago a naturopathic doctor assessed that I was very much affected by stress in my life. I could gain 2 to 5 pounds over a weekend when I was confronted with a stressful situation or if I anticipated a stressful occurrence. For years I would take weight off in the summer (no stress) and when I went back to work in September the weight would come back in the first two weeks.

This year I worked hard not to gain weight when I went back to work. Not gaining weight was as big a success as actually losing weight. It’s been an extremely stressful start this year. With the negative political climate for teachers in Ontario, weeding the library, running a book fair for the first time, organizing art on a cart and living through a district review and having surgery, it really is quite an accomplishment that I didn’t gain some of the weight back.

Despite everything I still managed to lose some more weight. It’s been a slow process compared to the beginning of the journey but I’m not discouraged. That’s another change that I’ve experienced. I don’t turn to food when things go wrong or don’t go exactly as planned. If I fall off the wagon I don’t wait till Monday to start eating properly again. I fix the problem with the very next meal.

Becoming Vegetarian 80% of the Time

I enjoy eating healthy foods. In the last two weeks I’ve eaten mostly vegan meals. If someone had told me in April that I would almost be a vegetarian I would have scoffed at the idea. I’ve always needed my animal protein but my husband has been experimenting with more and more vegan meals. I think eating this way has actually kick started my weight loss again.

Joining a Gym

I joined a gym this month and started working out this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday I started the day with our traditional walk through the college grounds with Frances and then in the afternoon I went to the gym and ran/walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes and then the elliptical machine for another 10 minutes. Next weekend I’m going for a fitness assessment and the trainer will design a program for me. I’m looking forward to this new part of my fitness journey.

How Much Weight Have I Lost?

While at the gym I weighed myself and according to their scales I’m down another 2 pounds for a total of 36 pounds. I’m 4 pounds away from losing 40 pounds in total. I’m very excited about how close I am. There are going to be challenges this week. I’m definitely going back to the gym tomorrow and I have yoga on Wednesday. For the rest of the week I have a number of social commitments but I’m pretty confident that I can handle it.

Reaching My Next Goal

I’m hoping that I can reach my 40 pound goal by the end of the month and then set the next of goal of 50 pounds in total. I say next because I know that the journey will continue. I don’t know for how long. I’m taking it one step at a time. I’m hoping that at some point in this journey I’ll be able to share my actual weight. I’m still not ready to do that but I have a number in mind and I’m getting close. Life is good!

Cheers

Texture

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….looking for examples for my next art lesson

Today on our walk with Frances I was on the lookout for interesting examples of texture that I can share with my students back at school. Texture is all around us, from the rough texture of bark and the thorny, prickly texture of burrs to the soft texture of grasses and seed heads and the smooth texture of leaves.