Great Weather, Great News, Great Concert

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….it’s been a wonderful weekend and I can finally share my big news

1. Finally a beautiful weekend, weather-wise. Sunshine and warmer temperatures. I managed to get out on Saturday for a walk with the dog and took some photos of the neighbourhood.

2. Also on Saturday, my husband and I picked up our youngest daughter and her dog Lucy and brought them back to our house. G’s husband was on a business trip so she was looking for some company and she needed a break from packing boxes. This Friday they will be moving from their tiny apartment in uptown Toronto to a 4 bedroom Victorian semi in Hamilton. It’s a move they need to make because they needed more room to accommodate the new baby that they are expecting in October. Yeah!!!!!!!!! I’m finally going to be a grandmother. That’s my BIG news!

3. Today my friend DM invited me to a concert downtown. The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto hosted a live competition to present the Career Development Awards. The concert featured the three finalists who were chosen from a pool of 10 candidates chosen by CBC regional producers. Usually a jury of musical experts from across Canada rank all the entries based on written and audio materials and select a winner but because this was the tenth anniversary for the award (given every three years) a live competition was held. Prizes of $20 000., $10 000 and $5000 were awarded for first, second and third place.

All three competitors played magnificently. There were two pianists and one cello player. First prize went to Charles Richard-Hamelin on piano, second prize to Stéphane Tétreault on cello and third prize to Pierre-André Doucet on piano (my personal favourite).

I’ve found Pierre-André Doucet’s performance of Carl Vine’s Piano Sonata No. 1 on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/2C1jUF9tJjc

Stéphane was the youngest performer at 22 and played this beautiful arrangement of Hayden’s Divertimento in D Major.

I couldn’t find the exact piece that Charles Richard-Hamelin played today but here is a sample of Chopin.

https://youtu.be/dAg0Vq2B_1A

Share Your World – Week 34

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Mama Cormier

….more great questions from Cee’s Photography

What is your favorite smell? What memory does it remind you of?

My favourite smell has to be cinnamon. I love the smell of Christmas baking. Another smell that I really like, especially in a perfume scent is lemon or a citrusy smell. It reminds me of a perfume my mother always used to wear, 4711 or Tosca.

Name a song or two which are included on the soundtrack to your life?

The songs that come to mind are Let it Be by the Beatles and Your are the Sunshine of my Life by Stevie Wonder. The later was the song that my husband and I danced to when we were dating and on our wedding day.

Do you play video/computer game? Which one(s) or most recent?

The only game I play on-line is Scrabble. I’m addicted. I play with my sisters and a few good friends.

Which of Snow White’s 7 dwarfs describes you best? Plus what would the 8th dwarf’s name be? (Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey)

I think I’d be Doc, the voice of reason. Although not perfect and often mixing up this words, Doc is kind and keeps the other dwarfs in check. If there was an 8th dwarf his name would be Techy because in today’s world the dwarfs would need someone who can tinker with modern technology.

Photo courtesy of: http://statici.behindthevoiceactors.com/behindthevoiceactors/_img/chars/thumbs/char_17116_thumb.jpg

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for a nice weekend at the cottage with my husband and daughter, A and her partner, J. We finally had decent weather. I’m also grateful for everyone’s help getting the outhouse properly set over the new hole and that it is no longer sitting on an angle but is perfectly level.

This week I’m looking forward to having lunch with my friend, AB and going to the CNE with my daughters. I’m also looking forward to celebrating my birthday on Thursday with my family.

Daily Prompts – The Wanderer

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Mama Cormier

……name 5 places you’d like to visit

1. The west and east coasts of Canada. I’ve lived in Canada pretty much all of my life but I’ve never been to any of our coastal areas. I’m very much drawn to water and that’s one of the reasons I’ve lived in Toronto in the same house for over 35 years. I live right next to Lake Ontario and in the summers I spend a great deal of my time at the cottage on Georgian Bay.

2. Italy, the entire boot. I’ve wanted to go to Italy for awhile now. The rolling hills of Tuscany, the history of Rome, the romance of Venice, the mountains in the north and the rugged coastlines tug at my wanderlust. I love the food, the wine and the art and of course the beautiful scenery. What more could a person want?

3. New Zealand and since I’ve travelled so far I might as well hop on over to Australia. I love reading about both countries and I follow several bloggers from ‘down under’.

4. New York City. The last time I was in NYC I was a mere child of 5 years. We drove down to pick up my Oma from the ship that she travelled on from Germany. Everyone should experience this iconic city at least once in their life and take in the shows, the great restaurants, Central Park, Coney Island and of course the Statue of Liberty.

New York City Photo courtesy of http://i.factmonster.com/images/brooklyn-manhatten-bridges.jpg

5. Iceland. My daughter and her partner just came back from Iceland and the rugged scenery intrigues me. The entire country has no more than 300 000 people so the roads are never busy and they are easy to manoeuvre.