J. Kelland Perry

Calm Before the Storm

Published on February 17, 2013March 26, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry43 Comments

When you get a beautiful sunny day around here in the middle of February, it’s almost impossible to resist the urge to get outside and enjoy it. And especially so, when the forecast is telling you that it is the calm before yet another winter storm.

Yes, the winds are going to whip up again tonight, and we’ll have to be content with more cocooning. But yesterday my husband and I enjoyed a walk on the branch road, on perhaps the most brilliant winter day we’ve had this year.

Here is a sampling of some photos from our walk.

006 — View of Perry’s Point from the branch road

007 — That’s our house (light one with the matching shed)

017 — Some of the sparse evergreens in our immediate area

027 — Plenty of “batty catters” (Newfoundland term for ice and snow formed on shoreline rocks)

028 — l love the calm of the blue sky and ocean

Winter storm warning up for eastern Massachusetts (wickedlocal.com)
Winter Storm Nemo (kieraworld.wordpress.com)

How about where you live? Are you enjoying your February weather?

Why Super Bowl Sunday is So Special this Year

Published on January 31, 2013July 22, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry6 Comments

Unless a major catastrophe strikes our world between now and February third, I can pretty much guarantee where my husband will be this coming Sunday. That’s right, he’ll be cheering for the San Francisco 49ers as they compete against the Baltimore Ravens in the Forty-Seventh Super Bowl football game, and I will be cheering alongside him.

But what makes this particular game so significant for us? Well, there are a few reasons. For me, the game itself is – dare I say it – secondary. Not being a huge sports fan of any stripe, I’ll be taking part to enjoy the following:

1. The Half-time Show with Beyoncé. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing this lovely lady perform, and I don’t even care if she lip-syncs.

2. The delicious and obligatory Super Bowl snacks. Can’t wait to dig into the colossal batch of Super Nachos I am planning to prepare, and the Super Spicy Chicken Wings that, of course, must accompany them. My mouth is watering already, just writing about it.

3. And we must not forget the ice-cold beer to wash it all down!

4. Sooky baby Tom Brady will be nowhere to be seen. Even though I’ll be rooting for the 49ers, I’d love to give the Ravens a pat on the back for eliminating Mr. Ego and his ilk from the Championship.

5. But the fifth and the biggest reason the game is so special this year? It is an Anniversary of sorts for my husband and me. You see, 1994 was the year we met and started dating. And I soon found out what an avid, longtime fan of football my new man was, when the season started that year. Being stuck-like-glue-to-each-other-in-love, I was quickly initiated, and even dragged into a big-screen pub two weeks before the Super Bowl to witness San Francisco eliminate the Dallas Cowboys.

And wouldn’t you know it, in that first magical year for us, his beloved 49ers won the Super Bowl (January 1995). This is the first time, in the eighteen years since, that San Francisco is getting another shot at the Championship. Can they do it again?

Honestly, it doesn’t make a heck of a lot of difference to me, personally.

But it would be kind of special to see a victory dance, and that victory smile again, on the face of the man I love.

Superbowl ready (blahblahbirds.wordpress.com)
Super Bowl XLVII – All You Need To Know… (girlsportalk.wordpress.com)

A Winter Visitor

Published on January 10, 2013March 17, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry18 Comments

I was a little disappointed this morning when I learned our area wouldn’t be getting the big dumping of snow that St. John’s and the rest of the Avalon Peninsula has in their forecast. Everyone there is bracing for up to seventy centimeters of the white stuff, while we are only expecting five to ten.
Boo! 😦

But then along came a little visitor down by our beach.

I thought it was an adult harp seal first, because he appeared to be mostly black.

But as I inched closer…and he turned to see me…

I could see more spottiness and some “whitecoat” on his other side.

When I reassured him that I meant no harm, he seemed to squint his eyes…sort of like my cats do when I talk “love talk” to them. 🙂

Don’t worry, little seal.

You are so very close to my house.

I’m not fond of seal meat or flipper pie, so you have nothing to fear from me.

So even though I’m going to miss the big snowfall back home, I never could have gotten these pics back in my old backyard !

To see photos of the baby seal, or whitecoat, that visited us last winter, click here, and scroll down. 🙂

Travel Theme: Multiples

Published on January 6, 2013March 6, 2019 by J. Kelland Perry6 Comments

Here is my contribution to Ailsa’s travel theme this week, a closer look at multiples on some vacations of mine.

To start things off, here are a couple of snaps from Cuba.

Hmm…this perspective is making me thirsty.

Of course, when it comes to multiple anything, Disney World delivers.

Inside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, an abundance of stained glass splendour awaits.

…And just outside the cathedral, who can resist all the tiny feathered friends eagerly accepting snacks?

A restaurant on a pier in Jamaica awaits its tablecloths, and its evening diners.

Springtime in Montreal is always a delight.

Also in Montreal, I spotted these ladies. I just love them.

Swimming in Florida. Multiples come in actual human form too, of course.

Ailsa’s Travel Theme: Multiples (stephenkellycreative.wordpress.com)
Travel Theme: Multiples! (randomuzings.wordpress.com)
Travel Theme: Multiples (hereandthere5.wordpress.com)

My First Anniversary…and Ten Things I Didn’t Know When I Started

Published on December 31, 2012January 17, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry16 Comments

One year ago today, on New Year’s Eve, 2011, I started this blog, Jennifer’s Journal. And as I mentioned in the very first post, Follow the Yellow Brick Road, I had no idea where my blog would take us. So here is what I found out.

1. I didn’t know I would have the resolve to faithfully post to my blog a little more than once a week on average. WordPress, being the best blogging site – in my opinion – had a lot to do with my enthusiasm.

2. I didn’t know I would be taking my visitors and followers on a pictorial journey of our 2011 trip to Italy and France. Nor did I know that one of these installments,
“Scenes From Italy – Part Three: Siena and Florence, Tuscany” would consistently be my most visited post, from all around the world!

3. I hadn’t made plans yet to take a Spring vacation in Florida, with my husband and my daughter and her family. My photo album from that trip,
“For the Young, & the Young at Heart: Disney’s Magic Kingdom“, would garner a record of 449 views on May 8th, the most views I had in one day.

4. I wasn’t fully aware of how beautiful it actually is where I live, here in Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland, until I read your lovely comments on my local photographic efforts. 🙂 “Autumn Walk on the East Coast” was a particular favourite.

5. I came to learn how the poems, musings, and photographs of my grandchildren would be a popular subject for many!

6. That goes for the posts of my little cats, Maisie and Vivian, as well. One of them even guest-posted in “Vivian’s View From Here“.

7. I was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support my blog received, as I was losing my mother. I cannot fully express what a source of comfort those caring comments were, and still are.

8. I didn’t know I was going to publish sixteen of my poems, and that I would be proud of them. 🙂

9. I wasn’t sure (but I am pleased I did) that I would keep my resolution to start writing a novel, and am now starting Chapter Six of the first draft. My post about it, Then You Must Write It, would be one my most popular blog posts, generating many of your comments.

10. Novel writing or not, I love my blog as the vehicle of self-expression it has turned out to be, and I will continue to update it in 2013. Connecting with many of you and making new friends is one of the best advantages of blogging.

So, let me say to all of my followers and visitors from sixty-six countries, a GIANT THANK YOU! And a Happy New Year to you all. 🙂

Jennifer’s Journal: 2012 in review

Published on December 30, 2012December 30, 2012 by J. Kelland PerryLeave a comment

Well, what do you know? WordPress.com prepared a 2012 annual report for my blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,700 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 10 years to get that many views.

Silly statistic, isn’t it? But don’t let that stop you:

Click here to see the complete report.

A Welcome Weekend

Published on November 26, 2012August 23, 2014 by J. Kelland Perry6 Comments

This Friday, my husband and I are going to town to spend a few days caring for our two little grandchildren. Allowing L and J’s hardworking parents to go off on a private weekend and enjoy some time by themselves has become a little tradition for us, a tradition we happily and gratefully accept.

We look forward to taking them on a couple of outings, one of which will be to buy a Christmas present for a needy child and putting it under the Happy Tree at the mall. Some visits with family, a Santa Claus Parade, and the obligatory games and bedtime stories will ensure lots of fun-filled moments for the children and grandparents alike.

This weekend couldn’t come at a better time for me. Spending time with my sweet little ones is just the diversion I need right now, a breath of fresh air that will help me regroup, regain focus, and get back to my normal life. There’s this novel I started writing last month that I had no other choice but to put aside due to my recent loss, but it is back on the agenda this week, I am pleased to say.

Here are just a few photos I selected from fun times we had with L and J, over the past year.

Four more sleeps, kids! Your Nanny and Poppy can’t wait. 🙂

“Life Means All That It Ever Meant”

Published on November 19, 2012July 19, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry15 Comments

The past few years have taken our mother on a difficult journey, and our family right along with her.

Mercifully, she finally succumbed to her illness last week, and

we were able to say our goodbyes as she entered into her eternal rest.

I found this poem that speaks of my sweet mother’s lifelong attitude of pragmatism and hope. Somehow it gives me strength and reassurance, reminding me how lucky I was to have known and loved this woman who was my mother.

All Is Well

Death is nothing at all.

I have only slipped away to the next room

I am I and you are you

Whatever we were to each other,
That we are still.

Call me by my old familiar name,

Speak to me in the easy way
which you always used.

Put no difference in your tone,

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed

at the little jokes we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word that it always was,

Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was,

There is absolute, unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind

because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you,
for an interval.

Somewhere very near.

Just around the corner.

All is well.

Henry Scott Holland

1847-1918

Heritage Fishing Village

Published on October 25, 2012May 31, 2017 by J. Kelland Perry11 Comments

Come along with me as I revisit my community’s Living Heritage Village. It is a major tourist attraction in this part of our province, providing a historical look back at the old days for our visitors, and seasonal employment for some of our locals.

templeman house — Templeman House, a registered heritage home

templeman house plaque — Templeman plaque

benjaminbarbourhouse — The heritage homes also boast a treasure trove of antiques and other artifacts.

100_0453 — St. Luke’s Anglican Church is also a living heritage site

stlukeschurchplaque — The church received the Southcott Award, for preservation of Newfoundland and Labrador’s architectural heritage.

During the summer, the Village provides guided tours by staff in period costumes, as well as dinner theatre and concerts in the buildings I have shown here. Also featured are a craft shop, art gallery, tea room, and a restaurant.

So if you are ever in my area, do drop in and check it out. For more info, visit the website: www.barbour-site.com

“…Then You Must Write It”

Published on October 16, 2012March 12, 2016 by J. Kelland Perry27 Comments

“If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ~ Toni Morrison

I have recently begun a new adventure, dear readers and fellow bloggers.

No longer can I ignore the voice inside me that is clamouring to be heard, so I have started to write a novel. I am a little nervous, but mostly I am excited to be on this new journey I have destined for myself.

When I told a friend a little while ago about my plan to write a book, she said, “Gee, I’m the one with the English degree. I should write a book!” Well, I don’t have a degree, but I’ve always had a passion for stories, fictional or otherwise, and a desire to tell some stories of my own.

Heck, I wrote a teen novel when I was still in school, at the grand old age of fifteen. So diplomas and degrees or lack thereof won’t hinder me now either.

It has been a rewarding experience keeping this blog that I started back in December. The original purpose of Jennifer’s Journal had been to get into the habit of creating and writing something on a regular basis, in order to better prepare me for the demands of writing a novel. But now that I have taken on this ambitious new project, I will have less of that precious commodity of time to devote to blogging.

But abandoning my blog seems unthinkable to me.. Have you ever nurtured a child? Cared for a pet? Or even tended a garden? And then, stopped? No, I will keep my blog, adding thoughts, inspirations, and a photograph or two, as often and as regularly as I can. I would also like to keep you updated on my novel’s progress.

Life is going to get busier, that’s all.

I leave you with another favourite quote of mine:

“Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don’t feel I should be doing something else.” ~ Gloria Steinem

How about you? Have you ever written a book, or do you see yourself writing one someday? Do you have advice for someone taking on a creative project?

Related articles

Share This:

Related articles

Share This:

Share This:

Related articles

Share This:

Share This:

Share This:

Share This:

Share This:

Share This:

Share This: