Jennifer's Journal

Jennifer Kelland Perry: Calmer Secrets

Published on May 25, 2021May 25, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry25 Comments

Canadian author, fellow blogger and e-friend Carol Balawyder recently read and reviewed my New Adult novel, Calmer Secrets, on her blog. I would love for you to check it out.

“Calmer Secrets is a novel about good people making bad choices. . . about an affectionate family sticking together through thick and thin. It’s a heartwarming book, filled with love and tenderness and suspense.”

Read the rest here: https://carolbalawyder.com/2021/05/24/jennifer-kelland-perry-calmer-secrets/

Thanks for this, Carol, and for your lovely review of Calmer Girls as well. All of my writer friends and book-blogging buddies rock!

I can hardly believe it’s been four years since my last book was released. Although I have a finished novel and an outline for its sequel, I’m still patiently waiting for follow-up from four publishers who have requested the full manuscript. Time will tell! Have a great week, everyone.

Black and White Photos: Buildings

Published on May 13, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry56 Comments

I never get tired of looking at pictures from our trip to Europe. Here are some favourites I revisited for Cee’s Photo Challenge today.

First, a few from Tuscany, Italy.

And on to Paris, France:

And finally, one from Cannes:

Copyright Jennifer Kelland Perry, May 13, 2021
Posted as part of Cee’s Black & White Challenge

Sunday Snap: Open

Published on April 25, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry29 Comments

“Spring: the music of open windows.” ~ Terri Guillemets

Photo Challenge: Open

Vivian’s View From Here: A Little Help From My Friends

Published on April 18, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry31 Comments

Hey peeps and pets! Vivian K. Perry here, guest hosting for Jennifer today.

Since my last post, my humans have noticed something about me. It seems I’ve gained a new appreciation and affection for the other “critters” around my house. Most likely it’s because I’m craving the companionship of my peers, so to speak. I guess I still miss my sister Maisie who had always been a part of my life since we were womb-mates. I can hardly believe it’s been nearly a year since we said our goodbyes.

The first new friend my humans noticed was this stuffed doggie on the spare bed. All of a sudden I’d started taking naps with him.

And this past Easter, I took a noticeable shine to the bunny on our entertainment stand. Jennifer told me she’s made an appearance every spring since I’ve been born, but this is the first year I made her my buddy. While the humans watch TV, I’m usually sprawled out here next to her. Although Easter has passed, my bunny gets to stay.

Here’s another little pal. As much as I know my humans love me, I guess I need a few smaller friends to dote on. They don’t say much, but then, Maisie was pretty quiet too.

“Cats are mysterious; they have more on their minds than we could ever imagine.”
– Walter Scott
“You can’t ever be a cat owner; in the best of cases it allows you to be their companion.”
– Harry Swanson

Spring Trip Memories: 2019

Published on April 11, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry39 Comments

Since we’ve been enduring day after day of rain, drizzle and fog here in Newfoundland—along with a touch of the white stuff yesterday—I thought it was high time to drag out photos from our last vacation off the island. Hard to believe it’s been almost two years since we flew to sunny Cuba for a week.

The weather was particularly hot and humid this time, but we found ways to keep cool with the help of pools, shady spots, a la carte dining, and lots of cold drinks.

This cloud looked like a curtain being drawn over the resort. The inevitable shower was short, sweet, and refreshing.

The bus arrives for an afternoon excursion to the town of Varadero.

And no trip to Varadero would be complete without an al fresco meal at our favourite “restaurante.”
(Photos from a previous visit in the link below)

Who knows if we will ever see the Caribbean again?
At least we have the Memories!

More from Cuba: A Spanish Purr Sounds Just as Sweet

Road Trip 2: Beautiful Bonavista

Published on March 28, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry37 Comments

Last weekend, Paul and I took another work trip, this time to the town of Bonavista. Thankfully, it was a much shorter drive than the last one—3.5 hours to our destination, compared to nearly 8 hours to St. Barbe and Flower’s Cove on the Northern Peninsula‘s Viking Trail, and we only needed to stayed one night instead of two.

And Spring happened! The weather was much nicer on our trip to Discovery Trail, although there was still plenty of snow around. We arrived at our Airbnb accommodations early on Saturday so Paul could get a jump on his work at the school there. Check out the beach home where we stayed:

The house was exceptionally clean, warm, and charming. I loved its shiplap walls and beadboard ceilings. The ceilings were low, though. I’ve never felt so tall in my life!

The next morning while Paul worked, I took a stroll around the block to see some heritage saltbox and vacation homes. The day was crisp, cool and gorgeous, and it was hard not to take too many pics.

Of special note: a “Seaside Loafers” bench, a potential fixer-upper, a fence made of branches, a seawall, and a family of Labradors.
This was our second visit to Bonavista. I blogged about our fall trip here. If you liked what you saw above, you’ll love the photos in that post. Was it really eight years ago??

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” -Henry Miller

Road Trip to the Great Northern Peninsula

Published on March 14, 2021March 14, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry46 Comments

Mountains around the Western Brook fiord

Last weekend I accompanied my husband on a work trip to the Great Northern Peninsula. Also known as the Viking Peninsula, it is a large rural area in western Newfoundland, located north of Gros Morne National Park and extending to L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site, a former Viking settlement at its northern tip. The region is known for its Long Range Mountains, the most northern section of the Appalachians.

Both the park and the Viking settlement are UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Having visited the region several times in summer, I was excited to travel to the west coast for my first opportunity to see the mountains covered in snow. Lucky timing too, as it’s been an odd winter. Most areas off the Avalon Peninsula didn’t get any amount of snow until late February and early March. Marble Mountain skiers didn’t hit the slopes until March 4th, due to lack of snow and the new Covid-19 variant. Strange times indeed!

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Paul’s work will soon take us to the lovely town of Bonavista, another locale I look forward to seeing in the off-season for the first time. Stay tuned for more photos! Perhaps they’ll be more spring-like. 🙂

Sunday Snap: Baby Picture

Published on February 28, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry24 Comments

“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Photo Challenge: Off-Center

Sunday Snaps: Perspectives on Creativity

Published on February 7, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry43 Comments

Do you agree with this quote?

“To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.”
~ Osho

But then, what of the following quote? Can a person who is low in spirit also be in love with life and create anything worthwhile?

“Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.”
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

Many have theorized that there may be a correlation between sadness and creativity. Great talents such as Van Gogh and Virginia Woolf come to mind. The romantic poets described suffering as a precondition to writing anything of literary merit.

Angst has a creative upside! That said, I believe joy, heartache, or any strong emotion can stimulate creativity, just as one’s mindset can influence the mood of an artistic piece.

To look through the lens of a somber, troubled mind, one may imbue his or her own state of melancholy onto the subject. . .

Black and white image of Anglican church in Newtown, Newfoundland

. . . whereas, if the emotional perspective and attitude is lighthearted or happy, one might frame it in an entirely different light.

Anglican church in Newtown, Newfoundland framed by an outdoor bench in winter

Sadness and happiness are simply two sides of the creative coin.

Vivian’s View From Here: Puzzle Passion

Published on January 31, 2021 by J. Kelland Perry33 Comments

Greetings, peeps and pets!

Vivian K. Perry here again on my human’s blog with something to share with you. Jennifer has gotten a renewed hankering for jigsaw puzzles lately, which is all well and good, but I had to put my ~~foot~~ paw down after the last puzzle purchase.

If she wanted to go with animals again, I demanded a change in species, preferably of the feline variety.

She delivered!

That’s more like it!

If my human continues to feed this rediscovered addiction of hers, I hope she finds a puzzle with domesticated little cats like me next. Or perhaps she can get a puzzle made from a blow-up of me! I’d be all over that one for sure.