“Life began with waking up and loving my mother’s face.”
– George Eliot
Happy Mother’s Day to all the loving moms.
Enjoy your special day.
You deserve it!
For Mom ❤️
Category: Photography
Exploring my Island: Port au Port Peninsula
They say that travelling to places you’ve never been before is good for your brain, especially as you age. The island of Newfoundland is quite large and is the perfect place to accomplish this, with its ancient rock formations, dense forests and breathtaking coastlines and seascapes.
I know, I know—there’s no big culture shock from travelling within my own province, but it’s still nice to sightsee in locales we haven’t visited before. As I mentioned in a previous post, Paul’s work affords us many short road trips to all corners of the island, and we try to visit little nooks and crannies of interest in between.
So when we found out about site visits to two schools on the Port au Port Peninsula last August, we were particularly happy to go. We’ve both been up and down the west coast but never there. And this would be our chance to visit the only peninsula on the island that we’d never been!
We booked a two-night stay at The Inn at the Cape on Cape St. George. It was lovely, the host was friendly, and the breakfasts were wonderful.
“Discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust
We didn’t get to take in everything on that trip but would gladly go back to sightsee what we missed.
“I take to the open road. Healthy, free, the world before me.”
– Walt Whitman
Invincible Summer
Exploring My Island: The Mighty Gander River
(My apologies if you received a blank post in your inbox previous to this one — I had a glitch. Hope I have it fixed!)
On icy cold days like today, I love to reflect on photos from my summer travels. This selection takes me back to an overnight stay on Gander River last June.
Whenever my husband Paul has to travel for work in our beautiful province, I often accompany him. Particularly enjoyable are the trips that take us somewhere we haven’t visited before. And when we can combine business and pleasure, the trips are all the more fun.
This time Paul’s work took him to a business associate’s cabin on the Gander River, to design an extension and renovation for the client. The long boat in the photo above took us there, the only way to access the site.
In spite of the high winds, and getting splashed by spray over the side of the boat, the temps were warm and the views were lovely.
Here below is a shot of the little guest cabin we stayed in on the property. So cozy!
The Gander River is well-known for its salmon pools and outfitting business. To learn more, check out this site.
Below: blue flag iris growing along the shoreline.
Time to eat, sit back and relax.
Our gracious hosts provided a delicious grilled steak supper and refreshments at the main cabin.
Did you know I have a Newfoundland and Labrador category of posts on this blog? I will add this post to it shortly. Depending on what device you’re on, you can access the list from the menu or from under the header. Or click on here: Newfoundland and Labrador
Vivian’s View from Here: Sunday Snaps (and an Anniversary!)
Hello, Peeps and Pets! Vivian K. Perry here, fondly looking back on a memory from Summer 2022. Oh, how I miss the warm days on Perry’s Point! The brilliant sunshine, the butterflies and buttercups, the soft sea breezes and birds aplenty—yes, I know they will all come again, but I can’t wait.
The Photo Challenge prompt over at Xingfu Mama is Pull up a Seat.*
Well, a picnic table certainly counts, doesn’t it? Of course it does.
I don’t like going outside for very long when it’s cold. So in the meantime, I will endure the long winter by taking lots of naps, with pleasant dreams of long summery days. The good news? The days are getting longer! Do you look forward to summer as much as I do?
Oh! Before I forget, let me share Jennifer’s blogging anniversary. This blog, Jennifer’s Journal, has now entered its twelfth year! Meow and Wow!
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Happy First Day of Winter!
Hi, everyone! I hope you’re all keeping safe, happy and healthy, wherever you are in the world.
For various reasons, it’s been a while since I blogged. But I hope to do better in the new year. I received a most unwelcome early Christmas gift, by the name of Covid. Thankfully, the vaccines must have worked because I was only feverish for a couple of days, and now if my sinuses would clear, I should be as good as new!
I wish for each and every one of you
the warmth of a memorable Holiday Season,
and an abundance of peace and prosperity in the New Year.
Looking forward to connecting with you all again in 2023!
❤️❤️❤️
A new addition to our family…
Introducing Sophie Rae, my son’s new dog. She is a white golden retriever.
Isn’t she a darling? Welcome to our world, little girl! 💕
“Happiness is a warm puppy.” — Charles M. Shulz
Photo Challenge: Close-up
Cee Neuner’s challenge for photographers yesterday* reminds me of this photo I took back in August. I captured the spider and her masterpiece through my kitchen window that fog-shrouded night, not knowing how the outdoor light on our house would illuminate its detail so well, especially the misty moisture that clings to every intricate strand of the web. The overall effect reminds me of fine gold chain.
“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” – Pablo Picasso
Evergreen Post: Thinking Out Loud
This is a post of mine from a previous September. I hope you enjoy it!
What is the essence of a life?
A deep thought indeed, but putting aside the belief in the existence of a supreme being for a moment, what is the first notion that question conjures for you?
Is it the wail of a newborn when she is pushed from the womb, wet and shivering, into a cold world of bright light and jarring noise?
Is it a living being’s will and drive to survive?
Is it the slow and arduous process of becoming what your potential keeps whispering you can be, or the serendipitous ease of slipping into a role you were born to fill?
Is it what we cling to as we grow old, try to recapture, strive to enjoy in every waking moment, as the end draws ever nearer?
Could it simply be the state of being, dreaming, pondering and loving?
Or hating and enduring what the universe has given you?
Maybe, life is the constant of the everyday.
It’s the laughter of a stranger on a crowded subway, the silly song that got stuck in your head and you sang in the shower this morning, a face that suddenly smiles in your direction, a warm hug, a lover’s kiss, or a soft place to fall after a long day.
Perhaps it is the enduring memory of a giant harvest moon, the languid ripple of a pond you sat beside last summer, the smell of warm cinnamon in an apple pie, the taste of licorice, or the sweet sip of ice-cold raspberry Koolaid you loved as a child.
Some of life is lived between the lines of our subconscious, in the many subtleties of our private, innermost selves.
Life is all of this and much more. It is joy and disappointment, connection and camaraderie, isolation and despair, exquisite pleasure, and acute suffering.
Life is the endurance of the human experience and the divining of purpose.
Life is the continuity of unconditional love.
What do you think life is all about?
What is your answer to this enduring question?
Original post along with your lovely comments here.
Saving Her Place
Happy August, everybody!
Vivian K. Perry here, covering for Jennifer while she takes a little more time away from her blogging routine. Both of my staff have been rather busy lately, what with personal and work trips, but Jennifer promises she will return to a more regular blogging schedule—and to drop in on your lovely blogs—very soon.
I was happy to travel with my peeps on our usual two-week stay in the capital city in July, but I stay home and hold the fort when they go on short road trips for work. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll hear more about all of that before you know it.
In the meantime, I will save her place in more ways than one. Enjoy the rest of summer, dear friends! 💕
Jennifer's Journal 