With few signs of spring here in Newfoundland, and our vacation more than two weeks away, I’m getting a little restless for a change of climate and scenery. This morning found me looking back on photos from a different spring, of our May trip to Montreal five years ago. Won’t you come along and take in some sightseeing with me, in one of my favourite cities?
view from our hotel room
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inside the Centre for ArchitectureMontreal Museum of Fine ArtsLet’s go inside.Exhibition by Yoko Ono
John Lennon’s Piano
Mount Royal Park
playing in the park 😉
Ah…Spring in full bloom
view from hotel # 2Loving Old Montreal!
pretty windowsadmiring the architecture
Shopping!View from the top of Olympic Stadium
I wanted to bring these home.Sunday Fun Downtown
Enjoying sangria on Crescent Street
Hoping to visit again someday.
Have you ever been to Montreal? Lived there? What is your favourite city to visit?
The Daily Post challenge for photographers this week is to show three similar images. I came up with two versions from winter and summer here on Perry’s Point.
Ice Storm Aftermath
“Glass” on Grass Glitter-Coated Branches Crunchy Tufts of Grass
Seashells on Rocks
Now that March is marching toward us, this photographer is growing a smidge weary of the snow and ice. Thoughts swing to the anticipation of warm weather and the new life that Spring unfurls. I remember this colony of mollusks, better known as seashells, from last summer.
Shelled mollusks are not the only things living on these rocks. Colonies oftiny, white rock barnacles are everywhere. Barnacles are arthropods, related to crab and lobster.
Shells and BarnaclesYellow Algae Grows Here Too
I’m ready to trade the ice for seashells. Are you?
Due to an interruption in our internet service, this post didn’t go online yesterday as it should have on my son’s birthday. My apologies!
Christening Day
In the midst of a snowstorm back in the eighties, my boy decided to make his debut into the world. Because I couldn’t make it to Carbonear Hospital, Brian was delivered in the nearby cottage hospital, a high point for the staff there that day. He was a strapping nine pounds seven ounces, and I was thrilled to have a little boy, as I had a girl at home.
waiting for a piece of dough to play with from my batch of bread
As most little boys are growing up, my son was a bundle of energy who kept me on my toes, but he was also super-affectionate.
♥
How quickly the years have flown by! Here is Brian in his teens.
my handsome boyUniversity Grad with Two Degrees
Happy Birthday, Honey. You have enriched our lives beyond measure. ~ Love, Mom ♥
Well, what a week it has been around these parts! Old Man Winter in Newfoundland, as it has been for much of the continent caught in the “Polar Vortex,” is baring his teeth and delivering a wallop to most areas, a wallop stronger than any in recent memory. It has made some of us wish we could hibernate until spring, and others long to escape down south for an extended vacation or even retirement.
But the weather has also made some people shine. Like the old expression about when the going gets tough, that is just what was needed when our version of a “perfect storm” arrived: record low frigid temperatures, record amounts of early snowfall, and lengthy bone-chilling blackouts, the like which has not been experienced since 1994. Add a blizzard and our inadequate power infrastructure for our needs today, and you’ve got real trouble.
photo credit: Newfoundland page, Facebook
Sometimes it takes a situation, (or a “crisis,” if I may, Premier Dunderdale) to see who the heroes are, to see who is willing to stop complaining, roll up their sleeves and help wherever help is needed. No matter where any blame lies that contributed to the power problem, I’m the sort of person who prefers to look at the positive side of things whenever possible. I have heard stories of gratitude for those who shovelled, plowed, or dug people out of their homes. I have seen good folks answer the call when warm food and shelter were needed, and still others with wood stoves and propane fireplaces open their homes and offer comfort. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Newfoundland Power maintenance workers and crews, the snow plow operators, and everyone who worked and is still working tirelessly to return everything back to some semblance of normal.
photo credit: Newfoundland page, Facebook
But it is the personal stories that warm me more than any wood stove can. Like the couple who went ahead with their wedding Saturday night in spite of the blackout and the freezing temperatures (link below). No, perhaps it was far from ideal, but they have quite a story to tell their children and grandchildren one day.
Even my daughter and son-in-law were up to the challenge this weekend, when they decided not to postpone our granddaughter’s sleepover birthday party at home, but went ahead with the event in the dark. Son-in-law even barbecued hot dogs outside in the freezing cold for them. And the party was a success! These are the things lasting memories are made of.
So whether this makes you think Newfoundlanders are hardy, or just plain foolhardy, that is entirely beside the point. All I know is the warmth of the human spirit is alive and well in our little corner of the continent.
Do you have any storm or power outage stories to share? How about one with an unexpected positive spin?
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! Vivian K. Perry here, filling in for Jennifer today because she is in town celebrating the holidays in the bosom of her family.
Maisie and I are hanging out at home with our early Christmas presents, two new cat beds! We are thrilled with how cozy they are, and Jennifer was thrilled because they were only ten bucks a pop from Sears catalogue.
In keeping with the spirit of the season, please have a look at Maisie’s Christmas photo shoot below.
Dad in his “Saxophone Era” at age 19 with his dog Texie (1953)
In a recent telephone conversation with my aunt in the U.S., we got to talking about my dad (her brother), in his early years. Long before he fell in love with and married my mother, my father was an interesting fellow in his own right, excelling in his school studies and discovering his deep passion for all things musical.
Most likely because of the popularity of the big bands andswing music back in the day, his first musical instrument of choice was the saxophone.
Later, when icons like Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, and Glen Campbell, to name a few, came on the scene, Dad took up the guitar. When Beatlemania exploded, he joyously took part by buying their albums and learning to play many of their songs. As many can attest, he stayed devoted to guitar music the rest of his life.
Dad at age 21 on Albany Street, St. John’s (1955)
As you can see from the above photo, my father was very thin when he was young. But after he married Mom, he began the quest of bodybuilding, transforming himself into the strong, well-muscled dad his children grew up with.
Pondering these things about my father made me think about the power of reinventing oneself. Sometimes the reinvention is necessary for survival, for instance a health issue demanding change. Other times it is a choice we make in the belief it will make us happier and more fulfilled.
I have had some reinventions of my own throughout my life. A few examples:
1. stay-at-home mom
2. customer representative in a bank
3. writer and blogger
Number three became possible when my husband and I did what my parents had done later in their lives: made the big move out of the city and into the country. Doing so gave me new insight into why they made such a change, and the benefits of this lifestyle which happen to better suit our personalities too.
People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out. ~ Warren G. Bennis
Have you done anything in your life to reinvent yourself? I’d love to hear from you if you have your own tale of reinvention to share. Don’t be shy. 🙂
~~Special thanks to Auntie who sent me these precious photos XOXO~~
Jennifer's Journal 