There is only now.
An open window
a fresh breeze
to welcome
this bright and beautiful
April day.
– J. Kelland Perry
There is only now …
Category: Prose
Evergreen Post: Christmas Renewed*
*This post has been slightly updated since it first appeared in 2014. The grandkids (as well as us!) are much older now.
As the busy days of December flurry past and we march through our calendars to Christmas, I ponder on the many elements of the season.
Reflecting on most of my Christmases, I feel a warm glow around my heart. But where does that feeling come from? What is my common denominator, the origin of these warm, fuzzy, though sometimes bittersweet, emotions?
For me, it is Family. My most precious memories are intertwined with the love of close family through the years, especially the early reminiscences of my mom and dad, bless their souls, who helped create the tinseled childhood magic I hold so synonymous with Christmas.
Then came the low period. For years, more precisely since my mother became ill, I was the Scrooge who just wanted Christmas to go away. Putting up a tree, cooking and baking, the shopping, I only wanted to get it over with. Nothing seemed the same anymore after Mom got sick and passed away. I missed Dad too, of course, but to me, my mother epitomized Christmas, with her Nanaimo bars, her sumptuous turkey dinner, and her selfless but fun-loving spirit. I couldn’t look at a tree without thinking of that time in 1994 I couldn’t get home, and she kept hers up and decorated for my visit on January 15th.
Without my mom, my heart was no longer in it.
But somehow, this year feels different. At last, I can say I’m not going through the motions of the season. There is a sleigh full of love, too, in the shiny new memories I forge these days with my children and their significant others, and with our beloved grandchildren. There is a renewed love, baked into the Christmas cookies I prepare (and the ones I buy), and in the gifts I wrap for them (yes, that includes gift cards!). There is love and wonder in our hearts seeing our grandson sing in his Grade One Christmas concert. There is laughter again while watching TV shows with the kids, including How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and silly Mr. Bean’s version of the holiday.
There is revived anticipation of traveling back to see our loved ones in a couple of weeks, a fresh gratitude when we gather round with our extended families, to eat and celebrate together. And when we return, there are the New Year’s festivities with friends here, who always make us feel like family.
Until I am with my grandbabies again, I will hang their pictures of the Grinch they drew for us this past weekend . . .
. . . and I’ll remember the conversation my grandson and I had on Saturday morning. He imagined being so tall his head touched the clouds. We joked about it, and then I said:
“If you’re that tall, people wouldn’t be able to talk to you. Not even your girlfriend could talk to you.”
“I don’t want one,” he said.
“A girlfriend?”
“No,” he said, giving me a hug. “I only want you, Nanny.”
Me: {{{heart melting}}} “Awww!” 💕
What do you love about this time of year? Celebrating with family? Giving to the less fortunate? The church services? The carols? The decorations? The feasts and treats?
Or is it all “Bah Humbug”? Has it been overshadowed by loss in your life?
Please share: what does Christmas mean to you?
*Originally posted in 2014
January Blue*
It’s a blue winter day on Perry’s Point.
It isn’t a sad and lonely day, but one painted with the hues of a brilliant blue sky and a blanket of sunshine, the kind of day where the sun and snow merge to design graceful shadows in the hollows of the landscape.
Sun on the newly fallen and drifted snow creates a tapestry of shadowy forms,
from the palest baby blue to the deepest of indigo.
The slanting afternoon rays of sunlight hold little heat,
but warm the heart of this nature-lover nonetheless.
The surface of the snow waves and crests,
while most of the bay lies still under a layer of slush and ice.
Dunes of scalloped white surround me…
…and the only hint of sound is the faint exhale of a frigid breeze.
Certain feathered creatures have already been here.
At the end of the Point I reach the icy blue coastline…
…where the water is still full of movement in spite of the sub-zero air.
Cold, but fluid…
…clear and beautiful.
Other shadows dapple a weather-worn barn…
…and sun-bleached fences.
Hidden in shade, a bird house waits for spring, and a new tenant…
…while our neighbour’s fishing boat awaits a new summer.
Ben Perry’s shed is called a “store” around these parts.
Still more shadows hide in furrows of snow and last summer’s grasses. I wade in.
My toes are like ice cubes inside my boots at this point. I hop over the fence to home.
Time to put the kettle on…
…and thaw myself out with a cup of tea.
And my world changes from blue to green.
How is your January going?
What is the colour of your winter?
*ThrowbackThursday – This is a reblog from January 2015.
Vivian’s View From Here: 6 Months Without Her
On my morning jaunt outside,
I believe I see Maisie again.
Just when I thought
I was over her,
from the corner of my eye
I see her step, sylphlike,
through the wind-riven grass
—a slim, graceful shadow.
My heart leaps.
The idea of her, home—
on Perry’s Point once more!
Joy flashes, like
the spangle of sun
upon the ocean around me.
A dream, a wish, short-lived.
As the chill of the first winter
without her closes in,
I will miss the cuddles,
the companionable silences,
the nose bumps,
our years of moments shared
ever since we were wombmates.
I won’t dwell on
what once was. Instead,
I will carry my sister with me
until we meet again.
Maisie, you may have left Perry’s Point
but you will never leave our hearts!
♥♥♥
In case you missed it: Sad News
Comments are closed, though my staff would appreciate you leaving a like for my post. – Vivian
Evergreen Post: Summer Lovin’
I’ve been taking a blogging break while away from home these past couple of weeks, so today I’ll share a photography post from a beautiful July day six years ago.
Remember 2014, when life was simpler? ~*sigh*~
I plan to return to regular blogging with a new Sunday Snap, on—you guessed it—Sunday!
***
Summer in my province of Newfoundland and Labrador, compared to most of North America, is short but ever so sweet. What makes it so cherished, to my mind?
The following photos were all taken in Lead Cove, the little community where I raised my children.
I love my home for its natural beauty,
its refreshing, rugged and
unspoiled charm,
for its clear and wide blue skies
without a whisper of smog.
I love the clean, sparkling water
and the glistening rocks adorning the coastline
that beg to be traced
and trod upon by eager footsteps.
I love summer in Newfoundland
for its breathtaking views
of seascapes and landscapes
when I embark on a hike.
Whether I traverse
its beaches of sand or
climb its rocky windswept hills,
I know my camera will find its aim.
I embrace it because
the bushes and shrubs,
green and lush,
are heavy with fragrance
and of wild roses in bloom…
…while in the gardens,
the planted perennials are brilliant with colour,
delighted at last
to spread their bright petals to the sun.
I love the hardy trees of Newfoundland
in summer…
…as they stretch
their ripe foliage to the sky.
Shot through with rays of sunlight,
a shimmering haze settles over the treetops
like a warm summer veil.
After a long winter and dismal spring
of cold, naked branches,
they, as I do,
breathe a sigh of gratitude
at the return of this warm and golden season.
Are you filled with summer lovin’ where you live, or is the pandemic interfering?
Originally published here on July 29/14
A Rocky Isle
“She’s a rocky isle in the ocean
and she’s pounded by wind from the sea.
You might think that she’s rugged and cold
but she’s home sweet home to me.” *
*from “Song For Newfoundland”
by Wayne Chaulk
Where is your “home sweet home”?
Please share!
“Sweet as Childhood”
“…the late afternoon sunlight, warm as oil, sweet as childhood…”
~ Stephen King
I will be away from my blog for the next two to three weeks.
Take care, everyone, and I’ll catch up with you in August!
Nature More
~ There is a Pleasure in the Pathless Woods ~
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less,
But Nature more.
~ excerpt from Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage
by Lord Byron
Blogger Bouquet #52
Miriam – aka Delphini510 – is a blogger I haven’t been following all that long, and yet she quickly became a favourite.
Her blog is My Window: Sharing my thoughts, poems, travel and art. It was chiefly her poetry that caught my attention.
From Miriam’s About page:
“It is a long way from a little island in North Sea to the British shores but I did it albeit in a circuitous route. Much will be revealed as I go along. I tried my hand at many things but the Arts have always been my love. From tender years books were never far from my side.”
Check out this beautiful, heartfelt poem by Miriam. It was difficult to choose just one!
Sorrow and Strength
Comments are closed here but you can leave a comment on the blogger’s page.
Have an inspired weekend, everyone.
❤
Snow & Ice
“Our familiar garden by the sea has transformed . . . each bramble and bush laminated in a thick, crystalline coat, every amber blade dressed in its stiff raiment of frost. With a watchful step, I venture out on the crust of snow.” – Jennifer Kelland Perry, Endless Chill
Has winter arrived in your backyard?
Jennifer's Journal 