Happy Monday, everyone. Here are a few images that made me smile with affection last week:
When she can’t be in her master’s lap, Vivian will take possession of an article of clothing or anything that smells like him – even his sandal. Nice fit.
My grandchildren, captured in slumber about six years ago.
Nico before his haircut…
…and after. He is like a different dog!
What endearing images have caught your attention recently?
Last Friday, we took a trip to Lead Cove, the little outport community where my children grew up.
Time spent with fun-loving family…
…on a warm summer weekend, is high on my list of favourite things to do.
Around the bay, the pace slows down where time together is savoured and enjoyed.
(Our boy fell and skinned his knee after I took this one, but let’s not talk about that.)
Nico explores with Poppy, making the most of his freedom from the leash.
Our little girl spends a pensive moment beside the sea.
Nico joins her.
Perhaps they are watching the fishing boat near the horizon.
When we return to the summer-house, our chef checks on the roast he is smoking with maple chips.
Nico finds a shady spot.
Pulled pork sandwiches with all the fixin’s. Yum!
Everyone loves it. ❤
Nico is savouring every minute.
So nice to see the kids playing and spending quality time with their mom.
Later, we light a fire and serve up spider wieners.
Happy girl.
What fire would be complete without s’mores? My first one in decades. 🙂
Seeing the above World Heritage Sites, the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain while in Rome, was unforgettable. Being able to get up close had an enormous impact on me. Have you ever been inspired by a work of art that is also a relic of the past?
See more here: Scenes from Italy: Rome
After completing the hiking trail on Saturday, my husband and I took a drive through scenic Greenspond.
It is an especially nice time to visit because of the pleasant weather. The little outport town sparkles like a jewel in the afternoon sun, the plaintive cries of seagulls the only sounds that break the silence.
The breeze has abated entirely, leaving the surface of the harbour basin as smooth as a mirror.
Pretty houses dot the land while oddly shaped chunks of iceberg dot the still blue water.
The peacefulness of the setting is magical, meditative, hypnotizing.
I am drawn to its perfect calm…
…and I drink in its beauty as I quietly reflect.
Troubles melt away…
…and make room for inspiration.
We stop to admire this gem of a property. Everything about it is impeccable, from the patchwork quilt on the clothesline…
…to the softly scalloped valances in each window.
To me, it is a work of art.
Have you ever visited a place that seemed the perfect setting for a story?
Where do you go to think and dream?
Saturday was such a gorgeous day in our corner of the world, one had to get out and enjoy it. We decided to drive to Greenspond, a community comprised of several islands not far from where we live. Connected to the mainland of Newfoundland by a causeway, Greenspond boasts a wonderful walking trail around most of the perimeter of its largest island. It was perfect weather with light winds, so I took my camera.
Once we got on the trail, it didn’t take long for us to discover our first “bergy bit” floating like an ice sculpture in a peaceful cove.
The walking trail winds through the rocky terrain, carrying us through the brush and bog.
The views of the coastline and of the Atlantic are spectacular.
It seems the locals thought of everything. 😉
Almost halfway…
There seems to be a little berg in every bay.
Another “sculpture”…
…and another.
Time for refreshments.
The Greenspond Walking Trail is a collaboration between Man and Nature, resulting in what I consider a living work of art.
Come back and join me in a couple of days for Part Two of my Greenspond photo shoot. 🙂
To my Fellow Canadians: What did you do outdoors on this long Victoria Day weekend?
Keep Reading: Greenspond: Capital of the North
Iceberg Viewing in Newfoundland and Labrador
“Whaaa? Is Jennifer blogging about cats, again?”
Look, I will be the first to admit it. I love all animals, but my adoration for creatures of the feline variety is mega-size and always has been. So if you think I’m a hopeless ailurophile – for those who don’t know, that’s the fancy word for cat lover – I will readily own up to it. This blog has my name on it which means there has to be a cat post now and then.
I think often about kitties of all stripes (pun intended), particularly my own. On the days leading up to our trip to Cuba earlier this month, and actually, any time we travel, I begin worrying in earnest. What do our cats think when we disappear like that, for days on end? Do they open their eyes from each nap expecting to see us, and roam from window to window, wondering what the devil has become of us? Do they fill with anxiety, for fear we shall never return?
When I voice these concerns to my husband, he gives me a patronizing smile and reassures me once again that they don’t think that way, especially as we make sure before we go that all their needs are met and we have someone checking on them. And of course they have each other. But how can he know that for certain, that they aren’t pining for us? I know he loves cats too, but does he think he can read their minds?
Wherever we go, Cuba included, little cats seem drawn to him. I’ll give him that. Like this little tomcat.
So even though I remain unapologetic and consider myself as devoted to cats as he is, and I worry more about the ones we leave behind, I wonder why they always give him the lion’s share of attention. Even the Spanish ones.
What do you think? Say anything, but please don’t call me a crazy cat lady!
Further Reading: 8 Purrfect Destinations For Any Cat Lover
“Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure pleasure of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author’s words reverberating in your head.”
― Paul Auster, The Brooklyn Follies
Ah… the written word. It has been my truest passion since my chubby little hands first held a book and my eager, unfledged mind tried to unlock the enchantment within its pages.
As I know it is with many of you, reading since childhood has taken me everywhere, through experiences and adventures in exotic lands beyond my horizon, and all the way back to the charm – or heartbreak – of a domestic story around the corner.
Books have allowed me to journey along with colourful, unforgettable characters, to get inside their minds, to live other, more fascinating lives. And between the lines, some books have given me truthful and enlightening glimpses of myself, that I may never have learned otherwise.
Our book club offering this month, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, found its way with me to sunny Cuba last week, a key item among my accoutrements, and a vital part of my prescription for R and R. To me, bringing along good reading material on a holiday is arguably more important than bringing along my husband my camera. Hmm. Of course, if I hadn’t had a camera, you wouldn’t be looking at my sun-starved knees right now. 😉
In our rapidly changing world of hurried living, instant technology, and short attention spans, has the enjoyment of full-length books fallen by the wayside? Certainly not for this blogger. Even if you are clutching an e-reader, as I witnessed with many fellow vacationers, you are my kind of people.
You are the kind of people who would probably love and identify with these other delicious author quotes I found on the love of reading.
“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”
― Jorge Luis Borges◊
“The world was hers for the reading.”
― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn◊
“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish◊
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft◊
“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”
― CiceroDo you always pack a book or two when you travel? Or does a good read have the ability to take you away no matter where you are, even from your couch or in your own garden? Come, bookworms, share your thoughts!
“Happiness resides in imaginative reflection…”
“…when the picture of one’s life…as it truly has been or is, satisfies the will, and is gladly accepted.” ~ George Santayana
“Any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel…”
“…Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.”
~ John Lennon *
What does Reflection mean to you?
*Quote taken from Lennon’s interview to KFRC RKO Radio on the same day of his death.
This post has been my contribution to the Photo Challenge: Reflections and Ailsa’s Pink Theme.
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?
*
Hoping to visit again someday.
Have you ever been to Montreal? Lived there? What is your favourite city to visit?
This is my contribution to Ailsa’s photo challenge at wheresmybackpack.com.
Happy Valentines Day!
Jennifer's Journal 