I’m away from home for a second week, part of our annual summer getaway to St. John’s and surrounding areas. I had planned to blog a few Sunday Snaps yesterday, but time got away from me while visiting family and friends, so here we are. Monday Snaps it is!
I couldn’t resist Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge from last week, even though it’s the last day today. Orange in the great outdoors is often a vibrant colour, as the following selection of my photos will attest.
Carrots from my friend’s garden last fall. Thanks, Libby. They were sweet and delicious!
Colourful leaves in Corner Brook last fall . . .
. . . and in Marystown, mingling with shades of red and gold.
A “flutter-by” on our house. Is blue your favourite colour too, little one?
An orange-belted bumblebee rests on my bench.
This orange sunset warmed up a chilly winter eventide.
As did this one!
Vivian listens for voles in the sun-drenched sea oats. You’ll be back there enjoying the golden evenings before you know it, kitty. ❤
Aerial View of Perry’s Point– photo credit: Winston Perry, 2018
As Newfoundland and Labrador prepares to reopen to Canadian travellers under our province’s Together Again Plan, I thought it might be a good time to share the All Things Newtown links from my blog. With everything from our sandy beaches, a harp seal whitecoat, to our Heritage Fishing Village, and—yes of course, Perry’s Point!—there’s plenty to read about and tons of photos to enjoy.
Like to see other local posts? Check out the link below to my blog’s Newfoundland and Labrador page, where I share my photos and articles from all around our beautiful province:
Last week on December 7th, Paul and I celebrated our tenth anniversary of living here on Perry’s Point in Newtown. We had left the city behind in 2010 for the rural life and a new adventure.
Our house, which was newly built for Paul’s grandfather Perry in 1923, was in dire need of restoration and renovation before we could move in. The work that went into these first stages is clearly illustrated in these photos.
The beginning: gutting out the old
This one and the one below show the rot. We’d started not a moment too soon.
Yikes!
We chose to keep the original staircase and the three stained-glass windows.
Stripping down the old kitchen for new counters and cabinets.
On the left, a view of the living room through the wall where the old chimney had been removed. On the right is a view of the front hall from the dining room.
The old porch was dismantled to make way for a new one and a half-bath. Goodbye, old appliances!
Construction begins on the new porch and half-bath extension. Pictured: cousin and neighbour Wayne, one of our carpenters.
Wayne and Paul hard at work. Fun fact: Paul lost 25 pounds that summer and fall. That happens when you’re constantly working and running to the lumber yard and hardware store for new materials. He’s kept the weight off ever since.
“A little help from my friends.” Pictured: Paul, neighbour Ben (may he rest in peace ♥), Randy (our other carpenter), and my husband’s Uncle Harold.
Many hands make light work!
Three brothers (Paul’s cousins): Randy, Wayne, and along comes Winston to inspect. 😉
Getting a shot of the first new windows. Reflection of yours truly with the Atlantic ocean behind me.
The roofers came next.
Layer on top of layer…
Insulation, clapboard, and paint. Colour name: Dipped in Sugar. We’ve painted the house blue since then.
Getting there!
Back view. Looks bare before the deck was added. New backdoor window broke and had to be replaced.
Tons more to do, but getting hooked up to the internet can’t wait another minute.
In 2023, this old house will be one hundred years old, which coincides with our 25th wedding anniversary. Sounds like a great excuse for a party!
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! ♥♥♥
Vivian here, covering for Jennifer today while she rests her back from berry-picking this weekend. She loves this time of year when the partridgeberries are ripe, and when they grow on your own land, it is oh-so-convenient to pick them to your heart’s content.
But what does October mean to me? Sure, I like roaming around the bushes on the point, helping to gather berries—although Jennifer says all I basically do is get in the way with my head bunts and demand to be petted—and I enjoy the fact that when I go outside I don’t have to sit in the shade to keep cool anymore.
But what I dearly love to do in our garden is roll around in my happy place: a mysterious patch of something that grows among the grass, moss and lichen in one particular spot. It seems to have the same heady effect on me as catnip!
Check out Maisie and me below, enjoying our special spot. She blends in better than I do! This pic was taken a few years back. We can’t help but think of my sister fondly whenever I go out there.
I still miss Maisie,
but when the sun is shining,
the wind is light, and my peeps
are out and about with me,
I’m in a state of bliss.
October bliss!
“In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October.” ~ Alexander Smith
Alexander Perry, or Skipper Alex (aka Alec) as he was called by many, was my husband’s grandfather. For those that don’t already know, our home on Perry’s Point for the past ten years is the same home in which Alexander and his wife Mary Jane lived and raised their large family.
Alexander worked as a skipper on a number of fishing schooners. He made many trips to Labrador to fish for cod, which he brought back to Newtown to be cured before it was carried by ship from St. John’s to England and sometimes Jamaica.
Although I never met the man, I’ve heard many good things about him. Skipper Alex was widely admired for his seafaring abilities, his pleasant disposition and gentle spirit, and his flair for storytelling. Locals loved to visit with him—or he with them—to be regaled with colourful tales of his experiences. Of course, having a love of stories myself, I wish I could have known him back in the day.
Below is a letter from Pompano Beach, Florida that Paul found in a box in the attic when we renovated our house. It was written by John Maxwell Barbour, known as Max, the eldest son of Captain Alphaeus Barbour. I imagine the letter meant something to Alex for him to hold onto it like that. He would have been 81 when he received it, and Max, 69. I typed the letter out for easier reading.
Jan. 22, 1969
Dear Skipper Alex,
This carries to you and to your good wife my warm congratulations on your 56th wedding anniversary.
Seeing your excellent picture brought back many memories of my boyhood days in Newtown and of our many contacts, all of which were pleasant and helpful in shaping me for the years ahead. To put it quite plainly, during that period you were one of my favourite adults and without question your personality made a good impression on me.
To my mind’s ear the sound of the guns fired at your wedding still comes thru. I recall the happy occasion well altho I was not old enough then to be a guest.
My wife joins me in sending you and your wife best wishes for continued health and happiness.
Very sincerely, Max Barbour.
Many thanks to Lester Barbour for giving me some background on Max.
Photo credits: James Maine
Hello, my peeps! Apparently it’s my 13th birthday today, so I guess I have cause to celebrate.
Me when I was a baby
Me today
I was feeling down and lonely because this birthday marks my first trip around the sun without my sweet sister Maisie. The good news though, is that I had a special visitor!
Archie
No no no—not that dog, Archie, who came here with his family this week. I’m glad he’s gone home.
I had a very unexpected visitor to Perry’s Point this weekend: a seal!
We usually see seals around here during the winter or spring, not in August. I wonder did he get lost? I hope not. In any case, his arrival caused a bit of a stir and had everyone running for their phones and cameras, including our neighbour Wayne. Here are a couple he captured with his camera.
Isn’t he pretty?
Not as pretty as me, of course.
I wish one and all a lovely Sunday and hope you’ll celebrate with me! ♥ ♥ ♥
The wild grasses on Perry’s Point are freakishly tall this summer. Most of it is topped with a feathery fringe that dances in the sun and sways in the breeze. I can stare at it for hours!
Fitting too, seeing as I live on the fringe of an island on the fringe of North America. 😉
Hello, my peeps! Apparently it’s my 13th birthday today, so I guess I have cause to celebrate.
