Author: oceandelight

Posted on

Budding Saturdays: Our Island in Winter

Since moving to the Wonderful World of Whiteway, I have made good new friends, and many of them are artists. But one of the best artists I know is an old friend – in fact he got me my first job when I was 14. Bud Vincent has an eye for photography unlike anything I’ve seen, and a love for capturing the beauty of this province. He often emails me such stunning pictures (a few of which are scattered over this site), that it seems a shame not to share them. So he has inspired me to start a new Saturday tradition – of showcasing the wonder of this province through the work of our talented artists. I think mostly I’ll be featuring Bud’s work – but if you or someone you love have something to share, please send it along!

Thanks again to Bud, and enjoy these seasonal shots. Check out his site or contact me if you’re interested in prints. (And don’t forget our Win a Free Stay Contest – we have our own winter wonderland out here you could be enjoying this winter for free!)

Posted on

Man Hands

What do you get when you work you fingers to the bone? Boney Fingers!

Well, I got the hands my father always wanted me to have. Growing up, whenever we shook hands he would pull away and always say, “you have hands like a girl.” I liked that, probably because he didn’t. And besides, I always thought that smooth and soft hands were a calling to a lifestyle different from my ancestors.

But here’s a couple of pics after a hard day’s work on Project DIY (we’re renovating an apartment I rent) – we’ve been knee-deep in hard labour quite literally for over a week now. I look like the Chimney Sweep in Mary Poppins. I don’t have finger prints – they got worn off.

But there is a big reward for this kind of work. It is good for the mind, body and soul, and at the end of a day you can measure what you did. And then take some Advil, pour a bath and a Malbec, put on Christmas music, and soak the day away. I went from no finger prints to prune hands (not to be confused with these ‘Man Hands’). Life is good when you do that!

Posted on

Tis the Season … for lots of Parties

Despite being generally quite tired most of the time from all the physical DIY labour I’ve been putting into a property in St. John’s, put me in a party, get the music going, and I become the Energizer Bunny. Under my tutelage, The Berry is becoming quite the dancer, too – and we can dance the night away. These pictures are from the Masonic Lodge Christmas Dinner and Dance in Heart’s Content last weekend. Of course, like many of you, this is only one of the Christmas parties we’ve attended so far this season – and it won’t be the last. But check out my great dance moves below, and you’ll see why I say, ‘bring ’em on!’And guys, don’t forget – we’re running a contest so that one lucky winner can spend a weekend for FREE at the cottages. There’s plenty of time left to enter, and at this point not a huge number of entries – so the odds are in your favour. Check it out!

Posted on

Tuesdays with Murphy: Bathtime!

Well it is back to normal – if you remember, last week I graciously ceded my Tuesday blogging space to Jerry so he could share our win of the 2012 Canadian Blog Awards (not many non-humans are so celebrated – I am truly honoured!). And there’s been a bit of a ‘to-do’ with this new website design (make sure to update your ‘favourites’ if you’d saved our old blog address – this one is slightly different), including a contest to win a free stay at the cottages.

And now, without further ado, we return to your regularly scheduled Murphy blogging schedule ….

Well, the other night, my humans were acting decidedly inhuman – they thought I needed a bath. Jerry thought he’d entice me into the bathtub easily. I’m a good boy so I always obey, but I got in very reluctantly and the got right back out again very enthusiastically several times over.

So I had to hear Jerry to say “Good boy, Murphy” at least a 1000 times. Every time I pretended I was going to bolt, he would go into his chant. Music to my wet ears, you might say.

Don’t tell them, but it wasn’t too bad. I got massaged with Baby Shampoo (the kind that doesn’t sting the eyes), and I got the best petting by The Berry and Jerry I could ever hope for. I guess this bath stuff has its upside.

And look at me now – all clean, bright and shiny. Maybe I should trick my humans into taking me to see Devon tomorrow. I don’t want to waste these good looks!

 

Posted on

New Year’s Resolution Contest – Win a Stay with Us!

Well, it is finally finished – welcome to our new site! If you’ve bookmarked Jerry by the Sea, please update it – I’ll be blogging over here from now on, and while the website address is the same, the blog address has changed a little bit.

There are so many great things happening around the cottages these days. We’ve been doing lots of renovations, we have a new online booking system, and of course the new site.

To celebrate, we’ve got a bunch of things up our sleeves:

1. We’re rolling out a special New Year’s Resolution package (and we’ve already got a BOGO sale going on!). Makes a great gift (hint hint), and I can’t think of a better way to spend your holiday week then in our cozy cottages by the sea.

2. We’re starting a fun contest. The prize – your choice of either a two night stay at one of our cottages,  or two cottages for one night each (great option for big families and groups!).

That’s right – it’s your chance to win a free stay at the ocean’s edge! We’ll be picking the winner in a random draw on Dec. 31 – that gives you plenty of time to enter and spread the word. Please let all your friends know – maybe if they win, they’ll take you along!

There are 3 ways to enter – you can even take advantage of them all!

  • Make sure you ‘Like’ us on Facebook (we’ll be checking!), then leave a comment here below on this blog post. Let us know what your New Year’s Resolution is ….. Or if you don’t have one, why not ….. Make sure you leave a legitimate email address so we can reach you if you win (and don’t worry, your email isn’t published).
  • Find us over on Twitter. If you have an account, you’ll see a Tweet in our account that will give you instructions on a second entry. (If you win through Twitter, we’ll contact you through Direct Message to get your email)
  • If you have a blog or Tumblr account, write a post on Ocean Delight including a link to this post. And if you do, make sure you email us to let us know!

GOOD LUCK!!! And stay tuned to Jerry by the Sea for the winner!

 

Posted on

Rest on the Seventh Day

Sunset Sunday was created to give us a day of rest, and boy do we need it! Between some significant DIY work in one of our St. John’s locations, and – more obviously – getting the new website operational (!!!!!!!), plus some extra work for The Berry and an awesome party last night, we are pooped! If you’re reading this, it means our new site is working on your servers, which is awesome. We’re waiting until tomorrow to officially ‘launch’ – to make sure it’s completely up and running without any hitches. In the meantime, enjoy the sunsets, enjoy each other, and stay tuned for an upcoming contest to celebrate our new duds!

Posted on

Winter Wonderland … This Could be You!

Perhaps this particular post is a little too self/cottage-indulgent – I don’t tend to use this space to advertise much. But hey, I was just voted for a 2012 Canadian Blog Award in the Business or Professional Life category (thanks again!).

Anyway, (surprise, surprise), I love Whiteway in Winter (when don’t I love it?). And I think we’ve come up with a fun way to share it with you over the holidays – with the New Year’s Even package we’re rolling out. We’re calling it our ‘New Year’s Resolution Package’ – since so many people resolve to spend more time with their family and friends! So we thought we’d make that a bit easier, with early check-in and late check-out, sparkling wine, a surprise celebration bag, a ‘morning after’ continental breakfast basket, and snowshoes and firewood for 2. Check over here if you’d like more details and pricing.

So there! That’s my pitch! If you don’t like it, don’t get mad at me – The Berry made me do it!!

Finally, stay tuned – this weekend we’re going to be revamping our website – we think you’ll like the new look. And we’ll be rolling out a contest (our first) to go along with it. Looks like the holidays are getting us in the Ocean Delight mood!

Posted on

Hell is Freezing Over

Now that things are winding down a bit and the mornings are colder, and after working like mad all season, I’m finding myself doing something I’ve never done before – sleeping in! I never used to sleep in – not even when I was sick. This past weekend I even slept til 11 – for shame! It was heaven!

So this is how you find me most mornings – a little groggy, reading the news, checking in with my daughters (I email everyday), maybe working on a blog post. I have to say, there are worse ways to start the day!

Posted on

Kiss the Cod

During the recreational food fishery, Jerry loves to take guests fishing on his Boston Whaler. If you caught your dinner, you might be kissing it, too! Here’s LeighAnne and BJ, return-guests-turned-friends, who love being out on the water.