Author: oceandelight

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Here Comes the Sun

Our first day in Victoria was cloudy/rainy/foggy/you name it, and the forecast suggested it was going to stay that way for the rest of our trip. But yesterday, out came the sun and what a difference it makes. Here I am with my daughter after sitting out for a nice leisurely drink outside near the water (we had to rest after The Berry shopped!). I’ve renamed this place the WWV – Wonderful World of Victoria – since I love it almost as much as my WWW. Which, from reports from Joe Friday, is shaping up for a nice and busy weekend as well.

Notice the horse-drawn cart in the background on the left – lots of those around. Makes me think of Clifford!

Today’s my birthday so wish me a good one! Don’t think I have to worry about that though!

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Boy from the Bay

The shirts say it all! There is a saying – “you can take the boy from the bay, but you can’t take the bay from the boy.’ So even in the lovely Fisherman’s Wharf in Victoria, I’m still a bayman at heart. Just ask my daughters, raised in Mount Pearl and Virginia, who always teased me for talking about their ‘b’y-friends’, not their boyfriends!Even looking out over the Pacific, we show our bayman pride! Just teasing of course! Nothing quite replaces the WWW (Wonderful World of Whiteway), but family, good food, relaxation, and the pretty city of Victoria (even if the sun was hiding) come close. We’re having ‘a time’ so far – explored a little of the downtown, a few good meals, and some great conversation (and planning – for Ocean Delight!) over wine and supper yesterday. Today, the sky’s the limit! Thanks for all the well wishes – we’ll keep you posted!

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Another Jerryism

As you may know, yesterday I set out to visit my daughters in British Columbia (one in Victoria, one in a small island off the coast). I’ve spent countless hours travelling and flying, so getting across the country is normally a piece of cake. So I woke up after a good night’s sleep, anticipating a wonderful flight time at 8:00 AM  – aaahhhhh!!!!! – Westjet – I love you!  I got up at 5 (early bird gets the worm), did some work, took my time and went to the airport.  There was no one at the counter.  I am thinking “cool!!!!”

I go up to the counter and give my name.  “What flight are you on, sir?” says Cory of WJ.
“I am on the 7:57 AM flight and I love WJ,” say I.
“We don’t have a 7:57 flight,” says Cory.
“Yes you do,” say I, as I scramble for the computer to pull out my confirmation.
“What’s your name?” says he.
“Jerome Byrne,” say I.
I show him my confirmation. He points and says, “7:57 AM is the time you are supposed to be in Toronto.  You missed your flight by two hours.”

“Holy FRIGG!**” says I, and I repeat it several times, and say, “What the FRIGG am I going to do now?”
“We can get you there by 7:35 PM for a late fee of $50,” says he.
“Sign me up,” say I.

I call The Berry who is getting to ready to leave Guelph on the shuttle to meet me at the airport. I tell her what had happened.  Then, needless to say, I had to put Cory on the phone to confirm it (she thought I was joking – as if!).

“Jesus, Jerry” says she.
“Sorry” say I.

We all had a laugh, especially Cory (at my expense due to my stupidity – but for me, it was just another Jerryism!). And all’s well that ends well. No need to get into the details of weather delayed flights – we’ve all been there, done that – so let it suffice that I had a long day and got in a lot later than planned. But I’m here! We have lots planned (and by ‘lots’ I mean, lots of sitting around and relaxing!) and I even got to sit next to a special neighbour on one leg of my journey – little Yoshi. I would have preferred The Berry, but he was pretty cute, too.

** I can neither confirm nor deny any expletives that may have ocurred in this transaction.

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The Hangman

If you follow this blog, you may be wondering how I had time to post this morning – shouldn’t I be on my flight? The answer is, yes! But due a Jerryism, I missed my first flight and got some extra time in the good old St. John’s airport.

So here I am last weekend, building a platform for a clothesline. This is a baby step towards Zero Energy and Sustainability. We made a commitment to ourselves (and a bet to others) to get off the grid by March 31, 2014. ‘So it is written, so let it be done.’

And keep your fingers crossed for no more Jerryisms today, please!

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Sunday Feed

Yesterday was one of the best Sundays I’ve had in awhile. One of my dearest friends is a 90 year old woman, and Joe Friday and I treated her to a feast up here in Whiteway (she lives in Paradise). It was a little chilly but we were able to eat outside with a little quiet music in the background, Shag Rock in the foreground. And the food was awesome. We had lovely trout from the lovely Lisa Day as an appetizer. Then fresh lobster cooked in salt water from the bay they came from and, for slightly seafood allergic me, rabbit stew made by Joe Friday. Joe also made potato salad, also delicious.

I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend, too. Tomorrow I head we head to Victoria (Laurelyn is already in Ontario visiting family but will catch up with me there), for a much needed vacation!

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Sunday Church Blogging: Flatrock Grotto

So maybe I’m cheating a little – today’s post isn’t exactly a church, just the land surrounding one (St. Michael’s). Flatrock is a little town just outside St. John’s, where some of my nephews grew up, and is home to the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, the biggest in eastern Canada. Pope John Paul II prayed here in 1984.

After that prayer, the Pope also went to a neaby lookout to offer a homily and bless the boats in the harbour. The Blessing of the Fleet site is marked by this plaque below.

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Alien Dispatch

Our cottages are now connected through cyberspace – no cables in Heart’s Delight! Here is Jeff Caravan of Caravan Enterprises (the Source franchise in Bay Roberts) installing an Xplornet satellite at The Loon – giving us high speed internet and cable. Now, if you come and want to get away from it all you can turn off all your electronics. But if you want to talk to aliens or their earthly cousins then you’re totally connected! (I like getting away from the hustle and bustle, but you’ll take my Internet connection out of my cold, dead hands!)

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Foxy Friday

This stunning shot was captured in Harcourt (about two hours away from Ocean Delight) by my good family friend, Bud Vincent. Like me, he is a former ‘townie’ who has found The Life outside the overpass. Bud got me my first job at the Holiday Inn when I was 14 (gee, maybe I was destined to be in the hospitality business!). We have some sort of very distant family relationship there, but regardless, I remember Bud giving clothes to my family when we were kids. He’s just an overall wonderful guy with, as you can tell from this picture, an incredible eye!

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend. The Berry is away and we have a full house, so I know I’ll be quite busy. But I’m sure not too busy that I won’t be able to squeeze in a few light beers and a few sunsets while I’m at it.

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Shag Rocked

I wish I was a poet so I could describe the full beauty of Shag Rock. Yesterday evening, as I sat on my deck with Iceberg beer in hand, the sun warming my face, and waves signing along the shore, I floated along with the wind and was open to every sensation, all 5 senses (and maybe more) engaged. I was in a different time and place. A sense of total satisfaction surged through me – I was complete for an instant – what an awesome feeling!

Shag Rock was beautiful again this morning with its ever-presence taking a place in my morning ritual. It is becoming my muse, my meditation, my motivation. It is forever constant and constantly changing. And it is predictably unpredictable – sounds a lot like me and the people around here.

Today, The Berry heads to Ontario to spend some much needed quality time with her parents. Next week we’re both heading out to visit my lovely daughters, who live in lovely British Columbia. I can’t wait of course. I think I’m going to try to keep blogging while there – I’ve gotten into a groove writing these things daily and don’t want to give it up. Please let me know if you’d like to see some pictures of our travels around Victoria, or if you think I should keep this blog Newfoundland-centric!

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Scallops and Ducks

No doubt we are getting spoiled out here! The day before yesterday, Alf went scallop fishing (with his invention for catching them from his boat), and he kept The Berry and her love of seafood in mind. Her brought her over two meals worth of the freshest and biggest ones she’d ever had. Out of the water and into the frying pan!

The yesterday, Clifford (yes, THE Clifford George) sends down 7 duck eggs (which are bigger than a large chicken egg). Holy Duck! What a place we live in! What Ducking nice people! I’ve been doing some work on a new rock garden, so it’s been great to have a full belly while doing it. Between this and all that bread, my waistline might take a hit this summer!