Category: Daily Blog

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Tuesdays with Murphy: First Mate Murphy

I don’t know what Jerry and The Berry did before I came to Ocean Delight Cottages. Who took them for walks, who kept their feet warm at night, who kept Jerry company while he writes on his computer early in the morning? And, most importantly, who was the First Mate of the A Wake at Last?

Regardless, I’m happy to assume all these duties, even if I haven’t quite mastered my sea legs yet. I certainly enjoyed the food fishery, when Jerry was out fishing and needed someone to clean and lick all the fish that came aboard. Maybe by the time it rolls around next year, I’ll be promoted from First Mate to Captain!

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Birthday Berry

We love Thanksgiving, and this weekend we had more to be grateful for than the usual life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. That’s because we also celebrated The Berry’s birthday.

We marked the day with a small gathering of close friends – the best way to celebrate, in my book. Alf and Hilda came over, as did my brother David and The Berry’s son, Adrian. We also welcomed Donna and Barry Imhoff (owners of Simply Amish in St. John’s) who The Berry does work for and have become friends. They were in The Blueberry Cottage for the weekend.

And of course rounding it off was Joseph, who did all the cooking as part of his birthday gift.

We had a pancake brunch, and then Laurelyn got to spend the day relaxing and enjoying the A Wake at Last – good because she normally works far too much. And then a nice evening lingering over good food and good conversation. So, yes, we have lots to be thankful for!

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Gives me Butterflies

It was magic and surreal!

We have sedum, a pretty flower, in our rock garden, and I discovered it one day filled with butterflies. And I think for everyone in my family, butterflies are closely tied with our late brother, Jack.

When Jack passed a butterfly appeared, and it followed us everywhere we went. Then it came to rest on his grave and stayed there for the longest time. I sometimes think it was Mom leading him home. Whenever I see a Monarch butterfly now I think of Jack and Mom and other loved ones we have lost.

So imagine the thrill as I approached the garden to find the sedum covered with beautiful butterflies (I counted 14 in all – the size of my family). When I reached it there were only six left and they just wouldn’t leave. It made me think of Mom, Dad, Ken, Leo, Patrick and Jack.

I wonder if while we are on earth we are caterpillars. Then we die and go into the darkness of the cocoon only to emerge as beautiful butterflies.  It’s a a nice thought, and it’s how I like to think of those who have gone.

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Regal Eagles

If we had a fifth cottage in Heart’s Delight, we could have to call it The Eagle. I’ve never lived in a place where seeing them is such a regular occurrence – especially when we’re out on the boat and can see all the cliffs up close. They’re really something – hard to see one and not loose your breath for a minute. Especially when you know that with their vision, they’re probably sizing you up in close detail!(And a Happy Birthday to LL, too!)

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Fishy Friday

The last food fishery of the year has come and gone. It was a little shorter than the one this summer (check out shots from that one here), but still fun – I was out 9 out of 10 days and always caught my limit.  Last weekend we were happy to take our guests-turned-friends (they’ve been here a lot!) LeighAnne and BJ out for a spin in the A Wake at Last.  Nothing beats fresh fish when you’re enjoying a weekend getaway!

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Age Before Beauty

Here’s my beautiful, ugly sculpin, caught last weekend (thanks to LeighAnne for the great shots!). We used to catch these for fun when we were kids playing on the cliffs of Torbay. I used to consider them ugly but now think they are quite gorgeous. One of the benefits of aging!

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Silver Turned Platinum

This post is a little late, but there’s no way Murphy will give up his Tuesday slot! Anyway, this past weekend I had the honour of being a keynote speaker at the Silver Summit, a conference hosted by the Northeast Avalon Regional Economic Development Board for people interested in pursuing new careers after retirement.  Since these cottages are certainly a new career for me – one I wouldn’t have thought of 5 years ago, but one that has changed my life for the better – it was a good fit for me.

With some help from my daughters and The Berry, I was able to put together a speech about the long, sometimes challenging but always rewarding process that brought me from DF Barnes to running for office to running Ocean Delight. The conference was all about inspiring and helping people to make these kinds of changes after retirement. I full heartedly believe that life isn’t over when you hit 60 – that’s when it begins!

For more information on the the conference and an aging workforce, or because you’re dying to read more about yours truly (hey, a guy can dream!) check out Daniel MacEachern’s great article in The Evening Telegram. There may be more opportunities out there for a new life than you expect.

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Tuesdays with Murphy: Latest Heart Throb

What can I say? Yes I’m a gentleman, but I’m also a lady’s man. As you know I never smell and tell, but I can say that I have had the pleasure of having Maggie stay with us in the Wonderful World of Whiteway more than once. Her humans must like it out here – they keep coming back. And no complaints on this end – Maggie can bring them here as much as she likes. I like to stay close by, waiting for a wink or a nod, an enticing wag of the tail. Unfortunately, she’s kept a too short a leash for my pleasure – she can’t get away with much!

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To the Rescue (finally!)

As much as I am a reformed townie and have jumped into life out here in the Wonderful World of Whiteway, my lack of marine experience can make me stand out like a sore thumb amongst all these experienced seamen. I couldn’t make the A Wake at Last functional without lots of help, and have even been stranded two miles out to sea in her – we had to get a tow from Alf that day. So it was nice to be able to return the favour, by pulling in some people who had been fishing and had their engine break. It felt good to finally be needed and able to help!

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Sunday Church Blogging: Name that Church!

I’ve been neglecting my Sunday Church Blogging duties – mostly because I have so many other duties around here and have depleted my stash of photos. So this might be the last church for awhile, and hopefully you can do me the favour of naming it! All I know about this one is that it’s right outside Corner Brook, and it has the most stunning location of any church I’ve seen – especially on a sunny day. So come on – I hope someone out there from the west coast will be able to tell me what it is!

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