Category: Daily Blog

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Newfoundland Talent

I’ll never cease to be amazed at the creative output that exists on this little island – how can so small a group of people have this seemingly endless supply of world-class artists? Even just here in our little community, the Wonderful World of Whiteway could be renamed the Wonderful World of Artists.

So I’m a little late with this post (who else is time flying by for? I meant to do this blog post last weekend!), but I was introduced to yet another extraordinary talent, Amelia Curran, at a concert in Cupids. She is a female Leonard Cohen – her lyrics are from heaven and hell, and she stunned me with her creative brilliance and wordplay.

The venue was the New World Theatre, so we got to enjoy the show outside under canvas roots that rattled with the winds. It was completely natural (no sound systems) and completely divine. Anyway, Amelia is currently touring in Ireland, but she’ll be back on the rock in October, and I highly recommend taking in her (indoors!) concert if you can!

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We Stand on Guard

Examine this picture closely – it’s not just a shot of Shag Rock. If you notice to the left of it, there’s what looks like smoke rising out of the water. And that’s just what our guest, Tim, saw on Thursday night while having a BBQ on the deck of The Blueberry, which overlooks Trinity Bay. Confirming it with binoculars, he realized a long liner was on fire.

Tim called me, I called Guardian Angel Alf, Alf called Clifford George (and told me to call the fire department). Alf and Clifford raced for Clifford’s boat to afford a rescue, if possible.

In minutes the smoke had turned to flame – from the shore we could see the inferno with our naked eyes. In no time, there were other boats coming from other closer communities, too. That’s what we do in Newfoundland – we can always rely on our neighbours in an emergency.

Alf and Clifford were second at the scene. They talked to the Skipper, who luckily (or by Divine Intervention) was towing a boat behind him (a standard safety precaution). He and the first mate (the only two people on board) barely had time to get in it before the flames completely overwhelmed their boat.

The fire started in the engine room, and the small crew only had time to get out one May Day before they were forced to abandon ship. The captain had to sit and watch his boat burn to the water’s edge.

Clifford came home and couldn’t get the scene out of his mind – so, as he is wont to do, he painted what he had seen to get some peace. He then brought the painting over to Alf as a memento of the near-tragic event.

Thank God no one was hurt. It makes us appreciate our view of the ocean even more – it allows us to take notice of what’s actually going on out there. And thankfully our guests can’t keep their eyes off it like we can’t. Since no one was injured, the story was just a little one on the news, but you can tell from Cliff’s picture below that it was a harrowing, unforgettable night for all involved. 

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Shags of Shag Rock

I talk lots about Shag Rock, the behemoth sprouting out of the ocean, visible at our Whiteway location. And if you’re not from the area, the name might throw you a bit. But get your mind out of the gutter! ‘Shag’ is not only a euphemism for that …. it also refers to the cormorants, or, ‘shags,’ that make this rock their home. And there’s lots of them – and thanks to the A Wake at Last (or, in the more likely event that she’s acting up, thanks to Alf!), this year I got to see them up close and personal. One more natural wonder to chalk up to the Wonderful World of Whiteway!

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Oh Sunny, Don’t Go Away

You can consider yourself an official Jerry by the Sea fan if you remember my first post about Sunny the Goat, way back in February. Sunny lives a happy life with Clifford and Shirley George, and must love this summer we’ve been having – all these sunny days, just like her namesake. She’s a cutie if ever there were one, and when Allison, the Georges’ daughter, sent me these shots, I knew I had to share them on my blog!Non-Newfoundlanders may not get the title of this post, a reference to one of the greatest songs by one of (if not the) greatest Newfoundland musicians, Ron Hynes. I got to see him perform live once, and it was so good it was almost life-changing – please take the opportunity if you ever get it. We learned this summer that Ron Hynes is battling throat cancer, so please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

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Family Brunch (and Then Some!)

What a soul-lifting treat last weekend turned out to be. This table was set for a sunny brunch. The setting was perfect, and our company even more so – so much so, in fact, that ‘brunch’ turned into lingering over drinks and coffee and conversation all afternoon (while I should have been working!), and then a salmon barbque for supper while we watched the sunset and enjoyed drinks long into the night. In fact, I think this ‘brunch’ turned out to be over 12 hours long!The reason we lingered so long was the company. Now, when we have guests stay with us at the cottages, for all intents and purposes they become my ‘family’ while they’re here, and I try to treat them as such. So when the guests are actual family, well, you know how that goes! Of course Joe Friday’s my brother and he’s always here, but added to the mix were our niece Lisa, and her friend, Bill (dubbed The Most Handsome Man on the Planet), and our sister Maureen and her husband Pat.

It was a great night. We all stayed up past our bedtimes, and by the end of night were all noisily arguing politics – that’s almost the law when you’re part of a big Irish Catholic family! Of course, I have to make sure that I’m the on the opposing side of everyone else – I love the challenge! Our parents would have been proud!Overall, it was the perfect day, followed by the perfect evening, followed by the perfect night, with perfect company! Thanks, guys, for coming and spending the weekend with us!

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Tuesdays with Murphy: No Kiss, No Tell

Meet Belle, like I got to last week, when she brought her people Shona and Jonny to visit us here in the Wonderful World of Whiteway. It was lots of fun playing with her, despite a considerable age difference (since you should never reveal a lady’s age, lets just say she could be my mother!). In fact, Belle is the perfect example to any human readers of how young a little love and a little exercise can keep a dog (listen up, Jerry and The Berry!).

As you can see, gentleman that I am, I let her recuperate in my bed awhile. And that’s about all I’m willing to share on that subject – a gentleman would never kiss and tell, you know!

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Molly Monday

I hope that everyone is enjoying the long weekend. I am, but boy are we busy (are you getting sick of me saying that yet? Can’t help it – it’s true!). So today’s post is a quick one, of Molly, our (mostly) sweet Devon Rex. She enjoys our oceanfront view of Shag Rock, too! Don’t you wish you knew what she was thinking – what does an animal see when it sees the ocean??

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My Church

I’ve been having fun with our Sunday Church Blogging series, so today I’m featuring my church! That’s right – my church is Nature herself, and more specifically, watching the sun set over the ocean. I can’t begin to put into words the amount of inspiration, encouragement, strength and soul-lifting I’ve received just from watching the sun disappear under the waves each night. I was lucky enough to spend several years of my life in Virginia, near a beach where I could watch the natural majesty daily – and I never missed it. And I can say the same thing now, about how truly blessed I am to be able to watch the sun set over over the Atlantic Ocean, right from my back deck. It’s been a busy summer, and after every busy day, watching the ‘fire show’ resets my energy and my passion, and I can fall asleep rested and happy knowing tomorrow will bring more work, more life, more sunsets. I hope that our guests are enjoying their nightly ‘church’ sessions as much as I am, and I hope that you’ve checked out our coming September special so that you can enjoy it, too – maybe with me (as long as you don’t mind sitting in awe and silence!)Special thanks to resident photographer and all-around good guy, Albert Legge, for these photos (he’s given us lots of great ones to use on this blog over the months). These are ‘framers’ for sure. And please, let me know in the comments if any part of Nature has special resonance for you!

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Saturday Boiling Up

I’m looking forward to a busy but fun long weekend, especially since we have family coming to stay with us. But not much tonight could match the Saturday we had last week, right on the beach in front of our new home (still hard to believe we live here!). We had a traditional Newfoundland boil-up on the beach, complete with not only Joe Friday’s famous cod-au-gratin, Laurelyn’s beautiful partridgeberry bread pudding and a deep-fried turkey from yours truly, but also a truly great assortment of our new friends and neighbours. I think there was at least 18 of us, and we sat listening to the waves and each others’ laughter until midnight. It was the perfect ending to what had been a busy day.

I hope that our guests, and you, dear readers, will have an equally fun long weekend, and will stay safe. One last hurrah for the summer!

Gotta love Lisa Day and her shenanigans (I know we do!) ….

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Sharing the Wheel

Summer may be winding down, but that doesn’t mean our boat trips are – not if Alf can help it! Last week we got to take out a great group of people from Ontario (and, as a side note, we get some many guests for that province!), Veronica, Dick, Patricia and Mike. They spent two weeks at The Blueberry and loved it – and we loved having them! Always fun to see the appreciative smiles when people get to see Shag Rock up close and personal.

Alf of course was our intrepid captain – except when the women took the wheel!

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