DIY – Ocean Delight Cottages

April 7, 2015April 6, 2015

Guest House Update

Things are quite busy here, since The Doctor’s House is opening this weekend (!). And we’re only a few weeks away from opening our newly renovated Guest House.

We’re picking up speed on our work, to make sure we’re ready for the May 1 open of the guest house. We’re started painting, and then down goes the new flooring, followed by the doors and trim. Then we’ll start on the wrap-around deck, install the hot tub, and start moving in furniture and equipment. And, ‘viola’ -our 4 bedroom house will be open and ready to delight. To celebrate, we’ve got a Ladies’ Retreat Weekend Special on offer. Don’t miss the chance to be one of the first to experience something totally new and totally unique!

May 27, 2014May 25, 2014

Getting Better, Inside and Out

Each day we’re that little bit closer to our first wedding season at The Doctor’s House, but, thankfully, each day we’re a little bit closer to finishing the Big Barn, or big construction project, too. We have a great team, and they’re doing a great job. We can’t wait to see the finished results, and we know our lovely brides and grooms feel the same way!

April 25, 2014April 24, 2014

More Renos

We never would have guessed how much could go on ‘behind-the-scenes’ at a resort like The Doctor’s House until we were running one ourselves! We’ve already blogged about our renovations to the ‘Big Barn,’ building a fun and big new space for the upcoming wedding season. Less obviously, since we’re still managing to ‘wow’ with our hot breakfasts and gourmet weekend meals, we’ve also been re-doing our kitchen, too. The original was functional but not big enough, so a re-vamp was necessary, and our modifications are coming along nicely. We have some fun things planned for our restaurant this summer, so please stay tuned!

September 5, 2013September 5, 2013

Remember that Ditch?

Do you remember that ugly ditch we had on our property last year? Thankfully it was off to the side of our parking, but it was still an eye sore, and I could not let an eye sore stand! So we put in a lot of love and care, some landscaping, and some swing sets we got in Belize last winter. I’m really proud of it! So when John and his son, Matthew, played on the swings after an evening at the Shag It Cafe, I was thrilled to see someone using it just like I had hoped. Doesn’t it look inviting?

August 8, 2013August 8, 2013

Riddle Rod Fence

Here is an old Newfoundland fence like I had never seen before. Made with riddle rods (sometimes called wriggle rods), they were quite common around the bay a few generations ago. There are small sticks weaved in and out over three horizontal sticks (called longers or lungers). They require no nails and are extremely sturdy and designed to withstand high winds.

This is an amazing privacy fence we have under construction – we’re planning to build more!

June 20, 2013

Picking the World’s Largest Cranberry

Here we are picking up the new Cranberry up from our neighbour Craig’s house and planting it between the Blueberry and the Partridgeberry. It was The Berry’s idea to welcome this new unit to our Ocean Delight family, since the original Cranberry is being converted into a cafe and gift shop.

It was quite the feat. We had two boom trucks and a transport truck. It was tricky coordinating the trucks to be completely in sync. Gord and Martin did a fabulous job. And you should have seen John drive that truck. For video, please see here and here.

So the Cranberry is now in its rightful place along the other Berries, thanks to The Berry and a fabulous team. We’re going to turn it into our first chalet – we can’t wait!

December 14, 2012December 14, 2012

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!

November 29, 2012December 8, 2012

Safety Tip: Don’t Let This Happen to You

We spent some of the last weekend in town, driving Joe Friday to the airport for a much-deserved vacation and to run some errands ourselves. Things were going well, until we were on our last run, coming down Blackmarsh Road, with the vibration in the rear end of the SUV getting worse. Then, suddenly, I started losing control. I jammed on the brakes and headed for the shoulder, where she went ‘kerplop.’ The wheel had come completely clear of the vehicle and was on the side of the road a hundred feet back. We were in a fix (and happy to have not ended up in a worse one!).

We sat there stunned for a minute. Call a tow truck or try to fix it? We chose the latter – I got out the jack (somehow) while The Berry searched for the lugs to put the wheel back on. Luckily, she found 3 of 5. “Guddanuf” says I.

With tremendous effort, racing heart, extreme respiration, and a few curses, we got the wheel on.

After I got my breath back, heart beat under control, and said a little prayer of gratitude for no traffic at that time in rush hour, we proceeded to Airport Heights for our last pick up. Then we went to dinner and celebrated surviving this little mishap.

And now, although ‘Safety Tips from Jerry’ sounds like a bit of an oxymoron, do what I’m doing above – make sure you’re tight before you hit the road!

November 16, 2012December 4, 2012

More Joe Friday

You’ve heard us rave so much about Joe Friday that you’d be forgiven for thinking he can turn water into wine. Well, not quite, but almost – he’s set up a mean wine making station in the basement of The Gannet instead. Of course, when he’s tinkering away in Joe Friday’s Winery (see above), then we call him Joe Merlot. There’s lots of Joe’s to keep track of!

Many thanks to friend Alan for this great shot of Joe. Now, if you think this is one handsome fellow, or you like reading my blog in general, please vote for me for a TopBlog award. It’s easy – head to this link, and find my blog under the category ‘Best Business or Professional Life Blog’ on the bottom left. And if you have more time, check out some of the other categories and see if anything strikes your fancy. Joe Friday thanks you!

November 15, 2012December 4, 2012

Got ‘Er Done …. Almost

You may remember that recently I endeavoured to build my boat, The Awake at Last, a winter home – namely a 13 X 40 boat shed. And I was successful in this endeavour – or so I thought. Because recently several days of ferocious winds have sent me back to the drawing board. I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen it – it’s nailed on to a heavy 6 X 6 plank, weighted down with iron stock and sand bags. But checking on it after the wind, I found out it had moved 6 inches! Fraction by fraction, a big bad wolf blew my house around!

So now it’s more work for Jerry! In the meantime, here’s Murphy looking quite pleased with the project – he is the manager of any undertaking here, of course.

One more thing (especially if you pity me my extra work!): if you enjoy my blog, please consider voting me for Canadian TopBlog award – go to this link, and you can find Jerry by the Sea on the bottom left category called ‘Best Professional and Business Life Blog’, and you don’t have to register to vote. And a big thanks to all who have voted!