Thursday, July 29, 2010 - You look like a monkey...

It's a beautiful clear night here in Calvert, and I am sitting at the kitchen table sipping an ice cold Diet Coke and munching on spicy hummus and Triscuits.  You'd think I'd be perfectly content, but in fact I am a little lonely.  Today, all the men (Silas, David, Gary, Ed, Cornelius, Jonathan) packed a lunch, piled in the van, and went to drive "around the block" in search of seabirds and caribou and whales and a good restaurant for supper.  Although it is now after 10pm (a time when Silas usually turns into a pumpkin if he hasn't made it to bed) they have yet to return.  In fact, they called to report their ETA as pretty close to midnight!  No details yet on the adventure, but I'd bet Cornelius "made" plenty of pictures.  Anyway, I miss those guys.

But we had a fabulous day here, especially since, eight years ago this very day, I (along with MANY others) was at St. Martha's Hospital in Antigonish welcoming Margaret Esther Power into this world.  Thank God for Maggie!  These past eight years have been very good to her, forming her into a thoughtful, smart, generous, and loving little girl.  We celebrated Maggie today with pancakes, swimming, phone calls from friends and relatives, cupcakes, cards from her brothers, and visits from uncles and aunts and cousins.  A wonderful day for a wonderful kid.  She is still patiently waiting for her Newfoundland birthday party.  Our busy social calendar is making it tricky to squeeze in another celebration!

Even with a busy social calendar, though, our days still end peacefully.   Sweet dreams, everyone.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - You may know them as sea urchins, Ma'am...

As I approach each new vacation arrival in this province, I feel the weight of the blogging expectation heavy on my shoulders.  It seems to me that there are so many people, around the world, sitting expectantly at their computer terminals, checking and re-checking their bookmarked links, hoping in vain for another post to pop up.  (Incidentally, I am pretty sure I have an inflated view of my own blogging significance.)

That being said, once I accept the responsibility of the blogging, I am just so grateful for how the intention to record our experiences makes me so much more attentive to the gifts and graces of each day.  There are so many fleeting moments of laughter or enjoyment or beauty that might otherwise fly by unnoticed.  But thinking of the blog makes me "stop and smell the roses".  And offer a prayer of thanksgiving.

No shortage of such moments today.  Like the boys' early morning pajama-clad escapade to the swingset...

Or Ed feeding an apple to Trigger, one of the horses that live over the beach, and who regularly stick their friendly, curious noses in through the front door to say hello...

Or Gary's delight in holding a chain saw on his lap (eat your heart out, Brian Dipersio!)...

Or walking on the beach, throwing rocks into the water, collecting shells, and just looking out to sea.

Of course, there are also moments when maybe "grace" and "beauty" are not the words that jump immediately to mind.  Not to say we shouldn't also be grateful.  There were some of those moments today, too.  Jacob, for example, felt it necessary to examine the contents of the bank that Grandma and Granda keep for Maggie.  Perhaps to count the change, perhaps just to marvel at the sheer quantity of coins within (now without).

And Dory's curiosity brought her to examine in very close detail a moose jaw, which Granda thought was safely stowed in the shed.  Better that than the pile of rotting something-or-other that she rolled in out behind Jospehine's, necessitating not one but two baths out in the lane before being allowed back into the house.

Ah, so much more that could be said and shown.  But it seems fitting to finish today's post with some footage of the uber-fabulous Kate.  She made her grand entrance at supper time today, announcing as she walked through he door "It's me, the silver medalist!".  Which, of course, she is.

 She brought gifts for the kids - Maggie and "those other two shaggers".  She sported some seriously patriotic nails.

And she saved the best of herself - the best smiles, the best giggles, the best snuggles, and the best gifts, for the apple of her eye.  Ah, two lovebirds.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - The long and winding road...

Another summer, another Newfoundland adventure! And when you travel Marine Atlantic, you can count on plenty of unexpected twists and turns in the experience. Truthfully, though, with the exception of lots of delays, leading to a solid 24-hour trip from Orangedale to Calvert, the crossing wasn't too bad. With company like this, how could it be anything but?

We found various ways to keep ourselves entertained on the 16-hour crossing.  Some of us slept in until noon (!), all of us ate a lot of peanut butter and crackers, and Josh worked on his physique, no doubt looking to impress the ladies with his "biceps of steel".

So in the end, we were feeling exhausted, but EXCITED!  Bring on the vacation!