Close Call

Wow, what a night !!!   (scroll down past the pictures to continue reading about it)

Click on any of the pictures to enlarge them...

Catching Capelin...



Brittney on the beach...



Roasting Hot Dogs


On The Beach.....




The crowd watching the Capelin...



Catching Capelin...





I caught one!!


Capelin on the beach....


What's left of the chair I'd been sitting in moments before the rock hit it






Our homeschooling group was going to Middle Cove Beach yesterday for a beach fire/cookout....It's a huge beach on the ocean (there is a little sand but mostly smooth small rocks cover the beach area) and it's surrounded by huge, high cliffs. People go there to have beach fires ---- it's a really neat place to hang out.
Here is a picture of the beach showing the high cliffs.

The Capelin (small fish) come in this time of year and people literally scoop them up with their hands, plastic bags, buckets....anything they can find....the fish are really plentiful.

We had our four chairs lined up side by side, in front of the cliffs.  Now, for some time, I had wanted to talk to a certain hs'ng mom and she happened to be there this evening. Great I thought, finally I'd be able to talk to her.   Larry and the kids were off with the others, but thanks to ME/CFS, I was limited to staying put in my chair.  I didn't even have the energy to get up and go over to where the mom was sitting, even though she was only a few feet away.  As I sat there for quite awhile, trying to muster up the energy to get over to her, a thought of, "now is the time" came into my head.   With great difficulty, I dragged myself out of the chair and started to head over to where she was sitting.  I'd barely gotten to where she was, when all of a sudden there was a LOUD crash.  I looked up and back to see a person climbing up the huge high cliff and in the process had knocked off a loose, rather large rock....probably 10 -12 inches in diameter.  It landed squarely on the lawn chair I'd been sitting in (didn't touch the others, didn't even cause them to move at all). It was one of those webbed aluminum chairs and the aluminum frame was snapped --- the back legs were completely snapped off (broken into two pieces, the frame was snapped in another place and the whole chair was buckled on the ground.  None of the other chairs had been touched....only the one I'd been sitting in just seconds prior).  (See above for a couple of pictures of the broken chair).

I was shaking  as I started to think through what would have happened if I'd been still sitting in that chair.....the rock would have hit me square on top of the head.  It totally destroyed the chair -- what would it have done to me?  It was one of those events that takes several minutes to totally wrap your ahead around -- what had just happened, what could have happened had I stayed in that chair and to fully grasp just how fortunate I was to get out the way with literally seconds to spare.  Having the extreme brain fog that goes along with ME/CFS made the whole thinking process even more difficult.

As I was thinking through this, all the others from our hs'ng group were down at the ocean's edge catching capelin.  All of a sudden, a shrill scream came out of nowhere from another hs'ng mom.   She was frantically calling my name and I could tell by her tone it was more than an invitation to do lunch some time.  As I moved toward her, I saw Jake...soaking wet, screaming and shaking with fear.  As I approached them, the story unfolded.  He'd been catching capelin with the rest of the group (moms, dads and kids) when he noticed Brittney's sandal floating in the ocean.  He reached out to grab it at the same time a wave came in, knocking him off of his feet out into the ocean.  Now, for my mainland friends, ocean waves are *much* different than any lake waves (even different than waves of the Great Lakes).... much different.  It does not take a lot to be swept away.  Thankfully, one of the dads (who had been standing right beside Jake) was able to reach him.  He grabbed Jake from underneath the water, pulling him out of the water and onto the shore.

To have once of these events happen was frightening enough, but both of them in the same night, within minutes of each other (while battling the effects of ME/CFS), extremely upsetting and mind boggling.   Both were much too close of a call for my liking. I'm very thankful today for the thought and the energy to move before the rock came crashing down as well as for the quick action of the hs'ng dad to grab Jake.  God was certainly with us that night.

Our First Canada Day on The Rock

As with all the new things we've experienced and learned since arriving here on The Rock, Canada Day observances and celebrations were no exception.

We were a little baffled as to signs which referred to the day as 'Memorial Day'. We were fairly certain they referred to activities happening on July 1, but we'd only known this day as 'Canada Day'. Years ago we recall it being referred to as 'Dominion Day, but none of us had ever heard it being called Memorial Day. The only Memorial Day we knew of, was the one celebrated in the U.S.A. and I believe that one is in May. Hmmmm.....this led to a few discussions among us as to the reference to Memorial Day.

As with all new-to-us things here, there is a logical explanation. After reading a couple of posts, the proverbial light bulb went one. Here are a couple of explanations regarding this day....both of them from fellow Newfoundlanders,

The first one from Lena and she writes,


"In NL it is also memorial day.

July 1st is a time for celebration for the people of Canada. But in Newfoundland and Labrador, the day also has a more sombre meaning.

Memorial Day commemorates the participation of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in the Battle of the Somme at Beaumont-Hamel, France.

On July 1, 1916, 801 members of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment fought in that battle and only 68 answered the roll call the next morning.

A memorial park was established in Beaumont-Hamel in 1925 as a tribute to the fallen soldiers." Lena

and another explanation from a fellow Newfoundland blogger Jacqueline.

Ahhh....things are much clearer now. This was exactly the way the day was observed here. First, a church service in the morning (we noticed quite a few wreaths at the local cemetery on our way through town in the afternoon), followed by a bbq in the afternoon (with lots of activities, traditional NL music, face painting for kids, etc.) and fireworks in the evening.

We did not know about the significance of the church service in time (otherwise we may have attended) but we did take part in the bbq and fireworks. Listening to the music....well it always puts us in the right Newfoundland frame of mind.

The fireworks were amazing....they were shot off over the ocean. Wow....the Atlantic Ocean (I still am amazed every time I look at it). The waves were crashing in against the rocks, the fireworks were lighting up the night sky, there was that familiar warm ocean breeze blowing.......and did I mention we were right beside the ocean???

It's hard to believe we've been here almost a year now. So much more to see, so much more to take in, so much more to learn.

Sending Canada Day Greetings

Happy Birthday Canada!!


Click Here (I know....I've already posted a Canada Day post but saw this and thought it was cute)

Happy Canada Day!! Proud to be Canadian!

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As Canada Day is fast approaching, I've been reflecting on why I'm proud to be Canadian and what makes this country of ours, so great.

Many reasons come to mind, but a few off the top of my head....

1) Our universal health care system. I am thankful all Canadians, regardless of their financial situation, are able to go to a Dr. or the emergency room, whenever we need to. No system is perfect and ours does have some problem areas, but generally speaking it's works well. One of the arguments I quite often hear is about our waiting times, but if you compare private care, it may not be as bad as it seems. I recently read an account of a person who had to rely on private health insurance coverage. The battle went on for years as to whether a certain medical procedure was needed. After years of fighting and losing the battle with the insurance company, the person finally opted to pay out-of-pocket. Immediately after the procedure was done, the person had relief, feeling better than they had in years. So while our waiting times may be a few weeks to a few months, it certainly beats years and all the stress of dealing with an insurance company.

2) Our social programs. There are many but one off the top of my head --Maternity/Paternity leaves. They are now one full year for new moms/dads. (My mom told me when I was born, she got about six weeks off. Wow, wonder what she did witha all that time off??)

3) Our overall cultural attitude towards guns. I saw a recent website that was all about guns. It even had a section on how to successfully conceal your gun on your body ---- like at church when somebody tries to give you a hug. So glad this is not an issue for us.

4) The cultural and physical beauty of our country. From east to west and all points in between, all regions are so vastly different.

5) Our role in the helping of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Here is a link to a CBC story and this one reviews of a book written on the topic. I had hoped to link to a CBC documentary I saw, but am unable to find it. While these links speak specifically of Newfoundland's help (all planes in flight had to land here and most of the planes, if not all, were American), the rest of our country's help was astounding throughout the whole tragedy.

5) All of the freedoms we enjoy every day.

Happy Birthday Canada!!!

Eh? ;-)

The 'new' guy in our life

The way he has looked for most of the winter....


An in between haircut....


The finished product....


Well....ok....he's not really a 'new' guy....he just looks like one.

Many of Jake's friends have been getting their hair cut (or should I say shaved) for the summer. He'd been trying to decide if he wanted his hair cut and if so, how much. Apparently, not an easy decision.

He finally decided today was the day!

He sat rigidly on the stool as I took the first swipe.

"STOP!!", he yelled.

So, I stopped. He checked in the mirror before giving me the ok to continue. This pattern of "STOP" continued for four or five swipes before he felt comfortable enough for me to finish.

Upon finishing, he checked things over quite thoroughly. He even asked if I'd like him to pay me for the haircut. He was quite pleased with his new 'do'. He immediately headed out to show all the neighbours.

I've won an award!

Becky, over at A Peek Inside Our World, has awarded me with this award.

Thanks, Becky!

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Now, here are the rules and regulations, as well as my nominees for the next five deserving winners of the Arte y Pico Award:
1) Pick five (5) blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.
2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.
3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award (http://arteypico.blogspot.com/)
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Only problem is....I know sooo many great bloggers, I can't narrow it down to just 5. So.....therefore I pass this award on to all of the great blogs I read (and you all know who you are)

Visitors from B.C. -- West meets East!!! (click to enlarge pics)

Woohoo!!

We had visitors here, on our little piece of The Rock ---- and they came all the way from B.C.!!!

A homeschooling family who live in British Columbia on the west side of Canada, paid us a visit on Tuesday evening. They are a family of seven and they've been making their way across Canada in a motor home --- their "Ultimate Canadian Geography Field trip".

We've 'known' them for quite awhile through a Canadian Homeschooling Board which both families belong to. Seeing as we made a similar trip in 2006, we'd been quite interested in their trip. We'd been following their story as they made preparations etc., but lost contact with them once they left their home. Fortunately through the internet, we were able to re-establish contact. By this time though, they'd traveled a lot of the way and were already in Newfoundland.

We eagerly waited for them to drive across the island, hoping they'd have time for a visit with us. The kids were beside themselves with excitement, when the family called to say they were near to us. We were finally going to meet them in real life!

I was a little concerned about the directions I'd given them. Being in a big motor home (27' I believe), I didn't want them to end up on the road to Cape St. Francis. Let's just say, it's not really a road for a 27' motor home. But....all was well, my directions must have been ok because they found us with no problem.

Their five kids and our three hit it off immediately --- almost like they'd been life long buddies. As the kids talked/played downstairs, the adults chatted over tea upstairs. Time flies and before we knew it, the time was past midnight. As Larry had to work the next day and the kids were getting tired, we all decided to call it a night.

In the morning we had a breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, muffins, juice and of course coffee. Larry was not too impressed he had to head off to work....but what can you do? After breakfast, Dennis headed into 'town' to have the oil changed in the motor home. Sandra and I did dishes and chatted, while the dc hung out.

Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been all that great here in NL this spring. After coming all this way, they'd wanted to see at least one iceberg. With all the fog/cloud/rain.....they hadn't had any success. They even visited iceberg alley...but the fog was just too thick. I hoped things could be different for them on this side of the island. I so wanted them to see an iceberg, even one (I was beginning to think a bergy bit would be better than nothing) .....they're just so impressive to see.

Wednesday morning didn't look any more promising. When we awoke, it was drizzling and the fog was so thick, we couldn't even see the ocean from our house. But...as the morning went on....the fog started to lift and before we knew it, the sun was out and the skies were blue!!!

We went out back to the look out and then down to the lower look out before deciding to venture out on a trail. About a week ago there had been an iceberg along that trail and I was hoping it would still be there, at least some of it.

As we made our way along the trail, I sent the boys ahead up over the rocks. As they approached the top, I could tell by the "Woohoos" and the "WOWs" the iceberg must still be there --- although it did enter my head there wasn't actually anything there and they were just playing a joke on us. Thankfully, they weren't. Not only was it still there, but it had moved in closer to shore and even though we were up quite high, we still had a front row view! Off in the distance, we even spotted what we believe were some whales --- Bonus!!!

After seeing Nature's travelling art show, we headed back for our house. They had other destinations to get to and needed to move on. It was sad seeing them go --- Jake cried and had a long face for a big part of the afternoon, he really missed them. It was great meeting fellow Canadian homeschoolers and sharing our iceberg excitement with them.