Commentary & Contemplation

Family Photo

2008-07-29T14:23:00.002-03:00

With the newest addition to our family, I thought I'd update our family photo!

Beverly, Nadine, Wally

Natalie, Geoff

Rebecca

Our visit to Oxen Pond Botanical Gardens

2008-07-26T15:28:00.022-03:00

When we were in St. John's, Nadine and I took a few hours one afternoon to visit Memorial University of Newfoundland's Botanical Gardens, a.k.a. Oxen Pond Botanical Gardens by locals. After a shorter browse than I would have liked (grin) around the gift shop, and a quick glance around the indoor gallery, we ventured outside and walked some of the trails.

The gardens, on the edge of a dense boreal forrest, with poor, rocky soil, surrounded by peat bogs and fens are a delightful surprise in the midst of the city. The first garden we visited was a collection of plants used for medicinal purposes.

We continued on, snapping pictures of Newfoundland wildflowers that peppered the bogs and fens.

There were three trails of increasing intensity. The second trail took us to the duck pond where we fed the ducks with feed we had bought at the gift shop. There were only two ducks in sight when we opened the feed, but right away we heard the honks approach from the surrounding reeds and within minutes there were over twenty ducks at pond's edge waiting to be fed.

The third trail took us to a lookout with an incredible view of St. John's.

Of course, by that time, with the temperatures in the high 20'sC, I was poofed!

Thankfully, the trail was mostly downhill from there. We continued on to browse the greenhouse and more gardens.

These random pictures from the many we took that day, cannot begin to capture how beautiful, lush, colourful and breathtaking the garden was. As I stood there in the garden, I imagined myself in the Garden of Eden and pondered aloud to Nadine what it must have been like. We were amongst the finest collection of plants and trees in the Atlantic Provinces all growing in a natural setting. There were many different species of trees. I thought about the tree of life.

It made me homesick for heaven!

First Pictures of Rebecca

2008-07-24T16:08:00.005-03:00

Some of you have been asking to see more pictures of Rebecca. This is Rebecca and I having a cuddle while she was still in the hospital. Isn't she gorgeous?!

Of course, once she was home she was still getting 'snapped up' in more ways than one. She had her own paparazzi following her around. Here she's resting in her cradle.

On my last visit before I came home, I just couldn't put her down. Her and I were having some quality time.

Ahhh laahhh....she fell asleep again before we could get the burps out. I miss her so much!

I'm a Grandma!

2008-07-17T10:02:00.004-03:00

Please let me introduce our new granddaughter, Rebecca Emily Constantine, born Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 9:40 a.m., weighing in at 7 lbs. 13 oz. and stretching a whopping 19.25 in. Isn't she gorgeous!

I'm going to be a Grandma!

2008-06-28T23:06:00.002-03:00

Guess what....I'm going to be a Grandma really soon! Can't wait!

The Walking Trail

2007-09-03T10:07:00.001-03:00

Just a few minutes from where I live is The Landing Place Walking Trail. It takes me about 20 minutes at a brisk pace to walk the 1.8 km. I walk it about four or five times a week. Come for a virtual walk with me and see the sites I see along the way:

Nattie's Wedding

2007-09-02T17:16:00.000-03:00

They say the sun always shines on a happy bride! Well, the sun was shining in Mount Pearl on August 4th when Natalie and Geoff said their wedding vows. It was a perfect day in every way. We now have a new member in our family. Welcome to the family Geoff!

Wally, Geoff, Beverly, Natalie & Nadine

There are lots of Nattie & Geoff's wedding pictures on Facebook, if you'd like to see more.

Nadine's Grad

2007-06-10T09:20:00.000-03:00

In the last week of May we went to St. John's for Nadine's grad. Nadine graduated from the Bachelor of Nursing Collaborative Program at Memorial University Centre for Nursing Studies.

Nadine Nippard, B.N.

The celebrations started off with a gala dinner served at the Delta Hotel on Monday, May 23, 2007. The menu included an appetizer, salad with imported greens, entree of The Ultimate Roast Turkey Dinner followed by a New York Style Cheesecake with Wild Berry Sauce dessert. Grace for the meal was offered by Nadine. The agenda for the evening included a violinist, several vocalists and addresses to the faculty and to the students, followed by an address from guest speaker Debbie Forward, President of the Newfoundland and Labrdor Nurses Union and a music collection by Drumline. The evening concluded with the cutting of the cake and a dance.

On Wednesday morning, May 25th there was a formal convocation ceremony at the Arts & Culture Centre for Memorial University where Nadine received her hood and diploma. Then on Wednesday afternoon, there was another formal ceremony at the Donald F. Cook Recital Hall, School of Music for the Centre for Nursing Studies where Nadine received her Proffessional Pin.

Congratulations Nadine. We're so proud of you!

Nattie's Engagement

2007-06-10T09:07:00.000-03:00

Weeeelllll...I finally got the 'engagement picture'! Natalie, our eldest daughter became engaged to Geoff Constantine on Christmas Day 2006. When we went to St. John's for Nadine's grad in May, I snapped this picture of Geoff & Natalie at the restaurant where we went out for supper. They plan to be married on August 4th, 2007 in Mount Pearl. Don't they make a lovely couple!

Congratulations Natalie & Geoff!

Spring

2007-04-11T20:02:00.000-03:00

We're already almost three weeks into spring, but we've had 40-50 cm of snow in the last few days and our patio is still totally out of sight. That don't stop me from daydreaming of the smell of earth and the buzz of mosquitoes as I poke at the first few emerging tulips and daffodils though.

Since April is poetry month, I thought I would share this poem which I had published in The Auxiliary News called The Process of Spring:

Like a shy child behind mother’s skirts
The sun hides behind gray clouds.
In company of fully dressed spruce,
Bare birches stand unashamed.
Like a pacing, expectant father
March winds sway the stand of trees.
In the absence of sparrows and crows
Traffic hums the only sound.

As Mother Nature lifts her skirts of gray
Suns powerful rays appear.
Alders, willows and birches bud now
Watered by the melting snow.
Short, snowy, cold days become longer,
Show’ry, sunshiny, warm days.
And then from under a blanket of snow
Emerges a mulched garden.

© Beverly Nippard, August 21, 2005

...ahhhhh (deep breath!)

Cats Enjoy Christmas Too

2007-01-21T17:03:00.000-04:00

Our cats love Christmas! They are intrigued by all the 'new' things around the house and are by nature very nosey creatures. They love to play under the Christmas tree so I've hung some of their decorations on the bottom so they can play with them. Patches poses for a snap under the tree:

Then the three of them went to bed early, hoping for Santa to fill their stocking....and he sure did!

They played with the wrapping paper and each other - as well as their toys...

checked out all the decorations...

had special treats for Christmas dinner...

cleaned themselves up...

and then it was time to relax...

Ahhhh....'tis a cat's life!

Catch up!

2007-01-21T16:20:00.000-04:00

Hi there! It's been a while since I've blogged. So much has happened in between. In fact, it's been so long...I feel so much older. I've celebrated another birthday. Well, it's probably the first birthday that I've actually celebrated. In fact 'twas the first birthday party I ever had in my entire life! Since my sister and I share the same birthday (she's 2 years older...ha) and we hadn't been together for a birthday in decades (won't say how many!), I thought I'd just go down to St. John's and thow a little party. That's exactly what I did! I did up wonderful powerpoint invitations and sent to my sister, daughters, sister-in-laws, neices....and we had a girl's night which (after a trip to the mall) started out with a feed of Chinese food.

It's probably too small to see, but I painted winter scenes on fungus for table favors, had presents for everyone and even loot bags. It was a surprise to them all. They wondered why I went into the restaurant pulling a large suitcase with me!

Our party continued with food & fun, followed by a sleepover at my sister's house. We had a ball! Even though there was no alcohol, we were laughing and carrying on so much that in the pictures we looked like we were three sheets to the wind. Here we were trying to stop laughing enough to blow out the candles:

The other pictures aren't very complimentary so I won't post them, but suffice it to say, we had a very happy birthday.

Then before we knew it, 'twas Christmas. We were very fortunate to have my youngest daughter Nadine and her boyfriend, Chris, share part of the Christmas season with us.

It's always a joy to have them home, whatever the season. Nadine & Chris, 'twas so good to have you! Nattie & Geoff, we missed you very much!

Busy Times!

2006-11-24T16:58:00.000-04:00

Where does the time go? I've been quite busy over the past few weeks.

First we went to Corner Brook to attend the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Hospital Auxiliaries Convention. The Labrador Health Centre Auxiliary newsletter that I edit, The Auxiliary News, won first place in the national CAHA contest for the "100 bed and under" category. Here's the award that was presented at the convention:

The next weekend, I attended an art show. It was good exposure for me. I'm known locally as a writer and craft producer (among other things!), but not that well-known as an artist yet. Here is my first art show:

The weekend following that I went to St. John's to attend a union convention. The best asset, by far, of The Battery Hotel, is the view from the dining room window. It has a fantastic panoramic view of St. John's Harbour. Even though the weather was rainy (can you believe it?), the view was breathtaking. I was lucky to have my daughter, Nadine, join me for breakfast the next morning when the weather was starting to clear. Can you see that small patch of blue sky?

After breakfast we went to visit The Rooms where the view is just as spectacular. This view from The Rooms looks back towards The Battery Hotel. Can you see Cabot Tower sitting atop Signal Hill on the horizon?

A Walk in the Woods

2006-10-11T22:00:00.000-03:00

It was just too nice to stay indoors this weekend, so after doing our chores we headed off for a walk in the woods. It's one of my favorite things to do. Here are some of the scenes we saw along the way:

Here's an interesting tree we found. My buddy thought it was a nice spot to build a cabin.

Farther on we found a place to have a rest and a drink. We also found some fungus for my collection.

This was the highlight of my Thanksgiving weekend!

Beautiful Fall Colors

2006-09-28T15:05:00.000-03:00

Wow! What beautiful fall weather we are having! This is the first morning I had to scrape the frost off my car before I went to work - and if I didn't have it parked in the shade, the sun would have melted it by then. When I went to work at 8 a.m. the melted frost was dripping off the building. We have a beautiful sunny day - not a cloud in the clear blue sky. It's now 20 degrees and a great day on clothes. Amazing for this time of year.

Yesterday I was out and about and took some picures of the beautiful fall colors. It was partly cloudy yesterday, which means the colors are not as vivid, but beautiful just the same.

It's just beautiful all around town!

Congratulations Nadine!

2006-09-27T15:10:00.000-03:00

Congratulations to our beautiful daughter, Nadine a fourth year university nursing student, who has been named to the Director's List for 2005-06. We're so proud of you. You go girl! We love you very much!

Fall

2006-09-25T08:06:00.000-03:00

Something happened over the weekend - Fall arrived! Yep, it's officially fall, but we've been having beautiful fall weather for a while now. Actually, a week ago we had our first frost and on September 16th I started bringing in my plants. I wasn't quick enough though because I left a few on the patio and Jack Frost nipped a couple of them. A few months outside really gave my plants a boost though. Because my yard and my house have a lot of shaded areas, I use plants that thrive well in those areas, like impatients and begonias. Here's the first begonia that I brought in:

It had been sitting in this corner of my patio:

While the days seem much shorter now ( it's dark when I get up at 6:30 a.m.), day and night are about equal length. This morning the sun rose at 6:52 a.m. and will set at 6:53 this evening. Yep, no more puttering around the garden after supper. Pretty soon my garden bench will be hidden with snow. Believe it or not snowflakes are in the forecast already. Each season brings its own joys. The week after next we'll celebrate Thanksgiving. We must enjoy each season and each day as it comes. Hope you enjoy your day!

What did you do on the Labour Day Weekend?

2006-09-05T21:19:00.000-03:00

The first thing people usually ask when you go back to work after a long weekend is, "So what did you do this weekend?" Usually we give very little detail. "Oh I went to a wedding," or "I went to the cabin." We usually just tell the highlights.

You wanna know what I did this weekend? Now I bet you're curious. You think I did something extra-ordinary, don't you? Actually, I had a very nice weekend, nothing special - just life!

First, my partner and I took a hike through the woods looking for fungus for me to paint. We walked about a half hour into the woods before we found the first one, and in about an hour we had more than 50. By that time we had stirred up enough mosquitoes so we trekked back to the truck with our bags full. Then we ordered pizza for supper. Yum!

Besides cleaning some fungus, during the weekend I also made bread, filled my clotheslines with laundry a few times, tidied and cleaned the house somewhat. I like to keep my abode clean enough to the healthy, but dirty enough to be happy. I attended the funeral of a friend and several church services - one of which was at the Paddon Seniors Home where I stayed and socialized with the residents for a while.

Since we had beautiful weather, bright sunny skies with temperatures reaching 27 degrees Celsius, I did some puttering in my garden, painted a couple of doorsteps and my 'park bench'

where I sometimes sip mugs of tea or chat over the fence with my neighbour, Judy. I also found time to read, check email, play computer games, chat on the phone, play with my cats in the grass and paint a few pictures.

You know what was so special about the weekend for me? I did what I wanted, when I wanted to do it. I didn't have to watch the clock. Just another weekend. Nothing special - just life! So what did you do this weekend?

Nadine & Chris's Visit

2006-09-02T19:02:00.000-03:00

The second highlight of my summer - my other daughter and her boyfriend came for a weekend visit before they go back to school again. The young lovers were only here for a flying visit - literally!

Since Chris is allergic to cats and we have three of them, we didn't spend much time hanging around the house. We went for a visit to Sheshatshiu and North West River. The view of Grand Lake from Sunday Hill is spectacular.

We saw this tree on Sunday Hill and dubbed it "the love tree."

We also had time for a helicopter ride...

a good look at Muskrat Falls...

and at home base we check the email while waiting for the pot to boil...

In that pot on the stove is salt beef, cabbage and pease pudding along with fresh turnip greens, turnip, carrots and blue potatoes from Joe Battcock's garden. Of course there's a roaster full of chicken in the oven...mmm...

And of course the visit was much too short. Miss you Nadine!

Latest Acrylic Paintings

2006-07-29T13:42:00.000-03:00

The inspiration for painting is everywhere. Wanna see some pics of my recent work?

These are framed canvas panels - similar to previous works, but different. Popular favourites!

This is my interpretation of a sunset:

These are some rock paintings. I'm in awe of God's creation and try to capture some of it's beauty in paint.

When Nattie was here, we found this rock that had a pointed face and indents where the eyes should go. It was an eagle face waiting to be exposed.

Doesn't everybody want to lie in a shaded hammock next to the ocean?

I've also painted a few more fungus......winter...

and summer...

Some of my work can be viewed at the Drumdancer Arts & Crafts Shop and at the Labrador Handicraft Store.

Nattie & Geoff's Visit

2006-07-28T22:04:00.000-03:00

It's been so long since I've blogged! We've had a busy summer highlighted by our daughter's visit. The couple of weeks flew by so fast, but here are a couple of the many pictures we took while we made memories.

There was some work... a long weekend fishing...

...time for a hike...even a helicopter ride...

And before we knew it, time to say goodbye again.

Miss you Nattie!

Cherry Blossom Time!

2006-06-03T20:34:00.000-03:00

It's Cherry Blossom Time! The cherry trees around the yard are in full bloom.

...as are the Forget-Me-Nots, Bleeding Hearts & Columbine...

but would you believe it? We had a hail storm today, with ice pellets the size of green peas! Can you see them on the patio? On the grass?

Thirsty Anyone?

2006-05-26T16:01:00.000-03:00

Spring Blooms

2006-05-21T21:33:00.000-03:00

Spring blossoms are blooming both inside and outside the house.
Check them out!

More Art

2006-05-21T09:25:00.000-03:00

Life is busy, but I have found some time to be creative. Check out my web page at http://www.geocities.com/bnwrite/personalpage.html .
I've added a new page of art at http://www.geocities.com/bnwrite/moreart.html . I've also collected and painted a whole slew of rocks. Unfortunately I've finished them with a gloss varnish instead of the matte I used on the canvas paintnings, which makes them look great on the shelf but difficult to photograph because the flash creates a sheen/blur on the photos. Since I enjoy painting flowers, I've painted these violas from my garden on some of the rocks.