Adventures of Mandogrl!

"Tappie the Ptarmigan"

2008-02-03T16:22:00.000-03:30

Well, I knew we must have had our own Groundhog.....sure enough I just got this comment on the blog from Graham who informs me (and now I am informing you in case you didn't know)......

".....but you know that article about Wiarton Willy, well he has nothing on Whaleback's own "Tappie the Ptarmigan" in predicitng the timing of spring. According to Tappie, who resides on the bog atop Raven's Ridge, we're going to be grooming the trails 'till June. So no spring in the forecast! Shockin' ... I want to be kayaking then. If that bird doesn't change his predicition, he'll be in a stew in the Pentagon!" GO

So no worries mates about putting those skiis away yet for awhile!!!!

Coming Back to Life

2008-02-02T22:13:00.001-03:30

Okay folks .... I am going to give this a try again.
but for the moment I am blogging at ...

www.theviewfromwhaleback@blogspot.com

Stephenville TaeKwonDo Club

2007-05-18T09:23:00.000-02:30

Here is a new link to the TaeKwonDo Club for Stephenville.
Marigold, James and I are members of this club. We are sort of
winding down for the year. We are having our year end party this Saturday
at the bowling alley.

http://www.stephenvilletaekwondo.ca/

2007-04-30T14:01:00.000-02:30

I had some draft entries that I meant to get put on earlier. If you scroll down you will see them. I just realized that when you write a draft it is posted for that date. I wonder if there is any way to change that????

Slideshow

2007-04-30T13:44:00.000-02:30

I hope everyone is enjoying my slideshow. What a great tool for posting slideshows and videos at: www.slide.com We are hoping to get some videos up there of some of the performances that take place with the Folk Nights. Anyway, I know my slideshow was just an excuse for me since I haven't blogged much this winter. I figure I'd stick a few pictures in a slideshow and that would be that. I do have a few draft blogs that I will now post. Please excuse the lateness and quality of this work. I just don't stop.

NEWEST LINK

2007-04-30T13:39:00.000-02:30

This is not the weakest link,,,,,definitely NOT!!!! I have a new link added to my sidebar and I will also put it here. It's the link for the recently formed Bay St. George Folk Arts Council. I did put that link in an earlier blog entry but we now have our own domain so that one is not there anymore, although it does tell you it moved to: www.bsgfolkart.com We just recently had a show, Saturday night past at the Redwood Lounge so we are hoping to get all those pics up in the next couple of days. I will also try to post some pictures here as well. We are hoping that this council will ensure that traditional, folk, local music, art, etc....will remain strong in the Bay St. George area.

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-04-23T19:47:00.001-02:30

MYC Composition

2007-04-10T13:55:00.000-02:30

This was a message that Graham Oliver sent out to everyone who was associated with the ski club in any way, shape or form, this past winter. You can see him skiing down the Kamikazee in the slideshow above.

Hi Folks: Recently James Benoit had to do a composition for Music for Young Children and just have a peek of what this young man thinks of winter. Whaleback plays very neatly into his thoughts of winter as it does in ours. This is what he wrote:
"I like winter snow,,,,
I like winter snow
So I can ski,,,,down the kamikaze
Whaleback is the place to be,,,come along and follow me
Here I go down the hill,,,,,watch me go what a thrill...."
(And in the photo you have James skiing down the Kamikaze during the Christmas break. Very appropriate indeed! Now just think how many more people we would have skiing at Whaleback if they were all thinking like James .... what a poem for ACTIVE LIVING. Yeah for James! Hey James it ranks right up there with Albert Stewart's composition:"Kicken' n a Gliden' doin' the Snowy Owl... Yeah Kickin' and a Gliden' Doin' the Snowy Owl. ,,,,Take a look .... will also send a few photos of a virtual tour of the trails at Whaleback today in case you couldn't make it out today.Salut, Graham

Info on Luke Pike (Mike's nephew)

2007-04-07T16:24:00.001-02:30

National title for accomplished student athlete
Luke Pike
By Jeff Green
Fifth-year Science student Luke Pike turned a few heads recently at an elite athletic event in Nova Scotia. The Grand Bank native, who graduates next month after completing a joint honours degree in biochemistry and chemistry and is this province’s latest Rhodes Scholar, is now the 100 kilogram junior national champion after competing in the 2007 Canadian National Powerlifting Championships in Dartmouth.
The 23-year-old Memorial student came out on top in his category, lifting a combined total of 697.5 kilograms. in three separate components: squats, bench press and deadlift. There were more than 100 people at the championships.
“I’m ecstatic,” he said. “I’ve been training for more than six years now and I’ve been aiming at this goal for quite a while. I’m excited to represent Memorial, Newfoundland and Canada on the international level.”
Becoming the junior national champion in his category means Mr. Pike earns bragging rights to head to France for the International Powerlifting Federation’s world juniors in September.
“I’m psyched and scared,” he added with a laugh. He said holding the national title is quite significant for him as an athlete.
“It means that all the work I’ve done has been fruitful and it gives me motivation to work even harder in hopes of placing at the international level,” he explained. “In going from provincial and regional-level meets to the national-level meets, the calibre of lifting and the intensity of competition increase tremendously. In going to the world level, it will be so much greater.”
Mr. Pike trains at Memorial during the week, as well as with a group of other lifters. He said there are three key things that make up any good powerlifter: “dedication, never missing any training sessions; tolerance for pain, both physical from injury and mental from loss; and aggression and drive. This sport is 90 per cent mental and 10 per cent physical.”
Meanwhile, in addition to being excited about heading to France in September, garnering a new title and graduating in May, Mr. Pike said he’s equally thrilled about starting a new chapter in his academic career later this October. That’s when he heads off to Oxford University to begin studies at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine to complete a graduate degree in medical oncology.
Read more: Gazette, Dec. 14, 2006: Grand Bank native becomes latest Rhodes Scholar.
“I have received official acceptance to the university,” he said with a wide smile. “I am looking forward to the tremendous academic experience as well as the opportunity to train with the varsity team there.”
April 5, 2007

The Pentagon

2007-03-24T17:29:00.000-02:30

The Pentagon stove.

Outside the Pentagon

What a glorious day here today. How could you not be outside on this wonderful winter (ahem, I mean spring ) day. When Chris St. Clair said that everything was looking like spring (on the weather channel) he was not referring to Newfoundland. Well, today we took the kids and skiied to the pentagon or the warm up shack or the mug up shack, whatever you want to call it. We have been trying to get in with the kids all winter and this was the day. We packed a lunch and left home at around 12 noon. I should explain for those non-whalebackers that the Pentagon is not in Washington, D.C. but in the middle of the whaleback nordic ski trail here in Stephenville. It is about three km in the trail, not too far for the kids. You can even sleep there, they have one big top bunk and lots of people have enjoyed many nights there. We got there and had a mug up (sandwiches and hot chocolate), put in the wood stove and just enjoyed the day. We saw a lot of animal tracks on the way.... rabbits, squirrels, fox and possibly coyote but we didn't see any wildlife except for the occasional skiier. Here are a few pics!

Friday night at the Legion

2007-03-19T16:19:00.000-02:30

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

We played at the legion on March 16th for Stephenville Theatre Festival's St. Paddy's Day Party. It was great. Thank you Danny Cochrane for playing the bass, it was awesome. The sound was superb and the lighting awesome, not to mention the decor. Everything was great including that bowl of Lamb stew made by Robyn's mom....Mrs...? I know it's not Pederson. We were on third after Les Glover, David Bennet and Juanita Cormier. We sang Black Velvet Band, Caledonia and Sixteen for Awhile, a pretty sedate group though, maybe it was all that Irish stew. After we played we headed over to the Holiday Inn where Cal McNiven, Bernie White and Ray Skinner were playing. They invited us up to sing a couple of tunes, so we did. We sang Sixteen for Awhile and (at the request of our friends) Caledonia. Nice place to play, nice and cozy.

A Night with Fergus O'Byrne

2007-03-13T12:59:00.000-02:30

Fergus, Jill and Mike
What can I say! It was a great evening had by all. The show was sold out and people were piling in to see the very first show put off by the newly formed Bay St. George Folk Arts Council and having none other than Fergus O'Byrne to kick off the evening was an honor. Fergus told stories and entertained with lovely ballads and dittys on his banjo, guitar and Bodhran. He played for an hour and then there was a line-up of local performers. Performers included George Chaisson with Ray Skinner, Bernie White, The Kippers (Bill Alexander, Betty Rumbolt, Esther Oosterbaan, Shaun O'Keefe and Teddo Marche, Diane Doyle with Cal McNiven, Donny Dunphy and Bernie White, Lynette Murrin, Mike Maddock and Kylie Cook, Joe Wiseman with Mike Bennett, Lloyd Pretty and Bernie White ( I hope I didn't miss anyone ). Mike and I played as well and we were quite pleased with our performance. Of course, I almost got 3rd degree sunburn under those lights, I still cannot get over how hot and bright they were. I guess I am not used to the bright lights just yet. ha Here are a few pics of the evening. You will also be able to check out the Folk Arts Council webiste for more pictures.

Fergus also went to a few schools in the area, Stephenville Primary, Middle and High School and also St. Michaels in Stephenville Crossing where he shared photos of his homeland and stories and song. Marigold played her fiddle (McNab's Hornpipe), I accompanied her on the mandolin, Nelson White on the guitar and Ben Dunphy did a stepdance. It was spectacular!!! Great job, Marigold!!!

Fergus kicking off the Bay St. George Folk Arts Council Show at the Holiday Inn.

Bernie White, George Chaisson, Ray Skinner

George Chaisson steppin' er out.

The Kippers

Cal McNiven and Donny Dunphy

Diane Doyle

Smokin' Joe

Bernie White, Jill, Mike and Esther Oosterbaan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIGOLD!

2007-03-10T09:38:00.000-03:30

What have we been playing? and more

2007-03-10T00:36:00.000-03:30

We played at the legion for Newfie Night on January 28th. They served a wicked good (not wicked bad) newfie meal that included everything from moose stew to squid stirfry, it was delicious. There were a lot of acts that played during the evening. We played a few tunes (Oh no not I, Fisherman's son, The Maid on the shore and a couple more, I can't remember. Bernie White played along with us on the bass. I have a picture of this that was scanned (not a great one). We will also be playing on March 12th at the Fergus O'Byrne concert, March 16th for the Stephenville Theatre Festival's St. Paddy's Day show at the legion and probably March 17th for an open mic that will be held after the 2nd Stage Players put off their show at the Holiday Inn.

Let's see how this picture turns out.

Songwriter's Circle

2007-03-10T00:23:00.000-03:30

Here is an interesting article that was posted in the Feb 20th edition of The Georgian about the local songwriter's circle. While there have been a couple of these held so far, spearheaded by Joe Wiseman, Mike has attended one (and ends up with his name in the paper) and I haven't attended one yet. Maybe I will get there. Maybe I will write a song. Maybe I will make a CD. Who knows? With THE SECRET out and about now, anything is possible.

The first sleepover!

2007-03-09T23:52:00.000-03:30

Well, I am sitting here at 11:54 while there are six ten year old girls chatting away downstairs. It's the first birthday party sleepover. While I have managed to escape them thus far, I had promised Marigold that on her tenth birthday she could invite a few girls over. You know the song that never ends????? This feels like the party that never ends. Usually two hours and it's over but not with the sleepover. They have been having a ball though. What great singers and dancers and crafters we have here. I must compliment their music teacher on the wonderful job of teaching these girls those lovely dittys in the choir.
I can't believe my baby is ten (will be ten on the tenth, her golden birthday). She is quite proud to be hosting her fist sleepover. Now, as for me, while I sit and wait for them to settle so I can hit the sack (the couch upstairs, just in case I'm needed) (the boys are settled away with not a worry in the world) I will catch up on my blogging. If I end up with a lot of entries you will know that they chatted way into the night.............................

Snowy Owl

2007-01-29T20:47:00.000-03:30

We participated in our very first race (well, not really a race but more of a participation event) at Whaleback on Sunday. It was the Snowy Owl Classic. The kids went for their Jack Rabbit session and shortly after the race started. There were three teams: Kippens, Stephenville and Blow-Me-Down (Corner Brook team) Kippens team won the trophy. WAY TO GO!!!! All proceeds went to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Marigold is in this picture! Can you see her?

Remuri Gardens Opens!

2007-01-29T20:37:00.000-03:30

With flurries and all, Remuri Gardens opened for a short skate on Friday night past. Marigold, James, Hannah, Dawn and Isaac skated around the exciting ice patch for about two hours with howling blizzard winds coming from the North East closing in on them. Poppy decided to make an appearance and was nothing short of a blurrrr on the ice. Mike kept clearing the flakes, Jeff and Roma supervised while I slipped inside (teeth chattering) to make hot cocoa. After the skate everyone came inside and had a few sips of cocoa to warm them up (Baileys is really good in Hot Chocolate,,,,not for the kids though). We hope to have many nights like that one!!!

What's this?

2007-01-27T10:51:00.000-03:30

I thought this turned out to be an interesting picture. Can you guess what it is?

Storms and summer vacation

2007-01-27T10:13:00.000-03:30

Well, as I was sitting in the living room last night looking at my screensaver (which is a folder of our pictures) I realized that I took a lot of pictures last summer and never did get a chance to share them with everyone. I really don't know what happened with me and the blog but we just couldn't get it together. Even now as I type I am thinking about the things I have to do, like.....change the beds....etc.... The sun is trying to peek through the clouds outside in the midst of a blizzard warning, what's up with that? We missed the blizzard warning by one day! I don't know about you folks on PEI (Mother Goddess) but we have to have the warning for the schools to be closed. I didn't mind yesterday as we had to take James to Corner Brook for his eye appointment (which turned out to be a good one), his eyes have not gotten worse but we have to keep patching him until his next appointment in September. Oh, yeah, I have highlighted Mother Goddess because if you like reading blogs, this one certainly has a way with words (also she is Spud's daughter, for those of you who know Spud). Anyway, Ma and Pa are here and have been since Tuesday. Dad had an appointment to get his new earing aid checked and they stayed on to attend the Newfie Night at the legion tonight. We are playing 5 songs at this venue in support of the legion and Stephenville Theatre Festival. They are serving a Newfie Buffet from 7-9 and then there's music from 9-1 (let's hope it doesn't get cancelled due to weather). Mike, Dad, Marigold and James are all outside having fun in the snow (shovelling :) ). We were going to go to the Snowy Owl Classic today but it has been postponed because of the weather. The Snowy Owl Classic is a fundraiser for the Heart and Stroke Foundation where you register for $10 for family or $5 per person. There are essentially three teams, Stephenville, Kippens and Blow Me Down (from Corner Brook) and the team with the most ski length wins. I am pretty sure this is how it goes but you can check the link. I think it has been postponed until tomorrow because of weather. So we are going to sit around here all day and drink coffee and basically relax. Mom has been here all week and have kept up with the laundry and little odd jobs around the house, tanks be da God!!!! I will get those pics on some time today.

Jackrabbit

2007-01-21T16:13:00.000-03:30

Today was a beautiful day for a ski so we all headed for the ski trails. Whaleback Nordic ski club started its Jackrabbit program so we enroled the kids. This is the first time they have been involved in such a program. I am sure that they will enjoy it. I know Mike and I will as we welcome the much needed exercise. The kids get instruction and a fun ski and we get time to have a ski as well. Let's hope we keep the snow that we have and we don't have too many storms like we had on Friday night. Wasn't that quite the blow? I checked the wind at 4:30 in the morning and it was clocking 96km but apparently it went up to 118km a new record for here. Burgeo as well was getting hit hard with 108km and the Wreckhouse was 128km at 4:30. We had too much rain as well and Mike is out trying to save our rink. Here is a picture of the beach at Burgeo after the storm.

Beavers have a Website!

2007-01-17T12:17:00.000-03:30

The Second Stephenville Beavers are on the net. Here is the address in case you would like to check out what the Beavers are up to. James is a 3rd year Beaver and Mike is a leader. Looks like they have lots of fun at the meetings.
http://beavers.50megs.com/index.html

Happy New Year!

2007-01-13T20:13:00.000-03:30

New Year's Day was beautiful here in the town of Stephenville so with a little bit of snow on the ground we decided to go for a ski at Whaleback ski trail, even though it was not offically open. The ski was terrific and we are looking forward to a winter of skiing fun.

Christmas in the Harbour / Mercer's Time

2007-01-13T17:49:00.000-03:30

"Welcome to the party!!!"

"There's gonna be a time tonight!"

The band!

The mummers!

The drinks!

Christmas

2007-01-13T17:46:00.000-03:30

You would only see this in Newfoundland. My father's neighbor was getting prepared to go get wood and I guess he was quite unsure of what he wanted to use, boat??? or ski-doo??, boat??? or ski-doo???

Christmas Eve

2007-01-11T13:10:00.000-03:30

Christmas eve was memorable as always with a trip to the Skinner's residence with much fun, food and laughter and great,,,,,may I say great again, hospitality. All the kids were there on the Mercer side, including ours and they had lots of fun: James, Marigold, Brady, Kaelyn, Shelby, Chole, Taylor,... There was lots of singing and dancing as Derrick brought his gear and the bar (Frank's shiny new bar and drink dispenser) was open.

After leaving this party we went for the annual Chinese supper at Ken and Doreen's house where the food was fabulous and so was the company.

The entertainment!

What can you do while tuning your guitar?

and

Where else would you tune up in a crowded house?

Christmas past 2006!!!

2007-01-11T12:59:00.000-03:30

Well, Christmas is over and the rush of the December month is behind us now. The month of December left me exhausted and I was very happy to return to the schedule of our hectic life. We went to Burgeo, as usual, for Christmas to spend time with our family and to make those roots stronger. It was very festive as we ate too much, drank too much and stayed up toooo late at night. In conjunction with that our holiday was toooo short so it was exhausting.

Here are a few pics from our trip to Burgeo:

This was sent to me by my brother as we were invited to the annual Christmas jam at his house in the harbour. For those of you who know my father he is in this picutre. Can you pick him out? He is very young and with lots of hair.

Blogging and motherhood

2007-01-11T12:56:00.000-03:30

Well, I seem to have forgotten how busy motherhood really is. During the past two years, doing my masters I was tied to the keyboard so the odd blog update was easy, now I am whisked away by my children, attending to their every need that Mike took care of during my study. There are days that go by that our computer at home never gets turned on. Can you believe it? However, I do have two minutes now to bring things up to date.

I AM BACK!!!!

2006-12-20T15:55:00.000-03:30

Hello Bloggers out there. I am offically back to the world of the living. My seventh grade paper is enroute to the officionados. That means I have more time for blogging right? Yeah, right!!!! (sarcasm) Life is so hectic, where did I ever get time to blog before. I have so much to catch up on that I will have to take some time over our long Christmas vacation (harhar) to do so. Right now, I'm heading for mando city, bring it on.
New link (also see sidebar): http://www.mandolincafe.com/

tata

2006-07-04T22:39:00.000-02:30

....here are some whale bones drying,,,,a castaway pound,,,,sun's reflection in water,,,,and kelp in water...........what a quiet morning.....spiritual....

2006-07-04T22:37:00.000-02:30

...........the harbour...........

2006-07-04T22:35:00.000-02:30

.....manys a boat been tied to this warf.....

2006-07-04T22:33:00.000-02:30

.....an early morning calmness....

2006-07-04T22:32:00.000-02:30

...The bridge in the harbour....

Burgeo Morning

2006-07-04T22:30:00.000-02:30

Last weekend we went to Burgeo. Here are some pictures of a peaceful, early morning rise 'down the arbour'.

Point Au Mal

2006-07-04T22:07:00.000-02:30

A couple of weeks ago my family and I went to Point au Mal and walked on the beach. We were told that there were some Artic Terns nesting there and you could see the nests up close. As we began walking on the beach we started to pick up sand dollars. We were amazed, we couldn't walk without stepping on them. We had our pockets full......finally, we had to say enough and stop picking them up. Later that day when we got home we counted 100 sand dollars that we had picked up.
The kids were fascinated by the Tern's nests, you could walk right up to them and see the eggs. There were also plover (semi-palmated) in the area because the birds did some crazy dance as we were getting closer, or they were distracting us. Here are a couple of pictures from that day.

:) LAST COURSE :) Oh, happy day!!!!

2006-07-04T21:37:00.000-02:30

Well, I am happy to report that I have started my last course for my Master's of Education in Literacy. I started my three week stint at Marble Mountain yesterday, July 3rd. It appears that it will be an exhausting but challenging three weeks that we will spend analyzing our collected data and writing a research document based on findings. I am certain that we will learn 'something' in the process. If we can get past the pastries and the daily dancer we'll be fine.

I guess this would be a fitting time to update my blog since this is where I learned of blogging one year ago.

Swimming Anyone????

2006-05-07T22:22:00.000-02:30

We actually swam in our neighbors pool on Saturday, the 6th of May. The pool temperature was 25 and so was the air, so we were quite ready. The kids didn't want to get out. I hope this is the beginning of our summer. Sorry these posts are so short but I have to leave all my intellectual conversation for my courses. :)

Easter Retreat!!!!

2006-05-07T22:15:00.000-02:30

Well, we went to Burgeo again for Easter (of course). We always go for Easter and no matter the weather we have to get our first weiner and marshmellow roast of the season. We have actually had them and boiled the kettle with snow still underfoot. We had a few days of chilly weather but still hit the beach and collected a lot of treasures. We found five sand dollars on one walk on the beach, amazing. We also had our annual Easter egg hunt at my brother's place, amazing this year with thirty kids. They had lots of fun. Here are a few pics.

Full Bloom

2006-05-07T21:52:00.000-02:30

At the end of April, my flowers did come out in full bloom. I couldn't believe it after I returned from Easter vacation, but there they were. They are beautiful. Since then my bleeding hearts have all come up and are looking gorgeous.

Feeling Neglect

2006-05-07T21:47:00.000-02:30

Well, I think my blog is feeling neglected. I have so many things to posts, so I'll start with this. I am in the process of completing my second last Master's course. After July 21st, I will be completely finished, thank God. :) I am also in the process of doing another grad course at the same time to get my seventh grade, so as you can see, who has time for blogging???? Right now I am procastinating, but at the end of a long busy weekend, I'm just toooo tired. Back to the grindstone tomorrow. :)

SPRING

2006-03-27T21:54:00.000-03:30

Well, I can't believe it but my tulips are coming up. Spring has truly sprung!!! Well, next to my house anyways. I couldn't believe my eyes on Saturday morning the 25th of March, little green buds caught my attention. Sure enough I counted ten bunches of tulips bursting from the ground. These are bulbs I believe that you need to take up, I'm not sure. I also noticed that my bleeding heart was also poking its way up through the ground.

Skiing

2006-03-24T09:50:00.000-03:30

We got into the skiing in the month of March. We finally have good conditions to ski. We bought a memebership to Whaleback Nordic Ski Club that will be good for next year too. We have been skiing nonstop since then. We have had a few family outings and a few night skis with friends. Thanks to Donny we have a few pictures to share. We went one beautiful Sunday morning but we forgot our camera.

Music

2006-03-24T09:35:00.000-03:30

We did a lot of singing out this fall and winter. After the flood there was a benefit at the Arts and Culture Centre. We sang there for the first time. It was a great experience. Our Church had a fundraiser this winter and we played for an hour there. The Intensive Core French class had a fundraiser at the Knights of Colombus and we sang for that. The Hospital Foundation had a fundraiser, "Country Night", at the Arts and Culture Centre and we sang for that. It was finally our chance to sing Iris DeMent. The Legion had a Newfie Night and we sang for that. Last week was the St. Patrick's Day Cabaret at the Arts and Culture Centre and we got to sing there too. Kay and Joe came up from Burgeo to accompany us and it turned out to be great. Here are a few pictures of St. Patricks' Day show at the second stage, Arts and Culture Centre (poster, rehearsal, practice in the back, onstage, finale ).

Snow

2006-03-24T09:30:00.000-03:30

Birthday Party!

2006-03-24T09:10:00.000-03:30

I can't believe that Marigold turned 9 years old on March 10th!!!!!! That's amazing. How time flies again. In keeping with the olympics that had just finished, Marigold had an Olympic Skating Party at the Stephenville Dome.

Winter Fun!!!!!!

2006-03-24T09:02:00.000-03:30

I can't believe how fast time flies!!!!!! When you're having fun that is. I guess we had a lot of fun and excitement this winter because it only seem liked a day. January proved to be a month of little snow and sad weather for skating (the rink) and skiing so we waited that one out. Hockey Day in Stephenville was the only exciting thing that happened during that month. I found a couple of more pictures of hockey day in Canada and here they are.

New Link

2006-01-22T14:29:00.000-03:30

There is a new link in my sidebar to more pictures of Burgeo. These are from Brian Porter's online photo album that he has created. It has some great old and new shots. The link is called Burgeo Pics.

Hockey Day In Stephenville!!!

2006-01-15T14:34:00.000-03:30

Well, it's one week later but the excitement is still in the air. It was hockey day in Stephenville last weekend and even for those who don't play hockey (like us) it was still quite exciting. It started for us on Thurday afternoon when Marigold, James and I saw Ron McLean in the flesh at Shopper's Drug Mart. Then on Friday morning we all went to the elementary school for an assembly with Dick Irvin and Wendell Clarke, it was quite exciting. We went to the stadium on Saturday where we watched some ball hockey and two periods of a game inside. We even saw the stanley cup.
Here are some pics.

New CD by Craig Young

2006-01-15T14:26:00.000-03:30

Just wanted to let everyone know that Craig Young has his CD out, just before Christmas. It has some great songs on it!!!! In case you don't know Craig plays guitar for Terri Clark and has won the Canadian Country Guitarist of the year four years in a row. He also hails from the South coast of Newfoundland, Francois and Burgeo. Here is a link to his site: http://www.craigyoung.ca/
and another link

http://www.atlanticseabreeze.com/ItemOne.asp?ID=2301

...note the cover of his Cd is of a picture taken in Burgeo a very long time ago as you can tell...

Radio Stations

2006-01-02T12:05:00.000-03:30

I have added two great radio stations to my links sidebar. They are liveireland.com and folkalley, they are great easy listening with some interesting podcasts as well. Enjoy!

2006-01-02T00:18:00.000-03:30

This was seen posted to my brother's house the next day. I guess this is what happens when you play too much 'ugly stick'!!!

2006-01-02T00:11:00.000-03:30

As the night went on the drinks got bigger, the ice cubes got weirder and of course we had to end the night with 'Johnny Be Goode'....

2006-01-02T00:07:00.000-03:30

The accordian, the ugly stick, the band...

2006-01-02T00:06:00.000-03:30

Stacey Pink on Bouzouki

2006-01-02T00:04:00.000-03:30

Tom, Derrick, Jill, Mike

2006-01-02T00:01:00.000-03:30

The Good ole hockey game was a hit at the party!

THE KITCHEN PARTY!!!!

2006-01-01T23:49:00.000-03:30

We stay in Burgeo just for this one, Derrick's kitchen party, and boy wasn't it a party (as they say). Derrick and Michelle invited us over for supper that evening (a feed of spaghetti, salad and cheesecake). Stacey and Dawn also joined us as did Mom and Dad. Of course, no one could get their food down the right way for Dad's foolishness had us splitting with laughter.....

Derrick had his PA set up for optimum entertainment...Mike (guitar, bass, bodh'ran, Tom Cutler (Bass, Guitar, tin whistle), Derrick (guitar, tin whistle, djimbe, bodh'ran), Stacey Pink (Bouzouki, guitar, bass, accordian), Jill (Mandolin, guitar, tin whistle), Corey Skinner (bass, accordian) AND Darrell (Ugly stick).....
The house was packed and as it got further into the night so did everything else. I'll post the pics with their individual comments. My brother also has some interesting pics on his flickr site.... http://www.flickr.com/photos/dmer/

Supper at Joe's and a little jam

2006-01-01T23:44:00.000-03:30

We had supper at Kay's and Joe's this evening (t-bone roast...mmmm..) It was delicious. After supper we had another Jam. Mike on guitar, Joe on his Martin and Kay and I on Mandolin. It was really nice... we played a lot of Newfoundland folksongs and folk songs...no pics....
only eating....

Boxing Day Jam!!!

2006-01-01T23:40:00.000-03:30

Went to my brother's house for a little jam on boxing day night. Mike was not feeling the best so he went home and boy was it raining.... so Derrick and I just jammed a little playing some old, obscure newfoundland songs and country as well. It was nice. The black ducks headed for shelter that night because the easterly winds were wicked, the rain and freezing rain kept me awake the whole night....

Merry Christmas!!!!

2006-01-01T23:19:00.000-03:30

Our kids were so excited this year, the most excited I have seen them. They got up the earliest time ever (7:30). Usually, they sleep until 8:30 or so but this year was different. Santa was exceedingly good to everyone in the harbour this year. Marigold and James received some very exciting presents....skis, skates, headlamps and binoculars (for those camping adventures). James got his Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader color changing light saber that he wished for plus numerous other things and Marigold got her Hair Stylin' Baby Bratz and her nice pair of earring that she wished for. My favorite gift that they got was CD walkmans!!!! Can you guess why? Santa was also good to Mike and I as he brought us a mantle for our dining room and brought it before we left for Burgeo. It looks beautiful on our wall. Mike received a leatherman tool and a 'backwards' capo while I received some beautiful pottery created by the 'hermit' in Codroy Valley. We spent most of the day lazing around the house until Brunch (and it was quite the brunch)...fish cakes, beans, ham, hash brown patties, eggs, tea/coffee....wine...? We were awarded with the company of Frank, Doreen, Glen, Teresa and Angie....We ate until about 2:00... My brother and his family came for supper for the infamous turkey that we ate around 5:30. It was exhausting...all that eating. It was a wonderful Christmas Day.

Christmas Eve Jammin!!!!

2006-01-01T20:41:00.000-03:30

This year on Christmas Eve we were invited to my cousins house (not in the harbour but up on Inspiration Road) for some partying, jammin', etc.....
It was a blast!!!! I brought my mandolin and tin Whistle, Mike his guitar and bodh'ran, my brother his guitar and PA system and Dad brought his spoons. There was a lot of laughter and dancin' to be had that afternoon. We were greeted there by Frank and Doreen with lots of drinkin' and snackin'.
We left The Skinners and went to The Benoit's (Ken's and Doreen's) for the famous Chinese Food supper. All of Mike's family were there for the feast, it was delicious. Everything from Chinese tea and chopstick and noodles (sent down from Chinatown by Erin in Toronto) to Jimmy's homemade eggrolls. After supper we had a jam there as well but it was a little more upbeat with some rock and roll since Barry was there to play the drums. However, the evening ended about ten o'clock after checking the Norad Tracker and finding out Santa was in Newfoundland.

Christmas in the Harbour!!!!!

2006-01-01T20:33:00.000-03:30

Well, it's all over..... Christmas that is!!! But it was a really great one. It was a time of relaxation and fun with friends and family in Burgeo. We headed down South on the 23rd of December, leaving in what to me was quite the blizzard but we knew as we drove south that it could only get better. We had snow most of the way until we got just outside of Burgeo and the weather turned milder. We were greeted with a wonderful pot of "Moose" soup, (the best bowl of soup I ever did taste) and homemade buns. Mom can sure cook it up. With our bellies full and after a long snooze......we were all ready for a Christmas in the harbour. That night we found out that the black ducks were back in the harbour and you could see them paddling about in the moonlight. My father shows the excitement of a five year old over stuff like that. I tried to get pictures of these elusive ducks but to no avail. I could never catch them in their nighttime frolicking. Where they go to in the daylight, I haven't the foggiest....

Santa Claus Parade

2005-12-06T22:34:00.000-03:30

Our Santa Parade was held on Saturday, December the 3rd, and what a day it was. We were all worried that it would rain (it called for heavy rain) but it turned out to be a beautiful morning. Actually, it was really only good for the parade. The floats were great. Marigold was a star shining over the city on the Guiding float, James was a Beaver on the Beaver float, as was Mike and I was an elf (how ironic) walking behind our school float 'The Polar Express'. Our school float won best non-commercial float, it was fantastic. The float team at the school led be Mrs. Andrews did a spectacular job. The rain held off for the whole parade but by afternoon it was drizzling and by nightfall it was like the middle of winter!!!

Remembrance Day 2005

2005-11-20T15:44:00.000-03:30

This is a little late in coming but I just thought I would try to add this video link to my blog. A friend of mine sent me this Terry Kelly video "A Pittance of Time" and I thought it was just beautiful. We took part in the ceremonies this year but they were held inside at St. Stephen's Parish Hall because of the weather. Marigold participated with her Brownie troop and James (and Mike) with the Beaver troop. I didn't get any pictures because inside the building they didn't come out very well.

New Link

2005-11-09T21:36:00.000-03:30

It has been a hectic month and I just realized that I have not blogged. Finally, Halloween is over with.....This year we had Harry Potter and a Spider Witch and a few more unmentionable ghouls around.....I have just been cleaning up my favorites on IE and discovered a link to the Adventure Race 2004. Many of you may not have known this but Burgeo was the starting point of the AR 2004 Raid of the North. Here a couple of shots but the extensive site is in my sidebar. Enjoy!!! Okay I can't get the pics uploaded, check out the link.

Scary....

2005-10-01T23:14:00.000-02:30

A Quick Scrub!!!

2005-10-01T22:57:00.000-02:30

Well, we just got some water at around 10:00 p.m., not much pressure but it's enough to get the dishes done and grab a quick scrub in the tub but not a shower. I really want to do laundry but I guess I'll wait until tomorrow to see what happens. Today, another day without water....the kids had swimming so that was great because they got their shower at the pool. Other than that Mike changed the oil in both vechicles, we harvested the beets...I put Marigold's hair in 75 braids.....we just hung around....

and the adventure continues......

2005-09-30T23:05:00.000-02:30

Here is some video of the flood.
Video1
Video2
Video3
Video4
Video5

Water......no water.....water....no water......

2005-09-30T22:07:00.000-02:30

Early morning Mike and I woke up (about4:30, 5:00 am) from a gurgling sound in our bathroom, we were so excited it was just like waiting for santa.
'Twas the night before water when all through the house,
not a creature was stirring just I in my jammies (staring at the tap) feeling like a louse.
When all of a sudden I heard such a clatta,
and I sprang to the bathroom to see what was the matta....it was a drop of water....

Today was the fourth day home from work and school due to the flooding and it was monopoly day today. I lost to my six and eight year old, I was never good with money and apparently still not good. It started to rain this morning so I put two pots on the patio to catch rainwater to wash all the dishes, including the ones in the dishwasher. After two hours of washing dishes we get a dribble from our tap.....*&%!# , it would have been enough without having to boil the pots of water I collected. However, at lunch time we all used styrofoam (no cfc's) just in case.
By around 4:30 we had good pressure especially downstairs and looked forward to getting a shower later on in the evening. We were out and when we returned at 8:30, running for our taps we discovered that the water was gone again.....

Here is a link to my flickr site with more pics of the flood.

Ahhhh, to take a shower......

2005-09-29T21:38:00.000-02:30

Well, the water has been turned on in some parts of the town (yesterday evening) and some as well this evening but we still have none. It just feels like I've been camping for a few days, although somehow it feels cleaner in the woods. We just came from one such part of town and had the most wonderful shower!!!!! Thanks again!!! That should last for a few more days, but the dishes pile up anyway. I try to keep it to washing them once a day due to lack of water but I think I may have to do them this evening in case there's school in the morning, who wants to wake up to that. We are using drinking water to do the dishes, totally unheard of. This is the third day home from school, the kids are getting bored, I mean how many times can you play trouble anyway and not go bonkers. We haven't done any face painting since the first day but my face felt like it earlier. Not really wanting to cook a big meal and have more dirty dishes we warmed up leftovers, cooked hotdogs and had deep fried cod tongues and cheeks outside in the deep fryer. Here is a site I was given earlier this evening that have better pictures of the flood areas.

A River Runs Through It!!!

2005-09-28T17:09:00.000-02:30

Well, here we are at home again today, second day in a row after the 'state of emergency' has been called for the town of Stephenville because of flooding. The town is starting to dry up today but there are still two major bridges closed in town and we do not have any water for the second day in a row. Luckily, we filled some buckets yesterday in the downpour for flushing and our neighbor has a pool full as well so we are okay on that end (teehee). A total of 150mm of rain fell on us within a 24 hour period, luckily we built our house on a high point of land. A lot of homes have been damaged, some turned around on their foundations, oil tanks leaking through them. Apparently a dam had let go further up the river and that's what caused all of the flooding. I guess most people saw the pic. on tv next to mcdonalds where, literally a river ran through it, or by it anyway. I, personally, have not been out around town to survey the damage but I plan to go out later to get a look. Yestday when we arrived at school and were told that school was closed I did a few things and headed straight for home. We've spent the last few days playing games (checkers, pretty pretty princess)and painting our faces in prep. for halloween. You can see some pics that Mike took at this site.

A Crackling fire, imagine the sound, feel the heat...

2005-09-26T20:19:00.000-02:30

I have been trying to figure out how to put a video clip into my blog and this is the closest I have come yet. I am using a program called videoegg, bear with me on this. This video was taken at a campfire in the rain at Gros Morne this past summer, Lomond River Campground. Ahhh, to feel that warm campfire again......this will have to hold us over until next summer.... :)

Labor Day Weekend

2005-09-25T22:58:00.000-02:30

Well, I guess it's about time I updated my blog because things have been happening here. We are all back to a schedule (thank God), although I did thoroughly enjoy my holidays this past summer. I am back teaching (some tech, some core french, math in one grade two class and a bit of special ed) and am very busy. My second year of my masters has begun and now I can say I am on the downward slide towards finishing, by next summer I will be finished :) and our lives will get back to normal. Here is a picture that I forget to add to my blog from Labor Day Weekend. We went blueberry picking with the Blundons. There were not a lot of berries but we had a lot of fun.
Here is a better pic of those blueberries we picked.

and the adventure continues...

2005-09-05T21:50:00.000-02:30

Where was this picture taken? We had a great appetizer to our supper (thanks to the Dunphys). We had pesto on Italian crusty bread, smoked salmon pate on peppercorn crackers and a bit of vino. Can you ask for any better?

Barachois

2005-09-05T21:33:00.000-02:30

Well, I didn't know I had Blogger fans but apparently someone has taken the time to keep checking on my blog so I guess I had better 'Put another Blog on the Wire :) I guess the getting ready for school had me quite busy last week and I forgot to post our trip to Barachois Pond Park. We had a great weekend last weekend at the park singing and relaxing and NO rain. It all started Friday evening with everyone meeting at the park. Donny managed to get campsites again and all our ducks were in a row so to speak. We brought some Quesadillas (if that's not spelled correctly excuse me I'm not Spanish, Italian, whatever...) and Kay and Joe brought some Srumptious Scallops fried in onions and peppers, yummy!!! So we shared. Friday night brought an interesting singsong at Donny and Christine's campsite with glow sticks, sparklers and lots of treats for the kids so they could have lots of energy for frog hunting.
Saturday we had to go to town, Marigold had swimming and Mike HAD to get to that auction, (where he purchased, by the way, a General Lathe 260, he'll be turning out the woodwork now buddy) but we returned to the park in the afternoon. We went to the beach so the kids could play in the water while we relaxed. We had quite the picnic there (see pic). Donny made his famous pesto from his own herbs that he had grown and it was delicious. We had another sing song that night at the Benoit campsite. It was a fantastic night. We took several trips out in the dark, even one to the shore, to see Mars, but to no avail. Sunday we slept in and relaxed and got ready for home. It was a super spectacular weekend!

2005-08-27T11:38:00.000-02:30

These are two rock formations that can be seen as you go to Bay d'Loup. The first one is known as the Devil's Armchair and the second is known as the Devil's Chimney.

2005-08-27T11:34:00.000-02:30

Ken's cabin at Bay d'loup.
We stopped there and had lunch outside on the bridge.

2005-08-24T19:58:00.000-02:30

Mike fileting his fish.

2005-08-24T19:56:00.000-02:30

A feed of makerel and cod in Bay d'loup. This is where Mike's brother Ken has his cabin.

2005-08-24T19:54:00.000-02:30

I forgot this picture last time. It is the famous elusive sand dollar. This is the one that Marigold found on the Western Beach.

Boating in Burgeo

2005-08-24T19:49:00.000-02:30

The second half of our vacation in Burgeo was spent at my parents house. Mike and I got an opportunity to get our whack of codfish that week and we spent some time on the water with the kids. They really enjoyed it!!! We took the boat west of Burgeo around the Sandbanks and then we went to East of Burgeo. The two areas are like chalk and cheese. Up towards the west it is flat and the shore is dotted with sandy beaches but down East of Burgeo there are great fjords and rocks jutting out into the sea. We took a lot of pictures, here are just a few I thought I would share with you.

2005-08-22T22:49:00.000-02:30

These are called Least Sandpipers. They were darting along in front of us as we walked up the beach. We could get very close.

2005-08-22T22:44:00.000-02:30

This is a picture of the Greater Yellowlegs.

2005-08-22T22:40:00.000-02:30

We were really excited when we saw this bird, we thought it was the endangered Piping Plover but it turned out to be the Semi-Palmated Plover. (click on the picture to see it up close)

2005-08-22T22:30:00.000-02:30

Who knew there were carnivorous plants in the park? The first picture is of one such plant growing in the park, called Sundew. It has a slight stem with a round top and little tentaclelike things protruding from it. I think the second plant is Goldenrod and the third is beach pea, you can see pods of peas hanging off its leaves. (click on the first picture to see the Sundew)

2005-08-22T22:19:00.000-02:30

We had a geology lesson in the park! We were informed that the prints on these rocks were not dinosaur footprints as James had hoped but were in fact zenoliths (A foreign inclusion in an igneous rock). They are located at Fox Point.

2005-08-22T22:17:00.000-02:30

This is a picture of Sandbanks island. This island was connected to the mainland many years ago. My Great Grandmother would drive her cows onto this island to graze.

2005-08-22T22:14:00.000-02:30

This is the sign that is posted at several beaches to warn people of the endangered bird, the Piping Plover, which nests on the beaches in the area.

2005-08-22T22:09:00.000-02:30

This is the fourth beach at Sandbanks Park.
You can walk two more beaches after this one. The point of land in the distance is called Fox Point and for a point of interest this is where is fishing zone starts 3PS for the south coast.

Burgeo Adventure

2005-08-22T21:23:00.000-02:30

We finally arrived home last night from the metropolis of Burgeo after a nine day stay that we thoroughly enjoyed thanks to all the GOOD COMPANY and GOOD FOOD. Mike had to return to work this morning (on our 11th anniversary by the way) and was not in the best of spirits. Our week in Burgeo began with camping at the park on Friday the 12th where we were joined by friends, The Dunphys. We had a great sing song around the campfire, with lots of visitors, into the wee hours of the morning. At about 2:30 am we saw the Northern Lights, they were great, the first time I had seen them. They say that if you whistle at them they will dance, and of course we tried that. The next day we walked all of the beaches, it was beautiful. It started to rain that evening but after a superb meal we sang under tarp, fire blazing until the wee hours of the morning again. We stayed at the park until Tuesday and relaxed, sang, and combed the beaches looking for the elusive sandollar. It was found by Marigold on our last walk who walked the beaches bent over searching in earnest for the shell. There is some legend about the sandollar but I'm not quite sure of it, if someone knows about it, let me know.

The Adventure Continues....

2005-08-12T03:17:00.000-02:30

After Green Gardens we took it easy.....and experimented with nighttime photography. We left Lomond today, Thursday and headed for home. On the way we stopped at Marble to show the kids the Totem pole. It is a magnificant structure and you can't really appreciate it unless you stop and take a closer look. The adventure continues as we head to Burgeo's Sandbanks Park for a few more days of relaxation!!!!

2005-08-12T02:56:00.000-02:30

Green Gardens

2005-08-12T02:53:00.000-02:30

We decided to take the hike to Green Gardens on Tuesday in the blazing 24 degree heat. So we packed plenty of water and a small lunch and headed out to the trail. Mike's sister Kay and her husband Joe joined us on Monday at Lomond and went on the hike with us. Their dog sailor was the chief water seeker! The hike took us about four hours return trip. It was a 9 km. hike to the shore but getting there we had to go down coming back it was all uphill. The kids were real troopers. When we finally made it to the shoreline, it was beautiful. At the end of the trail down near the beach there is a cliff that is formed from Pillow Lava and also there are volcanic sea stacks poking out of the sea. We were looking for the sea cave and waterfall as the kids were very interested in that but it seemed to have eluded us. We did see some sheep though!!! I wonder how those got there? I forgot to mention that on the way we saw two moose, a mother and a calf, I did manage to get a picture of one of them.

Lomond Campground

2005-08-12T02:43:00.000-02:30

We left Shallow Bay and headed for the south side of Gros Morne National Park in search of a cheaper campground. We swam in Rocky Harbour pool on the way down it was very refreshing. James (5) decided he was going to jump off of the diving board and we waited in amazement as his little figure crept out onto the board. He has no fear. We found a lovely campground on the south side of Gros Morne; Lomond River Lodge and Campground, very similar to our Provincial Parks and 1/3 the cost of the national park. We bunked down there for four nights with the Lomond river just below us. It was great because it was a short drive from the towns of Glenburnie, Shoal Brook, Woody Point, the Discovery Centre and the Tablelands.

Shallow Bay

2005-08-12T01:18:00.000-02:30

We headed up to Shallow Bay campground on Saturday, August 6th to go camping and we did make this time without losing our transmission. We started our moose journal and saw six altogether on the way, although we only got a picture of three; a mother and two calves.

The Adventure Continues....

2005-08-05T18:03:00.000-02:30

WHEW!!!!! and a bigh SIGH!!!! Just finished my three week Masters course yesterday at Marble Mountain. There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears that went into the last three weeks but it was worth it. It's the hardest I worked at anything, except labour and trying to give birth. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot about teacher research, collaborative learning, comaraderie, patience, professionalism, presentation, blogging (and a whole new whack of computer skills) and how to relax when needed and all thanks to our professors, facilitators and mentors (Michele Knobel, Colin Lankshear, Betty King and Renee Sherstobetoff). Now it's time to relaxxxxxx for a month until school opens. So..... the adventure continues.....
My family and I will be heading up to Gros Morne tomorrow to camp, hike, relax and just take in the fresh air and wildlife. I will update when I return.

Sandbanks

2005-08-01T23:09:00.000-02:30

This is a picture of the First Sand at Sandbanks Provincial Park, Burgeo.

2005-08-01T23:06:00.000-02:30

This pic was taken from my parents house in Burgeo, looking at the Fisherman's warf.

Adventures of Mandogrl!

"Tappie the Ptarmigan"

Coming Back to Life

Stephenville TaeKwonDo Club

Slideshow

NEWEST LINK

Check out my Slide Show!

MYC Composition

Info on Luke Pike (Mike's nephew)

The Pentagon

Friday night at the Legion

A Night with Fergus O'Byrne

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIGOLD!

What have we been playing? and more

Songwriter's Circle

More Links

The first sleepover!

Snowy Owl

Remuri Gardens Opens!

What's this?

Storms and summer vacation

Jackrabbit

Beavers have a Website!

Happy New Year!

Christmas in the Harbour / Mercer's Time

Christmas

Christmas Eve

Christmas past 2006!!!

Blogging and motherhood

I AM BACK!!!!

Burgeo Morning

Point Au Mal

:) LAST COURSE :) Oh, happy day!!!!

Swimming Anyone????

Easter Retreat!!!!

Full Bloom

Feeling Neglect

~~~~SPRING~~~~

~~*Skiing*~~

***Music***

Snow

Birthday Party!

Winter Fun!!!!!!

New Link

Hockey Day In Stephenville!!!

New CD by Craig Young

Radio Stations

THE KITCHEN PARTY!!!!

Supper at Joe's and a little jam

Boxing Day Jam!!!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas Eve Jammin!!!!

Christmas in the Harbour!!!!!

Santa Claus Parade

Remembrance Day 2005

New Link

Scary....

A Quick Scrub!!!

and the adventure continues......

Water......no water.....water....no water......

Ahhhh, to take a shower......

A River Runs Through It!!!

A Crackling fire, imagine the sound, feel the heat...

Labor Day Weekend

and the adventure continues...

Barachois

Boating in Burgeo

Burgeo Adventure

The Adventure Continues....

Green Gardens

Lomond Campground

Shallow Bay

The Adventure Continues....

Sandbanks

SPRING

Skiing

Music