I’ve always found, in new jobs, that after about three months, you lose the ability to see things through an outsider’s eyes. You become accustomed to the place and its ways of doing things. It’s not that you can’t compare your new experiences to your old experiences; it’s just that …
And not a drop to drink. (From Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner) This quote describes the past two days at our house, after our well stopped working. At around 5 pm on Sunday, Les announced that there was no water coming out of the taps. Our first thought …
This is a close up of what has washed up on the shore behind our house; it’s about the size of a large coaster. I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it, except that it’s one of dozens that have suddenly appeared. Yuck! I googled “goo on the shore”, and got …
Every Canadian knows how important the cod fishery is to the history and culture of Newfoundland. It was cod that brought Europeans here in the 16th century, where they set up summer settlements, fished and salted as much cod as they could carry, and then returned home at the end …
If you’re not from Newfoundland, you’ve probably never heard of capelin. It’s a northern ocean fish, sort of like a sardine in size and look. Capelin’s a big deal here. From an ecosystem standpoint, it’s food for cod and for many other large fish and whales. The health of the …
I think it’s impossible to move to the East Coast without bringing some romantic notions with you. Our ideas about the Atlantic provinces have been thoroughly shaped by a combination of genuine cultural expression, sentimental imitation, and oh-so-effective advertising campaigns. I couldn’t help but see myself in those manufactured images, …
I had never heard of toutons (pronounced “towt – ens”) before I moved here. But now look at me – I’m making them! Toutons are essentially fried bread dough, and they taste sort of like a cross between a pancake and a doughnut. They are a traditional breakfast favourite of …
Ever since I worked in fundraising, I have been a regular reader of obituaries in the newspaper. I used to receive the Hamilton Spectator daily, and always read through the obits to see if I knew anyone connected to a recent death, and also just to gain a better understanding …
I don’t Newfie – I’ve always thought the term was derogatory, since I mostly heard it used in jokes. Like, why did the Newfie want Quebec to leave Canada? So he could get to Toronto quicker. But here in Newfoundland, it’s not quite so straightforward. A recent post on the …
We visited the puffins yesterday. They live on a rock just off shore of Elliston, near the tip of the Bonavista Peninsula. I took a photo with my iPhone. Puffins live in burrows, so when you look at the top of this rock and see the area to the right …