Art Sturge: 92 years old today!
My Poppy Sturge is 92 years old today. I’m very fortunate because both of my maternal grandparents are still alive (shout out to Nanny Sturge!).
So many people know Art Sturge – from pretty much every corner of Newfoundland and Labrador. He’s had some interesting jobs over the years and I’ve always enjoyed hearing his stories.
OK, so maybe the title of this post isn’t completely accurate. Technically I’m not referring to an actual swimming pool.
Yes, I did have one of those kiddie pools that had the bendy sides and it was so much fun!!!! But the pool I’m writing about today is actually a pond and for you mainlanders, you can go ahead and call it a lake.
Mom and I with my dog Muffin. Not sure of the year, but given our closes, the 90’s more than likely!
One of my favourite places on the planet is our summer home at Bull Pond and I’ve written about it before. With this summer already getting fairly hot, I’ve been able to enjoy some nice swims and look forward to lots more.
Our dog, Muffin wasn’t an amazing swimmer, but she would often get in the water. It was mainly to bark at anyone swimming because she was worried that we were in danger. And every now and then when barking her face of while on the wharf, she would accidentally get bumped and fall into the water. Luckily it was fairly shallow and her natural instinct to swim would then kick in. It was pretty funny to see and you’d year “Bark, bark, bark” then a splash and someone saying, “Oh geez, Muffin just fell in!”
Growing up I didn’t always want to spend my weekend at Bull Pond, but once there I was usually happy. Even on weekends when it rained and rained and rained, I enjoyed playing cards with my mom and Nanny Sturge; I even went fishing on our wharf in the pouring rain a few times with Grandma Radford or out in the boat with Poppy Sturge. These are all memories that I cherish and am grateful to have.
I’m really looking forward to helping Miranda to make some great memories up there as well. In fact, she’s already been swimming… well not really, but she was in water while at Bull Pond, so that sort of counts, right? More about that on Monday!
I’ve written before about my parents’ summer home, but it’s not something you can cover once in just a few lines.
We’re here again on the weekend and you can feel the weather changing. It’s not as warm as it was a few weeks ago and the wind has a dampness that hints of the approaching winter months. It’s even quieter down by the water because the weather isn’t ideal for the noisy boats and disruptive SeaDos that dominate summer weekends.
But when swimming and sun do not matter and you just want to get away and go somewhere to relax, then here is where you want to be.
Yeasterday, Matt and I went to a wedding where the groom is someone I know from high school. He’s a professional photographer and in the highest level of Murphy’s Law, his own wedding’s photographer cancelled at the last minute. As a Plan B, he asked myself and another friend if we would take photos while using his camera gear and following his guidance and instructions. It was an interesting experience, but I’m definitely not planning a career move any time soon (read: EVER).
Today, it’s all about me and a need to relax. While I don’t mind spreading lime or digging holes to build on the landscaping of our second home, I’ve decided to take it easy after a busy week at work and a very full day yesterday.
Question: can you tell when enough is enough and you’re in need of some “me” time?
Since last night, I’ve accomplished a lot. I managed to finish off (including sewing in the ends) the green basket weave baby blanket I started a few months ago. Two friends have already tried to claim dibs on it and we’ve all agreed it goes to the first baby. On Friday I started a lovely seed stitch cowl (there was a debate amongst friends on whether it was really a “neck tube” or a dickie instead of a cowl) and finished it off last night. And today I started another cowl that was from some local yarn made up of multiple fashion yarns.
Yarn for both cowls were bought on Friday from A Good Yarn, a local knitting store in downtown St. John’s that’s simply fabulous! More about that later though as I’m long overdue a decent knitting update here.
For the first time ever, I find myself somewhere and I’ve run out of yarn/projects in the near vicinity… how shall I ever cope????By reading more pages of The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil. I’m only 80 pages out of 404 in, but love it so far.
When life starts to feel ragged at the edges or you just need to recharge your batteries, what’s your strategy?
Everytime we come up to Bull Pond where the family summer home is located, I’m always reminded of how lucky I am to have a place like this.
Not only is it an escape from city life and a personal space in nature, but it’s only 40 minutes away from our current home.
We’ve had this land for over 20 years and it’s come a long way. There’s always a project happening and something to do, but it’s established enough that you can have a comfy place to stay if the weather doesn’t hold.
I practiced my meditation techniques from Thursday’s class down by the pond this morning . It went really well and I’m realistic that meditation takes time. It’s a new “place” for one’s self and you can’t just go barging on in expecting a life-changing experience . Here at Bull Pond though, I’ve always felt a special connection, so it was a lot easier to connect with myself and the environment around me.
Do you have a place to call your own? Maybe it’s not a summer home, but a place in your community that you hold dear; when you’re there everything feels right in the world.