I am home again, from being “home” again. Just spent 12 days of grunt work, fun and wonderful reconnecting with friends in Old Perlican, Newfoundland. I ate fish until I looked like it, and with some help, finally got our little house hammered home. It is not fully renovated yet, but it is now in working-cottage-mode, complete with makeshift, fairly civilized kitchen and dresser drawers for clothing. The tools and sawdust have been removed from living areas and there are even knick-knacks hanging on some walls. Soon, there might even be a couch!
It is a 1939 house, restored. I am happy to say that our old windows salvaged by it’s builder, Selby Burt in 1939, from the old manse of the Old Perlican United Church, are looking somewhat….new (at least the putty and the paint are). She is a beautiful little house. Her architecture is just popping with the fresh coat of paint as she looks over Trinity Bay and the harbour. I am loving this place and this little house. I feel roots growing into my very old roots here - the same roots as my grandfather’s, from so very long ago (three centuries long ago!). I love his people and I love his place, this Old Perlican, NL.
AND I got some fabulous material to paint. That will root my spirit here all winter long, as I mull it all over during the many wonderful hours of painting ahead.
I always look at September as the real New Year. Happy New Year! May it be filled with joy, peace, purpose and beauty, new beginnings and meaningful connections to the past, to the future and within the present.
