It’s seldom that I post blogs with only pictures of people but today I am breaking my own rule. As I said in previous writings, I usually don’t photograph people mainly because the majority of them hate getting their snap taken. The list of requests get longer every time – “Can you make me look slimmer, can you make sure I don’t look too old, can you make sure you can’t see my multiple chins, can you make me look taller”…oh wait, that’s my own personal list of requests when people are taking MY pic. Reflecting on the last few months there have been so many momentous occasions that I thought it was worthwhile sharing some of them. Here’s a look back at this thing we call life.

Mother’s Day

Graduation Celebration

A major milestone happened this past June when Fr. John Peddle celebrated 60 years of priesthood. Yes, you read that right, SIXTY YEARS!!! A lovely celebration mass took place at St. Joseph’s in Riverhead to mark the momentous occasion. It was a very proud moment for the Peddle family to be sure. You will never meet a person more devoted to his family, friends and the church. You could say he’s a celebrity around these parts. When he retired from his official parish duties he moved back home to Tilton but continued to fill in at parishes all over the Avalon. I bet there isn’t a parish from Heart’s Content to Colliers who hasn’t had the pleasure of Fr. John having mass for them. He’s beloved all over, so much so that a number of years ago a certain young person came to me and asked me if I could get Fr. John’s autograph for them since I had connections to the Peddle family. Imagine the look I got when I went to Andrew & Jeanne Marie’s house one Sunday for dinner and I handed a paper napkin to Fr. John and asked him to sign it. I was recently told by this young person that the autographed napkin they had pinned on their bedroom wall had somehow gotten destroyed and they were hitting me up again to get another autograph! If that’s not celebrity status I don’t know what is! Fr. John: wishing you many more years of service and thank you for dedicating your life to following in the footsteps of the Good Shepherd.

Visits with old friends – Well, we’re not really old, we just go way back! It’s funny when you haven’t seen someone in ages but when you meet up again its like you only talked yesterday.

Dildo Daze – Booze, birds, boats, buddies, broads, bitters, beautiful

A time in Twillingate – Such a lovely area to explore and so much fun was had with the Galway’s! We stayed at an Airbnb called Ned’s Place; great location, super amenities and our host, Cathy, was absolutely fantastic to deal with. Looking forward to the next excursion and Cribbage rematch. We may have to split up the talent next time because Carolyn and I won most of the games against Gerard and John and even skunked them once!

While driving around Durrell, a small community near Twillingate, we stopped to take a few snaps of the beautiful scenery including the well-maintained fishing stage seen in the picture below. As I was snapping away I saw this gentleman walking toward me and waving. We chatted for a bit and he said “Do you have a few minutes? Come with me to my museum and I’ll show you something you’ve never seen before!” I thought to myself, what in the Joe Jingles am I getting myself into. So I called to Carolyn who was in the car waiting for me and I gestured to her to come with me. After all, two against one are pretty good odds in case trouble was ahead and I figured between the two of us we had a good chance to take him down if things went sideways! I had no idea what was waiting in the “museum” for us as a million different scenarios played out in my head during the short time it took us to get to the fishing stage. You know that saying “Feel the fear and do it anyway”? Yeah, so we followed him down to the stage and he slides open the doors, I think we braced ourselves as he invited us to step inside. What was in there you ask? It was a massive pen collection and other memorabilia stuffed from floor to ceiling and corner to corner. A collective sigh of relief was had as we swabbed the sweat from our brow. Mr. Melvin Horwood was the owner and collector. Here is a link to his story that was published in 2019 in Saltwire. He was such a delight to chat with. Unfortunately I didn’t have a pen to give him to add to his collection!

The Birthday Girl – Back in July, Mom turned 80! Honestly, I’ve never seen a more vibrant 80 year old. She’s probably going to have a few words to say to me for posting this but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. After all, if I can be invited to step into a fishing stage by an older gentleman who promises to “show me something I’ve never seen before” then I can face down the wrath of Angela! She has the heart and mind of a teenager, the strength of a thousand bulls and love for her family that has no bounds. I enjoy my nightly chats with her where we discuss the events of the past day and the times when we get to meet in person for a trip to Piper’s, coffee at McDonald’s or just driving up from Carbonear and taking the long way home just to enjoy the scenery. I get the biggest laugh when I ask her to go shopping with me. She says “Nah, not going there today. The pension cheques are out and there’ll be too many old people around.” I tell her that she’s probably older than most of them but the difference is she could run circles around them most of the time. I guess a lesson to be learned is that you’re only as old as you feel in your heart and mind. A beautiful celebration was held at The Stone Jug in Carbonear.

In August, my nephew Ryan married his beautiful bride Kelsey! It was a lovely wedding and we were so happy to be able to celebrate the big day with them. Wishing you both many years of happiness and love. Here are a few snaps from the big day.

Family time spent exploring and having fun is the best time!

The end of summer saw the Peddle girls returning home from The Yukon and Ontario for a visit. Things have certainly changed over the last few years but one thing remains the same and that is no matter what life throws at you, stick together and you can face anything. Brothers and sisters are bonded for life.

Well, that’s all folks! If you made it this far, thank you for taking the time to check out my latest blog installment. On a side note, I’ve made a few changes to my web site. At the top I’ve added a photo gallery and a menu containing links to all my previous blogs. Feel free to browse through them!

Oh and in case you were wondering…any gatherings that we attended were with people from our bubble, masks were worn, hands were frequently washed, safety protocols put in place by the CMO were followed and the vast majority of us had vaccinations under our belts! 😉

Until Next Time,

Andrea