Time to Catch Up!

Happy Saturday!

Phew!  What a WEEK!  .. actually it's more like What a 3-WEEK!  Seriously!  The first 21 days of September have been INSANELY busy!  Some stressful (back-to-school anyone??) but most awesomely amazing!

Yes, I'm back from my whirlwind trip down East to Chaffey's Lock.  Wow.  It really was everything I hoped it would be.  SUCH an amazing time with my Mom and Dad.  What made it just so incredible was being able to go to an area that has SO much history in my paternal family, see the places, hear the stories and meet the people.  I was briefly in Chaffey's about 30 years ago but before that I was a little girl.  I would have been 7 years old.  I was amazed at how strong my memories from when I was 7 were!  I vividly remember the layout around my Grandpa's cottage ... and the general store and boat house.  It was quite emotional being back there - for both me and my Dad.

Here are some of the hilights from my trip ...

We visited the graveyard in Elgin and found the headstones for my Great Grandparents...

 ... my Great GREAT Grandparents ...

 

... and my Great Great GREAT Grandparents!  That seriously blew my mind!!

  

Check out the information on that one!  They lived into their 80's ... my GGG Grandma would have been 26 when she had my GG Grandpa and my GGG Grandpa would have been 39 when GG Grandpa was born.  WOW!  That seems really "old" in the 1800's to be having babies and to LIVE so long.  I just couldn't get over that!

We got to go for a pontoon boat ride with my Dad's first cousin, Susan.  He was "home".  I love the smile on his face.  He told me later that all along the trip his "fishing guide instincts" kept kicking in and he would easily spot where the bass were hiding.  Once a fisherman always a fisherman!

 There were SO many great old building and barns in the area.  Road trips took a lot longer with me driving at 30 km, looking at EVERYTHING and stopping every few miles to pull over and take pictures!

 We went to both Davis Lock and Chaffey's Lock.  My GG Grandpa Philander and Great Uncle Elah were both Lockmasters at Davis Lock.  Great Uncle Elah was Lockmaster for almost 50 years ... and this is where he lived, in the Lockmaster's House.  The house is now available for vacation renting.  Hmmmmm .....

 There was a dinner in honour of my Aunt June and Uncle Pete (my Dad's brother).  53 Alford clan attended a delicious dinner at the Opinicon Resort ... in the "Alford Room"

 This is perhaps my favorite picture.  It is the actual pump my Dad used thousands of times when he was a boy, pumping water to bring back to the house.  Just wow.

 I was giddy with excitement at so many first for me.  I saw my first "live" acorns ...

 My first live stickbug ...

... and my first "live" lily pads ...

 Yes, it was an AMAZING trip.  I will cherish the memories and am so very, VERY grateful for the opportunity to go.

Now ... as when ANY mom goes away for ANY amount of time there is a LOT of catch up to do when she gets back.  Yes, Tuesday through Friday was a total GONG show around here!  I had my Minute to Win It Stamping Night last night and only started prepping it Thursday Night!  As always, though, everything came together and it was EPIC fun!!

This is one of the projects we made ...

 I LOVE these little pillow boxes!  We put 4 or 5 Kraft Caramels inside but the options of wee gifts are endless!  I will share with you an alternate use for these pillow boxes very soon!

For this project I used the Pillow Box Framelits from the Trim Your Stocking set (in Crumb Cake)...

The Maple Leaf Thinlit from the Colourful Season Bundle (with Cajun Craze) ...

And the Vintage Leaves Framelits for the Crushed Curry and Garden Green leaves ...

This wee card didn't make the cut but I just HAD to break open my new Merry Patterns stamp set and play for a minute ...

 SO cute!!!  This set is only available to hostesses in September and October with a party of $375 or more.  GREAT incentive to be a hostess.  My October calendar is jam packed but I do still have a few dates open, if you'd like to host a party.  Message me!

So there you have it!  A not-so-quick-catch-up on what's been going on in Tamara-World.  Let's hope this week is a little less crazy so I can continue to get caught up on all my projects and posts!

Whatever you get up to today I hope you have a super stampy day!  Pop in again soon!


xox  Tam