Visiting Quebec

It''s amazing how fast time can go by when you are trying to capture so many moments of your poast while catching up with your family. That said, my time in Quebec is quickly coming to a close and I need to make the most of it, with the people that I love! Just for the record, I am missing my husband like crazy and can't wait to be back home with him, which is a bit of a conflict with the fact that I am also looking forward to seeing friends in Montreal on my way home. One thing that I know for sure is that I will not wait as long to come back.

So since my time needs to be with my family, let me just leave you with some pictures taken over the last few days of places, views and old houses that caught my attention!

First set are from L'Ile d'Orleans {the Island of Orleans) which sits in the St Laurence River just minutes away from Quebec City. We only visited the tip, called Ste Pétronille, where we spent a few summers.

Photo taken from St Pétronille, of the Laurentian Mountains.
Mont St Anne, where some of the world cup skying events are\
held is just to the right

Foreground is Levis shipbuilding on the southshore.
In the background. Québec City which is on the northshore
of the St. Laurence River

Québec City in the distance

Typical roof lines on traditional Québecois homes.

Slate and mud, not sand make up the beaches on l'Ile d'Orleans

This used to be my grandparent's House at l'Ile D'Orleans

A typical farm on the Island

Some things never change! A horse barn at the entrance to

l'Ile d'Orleans

Les Chutes Momorency

Nest are pictures taken just around the city, including a few taken yesterday, some part of which I spent with Carole, a great lady that I met via this very blog. I promised not to post her picture so you will just have to imagine her warm smile and sunny disposition! I included below, the picture of a fur coat taken in one of the cities oldest stores.  It is made of mink and costs $5000.00!

This used to be the main shopping area in the 50's and 60's.

This is a typical look for the churches in Québec

You might be pro-fur, but this is a $5000.00 Mink coat!

I had never witnessed a plane being excorted by fighters before!

On closer look, this is a refueling plane! 

They must have been training!



Finally a couple of family pictures! My niece came back from a 5 week workshop in Halifax yesterday and it was obvious that my brother had missed her a lot!

Welcome home! My niece, just back from a stage in Halifax.

Who wants mail???

Molly, my brother's 14 year old dog, grabs things when

she wants attention.

Pouring over Catherine's memorabilia!

For another chance to enter my giftaway, please use the word green in your comments!

Wonderful News

Yesterday we hung around the house for a while, which is a good thing as I received the following:

What's the best way to tell a scrapbooker a story? Take a close look at the picture!

That is probably the best news I've had in a long time!  I love my son and I love Ashley!  She is a wonderful young woman who has made Shaun's live better and fuller! As much as she is a lucky young lady to have found him, he is a very fortunate young man to have found her! Needless to say, I am very happy for both of them and I wish them love, luck and laughter as well as understanding and long life!

Far more than that happened yesterday, but nothing is even close to being worthy of sharing in this very special post!

Love you Ashley and Shaun!

Road Trip - Quebec

It's a little less than a three hour drive from Montreal to Quebec City when you follow the posted speed and there is no construction.  There is, a lot of road construction going on in the Province of Quebec. It rained, it poured, it was sunny and more as I drove between the two cities. 

 I stopped, briefly, at the Promenades St Bruno, to get a feel for how my favorite shopping center had changed.  Your fault Arlene, you told me they were so much bigger!  The mall is beautiful and it was really something awesome to see and hear so much French and read all the store signs! For the record, there are at least another 4 hours of visit required here!

I stopped at the Restaurant Madrid, not known for it's culinary finesse, but rather just because it is there about half way between the two cities and hard to miss.  Make that very hard to miss! Like many things, its time has passed and they are being sold and I hear torn down.  I'm not sure if that is why the lot was full!  A BLT with fries and a pepsi  and glass of water with zero ice (that is the way it is served) and I'm back on the road, but not before I gas up!

click to see larger  image

Now that was an experience. First the price, $63+ for 4/5 of a tank of gas! Remember, the American dollar is currently worth less than the Canadian one, so add that to the cost! Second, there is no place to swipe a card! It's understandable, it's old and they are closing!  Third, you don't have to pay before you pump, they trust you to pay, and they do not threaten you with the Sherrif if you don't.  They expect that you will pay! Now remember this is a very busy place, right off the main highway!

The arrival at my brother's is wonderful! We talk and hug and all talk and hug!  I get to meet my nephews girlfriend and we talk late into the night!  I show them the heritage album, and after a while, present them with their own copy! It's a big hit! Life is good and since this is all about yesterday, we are now Wednesday, I have a lot of things going on today... which I'll share tomorrow!

Have a great day, I know I will!

Road Trip - Montreal Day 1

After driving all day on Sunday, I finally stopped in Syracuse, NY for the night!  I often stop at Comfort Inns when I'm driving somewhere as I know that I'll have free parking, internet and some sort of a breakfast to tide me over till my lunch stop. I was really surprised that this one offered bacon and eggs as well as the usual continental fare, but then again, it has been someting around a year since I've gone on a road trip alone that required an overnighter.

The border crossing was univentful, though I was surprised that the Canadian immigration official asked to see my green card. I guess they were making sure that I could get back home! I decide to exchange a little money at the border crossing and get a rude awakening.  One US dollar only gets me $0.91 cents Canadian. For many, many years, that exchange would have gone 35 cents in the other direction.

Another three hours of driving and I can stop at Scrapbook Capitale in Dollard des Ormeaux a suburb to the west of Montreal. The shop is well set up, the choices fantastic by any standard and the prices are more than reasonable. There are items I have not seen before, some make sense like items from Sweden.  I notice that the store is full of the new lines shown at CHA , meaning that this store has a preferential status with places like Authentique, Kaiser Craft, Faberscraps, etc.

I am disappointed that they do not have any of the Harmonie collections, especially since Harmonie is a local manufacturer. Maybe in Quebec City? Another surprise, there is nothing in French that I can find, including stamps! I am surprised to find Prima Trinkets that I haven't seen before. I must have missed them; they are trinkets but not Marion Smith, though the do have the same look and feel.

Time to get accross Champlain Bridge and onto the South shore.  It takes a little wrestling with snail paced traffic, which would have been avoided had I taken Autoroute 20 all the way in, instead of 40, which was a detour, but certainly necessary if I was to go to the scrapbook store? Now I certainly couldn't miss that could I, especially since I was in a class with one of the store's teacher.

I get to my sister-pal Arlene's during the few minutes that she has rushed to the store! I've never met her fiance, though we've spoken a little on the phone, but within 20 seconds, I feel like I'm home and welcomed. I mean that quite literally, it's a feeling that I don't often have, It's almost like I've lived here and been part of their family always. Arlene and I are so happy to see each other after all this time we can't stop hugging and smilling!  It is truly a wonderful, warm hearted, coming home! I now know that I have a home to come to, that I want to come to, whenever I'm in Montreal

Today, after Arlene's beau makes breakfast (John is blind, but you would never know it from the things he does.) I'm off to my brother's in Quebec city.  We haven't seen each other since 2003 and I can't wait! I'm also looking forward to spending some time with Carole, who teaches at one of the scrapbook stores there and who I met here on my blog!  How sweet is that! Here is a link to John's blog!

Well that's it folks and for those of you trying to win my giftaway, leave a comment and do tell me if you've ever been to Canada and if so where for another chance to win!

Coupns Week of August 1 - 6, 2011

UPDATE August 2nd: Archivers info, Hancock Fabric and JoAnn's Coupons and sales.

Even on the road, I'm doing my best to post the coupons! Can't guarantee next week though. Today I am still in the US, crossing the border into Canada tomorrow morning. Next week, I'll likely be in Quebec City, so no promises, though I'll try my best! Have you entered my giveaway yet?  Please check the right sidebar for the link!

AC MOORE

Click here for the AC Moore 50% off coupon and here for this week's ad!

 

ARCHIVER'S (updated August 2nd)It's that time when Archivers doesn't send coupons via emails and instead sends out snail mail pamphlets that include two sets of coupons.  So if you aren't on their mailing list, this would be an excellent time to join it! To shop online, visit archiversonline.com Archivers is continuing it's save 50% when you get your photocopies made on Tuesday all of August! That means you can get a colored photocopy of your 12x12 layouts, (their machine only cuts off about .5 of an inch on one side) for about $1.75.

HANCOCK FABRICS (updated August 2nd)

Brand new email wit coupons and savings!

JOANNs (updated August 2nd)Here is my latest email from JoAnn's! Coupons and sale are good until /August 13th!

HOBBY LOBBY

Click here to see this week's email. The 40% off coupon if off regular priced item.

MICHAEL'S  

Go to their interactive weekly ad and see what they have in store for you this week! 

NEW FOR KNITTERS!

LION BRAND YARN
Here is the latest email (Jul 29) from Lion Brand.

MARY MAXIM

Sorry, nothing current!

Thanks and have a great week! Oh and let's see who is reading, LOL! If you leave a comment on this post mentionning the color I asked you to mention in the giveaway post, you'll get another entry into said giveaway, LOL!  Sneaky, isn't it!

There will be plenty more hidden and not hidden ways to get more entries!

M-C

For the record, by posting the coupons here, I am not endorsing any of the stores, just including them for your convenience and mine! Nor do I purport to have listed everything or not made a mistake.