Some Good Stuff

There is so much going on!  If you remember, one of my dreams was to go to CHA in Chicago this summer.  This is one dream that I'm going to achieve and for less than $300, all inclusive!  I was able to combine this trip with another and minimize the difference in airfare for the sidetrip to Chicago to only $90 more.  Thanks to my buddy Pat Davenport, Cricut teacher extraordinaire, I have access to the show floor and 2 roomates, one of them of course is Pat. The convention center is near Chicago O'Hare airport, so the shuttle will be free to and from the hotel, bonus! And the hotel is across the street from the convention center! Yeah!!! I will of course be reporting from CHA again, which if memory serves, is how this blog got started in the first place! Anyone else going to CHA that I can meet up with?

Those of you who follow me on Facebook know that I've been battling a very nasty bug which unfortunately forced me to abort a visit to Ramona's Store in Bellevue.  Ramona created my dream store while I wasn't looking and has expanded from just stamping, for which she is very well known in the area, to also providing scrapbooking and multi-media classes.  Ramona is a wonderful, warm, talented lady that I first met when she came to a Scrapbook Buddies Meetup! I'm going to teach scrapbooking at her store as soon as we can get together that is! Although she only opened her doors a very few months ago, her store has already expanded once. In addition, it and all the wonderful artsy stores in Bellevue, KY were recently featured in Cincinnati Magazine! I'm looking forward to feeling better, meeting Ramona and teaching again!

Charity Crop - Cutting Out Alzheimers - April 17th 2010

I am so grateful to have met Tina and to have been able to support this crop.  Many, many years ago, the path of the Pescadore family and of mine crossed. I had a little girl crush, that's what you have when you are 5-6 years old, on the daddy, who in my mind will always be, Monsieur Pescadore. His wife, who for some reason was always Carmen, I found to be loving and wonderful too. They had a little girl, Elisa born on the same day and in the same hospital as the eldest of my younger brothers, Richard.

In an ironic twist of fate, Elisa went to Europe and decided to go and visit with my mom and brothers, who were then living in the south of France. Elisa and Richard fell in love and, as they say, the rest is history.  Elisa moved to Europe, and eventually, she and Richard returned to Quebec City, where they were married and had two beautiful children, my niece and nephew.

Like all of the baby boomer families, our two families eventually got into the position of losing our parents. While losing our dad to colon cancer was not an easy thing, Elisa and her sisters, went through a much more difficult time when their mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers. They lost their mother, one memory at a time, one ability at a time, until they had no choice but to find new living arrangements that would protect her, and those around her. It has not been easy on Elisa or her sisters and I hope that now that their mom is finally at peace, they will remember all the good times they shared! 

All that to say that I attended and gave to this charity crop in honor of a wonderful woman and mother, Carmen Pescadore.

May she rest in peace and may she help to rekindle the profound love that united her daughters.