Thursday, September 27, 2012

God's Country

I have just returned from spending 6 glorious days in one of the most scenic places in Canada...Newfoundland!

Just over two years ago, I met a very special friend in an online scrapbooking forum.  Who would have thought that we would fly across the country to visit each other?
Michelle arriving at the Edmonton airport last year

Last September, Michelle traveled all the way to Edmonton, and we met face-to-face for the first time.  It was as if we had been friends forever! We attended the Canadian Scrapbooker's Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnival and had so much fun.
Sharing a cup of tea...our favourite beverage :)

So this year, I decided to visit her in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and also attend a scrapbook retreat weekend together.

I've never traveled further than Quebec.  For my American friends, it is like living in Idaho and taking a trip to the East Coast, maybe Maine or New York.

Ok, well Corner Brook isn't exactly New York, but you get the idea of the distance between us.  It's 5440 km or 3380 miles!


Here is my first sighting of Newfoundland (which is an island) from the plane...

It's "The ROCK"...Newfoundland's nickname
Michelle and her daughter Chelsea picked me up from the airport in Deer Lake, about 45 minutes from Corner Brook.  
Michelle's daughter snapped this with her phone.
 It was a tearful and happy reunion...
So wonderful to meet again (not on Skype!)
On the road to Corner Brook, we stopped at this roadside attraction "The Man in the Mountain"




I was surprised by the landscape and did not expect mountains and fir trees!
A view of Corner Brook and the bay
Michelle's backyard and garden is as pretty as I imagined!  She is a talented gardener and even has a greenhouse.
It was wonderful meeting her entire family, whom I had only seen in photos! 
A special thanks to Scott for giving up his bedroom during my stay :)
On the weekend, Michelle, her friend Shirley and I drove 1 1/2 hours to Springdale to attend a scrapbook retreat "Scrapbooking Weekend with Friends".
Road Trip!  On the way, we snapped a pic with a famous moose.
 In Springdale, we stayed at the beautiful Riverwood Inn...
Our dining room
 
Our wonderful room

The view from our balcony

Situated on Indian River
The crop room was on the ground floor (40 scrapbookers happy as can be!)

 
Michelle, Shirley and I cropping the night away
Just outside the crop room doors


Front & Centre is Deidre Edison Clarke, holding the Fall issue of Canadian Scrapbooker magazine.
Deidre is the organizer of this retreat, which takes place twice a year, in spring and fall.

I taught a layout class using Bo Bunny's Country Garden collection, which was so much fun!
 Newfoundlanders have a special ritual of welcoming "foreigners" like myself.  It's called "Screeching in" and Michelle did the honours on the last day of the retreat, which involves the following...
Drinking a shot glass of Screech

Screech is a strong rum...that makes you basically want to SCREECH after you drink it! ha ha!

Kissing a cod!

Do you think Michelle is enjoying this a little?!?
I also stood with one foot in a bucket of salt water and seaweed, ate a piece of "wild baloney" and recited a phrase in island dialect that I didn't understand.

Then a really sweet lady, Julie, gave me an Ugly Stick, beautifully carved by her husband...
An original musical instrument in Newfoundland

Now I am an official Newfoundlander.....and I couldn't be happier :)

Thank you Michelle and everyone I met for your generous hospitality and kindness!  I miss you all.

23 comments:

  1. LOVED looking at all your pictures and I am still wishing I went to that retreat! Glad you enjoyed your trip and that you are now an official Newfie!

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  2. Looks and sounds like you had a blast!

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  3. It was a fabulous retreat - and it was fantastic to meet you in person!!! :) Hope that we can do it again soon! You know my door is always open for you! :P :)

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  4. What a beautiful friendship you share with Michelle. The trip sounds like such an amazing time. Love all the photos..it's a dream of mine to travel to the East Coast one day. Absolutely gorgeous scenery.

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  5. How ya gettin on me ol' cock? LOL and long may your big jub draw!! Fantastic to see you and put a face to the name!! I am so elated that got a chance to spend time with Michelle and us of course!!

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    1. supposed to be "big jib draw"!! LOL Newfenese is a little hard to type too....LOL

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  6. Can't believe six days went so bloody FAST! We never got to do half the things you wanted to do { puffins, whales, lighthouses etc lol} I was sooooo happy to have you visit Nfld Kelly. Of course this only means that you have to come back again to see all the things we never got a chance to do on this trip. So now I guess its back to Skyping :( . But I'm already making plans to come to Edmonton for next year's Carnival! It was my pleasure to Screech you in...and you were a wonderful sport about it! Great big hugs!

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  7. Looks like you had a fabulous time. I lived in Fort McMurray for 5 years and met a lot of Newfoundlanders. Some of the nicest people I have met and would love to visit there. So nice for you to have such a great friendship through meeting with another scrapbooker online. Beautiful photos!

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  8. reading this just brought the hugest smile to my face!!! A most excellent adventure!!! I think many of us are envious we weren't there too, but maybe some day......... there would have to be puffins though. ;-)

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  9. It was awesome to meet you! It was like meeting a famous singer for me to have a class taught by a published designer! I can now say I scrapbooked with a pro! lol! It was the first Screech In that I ever saw and I got it all in pictures to scrapbook! Hope to see you again sometime! Happy Scrapbooking!

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  10. Oh, what fun! Looks like a treasured friendship, creativity and fun all in a scenic setting! I am so glad you had the opportunity to go and enjoy yourself. Hmm, kissing a cod I could handle, but I think I'd pass on the screeching. haha~
    Enjoy the end of Sept,
    Shawn

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  11. We were so glad to see you (what a nice surprise!!). I learned a lot from your class and had a great time enjoying the personalities of online friends!! Hopefulyl you'll be back someday! BY the way, I love love the tea cup picture... funny, I thought only my family got the cups out for a traditional cup of tea!

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  12. lol! It looks like you had so much fun, and I can't believe you kissed a fish! I am a little jealous, I've never been to a crop let alone a retreat, it looks like such a blast!

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  13. Kelly that is so awesome - BTW... I only live 3.5 hours away from you BY CAR!

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  14. Kelly! Such an awesome recount of your NFLD adventure! I'm thrilled that you had such fun, looks like you were treated like royalty!

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  15. looks like you had some awesome 6 days!
    wouldn't it be great if we all could meet each other in person!
    xxx

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  16. Wow this was a wonderful read. Thanks for sharing and I am glad you had a wonderful time with Michelle. xo

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  17. It looks and sounds like you had such a wonderful time! It is so wonderful to finally meet someone in real life like this!!!

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  18. This was the happiest post. I smiled all the way through it! A great tale of friendship. Love all the fun pics!

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  19. Oh my goodness! You two are just so cute!! Glad you got to go on such a big trip and what a picturesque place!!! Loved Michelle's beautiful backyard! The last pics of your initiation had me cracking up :) Great post, thanks for sharing your special trip with us Kelly & Michelle!

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  20. What great photos, Kelly. I feel like I was there with you! I am so happy that you had a wonderful time and thank you for introducing us to Michelle, too!

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