This & That: Cackle & Craft 2019...aka We Go International, Eh?

Those of you who have read my blog for a while, know that once a year my sisters, my mother and I get together for a few days of connecting and crafting. My mother is 84, and was born in Canada, as was I. We decided this year we would retrace some of her childhood places, as well as some of the places we would visit every year growing up, when we went back to Canada to visit family. I have compiled pictures all of us took for these posts.

In these days of smart phone GPS and Siri, we hedged our bets with some real-deal maps as well....

....which made my mother feel much more comfortable. She kept this paper map in her hands at all times and traced our route, making sure we stayed on the roads we were supposed to.

Our first day of driving ended at my niece's lake house just outside of Kalispell, Montana, on Ashley Lake. It's a gorgeous home right on the lake, with footpaths,

....perennial flower beds,

and its own dock.

The inside is just as comfortable, with beautiful views of the lake,

and plenty of sleeping room.

We shared meal responsibilities while we were here.

The first night was a Korean beef stir fry.

There was plenty of relaxing,

and exploring,

and taking pretty pictures. One of my sisters is a photographer and always gets the most amazing images.

We had some company while we were there.

We weren't really sure what was going on with this hawk, but first he was on the rocks behind the house, and then he decided to take a nap on the bench in front of the house.