Our vacation to our neighbouring province went resplendently. It launched on a drive that was bursting with the most picturesquely clear blue skies and toasty temperatures anyone could ask for; saw us clock more than 2,100 kilometers of driving in total, included my first ever blogger meet-up, oodles of vintage, antique and thrift store shopping; lots of fun sightseeing, and also a fair bit of time to just relax and regroup, something that was wholeheartedly needed in our life at that precise moment in time.
As those of you who follow me on Instagram and/or my personal Facebook page may know, earlier this month my mother-in-law, passed away somewhat unexpected from a stroke. This tragic news left Tony and I understandable deeply shaken and grief stricken. We discussed it at length, and felt that proceeding with our Calgary trip (which was planned for a few days after her passing), as planned, was the best course of action. Thankfully, it was in indeed, as our spirits were lifted tremendously, our minds focused elsewhere, and smiles returned to our faces many a time over the course of our holiday.
Though the veil of sorrow and grief still hangs heavily in our home, we are each other’s strength and comfort, and, much as with returning from our trip, are easing back into our more usual routine.
For me, this includes blogging, reading and commenting on other blogs, replying to the hefty backlog of emails and Facebook private messages that arrived while I was away (I didn't bring my computer with me), and - once I've recouped more (on the health front) from our travels – shooting vintage outfit photos (I've got some in the wings from before our trip, as well as new outfit snaps from Calgary, to turn into posts in the meantime).
And speaking of posts about Calgary, somewhere in the range of two to four posts (I want to cover a lot, but at the same time, in my enthusiasm about this fabulous little holiday, not bombard you nonstop about Alberta) about various aspects of our travels will be appearing here in the coming weeks, and will include topics such as some of the wonderful places we visited, where I shopped (and some of the lovely things I bought), plus a post all about that super cool aforementioned vintage blogger meet-up.
I sincerely appreciate, and want to thank you very much, for the great blog comments that you left on the posts that I set to go live while we were on the road, as well as for those on Instagram (such as the one pictured above of Stephen Avenue, a foot traffic only street, in the heart of downtown Calgary), Facebook, and Twitter regarding our travels and my snaps from Alberta (some more of which I plan to continue uploading in the coming days).
It will be a while before I've recovered (health wise) from the trip, and longer still until the initial pain of losing Tony's beautiful mother lessens, but I feel a renewed sense of happiness, creativity, and inspiration from our travels (as well as a new perspective on certain areas of my/our life) which, coupled with autumn's return, will help guide me throughout the coming weeks on the blogging front, and all facets of my life.
Our travels were awesome, and I am grateful with all my might that were were able to take our first holiday in several years this month, but it's also terrific to return home to a town we adore and to start planning for the next chapter of our lives - which, with a bit of luck and a lot of foreplanning, will hopefully include another exciting road trip or two next year.
