Thanks Grandma Joan!

We are so lucky to have Grandma Joan in our lives! She is not actually related to our family, though we have considered her "Grandma" since I was just a little girl. She is kind, generous, adventurous, talented and so much fun!

You can read a funny story HERE about the time Grandma Joan jumped off the dock "showing off" at the lake and lost her glasses! Here she is on the dock with my nephew at Mink Lake.

Grandma Joan keeps busy doing lots of different things. She crochets, paints, sews and bakes. She enjoys travel, gardening, walking and yoga. She plays the ukulele! (It was great to have music and singing at the campfire this past summer!) I see myself in her if I fast forward several years. Grandma is in her mid-eighties and enjoying all life has to offer. We are so lucky to know her!

Most summers, Grandma Joan joins our whole family for a week at Mink Lake (near Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada). While there this past summer, I was trying to keep up a bit of my yoga routine. As such, I entered the main cabin while everyone was preparing their coffee one morning and announced that I was about to do some yoga on the front deck if anyone cared to join in. Mom and Grandma Joan decided to join me. We worked through a few poses and stretches and then I shared a new pose I had learned about that I thought might be beneficial to all of us, "legs up the wall" pose. Well, you should have heard the fit of giggles that ensued!!! Grandma went on to say, "Geez, if my family learns I've been hanging out at camp with my legs up the wall, they might never let me come again!" You kinda had to be there, but it was quite funny!
Anyhow, we got to talking about how my youngest son had been joining me from time to time for yoga and how I was encouraging this as I find it so beneficial - for strengthening, for relaxation and stress relief. I learned at that time that Grandma Joan had been making and selling yoga mat bags for her local Senior's Centre. I remembered this a few months later as Christmas was approaching. As I was tidying and getting the house ready for Christmas, I stumbled upon my son's old backpack that had his favourite character on it. It had long since ripped and was no longer usable as a backpack, but he insisted that we keep it. An idea formed. I wrote a letter to Grandma Joan requesting her assistance and sent the old backpack home with my Mom who visited late in the fall.

At Christmas, this arrived!

A custom designed yoga bag!

Lucky me, I got one too in addition to a scrumptious fruit cake!!! Such a treat - Grandma Joan made the fruitcake that we handed out at my Wedding almost 15 years ago!

The card above is the thank you that we sent. This was a Freshly Made Sketch from several weeks back.

Thanks for stopping by!
Shanna :)

What I used:
papers: Little Yellow Bicycle and CTMH
tag from Walmart Tag set picked up in Boxing Day sales
SU ribbon
sentiment: CTMH (embossed in black)
distressing tool
embossing folder