As I was thinking about doing a Mondays are for Memories post for today, I thought I would look back to the last time we stopped by here at High Braes – September 2010. It was just a quick overnight, and I documented it in a blog post called (wait for it) – Catchin’ Up. So apparently, I’ve been backlogged for a Very Long Time!
But anywho – here we go!
Catchin’ Up – September 2010

There is soooo much catching up I need to do. Bookkeeping, thank-you notes, journaling, blogging, bank statements, emails…..the list is long. Too long. But this post is about some catching up we were able to do as we traveled from Ontario to Ohio to meet that new grandson. Each night on the road we stopped and were able to catch up with old friends.
Monday night we stopped at a SOWER project in upstate NY –

and had a lovely evening catching up with the folks we worked with on our very first project six years ago. We’ve seen them a couple of times over the years, but not recently. It was great to enjoy a cup of coffee and some very good brownies with them and catch-up.
Tuesday morning we traveled to North Chili, NY (near Rochester) for a lovely afternoon and evening with SOWER friends, Dave and Edie. We worked with them on our third project, have seen them a couple of times since then and were delighted to be able to spend some time with them.

(That’s the Erie Canal they’re standing by. Did you know the Erie Canal is still a viable (363 mile) waterway that stretches from Albany, NY to Buffalo, NY? We were touring an historic canal barge – very cool!).
Wednesday we headed into Pennsylvania. Even though PA is where I grew up and raised my family, we were heading into totally new territory for us. My best friend from high school lives just outside of Mansfield, PA and since we hadn’t seen each other in 30+ years, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to make a little detour to catch up with her! We’d lost touch over the years and only recently “found” each other through the miracle of the internet (and a sweet mutual friend who had an old “where are they now” class list!).

Not only was Gail my best buddy in high school, she was also one of the two attendants in my wedding.

(This was a good summer for reconnecting with the wedding party for me. Back in July we spent a night at Deb’s house – remember?)

Thursday morning we left Gail’s (with great hopes for staying in touch) and continued on to catch up with another SOWER couple that we had worked with a couple of times.
They were also on that third project back in 2005 –
(that was our first “big” project – and it was lots of fun. Earlier this summer we had stopped to see another SOWER that we had met at that project, so you can tell it was a very special month!) We’re delighted to be working with them again this winter in Florida. Such a blessing it is to be part of the SOWER family!

By Friday morning we were heading to Ohio – and those grandbabies!!!!!!!

And although little Noah was (given the newness of his status – oh, and the fact he is a he) the star of the show –

we certainly had lots of fun with the girls (who actually knew we were there!).

And as startling as this may be, there are a bazillion other pictures of ALL the Conrads HERE if you’d like a peek!

Fair warning, there’s a lot of cuteness going on there!

So now it’s on to the rest of the catch-up. I think I’d better start with those thank-you notes! Or maybe the bank statement. Or maybe that new book……