I have so many adventures and photos to share from my last week visiting Ontario (again) but I need to start with this one.

When I was visiting my Mom’s house, I noticed a brown envelope with my name on it by her desk. It was addressed to Jeff and I, from Grandma Stock. Well that’s weird. Grandma died months ago.

Mom couldn’t recall what it was, so I opened it up. It was a letter from Grandma! It appears she wrote it in April 2020, added to it in May 2020, and added an undated note that she was using this big brown envelope because she couldn’t find another. I wonder if she didn’t have a stamp for a big brown envelope so she never mailed it? It was with her paper odds and ends on her writing table I think!

She talked about how quiet it was in her retirement home with Covid restrictions being enforced, and about how touched she was that my cousin Christine brought her family and new puppy to visit through the window with her.

She wrote it inside one of the quilling cards I sent her. She loved them, so I picked them up often, and I’d purposely write on a separate piece of paper so she could reuse the card or display it or even give it away.

She wrote this on a separate piece of paper in the card, in reference to the huge brown envelope it was in:

“When writing this I never thought of envelopes so here’s a big surprise for you. What or why or has she lost her head? I have nothing smaller! and the world is changing and so am I. I can’t waste this beautiful card and I have this envelope. So … … … when in trouble do your best; and this is the best I can do. “

~ Your old Grandma

This feels like a plot in a movie, to get a letter from someone who’s passed away!