I can’t go anywhere without “outing” myself as a genealogist. Truly.
I am spending time at my sister and brother-in-law’s place. It’s about two hours south of where I live, nestled in the Ontario countryside. This very chilly morning I was perusing Facebook and saw an event post for a market in a small town nearby. I donned my Grandma’s Genes t-shirt — it was at the top of my choices in the drawer — my down vest and a heavier fleece jacket, and set out for Napanee, ON.
What fun! A small-town market: lots of vendors, a good crowd of us “visitors,” and amazingly wonderful kids, furry babies and parents enjoying a beautiful fall day. I had a plan — go find some baked goods and look for bracelets, wood craft and ceramics. I got the baked goods, I got some bracelets, and I got a most interesting blue monster concoction.
Then I spotted something that drew me immediately to a booth — donkey stuff! I am going to be in Ireland next month, and one of my stops will be at The Irish Homestead (see my post on its house history here). I started talking to the matron of Oops A Daisy Flower Farm about some of her donkey merchandise, and I ended up telling her the story of the Irish Homestead, Toby the Donkey and my upcoming trip. She and I are both transplants via love to Canada, we both think donkeys are great, and we talked about genetic genealogy a tiny bit, of course.
My wanders took me to an interestingly named honey farmer,
a purveyor of mushrooms,
and many other great vendors.
What a great morning in small-town Ontario. The L & A Chamber Market made me feel like I was part of the community — a vibrant community of farmers, artists and families.
Grandma’s Genes Ireland Events in October
FamilyTreeDNA Live in Belfast
FamilyTreeDNA Live in Belfast
I am tagging along with the team from FamilyTreeDNA — Dave Vance, Janine Cloud and Katy Rowe. What a great opportunity pour moi!
Thank you, and I can’t wait to see and touch the earth my ancestors walked in Islandmagee.
2026 Genetic Genealogy Galway
A jam-packed Halloween weekend in Galway. For information, see the 2026 Genetic Genealogy Galway and Connemara Conference site.
Táim ag tnúth go mór le bualadh le gach duine in Éirinn! Gabhaim buíochas le FTDNA, le NOIFHS agus le Genetic Genealogy Ireland as cuireadh a thabhairt dom!
This post may have been reviewed for Grammar and spelling by Perplexity AI.