It was while enjoying a ski trip in Kimberly, B.C. that I came across The Country Register of British Columbia. I’d stopped into a hotel to make a call, when I spied a copy sitting on the counter. The coloured logo adorned with geese, quilts and bears instantly caught my eye. I was thrilled because I KNEW it was full of neat shops full of neat stuff. Into my bag it went and I high-tailed it over to The Snow Drift Cafe for a cuppa and a browse through it.

For a long while, I’d lamented the lack of information about interesting shopping in Alberta. While on outings to new places, I’d huddle over the telephone directory, searching for anything with quilts, crafts, Country or Victorian in the name. Other times I'd skulk down quiet main streets checking out store fronts. So, I realized the potential for this paper to consolidate information about shops and services of interest to others like me. I waffled for a few days, then called Barbara Floyd in Phoenix and the rest, as they say, is history.