I wasn’t able to put in my news last week because my internet was down. I phoned to get help and they tried over the phone but then told me he’d have to send a technician. This was on Aug. 10 and they can’t send anybody until Aug. 21. Really? So, I thought I didn’t need or use internet that much but I guess I do. I can’t look up a recipe, can’t do banking, can’t post on or see Facebook, can’t use maps or check weather forecast and can’t send my EQUITY article, many other things too but you get my point. I didn’t realize how much I depended on it.

Carl and Shelly arrived Friday night. Theresa came the next morning and Shelly cooked us eggs Benedict for breakfast. She is an expert making that dish which requires a lot of patience.

Our grandchildren, Corben and Tao finally came for a short visit and arrived at 1 p.m. We hadn’t seen them since March of 2020. Corben drove here with his car and Tao came with him. Tao is still waiting to go to driver’s ed but due to the pandemic there is a tremendous backlog of applicants. 

What a shock to see them and how they have grown. They have both gotten taller, surpassing their parents. Tao has gotten thicker in the shoulders and chest while Corben let his hair grow long, changed the colour to strawberry blond and is wearing tie dye clothes, sort of like that 70’s look. It’s funny how things come back full circle. 

Now he wants to buy a van. Scary. I told him about my 1972 van I bought out in B.C. and how his mother and I painted it. We painted the Rocky Mountains on one side, cowboy boots on the back doors and flowers with peace sign on the passenger side. I told him how we drove across Canada back to Quebec and when we drove through towns people waved at us. It was a fun van. Theresa and I went to the Gatineau Clog with it and had the best time of our lives there. 

Then I told him that there was one downfall. For some reason the Quebec police were very curious about my van and kept stopping me for no reason. They would always stick their head in the van to see what was in it and to take a good sniff. I really confused them because I wasn’t a dope crazed hippie they were expecting to find. They asked me “whose van is this?”I told them it was mine and then they’d ask who painted it? I would tell them my daughter and I, then they’d ask why and I would tell them, “because it’s mine and we had time on our hands.” They would always leave with a bewildered look on their face while shaking their heads. It was a fun van. Everybody loved it and thought it was a great ride. 

For supper we ate everything out of the garden. Potatoes, green beans, beets, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and Theresa brought a roast pork. I had made zucchini fingers for appetizer and the boys sure dug into them. Great to have my family at home.

There is an estate sale for Bruce Hodgins on Aug. 20 at 657 John Dale Road in Shawville. He was a carpenter/contractor so there will be many tools of the trade for sale. Check out flyers around town and the ad in THE EQUITY.