GEORGE and ALINE'S

On our way to see Aline, heavy storm clouds started piling up.

When we arrived, Meg, the border collie, greeted us enthusiastically and slipped into the house with us, but, being well-trained to know her place, remained in the porch.

            Aline was on the phone to Nicholas who had asked his mom to call as soon as we arrived because he didn’t want to miss our visit.

            From the fridge, Aline triumphantly produced cold bottles of beer.  “There’ll always be a beer for you,” she assured me.  “George used to say, ‘My sister’s coming.  There’s gotta be beer in the fridge’.”

            Beer, a platter of cheese and pepperoni . . . man!

            Also, on the table were a fruit platter and Nanaimo squares!  Aline apologized for the squares, saying, “The bottom layer is too dry.”  She had asked for Graham wafers but received Graham wafer crumbs.  “It’s so much better to crush the wafers yourself,” she sighed.  She was right about the bottom layer but the top layers of custard and chocolate more than made up for it!  I had more than piece J 

            I asked Nick if he had a picture of his girlfriend so he showed us one on his I-phone.  (Very pretty.)

            Bryan, with only a little Irish exaggeration, likes to describe this as a very Canadian moment because Nick also showed us a picture of his tractor.  It was actually a few minutes later when Nick’s farm had become the major topic.  Nick is really enjoying farming.

            It was a great visit, and we got back safely to Russell in spite of slashing rain and great flashes of lightning.