Happy campers

Scott and the kids went camping last week and it was wonderful all around. The kids got to canoe and experience the great outdoors and I got peace and quiet for nearly a week. I was so looking forward to the break that I didn't even mind that they'd need to take the car to get there.

I had planned to take the bus and my bike to anything I needed. No problem. The trade-off was that I was to get a few days off being a wife and mother. The cat was a small price to pay. Well that was the plan, anyway.

My neighbours Willy and Deb came to my rescue. As the van drove off, Willy came out of his house waving the keys to their second car. They'd been telling us for years to take the car anytime we needed it but we've never taken them up on it. Until last week.

The funny part was that I only learned to drive in 1999 and in that time we've only ever had 2 fully loaded minivans. This car was small and all manual (except for the transmission... I can't drive a stick). With the van, I got in, drove, parked and locked it with the fob. With this one I had to find the shifty thing which was on the floor and not on the column, I had to wind down the windows and the windshield wiper controls were in a different place.

I drove it once from day to night and couldn't figure out how to turn the headlights on. I had to ask a friend. Wow, that was humiliating. Someone at work asked about the car I was driving and all I could reply was that it was blue. I'm such a girl. I still don't know what kind of car it is. What I do know is that it's lower to the ground than my van, stops on a dime, has a tiny turning radius and took $7 gas after 4 days of daily driving. I've never bought so little gas in my entire life.

So I just want to express a public thank-you to my awesome neighbours Willy and Deb. They made my life absolutely perfect while my family was away. And don't think this was all one-sided. Oh no... they're getting a whole entire basket of muffins for their trouble. Oh yeah... I know how to treat 'em right, eh?

kxx