All right everyone. Here she is. I know you are all simply overcome with envy at the sight of my new car. And I know you don't have to ask, since you all have posters of this, your dream car, hanging up on your bedroom walls, but she is a 1997 Ford Escort Wagon LX. LX! Can you believe it? And to think I was lucky enough to get the only one ever manufactured in this colour!

Although, I have to be honest and tell you that we have had trouble actually identifying this colour using any a word found in the English language. Seafoam? Spearmint? Granny Smith Apple? Toasted avocado? Anyone want to weigh in on it?

I bought the car in Ottawa at Christmas, courtesy of Gordie, my dad's car guy, with the intent of putting it to good use right away: I dropped my sister and her hubby off in New York City,¹ then drove to Ottawa to go through some of my stuff that is resting peacefully in my brother's basement,² then onto Kitchener to have lunch, make that coffee, with an old college friend³ and spend the evening with my favorite, okay fine, only, high school friend.⁴ Next it was onto Windsor to see my old CEGEP friend and her daughter⁵ and meet my nephew.⁶ Then I picked up my mum-in-law⁷ and we drove to St. Cloud, Minnesota where there was some sort of auctioneers convention at the hotel, then Regina where it was a little chilly and then on to Edmonton, where I met no fewer than 14 members of Jason's extended family.⁸ Then we drove to Jasper where I learned that one strawberry and champagne martini plus one hour in a hotel roof top hot tub in minus twenty Celsius plus one rapid reimmersion into comfortable room temperature equals one not-so-comfortable Michelle. Finally we drove to Squamish, where it turns out I have a husband.⁹

So, what did you do last week?

¹ Bye Lou and Dan! And remember, Squamish is calling your name ...

² Thanks Eric ... I'll be back sometime for another carload ... and then another .... and another.

³ Hey Curt, just like back during our old TWU days ... except we can have a drink ... or two ... or three ...

⁴ Carol! Yaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy!

⁵ Rachel, you lend some of that money to Sarah if she needs it okay?

⁶ Cohen, thanks for being so cute that my in-laws forgot that they have another potential grandchild-producing daughter-in-law, at least for a while.

⁷ RAAAWWR.*

⁸ Werner? Gertrude? Ist das Gebäude da drüben das Deutsche Museum?

⁹ Hey honey ... did I tell you I am leaving again in two weeks?

* At some point on the road outside of Chicago there was a billboard advertising an adult-oriented shop called the Lion's Den. When I pointed this out to my, shall we say, somewhat-conservative mother-in-law she promptly responded "RAAAWWR" complete with hand pawing the air. Love it!