Community

“I’m tired of living in exile!” my husband, Peter, exclaimed as, for the second day in a row, we packed up everything we would need to be out of our home long enough for the floor to dry. Michael, the floor sander, is in our apartment now, buffing the penultimate coat of polyurethane while Peter is moaning about his exile status.

It has been a long time since anyone has appeared at The Canadian Record office carrying a photo-worthy vegetable or fruit from their garden. Joe Schaef broke the drought when he walked through the door last week to show off this 2-pound, 5-ounce onion that he had grown in the vegetable patch behind his barn out on Charlie Brown Road. Schaef admitted that, with all of the rain we’ve gotten this spring, it might actually be pretty tough to be a bad gardener. Stanley Macias would probably agree. He came in this week to place an ad for cherry tomatoes in the classifieds, saying this year’s crop produced early and often—and so plentifully he just couldn’t hardly keep up with them any longer. Macias also bragged enough about the super-hot jalapenos he’d grown that we begged him to bring us a few, and while we haven’t had a chance to sample them yet, the nose always knows when peppers are caliente, and these brought tears to our eyes. Since those two visits, we’ve been the beneficiaries of cucumbers, zucchini, and one very sweet-smelling cantaloupe, courtesy of Schaef. With rain in the forecast today and throughout the weekend, it looks like the growing season might last just a little bit longer, too. PHOTO BY LAURIE EZZELL BROWN

Kevin and Dawn prepared this pulled pork recipe for a recent gathering to rave reviews. They tried it with beef, and it was equally delicious.

Haley “Rotary Rader” Ward, at the mercy of a “no show” program, decided to host a Rotary chat session. Ward started off by noting the strong influence of her grandad, Don Rader, for being instrumental in her following his footsteps and becoming a Rotarian. Rotary involvement and commitment run deep in the Rader family with Don and Esther being very active in the Rotary Youth Exchange, Flag Service, and enjoying several Rotary trips all over the world.

Ah, summer is coming to a close, and school is ready to start. It’s a time of year that parents rejoice and children dread. Back to school always reminds me of a Staples commercial from 1996. There’s a father skipping and dancing in the school supply aisle with two children behind him with their heads down and dragging their feet. The Christmas song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” is playing in the background. The announcer comes in and says, “It’s that time of year again…they’re going back!!!” I highly recommend you watch it on YouTube for a good laugh.

The renovations to our new home continue. We didn’t expect to be refinishing the floor. But when we tore up the flooring that was buckling and warping in the summer humidity, we discovered the original parquet, spattered with paint, underneath. A man named

Spent a delightful day Friday with my friend, Remelle, picking two buckets of big, fat juicy plums. We then turned them into the most delicious jelly. I had not made any for more than 20 years and counted on my friend to make it right. And she did! KIM B. McKINNEY