Vancouver

My grandma, mom and Emily arrived Vancouver on June 18. Internet access in Vancouver was not as good as my mom anticipated. She was not able to "steal" wireless internet as all networks found were secured.

When helping Emily to move into her apartment, my mom's van broke down. The fan did not come on and the van overheated. My mom's friend knows a mechanic, Mr. Ma. He was such an angel that he cancelled his afternoon tea with a friend. He drove all the way across town to my mom's rescue. At 4 pm. Saturday afternoon, obtaining parts could be tricky.

A call was made to the North Vancouver VW dealer to ask about the required parts and the closing time. They closed at 5 pm. giving them enough time to get there from downtown Vancouver. Mr. Ma offered to drive his car as my mom's van might not make it there. It was upsetting that the person on the phone did not say the parts department closed at 4 pm. Mr. Ma called someone in Richmond to obtain the parts from Richmond VW dealer as there was no way they could get there in time.

Mr. Ma drove from North Vancouver to Richmond to pick up the parts and then drove all the way back to downtown to fix the van. It was a round trip from west to north, then from north to east down to the south before heading back to the west. He did not even accept my mom's payment for his time and service. He took $20 for gas and $6 for parts.

My mom drove Emily and Peter around to shop for a computer desk and a chair. She did grocery shopping for some very basic items. She made about 200 meatballs to get Emily started.

My mom would have prepared more foods for Emily if she had time. She received news that a long-time friend passed away and his funeral was on June 30. She drove back to Edmonton on June 29.