Exit bear, stage left, pursued by wellington boot

One sensed the atmosphere was becoming a little tense in the Ottawacker household and so, having been chained to my computer doing a particularly obnoxious translation all weekend, I decided to set foot out of the door and visit Mitch in the far-flung hills of Gloucester. Ontario, that is.

And very glad I did too. We entered the house - a big thing in this day and age - and, despite wearing masks, managed to hold a conversation of sorts. All conversation in the Patenaude household of late tends to be punctuated by either reference to or direct interjection of Luna. Luna is a chocolate lab puppy. She pees everywhere, steals boots from the foyer, pretends she is scared and then jumps on your head, and is in general the perfect antidote to stress and worry, Ottawacker Jr. was in his element. Until the boot incident, that was.

I mean, what is a boy to do? One minute he is sitting there wondering how he is going to build his LEGO Taj Mahal, the next, he is watching a crazed dog wander past his field of vision carrying his winter boots in its mouth. I am sure you can guess what happened next. The 9-year-old boy chased the 3-month old puppy around the chairs (Laurel and Hardy had nothing on them) until both collapsed on the floor and the dog peed. The boy may have peed too - but he has become better at dissimulating.

A very nice afternoon visit it was. And had I not had to go back to the translation slog, it would have been a perfect way to end the day.