How an act of kindness during the 1st COVID Christmas created a lasting friendship

A stranger's kindness during the first COVIDChristmas has blossomed into a friendship that's still going strong two years later.

Joanne Kimm and Katrina Ashton met by chance when Kimm posted online in December 2020 that she was looking for a restaurant in Halifax that cookedturkey dinner.

She and her husband had just moved to Nova Scotia from B.C., and when their deal to buy ahouse fell through, they found themselves spending the holidays in a hotel.

Ashton responded to Kimm'sFacebook post with much more than a restaurant recommendation shevolunteeredto make the family an elaborateChristmas dinner with all the fixings.

She delivered turkey, ham, stuffing, coleslaw, potatoes, squash, all kinds of veggies and pumpkin pie.

"I don't cook often but when I do I want a good meal," Ashton told CBC Radio's Information Morning Nova Scotia.

Since that meal, the two women have stayed in touch.

Even when the pandemic meant they couldn't get together in person, they texted one another, and when Kimm's familyfinally moved into a new housethis month, Ashton was there to help.

"She has such a heart of gold and is so giving," Kimm said.

It's been a difficult couple of years for Kimmand her family. Earlier this year, her husband, Jack, was diagnosed with cancer.

"These months have just been a whirlwind, just between doctors appointments and blood tests and CT scans and more CT scans," shesaid.

"We're taking it day-by-day and just grateful for what we have and the time that we have."

Ashton said she's so glad Kimm and her family moved here.

"It's so good to see that finally she and Jack and her family finally have their cozy home," she said.

Kimmsat down recentlyto write a Facebook post updating her friends on their journey, and her mind immediately went to Ashton's generosity two years ago.

"It's something I'll never forget," she said."[I'm] grateful and thankful and making long-lasting friendships ... especially around Christmas time, that's good."

Ashton hasn't been inside her friend's new house in Halifaxyet, but she's seen it from the outside, and calls it"magnificent."

"And the way she's described it, it sounds lovely," she added.

For Kimm, saying thank you to her new friendjust doesn't feel like enough.

But Ashton brushes that off.

"That's what Christmas is for, is to share," she said.