Okay, okay.

Once again the loml was right. I should've brought a jacket. It was 4 degrees celsius this morning. Chilly (and with a breeze, chillier). The high is going up to 17 though, and the sun does appear to be out.

Yesterday was wet, humid and misty. My sister took me on a scenic drive to Gatineau Park, and when we stopped at a lookout point all we saw was what appeared to be l low cloud bank. We went down one stretch of road near the park where the countryside (according to our mother) looks like Ireland. We passed through a covered bridge, went on for a way, then turned around and headed for the park proper.

The search for (spicy) hot food in Ottawa turned out to be somewhat of a bust yesterday. As we were heading to the Indian buffet for lunch my nephew said that the hottest dish there was their beef vindaloo, but when we got there they didn't have any out. My sister asked a waitress if she could point out hot dishes for us, and all she came up with was a sauce that she said was "very hot." I soaked some beef curry with it, but it didn't seem hot to me at all. When we got to the caribbean restaurant last night I asked for the curried goat "super hot." My sister kept saying "I'm scared," while we waited for our food, but when my dish came, it was spicy and it had a wonderful flavor, but it was far from super hot. To me something is super hot if at first it gives me the hiccups, and this didn't.

I am really enjoying being in Canada. It is beautiful, even in the rain. And I love sitting on my sister's couch looking out at the chicadees, the goldfinches and the starlings (and the pigeons and the crows) outside the window at the birdfeeders and in the trees.

I feel very welcome here.