Honesty

This place in Byward Market was named for me :)

Canadians are surprisingly cool

We went to Ottawa this weekend and I liked it there. I think Canadians are cooler than Americans give them credit for. We went to Parliament Hill, the Museum of Civilization, the national art museum, the Canadian Supreme Court and Byward Market. It was a really good long weekend.

One humorous moment was when I first laid eyes on the robes worn by the Canadian Supreme Court Justices. :) From a distance, they looked like a gospel choir. But up close . . . well, they literally look like Santa Claus! This is funny stuff :) They have the black belt, red velvet, white fur trim . . . even the black boots!

I found a blog on the Wall Street Journal website that comments on the robes as follows:

Brooks took our Santa Claus query in stride, saying that the court gets the question all the time. The ceremonial duds date back to the year the court was founded. In 1875, Governor General Lord Dufferin wrote: “I have put the judges into red robes and ermine, which has hitherto been a dress unknown in Canada.” Today, it turns out the justices don the red-and-white only for special ceremonial occasions; on the bench, they’re in plain black robes — no miniver trim! — similar to the ones worn by the U.S. Supreme Court justices.

That's info they couldn't give us on the tour, but it makes sense. I figured it was red for royal and regal, and fur because Canada is cold and it founded in substantial part on fur trade. But the final result is hilarious.

Celebration

Happy birthday, Maggie Princess Peanut!!

(she's so svelte now, we've deleted the "Porky" from her name - its a fair exchange for all the broccoli she endures now)!

My girl is 11 today. We're celebrating tomorrow with a swim in a mucky pond, a trip through the Burger Kind drive-thru, some cheeseburger scarfing, and some belly rubbing.