Landed

We are now permanent residents of Canada! (Though 'permanent' means 'for 5 years' here.) On one of the bitterest, snowiest and blowiest days we have experienced, we drove to Buffalo, ate a late lunch of hot wings, and returned to the border. Hearts pounding, we stated our intent: to consummate our status as permanent residents. Overlooked by the Canadian flag and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, we did just that. We were prepared to be grilled about our worthiness and shaken down for proof of financial solvency, but it turned out to be a simple, straightforward process conducted by a couple of smiling young men we might have mistaken for Boy Scouts (except for the handguns in holsters at their hips). They had us sign our names, told us we could keep the pen as a souvenir, and then helped us find out about traffic (bad), road conditions (icy) and nearby hotels (available). So, abandoning plans to brave the QEW motorway home to Toronto, we are sitting, the five of us, in a Hilton Garden lounge on the edge of Niagara-on-the-Lake, sipping tea and reading the newspapers before a gas fire. Our celebration.