Arctic front: Sari up!

I am writing to you from the arctic front. The arctic front has been with us much of the week. The lack of cloud cover means bright sun amid the very minus temperatures. I am writing this to you indoors with three coats on, a hat and am reaching for the ski-ing gloves. Tonight the temperature will sink to -16 with windchill. This is nothing compared to my very recent trip to Ottawa where the temperature was -25 in balmy mornings!

Here is picture of me in the Governor General’s greenhouse. (There is a banana tree at the very far end of it which had bunches of green bananas growing on it. I did ask the RCMP person if he ate them for breakfast to no definitive response). I was not randomly in the greenhouse. I was invited to attend the Gov. General Literary Awards by the Canada Council. We had a splendid evening, mostly because the people who work in Rideau Hall are very lively and very fun. Thank you to them for the many lively exchanges I had that night. I also particularly appreciated the French editor or publisher from Boreal who didn’t bother to heed the dress code and looked more ravishing than most in his Mark’s Work World shirt.  More defiance of dress code is needed and should be applauded! Also short people should not be instructed ever to wear Long Dress. The planet is already struggling enough without the visual affront of the likes of my-short-self in such garb. Fortunately I am grateful to the sari (and her owner) for containing me, much more elegantly.

Thank you to Sandy and Siobhán for collectively dressing me. Shortly I shall post my curtains and fireplace tour of Rideau Hall.