Not quite evil enough

So, we were out walking by the canal and I saw a building that could only be an evil supervillain fortress. It was grey with sinister slatted windows and a volcano on top. Sam and I had a good laugh, and then we went around the front to see what it was.

As it turned out, it was the U.S. Embassy. Glad to see that the U.S. is trying hard to maintain favorable relations with our neighbors to the north.
Apparently, it is not a volcano: the building is meant to look like a submarine. (Again, what a friendly gesture!) Another gift: on the other side of the embassy the new anti-terrorist blockades permanently snarl downtown traffic.

Rideau Canal walk

A few weeks ago we decided to spend Sunday afternoon walking the Rideau canal to the Ottawa River. It was a lovely day, too!

The kids take a moment to meditate.

The kids running around the giant egg-engorged spider at the National Gallery of Canada.


Many excellent views of the Ottawa River. (That's Quebec over there!)

Scenic view of Parliament.

A rare good picture of Sam smiling!!!!

Smarties!

I admit that Smarties are only a half-step above Valentine's day hearts and Necco wafers with respect to edibility, but for whatever reason, I like them. I like them a lot. And I was shocked to discover that in Canada, Smarties are a different candy entirely--nasty waxy plastic candy shell disks covering dry stale mocklate (rather like M&Ms left in the damp footspace of a car for a year.)


However, as the Halloween candy started to arrive in stores, I was delighted to find that indeed there are Smarties in Canada--they are just called "Rockets" here. Hmm. This reminds me that maybe I should start looking for a dentist here.