Monday, March 23, 2015

Still Biking At 52

I got my first bike ride of the year in today, pedaling my 2-year-old Rideau downtown to drop off my income tax return while it was -4 C (-8 C with the wind chill).  I had worried that too much of the way there would still be under ice or snow, but really the only portion like that was the final little park before the King Street bridge (right downtown).  I took a side street off Wharncliffe to bypass that section and made it to the bridge just fine.

I expect that every subsequent ride I'll make over the next 7 or 8 months will be warmer than today's, but it's still good to get that first one out of the way.  Or, as I always think to myself, "Not bad for an old guy." 

Friday, March 13, 2015

My All-Canadian Wife

A little less than 2 years ago, Vicki received her Canadian citizenship after living here for nearly 40 years.  Then, last June, her mother Elinor passed away after a year-long battle with failing health.  Not long after that, Vicki made the decision to renounce her U.S. citizenship, in part because Elly had been her strongest tie to the country of her birth, and in part because the time required to file U.S. income tax returns and other U.S. documentation each year was onerous.

It was a bizarre, convoluted process, including a trip to the U.S. consulate in Toronto last August that ended up being entirely wasted, but today we received the documentation in the mail making it official: Vicki is now 100% Canadian, having successfully relinquished her U.S citizenship.  She says she's a little sad about the loss but mostly feels good to be out from under the unique bureaucratic workload that America imposes upon its citizens living abroad. 

I told her that, after test-driving Canada for the past four decades, she shouldn't have anything to worry about.  After all: Canada's awesome, eh?

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

The New 52

Well, I've made it to another milestone, turning 52 today.  I had a wonderful day, starting with Vicki joining me for my Tuesday yoga class, and ending with the two of us watching one of the last House M.D. episodes together on Netflix (just 3 to go, now).  In between those two thrills, I also got homemade brownies, a new hoodie and T-shirt, take-out fish & chips for dinner, another awesome viewing of The Avengers on Blu-Ray and even a Rangers win over the hated Islanders (which I could've watched on TV but opted for the movie instead).  I don't think the day could've been any better, really, thanks to my lovely wife.