Two years and two days ago, I started a journey from Santa Monica, California by foot, bus, train, and plane. Many hours later, I reached Detroit and was met by my friend Katni, who drove me through the Detroit-Windsor tunnel where, six months after being kicked out, I re-entered Canada and was reunited with Andrea.

Yesterday was Independence Day back in the states. We already had our fireworks over the weekend, and I worked through Canada Day on Monday and had yesterday off instead. Among the joys of American/Canada relations are mixed holidays.

I’ve been following the news regarding Canadian Immigration pretty closely — not surprising considering my immigrant status. Last week this article in the Globe and Mail talks about the percentage of immigrants who settle in Ontario vs. other provinces, which kind of bored me. What was interesting, though, were two issues in the continued fight against immigration fraud. When Andrea and I filled out our application, most of our time was spent collecting evidence to prove our relationship —…

It’s now my second February living in southwest Ontario, with 50F weather and scattered rain showers. The snow, which didn’t fall until mid-January, is a memory and it will be at least a week before we have any chance of seeing more.

There’s so much that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours that I scarcely know where to start. For the uninitiated, I am American and my wife, Andrea, is Canadian. I have a house in Illinois, empty and for sale by court order from a previous marriage. In August of last year, my wife and I moved in with her Mom in Ontario, Canada. Prior that we had been living with my Dad in Wisconsin, in his three bedroom trailer, with our three large dogs and four cats, helping him recover from major back…