According to the signs on the approaches to the Ambassador Bridge at Windsor, connecting to Detroit, Canadians are still strongly discouraged from crossing the U.S. border. “Essential travel only!” they say in large letters. I took that to mean “Turn around and go home, you idiot”.

Rick the painter has done the hard part of fixing up the ugly bedroom: removing more than a dozen hooks, nails and screws; patching a myriad of scrapes, holes and dings in the plaster; caulking and painting all the trim; and priming and painting the ceiling. It looks like a bombed-out bordello in there, and the whiff of the primer sealant has permeated the house. Every window with a fly screen is wide open.

Tomorrow we’ll see completion: two coats of nice, restful, green paint on the walls.