tenting with Canada's first lady

Julie Smyth of the National Post writes:

Gaining access to the inner sanctum of the Prime Minister's residence takes persistence, impeccable connections, or, in my case, extreme klutziness in the pursuit of a noble goal.

That is how I ended up in the family kitchen of 24 Sussex this week after running into a pole during a training walk for a charitable fundraiser with Laureen Harper, who kindly rushed me inside to tend to my (self-inflicted) wounds.

We hurried past the Prime Minister -- only just back from a state visit to Europe and catching up with daughter Rachel over dinner -- to get ice to apply to the expanding goose egg at the side of my eye.

As Mrs. Harper and I raced back outside to catch the RCMP van that would take us to the rest of our walking team, young Rachel asked her Dad, "How do you run into a pole?"

Read the rest of "Pitching a tent with Mrs. Harper" - an article that shows the endearingly human side of Canada's first lady, Laureen Harper.

Here's another piece on the Alberta farmgirl whose address is 24 Sussex Drive.