Winter Wonderland

The recent ice storm in Southern Ontario reminded me of the winter of ’68 when I was a girl. I recall how the city of Toronto virtually froze in its tracks. It was wonderful for the children, with school cancelled, we played outside, skating and tobogganing. I don’t recall if our home in Scarborough had a blackout, but we would have bundled up and drank hot chocolate and played cards. Television wasn’t as important as it is today and personal computers were unheard of.

The December 21^st ice storm is considered to be one of the worst. Four days later, much of Toronto is still without power and the temperature has dropped well below zero. We lost power on Sunday morning for six hours. The house became quite cool and Tom was ready to uninstall the electric insert so we could burn wood in the basement fireplace. No need for such drastic measures. The power came on at noon and we were glad of the hot coffee and raisin bread toast to warm our bodies. I spent my time reading Stuart McLean's book, The Vinyl Cafe Story Exchange. The personal stories reminded me of something from my childhood and I will write down the memory and send it to them. Perhaps they will read it aloud on their radio show or publish it in the next Vinyl Cafe Collection.

The scent of wood smoke filled the crisp air outside while I cleared the fallen branches in the backyard.Throughout the day we heard from neighbours and friends, all of whom had lost power and branches or tree limbs. We had planned to visit friends in Whitby, but cancelled, opting to remain home. That evening neighbours from across the street, who live six months of the year in Florida, called to ask how we were. One of their trees lost three large limbs.

It's odd to get an ice storm this early in the season. They are more common in March when the weather warms and freezes quickly. I hope the people stranded at airports find their way to family and friends safely. It doesn't seem so long ago that we were outside in our shorts and tee-shirts, gardening and barbecuing hamburgers. Winter seems to last much longer than summer, but every month has something beautiful to offer.