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From: "Melynda Jarratt" <>
Subject: Re: [WARBRIDES] Tights in winter
Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 17:51:34 -0400


Joan that was hilarious - the tights episode brings back memories for me too
- ones I'd rather forget!!!


>From: "joan reichardt" <>
>Reply-To:
>To: <>
>Subject: Re: [WARBRIDES] WARBRIDES Digest, Vol 2, Issue 11
>Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:26:03 -0800
>
>Hi, Michelle, The weather is no screaming hell here either!! In the
>Kootenays we are used to vast quantiries of heavy snow, followed by warm
>up,
>followed by rain, followed by freeze up that turns everything into a
>skating
>rink, but it has been pretty normal for us, unlike those fragile creatures
>(Kathy included) who live in Victoria.
>My husband had tried to explain to me how cold it was in Saskatchewan but
>it
>is hard to put into words what 50 below feels like, so I hadn't a clue. I
>was well kitted out, with fur coat etc. but still went out wearing a
>stylish
>hat instead of a warm scarf or woolly toque because it looked sunny and
>bright. I froze my nose walking to the bus the first winter, and I can
>still remember the agony as chilled feet and fingers returned to normal. I
>found the cold so restricting in terms of what I could or could not do.
>Going out with small kids was impossible and I can remember dragging our
>first child, bundled up beyond recognition, on a sleigh, going to my sister
>in laws to play cards!! With more than one child, and still no car, that
>ceased to be an option. Even when we did aquire a car the cold weather
>meant we had to plug it in overnight, we had 'square' wheels and dead
>batteries if we left it parked too long and copious piles of blankets were
>a
>fact of winter travel anywhere. My oldest son was born on December 31st
>1949 and the thermometer never got above about 20 below all through
>January - and this was the old farenheit scale!!
>Two memories come to mind: the first winter we were living with the in-laws
>and although their house had indoor plumbing there were some across the
>alley that did not. I was gazing out the kitchen window one bitterly cold
>day when I saw a horse drawn wagon coming along the alley. It stopped by
>what I now knew to be an outside toilet, the driver got down, lifted up the
>flap and proceeded to use a PICK to dislodge the contents - when people
>talk
>about s--- flying I know what they mean! The second event was many years
>later, after the invention of leotards (heavy weight tights). I had to go
>downtown to do a number of errands and it was very, very cold, and of
>course, the wind was blowing, so I borrowed a pair belonging to one of my
>daughters. They were a little small but I hauled them up as best I could,
>put on all my winter gear, including long fur coat, high boots and off I
>went. By the time I was walking back from City Hall to get my bus home
>said
>tights were rapidly working their way down, and the crotch had reached my
>knees. I crossed the road to the bus stop like a demented penguin, barely
>able to put one foot in front of the other as my knees were tightly bound
>to
>each other. In the privacy of my seat on the bus I managed to hoist them
>up
>enough to make it home, but it was still not a pretty sight!!
>Keeping the house warm was a challenge, especially in the days of coal and
>wood furnaces. The kids all stayed in bed while dear old dad ventured down
>the basement and stoked up the temperamental octopus-like monstrosity that
>kept us warm. What a joy it was when we got natural gas!! And the frost
>laden windows were another one of our winter hazards, as well as frozen
>pipes, but I truly think the wind was the worst! That icy blast that took
>your breath away, and those little frozen granules of snow that bit into
>your skin, oh yes, I remember it well!! Thanks, Michelle, it was indeed a
>shock coming from the south of England where we hardly ever saw snow or
>freezing temperatures for more than a day or so to a winter that lasted
>for
>onths on end. Joan
>ps Should I mention the frozen washing (which we felt duty bound to hang
>out
>on the line) and the time I snapped one leg off my husband's long johns as
>I
>came in the back door?
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Michelle" <>
>To: <>
>Sent: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 4:01 PM
>Subject: Re: [WARBRIDES] WARBRIDES Digest, Vol 2, Issue 11
>

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