Bruce and I spent New Years in Belleville, so we missed Toronto's New Years celebrations.
Based on what's readily available on the Internet, the photos below represent the finest moments of the New Year.
 |
| Photo Credit: National Post |
Rob Ford found one person still willing to have their picture taken with him.
 |
| Photo Credit: Guangming Online |
And a bunch of mostly naked people (including one who recently had major surgery - check out the scar on the belly of the guy in the black trunks) threw themselves into Toronto Harbour.
The biggest star of the season was the weather. First the December 21 ice storm and then the polar vortex.
The biggest star of the season was the weather. First the December 21 ice storm and then the polar vortex.
As mentioned last post, what Bruce and I suffered from the ice storm was nothing compared to others. On the other hand, the sudden plunge into tremendous cold from the polar vortex after a mild day or two in Toronto tested to their limits our skills as pedestrians.
Skill One: Know Your Tools and Use Them Properly
For this skill, I had a short seminar before the vortex came. On January 2, we were still on holiday and I'd spent the day working on the dog's blog. But, I wanted to go to yoga, so I'd registered a spot for the 5:45 class. The studio's normally a thirty minute walk from here, but I gave myself a little extra time because the Weather Network told me it was 26 below with the wind chill.
I piled three layers of clothes on me, doubled the number of socks I normally wear, put on my honkin' Sorels, my hat, my gloves and headed out assuming that I had fairly matched my winter gear with the weather.
Halfway to the studio, at the corner of Church and Wellesley, I hailed a cab because I knew I would otherwise die before I made it to yoga.
In this lesson, the tool I failed to use properly was the subway.
Skill Two: Know Your Centre of Gravity
I knew a guy in undergrad who'd come from Malaysia to Waterloo get a degree in business. Having grown up in a warm climate, he never completely comprehended the cold in Canada. He'd step out in sub-zero weather in a summer-weight jacket. And he never learned to walk in the snow. He did, however, have a knack for falling right. I'd watch him fall and pick himself up three or four times before he'd gone a block. I assume he thought this was how everyone got around in Canada in the snow.
Growing up in Winnipeg and Edmonton, I got my snow legs at an early age. The same way someone practiced at it doesn't even think about how to shift gears on a standard transmission car, a seasoned snow walker doesn't keep at top of mind the signals and responses required to stay upright.
The key signal is the loss of traction; the response is a shorter stride. The less traction, the shorter the stride. Keeping sight of your centre of gravity is fundamental to keeping your feet when you're walking on ice.
Unless it's windy.
On January 6, the powerful cold that came down from the arctic brought with it winds gusting to more than fifty kilometres per hour. Bay Street acts as a kind of accelerator for these winds. This is where I was standing, shortly after five p.m. on Monday afternoon. I was very well dressed against the cold, but the ice underfoot everywhere was forcing baby-step progress. I was waiting for the light to change and standing on a zero-friction surface. The wind caught my heavy, large handbag which acted as a kind of sail.
The headline flashed before my eyes: Fifty-Something Woman Killed By Handbag: Dragged Beneath Wheels of Car.
Happily that did not happen, but it was a near thing I'll tell you.
Thanks for reading!
Have a great week!
Karen
Skill One: Know Your Tools and Use Them Properly
For this skill, I had a short seminar before the vortex came. On January 2, we were still on holiday and I'd spent the day working on the dog's blog. But, I wanted to go to yoga, so I'd registered a spot for the 5:45 class. The studio's normally a thirty minute walk from here, but I gave myself a little extra time because the Weather Network told me it was 26 below with the wind chill.
I piled three layers of clothes on me, doubled the number of socks I normally wear, put on my honkin' Sorels, my hat, my gloves and headed out assuming that I had fairly matched my winter gear with the weather.
Halfway to the studio, at the corner of Church and Wellesley, I hailed a cab because I knew I would otherwise die before I made it to yoga.
In this lesson, the tool I failed to use properly was the subway.
Skill Two: Know Your Centre of Gravity
I knew a guy in undergrad who'd come from Malaysia to Waterloo get a degree in business. Having grown up in a warm climate, he never completely comprehended the cold in Canada. He'd step out in sub-zero weather in a summer-weight jacket. And he never learned to walk in the snow. He did, however, have a knack for falling right. I'd watch him fall and pick himself up three or four times before he'd gone a block. I assume he thought this was how everyone got around in Canada in the snow.
Growing up in Winnipeg and Edmonton, I got my snow legs at an early age. The same way someone practiced at it doesn't even think about how to shift gears on a standard transmission car, a seasoned snow walker doesn't keep at top of mind the signals and responses required to stay upright.
The key signal is the loss of traction; the response is a shorter stride. The less traction, the shorter the stride. Keeping sight of your centre of gravity is fundamental to keeping your feet when you're walking on ice.
Unless it's windy.
On January 6, the powerful cold that came down from the arctic brought with it winds gusting to more than fifty kilometres per hour. Bay Street acts as a kind of accelerator for these winds. This is where I was standing, shortly after five p.m. on Monday afternoon. I was very well dressed against the cold, but the ice underfoot everywhere was forcing baby-step progress. I was waiting for the light to change and standing on a zero-friction surface. The wind caught my heavy, large handbag which acted as a kind of sail.
The headline flashed before my eyes: Fifty-Something Woman Killed By Handbag: Dragged Beneath Wheels of Car.
Happily that did not happen, but it was a near thing I'll tell you.
Thanks for reading!
Have a great week!
Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment