Monday 23 December

Everything is icy this morning: 3º and it’s stopped raining. People walk very carefully outdoors. It's now just back to very cold. Toronto has put out emergency weather bulletins telling people to go to schools, churches, anywhere that’s open and has power because that’s where it’s warm. We’re heading for a high of -11º tomorrow so people need to have access to power for heating as most don’t have gas.

This is a frozen bush:

This is a close-up – every inch of the bush is totally encased in ice - and this is a day and a half after the freezing rain storm.

We went to the Joseph Schneider Museum, where there was an exhibition of Inuit Eskimo dolls from past centuries, as well as artefacts including quilts, all hand-sewn.

The Schneider House was where Joseph Steiner lived with his family and then his son, Joseph Jnr, with his family, German Mennonites from Pennsylvania. The house is  preserved as it was in 1856, most items being genuine antiques, with a few being reproductions; rooms are set up with the furnishings correctly placed as described in historical documentation.

Joseph Jnr had six girls and two boys. That was good for his wife, who had lots of help with the cooking, spinning, quilting and housework but for Joseph it would have been difficult to run the farm with his two sons, so they would have employed workers. There was a parents’ bedroom, with a trundle for a child under five and a cradle for a baby. Over five, the children were old enough to sleep on the upper level which had no heating.

There was a very large bedroom with three beds for the girls (some would have shared), two other bedrooms, a guest room and a “hobo room” for wayside travellers needing shelter. The hobo room was tiny, with a tiny bed and no natural lighting, just a little window where light came from an adjoining room. The large guest room, with a double bed, was the only room with a washstand. Everyone else would have washed in the kitchen. Their beds were shorter than ours, because they used to keep the top half of their bodies propped up on pillows to avoid fluid settling in their lungs.

It was fascinating to take a walk back through time; the guide was very generous in answering questions (actually a good afternoon to go because most people were out there frantically Christmas shopping. Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, the shops will close at noon. It’s extremely rare to find anything open on Christmas Day but this year Maccas, Tim Hortons and the other coffee chain, Williams, will all be open Christmas Day.

We did some shopping this afternoon for a couple of gift items. The sun was out very briefly, transforming ice into brilliant bling for a few short moments here and there. Then the snow started again and looks like it’s settling in. Right now at 4.30 it’s -5º; tonight’s low will be -11º. Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, will be -11º  max, -16º  min; then Christmas day will be warmer: -6º  max to -7º  min.

Thursday morning it will warm up to -4º !

Tonight we’re going to Steve’s son, Gerard and his wife, Alison for their Christmas dinner. That’s not very far away, and we’ll call in on some friends on a farm on the way.