Coasting? Sledding? Sliding?

No matter what it's called, it was a huge part of our growing up.

Innocent, healthy fun. My cousin Nancy out in Wetaskiwin suggested a Blog on one of our favorite winter pastimes, so I was happy to oblige.

I have a lot of fond memories of learning how to skate on a frozen patch of water out in St. Catherines. I never mastered skiing, nor did I care. But coasting.........now there was a great sport if ever there was one. It required no skill, nor expensive toys. A there was a hill parked conveniently across the road from our house. It may not look like much, and I suppose it isn't.

But back then to us kids, any amount of snow meant hours of fun!

We always had a wooden toboggan, they were light to pull and could pack at least four kids.

But if we were taking turns, well as you would expect, we soon learned to hold the rope and stand up for the downhill cruise. We start off with a gentle rocking with our feet, then put our hips into it, and before long, we'd be off!

One year Freddie built us a sled, what a beast that was. It was a big box sled, heavier than the hounds of hell. It would have taken three men and a boy to pull it back up the hill, but there was just us, so I don't know what Momma ever did with it. Probably used it to haul wood, but it was not around long.

We'll never forget the episode where Darrell was barreling down that hill, full tilt and ran right into a big fence post that had barbed wire on it. Walter Burke used to have that field fenced off for cows. The cows were long gone, but a bit of the fence remained, right at the lowest point of the field. And like a magnet, poor Darrell fetched right up on it. And even today, if you ask nicely, he can show you the big bump on his shin where there used to be smooth skin. What a gash he got, a lot of blood, and a miserable flap of skin that wouldn't stay down, he just opened up his throat and roared at the top of his considerable lungs, I'm sure they heard him over on the back beach.

Then..........

Out of Quebec, as fast as lightening and just as dangerous........

Crazy Carpets!!!!! They sure upped the game! And they were cheap like borscht so Momma could get us each one. That put a stop to the fighting.

We'd limp home with our tongues half bitten off from going air born, and sore arses from crashing back down.

But to quit would be folly. Nobody else was! They were light as feathers and one size fit all. The big plastic saucers came along soon after that, and they were great. The strings didn't last long and they were hard to carry, as the wind would just take them out of your hands, but...oh well.

One night I clearly remember a pile of us up on that hill. Billy, Terry and Camilla Gallant, Kenny Lutz, Danny and John, I don't remember all. But we had a blast and how well I recall Kenny vomiting on command. He had quite a skill, he could bring it up anywhere, any time.

Funny the things you remember.

For skating the same crowd plus more would walk down to Sheep Pond, it was a perfect rink!

And of course there was always food at someone's house. I remember having meat pie at Ambrose Gallant's, as Linda was one of our coasting buddies too.

Jamie often tells the story of having no sled to go sliding on, but there was a large leather patch on the back of his coat and he managed to coast on that. Imagine.

But we all grew up, and grew out of coasting.........

Until we had kids of our own.

And it started all over again!

The coasting toys became a little more sophisticated. Certainly every once in a while we had extra kids around and there was always more bums than sleds. So a flattened out card board box and my biggest stainless steel mixing bowl were surrogate sleds. I wonder if any of them remember that.....

In our old house I loved having a cozy warm fire going in the woodstove, with the oven door closed and heating up. The kettle would be filled with water for tea, and murmuring at the back of the stove. The kids would all be out coasting or building snow forts. They'd come in wet and tired and ravenous! One of my favorite snacks to prepare for their cold little bellies was Toasted Bacon/Cheese Fingers.

I'd start off with enough slices of bread to fill a couple of cookie sheets, cut into fingers. Butter them, then slap the Cheez Whiz to them, and top each one with a little bit of bacon. Slip them in that hot oven and before long the smell would just drive you crazy. The bacon would sizzle in the cheese as it broiled and the bread (White of course, who ever heard of feeding kids that old whole wheat bread?) toasted up nice and brown and crisp. They were addictive, and truth be told, I still make them once in a while. And then I always think of snow and coasting and wet mitts.

I'd stir up a batch of hot Chocolate for them, and they were happy, and so was I. Then, since the wood stove oven was now empty, they could line up their wet mitts on the grate and on the door and put their boots on the boot trays behind the stove. Such a simple time, an innocent time, and I am so grateful that I had that opportunity to be a stay at home Mom and provide that safe and happy environment. We may not have ever had a new car or a fur coat, but we were happy.

But back to the newer winter toys in those days.........

Toboggans yes, but tubes and GT SnoRacers too! And the Sears catalogue got an awful going over too, and one Christmas all our boys wanted was a Bat Man sled. You could steer the front end and it actually had a brake on the back. So of course, Santa heard the wish.....

They loved them, used them for years, and they were so well made that 20 years after our grandkids used them. I'm pretty sure they are still here in one of Jamie's sheds.

But all good things must come to an end, childhood for sure, and this Blog. It is Tuesday evening as I write this, with the snow coming down steadily, and turning everything white with glitter. Perfect for those kids who like to play outside and enjoy these simple and free winter sports. Most Christmases now have no snow, usually just rain or drizzle, or just brownness.

But hey, you never know. We could be setting up for an old fashioned winter. With enough snow to fill our water tables (and to coast on), we'd be in good shape heading into the spring.

We'll see.

We had lots of warning and lead in time for this week's weather, so let's check our list.

Tea? Check

Cookies? Big Check.

Storm Chips? Check.

Toilet Paper? Check. Check.

Gas for the generator? Check.

Basics are covered then.

See ya on the flip side, Peeps!