Oh my,my,my. You DO bring back some memories Alex.
I've never been back east farther than Manitoba, except for one summer to Kapuskasing, Ont.

I remember coal. I didn't have to carry it though I DO remember rain barrels filled with snow to melt for laundry and washing/bathing. I remember no electricity or running water ... those old irons you heat on the stove, Mom bending over washtub (bathtub) scrubbing laundry on a scrub board for her and us four kids ... one stove in the kitchen to heat the whole house. Always mittens and scarves and things drying on the warming oven (not many places back home had electricity when I was little) coil oil lamps.

Cold? Hmmmm. Frozen sheets and clothes on the line. Why hang them out when they have to be dried from thawing???

Do you have pictures Alex?

(just talked to the kid ... her thumbs and ears are still very very sore... remember just how very long the blocks are in Calgary)

bye