It's cold out there

Remember last winter? First the ice storm, then a steady barrage of snow, ice, and even rain. When I wasn't outside shovelling and chopping, all I wanted to do was curl up into a ball and wait for spring. So I decided that this year, I would not let winter get the better of me. Here's my winter survival guide for seniors.

First, make sure you can get around outdoors no matter what. Invest in the following:

• Boots high enough to tuck your pants inside and keep the wind out.
• Icers you can strap to your boots. They have cleats on the bottoms that grip the ice.
• Warm gloves. Ski gloves are great; they're serious about keeping you warm.
• Thermal underwear.
• A parka with a hood that has lots of fake fur around it. Use the hood so your face stays warm and your eyes and nose don't run. Don't worry about your hair. This is hat-hair season.

Things to do in the city:

• Go mall walking.
• Try a Winterlicious menu at a restaurant you've never gone to before.
• Go to a film festival. There are all sorts of small film festivals throughout the winter.
• Go to a specialty museum like the Bata Shoe Museum, Gardiner Museum, Textile Museum, or Aga Khan museum. They all have senior discounts.
• Bundle up and go on a winter nature walk. For example, High Park offers guided walks on the first and third Sunday of the month, year-round.
• Check my Pick of the Week feature for more ideas.

Things to do at home:

• Have afternoon tea. Make a couple of types of tea and some squares or cookies or biscuits. Nothing gooey; maybe brownies, raisin biscuits, gingerbread. Ask a few friends over. If they offer to bring treats, say yes.
• Learn a language using free resources on the internet or from the Toronto Public Library.
• Learn to cook something you've never made before. It shouldn't need exotic ingredients or fancy equipment. It just needs to be warm and tasty and smell great while it's cooking. How about making your own whole-wheat bread or chicken soup or chana masala or vegetarian chili with cornbread?
• Take a free online course through Coursera or edX.
• Read some elderblogs. Find out what other seniors are thinking about. There's a whole world of elderblogs out there. Time Goes By is especially good, and the blogger links to other elderblogs as well. Maybe you could start one yourself!