Pleasantries

 

Every day has a surprise. It was not surprising to see sodden leaves and gritty gray snow in the gutters and shaded places. There were two surprises, one that lead me to sit outside in the sun and wind. Temperature today +18C. The first surprise ~ the Ice Cream Window at Elle’s Cafe is open for the season! The second ~ because of that change, the inside area is closing earlier. Today: 3pm. Not aware of the changes and after finishing a brief shop, I went for my usual cafe latte with oat milk to sit at a table and read. Arriving shortly before three, I got my coffee and went outside to the patio area. No winter coat, no toque, no winter boots or gloves. Young moms with their girls visited and ate ice cream. Traffic flowed up and down 13th Avenue, big lumbering buses competed with bicycles, cars and trucks. The winds ruffled my hair, threatened to blow over my coffee, and the sun was warm on my neck. 

“Spring is the time of year when it is summer 

in the sun and winter in the shade.”

~ Charles Dickens, Great Expectations