Slow Thaw

There's no denying that winter is over, but the City has taken an especially long time to warm up this year. The trees are only now in bloom which means they are almost a month late. I've been trying, along with everyone else, to venture out into the streets, to stay out later in the long sunlight, and even to sit in sidewalk seating. Mostly it proves too chilly, but I'm trying, and so is the weather.

There have been wonderfully spring-like moments, by which I mean things done with the feeling of a quiet morning: slow, easy, just a tad groggy. The spring day that I went to Cafe Gitane to sit at the bar for a breakfast of toast and watermelon juice comes to mind. The dinner at Contra, early in the evening and with sparse tables around us, does too. (Grindhaus also, on that afternoon spent in Red Hook).

Saturdays spent at the LIC Flea market have marked this spring as well, getting up early to set up a whole little store under a 10x10 tent, then sitting and waiting, alternating between being busy and so very not busy. I've learned to eat and drink less those days. #vendorproblems number 1: port-a-potties.

This weekend we're making the trip up to Rochester to pick Annie up from school. When we come back, her summer will begin, and I hope it'll feel closer to summer here too.