Spring - here at last.

Wednesday, I was feeling blue, and needed to get out. My grandma would probably say something pithy, like "Get out for a walk to blow the stink off you." I love my grandma's sayings, even when they make no sense at all. (Does anyone really know what a tinker's damn is?)

My day started with an attempt to let the City of Edmonton Bylaw department know about a couple of sidewalks in the neighborhood that were more curling rink than sidewalk. Unfortunately, because of the city's 48 hour snowfall grace period, I wasn't allowed to complain to anyone. So I complained that I couldn't complain. I understand that the 48 hour grace period is there to allow people to remove snow and ice, but it shouldn't apply to those that haven't bothered to do anything for the last 3960 hours. (That would be the 165 official days of winter that the Journal said we have had...) I know that the lady answering the phone was only doing her job, but to have someone tell me that I could complain about a sidewalk I slipped on, (on Tuesday) but not until Friday was absurd. Plus, in our neighborhood it snowed for 5 minutes. That's about 16 flakes. So I put in a complaint via email to the Citizen's Action Centre. I don't care if it gets anywhere, it was the principle of it all. Plus the ice has probably melted by now, considering today's lovely weather. In the end, I felt better. I wouldn't want anyone else to get hurt - I was ok, but what about a frail senior on her way to the bus, or a kid running home from school?

Lily and I went for a drive to get her some new shoes. I know, a baby that doesn't walk yet shouldn't need shoes, but I thought she did. Here's what I found for her. They were only $15 second hand, and never worn. Anyway, we ended up lost in the Northeast end of town. Never trust Mapquest to get you where you need to go, in a new area of town. It's especially frustrating driving around half melted windrows, dodging buses, kids on bikes, and avoiding getting run down by large pickup trucks - all while trying to read bad directions that are not going to get you where you need to be. That and no one would let me change lanes. Grr. Those people had a lot of bad car-ma wished upon them. When we did find the house, I was greeted by two friendly dogs, and a really nice lady. We chatted a bit, and then Lily and I headed out to London Drugs to grab a few things.

At London Drugs, a really nice little girl stopped me in the aisle and said "Excuse me, you have an adorable baby!"

Then we went next door to the Second Cup for a quick coffee. I sat and helped Lily with her water. Straws are interesting to 7 month old babies. Lily knows that she has to suck on the straw to get the water, but sometimes forgets what to do with the water once it's in her mouth. It makes for a lot of wet shirts, but she has to learn sometime right? And it's only water - shirts dry. I fed her Cheerios while I sipped my frothy drink. At the table across from me was a guy surfing the net, talking on his bluetooth headset. I never know what to think of these guys. He could have been a brilliant businessman, or a student, or someone out of work trying to look busy and important. He was sitting next to a group of ladies, girlfriends deep in conversation about something. All of a sudden, he got up, asked the ladies to watch his computer, and he ran into the washroom. They kind of looked up, and continued talking. He came back with a bunch of tissues. One of the ladies had quietly burst into tears, and he saw this, and did what he could. His small gesture stuck with me as I drove home. Not many people would take the time to do this for a perfect stranger. Most would look away and wonder, or get up and move. He took the time, and offered this woman a small bit of kindness that she really needed at that moment.

On the way home, the sun came out, and I saw blue skies. And this was on the radio.

And then I remembered that on the way to swimming on Tuesday...I heard a robin singing.

It's finally here.