The Weather of course keeps changing, too - but that we're used to!
Yesterday (Saturday) we had a welcome break in between storms, rain and snow - a whole day of sunshine and blue sky, a little bit of snow still left on the ground, but streets and walkways mostly bare. So I took advantage of that in the afternoon and went for a longer walk (i.e. not just round the nearest block or two). As I like walking along the river when I can, I decided to actually walk into town, even if I did not intend to go into any shops.
There were a few people sitting outdoors at the cafés and on benches etc along the waterside - but I think not as many as on a "normal" sunny Saturday this time of year.
Passing by a florist's shop, there were lots of gorgeous tulips on display outside... And when I looked in, there was no crowd or queue. So I decided that in this case, clearly it was my duty to support the commercial life! I grabbed a bouquet, stepped in, the sales girl wrapped them up for me - and I 'blipped' my card to pay (contactless payment /Wikipedia). I think that was perhaps the first time I fully appreciated this new (-ish) technology. Not because it's quicker, but because it suddenly struck me that it's also hygienic!
Tulips from Sweden
Well, whatever happens next, at least I've got some nice tulips to look at indoors for a few days...
11 comments:
gorgeous flowers and it is sad there is no one out there buying them, this scare virus is ruining the economy, what is blip the card, do that on next post please. your town as always is gorgeous.
Sandra, sorry, I assumed we had borrowed the word 'blip' from English, but perhaps it's a case of invented Swenglish. We use it here for the kind of contactless payment where you can just hold your card close to a debit card reader without having to also punch a code. (With larger sums you still have to add the code as well, though.) - I have now inserted a link to the Wikipedia article about contactless payment in my post above, for clarity.
I never used to like the formality of tulips but I've become a tulip lover over the last few years. I hadn't thought of that advantage of contactless but I use it almost all the time except for my morning coffee.
Your tulips look gorgeous! The day was so gorgeous, with brilliant blue everywhere. No wonder you went for a long walk! Looks like the kind of day that people used to call "bracing". YES, the news is changing every hour. We have the T.V. on all the time, and just dread the latest when we turn it on in the morning. But we do learn a lot this way.
Ginny I don't have the TV on all day, but I do listen to/watch the news several times every day at the moment; and have been watching daily press conferences with representatives of our government and authorities.
Graham, I hadn't thought of that aspect of contactless payment until now, either - after having been reminded every half hour or so this past week (through various media) of the importance of washing one's hands (before and after just about everything you might possibly happen to touch)
You did well in buying those beautiful tulips for yourself and supporting the local economy at the same time! I am about to go for some fresh groceries and think it will be interesting to see how many people will be at the shop and what will be left on the shelves; it is my first time shopping since Monday last week, as I usually eat at work during the week and spend all weekend at O.K.'s.
We are having a gorgeous week ahead, it is sunny and warming up by the minute as we speak, temps up to 19C are forecast.
Flowers just brighten up everything, must nicer to look at than the same old news stories online.
Hope you found what you needed in the shops, Meike - and that you'll be able to enjoy the sunny weather.
Amy, yes, always nice to be able to bring a bit of early spring inside while waiting for "the real thing" outdoors :)
Yes, it's really strange and it seems to be necessary for more than a month. We'll be watching the spring coming from our window or our doorstep. But this picture is very beautiful and very bright. Here in paris, thr flowers shop are closed
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