Black Coffee with a View

It’s understandable that after a few (long) months of winter cold and significant lack of sunshine, one craves some outdoors the moment the sun awakes from the winter stagnation and penetrates, although shyly, the interior of my tiny flat. The ground floor flat I happened to have been occupying for the past two years, is rather small and – to my regret – rather dark. Even in the summer months, only the first half of the flat – the one closer to the window, where the bedroom side is, and my desk – is filled with light, while the other side – the one with the kitchen and the ‘living room’ side – stays in a significant dimness. Imagine the winter, when the days are shorter and the sun somehow lazier and weaker – the whole flat is then far from filled-with-light and rather gloomy. I grew accustomed to calling it a cave, or (on the days when my day starts with a bad mood, and not with breakfast) – a grave. That’s right. Faced with the task of occupying myself during long hours of solitude, I find myself rather craved for the jolly summer sun.

No wonder, then, that today, the most pleasant and beautifully lit Saturday in a while, I wanted to be outside, spoil my pale skin with the sunny warm of the afternoon sun. And, as at 2pm both Żubrek and me were still before breakfast, we have decided to take our breakfast/lunch outside. I made sandwiches, he made coffee and without further ado we were in the car, on our way to Buchan Country Park, which we knew has a lovely picnic area by the lake.

There were a few factors we haven’t anticipated though: one, it’s colder than it looks when judging the outside temperature by the look out the window; and two, as it’s an unusually beautiful Saturday, the park will be filled with families with children and dogs, who, like us are out for some peace and fun. With the definitive emphasis on the latter. And so, our planned peaceful picnic turned out to be a rather awkward experience of eating (fair enough, delicious) sandwiches, while being looked at with a smirk by some passers-by.

But there is nothing what a good, strong black coffee can’t fix. Once it was poured into the cups, its aroma instantly put us in a better mood (one that we didn’t care much about being looked at and focused on the enjoyment part instead), and the cups filled with hot coffee proved to be great hand warmers. We unpacked our sandwiches: mine with tomato and sunflower seed paste, rocket, spinach, cucumber and boiled egg, his with the same tomato paste, but with pepperoni and rocket only (Żubrek’s eating habits are still a mystery for me, especially his rather unusual liking for all-things-dry and true hatred for mayo, which I share to some extent). We had our coffee, took some photographs, and both decided it’s time to leave, when the coffee was gone, and with the coffee – it’s ability to warm us up.

Our picnic in Buchan Country Park, although brief, has left us nicely relaxed, and in a great mood for the rest of the day. You know when they say to take a walk if you’re feeling a bit ‘under the weather’? Well, they’re right. As much as I value the time spent in the coziness of my visibly worn blanket (which, by the way, we brought all the way back from Darjeeling) and one of the million books I am currently reading, a good walk in the crisp, still pretty wintery weather did guarantee a lovely Saturday. Wouldn’t it be nice if this post inspired someone to spend a Sunday outdoors? And although it might still be slightly too chilly for picnics, a walk hasn’t hurt anyone yet.

Have a lovely weekend, people!

aho