my ice cream with hot sauce day

I had one of those strange Canadian weather moments yesterday as I headed out to my (last ever undergrad!) class. The snowbanks were almost as high as ever yet the temperature was +15 or so (Celsius) with a beautifully warm sun to heat things up even more. It is not unusual to have strange and seemingly paradoxical weather systems in close proximity in Canada; my Mom frequently quotes someone who said "In Canada it's always 40 degrees...above or below zero." But I've never experienced both at once.

It reminds me of the story I read in one of my readers when I was younger (this is a great post for not citing references) about a spoiled prince who, having run out of things to demand, came up with the idea to crave a dessert that was both hot and cold at the same time. This demand came with the punishment of death to all the cooks if they could not come up with it in a certain amount of time. Of course all the cooks wracked their brains and feared for the receptacles of said brains until, with the deadline quickly approaching, one of the kitchen boys heard of the reason for their fright and quickly came up with the solution. He made ice cream and poured hot chocolate sauce over it. I'm not sure if he's credited for the invention of both these things or merely the concept of serving them together. Either way, I'm sure you've guessed why this story in particular stuck in my mind from the myriad of snippets that I read as a child.

All that to say: as I sauntered to the bus in a tanktop, walking beside snowbanks that still are taller than I, I felt the novelty and thought that I should take a picture to keep this moment in more than just my thoughts. I don't think that this novelty of tanktops on snow will take on such popularity as sauce on ice cream but I think they're both worth noting.
On my way to class beside a snowbank that still rises above my head. 07 April, 2008