How can I begin to tell you how beautiful it is at the Rose Garden Cafe in the morning?
There is a quietness before the day begins,
and then there is a sense of beginning each day.
The water sprinklers go on in the park and the gardens drink in their refreshment.
The Park Crews go around and clean up the park and care for it.
Parents come early with children
and they begin to play with each other at the playground.
The water is calm and the sunlight is warm.
In the mornings, we clean our patio and porches with a hose
that washes away the memories of yesterday and prepares for today.
Everything sparkles and the green bushes smile
It is a ritual to place the tableclothes on each table and wash them again,
put the placemats down and complete the look
with whimsical roses and colourful umbrellas.
There is a sense of cleanliness, beauty and order as the daily rhythm unfolds.
Organic coffee is made and the windows are opened
to let the fresh breezes from the lake fill our kitchen and cafe.
The white sheer curtains hanging on the porch bring a sense of imagination
as they blow gently in those breezes.
And one by one, our friends and customers begin to come to the serving window….enjoying entering into our prepared environment to find nourishment, entering into the environment of the park so carefully tended to by the Park Crew, entering into the water of the lake for a different kind of refreshment.
There is laughter at the Rose Garden Cafe as the presence of babies and children arrive hand in hand with parents–one by one and two by two.
There are grandmothers and mothers, fathers and grandfathers, families and friends of all ages….enjoying the selection and ambiance.
As the day unfolds, it grows busier and busier
and there is a hum in the kitchen and a choreography between our employees
that brings that sense of connectedness.
Lines-to-order turn into people being served
and thus it continues throughout the day.
And in the early evening, right before the sun sets behind the mountains,
there is a light, a luminous light that ripples on the water, dancing and sparkling.
It is another beautiful time of the day at The Rose Garden Cafe and Lakeside Park.
Families and friends come to enjoy a meal in this park setting,
so tranquil and so park like on a summer’s evening.
Blankets are spread out on the green grass.
Chairs are set up together with books
and food and drinks we provide for that sense of evening, in the summer, in the park,
near the Rose Garden Cafe.
We are busy preparing for the next day. We are busy preparing food for nourishment.
We are busy tending and cleaning
and serving everyone who enters into the park’s nature for the day.
And then it is over and the windows are closed and the table clothes are folded
and the flowers are put into a basket and everything is brought inside,
swept, cleaned and tended to as the lights go out
and the quiet walk to the car marks the end of another good, long and joyful day
at the Rose Garden Cafe.
It is an intentional rhythm each and every day, that blossoms roses and bears fruit.
Join us……in this, our last week–
for Labour Day is the traditional weekend for closing.
Once that weekend is over, everyone’s gaze turns elsewhere….
So stay in summer this week, come to the park, come to the Rose Garden Cafe—
blooming brightly and abundantly for its 10th growing season…..
