The Elf Blog

Taking Time for the Little Things

Summer schedules are often a bit slower, leaving you with extra little pockets of time.  It's important to use those pockets of time to lay the groundwork to take care of the little things:

• Update your address book and calendar so that you won't miss birthdays, anniversaries, and the like.
• Stock up on stationery and cards so that you'll have supplies on hand to celebrate with or comfort those you love.
• You know those people you've been meaning to call or visit?  Use the slower summer days to do it.
• If you craft, make a few extra presents so you'll have things on hand.
• Make a stack of the books you've been meaning to read or the movies you've been meaning to watch.  Read the books on your hammock and watch the movies on rainy days.
• Take advantage of summer festivals, outdoor concerts, and the like.

Most of all, enjoy!

Rainy Days and Mondays

Rainy Mondays are the worst.

That's why, on a rainy Monday, you should curl up with a good book, a mug of tea or hot chocolate, and a soft blanket.

One of the reasons I talk so much about keeping your life in order is that it allows you to occasionally take a day off just because it's rainy.  And what's more, since you're organized, you'll have a book and tea on hand (an maybe even some homemade soup) so you don't have to go out!

A Must Read

I want to recommend a wonderful book that is a must-read for anyone who loves food: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.  The book is sure and reads easily and quickly.  I read it on a cross-country flight and had time to spare.

Pollan provides three rules for eating:  Eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants.

If nothing else, it will encourage you to think seriously about what you are eating.  So much of what we eat has been processed beyond all recognition.  If you can't look at a food item and know what's in it, it's probably over-processed.  If high-fructose corn syrup is one of the first 5 ingredients, it's probably over-processed.  If you need a doctorate in organic chemistry to read the label, it's probably over-processed.  Actually, the best foods don't need labels and ingredient lists.  The ingredients of an oraange or an apple or a turnip are pretty darn obvious.

Even better, it's great to eat seasonally and locally.  I have often heard people complain that fruits and vegetables don't taste as good now as they used to taste.  In many cases, that's because they were picked long before they reach their peak flavor and transported thousands of miles.  How different is that from a tomato picked this morning and enjoyed with a dash of salt, pepper, and vinegar tonight?

Read In Defense of Food and you'll never look in your cabinets the same way again.