The Chef

Before I came to WA, I emailed R&S to ask them if they could please think of productive things for me to do while I was here. I didn't want to be entertained; I wanted to feel like I was helping and doing something worthwhile. Since my life seemed to be a perpetual vacation, I wanted a break from that. And they were very obliging. I've gotten to baby-sit/just play with Elisabeth a lot; teach a R. S. class on how to write a will; and a few other productive things. Best of all, I've gotten to COOK.

Because of her pregnancy, Sofia is on a special diet and, as she explained, is fed up with food. (During the first couple of days of trying to get it down, I understood why.) So, she informed me that if I was interested, I could be the chef while I was here.

It has been awesome! I plan menus and Sofia and I go shopping (including at fun places like the awesome Asian store we visited the other day). As long as it fits the diet, I can pretty much do anything. And then I get to cook. Of course, I have extremely easy to please and appreciative diners (Roland, Elisabeth--have you seen either of them eat? and Sofia and I are pretty easy ourselves). And it's just fun. We've had egg rolls and Greek wraps and ratatouille and vegetable soup and stir fry and a host of other great things. My problem now is that I'm running out of days faster than the meals I've planned (spring rolls, broccoli casserole, mulligatawny soup, minestrone, and the list goes on) .

Being busy and in charge of something (a time consuming something) also makes me enjoy the vacation more. No sitting around being a guest. Nope. I am part of the family. And because it keeps me busy, busy, busy I am happy. Between cooking and helping with Elisabeth, I don't have much time to sit around thinking about what I should do with my time. I wake up in the morning and I have a purpose for being awake. It's fabulous.

Productive = happy. Cooking = very happy. Being the chef = very, very happy. :)