The Sweetness of Doing Nothing...

The other night, while flipping through channels, I came upon the movie Eat, Pray, Love. While I am not a huge Julia Roberts fan and the movie does a mediocre job of bringing the book to the screen,  I loved this book by Elizabeth Gilbert, and I cannot help myself when it is on the TV - I have to stop and watch it.

My favorite part of the film, and the book for that matter, is the section when Gilbert is in Italy, reconnecting with a sensual side of herself that is open to new experiences, to change and the lack of surety, to "the sweetness of doing nothing" (il dolce far niente, for you Italians out there). We Americans seem to have utterly lost the capacity to enjoy the lull, to sit in one another's company and just shoot the breeze. When I was a kid, I remember adults sitting around for hours, usually with beer or wine and some good food involved, talking and laughing throughout the afternoon and evening. Nowadays, there always seems to be a rush to the finish.

So, today, I embraced the sweetness of doing nothing. I went and had lunch with my husband on his break from work. I took a nap this afternoon. I'm about to cook something yummy for dinner. We all need a break now and then to relish the deliciousness of everyday life. Relish. What a great word. ~Alice

Lunch at Lagerheads in Coal Center along the
Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh (what a name for a town). 

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned Hot Italian hoagie. Yummo!!! 

This place gives the kids Play-Doh as soon as you walk in the door. This is about the most perfect distraction in a restaurant I can imagine:).