Livin' Large By Living Small

I am one week into my northern California stay, and it has occurred to me that my "footprint" is a lot lighter here than at home. My lovely cottage is no more than 600 square feet. Somehow, it feels like the right size to me....small,comfortable, homey, easy to clutter and then easy to pick up. My car is a Chevy Cobalt- it too is small, comfortable, homey, easy to clutter and then easy to pick up! Did I mention that the car is an ugly Rent a Wreck whose ignition takes at least three tries to fire up? Oh well. At any rate, neither the house or the car require air conditioning or heat.
The weather here has been like a scene from "Groundhog Day". Remember, in the movie, every day is an exact replica of the day before? Well, here, too. The mornings are cool, cloudy and foggy in the valley. Like clockwork, the whole shebang lifts at 11:00 a.m. and cloudless periwinkle skies and 80 degree weather gently dominate the day. The evenings are cool and clear, begging you to keep all of the windows open.
I have rented a bike and it is a great way to get around Sonoma. It's kind of has a Sanibel Island feel here, where biking trumps driving. Your perspective is so very different on a bike. For me, at least, I feel more "one" with what I am seeing and observing.
The food that I am eating, whether prepared in my kitchen or in a local market or deli, is all locally grown. Not one morsel has been anything less than scrumptious. Here are a few examples of my living and breathing food fantasy: Balsamic reduction vegetable stack (portabella, eggplant, tomato, zucchini, onion, basil and mozzarella), curried chicken salad with bing cherries, asparagus cakes, omelet (andoule sausage, tomato, caramelized onions and fresh herbs) and lemon risotto with baby lima beans.....does that paint a pretty good picture for you?
Speaking of paint, I'm just about to head out on my bike with my watercolors to see where my imagination takes me. As you can clearly see, I am livin' large in sumptuous Sonoma , while hopefully leaving a very small footprint. It feels so right.