Softly, Slowly on a Sunday

It was a gentle morning in cloudy Grass Valley, CA and I woke to a potato scramble on the stove and the Cavs on the tele. Oh, the perks of living with one's parents! Unfortunately, the Cavs lost, but the scramble was good. I'll cut my losses. Today is a working day at the Flour Garden Bakery where the early afternoon has been steady but not overwhelmingly busy. I made the executive decision to put on my iPod instead of submitting to the powers of satellite radio - a solid decision. Iron and Wine is on loop and it seems to have brought with it a sense of subtle tranquility no doubt aided by the muted light radiating through the heavy clouds. Some slight sprinkles in the morning have given way to some gorgeous, fluffy cumulus clouds that hint at blue sky and sunshine behind. Perhaps a good day to be bustling around a cafe...

As I am munching a snack of chicken salad sandwich, cream of asparagus soup and an iced americano (something I would definitely recommend to a coffee fan interested in diversifying the palate), I am thinking about the amount of plastic I use every day - especially those that I am at work. The sandwich was shipped from out bakery location to the store in a plastic storage container to minimize soggyness, the soup was earlier packed in a plastic container to freeze and the drink I made in a plastic to-go container. If this is just one meal had by one customer, consider multiplying that by 300 (representing how many customers order coffee/food to-go each day at Flour Garden). The numbers are staggering. I feel like as a culture we are letting our guard down against unnecessary waste in the guise of convenience. It really wouldn't be that much harder for us to serve sandwiches on reusable plates and only offer up packages for customers to take things on the road. Alas, I am just one voice in the stream of a culture of convenience. New goal: one time each day I will opt against using a plastic container, or a bag to go. If 10 of us made this goal, that is 70 containers every week that we would save. Think about it and ask your friends to do the same perhaps. Maybe it really is the small things that make all the difference...