A Chic Paris Lockdown – Part 2: Day 28 – Focus on the Positives

 November 30, 2020

In Day 28 of 30 Chic Days At Home, author Fiona Ferris encourages us to “Take the wins” – focus on the positive things that we have done recently like being more patient or creative. The things that we might have done that would not fit under the “positive” heading, let’s shake those off and get back on track. Fiona writes that it’s more helpful to focus on the good things that we have done and give ourselves a pat on the back. That way we build momentum and keep heading in that positive direction. Beating ourselves up for whatever we might have done (like slacking off over the weekend or diving headfirst into the mint-chocolate-chip ice cream) actually makes us more likely to repeat the negative action. 

Here in Paris on this cold, grey day, I was full of vim and vigor and a positive attitude this morning on my lovely coffee-gratitude walk. After breakfast, my son and I dove into making beef broth for my son’s signature Borscht (beef&beet) soup. We did a lightning-quick raid on the market street before all the shops closed at noon (most of the little shops close at noon on Sunday and don’t open again until Tuesday morning.) Back at the apartment, we popped the beef bones into the oven to roast (as Julia Child instructs in Mastering the Art of French Cooking.) All lots of fun.

Fast forward a few hours, and I was out of energy and out of interest in cooking (and cleaning.) The kitchen was a wreck and I just wanted to take a nap (and someone else to clean up!) And, after I got a good look at the (rather expensive) piece of beef that I had bought  – it looks pretty strange. The big bones with marrow are always great. The particular pieces of meat? Let’s just say that one of the joys of living in Paris (and not being perfectly fluent in French) is that buying meat at the boucherie can be an expensive learning experience.

Happily, my daughter suggested a walk back over to the market street to inspect the Christmas trees (Sapins de Noel) for sale.  The tree guys were doing a brisk business. Even standing in the chilly wind,  it was fun to watch families seriously discussing the merits of the different trees. (Today is definitely cold enough to wear a wool scarf and heavy wool coat.) The crisp breeze and the colorful street buoyed my mood. Maybe we can just finish the beef broth tonight and put it in the ‘fridge. Tomorrow is time enough to do the rest of the borscht. Let’s count the beef broth today (and cleaning the kitchen) as a “win” and continue tomorrow with the rest of the soup. We can always have a baguette and ham and cheese for a “picnic-style” dinner…