Happiness Coach

We cooked dinner last night for our friends Jana and Kristen who we had not seen for a while. They were good enough to let me try a new recipe on them-one that my Dad had cooked when he was here. I think he got it out of Bon Appetit or Gourmet magazine, and it consisted of a spicy tomato, wine & onion sauce over fish. I used the sauce on the flounder filets that my stepfather Brian had caught and sent up with my mom. So it was a family meal all around. I like the recipe alot. I love onions, and this calls for lots of onions, wine, garlic & other herbs, diced tomatoes, and anchovy paste. I think the sauce would be good over pasta or as the sauce for mussels or other shellfish. When my Dad made it, there was extra which I used over toasted bread from Weaver St Market, kind of like a bruschetta.

Jana and Kristen had taken a few trips since the last time we had seen them. They just came back from an adventurous trip to France and Spain with Jana's parents. So we got to see their pictures of Paris, Arles, Provence, and Barcelona, among other sites. What a treat to take the photo tour with them.

Kristen's mother is retiring from a high level job with the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. She is starting her own business as a Happiness Coach. We didn't get many of the details, but I think it is something like a Life Coach. I was very intrigued by the idea and even the name of the job-happiness coach. It really appeals to me. I think it would be very different from being a therapist or psychologist. They have to learn about psychodynamics and delve into people's neuroses. On the other hand, a Happiness Coach could focus on practical skills to enhance optimism, resilience, and joy. We have all met people in our lives who have functioned as happiness coaches, unbeknownst to us. I think if I couldn't be a primary care doctor, I'd try to be a happiness coach. What a meaningful and fulfilling metier that would be. So to Kristen's Mom, I say you go girl!

Speaking of happiness, the builders just installed the playground equipment for our neighborhood green space, which is just behind our house (one of the reasons we picked the house we did). I wanted to be the first to go down the sliding board or climb onto the fort platform. It rained the day they finished putting all of the equipment together. But yesterday I got to climb aboard. Holly took some photos. I even beat all of the neighborhood kids to it. They were having fun on it yesterday afternoon though (we'd moved on to football.)