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While editing the August issue of canvas, a very interesting moment occurred while conversing with our copy chief, Lucy Saunders. I asked her to write about it for canvas’s blog, and here’s what she had to say:

Celebrity sightings are no big deal to us New Yorkers, and believe me, I’m not that easily impressed. But I had the best encounter ever the other day—and it was all because of canvas.

I copy edit the magazine, and have numerous conversations with editor Diana Murphy while it’s being put together. We had a talk scheduled recently while I had to be out and about, so I found a quiet corner right next to a side exit in the lobby of the Hyatt on 42nd Street. As we were chatting about one of the articles, a hotel employee approached me and said they were “moving a dignitary” and would I mind staying where I was for the next few minutes? Sure, no problem, I told him.

Well, the next thing I knew, I was five feet away from the Dalai Lama! And still on the phone with Diana, but not talking about work at that moment! I’ve heard him describe himself as “a simple monk,” but he has some kind of “energy field” around him that’s so strong I almost felt as though I could see it! Hard to describe, but he seems like the calm at the center of a storm. I literally got chills when he passed by me.

So, thanks Diana, because I never would have been there for that incredible experience if I hadn’t been working with you.

—Lucy Saunders, canvas Copy Chief

Lucy mentions she got chills when the Dalai Lama walked by, and I can tell you that I did, too, the moment she mentioned who the passing dignitary was. It seemed so fitting that while we were discussing copy edits on the upcoming article we’re running on taking “inner vacations”—meditative relaxation techniques to promote inner peace and well being—that the world’s most famous living embodiment of peace and well being should cross our path (well, hers, literally and mine via our cell phone connection).

To Lucy’s dismay, she didn’t get a photo of the Dalai Lama as he walked by (my fault as she had her hands full of layouts with copy fixes and couldn’t reach into her purse for her ever-handy digital camera quickly enough); but at least she had me as a witness to share that special moment—one we’ll both surely remember for the rest of our lives.

And it’s me who should be thanking you, Lucy, for sharing this brief encounter and helping canvas mind our Ps and Qs, no matter where you are or what celebs you may be brushing shoulders with. We appreciate your continual hard work and dedication, and are so lucky to have you as part of the canvas team.

—Diana Murphy, canvas Editor in Chief

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. I had the pleasure of spending the Independence Day weekend in the Berkshires at my mother’s lake house, where we saw a plethora of wildlife, took long walks with our dog, went kayaking, and enjoyed some of the local cultural offerings. The area around Lenox, Stockbridge, and Great Barrington, is a hotbed of activity in the summer, drawing crowds of people to attend local theater, dance, and music, stroll countless galleries and museums, and dine in restaurants hawking a delicious array of seasonal, locally grown foods. It’s truly a cultural mecca, and one that I’m happy to see being emulated here on Long Island in more and more areas including Huntington and the East End.

A couple of highlights of the weekend included stumbling upon a gallery in Kent, CT, on the drive up to Massachusetts, where an amazing sculpture drew our attention enough to prompt stopping for a closer look. A giant raven perched upon an equally giant acorn was poised on the precipice of a thick stone slab bench. “This would be fabulous at the edge of the lake,” I said to my husband, before inquiring about the sculpture and finding out it was sold (alas, at $38,000 it was way out of our price range, anyway, but it’s nice to dream). Later in the weekend we attended “All’s Well that Ends Well,” at Shakespeare & Co., which put a fresh spin on the classic with a troubadour leading the chorus with a sort of Celtic-rock schtick. Apparently it received a terrible review, but we thoroughly enjoyed it; after all, how boring can it get performing the same play year after year, decade after decade, century after century; it was refreshing to see the director take a chance by breathing a modern twist into an old saw. Campy, yes, but fun nonetheless, and Shakespeare doesn’t really get campier than “All’s Well that Ends Well” so why not take it to the Nth degree? Bah humbug is all I can say to the reviewer.

We are so lucky to have such a wide array of cultural happenings available to us here on Long Island, and nearby in New York, the Berkshires, Boston, and D.C.  Pity the poor fool that says “There’s nothing to  do!” as there is PLENTY to do and see. Just take one look at the canvas calendar of events and you’re sure to find something fun to do. I’m looking forward to the upcoming canvas events, including Open Mic Night on July 10 and Green Drinks on the 17th. Hope to see you there!

In the May 2008 issue of canvas magazine, writer Elyce Neuhauser’s thought-provoking article entitled “Conscious Consumption” has had a particularly strong impact on my relationship with food.

Food is a subject that borders on obsession with me, and from the proliferation of cookbooks, culinary magazines and newsletters, and cooking shows (not to mention an entire network) that exist, I know I’m not alone. We foodies are everywhere—virtually all regions and cultures share a common interest in what we consume, and have put their own spin on creating concoctions out of essentially the same general categories of ingredients. There is an unmatched level of pride and personal identity attached to food, which interestingly is a common thread spanning the globe throughout history. Food defines us, whether it’s what we cook, or what we choose to eat.

I spend an inordinate amount of time obsessing about food: cooking, eating, reading and writing about it, watching it being prepared (I can’t get enough of Giada or the Barefoot Contessa and yes, I’ll admit that while reality TV is not usually my cup of tea, I’m hooked on Top Chef, too). Dinner is a main topic of conversation with my husband, and when we are eating we tend to talk about what the next meal will be. Add the fact that my brother is a chef to the mix, and you can imagine what my conversations with him revolve around, too.

But despite all this attention I pay to this humble subject, Elyce’s article shed new light onto my fixation: how often do I really savor each bite? Focus on the flavors, textures, aromas, colors of what I’m eating? Truth be told, unless it’s a particularly delicious dark chocolate truffle—which I’ve always eaten in tiny bites, letting each one melt on my tongue until fully dissolved—I really don’t pay as much attention to my food while consuming it as I do thinking about it the rest of the day. So thanks to her, I’m actually taking more time to enjoy what I’m eating. Just now, for example, while writing this blog, between sentences I’ve been sipping a particularly delicious cup of Darjeeling tea, forcing myself to stop and really taste it rather than simply swigging it while I type. It starts off flowery, then gets deeper and stronger as it passes over my palate, then has a lingering finish that leaves such a pleasant, delicate herbal flavor behind.

Have you ever noticed that no two cups of tea taste exactly the same? Or have you ever wondered, as I have, about how we all can follow the same exact Toll House cookie recipe and no two person’s version ever tastes the same?

Do you obsess about these things, too? We’d love to know what your relationship with food is. Do you eat simply to put hunger at bay, or take time to plan your meal, and truly focus on it while you eat it? We want to know! Please post your comments below.

-Diana Murphy, canvas editor in chief

Lately I’ve been suffering from full-blown eco-guilt. Every wrapper, newspaper, bottle, can, and food scrap nags at me, to the point that’s practically bordering on obsession.

This is nothing new—since I was a kid the environment has always been a concern to me (yes, Mom, all those years at summer camp backpacking through the Adirondacks did leave an impression!)—and over the years I’ve guiltily skulked through life often doing all the things I know are bad: leaving too many lights on, or my computer on Sleep overnight; using a paper towel instead of a terrycloth one; wrapping half an onion that I know I’ll forget about at the bottom of the veggie bin and end up throwing out, dried and decrepit, anyway. There are so many things we all could do differently every day, so many small things that totaled up can make a huge difference.

You see, if you break down all the things we do every day, there isn’t a single thing we can’t simply choose a better way of doing. So why do we keep doing it? Throwing away the plastic yogurt container into the regular trash instead of the recycle bin? Tossing out piles of circulars with the rest of the daily mail’s discarded envelopes instead of putting it into the recycle pile? Buying a cup of coffee (or tea, in my case) at the deli instead of brewing one at home? Driving to the gym and walking the treadmill for 15 minutes before starting the weight circuit instead of walking to the gym in the fresh air. Using foil instead of a reusable plastic container to wrap up leftovers (or is it worse having to wash the container—does it use too much water—and hot water at that? And is the soap in the wastewater further wreaking havoc?!?!?!).

Have I made my point?

Yes, I’m guilty. I admit it. I know better but too often succumb to all these same nasty habits, even though that little voice is screaming inside my head, shouting “STOP! WAIT! DON’T DO IT!”

But the good news is that voice gets louder every day, and each day I find myself stopping and thinking before tossing. And making small changes. Like saving the plastic containers from flats of annuals and starting new seeds in them. Signing up to be removed from junk mail lists. Composting kitchen scraps instead of tossing them. Not printing out anything that I really don’t need a hard copy of that I know I’ll end of throwing out later. Remembering to put the yogurt container in the recycle bin instead of the trash. The list is getting bigger every day, so I guess that little voice is beginning to get through.

What are some of the things you’re doing, or changes you’ve made to put a dent in the amount of trash we as a society collectively accumulate? We wanna know! Please share your comments below.

—Diana Murphy, Editor in Chief of canvas Magazine

In the Editor’s Letter of the February issue of canvas magazine, I ponder whether it’s more eco-friendly and perhaps inexpensive to cook from scratch or order take-out. The fact is, home cooking often requires many ingredients that add up to a chunk of change and a considerable pile of trash. Just think of all those wrappers our food is usually sold in. Between the packaged goods, dairy items, and even produce—which often comes wrapped in typical supermarkets—we end up disposing of an incredible amount of garbage over the course of a day, not to mention a week or year for that matter. And that’s just for cooking!

Being a self-proclaimed foodie, cooking happens to be one of my favorite activities, and homemade foods are usually much tastier (and healthier) than store-bought or take-out, so I probably won’t change this aspect of my lifestyle. Yet since it’s just me and my husband (and our dog, who I don’t actually cook for—though my niece does for hers, but that’s another story altogether), it’s difficult to buy in bulk unless we’re entertaining. That means lots of wrappers resulting from each individual ingredient when I cook. Each night, as the trash bin fills up higher and higher, I feel more and more guilty about how much I’m adding to the landfill. Of course, we recycle to the full extent that our town accepts, but there is still plenty of refuse that currently cannot be recycled.

I have to resign myself to the fact there is no easy solution for this dilemma, though now that I think about it, there is one practice I should finally adopt: Composting. Looking back, it’s hard to believe, after nearly two decades of encouraging people to compost in various publications, that I haven’t actually done so myself. Who, more than me—former editor of two national gardening magazines and websites, not to mention umpteen books on the subject—better understands the benefits of composting? Compost not only reduces the amount of trash being added to the landfill, it also generates what we gardeners refer to as “black gold,” the crème de la crème of soil enhancers, adding nutrients and aeration for healthy plants. There are many wonderful composting bins on the market, so it’s about time I make the leap by ordering one and doing my part to reduce refuse while helping naturally boost the soil in my garden.

You heard it first: I vow to begin composting starting immediately. But as for the rest of the garbage problem, I’m interested to know what practices you suggest to help limit what ends up in the landfill. Also, we’d love to hear your thoughts on whether it might be more responsible to cook, discarding many wrappers from several ingredients, or purchase take-out, since restaurants likely buy more ingredients in bulk than we do for home use. Please take this opportunity to join the conversation, and add your comments below.

—Diana Murphy, canvas Editor in Chief