The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for August 27 - 31, 2007
Emily's Birthday Bouquet

Yesterday was Emily's birthday. (She's our "person in charge"). Cate, one of the shopsters, grows all kinds of things at her house and, though she says this year's garden is meager, she managed to pull together a beautiful box full of grapes and herb-infused olive oil and flowers and this bouquet of herbs and greens. Gorgeous, yes?

Happy Birthday Em.

Another bouquet

We're buying a lot of basil these days. Our basil folks brought this collection of things from their garden in and I plunked it right in front of my computer so this view is what I get to see if I look up. (With my new computer there is less of a visual barrier between me and the shop so this bunch of color arrived at just the right time for me.)

Whewf!!

Anne's flowers

The flowers in the cafe right now are Anne's. Last week we had Barry and Laura's. If I had more tables (yipes - perish the thought!!!) I'd have more flowers from more farmers. Anne also supplies us with our kirby cukes which become our pickles (I think I told you about them last week.)

Dinners to go

Dinners, as you know, come with a freshly-made green salad, salad dressing of the day, and made-right-here bread of the day. We take reservations until noon or so. Please order by phone (252-1500), by FAX (252-02002) or stop in to speak to one of us in person.

As a reminder, every time you order a dinner to go you are eligible to enter our drawing. Just drop a card in our drawing jar (a business card works or fill out one of the cards that we have right here) and, at the end of the month, we'll pull one card which will be good for two free dinners-to-go.

Maybe you'll win next month.

Order a lot? Enter a lot!
Good luck!!

Here's this week's menu:



Monday August 27 Chicken Cacciatore with Linguine 9.95
Tuesday August 28 Summer Polenta with Market Fresh Vegetables 9.95
Wednesday August 29 Fish and Chips 12.75
Thursday August 30 Seared Tuna with Braised Local Greens 16.75
Friday August 31 Pork Loin with Braised Local Fennel 13.25

Our website
Special casserole of the week

We make a special casserole each week. Order before noon on Wednesday and we'll have yours ready to pick up between 4:30 and 6:00 that very afternoon. (Yes, you can order in advance too.) Order a full for 9 portions or, if your gang is smaller, opt for the half-sized one, which serves 4 or so.

Say, we'll happily make a salad and provide bread for you if you like, just let us know when you call and we'll get you all set up.

Wednesday, August 29
End of Summer Chicken Pot Pie
Full 34.25
Half 17.25

Jennifer and HER flowers

And sometimes our carafes are filled with color from this gal's booth. The market is FULL these days, drawing me and many others in. I want to cling to them, to this time, to this color. It will slip away before we know it and all will be much less riotous. On the seasons tromp. On we go.

Meanwhile, in OUR backyard

This fig tree appeared from who knows where. It lives, thriving and huge and full, right behind the dumpster. Perhaps it reminds us that beauty is to be found everywhere. Each year Martha prunes it down to nothing and each year, right about now, it fills out and beckons, promising real fruit soon enough.

Volunteer sunflowers

These delicate beauties showed up in the middle of the gravel path in our back yard. Martha's tended the place very well, and there are many beds filled with intended blooms. This one, however, showed up all on its own, a gift from a sloppy bird's involvement with our bird feeder.

Volunteer gardening is my favorite kind - things growing when and where they will. In one of the gardens at home there is a strong tomato plant that has emerged in the middle of one of the flower beds. The tomatoes in the tomato patch are scraggly, but this other one, the one I did not plant, is going to produce a bumper crop. Go figure.

A Note From Laurey

August 25, 2007

Hiya,

We’ve had quite a week with our computers. As I told you, I got a new one. The reason for making this change was so that I ccould take my new computer, a laptop, with me on my increasingly regular travels. But until I got it all working reliably, I kept the old one here on my desk. Things were pretty crowded! I had stacks of things everywhere and had a hard time finding room to do anything at all.

By last week we (heh – heh – make that Bill, the sweetest, most patient computer fixer EVER) had made this new one work quite well, so it was time to shift things around.

Emily wanted my old monitor, a slim, flat-screen, so it went to her. Jaime was using an old humming monster of a relic, and so Emily’s old NON-humming, black, smaller monitor, went to Jaime. My old mouse went to Noel. Noel’s old mouse went to the emergency pile, the just-in-case-we-need-it collection of parts. My old keyboard went there too. Jaime’s old monitor is going to go to the Habitat store (unless you want it!)

I now have room on my desk but, um, now I don’t have anything in between me and the people who come back to say hi or who dine in the back of the café or , well, who drop off a bill. I’m out in the open. Yipes! Yesterday was good because Jaime gave Emily a beautiful, huge Jasmine plant and we put it in front of my laptop computer and I felt hidden. But Emily took it home so here I am again. Gotta go find something. Hmm. Maybe later today.

More importantly, now that things are straighter here I can get some work done. I haven’t been able to figure out where to put anything so I haven’t really done any of the writing projects I have on my plate. Oh dear. Today will be my catch up day.

One good thing that happened last week, other than playing musical computer parts, was that I met with a guy who is helping us see how much energy we use here. My wish is to have NO carbon footprint, though that will mean buying credits in addition to being more frugal. You might notice that our lights are off during the day sometimes. When it’s bright (and hot) outside, the staff has been keeping the lights low or off. Good for the heat in here, good for the earth out there. I’ll keep you posted on our progress in this pursuit.

Next week is September. Enjoy this last week of August, won’t you? Go buy some locally grown produce or flowers or meat. We’ve got to keep these farmers in business or we’ll all be in trouble. Don’t forget, okay? If you live here, there are many markets in many places each week. If you don't know where to go, call me or consult a Local Food Guide. We have them here in the shop - they're free for your viewing pleasure.

I’ll be in touch next week.


Spike these days

Spike is keeping himself entertained these days, chewing on the rug, biting Chris on the ear, roaring around like a maniac before crashing into a deep sleep - after getting all the people in the room riled up and frazzled. He'll calm down at some point. It's just not clear when that will be.

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