The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for January 21 - 25, 2008
Regulars

These sweet gents come for lunch on a regular basis - about once a week, I think. That door just on the other side of their table is the door to my office. I love it when they are at the shop, their voices telling each other quiet stories. I'm not at all sure what they talk about, but they're always happy to see me and I'm always happy to see them. Just plain old happy.

I AM the luckiest

Jaime came back from the kitchen last week with the Sandwich of the Day. My desk is right next to hers and I listened to her gushing until I almost couldn't take it. And then, just when she had calmed down, she started talking about wanting another one! Thinking I could help her avoid getting overstuffed, I suggested that an Egg Salad, Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich might be a nice thing for ME to have. Before I knew it, one had appeared on my desk, complete with one of our pickles. Zounds. That was a great sandwich.

And then, making it a well-rounded day, Jaime did have another. Life in our office is good.

DeLIcious

I forgot to give you the details of our cookie contest winner. Here it is, Nancy's really wonderful Coconut and Oatmeal cookie. Nancy gets her name immortalized on our shelves. You get to eat this great sweet any time you want. Nice.

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 is this week's menu:


Monday January 21 Grilled Mesquite Chicken 9.95
Tuesday January 22 Chicken and Gorgonzola Linguine 9.95
Wednesday January 23 Orange Ginger Lamb Chops 11.75
Thursday January 24 Molasses BBQ Pork Ribs with Sweet Potatoes 12.25
Friday January 25 Crabcakes with Lemon Tomato Relish 12.25

Our website
Special casserole of the week

We make a special casserole each week, usually on Wednesday. Order before noon 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, January 23
Beef Stew with Parsnips and Peas
Full: 39.00
Half: 19.50

Ready to fill

Around 1:00 or so, the cooks wander back to the office and see how many orders we have for the evening's dinner or, as is the case on Wednesday, the casserole of the week.

I snapped this picture of Deb, who was really NOT rolling her eyes even though it looks like she might have been. She was getting ready to load up the half and full-sized casseroles for the night. I think it was Chicken Pot Pie, but I'm not quite sure. What matters is that they are made just a little bit before you come to pick them up. No frozen-forever food for you. Nope!

A goofy Nicole

We all got new sweatshirts for our Christmas present this year. Well, technically, we got them at our Christmas party which, as we always do, we celebrated in early January. Here's Nicole modeling hers. She was much more interested in her phone messages than she was in me taking her picture, and she was kind of wiggly, but the sweatshirts are really cute, sporting our favorite words: Don't Postpone Joy.

Very first outing

Annie and Stacey just got approved to be foster parents. Here they are with their first little fellow, on his first trip out of the house with them. I think it's terrific that they brought him to meet me and to sample our food. Well, he enjoyed his bottle while the two of them had brownies and sandwiches.

I loved the everyday-ness of our place. And the lovely, special parts of those very days.

A Note From Laurey


January 20, 2008

Another note written from away from home. Another note written later than I usually write. I’m in Kentucky and things just are slower when I’m not at home. I came here to attend a board meeting and, well, I’m still here. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. My sisters are here and so, now, am I. We saw a show at the Actor’s Theatre in Louisville yesterday and are seeing a concert here in Lexington tonight. Being with them is good. It’s nice to be with them. Nice to do things.

When I am here I attend Quaker meeting with my sisters. While the session is mostly silent, sometimes people are moved to stand up and speak. This morning people talked about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and about beautiful music and about violence, considering the juxtaposition of beauty and anger, light and dark.

Last week was a violent time for one family in Asheville. The son, a friend of mine, and one of my business’s suppliers, got killed by a crazed, angry gunman. I’ve know the parents forever, since my early days in Asheville. I’ve known his sister for years too. She used to be my neighbor in an apartment I had for a few years. We at work see many members of this family all the time as we get supplies from their water company each week. Seeing the picture of my friend is sobering. It’s way too close to me. It’s way too sad, too real, too awful.

And then I think about the beauty of some of the glass I’ve seen and have been making, or attempting to make. I wonder if it matters, making things that are just nice to look at. They don’t do much more than that. They don’t really help anyone. They don’t feed or clothe or heal anyone. And they can’t do a thing about a hideous violent act.

But this morning, at Quaker meeting, some people talked about how they were carried away when they listened to music and how it made them forget about turmoil and strife and unhappiness. And I know that glass has taken me away from those things and has provided a safe place for my mind to rest when things have felt out of control. So selfishly, I know that glass is a good thing for me. And I hope that there might be something good in it for someone else too. Maybe there is. Maybe there is something to making a beautiful thing that will help someone else get carried away from their strife.

I feel deep sorrow for my friend Tom’s family. And I hope that they can find some beauty and some solace in something, somewhere, sometime.

I’ll be I touch next week.

Our Star

Jaime brought me back a couple of these sparkly red stars. I'd been thinking of getting some too, and so her gift came at just the right time. This one hangs right next to my desk. Another one is on the wall in the office. They remind me, and all of us, of our mission: really good food, really good service, care of each other, care of you, and care of the earth. Five points. Five things to think about.

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