The Weekly Newsletter
Menus and Stories for June 23 - 27, 2008
Cate's Caravan
This has to be one of the cutest little caravans I've ever seen.  Built by Lou (the guy pouring the coffee) and dreamed up by Cate (peeking out the window), this cutie pie trailer is a new regular fixture at the City Market, just down the hill from us, on Saturday mornings.  Cate still works here some, especially on parties.  But if you want a pick-me-up when you're shopping down there, stop in to say hello to her.

And if you want a caravan of your own, like I do - for my backyard! -  see Lou.

Summer at home
Sometimes, like right about now, my gardens make me completely happy.  The early sun fills up my yard with its thick light and I stand at my kitchen door just drinking it in.  Since today is the first day of summer I thought I'd indulge myself (and, by extension, you) by showing you some current snaps of my morning's delight.

Out front
The other night I went home, planted colors in the pots next to the steps to my front door.  The brick path was kind of sloppy, filled with weeds and dead Cicadas (alas).  The new plants cajoled and urged me to clean up those weeds, which I did.  I moved a few things around and now, instead of clutter, the entrance is airy and spacious and welcoming.  A fine place to come home to.

Dinners to go for this week
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           June 23            Chicken Gorgonzola Fettuccine 10.25

Tuesday           June 24            Trout Filet with Squash Casserole and Hoppin’ John 13.25

Wednesday      June 25            Local Pork Loin with Bacon Scalloped Potatoes 13.25

Thursday          June 26            Beef Tips in a Madiera Sauce 12.75

Friday              June 27            Lemon Herb Tuna Filet with Braised Local Greens 14.25

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,  June 25

Local Italian Sausage, White Bean, and Spinach Cassoulet

Full: 39.50

Half: 19.75



 

In the early morning sun
When my sisters and I were little we had a place at the end of the road where we made "kingdoms."  Mine was a fallen tree which accommodated me and my little life in fine style.  My porch is Tye's kingdom.  She can wander in and out, can survey the land, can monitor the comings and goings of everyone in the area.  My sister pointed out that Tye has been missing from these notes for a while.  My sister has been in London with my other sister for the past week. Here's her welcome home present!!

My front lawn
What a pretty place!  Perky chairs, perky colors, perky garden goddess hidden in the foliage.  Summer is a good thing.

I found out that Mercury has been in retrograde since early May.  It stopped that nonsense on the 20th.  Thank HEAVENS!  It has been positively crazy around here.  It's like everyone has been fed some mysterious liquid that makes them dizzy or silly or forgetful or careless or sad or just plain stupid.  It got so bad that I Googled, "what the heck is going on with Mercury?"  The answer about the retrograde (which translates into things being crazy) came back in a flash and, fortunately, it's now done.

So that kind of crazy energy during the day makes me especially happy to get home to where it is quiet and sweet.

Glass in the garden
That morning light catches the orbs of glass too.  I have some hung on a shepherd's crook, some tucked into the flowers, and some floating in my birdbath.  As an experiment, I left them out all winter long and they did just fine.  I'm thinking of adding a fountain (I think about a whole bunch of things but don't always get right to them) and bobbing glass will be a nice addition, I think.  If and when I do that I'll show you, of course.

A Note From Laurey

June 21, 2008

Hi there,

Happy  Summer.  Finally!  Summer is good.  Town is filled with visitors.  Home is filled with quiet.  And now, as I mentioned, those blasted Cicadas have gone into hiding, not to be heard from or seen for the next 17 years.  I will not miss them at all.  The ground is still littered with them but I assume they’ll decompose and be dust pretty soon.  In the meantime, the lightening bugs are here and THAT is a delight!  I never knew how special they were, aside from the regular glee I felt when they appeared in the summers of my Vermont childhood.  But, once I found out that they don’t exist at all in places like California, I became especially attentive and appreciative. 

Around my house, around this time of year, the lawn, at dusk, fills with rising dots of light.  The show does not last too long.  By complete darkness they have gone to bed.  But that in between time is a wonder.  If you live somewhere where they don’t exist, you really must come visit a place like here. 

I get blasts of Vermont on a regular basis which always makes me happy.  I love Vermont.  Love my still clear, still sweet, still pure memories of that place.  In this past week I have had two surprise Vermont references show up.  One was a fellow who went to a boy’s camp near Blueberry Hill when he was a child.  He has clear memories of visiting our Inn.  I’m going to Vermont in a couple of weeks to speak to a group of Vermont writers.  Looks like I will also get to have a visit with the gent who was the camp’s director way back then.  I love meeting people who knew my parents and so now I have this to look forward to.

And I got a letter from someone who read the story about me and Asheville in Eric Weiner’s book, The Geography of Bliss.  Reading my words about my Vermont connection, she did a little Googling and found me and put a few things together and now we’re reconnected too. She remembered me from the time WE worked together at a camp in Vermont.  I never know who is going to show up in the café. I never know what is going to be tucked into an envelope on my desk.  And I never know who to expect on the phone.  Makes my days most interesting, that’s for sure.

We’re having a busy day here.  One wedding is underway.  One 50th anniversary party is getting its finishing touches.  Yesterday I got to be decorator babe.  As I piped the swirls and leaves and whorls onto their anniversary cake I mused about them and about being together for 50 years.  They have the candy orchid that topped their wedding cake.  That piece will get put on top of our little cake later on this afternoon.  When they showed it to me they pointed out that this flower had been kept in a freezer for all these years.  12 different freezers, to be exact.  I think that’s amazing.  I get to go say hello to them in a little while.  Maybe I’ll snap a photo of our cake and their flower.  Seems like that is a picture worth keeping. 

Okay – time to go tend to some things on my desk.  We have another busy week ahead of us and now is the time to get things in order. 

Have a fun summer time.  I’ll be in touch next week. 

Oh, I tucked a little reminder at the end of the Dinner to Go piece but I want to remind you that we’re going to have a July 4th picnic dinner to go.  I’ll tell you about it next week but do keep us in mind for that night’s meal if you’re so inclined.)

My Bee bench
When I get home I now go up the hill and sit on this little bench and watch the girls flying around, getting oriented, doing their bee work.  The dog and the cat come up with me, climb up on the bench with me, and keep track of things.  Life is slow up there on my bench with the bees, which, these days, is just perfect.

• • • •