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The Weekly Newsletter |
Menus and Stories for October 27 - 31, 2008
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| Planning and visualizing |
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We have a big and exciting wedding tonight. The entire operation here is in high gear, and has been for a number of days, and, in some cases, months. We want it to be the very best we can manage and, on an event this complicated, there are many parts, many things to remember, many little touches to include. Here's my desk. Yeeps!
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...and more visualizing |
The dinner tonight will have five separate, plated courses, not including the starters or the sweets after it's all over. Each course has a different plate, different garnishes, different accompaniments, different requirements. Charlotte is my sous chef tonight and has a lot of experience with food styling and food photography. She's a stickler for detail and is the PERFECT 2nd for me. (She's also a lot more grounded than I am and so, when I go sailing up to the top of the tent, hyperventilating, she'll grab me and drag me back down.)
After our session the other day she sent me an e-mail. "Nice work, Masterton!"
THAT made my day!
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| In the midst of our week |
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Yup - here's our oven, one of our four, coming back after a stint at the hospital. It is the one we use most, being in the most accessible position in the kitchen. It gets open and shut about 100 times a day, conservatively. Well, the fan on the convection oven froze up and when the repair guy came to fix it, he realized that all the screws had welded themselves on and so he had to take the monster back to his shop where the heavy machinery waited.
We are all back in working order now, just in time.
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Dinners to go for this week |
| Dinners 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 (252-0200)or stop in to speak to one of us in person.
Dinners are ready at 4:30 and can be picked up until we close at 6:00 pm.
Monday October 27 Tarragon Chicken with Butternut Squash Gratin 9.95
Tuesday October 28 Seared Scallops and Tilapia with Braised Greens 13.25
Wednesday October 29 Ropas Viejas (Cuban Beef Stew) 11.25
Thursday October 30 Seafood Tetrazzini with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Chevre 14.25
Friday October 31 Cashew-crusted Tuna with Coriander Cream 14.25
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Our website |
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| Special casserole of the week |
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| 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, October 29
Sausage and Ratatouille Lasagna
Full: 37.50
Half: 18.85
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Jaime gets a present |
Just before she left for a two week jaunt to Italy, Jaime's computer monitor kicked the bucket. Emily brought an old one in and Jaime put on a brave face, bucked up, and gamely did her job, squinting and, surprisingly, smiling.
But this week she had to get in touch with a huge number of party staffers and had to make multiple lists and create multiple time lines and frankly, the little old hand-me-down was in danger of being kicked INTO the bucket. So I got her a new one.
Life can be so simple. So sweetly simple.
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| It's Halloween this week |
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Keep an eye out in the cafe for pumpkins and Halloween sweets of all sorts. Marty baked these last week and Stephanie, our most recent culinary school grad fixed them up and the kitchen staff liked them so much that they came back and demanded that I take their picture.
And they ARE sweet, I admit. Come see what's in store this week.
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Pumpkin feet |
It's a good thing that Henry is a sock maven. I can relax now and then, knowing that he will pick up the slack.
Pumpkin toes!
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| A Note from Laurey |
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| October 25, 2008
Oh I cannot believe it is this day, this day that I have had in my head for so many months. This big wedding is happening today, in just a few hours. I've been humming, buzzing, smiling, imagining this moment for a long time. I'm very happy that it is finally here. I'll bring my camera and will snap some pictures and will show them to you next week.
It is such a good and full time right now. The funds for my ride are coming in. The first deposit is due and I've been saving my own money, in addition to the money I'm raising, and am about to send that deposit check in. It is one thing to send in a token place holder check, which I did way back in May. At that point I was willing to risk that small amount. At that point I was certainly not at all sure that I could manage the time, the physical challenge, the fundraising, the logistics of it all. I'm about to write a big check and that, as if I was not committed (which I AM), is a real promise.
I'm about to ramp up the training aspect too. I've been poking along, getting used to being back on my bike, easing into a more ambitious schedule. I've now got about 4 months to get ready and it is time. Somehow I need to be on the bike more. Somehow I need to do harder workouts, longer sessions, more challenging exercises. And I don't want to get hurt. AND I do still want to blow glass and walk my pup and have time for work and life too.
I got a call this week from the executive director of OCNA, one of the major beneficiaries of my ride. The Ovarian Cancer National Alliance does good work for ovarian cancer advocacy and education about early warning signs. I'll be working with them before and after this ride. The call was about setting up a meeting here to talk about how to spread the word about my bike ride. I buzzed around even more when I imagined this meeting taking place - not that I needed any more stimulation this week (!) But then her associate called to say that date would not work after all and I grabbed on as the roller coaster plummeted down the incline that it had just ascended.
Hold on. Hold on. Here we go. Hold on.
I had an astrological reading a long time ago that said that my route this time around was to experience as much as possible and still remain calm. Ha! I have a t-shirt that says, "Balance" and I wear it every week. A reminder, close to my heart, next to my body. This past week I lost that balance a couple of times, caught up in the fray of this event tonight. I completely forgot one appointment that is a standing event for me - a workout with my pilates trainer. I showed up a whole hour early for my glassblowing slot. I snapped at the cooks once. Not good. THAT is not "remaining calm." This next week my intention is to do things differently.
In the midst of it all I have new friends and old friends and close family and distant family and pets and life and bees and work and all of it counts and all of it matters so very much. I am so grateful to be alive. Just to be alive. And that, when I grab myself, is the most important. The all of it.
Oh, and the breathing.
Three deep breaths, I'm told.
Three.
Okay.
I'll be in touch next week.
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Laurey Bikes |
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Learning and learning |
I LOVE having Henry here. Love it!
Emily is trying to teach him how to do the bank deposit. I guess it's never too early. But I secretly would rather learn more about playing with shiny colorful twirly things.
(When no one is in the office I go turn on all his little musical things and dance, all by myself.)
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