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The Weekly Newsletter for July 9-13, 2012 |
A week of Fun for the Fourth
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| Red shoes |
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Henry and I were well shod this week for our Fourth of July party. See, last year a tiny group of us decided to have a picnic and watch fireworks downtown. But it was hot and crowded and we ended up here at the shop with running water, air conditioning, and seats.
Presto! A tradition was born!!
This year we planned to stay inside for the picnic and then venture out for the nighttime festivities. It really was the most perfect solution. (I'm a big fan of running water.) |
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Cotton candy |
| Earlier in the day we went to a small local parade and picnic with decorated bicycles and fire trucks spraying water around and kids getting all mucked up with sugar. This was my second year at this parade. There is something so fun about sitting in the middle of a whole bunch of people who have all dragged out their red and white and blue clothes, pinwheels, and crepe paper. |
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| Dinners to go for the week |
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We make dinners to go Monday through Friday.
Call 252-1500 by noon or so and then come pick up your dinners between 3 and 7, when we close. Add a salad for 3.25 or bread for 1.25.
Monday, July 9
Roast Chicken, Fennel and Scallions with Broccoli Salad 7.95 (GF)
Tuesday, July 10
Fried Green Tomato Stacks with Three Bean Salad 7.50
Wednesday, July 11
Lamb Meatballs with Spaghetti and Garlic Bread 8.75
Thursday, July 12
Mom’s Meatloaf with Cheddar Mashed Potatoes 7.95
Friday, July 13
Pan-fried Shrimp with heirloom Tomato and Cucumber Salad 9.50 |
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Laurey's |
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Casserole and Lasagnas to go for this week |
Casserole of the week:
Wednesday, July 11
Crawfish and Hickory Nut Gap Sausage Gumbo
Whole: 65 Half: 32.50
Lasagna of the week:
Friday, July 13
Local, Hickory Nut Gap Beef and Balsamic Onion Lasagna
Whole: 59 Half: 29.50
Call by noon and then come pick up between 3 and 7 |
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| Sweet and more sweet stuff |
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| I think this is Henry's first sno-cone, though I'm not sure. All I can say for certain is that he, along with a whole lot of other kids, had white t-shirts that turned bright green or flaming orange or purple or whatever color their sno-cone was. I watched one fellow methodically dipping his potato chips into his orange slush. MMMMM...! |
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My investiture |
I had a visit this week from 5 of my friends from the ride across the Southern Tier of the United States. Once they'd heard about the Fourth festivities last summer they decided to have a reunion here this year.
This photograph is of me being inducted into the Busy Bee Mail Club. I'm only the second person to be in it outside of the original members, all of whom are related by birth or marriage. Quite the honor!
(It doesn't hurt that I'm going to be a real live published author of a bee book!!!) |
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| Sweet Bees |
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| And, since it was my cake, it was mine to sample in my own way - with a big finger full of frosting. I think that's part of the initiation ritual actually. |
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Keeping watch |
Tye, my most precious pup, monitored the doings, waiting for a taste of something (she got a bone), trying to understand these silly women all dressed up in our festive crowns and capes.
Tye is really the most wonderful companion. She does not judge. She is a willing participant in any activity. And, most of all, she thinks I am terrific! (As do I her.) |
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| A word or two from Laurey |
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July 7, 2012
Good morning to you on this hot July morning. We've had quite a week here, with the 4th coming in the middle of the week. It has felt like the whole week was a vacation, though it wasn't. Still, there is something about being in this town, with its many visitors, to give one the impression that it is vacation time.
I decided this week not to ride across Iowa this summer. After a lot of back and forthing, the smart thing seems to be to commit to the treatments rather than to push like crazy to ride, when riding might be more of a push than I need. I have tested a number of ways of putting it and saying, “I am devoting all my attention to working with my treatments,” seems to fit well. I will continue to ride around here as I can and will look forward to going to Austin in October to ride with Lance Armstrong – which will be VERY cool! For now, I’m staying put and focusing on healing.
One very good thing about this week, in addition to all the Fourth of July silliness, is that I am now connected to the Livestrong support network. I alluded to this in my last note. I have raised a lot of money for a lot of different groups over the past number of years. I always believe in the missions of the organizations, and I always believe that the funds I am helping raise are well-used. But I must say that I am completely bowled over by Livestrong. Once my ride mentor found out I was headed back for more treatment he connected me with some folks who are really helping me wrap my mind around this turn. It’s all by phone but these are sincere and good conversations that are helping me figure out how to be. And it makes me feel better than ever about helping them.
The ride across Iowa starts at the end of this month. And even though I am not riding this year, I have decided to continue to raise funds for them up until the start of the ride. So, if you would like to be on my team, follow the link at the end of this article and it will take you to my fundraising page at Livestrong where you can make a donation. 100% of these funds go to helping cancer support services – like counseling for people like me who are trying to figure out things like how to be upbeat in the midst of a scary situation. Thank you for considering a donation – even though I will not actually be riding across Iowa.
In other news (yes, there IS other news) – I have started working with the editor of my book. She sent me the first look at the edited manuscript. This is SO cool! I love reading her comments, thinking about the book, imagining how it is going to be. It’s real – not merely an imagined project. There really will be a book and that is very, very fun. I might get to do a few little drawings for it. It is really, really exciting to see my words turning into a book. My editor has ideas for how to make certain parts stand out. She is tossing around thoughts with me and it’s, well, just a fine thing for me.
I hope you had a fun Fourth. It’s really summer now. Tonight is our first outdoor concert downtown – Shindig on the Green, a fun bluegrass-y evening. Good old-fashioned fun. The fireflies are in full swing. The cicadas have started up. With the rain things are very green and lush and my bees are sucking it all up, turning their collected nectar drops into the next batch of Stoney Knob Gold.
Life is good. Life is. Good. I’ll be in touch next week. |
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Laurey's Livestrong Page |
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Protecting |
At the end of the week we had one of those terrifyingly loud booming thunderstorms. The lightning and thunder exploded simultaneously at one point. Tye, who had been dozing on the floor, projected herself onto my bed, where I had been napping, and smashed herself up next to me, trying to hide her own fear.
"Gotcha Mom," she seemed to say.
We stayed there, huddled together until the storm passed, and then went back to our separate naps. |
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