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The Weekly Newsletter for August 4, 2014
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Our playground at Blueberry Hill
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Every summer day, and most summer nights, Laurey and I romped on the sloping lawn and broad dirt road of Blueberry Hill Farm.
Lucinda, older and saddled with much of the responsibility of learning how to run the Inn, joined us to play shadow tag some evenings.
Mostly I recall it was Laurey, and me. And the big green lawn, the road, and the field.
As the dark drew down, we were allowed to stay outside "just a little longer", as long as we stayed within the reach of floodlight on the front of the house.
The cold settled in from the hills, we dashed about, slid on the grass, skipped and made up new steps, new games. No TV - our parents "didn't believe in it" - just reading and running and tag tag tag.
Blueberry Hill is still there, and the lawn, and the green. Just thought you'd like to take another look this summer evening.
- from Heather Masterton
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Dinners to go for the week
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Here are dinners to go for this week. This, if you do not know, is a fabulous way to have dinner. It's easy - just call us by noon and your dinner will be ready for you to pick up by 3 that very day.
You can stop by to pick yours up until we close at 8.
Add salad (3.25) or bread (1.25) if you like.
Monday, August 4
 Fried Chicken with Ham & Roasted Corn Spoonbread $8.95
Tuesday, August 5
Hungarian Mushroom Paprikash over Parmesan Egg Noodles $7.95
Wednesday, August 6
Orange Blossom Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin $9.95*GF*
Thursday, August 7
Steak Enchiladas with Rice $9.25
Friday, August 8
Pan Fried NC Trout Filet with New Potatoes $11.95
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Casserole and Lasagnas to go !
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Casserole of the Week
 whole serves (9) ~ half serves (4)
Wednesday, Aug 6 Cajun Shrimp Pot Pie
Whole $60/Half $30
Lasagna of the Week
whole serves (9) ~ half serves (4)
Friday, Aug 8 Traditional Hickory Nut Gap Beef
Whole $52.95/Half $26.50
...in the case! Looking Glass Cheeses!
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It's late July and just in from the farms...Squash, Beets, Beans, Tomatoes!
special thanks this week to...
Laura and Barry at B&L Organics
Paul and Claudine Cremer at Meadow Cove Farms
Ryan Buxman at Lettuce Bee Farming
* Lovely Kate brings lovely zinnias to your table!
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Laurey's notes (from a lifetime of writing)
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[So much has been written about Laurey and her life projects, but of course the best spokesman is Laurey herself. In this column we present archival reprints of her messages. This is an early newsletter from her online records.]
September 13, 2004
Last weekend was our staff Labor Day excursion. We had been planning this trip for a whole year. That's how long it takes to make the necessary reservations, take the days off, alert the customers, and all that. When you plan a trip a year in advance you just can't predict what the weather is going to be.
As we all now know, our trip came right in the middle of Hurricane Frances. We glued ourselves to the internet, trying to decide whether or not to go to the beach in Charleston. At one point it looked like our little beach house was going to be right in the middle of the storm. But then it turned and seemed to be on a different path and we decided to go.
Saturday was lovely. We had just enough time to sit in the sun without getting too much of that good thing. The water currents ran strong, but not so much that we had to stay out of the water. We put ourselves on an unspoken buddy system and everyone seemed to have a nice time.
Sunday was cloudy, windy, overcast. But again, this did not keep us from enjoying the day. Marty, Deb's husband, had made bread and we sliced it up and had French Toast for breakfast before heading out to the surf. It rained off and on, and no one really felt like sitting out on the beach because the sand was blowing around pretty vigorously. But we jumped around and it was fun enough. Maurie's boyfriend had brought a little plug-in video game thing and we had some fierce Ms. Pac Man competitions whenever the rain was too strong.
Sunday was a different story. We woke to howling winds that morning so any thought of beach sitting slipped away. Zayt, our dishwasher, did go out wading but no one else left the porch. And finally we all grouped up, packed our cars, and scampered off to a rainy IMAX movie (that was surprisingly stupid, though the idiotic dialogue provided us with the rest of the day's amusement) and made our way back to the mountains. Rainy, yes, but fun enough. Thanks again for giving us the time off.
As you know, the Hurricane continued up the coast on  Tuesday. It rained and rained and rained and RAINED here. I have never ever sent his much rain in my life. Anyone who lives here knows the next part of this story, but I know there are a fair number of you readers who do not live here, so here's what happened next.
It rained and rained and rained and rained and kept raining. We live at the bottom of the watershed. All the rain collects and flows down the mountains into the rivers and the reservoirs and the streets and, well, all the rain completely overwhelmed our systems. Most of the water for the city comes from a reservoir in Black Mountain. The water comes out of two huge pipes which go underneath a road. Well, after all this rain, the water level was so high that the little stream next to that road became a torrent and, well, it wiped out the road and wiped out those huge pipes too. And that was the end of the water for the entire city of Asheville. Just like that.
We were open on Wednesday when we got a call saying that the water pressure was going to drop and when it did we'd have to close. We switched over to disposable plates, hurried through the cleaning (thank you Jacob)and waited, wondering when it was all going to hit us.
Meanwhile, our neighbors in lower spots had really suffered badly. One very nice restaurant, a favorite of mine, was under waist deep water. The owner had been vacationing in Italy. Can you imagine that phone call? Other store owners, caught completely off guard (the river seemed to be rising only gradually but it went wild in the middle of the night) could only watch their businesses from blocks away. Who would ever have imagined that Biltmore Village would become a raging river, a lake, a disaster area?
So we've been closed for a couple of days. The city has shut down. Water, the essential ingredient in our lives, has not been available. Three quarters of the residents here lost water. It has been a big deal. (I live outside the city and my well has been just fine-)
Today, Saturday, as I write, we are open. But we're limping along. Cooking water needs to be boiled. Cleaning water needs to be boiled. A dishwashing machine, the Health Department says, is not trustworthy.
Mostly it just feels eerie here. Things in town are very quiet. Everyone has been affected. I feel lucky that the only thing that happened to us is a couple of days of lost business. Nothing terrible. Nothing from which we won't recover. This is not the case for some of our friends and neighbors.
There's not much else to say. It's just an odd thing. Odd.
[source: Laurey's Cafe and Catering newsletter, September 13, 2004]
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Are you ready? Penland School of Crafts Annual Benefit Auction* - every August, this year the 8th and 9th. Hundreds of guests, many eager volunteer hands, helping to set up and serve and clear, food for about 500, provided by Laurey's, guided by our staff.
Laurey's has been catering this event for years, and it is a show-stopper. Just to give you an idea - this is Marty's BAKING schedule for two of the lunches. There are, if you can read this chart, bite-size everythings: Chocolate Screams, Lemon Bars, Peach Bars, and Brownies. Can you see? ...for the Saturday lunch there will be 1,000 bites total (with whipped cream figured per bite!)... and there's more! Tarts and wonderful delights for the perfect day and night in the mountains!
Kate and Jamie have shepherded the volunteer crew for many iterations of this party - all will be well, just keep biting!
*"The Penland Auction is one of the most important craft collecting events in the Southeast, a perfect opportunity to support Penland's educational programs, helping thousands of people live creative lives."
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The Hope Chest for Women is a wonderful non-profit, giving direct financial assistance to people in treatment. The Here's Hope Fashion Show and Garden Party is a major fundraiser for them, set to go September 13 at the Grove Park Inn.
 Laurey will be honored at this event with the Hope Chests' inaugural "Legacy of Hope" award.
Sara Shuster, the new executive director of Hope Chest, told us, "We chose to honor the spirit of joy and hope Laurey embodied and the inspirational message she shared with our WNC community."
Here's a terrific article about this event, written by Karen Chavez for the Asheville Citizen Times.
 Karen asked me for a photo of Laurey and I together - the shot above ran in the print edition last Sunday, and is of my favorites.
It was taken in May of 2012, when her cross-the-country bike-mates Connie O'Connor (from Califonia!) and Ann Smith (from New Jersey!) surprised her at the cafe. (My sisters are BIG fans of surprises. I comply with some reluctance, suspecting that the effort and planning occasionally outweigh the impact.)
This one was perfect, though - Connie sauntered in first, to great effect, followed a dramatic few minutes later by Ann. Emily and the staff were thrilled that Laurey was actually caught off guard - it was a hoot! Lots of shouts, lots of joy, and a perfect surprise.
Definitely the embodiment of hope, just as Sara says. Come celebrate with us at The Hope Chest Fashion Show at the Grove Park.
- from Heather Masterton
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