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| The Weekly Newsletter for February 24 - 28, 2014 |
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Buen Camino, Laurey dear...
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 In May of 2013, Laurey walked across Spain.
She told us: "This was a personal pilgrimage for me, a time to reflect and get away and regroup, and, as I defined it, a time to 'live the questions.'
"I was looking for answers, yes, 'Who am I now? What does my life look like now? How do I deal with this seemingly continual journey on the cancer path?
"What might another path look like? How do I get there? How do I find my way?
"What about the fear that is below the surface of everything that I am doing now? What do I do with that fear?'"
Laurey's sisters, Lucinda and Heather, wish to send the thousands of her well-wishers some comfort, and yes, some joy about her final days. We longed for Laurey to be free of pain during that time, of course, but mostly to be free of fear.
Both of those gifts were given to her, completely and definitively.
So many angels have guarded her path during these few years of turmoil. She did find joy and release (along with her sore feet!) on those months of the Camino, and the lessons she learned held fast to her through the summer and fall.
She planned and dreamed for a future she knew might not happen, and found joy in the gifts of the unexpected days of good health as they appeared.
For now, we know that our conversations with her have not ended, and we would like to share her with you in this forum. We have the thought to bring you Laurey's Notes (from a lifetime of writing) - from the archives, from her books, from her blog of the bicycle ride across the United States, and from journals she kept but had not yet published.
Laurey the imp shines forth, and we will share family photos along with her stories, if you will allow.
She tells us: "For now, 'Buen Camino'. Oh, Buen Camino means 'have a good walk'. It's sort of like 'Aloha' or 'Shalom' or 'Ciao'. You say the same thing at the beginning and end of a conversation."
Buen Camino, Buen Camino, Buen Camino......Buen Camino, Laurey dear...!
- 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, February 24
Honey-Thyme Roasted Chicken with Leeks and Carrots 8.95
Tuesday, February 25
Bistro Steak with Rosemary Potato Gratin 9.95
Wednesday, February 26
Braised Local Lamb with Wilted Greens 12.95
Thursday February 27
Chipotle BBQ Ribs with Brussels Sprouts 9.95
Friday, February 28
Cumin Spiced Shrimp Skewers over Southwestern Rice 10.75
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Casserole and Lasagnas to go
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The Casserole of the week:
February 26 Eggplant Parmesan Whole: 35 Half: 17.50
The Lasagna of the week:
Feb 28: Traditional Local Beef Whole: 52.95 Half: 26.50
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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 this past week, but of course the best spokesman is Laurey herself.
[We loved hearing our sister's voice, and to our great good fortune, it resounded clearly through multiple channels. Today we present the very first of our archival reprints of her messages, this one written last fall.]
October 21, 2013
Hi hi and hi.
It is a glorious Monday here in Asheville, dry, crisp, sunny, moderately chilly and quite lovely. I am just back from a couple of days in Austin, Texas where I was a speaker for the Ride for the Roses Weekend with the LiveSTRONG Foundation. Last year I was there, riding my bike and speaking about healing and surviving. This year the schedule included a Golf Tournament (I don’t know how this happened but, improbably, I won in my division…) a few catered meals, a few speeches and some time to wander around in the dusty Austin landscape. It was a time to think about organizations and transitions too.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of a beehive and a bee colony as a “super organism.” It’s like an “all for one and one for all” mentality. No superstars exist in a beehive. Actually, in contrast, all the bees live to make sure the whole hive and entire colony does as well as it possibly can. Keeping the colony healthy is the main goal. Each worker bee holds a progression jobs needed to keep things going. The jobs, as some of you may have heard me say, start in the interior of the hive and progress to the outside, to the area immediately outside the hive and then beyond, out into the wide world.
I am finding it interesting to use this model as I consider my role in the world right now. The origin of my book came when I gave a TED talk a few years ago. At that point it seemed that I fit as one of the stages the worker bee (not the Queen and not the drone either) as The Pollinator, the one who goes out, finds nectar sources and comes back to tell the hive mates where to go, how to find the nectar. Mine was a small-ish message, told to a new people at a time. Now, with my book out, the message is a bit bigger, the audience widening slowly.
Now, it seems, the most urgent and pertinent message is this of the Super Organism. I am still talking on an individual level in many cases and I am still conducting myself on that level. The “one person at a time” matters. I wear my honey-filled amulet around my neck, reminding me that there is nothing insignificant about a small act. As my necklace reminds me, a bee’s entire life’s work results in just 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey – a seemingly insignificant amount. But cumulatively, that is nothing small. A pound of honey, which we eat in a year, is the work of some 600+ bees. There is nothing insignificant about that, nor is a simple interaction with one person, one small speech, or one random encounter with a stranger anything to dismiss.
But the idea that I am a part of something bigger, whether in my home or in my work or within the groups where I spend time, seems, more and more, the most important thing. Tiny, seemingly insignificant acts all add up and, when my thoughts are in the right place, remind me that I am part of something much larger.
This is going to be a good and fun and full week for me. I’ll tell you all about it next week, okay?
Cheers,
Laurey
[source: Laurey's Cafe and Catering newsletter, October 21, 2013]
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 Laurey's "darling pup" Tye is in the care of her dear family and friends. She has her own Committee of DogParents! Thanks for all your love and questions - she's gonna be great!
She was going to get a consultation from an Animal Communicator this week, so we could explain to her a little bit about what was going on. Now, this is Asheville, so we just go along, with joy and smiles and hope that maybe it WILL be a helpful step in our family's process.
So, in order to have a consultation, Tye has to be near the phone. Yes. She does.
We need to schedule her appointment a day or so in advance. A flurry of texts about how to get in touch and schedule the consultation. Quick chat with Martha, who is the DogParent in charge.
Ahem.
Tye is not going to be near the phone today. She is going on a hike.
We will keep you advised.
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 Laurey's Cafe and Catering was thrilled to have entered the Hall of Fame in Mountain Xpress' Best of WNC 2013 X Awards.
In the last few years, Laurey has been adventuring out and about, developing book publicity, scheduling signings and speaking engagements, walking on her Camino, and, yes, intermittently submerged in her treatment schedule.
MEANWHILE - the Team at the shop has busily booked and cooked and scheduled and provided and served and catered and driven and dropped off hundreds of parties and luncheons and weddings and life celebrations, onsite and on your sites. Laurey has always happily been what I call "The Laurey" - representing the spirit of adventure and engaged in wild escapades of entrepreneurship and sponsorship.
She proudly represented the LiveSTRONG Foundation here in Asheville as a LiveSTRONG leader, travelled to Texas, winning awards (and a golf tournament!? Really, Laurey!? Really!?).
We LOVE Laurey!
MEANWHILE - the Team has done the job so beautifully, so smoothly, and so proudly representing all the values they have developed over the years with our sister: simple, wonderful food, sourced from local farmers and providers, sustaining our neighbors and each other.
The Team is here, has been here, and will be here, whether Laurey has been present in the shop or (for a variety of reasons) not. We've booked weddings, parties, celebrations, and BIG events for the coming year, with our staff who have been here with Laurey for many years. Lots of dreaming ourselves, too, about projects that can help us sustain that quality and vision for the future.
Yep. We've BEEN here.
Yep. We ARE here.
Yep. We'll BE here.
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This is our first newsletter written by Laurey's family and staff.
We'd really like you to know that it is going to be a team effort, but we also don't want it to end up in your Junk folder. When we changed the email address to a generic sender, the first test editions went straight to the trash folders in our own computers.
We know YOU know it isn't spam, but try convincing thousands of computers of that...so the 'From' is still Laurey, and we hope you'll understand.
...And it is hers, anyway, isn't it?
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