The Back Door
The back door.......
Having a cafe in the middle of no where on the Prairie of Nebraska makes for some interesting back door deliveries. In the summer and fall especially. I never know what might be waiting for me at the back door. I have arrived at the cafe to find sacks of rhubarb, sweet corn, rhubarb, wild plums, apples, more rhubarb and choke cherries sitting by the back door. (lots of rhubarb) Of course, there is always a zucchini added to the mix. It has become known that I love to make use of fresh produce. I use it to make jams, jellies, butters, breads, and salsas.
I have also acquired a few unusual items sitting by the door. I found and antique type writer and an old hand pump. The individuals who dropped them off thought I would like to have them to display with the rest of my antique items. Which I do......
I have also acquired some living, breathing things. Like a little white dog that was dumped off one fall that took us weeks and weeks to catch. We have also been gifted with a cat that just insisted that she wanted to come in the cafe. She would climb the screen on the door and just hang there and howl. One of our employees took her home to her ranch where she is living a wonderfully spoiled life with her newborn kittens.
We always find pie plates that have been returned by customers who have purchased one of our pies. We use real pie plates and when a customer purchases a whole pie we just ask that they return our empty plate. If they are returned after hours ........ We find them in plastic bags by the door or hanging from on of our wooden posts. The most popular way is by the door with a rock in it to keep it from blowing away. Sometimes we get a call from the customer who left the pie plate asking us if we found it. At times it can feel like a scavenger hunt. (I need to put a pie plate return box by the door)
Our most recent acquired item was a boot scraper brought to us by some of our awesome customers. They felt bad because they had muddy boots one time that they came in to the cafe. They felt so bad that they bought a boot scraper to put by the front door. Now they and other customers can scrape the mud off their boots and shoes before they come in. I mean who does that? Who worries about that? I will tell you who.... our amazing customers.
As I am finishing up this blog, I received another surprise. We had a customer come in with a large group of her family for breakfast. After they were done eating their breakfast they presented me with a Thank you card and two pillows that were made out of vintage quilt pieces. The thank you card had this hand written message:
Dear Laura and Staff.
Thank you so much for making us feel so special and welcome. The atmosphere, delicious food and your warm hospitality is always amazing. Thank You (this was sign by the whole family)
This blog post began with the thought of writing about all the unique things that have been dropped off at the back door.
However, it has now turned in to a story about the people of Western Nebraska that take the time to leave you produce or items they think you would enjoy. . I am so thankful to be part of this great community and the people who call it home.
As for the dog and cat, I am not sure how they came about. However, I am glad that we were able to help them on their way to new homes.
Nebraska Prairie Girl
Having a cafe in the middle of no where on the Prairie of Nebraska makes for some interesting back door deliveries. In the summer and fall especially. I never know what might be waiting for me at the back door. I have arrived at the cafe to find sacks of rhubarb, sweet corn, rhubarb, wild plums, apples, more rhubarb and choke cherries sitting by the back door. (lots of rhubarb) Of course, there is always a zucchini added to the mix. It has become known that I love to make use of fresh produce. I use it to make jams, jellies, butters, breads, and salsas.
I have also acquired a few unusual items sitting by the door. I found and antique type writer and an old hand pump. The individuals who dropped them off thought I would like to have them to display with the rest of my antique items. Which I do......
I have also acquired some living, breathing things. Like a little white dog that was dumped off one fall that took us weeks and weeks to catch. We have also been gifted with a cat that just insisted that she wanted to come in the cafe. She would climb the screen on the door and just hang there and howl. One of our employees took her home to her ranch where she is living a wonderfully spoiled life with her newborn kittens.
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| Callie's kittens |
We always find pie plates that have been returned by customers who have purchased one of our pies. We use real pie plates and when a customer purchases a whole pie we just ask that they return our empty plate. If they are returned after hours ........ We find them in plastic bags by the door or hanging from on of our wooden posts. The most popular way is by the door with a rock in it to keep it from blowing away. Sometimes we get a call from the customer who left the pie plate asking us if we found it. At times it can feel like a scavenger hunt. (I need to put a pie plate return box by the door)
Our most recent acquired item was a boot scraper brought to us by some of our awesome customers. They felt bad because they had muddy boots one time that they came in to the cafe. They felt so bad that they bought a boot scraper to put by the front door. Now they and other customers can scrape the mud off their boots and shoes before they come in. I mean who does that? Who worries about that? I will tell you who.... our amazing customers.
Dear Laura and Staff.
Thank you so much for making us feel so special and welcome. The atmosphere, delicious food and your warm hospitality is always amazing. Thank You (this was sign by the whole family)
This blog post began with the thought of writing about all the unique things that have been dropped off at the back door.
However, it has now turned in to a story about the people of Western Nebraska that take the time to leave you produce or items they think you would enjoy. . I am so thankful to be part of this great community and the people who call it home.
As for the dog and cat, I am not sure how they came about. However, I am glad that we were able to help them on their way to new homes.
Nebraska Prairie Girl
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