David grew up on a busy ranch in eastern Montana and was the son of generous, industrious parents. Their motto was, " We'll play when the work is done." On a ranch and, indeed, in most businesses, the work is never done. While I am cut from that same cloth, I am striving to have a more balanced approach to work.
Sometimes when one owns a business, you can get wrapped up in the redundancy that comprises the bulk of the daily routine. Most things that need to be done bring a certain joy and a feeling of accomplishment. The tasks are fulfilling, even when they become mundane, but it's great when the day-to-day regimen is broken up with different activities. The past two weeks were filled with such serendipitous happenings.
One of our Team Members, Whitney, is engaged. Elleen Van Dyke, who worked with us for many years, offered to host a formal tea & bridal shower for Whitney. The crew really got into it. Many of the attendees wore hats, and everyone dressed up. We enjoyed wonderful tea sandwiches, scones, and delicious treats, beautifully displayed on the most elegant of table settings. Dressing “models” in toilet paper wedding dresses evoked a great deal of mirth and we had a wonderful time together.
A few days later we had a going away dinner for one of our bakers who had been with us for 10 years and needed to give her notice to fulfill other obligations. The farewell gathering was a bitter sweet time to say thank you, reminisce, and laud her amazing contributions that helped us along the path where God has lead us in getting to where we are today. You can't have an event like this that doesn’t involve stories, laughter, and tears.
The next event was my arriving at the Bakery at 4:30 in the morning to work with the bakers making cinnamon rolls. We have been having some of our rolls fail during the baking, and we're not sure what the cause is. Of all of the baking I do (which is not much, since we have such an amazing cadre of great bakers), rolls and breads are my favorite things to make. Originally I made all of the items that came out of the Coffee Pot Bakery, but it's been a long since I've done any commercial baking, and my early morning efforts weren't pretty. Certainly not prize winning cinnamon rolls! My dough was pretty much a disaster, and my breakfast was Humble Pie. It was, however, good to get here early and work with Gracie. It makes me more appreciative of the gals who get up every morning to be at work at 4:30. My plan is to do this once a month, just so that I can better understand the work they're doing. We'll see if this actually happens! I think we figured out what was causing our dough to over proof, and hopefully we won't continue to struggle with this problem.
This week, David and I went to the Sysco Food Show in Billings with our Director of Operations and our two Kitchen Managers. It was fun to see our two younger managers observe Colette work with the vendors looking for items that we use in the Cafe and finding the most economical, quality products. It was like a mother teaching her young ones how to buy. A great outing was had by all while still legitimately working, and the opportunity to be together outside of a work environment is always a bonus. Ours is a hardworking crew, and we appreciate their work. We also enjoy the times where we can just be together and enjoy their friendships.
Sometimes when one owns a business, you can get wrapped up in the redundancy that comprises the bulk of the daily routine. Most things that need to be done bring a certain joy and a feeling of accomplishment. The tasks are fulfilling, even when they become mundane, but it's great when the day-to-day regimen is broken up with different activities. The past two weeks were filled with such serendipitous happenings.
One of our Team Members, Whitney, is engaged. Elleen Van Dyke, who worked with us for many years, offered to host a formal tea & bridal shower for Whitney. The crew really got into it. Many of the attendees wore hats, and everyone dressed up. We enjoyed wonderful tea sandwiches, scones, and delicious treats, beautifully displayed on the most elegant of table settings. Dressing “models” in toilet paper wedding dresses evoked a great deal of mirth and we had a wonderful time together.
A few days later we had a going away dinner for one of our bakers who had been with us for 10 years and needed to give her notice to fulfill other obligations. The farewell gathering was a bitter sweet time to say thank you, reminisce, and laud her amazing contributions that helped us along the path where God has lead us in getting to where we are today. You can't have an event like this that doesn’t involve stories, laughter, and tears.
The next event was my arriving at the Bakery at 4:30 in the morning to work with the bakers making cinnamon rolls. We have been having some of our rolls fail during the baking, and we're not sure what the cause is. Of all of the baking I do (which is not much, since we have such an amazing cadre of great bakers), rolls and breads are my favorite things to make. Originally I made all of the items that came out of the Coffee Pot Bakery, but it's been a long since I've done any commercial baking, and my early morning efforts weren't pretty. Certainly not prize winning cinnamon rolls! My dough was pretty much a disaster, and my breakfast was Humble Pie. It was, however, good to get here early and work with Gracie. It makes me more appreciative of the gals who get up every morning to be at work at 4:30. My plan is to do this once a month, just so that I can better understand the work they're doing. We'll see if this actually happens! I think we figured out what was causing our dough to over proof, and hopefully we won't continue to struggle with this problem.
This week, David and I went to the Sysco Food Show in Billings with our Director of Operations and our two Kitchen Managers. It was fun to see our two younger managers observe Colette work with the vendors looking for items that we use in the Cafe and finding the most economical, quality products. It was like a mother teaching her young ones how to buy. A great outing was had by all while still legitimately working, and the opportunity to be together outside of a work environment is always a bonus. Ours is a hardworking crew, and we appreciate their work. We also enjoy the times where we can just be together and enjoy their friendships.
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