Avoidance. Sort of. Not Really.

Maureen says:
Am nearly out from under the weather, although winter-chapped skin and a nasal tone would lead you to believe otherwise. My sense of taste, however, has returned and just in time to sip my way through a package of sample teas that arrived in yesterday's mail. Three bags into my tasting, a fourth steeping now, and my choice of suppliers is simple. I'll opt out of revealing which Choice Organic Teas I've selected, but I'll promise you that each of them is perfectly lovely. I've also located a local, independent coffee roaster that, like COT, supports Fair Trade. Am very excited to schedule the tasting as, whenever possible, we'd like to do business with local independents (if you'd like to learn more about Fair Trade click here; to find Fair Trade Certified products near you, click here).

Tea is one of several things I turn to in moments of overwhelm. I'm sure Tom would prefer that I turn to it always as some weeks ago the panacea-of-the-day was dismantling my home office somewhere between the time he started dinner and well past my bedtime. Three hours and many reconfigurations later, it became a much better-functioning space (still in need of paint, still with no art on the walls or blinds in the window, but, you know: Rome. A day. Not built in).

I know, I know--my behaviors are transparent even to me. Create an illusion of control over the world? Check. A quick and easy sense of accomplishment? Check. Impose order on a room that has, for months and months also served as a catch-all for things like the cordless drill, shipping boxes and gift wrap? Check. Channel nervous energy? Check. (If you find yourself in a similar state of anxiety but without a home office to reconfigure, then I highly recommend the also-satisfying task of tidying the pantry cupboards.)

It may seem to some that I'm resisting overwhelm or worse, denying I'm overwhelmed by procrastinating and thus making matters worse. The truth is, I'm actually working with overwhelm the best way I know how: by performing tasks that produce tangible results. Call me daft, dotty or dim, but when the last book's spine is aligned with the edge of the shelf and various half-emptied boxes of corn starch are combined into one, I feel a little bit stronger. A little more equal to the tasks waiting for me. A little more David to the GIANT that is opening a restaurant.

Because, while I can afford myself the luxury of vacuuming the dryer vent or deleting watched items off the DVR, a moment spent in self doubt would break the spiritual bank.

This post? Provides the joy of having written without the pain of writing about the 427, 982 things that are freaking me out right about now.

Me again.

Maureen says:
Tom's still under the weather, so it's me again, at the helm of the blog. And, given that it's Sunday night and it's back to work for me tomorrow, I'm going to keep it simple and see if I can't take some portion of the evening for myself.

Goals accomplished this weekend:

• Selection of table top wares, which was a far easier process than I imagined or maybe we just got lucky. My aesthetic preferences aligned easily with criteria that, not being a chef, weren't on my mind, but were definitely on Tom's. Things like whether the design cuts too deep into the surface area, thus leaving only enough room for a presentation that works for one menu item instead of four. And how adding 2oz to your Pilsner glass makes certain cocktails appear sleek instead of squat.
  
• Dismantling the existing shelving behind the bar; sorting inventory and identifying items we won't be using, but would like to donate rather than sell; and general out-with-the-old to make room for the new (note to the women who stood outside the doors today, lamenting the loss of their much-loved source for pho: change is good and we, we're going to be way better than good--promise).
  
• Laptop optimization, services donated by my brilliant, generous and impossibly kind sister, elaine, who also pitched in with less exciting tasks like emptying menu sleeves and removing window decals. Her two cents about flatware selection? When buying for herself she avoids designs that lend themselves to collecting food particles that require another cleaning. Why create the opportunity for extra work, she says. Or the opportunity for it to be missed and land in front of a customer, I thought.

elaine (yes, the lowercase 'e' is on purpose), also took some photos for us today as I'd forgotten my own camera at the house. Above is a shot of our Coming Soon sign--not an easy one to capture well owing to the glare--and below, a photo of what I'll call the Good Karma Buddha. Tom teased the former owners about removing their altar from the space after the sale, so they got this one for us. I like him, although the dragon, who's supposed to be good too, kind of scares me (edited to add: must be a fear of success I have as Tom's just said that the owners told him the dragon brings wealth and power).