Grrrr….this has been a busy week. Not with customers though, I am pretty sure everyone is at the State Fair. Next week we expect to be packed with all the students coming back to town. What we have been busy with is last night someone broke into the cafe and took the (empty) cash boxes….what an extra hassle. I have been busy with getting my classroom ready. I am going to be teaching part-time this year at Groveland Park Elementary, where I will be the science teacher for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. This is pretty exciting for me because I love science AND because I get to work for my favorite principal again: Dr. Jobe. She saw my name on the list and split the position for me! I will be busy with cafe stuff in the morning and teach from noon to 4 pm.

Wilde Roast Cafe at the Minnesota State Fair? Well not this year but we do have a couple of connections for you to check out. Firstly, two of our former artist, Neil Sherman and Diane LaMere were picked for the 2005 Fine Arts Show. You can see their work in the Fine Arts Building. It is very hard to be picked for the show. Next, our FARM BOY friends, Dan and Brian, are back at the fair this year with all new t-shirt designs….plus they added calendars, button downs, many Farm Girl items, and much more. Check them out in the coliseum. Have a great time at the fair this year.

New to the neighborhood: Mairin’s Table. This is a neighborhood bistro located at 23 NE 4th St. (behind BOOM/Oddfellows). Mairin was a customer who started her dream this week of opening up a bistro with her family recipes. She and her husband came into the cafe quite a bit for help on opening up a restaurant. I really liked the “Upside Down” Meatloaf. Please support the improvement of the neighborhood…plus the people are nice.

Can you help?

The tickets for the Illume event are selling slowing (we only have 200). I am looking for anyone who could help give some press to this event. We should sell out of tickets because this is an important cause. I met Jeri Oliver over a year ago at the AIDS Trek kick-off. She told me her story.

Jeri (a pharmaceutical rep.) was at a conference that had a basketball team from Africa (showing what the new medicines where doing). After the event the boys sponsors defected, leaving the 9 boys without anyone. One of the boys jokingly asked Jeri if she would adopt him. She asked about his family being concerned. He said his parents had died of AIDS. Then several other of the boys said they were orphans of AIDS also. She took four of them home. After finding out more from these boys she traveled to Africa to find out first hand. She decided right then to adopt their village and sponsor the AIDS orphans there.

I know it seem like a huge task (15 million AIDS orphans in Africa), but she is doing it one village at a time. Illume (http://www.illumeinternational.org/) is using the money to buy school uniforms, food, and education for the orphans. I don’t think we realize how luck we are in the USA.

So how can you help?

Go to the Wilde Roast Cafe, Sam’s Wine Shop, Chocolat Celeste or Tangletown Gardens and buy a ticket to the event (nobody takes a salary from Illume), and tell a friend to join you. Trust me this is a good thing!

On the third day she rose again….Betty’s Bikes and Buns is back. Tom had a fundraiser to pay off the bills and is keeping her open. Which is great! We don’t want a vacant building next to us…plus they make good neighbors.

Rachael Ray is in town…from the Food Network (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ry). Last night she filmed at Chocolat Celeste. Dean and I were asked by Mary (owner of CC) to be her on camera guests for the truffle segment. This is awesome exposure for Mary and CC (we serve her chocolate here at the cafe). Congratulation to Mary for a job well done. Racheal also filmed Nye’s, Mickey’s Dinner, and the new Walker restaurant.

Don’t forget the tickets for “Light up the Night” (see EVENT page) are limited to 200…so get your ticket ASAP.

We have some sad news…Betty’s Buns and Bikes closed their doors yesterday for good. Now, you must think we would be glad about this…one less coffee shop near us…but, this is not good news to us. Firstly, Tom and his family are really nice people. Secondly, having more businesses around us helps improve the look of a changing neighborhood like the Wilde Roast Cafe’s. We really wish them well.

You would think that I would know better, after working at summer camps for 10 summers. One thing you learn working at camp is not to grow too close to people…friends yes, but not too close…because at the end of summer people move on.

Well, this month we are sad to have 3 of our original staff members moving on. Kemmie, Colleen, and Margaretta. I know the usual turn-over in restaurants is 150% every year, so to keep them this long is great. They will be missed.

We still have 2 of our original staff members…Jason and Georgianna…who we will not let quit.

Dean and I are in the Wisconsin Dells this week. Yesterday we went to the Tommy Bartlett: Ski-Sky-Stage Show. As always it was awesome….did I ever say I wasn’t a geek? Today we are spending the day at Noah’s Ark…the largest water park in the world!

I must give Starbucks their KUDOS! This is one progressive company. I picked up coffee there this morning (yes, we do buy corporate once in a while). They are running a “The Way I See It” quotes on their cups…I got quote #43 from Armistead Maupin, author of Tales of the City. The quote was:

“My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long. I surrendered my youth to the people I feared when I could have been out there loving someone. Don’t make that mistake yourself. Life’s too damn short.”