The Working Woman

It's long past time to update our blog. And I promise to post pics after today...my day off!
We have passed the one month mark now. I don't like that the days turn so quickly into weeks. But, then again, it's good that I'm not sitting around with too much time on my hands. Hey, that reminds me of a Styx song. "t-t-t-t-t-t-t Too much time on my hands..."
Anyway...I will be true to my promise before to find one good thing about Newton, KS each day. I've forgotten a few days, but who's counting?

"I work in a very cool store that has the coolest wood floors."

Visit http://www.prairieharvestnewton.com/ for more info.

Here's how it happened...

Once upon a time (the first week we moved to town), Jarrod and I decided to go "downtown" to check out the stores. Mind you, this is a town that rolls up the sidewalks at 5pm, and is NOT open on Sundays. However, on Thursday nights, the downtown is open until 8:30pm. It's a big deal here. Having very recently moved from a big city, where anything and everything is open pretty much anytime of day or night, this is an adjustment.

Ok, back to the story...
So, Jarrod and I walked into this store called "Prairie Harvest". It was an oasis for me. You see, I love beautiful things, and this store, to me, was beautiful. Simple and beautiful. The colors on the walls, the old wood floors, the decor...it spoke to me: "Melissa, come and visit me when you need a beauty-boost."
As Jarrod and I perused the bulk grains, the spices, the lotions, the deli, I thought to myself, "This would be a cool place to work." Little did I know that Jarrod was thinking that, too (for me, not him). One of the cool things about this store is that it connects to three other stores from the inside: a bookstore/coffee shop, a cool kitchen store, and a froo-froo girlie store with purses, scarves, etc.

One week later...it's a Thursday night and Jarrod takes me on a date. Guess where? Downtown Newton, of course! We went back into Prairie Harvest and before long Jarrod's asking the manager if they are hiring for the holidays. She said, "Well, not really for the holidays. We really need someone for more than the holidays." Wow. Even better. So I took an application, and the next day returned it. The owner happened to be there, looked at my experience, skills, etc. and said, "We are needing someone in our kitchen. One of our cooks is moving. This is Providence, that we are losing a cook, and here you walked in with your application, and you are a cook!! I can hardly contain my excitement!" She offered me a job on the spot. As I walked out of the store, I thought, "Is this for real? I am going to work at this beautiful place, and not only work here, but COOK here?" Wow.

And so began my journey as a cook at Prairie Harvest. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is made from scratch- which I love. Since it's an organic, whole foods-type place, we do a lot of vegetarian dishes, but we always offer what I like to call "real food" along with it. Who knows? I might even TRY some of the vegetarian stuff sometime. It sure smells yummy.

There is also a catering side to it, which I will do plenty of this month. We do on-site catering in our Prairie Room, so I am excited to be involved in that. One of the best parts about my job is that I only work when the kiddos are at school and only M-W-F, basically.

Remember when I told you that Thursday nights the town is open late? Well, I prepare the menu for that, as well. I love that people enjoy the food. It's a great feeling to make people happy.


There really is so much more to blog about from the month of November. However, I'll let Jarrod take a turn and tell you from HIS standpoint how life in Newton, KS is going.