Sister On The Go: Sometimes It Snows In October and the Stone Soup Find

I decided not to wander this weekend, but to stay home. Do the laundry, do the this and do the that. Since they called for an early snow, I thought I would do some cooking, too. We awakened to about an inch and a half of snow, and it was coming down hard at daybreak. I was so excited and could not wait to get outside to see the world.

I excitedly grabbed my camera. We don't often get to see the combination of fall foliage and winter snow at the same time. Beautiful.

My day-plan was to run my errands early so I could get back home and relax. Feels like a movie kind of day. A brown beans and cornbread kind of day. With list in one hand, and my camera in the other hand, my sister and I dropped off my car for its annual inspection and took off in her car to work off the items on the list. I hate shopping. I get it done as quickly as I can. Most of my time is spent trying to think of a way to reward myself. Some call it a diversion. Today it was not hard to find one…a reward or a diversion. The snow changed the look of the world I live in so our neighborhood seemed new and wonderful. My neighborhood world became my reward and my diversion for the day.

One of my favorite rewards is food and interesting places that serve it, especially those independently owned places that began as someone's dream. My sister suggested we try out a new place for lunch…new to us, but not the town. We chose the Stone Soup Bookstore and Café. What a delightful find! I can’t believe the place has been here for 5 years and I did not know of it. Stone Soup is the dream creation of the owner's and today we got to enjoy the determined effort of someone making their dream come true. There is a large, interesting choice of books, both new and used.

The menu indulges in organic, locally grown food that is prepared by chef Laura. Soups and desserts are made in-house.

I was more than happy with the Southwest Corn Chowder, made inhouse, and a half sandwich: goat cheese, spiced walnuts and lettuce on a multi-grain bread. I think my sister had the turkey, ham and cheddar sandwich. Very good.

We enjoyed a homemade Harvest Cookie, but could not keep our eyes off the Ginger Bread cake that was served to a table nearby.

My sister and I promised to return…and we definitely will. The food, the atmosphere and live music on Fridays will get me back. We enjoyed the owners as much as the food. No doubt they are happy in their creation. Check out their website http://www.stonesoupbooks.net/index.php. The “about” page is a fun read. You can see the menu, which changes often, and find out what musicians are performing on Friday nights. There are also book related events that will interest lots of people.

I forgot to mention, there is seating for at least 45 people outside. I can’t wait till Spring to enjoy this part of the restaurant. Even in the snow it is delightful.

Recharged, we headed to Kroger. But first, another distraction. There is a small business that sells great looking produce at prices that are much more affordable than Kroger. Produce is all they sell. And they are open year round. Another good find.