Sunny greetings at Yellow Door today

The charming fork and spoon pair signified breakfast was on at Yellow Door this morning. Arriving an hour after the official start, I was greeted by Mary Waldron and invited to sign in, choose my breakfast choice of two options and pour myself a hot cup of coffee. A brief time passed and Marie whipped together my granola, yogurt and fruit plate featuring tiny grapes, plums and watermelon. (A heartier entree of wheat pancakes paired with sausage and fruit was also an option.)

Breakfast ran smoothly, albeit we now know to brew hot water for our tea drinkers. Gee, what a great idea! Even with a few hiccups, the vibe at Yellow Door was community. Hope to see you next Thursday at Yellow Door! ~ Sharon

P.S. The kitchen team was fabulous! Great work Deb, Mully, Tracy and Maria!

Volunteers needed: must love community & food

Yellow Door is seeking energetic, passionate people who love food or, at the every least, love the idea of a weekly breakfast to raise money for Chelsea Community Kitchen. Learn more about CCK here. Volunteers are needed to serve up breakfast each week for enjoyment by family, friends and their family and friends. Interested? Contact the unofficial, acting-as-manager person, Janice, at: janice@edgarnorman.com.

Our *test* breakfast is still on for Thursday, September 17, although the new plan is to feature one breakfast entree'. As we hone our Yellow Door skills, we'll add more breakfast options.

Food, fabulous food / September 17 menu

Chef Mully shared the menu Chef Deb has cooked up for our September 17 test breakfast:

* Homemade granola bars, fresh fruit bowl & Greek-style yogurt
* Cinnamon & nutmeg spiced whole wheat pancake with maple syrup, fresh fruit & homemade turkey sausage
* Blueberry bread budding with molasses sauce & bacon
* Swiss chard, feta (or other cheese) & onion frittata, fruit garnish & turkey sausage

Yummmmmmmmmmmmm. (Menu is subject to change.)

Sponsor a Yellow Door chair for life!

Sponsor a Yellow Door chair and see your name in lights... okay, not in lights... on a yellow cow ear tag. Now, how many people can actually say they have their name Sharpe-markered on a yellow cow ear tag? Be among the few! Your tag will be permanently bolted into a chair of your choice of only 16 available chairs. A $100 donation to Yellow Door gets you a lifetime tag. Email Angie at angela@oneillconsult.net for more details and to rope in your sponsorship.

Get your Michigan cookie cutter today

Bumble's Dry Goods in downtown Chelsea is dedicated to selling American-made products. To spice your sugar cookie offerings, pick up the Michigan cookie cutter and, please, try not to lob off the U.P. Bumble's Dry Goods has beautiful scarves, old-fashioned knit and wooden toys, hand-blown glass items and more. A perfect holiday shopping destination!

Yellow Door's yellow door tables

It takes a certain flair to see something more in a well-worn door, a tired looking chair or ladder. At Yellow Door, what you'll see are antiques given new life. Well-worn, solid wood doors are now painted a bright, sunny yellow and adapted for Yellow Door's morning gatherings. (The unveiling of the "new" tables is highlighted in the photo.)

Charming chairs, freshly painted and reupholstered, complement the tables. Nearby, a ladder dangles from the ceiling by chains, holding shiny copper pots. The super-size buffet fills a wall and adds to the character of this destination.

So, what else should you expect? Delicious Michigan foods from the region, great conversation and a truly inspiring setting. Start every Thursday morning at Yellow Door. Our test run is next Thursday, September 17. Come if you're feeling brave! The official opening is October 15.

9/12: Homegrown Festival + Cider and Perry Festival

Saturday, September 12, features two, fun-filled festivals promoting Michigan agriculture.

In Ann Arbor, from 5 to 10 p.m.: Homegrown Festival celebrates local food and community. Chef demos, kids' events (learn about bees!) and a Michigan wine and beer garden tent are a few of the exciting activities scheduled.

At Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. Johns, on Saturday & Sunday: Sample cider and perry from across the Great Lakes at the Great Lakes Cider & Perry Festival. Ticket price is $10 and includes souvenir glass and ten pours. Lorri Hathaway and I will be signing our book, From the Vine: Exploring Michigan Wineries. Ben Watson, author of Cider, Hard and Sweet: History, Traditions and Making Your Own will also be signing his book.

Saturday mornings @ Chelsea Farmer's Market

Bins holding sweet corn, spicy chili peppers, bumpy squash, big-leafed chard and ripe tomatoes greeted me this morning at Chelsea Farmer's Market. Neighbors and friends strolled past walking their dogs or holding hot coffee -- the really talented folks were doing both -- carefully perusing this week's produce and chatting with local farmers and artists.

Get your fresh produce every Saturday through October at the market. Learn more at: www.chelseafarmersmkt.org.

Yellow Door's role model: Friday @ Selma's

Morning people who radiate enthusiasm and genuine kindness are to be admired. These people ooze goodness. They likely down herbal tea, three glasses of water and a dose of yoga before I hit the snooze button for the fourth time. Reality is that I am a morning person... after three cups of fully-charged coffee.

Today, along with Yellow Door's CFO Angie O'Neill, I ate breakfast at Selma's in Ann Arbor again. We were greeted by really, really friendly people. (Selma's should give training to statewide retail establishments!) After signing in, we were directed to the living room lounge for heavenly coffee by Ann Arbor roaster Roos Roast. The roast was very full and smooth and perked me right up after a less than 8-hour a sleep night. Fortunately, we had time to enjoy a few cups of coffee before we were called to our table, a low, rectangular coffee table behind which Angie and I squeezed in between four others on a comfy couch.

We quickly started chatting with a couple from Ann Arbor who have been regularly dining at Selma's over the last month. Four out of six of us ordered the spicy, peppery Frittata with side potatoes and a slice of bacon. For our donation of $10-15, we enjoyed refills on coffee, met some new friends who share a common passion for local foods and filled up on delicious fare cooked up by Wonder Woman and Bad Fairy. Really.

As shared in an earlier posting, Selma's is a breakfast venue in a wild-garden surrounded home. Selma's has raised thousands of dollars for charities devoted to the local food movement and for building hoop houses in the Ann Arbor region to support year-round, freshly grown agriculture. Jeff and Lisa are devoted to their causes and an inspiration. At Yellow Door, expect enthusiastic, full-of-life people, good conversation and scrumptious breakfast.

Bright, bright blues, reds, greens & yellows

After years of photographing wine bottles and red and white wine in glasses, it's refreshing to photograph in-season fruits and vegetables. Visualize Merlot red and Chardonnay "yellow." Now, picture very blue blueberries, dark green peppers and crunchy cucumbers, juicy red tomatoes, yellow banana peppers and red (purple!) onions. Visualize sandy brown and sky blue eggs, deep purple-black eggplant and sunset-orange carrots. Now, plan to eat bright, colorful, fresh and delicious breakfast every Thursday at Yellow Door.