The End :-(

 Today was the last day for the Bakery, the bakery/cafe near us. It's very sad. The owner announced that it was for sale shortly after we decided to move back here. I was chatting with her when our friend and I went there for breakfast as he was helping us move stuff. She was hoping to find a buyer that would keep the business going and keep the staff. It was a very successful business, as we knew from when we lived above it. It was an extremely popular spot for locals and tourists alike. And she worked so hard. In addition to the cafe, she created custom cakes, which she had to do after the cafe had closed. She was often there into the wee hours of the morning and during the Christmas season that we were there, she was downstairs all night on the night before Christmas Eve getting the Christmas cakes and other goodies ready to be picked up. We used to watch sometimes as she would carry a huge towering box out to someone's car and carefully place it safely inside. At some point after we left 3 years ago, she stopped doing the custom cakes and focused on the cafe because doing both was becoming too much.  But then there were some changes in her life that required her to be available for caregiving, so she decided it was time to sell. Apparently there were no good offers, because a couple of weeks ago she announced that while she'd hoped for a buyer and/or to stay open until the end of August, circumstances beyond her control meant that today would be the last day the cafe would be open. So, after 13 years, the Bakery has now closed its doors for the last time. 

Of course, I was not alone in my intention to procure some goodies one last time. A couple of friends were planning to come from 1 1/2 hours away on Thursday so we could head over. But the electricity people were installing new poles for the electricity supply and both our cottage and the Bakery were without power for a time, so she kept the Bakery closed. Yesterday morning, I walked over and the line was out the door. It's a small area at the counter inside and it was chaos. One of the servers was trying to maneuver through the crowd with a full metal teapot and a bunch of mugs to deliver these things to a table. She made it. When I got closer to the counter, someone bought the last chunk of soda bread and I thought, 'Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about her soda bread!' We used to love it. Then someone asked about the basket of quick breads and she was told it was banana bread. 'Oh yeah,' I thought, 'I'd forgotten about her banana bread. I'll get a loaf of that.' I was hoping for cheesecake, which isn't like the cheesecake I used to know--it's much softer and creamier here, but I love both. I felt like it was a lucky day when I asked what kind of cheesecake and was told that it was tiramisu cheesecake. I love tiramisu as much as I love cheesecake. Bill didn't want cheesecake, so I got him a brownie. I got the banana bread and a couple of squares of lemon cake, both of which we still have. That's because I woke up this morning thinking that I could go there again and get a couple of individual quiches to have for supper. I probably don't have to tell you that once I was in there, I noticed today's cheesecake, which was after all, on the shelf above the quiche. It was mint Aero today--this is a candy bar and it seems to be a popular thing to use biscuits (cookies) and candy in various kinds of baked goods. This is often quite delicious and so, in the interests of further research, I chose to get myself a piece of the cheesecake.

Yum, yum, yum. I got Bill a berry crumble bar, which he said was very good. So we still have our lemon cake and banana bread, which will be the last little bit of the Bakery that we will consume. But we will have the memories--of the delicious food then and now and of  the days we spent upstairs waking up every morning to the smell of her baking downstairs. It's going to be quite a transition for her and I wish her well. 

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