HaPpY Anniversary

“On March 28th 1993, Rick and I became a part of Susanville Supermarket and this community! We are so very Hometown Proud of where we live and work and of the people that make it the place we call home. Our Daughter Cyndi, was 13 in ‘93. She worked in the Market, graduated from Lassen High School and met her husband JR in Susanville. Now we have two wonderful Grand- daughters. The majority of our lives have taken place right here. Rick and I know how fortunate we are to have these deep roots.

Our Susanville Supermarket team has deep roots, too. Though many have come and gone our team is strong. First and second generations have worked side by side to keep us that way. Some people remain from the very first days, others came soon after and some retired. We are fortunate indeed.

Looking back, I found an old Lassen County Times ad from 1996 and not too much has changed in the way we do business at Susanville Super. We still think customer service is number one and offer top quality products and value with our signature personal touch. The Meat Department is still Jim Griswold’s and he continues to offer the finest quality meat with custom cutting at no extra charge. Ruthie Vache retired several years ago (gosh I miss her laugh!) but Richard Barber has maintained the Best Donuts On The Planet in his scratch bakery for 24 years. John Whitby’s Produce Department is as healthy, fresh and high quality as ever but he now adds local produce when available and is always watching for exclusive, seasonal items. Richard and Hope Browning’s Deli has that full service tradition and they are constantly expanding their selection and Store Director Todd Eid is the best in the business!

Together, we are always looking for ways to better serve the community we love that we are so Hometown Proud to be a part of.

We thank all of our staff and community. For 24 wonderful years!” - Anna Stewart 

Abby Dunn

Donation Jar UPDATE~ Well folks. You came through again, I wouldn’t expect anything less. We set the jars out for LoCaL girl Abby Dunn and you dropped over $1010 in! Your generosity is so appreciated by this vivacious girl and her family. It’s always good to know you have a lot of good people on your side. 

Abby was diagnosed with Acute Flaccid Myelitis and after what she described as a ‘really long’ ambulance ride to UC Davis, she found she would have to stay. For 35 days Abby stayed. Shriners Hospital did some rehab with her and she said they MADE her learn how to make her bed before she left. No kid likes that. Those Shriners are good people too.

Facebook blew up with everyone sharing the Go Fund Me page set up for Abby. Then so many LoCaLs showed up to help. VFW held a luncheon to raise funds. Tami Mallery organized a Spaghetti Feed, Abby's 4H Troop showed up to clean and serve, LoCaLs donated food and silent auction items. AND I saw these super cute tees on Facebook made by Customer Talk, MORE good people.  Abby is still active in Milford 4H so a family friend donated a custom wheelchair that will enable her to care for and show her pig at Lassen County Fair.  That’s what our community does. They make us Hometown Proud!                       
                                        

We received the MOST lovely hand written thank you cards from Abby. What a wonderful girl. Jessica Eid said of Abby “no matter what she will smile through it”. 

LoCaL functional ArT~

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up~ Pablo Picasso
Recently I called Ronnie Chandler, owner of Critter Keepers, to make an appointment for my boys. We got to talking, as we always do, and got on the subject of art. When Ronnie’s children were young she hired an art teacher to come out to the ranch and teach them. This so impresses me. 

Ronnie grew up in a village in Alaska where art was very important. She worked at Alaskan Indian Art where they would hire Native Tlingit Tribe artists to teach. As a child her family would travel to Texas to visit relatives, you had to pay per person to travel through Canada back to Alaska. One year in order to pay the fee Ronnie, her mom, dad and 2 brothers worked in Susanville, staying for 6 months. When they did return to Alaska Ronnie’s future husband, Sterling Chandler, followed. How cool is that? Since Sterling was from Susanville this is where they eventually settled. I’m glad they did. Ronnie’s Mom and Dad also moved here to be near and help raise the kids. In their neighborhood they would hold a craft night . When the Chandlers moved from town to the ranch she hired LoCaL artist, Alison Templeton to continue her kids art education. All of her children loved it and had a great sense of camaraderie, two discovered they were very talented. Ronnie’s son, also Sterling Chandler, does the most wonderful metal work, including this (pictured) knife he made for his specifically to fit his mom’s hand!  

How on earth did we end up talking about that? Well our mutual friend Therese Bailey had just been to Critter Keepers and I was telling Ronnie how we had this eyesore of a propane tank in the middle of our backyard that we hired Therese to paint it! It is gorgeous now by the way. And Ronnie’s kids painted a storage container on their property they use for a tack room. See that, fine art touches our daily lives. Nice. 
                                                


We have so many talented artists right here in the Ville. We’re lucky 
that way. Maybe you're one and don’t even know it yet! Take a class at the college, sign up at the Lassen County Arts Council, talk to a local artist or just see what you can do on your own!

Cocktail Sauce

Cocktail Sauce that is awesome SaUcE! 

Hot Spiced Cider

Hot Spiced Cider that not only tastes amazing but also fills the whole house (or store) with a sweet spicy aroma~ Yeah. I made it at my desk =)

Hard Squash

Your Green Grocerette cooks up some LoCaLLy grown Hard Squash. 

Artichokes

Your knife wielding Green Grocerette talks about Artichokes under pressure.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Irishman George Bernard Shaw said “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing”. Too true. I think this is why kids love Todd Eid. While I was writing this article one little boy ran in to the office and grabbed Todd in a big hug. Todd was chatting with him and the little boy announced he had to poop. Todd told him we have a bathroom, he replied he already went. Todd gave him a high five and said “did you wash your hands like a big boy?” “NOPE” said the boy as he took off to meet his Mom. There was Todd, hand in the air, he looked at me and said “wish I hadn’t asked”! Anyway, the Mom assured Todd he had washed his hands as Todd was on the way to the sink. 

Seems like an inappropriate story for a recipe article but it happened as I was writing this and laughter keeps us young. Back to our regularly scheduled content~

Since St Paddy’s Day is quickly approaching and we have a SuPeR great deal on Corned Beef here’s my recipe. Note I did this on a work day, in between job, laundry, walking dogs and fitting in a workout. Life gets crazy sometimes and this is one of those dishes that brings me comfort. I still remember my Mom cooking this and one of my favorite parts of the dish was the pearl onions. Each layer of onion absorbs a little bit of the juice and holds an incredible amount of flavor. Thankfully Christopher Ranch has these great little packages of pearl onions all ready to go. I talked to Meat Manager Jim Griswold and he told me the brisket is his choice so that’s what I bought. I checked out my old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for cooking times but you absolutely don’t need a recipe for this dish. Easy peasy. I have made this in a crockpot and was not happy with the outcome. To me it seemed all the ingredients lost their identity and tasted just the same. Personal preference.

1 Corned Beef Brisket
3-4 Carrots cut in chunks
5-6 small Potatoes (I used Yukon Gold) quartered
1 package Pearl Onions, skins removed
1 head Cabbage quartered

Dap the excess moisture from the packing liquid off with paper towels and place the Brisket in a large heavy soup pot. Sprinkle enclosed spice packet over meat, cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. Add onions, carrots and potatoes, simmer 1/2 hour. Add cabbage, simmer 15-30 minutes or until the cabbage is tender. Knock your socks off delicious!

I served it with some (overly) toasted garlic bread we topped with tomato slices and balsamic glaze. 

Happy St Patricks Day!

Winter Blues

We have amazing resources right here in Lassen County. Good people that are always willing to help, like Marriage and Family Therapist (and former Editor of the Lassen County Times) Shayla Ashmore. I asked Shayla for some tips to help combat the winter blues and WOW! So here it is, FREE of charge, PROFESSIONAL advice on enjoying the winter months~

Say goodbye to the winter blues

By Shayla Ashmore, MA, LMFT

After months of preparation and planning, the holiday comes and goes in a few short hours, and often, it doesn’t live up to our childlike expectations. We may end up with a case of the winter blues. It’s not just the nonexistence of the perfect holiday, many other seasonal factors contribute:

• lack of sunlight;
• lack of activity;
• fatty, sweet and salty foods;
• negative thoughts;
• cold;
• previous negative experiences associated with the season or a specific day,
• grief,
• difficult travel
• added stress of planning and preparation and the natural letdown that follows

If the winter blues lasts for more than a few days, and affects the quality of daily life through lack of enjoyment in previously pleasurable activities, difficulty sleeping, weight gain or loss, fatigue, inability to concentrate and feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness it’s not just winter blues. The previous list are symptoms of clinical depression and necessitate professional help. Call the doctor and get some professional counseling.

 There are, however, effective ways to combat a mild case of the winter blues. The best antidote to any temporary challenge in our thinking is to find things we enjoy and do them as often as possible.  The opportunities in this area are legion:

• get out and move
• stand in the sunshine for five minutes
• ride a bicycle
• ski
• cross country ski,
• snowshoe,
• walk on the Bizz Johnson or the trails at Susanville Ranch Park, Modoc Line, Bald Mountain, Lake Almanor Recreation Trail, Eagle Lake, etc.
• get together with friends
• join a reading or writer’s group,
• learn a new skill
• resume a favorite craft
• build something
• think empowering thoughts
• read an uplifting book
• watch a funny video and laugh out loud

Determine to think positive thoughts and every time a negative thought intrudes, fight it with a positive one.  If you talk to yourself in tones of gloom, gloom will take over your thinking. But if you continually talk back in positive tones, over time, your brain cleans out the less-used thoughts and give prominence to the positive statements. Replace automatic thoughts like, “stupid,” “klutz” or “I can’t take this,” with thoughts like, “I learned something,” “I’m glad gravity is still working,” or “I can do this.”

When we concentrate on what we enjoy, move and think, “I can do this,” the winter blues melt away. This year, instead of making a New Year’s resolution, make a new life resolution and move, think well and have fun. 

Blood Bank

We can title this article ‘A Day Late and A Dollar Short’ since the Blood Drive has already passed. BUT, being the eternal optimist, I prefer to call it SuPeR early for the April Blood Drive. 

Now that we’ve cleared that up, here is your chance to be a real Hometown Hero! I’m embarrassed to say this was my first time giving blood. Recently I heard there is a critical need for blood so when the United Blood flyer went up it was a great opportunity. On the flyer was a website to sign up and schedule my appointment. Super simple. Literally 2 minutes.  Then I called the phone number and spoke with Renee, she was terrific and excited to get a shout out in our ad. 

I took a couple of quick photos in the parking lot, loving all the Find the Hero in You branding! These wonderful women met me at the door, Mavrey and Lisa, explained the procedure. What’s this? Great tunes playing? A snack table filled with goodies? The atmosphere is super relaxed and every single person was so kind. Plus they insist you eat some yummy snacks before you leave! 

Jeremy Wong also donated on Tuesday, he was a SuPeR Hero, giving a double red cell donation. Here’s Jeremy’s story~

"I give what's called a double red cell donation, it's where they take two units of red cells and return the plasma back to me, as opposed to only taking one unit and keeping the plasma and the red cells. I am o positive which makes me a perfect candidate for it. I've been giving blood ever since I was in high school. There was a young man that needed a blood transfusion in my school and almost everyone that was eligible in school donated blood for him during the blood drive and I was hooked. :)
The double red cell donation normally takes an additional 30 to 45 minutes compared to the normal full blood donation. I arrived at the LDS church with an appointment at 12:30 and left the building at approximately 2:20. There were so many people there, it was awesome. They were running about 45 minutes behind because of all the people that showed up. Appointments did not matter on Tuesday. LOL. But like I said it didn't matter because we were all out there saving lives!"

Yeah. My community rocks like that. If there’s a need we will overwhelm you with support. I love it here!

Hometown Heroes. We got ‘em.

Ubie and Todd at Kidsfest