just like momma used to make

So there's a new bag in town that couldn't be a better fit for our fair city. It's called The Parlor and since my words probably couldn't do it justice, here's their mission statement:

"In an age when most of our food and music are mass-produced commodities, we at The Parlor aim to get back to basics. Using quality, locally-sourced ingredients (many of which we grow in our own backyard), our goal is to provide the community with a genuine "hand-crafted" alternative to the processed foods that increasingly dominate the marketplace."

As you might have guessed they work in food - catering, private chef as well as brown bag lunches, and with menu items such as The Dad (meatloaf sandwich) and the Ultimate PB&J (peanut butter, Nutella, banana and strawberry compote) I think this will fast become a staple for those comfort food-craving moments in all our lives.

One more thing to note: you have to order your lunch a day in advance, which I think is a nice touch--elevating the workaday lunch experience beyond running down the street for a quick bite. Lunches are delivered Monday, Wednesday and Friday to Downtown and North Knox. So give it a try, if not for the PB&J, do it to meet some really interesting Knoxvillians.

The Parlor
726 Chickamauga Ave.
865-456-3458

I see Daylight

So I had a pretty sweet lunch break last Wednesday. I finally made it to the new Steamboat Sandwiches on Market Square. I had been to the one on Central a few times so already knew I was going to like the food. It was strange to be in Steamboat without having that divey, hole-in-the-wall kind of feel that it used to have. The space in Market Square is squeaky clean compared to their former location, which I feel can only be a step up for a restaurant.

















Yay, Steamboat!

















After lunch, I had the pleasure of going on a tour of the currently-being-restored Daylight Building, located on Union in between Walnut and Locust, where David Dewhirst showed us all the ins-and-outs of the space. The site was bustling with workers who plan on completion in August of this year. Rent for apartments will range from $595 to about $1300. There are several different floor plans for each space. The basement level, or what David called "The Garden Level" will have "shotgun" apartments, the main level will be commercial space out front and residential in back, and the second floor will all be residential.



Above: They are working to restore the stain glass that delicately hangs from the awning out front.


Above: A view from inside, looking out of what will be a future retail space.



The above and below photo are of the same apartment. This space is located on the back of the main street level. Below show the framework of where a bedroom, bathroom, and loft space will be.



Below: In true Dewhirst fashion, he will keep and create unique architectural elements in each space. This archway will be cleaned up a little more, but will retain the same feel as it does currently.



Below: If I were richer, this is the apartment I would want. A two bedroom apartment looking out over Walnut and Union, with windows as far as the eye can see. The crem de la crem. Two apartments have already been leased and this is one of them.






Above: David explains how they will sound proof the walls and keep some of the wooden rafters exposed.

Below: One of the ginormous doors on the Garden Level. They will refurbish these doors and reuse them. Go historic preservation!



And Below: At the top of the stairs on the Second floor, a precious view of our Headquarters. "Hey peeping Sunsphere!"

















And for those wanting to know more about Urban Outfitters; We asked David and his answer was basically it's too soon to tell. That's what I thought.

more sweet pups urgently need our help

We've been running across sweet dogs in need of our help left and right lately. Unfortunately, it is down to the wire for these Beagles. I think they need willing fosters or adopters by tomorrow morning or they will be put to sleep. Since time is short, I am copying the email I received from a friend. If you are interested, willing, able, heartbroken, etc, etc. please contact Michael at msamstag@mac.com ASAP. The good news is that quite a few of them are accounted for, so I think there are just 3 more that need saving.

Fosters or permanent homes needed for these sweet Beagles!!

We have eight Beagles who are socialized, very loving and sweet. They have been extremely well cared for they have just never been outside of a lab environment. They have never been used for any kind of experimentation beyond routine blood work. In other words, these are going to be some very sweet, appreciative dogs!! We're about two people away from making sure that none of them are put to sleep.

They will be available through the Lab and All Breed Rescue Network. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. Time is CRITICAL as we have to tell them how many we can take by Friday morning.

Again, contact Michael if you can help or need more info. Apparently these are just the sweetest guys on earth. msamstag@mac.com

wigshop love and save the pups. xoxo Em

Schoolhouse gardens rock

Community gardens (and personal gardens for that matter) are a good thing. They encourage a community to come together to create a beautiful space that everyone can enjoy. The ones that include edible items? Well that's just a big fat bonus.


I was thrilled to hear that Amber Houser, a science teacher at Fulton High School in North Knoxville, and some of her fellow teachers and students are working on creating a schoolyard community garden with the idea of possibly providing some fresh food for use at the Fulton cafeteria and maybe even hosting a farmer's market if their garden yields enough.

And in true community garden fashion, Amber is inviting the community to be a part of the process. The teachers and students would love to have some help from those who know about gardening especially in the planning stages -- how to create the garden, what to plant, how to raise money to cover the costs, etc. etc.

So if you're interested in helping out, there will be an informational meeting with Amber and some of the student leaders at 4:15 p.m. in room 403 at Fulton (Woodland at Broadway). Some of the discussion topics will include organizing some neighborhood workdays, funding, composting and timeline for planting.

What a great way to introduce community gardening to high school students. I can't be there Thursday, but I want to encourage everyone who's interested to attend. I'll try to keep you informed on the progress of the garden.

Rumor, Inuendo, and Hope

Many of you have seen this.

Could a store like Urban Outfitters be coming to our scruffy little city? Are we hip enough, or rather are they hip enough for us?

Besides a grocery store, what stores would be a good fit for downtown Knoxville?

Any thoughts?

********************************

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!

Flory just put this up. Looks like this thing could really happen. What a fantastic retail anchor to draw in more people to downtown.

Later I will ask myself why I got myself into this, until then...

The day after the Pol wrote about the puppy Forrest who needed a home, my life took a coincidental turn. On my way to work the next morning, my eyes met those of a small black puppy. I rolled down my window to ask her what she was doing. I could see she was shivering.

At that point, I was already invested. I went to the other side of the fence where she was and walked up to her. She backed away and got really low as I approached. I knelt down and put my hand out to her. Immediately her tail was wagging. In moments, she was jumping up and down, wagging her tail. I could see blood on her coat and near her ears. She was so happy to be found.

The long story short is that after advice from several people, I took her to Young Williams Animal Shelter. There I was presented with a paper to sign that basically said I gave up all rights to this dog and understood that in three days, if no owners came, she could be put to sleep. So for an hour and a half with pen in one hand and dog leash in the other, I paced from the lobby to outside, tears streaming down my face wondering what to do. (I have no shame. I am a lover of animals)

My issue was that I could not take this dog home if it was sick and I couldn't take it to the vet if it needed expensive care. After calling a few people, the best option was to sign the paper so the dog would at least have a warm place to stay with food and minimal veterinary care.

Needless to say, I was a wreck the rest of the day and so I called everyone I knew that could help. I learned a lot in a couple of hours, and some of that information is in the two posts below this. I hope you will read them to learn what I learned.

The day after I dropped off the puppy, I went back to Young Williams, signed adoption papers, at least to know that if the owners don't come claim her, and if she is not considered adoptable (the odds are against her), she will not be put to sleep.

The following two posts are informational, but this one is a request that if you know of any way to help or know anyone who wants to give a sweet puppy a home, please let me know. On Sunday I find out if she is adoptable. If I adopt her, she will be available around Tuesday to take home. I have already committed to take her to the vet then to see what care she needs. I want to give her health. Is there anyone that can give her a home?

You can contact me at aemeadows@gmail.com

A little help from friends

After I found the above puppy, one of the first things I did was contact Tinah Utsman via Facebook. I knew she had a "dog network" group on Facebook that helps people and lost pets reunite and helps stray pets find homes. I have to be honest and say I wasn't thrilled at first to receive weekly messages about cute little pets that need homes (it kills me), but the above experience has made me suck it up and hopefully I can be a part of this great network that Tinah has created because of her passion for the well-being of animals. Already from the post I put up about the puppy I found, several people have been messaging me, asking how they can help.

Under the group's profile picture of Tinah and her dog Louise it reads, "I rescued Louise, then she turned around and rescued me...this dog changed my life. tru."

To join this group, go to T & Louise's Dog Network

What to do when you find a stray animal or lost pet

After I contacted Tinah, she sent me this information on what to do when you find a stray or lost pet. It is really helpful. I have just copied and pasted below. I hope you'll at least skim through:

IF YOU HAVE FOUND AN ANIMAL WITH NO VISIBLE IDENTIFICATION HERE ARE SUGGESTED STEPS TO HELP REUNITE ANIMAL WITH OWNER OR POSSIBLY GET ANIMAL INTO RESCUE OR ADOPT TO A NEW HOME. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO JUST KEEP A FOUND ANIMAL, STEPS TO FIND OWNER MUST BE FOLLOWED.

IMMEDIATELY, Take animal to vet or local shelter to be scanned for a chip, in knoxville you may take it to Young Williams off of Sutherland, scan animal (if animal is microchipped shelter will put you in contact with company to reunite animal with owner--best case scenario--PLEASE MICROCHIP YOUR ANIMALS, CAN BE DONE FOR $20 AT YW OR THEIR CHIP WEEKEND PROGRAMS) and place contact info in the found dog book. Also check the lost dog book while there. Once listed, if you have the ability to hold animal, you can take the animal back home with you to foster during the legal found notification period of 10 ays. IF you cannot commit to some or all of this minimum period then leave animal at the shelter and hope owner finds it or it makes it to the adoption floor. FYI, less than 10 percent of animals turned in to shelter as stray are reunited with their owners. Shelters are only required to hold stray animals for 3 days and depending on animal or space, at that point either goes to adoption floor or is euthanized.

MUST DO: List animal as found in several area locations whether or not you keep animal to foster OR leave at shelter. Many people don't think to look at the shelter so by doing this you are either fulfilling the legal obligation to hold animal for owner or advertising animal was found and where these people need to look, who to contact or alerting them to go to shelter. If not in knoxville area, follow these steps in your area/shelter/paper.
a. list in book at shelter (Young Williams is the local Knoxville city shelter and is located off of Sutherland Ave, about 2 blocks east of Concord intersection on the north side of street) and online at www.knoxpets.org
b. place ad on craigslist (leave out one pertinent piece for identification to make sure true owners contact you)

c. place ad in local paper--free for 3 days in Knoxville News Sentinel. Call classifieds by 11 am and you can generally get it in next day.

d. put up posters in local grocery store, on telephone poles in main streets/intersections/area where found, put up flyer in the local pet store.

e. If animal is in good condition, not chipped, possibly owned, you might even contact vets in your area to see if it matches up any of their clients.

f. get the word out, facebook, emails, etc.....


ONLY AFTER THIS 10 day notification time has been completed and you have tried everything to reunite animal with owner, can you LEGALLY KEEP or advertise animal to place. A good general listing of rescues by breed can be found at East Tennessee Border Collie Website or you can google search the breed and Knoxville TN. Most rescues desperately need fosters, so be proactive. Contact friends, co-workers, facebook friends, family, neighbors and see if anyone can help you keep this dog safe until an adoptive family or rescue can get it to safety. It is a committment but well worth the investment. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH, SHELTERS AND RESCUES URGENTLY NEEDS FOSTERS TO HELP. Fostering is rewarding and easy. Just takes time and patience.

This info is geared towards dogs but works for all found animals. If you find an animal and consider it your responsibility to help this animal, then minimum steps are needed to make this happen. Rescues or the shelter will do their best to work with you but you will be a vital piece in this puzzle, you have taken the first step, it is up to you to help follow through.

***If crates or such are needed good places to look are garage sales, ask your local shelter/friends/neighbors for a loaner, goodwill, craigslist and newspaper classifieds. You can get them pretty cheap, most break down for storage and you never know when you might need one.