Cheesemongers

Cheese mon ger [cheez mong er], -noun

1. one who sells cheese.

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I would have thought that a cheesemonger hogged all the cheese. My sister in law and her husband are cheesemongers. But they share their cheese, and they sell it.

Five years ago, Barb and Dave were living in Boulder. They'd lived there for at least 20 years, and for lack of a better word, they were DINKS. (I'm not name calling, I'm referring to the acronym for Double Income, No Kids.) They were both employed by big high tech firms in the area, living the frenetic life of, well, techie DINKS. They enjoyed camping, entertaining, skiing, hiking, gambling, cooking, all of the things Boulder DINKS like to do.

And like lots of techie DINKS, they were both laid off. At the same time. This didn't mesh well with their lifestyle, and it wasn't a great fit for the mortgage on their Boulder Country Club home.

But Barb had always dreamed of doing something more. She wanted to run their own business, and Dave, being the good husband that he is, went along. Literally. They had already been looking around at various ideas, traveling to different states to check out properties and various opportunities.

Making quite the leap, they ended up buying a cheese shop in the Cascade Mountains in the middle of Washington state. They'd never lived in Washington, they'd never been their own boss, they'd never sold cheese or anything else. They didn't know anyone in the town of Leavenworth. But they knew how to manage employees, they liked to talk to new people, and they liked food.

It was no surprise that their store has been successful. They enjoy what they do, and they are good at it. They feel lucky to be living this life, running this store, and I think the town is lucky to have them.

Leavenworth is a wonderful little town. When the logging business began to dry up several decades ago, a hired consultant came up with the dubious idea of turning the town into a Bavarian styled tourist attraction. Even more oddly, the town decided to follow this advice, and the rest is history (link to article in Seattle P-I). The climate is fabulous (and at 8000 feet, it very much like Boulder), the scenery incredible. The shops are fun and varied. And if you go, stop in at The Cheesemongers Shop. Barb and Dave will enjoy visiting with you, and they'll stuff you full of lots of cheese.

Autumn in Leavenworth, Washington - "The Bavarian Village" - (October 11-12, 2006) - *** Featured November 28, 2006 ***