Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Dormition and Dolmas

The Orthodox Church's two week long Dormition Fast starts in a few hours.  It is a time when, in preparation for the feast, we abstain from meat, dairy, fish, wine, oil, and sex. 

For the past couple of years I have not been able to get one of my fasting staples at Trader Joe's:  Amazing vegan dolmas in an octagonal glass jar. They also used to carry some in cans which were very good but not quite as good as those in the glass jar.  I know it is possible to get dolmas from other sources, but the jarred dolmas sold by Trader Joe's were the best.    

And the other great thing about them was that you could  burn the leftover oil from the dolmas jar in your lampada!  It was like an answer to the prayer I used to sing at every chapel service at Sunnyvale Christian School.  What prayer you ask?  This one!  But back to the story...

Yesterday, while in a coffee shop, I ran into the Captain of a Trader Joe's store.  I told him about how we Orthodox depend on Trader Joe's dolmas, how we would stand around after services and talk about how great Trader Joe's dolmas in the glass jar are.  He had no idea they had a fan base.  Today he sent me this message:

"Hello Matt.
To follow up on your quest for Dolmas, I have good news.
My computer tells me that we will be getting Dolmas again.
What I know is that it will be $2.49 for 9.9 ounces.
What I don't know is the exact arrival. Could be a week, could be a month.
Could be a can or a jar, I won't know until it arrives.
Feel free to ask at the front desk periodically for an update when you are in shopping.
Thanks, Randy
Trader Joe's Pinole Captain."


In other news, I am a little bit worried my depression is coming back.  All I want to do lately is sleep.

2 comments:

GretchenJoanna said...

Thanks for the tip! I haven't had those dolmas yet, but I will now be looking for them -

May the fast be to your health in every way.

Elizabeth @ The Garden Window said...

Every blessing and grace for the fast, and remember, job-hunting and such activities are really, really stressful - make sure to rest your mind and your body.