The Annual Workday Was a Success

Another item that consumed considerable time in April (and contributed to my posting absence!) was the final preparations for the Hearts & Hammers workday--this year coinciding with Cinco de Mayo (always the first Saturday in May). This year was the 'fourth annual'--and each year it gets a little smoother. The all volunteer group provides home repairs, maintenance, & yard work to our neighbors that are unable to manage it alone.
Most of my volunteer work is over before the workday arrives as I provide assist with volunteer data bases, helping get the project lists together, & generally trying to keep the info flowing. I get to basically watch the day unfold & marvel at the production!

This year there were 121 volunteers on 21 projects--and Mother Nature really cooperated for a change! One of the homeowners wanted to contribute something back & so offered up authentic tamales per her native Mexico for the dinner at the end of the day. Wow! Great food, great music, great stories of what had been accomplished during the day--makes you get the Cheshire Cat smile! The final follow-up is almost completed--and then it's pretty calm until the beginning of next year. (Must be how Santa's elves feel by New Years...!)

The May Workday

One of the time distractions in recent weeks was gearing up for the third annual Hearts & Hammers workday--which was May 7th. It rained unbelievably that day! Despite the odds, though, twenty-one projects were completed by 99 hardy volunteers (except for the painting & sealing parts that had to be done a few days later, once the sky cleared briefly!). It's a very heartfelt, sometimes comic, and humbling experience.  

When all the soggy volunteers--and what home-owners were able to come--gathered for a wonderful meal at the end of the day, & each project captain reported on their activities of the day, everyone's heartstrings were tugged a little--or a lot! The close & personal experiences of the 'helpers' & the 'helpees' is so touching.  That mix of tears & laughter is a wonderful feeling! 
Now it's time for well deserved R&R until the first Saturday of May next year! 
Way to go!

After breakfast--before the mud!
(click for a little better view)

Applause for Hearts & Hammers

One of the things that helped me get behind with timely posts was the looming deadline of the 2010 Central Whidbey Hearts & Hammers workday on May 1st. Despite a poor weather start in the morning, about 120 people gathered for assignments, worked like crazy all day on 16 different projects for homeowners in need, & wearily returned at the end of the day for a great meal and a sense of satisfaction for jobs well done!

Because I had time to offer, I helped with a lot of the behind the scenes communication & paperwork organizing in advance of the workday. There has been some of that to do after the fact, too, so things are better organized for next year. As a friend said, they have big hearts, but not the best organizational skills. In their defense, though, organizing that many people--many of which are not necessarily skilled laborers--for a one-day blitz is a pretty amazing feat to watch!

This was only the second year for the central group. The south end group has been around much longer & they had even more people on more projects the same day.

Whew! Take a bow, everyone! Get rested up for May 7, 2011!

Crock Pot Wednesday

OK, here's the next installment in the slow cooking extravaganza! I was half-kidding when I nicknamed it 'Crock Pot Wednesday' but so far it's proving true... The lasagna from last week lasted until Sunday in surprisingly good shape; mellowed, blended with age. That will definitely be a 'do-over' at some point.

Here is the before & after of this week's recipe: Tamale Pie. Pretty easy, fairly good. This recipe uses hamburger but any meat would do--and easily could be only vegetarian. I added corn & chopped jalapenos to both the meat/sauce mix & to the cornbread 'dumplings', added more spice than requested, and less meat & cheese. The cornbread was made with a Jiffy mix base--came out too sweet; I think a made-from-scratch cornbread with additions would be better, as long as not too thick. Thought of Joe's cornbread stuffing after the fact & wonder if that might be a good try as well.

Pros: nice flavor, easy, good idea. Cons: not spicy enough, didn't make as large a pot as expected. Next time (or find a better recipe): double the recipe on most things (more), hot enchilada sauce + more peppers/spice, don't make the cornbread a top layer (mix spoonfuls more into sauce).

And, no, so far we're not expanding balloons of couch-potatoes. Walking a lot and can 'cook-and-forget-it' with some of these recipes. Have a nice portion for dinner & save the rest for lunches or dinners to come, so we can be off to do other things. Like our Saturday morning yoga class. 8-) Or like today: I'm going to spend the day at a friend's long-arm quilting studio; she has a 2nd machine that she 'rents out' for the day. This will be my first adventure into DIY...will let you know how it goes.
Meanwhile, Jim is getting busier now with the Hearts & Hammers projects for this year: work day is first Saturday in May, so they're finalizing the projects that will be included and planning budgets, materials, and work team assignments. This is only year two for the Central group, but they're acting pretty organized! I'm always proud to see the local community step up & lend a hand...we're lucky to live here.
So we'll be eating our leftovers when we manage to return home.