Volunteering to End Hunger

Last weekend I had the opportunity to volunteer for a truly worthwhile project: helping to feed children in Haiti. Organized by Feed My Starving Children, a Christian organization which distributes food to children of all religions, there was 24 hour food packing at the Southdale Mall in Edina, MN. My husband and I, along with members of the church that employs him, Edina Community Lutheran Church , pitched in for a three hour shift. Tables were set up and food was packed through the assembly line technique. Plastic bags were placed over a funnel and filled with chicken (vegetarian chicken bouillon, we were told), dehydrated veggies, soy and rice, then the bags were sealed, boxed and placed on pallets. I was the soy and rice scooping girl. They played upbeat music, the time passed quickly and I felt great after.

Here is the after-the-fact information from Feed My Starving Children  :

Thank you to all who volunteered at the One Community event! Thanks to your support, the final numbers are truly astonishing:

5,166 volunteers

1,710,288 meals

On May 21 and 22, the South Metro community gathered in an unprecedented effort to pack meals for Haiti. The One Community event was truly for everyone - students, families, clubs, teams, churches, businesses, and more - all working together to hand-pack specially formulated meals for starving children in Haiti.

We took over the former Mervyn's store at Southdale Mall for 24 hours starting May 21 at 6:00 p.m. It was a 24-hour blitz to fill Southdale not with "mall rats" but with "pack rats." It was one community uniting for one day with one purpose: Feed Haiti.

FMSC provides nourishing food to:

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador,  Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iraq, Jamaica, Kenya,  Liberia, Malawi, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

If you have a group of ten or more friends and you live in or are visiting Minnesota, you can volunteer for a shift to pack food. See Group Volunteer Information .

If you're like me, and probably generally can't whip up ten willing friends who are all free at the same time, you can still help by donating. See Donate or Gift of Life and Hope Catalog.

Thanks for reading.

New Front Flower Bed

David Phlox from Garden Soyvey

 

Bright Eyes Phlox from Dunge Valley Rhododendron Gardens

Chianti Mix Pansy from Dave's Garden

Lemon Berry Fizz Pansies from Green Fingers

Alaska Nasturtium from Rich Farm Garden

Rocket Mix Snapdragons from Good Life Farm

Yesterday evening, I dug up the flower box  (maybe 3' x 3') in my front yard that had been bricked in by the previous homeowner and filled it up with soil to plant my little garden. I added the flower types that you see above, plus a red snapdragon and a Johnny Jump Up that I will need to report back on. It was a beautiful evening, perfect for gardening and I was visited by two dogs taking their people for walks and a beautiful lone cat.

Twin Cities Cupcake Taste Test by Heavy Table!

A tray of my personal favorites, the Red Velvet at Cupcake Cafe. Love the Cream Cheese frosting!

Cupcake review! Heavy Table compares the best cupcakes in the Twin Cities.

They taste at:

Cake Eater Bakery

Cupcake Cafe

Cocoa & Fig

Franklin Street Bakery

Salty Tart

Sweets Bakeshop

Read all about it and drool at:

http://heavytable.com/twin-cities-cupcakes-a-local-taste-test/

I've got some bakeries to visit.

Hair and Makeup Workshop at Lili's Burlesque Academy

Our lovely instructoress, Gina Louise, Ophelia Flame and Nadine Dubois!

Last Sunday my friend Sara and I went to learn about Burlesque hair and makeup at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis at a workshop taught by the beautiful and talented Gina Louise. So, I packed up my Caboodle (yes, from the 1980s, but at least its pink and roomy)with various forms of eyeliner, my favorite mascara, many red lipsticks and anything else that might provide glitz and glamour. I was looking at it as a kind of sleepover without the ghost stories, snacks and sleeping over.

The seven of us got comfortable on the floor near the mirror, and Gina showed us pictures of many gorgeous ladies for some inspiration, shared some tips, and then we played with our makeup. She brought hers too, with lovely tubes of glitter to match the various eye shadow colors and lipstick.

She showed me a look for my eyes, which are hazel, using L'Oreal HIP shadow in Showy, which looked quite bright blue in the container but nice and smoky on the eye. Sara tried one eye in blue and the other in purple.

We had a great time! Possibly blurry photos to come.

Blessing of the Animals

Our dog Zoe meets a piglet at last year's Blessing of the Animals

During one of my favorite church services of the year the pews are crowded with wagging dogs, adaptable cats and assorted adorable pocket pets. Last Sunday morning, we had the Blessing of the Animals at Hennepin Church.

“But ask the animals,
and they will teach you;
the birds of the air,
and they will tell you;
Ask the plants of the earth,
and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among these does not know
that the hand of God has done this?" — Job 12:7-9

I am a crazy animal lover, so I get a thrill from walking around before the service and visiting with the pets and their people. Then we have prayer, song, sharing of what we learn from our animal companions (punctuated with woofs, howls and me-ooows) and our ministers bless each animal. We take our daschund, Zoe, who is overjoyed to see pastors Leah, Bruce or Sally. Our cats Thelma-Louise and Griffin prefer to stay home, so they are blessed by proxy through their photos. We also took a photo of Guinan to be blessed.

Bless the Beasts and the Children

(Perry L Botkin, Jr. / Barry De Vorzon)

Bless the beasts and the children
For in this world they have no voice
They have no choice

Bless the beasts and the children
For the world can never be
The world they see

Light their way when the darkness surrounds them
And give them love, let it shine all around them

Bless the beasts and the children
Give them shelter from the storm
Keep them safe, keep them warm

Light their way when the darkness surrounds them
And give them love, let it shine all around them

Bless the beasts and the children
Give them shelter from the storm
Keep them safe, keep them warm

This year among the faithful, we saw a King Charles spaniel puppy, a Brussels Griffon, a Bassett Hound, a dear Corgi named Hoover Von Vacuum, and many others. A few brave kitties were also there, including a slightly put out twenty year old Himalayan. The smallest vistor we saw was a hamster transported in his habitat. Our friends Mickey and Sara were their with their Border Collie mix Brumby, Springer Spaniel Ellie and Chi-Weenie (Chihuahua & Daschund), Wednesday.

A Prayer for Animals

Hear our humble prayer, O God,
for our friends, the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering:
for any that are hunted or lost of deserted
or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put to death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them
we ask a heart of compassion and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
- Albert Schweitzer

Burlesque Costume Workshop at Lili's Burlesque Academy

Lola Bel Aire photo above from Atomic Pin Up

Photo above from Sugar Bomb Daddy



Sally Rand with her fans. Find feather fan kits at Ostrich.com



You can be sparkly like Dita with crystals!

Try Rhinestone Guy for Swarovski crystals

Photo from: http://parisatelier.blogspot.com/2009/03/these-are-few-of-my-favorite-things.html

On Sunday afternoon, I went to a costume workshop held by Lili's Burlesque Academy in Minneapolis and I had a terrific time! Taught by the lovely Burlesque dancer Lola Bel Aire (above)the class was two hours of tips, tricks, beaded fringe and Swarovski crystals. Lola showed off some of her beautiful costumes and I took copious notes, hoping to glam up a bit for my husband and who knows? I'm taking beginning dancing at the academy; maybe I'll end up in the student showcase in the spring.

If you would be interested in other Lili's workshops, such as Overcoming Stage Fright and Hair and Makeup (I'll be there) click Lili's Academy PDF