Made burritos with rice, chorizo, corn, beans, cheese & salsa for the Homeless this weekend. They are always popular & I've made a lot this time, so it looks like I will be going back to the parks on Monday & maybe even on Tuesday this coming week. :) Yeay !! :)
As of yesterday together we have fed 903 people. :) This number just amazes me. After this coming Monday & Tuesday we will be very close to 1000 people. :o
Thank you Maggie & Brian for donating a lot of the food for next weekends meals & for donating a lot of odds & ends, so to speak !! Three different men got socks each & were really happy to have them. The backpack went to a Tohono O'odham Indian homeless woman, who was excited to have one of her own now. Many of the cloth bags went to the other people in the two parks. And I found two people needing laundry soap who were grateful to receive what you donated. The blanket I will hang onto for now until it gets colder again. I have my ears open for the people who need pillows. Brian's shoes also found some happy feet yesterday. :)
Thank you Mary Helen for another donation for the Homeless Food Fund !! You are soooo appreciated & I soooo appreciate you being a true constant in this wonderful adventure !! :)
Also a great big thank you goes to Mike & Eric for donating books, which are always welcome. :) The novels & "who done it" books are always really popular with the homeless. I take the books with me every week & little by little they all are getting taken.
Thank you dear Vicky for helping with the Food Fund !! :) You are awesome, especially since you are a single Mom of three !! I Love You lots my Spirit Daughter. :)
Yesterday I spoke on the phone with one of the wholesale suppliers of my store. Kathy makes truly inspirational key tags & she suggested that I listen to a song called "Moments" by the group Emerson Drive. She said that it was about a homeless man & that the song makes her cry every time she listens to it. I went onto the Emerson Drive website, listened to the song & ended up crying too. It is so touching & so true for many of the people that live in the parks. It will touch your Hearts too. :)
Thank you also to everyone in the parks for being my friends & for being my protectors when needed, which is not very often. I get an adverse person on an average of about once a month. I feel that I am protected from what I call "Upstairs" & I have a lot of Faith in that. :) Faith is so important in these times we live in & it will help carry us through, along with us all pulling together & helping each other. :) I hope that this blog will inspire you & I pray that it all will ripple out to get bigger & bigger & all over this country.
More in a few days ........................
Feeding the Homeless People in the City Parks of Tucson, Arizona.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Potato Salad with Ham
Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful Dad's out there !! :)
More good news to report, which always is fun to do. :)
On 5-8-10 I shared with you about "Big" who lives in this old Cadillac in the parking lot of one of the Parks I go to. I was told last weekend that his family helped him out & he now lives in a very small, air-conditioned place (something like a studio apartment) & is no longer Homeless. :) I was so happy to hear that & to realize that he can now put up his legs & has cool air surrounding him. "Big", if you recall, has Edema & his legs & feet were so swollen that he couldn't fit into any shoes.
Last weekend I fed 58 people & this Saturday another 31. The total fed so far is 850 in 5 months. :) I am going back tomorrow with two pots of potato salad with some really delicious spiral-cut ham chunks & lots of pickles & eggs in it too. That ham is really wonderful, I found it at CostCo & got a good deal on it with a discount coupon they sent out this month. :)
I would like to send a great big Thank You out to Irina for her kind donation to the Homeless Food Fund !! :) It came in the nick of time. I was down to $2.89 when I got your donation & was wondering what am I going to cook from that amount this next weekend. May you always be blessed Irina & may Sundance give you all the Blessings you soooo deserve !! :) I am glad that we are becoming friends !!
Much thanks also goes to T-bird, who donated $8.00 to the gasoline fund, which is also always very much needed. I go through a lot of gas going to the Parks & shopping for the food & now water too. :) It all adds up & it all helps lots. :)
Speaking of water .... the Homeless People are so grateful for the cold water I bring now every time. :) It is very hot & dry here these days & will stay so for quite a while to come. Thank You again dearest Angel Laurel for helping out in that way !! :)
I would like to mention to everyone who reads my Blog, to please feel free & pass it on to everyone you know. :) It would so wonderful to have many people reading it & maybe even give me feed-back, or share their experiences with me. I feel we all are together in this & we need each others support. Makes life so much easier & fun that way. :) I would love to see comments sent to me directly to my Blog. Most of you have sent them to me to my email address. So please "pass this forward". :)
Thank You !!
More good news to report, which always is fun to do. :)
On 5-8-10 I shared with you about "Big" who lives in this old Cadillac in the parking lot of one of the Parks I go to. I was told last weekend that his family helped him out & he now lives in a very small, air-conditioned place (something like a studio apartment) & is no longer Homeless. :) I was so happy to hear that & to realize that he can now put up his legs & has cool air surrounding him. "Big", if you recall, has Edema & his legs & feet were so swollen that he couldn't fit into any shoes.
Last weekend I fed 58 people & this Saturday another 31. The total fed so far is 850 in 5 months. :) I am going back tomorrow with two pots of potato salad with some really delicious spiral-cut ham chunks & lots of pickles & eggs in it too. That ham is really wonderful, I found it at CostCo & got a good deal on it with a discount coupon they sent out this month. :)
I would like to send a great big Thank You out to Irina for her kind donation to the Homeless Food Fund !! :) It came in the nick of time. I was down to $2.89 when I got your donation & was wondering what am I going to cook from that amount this next weekend. May you always be blessed Irina & may Sundance give you all the Blessings you soooo deserve !! :) I am glad that we are becoming friends !!
Much thanks also goes to T-bird, who donated $8.00 to the gasoline fund, which is also always very much needed. I go through a lot of gas going to the Parks & shopping for the food & now water too. :) It all adds up & it all helps lots. :)
Speaking of water .... the Homeless People are so grateful for the cold water I bring now every time. :) It is very hot & dry here these days & will stay so for quite a while to come. Thank You again dearest Angel Laurel for helping out in that way !! :)
I would like to mention to everyone who reads my Blog, to please feel free & pass it on to everyone you know. :) It would so wonderful to have many people reading it & maybe even give me feed-back, or share their experiences with me. I feel we all are together in this & we need each others support. Makes life so much easier & fun that way. :) I would love to see comments sent to me directly to my Blog. Most of you have sent them to me to my email address. So please "pass this forward". :)
Thank You !!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Water
Today another prayer was answered. :) Thank you Creator & thank you my dearest Laurel !!
Every time I feed the Homeless people I get asked if I have anything to drink & every time this happens it breaks my heart when I have to say "no, it isn't in the budget yet". Right now our temperatures here are between 104 & 109 degrees & the body needs lots of water to sustain itself in this heat.
My dear friend Laurel from Oregon (& Arizona) called this evening & during the conversation she asks me if the Homeless are getting enough water to drink. I shared with her that I couldn't afford it at this point (see my blog from 5-31-10), so my sweet Laurel committed to providing bottled water with each meal every time from now on. :)
Laurel, thank you for your beautiful & caring Heart & for being soooo supportive of this !! :) And thank you for being a "Hollow Little Bone for Creator to work through" (to quote the Lakota Holy Man Fools Crow) by listening to His guidance !! :) I Love You So !!
Every time I feed the Homeless people I get asked if I have anything to drink & every time this happens it breaks my heart when I have to say "no, it isn't in the budget yet". Right now our temperatures here are between 104 & 109 degrees & the body needs lots of water to sustain itself in this heat.
My dear friend Laurel from Oregon (& Arizona) called this evening & during the conversation she asks me if the Homeless are getting enough water to drink. I shared with her that I couldn't afford it at this point (see my blog from 5-31-10), so my sweet Laurel committed to providing bottled water with each meal every time from now on. :)
Laurel, thank you for your beautiful & caring Heart & for being soooo supportive of this !! :) And thank you for being a "Hollow Little Bone for Creator to work through" (to quote the Lakota Holy Man Fools Crow) by listening to His guidance !! :) I Love You So !!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Christmas in June
"Christmas in June!!!" Mary & Gale of Four Winds Trading Co. wrote on a packing list, which included a huge stack of children's books that came in the mail today & are for me to give to needy & Native American children. :) What a surprise that was & it put a big smile on my face & then tears of joy. :) Mary & Gale helped me out last Christmas too with lots of books for the Native American children & families I made Christmas for the fifth year in a row.
Thank you so very, very much you two Dear Ones !! :) Your surprise really worked. Christmas in June is awesome !! :)
And thank you so much once more my very kind neighbors Dave & Linda for donating most of the food today for this coming weekends meals !! :) I don't know what I would do without you !! It is wonderful that I can always rely on you to be there for this !! :)
Thank you so very, very much you two Dear Ones !! :) Your surprise really worked. Christmas in June is awesome !! :)
And thank you so much once more my very kind neighbors Dave & Linda for donating most of the food today for this coming weekends meals !! :) I don't know what I would do without you !! It is wonderful that I can always rely on you to be there for this !! :)
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Gazpacho Soup & French Bread
It has been a very emotional week so far & I haven't felt much like blogging. Much happened though & I need to catch up before I fall too far behind.
On Monday, while feeding the Homeless, I found out that Mike, who was in his late 50ies & one of my homeless people, had died last Saturday. Mike wasn't really homeless, but then again he was, temporarily anyway. I told him that I would feed him anyway. :) He lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico, he told me, but being a Veteran & having heart problems, the V.A. there had sent him to Tucson's V.A. Hospital for treatment. Mike liked it in Tucson & told me that he needed to make a decision about moving here or about going back to Las Cruces. So in the meantime he was homeless here. I don't know the details yet about what caused his death, I just know that it had to do with his heart. Christopher was crying so hard when he told me that I couldn't ask him about what had happened. Hopefully I will find out more this Saturday. Mike was always kind & respectful with me. He was all the way around a nice man & always smiling or ready with a joke. I have been grieving his crossing over, along with Mike's homeless friends that always "hung out" with him.
Mike, have fun on the "Other Side" & please watch over Christopher & "Big Mouth" :) too. We miss you !!
The cold Gazpacho Soup was a success & some people would have liked some shrimp in it, but that is too much of a luxury on this small budget. Deanna, who is temporarily homeless, came home with me on Friday afternoon & together we chopped & diced at least 60 lbs. of vegetables on Friday & Saturday. I was very grateful for Deanna being here overnight to help me with the prep-work !! I had enough soup for both Saturday & again Monday. And Deanna donated five loaves of very, very fresh French bread to go with the soup, which made it more filling. :) Thank you, Deanna, for helping out much. :)
James, the very kind prisoner from Indiana I blogged about before, sent another $5.00 donation check for the Homeless Food Fund for June & he decided to send $5.00 every month hereafter. He wrote to me that the men there only make 12 cents an hour working. James is going to college in prison & he gets paid only $10.00 per month, but he wants to send $5.00 to help out. That made me cry once more. And James is trying to get his Buddy there to help out too. The Kindness of people all around is so incredible & my Gratitude is more than mere words can ever express.
Denise from Florida sent a second huge box of children's books for me to give away. Thank you Denise, you are a big Blessing !! :)
Yesterday I connected with Irina from Ohio through my business, Native Rainbows. She was placing an order for some CDs & we ended up talking on the phone for over two hours. :) Irina is from Europe too & it felt to both of us like we were old friends. :) Irina donated to the Homeless Food Fund too & I was able to buy 13 lbs. of zucchini today for this weekends meals of Chicken-Zucchini Pasta Alfredo, plus a stack of foam plates to serve the food on. They were on sale at 50 plates for $1.00, that's a great deal. :) Thank you soooo much Irina, you are very, very Special !! :)
Irina is thinking of doing a Fundraiser in Ohio with a friend of hers for my "Feeding the Homeless" fund. How wonderful & special would that be ??!! :) It would make things much easier & I could focus more on the cooking.
God is busy working through all of you in different ways to help with this cause. :) Thank you each & every one of you & know that the Blessings will all come back to you manyfold !! :)
On Monday, while feeding the Homeless, I found out that Mike, who was in his late 50ies & one of my homeless people, had died last Saturday. Mike wasn't really homeless, but then again he was, temporarily anyway. I told him that I would feed him anyway. :) He lived in Las Cruces, New Mexico, he told me, but being a Veteran & having heart problems, the V.A. there had sent him to Tucson's V.A. Hospital for treatment. Mike liked it in Tucson & told me that he needed to make a decision about moving here or about going back to Las Cruces. So in the meantime he was homeless here. I don't know the details yet about what caused his death, I just know that it had to do with his heart. Christopher was crying so hard when he told me that I couldn't ask him about what had happened. Hopefully I will find out more this Saturday. Mike was always kind & respectful with me. He was all the way around a nice man & always smiling or ready with a joke. I have been grieving his crossing over, along with Mike's homeless friends that always "hung out" with him.
Mike, have fun on the "Other Side" & please watch over Christopher & "Big Mouth" :) too. We miss you !!
The cold Gazpacho Soup was a success & some people would have liked some shrimp in it, but that is too much of a luxury on this small budget. Deanna, who is temporarily homeless, came home with me on Friday afternoon & together we chopped & diced at least 60 lbs. of vegetables on Friday & Saturday. I was very grateful for Deanna being here overnight to help me with the prep-work !! I had enough soup for both Saturday & again Monday. And Deanna donated five loaves of very, very fresh French bread to go with the soup, which made it more filling. :) Thank you, Deanna, for helping out much. :)
James, the very kind prisoner from Indiana I blogged about before, sent another $5.00 donation check for the Homeless Food Fund for June & he decided to send $5.00 every month hereafter. He wrote to me that the men there only make 12 cents an hour working. James is going to college in prison & he gets paid only $10.00 per month, but he wants to send $5.00 to help out. That made me cry once more. And James is trying to get his Buddy there to help out too. The Kindness of people all around is so incredible & my Gratitude is more than mere words can ever express.
Denise from Florida sent a second huge box of children's books for me to give away. Thank you Denise, you are a big Blessing !! :)
Yesterday I connected with Irina from Ohio through my business, Native Rainbows. She was placing an order for some CDs & we ended up talking on the phone for over two hours. :) Irina is from Europe too & it felt to both of us like we were old friends. :) Irina donated to the Homeless Food Fund too & I was able to buy 13 lbs. of zucchini today for this weekends meals of Chicken-Zucchini Pasta Alfredo, plus a stack of foam plates to serve the food on. They were on sale at 50 plates for $1.00, that's a great deal. :) Thank you soooo much Irina, you are very, very Special !! :)
Irina is thinking of doing a Fundraiser in Ohio with a friend of hers for my "Feeding the Homeless" fund. How wonderful & special would that be ??!! :) It would make things much easier & I could focus more on the cooking.
God is busy working through all of you in different ways to help with this cause. :) Thank you each & every one of you & know that the Blessings will all come back to you manyfold !! :)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tucson Appliance Co. :) & Food Bank Experience :(
This has been a day of highs & lows for me, including many tears of Joy at the end !! :)
It all began with my trip to the Food Bank this afternoon in hopes of picking up a bunch of fresh vegetables for this weekends cold Gazpacho Soup for the Homeless. What a disappointment that was !! :( I was told that I need a Non-Profit License in order to get food for feeding any Homeless, or to bring each one in. I was able to get a food box for myself though, which I will pass on to the people in the Parks this weekend. This I can get only once per month I was informed & that at this point the Food Bank didn't have any fresh vegetables, only bread & frozen sausage patties. As I got ready to leave a man came with a number of boxes filled with tomatoes & I received one of the boxes. :) It is the main ingredient in the Gazpacho Soup, so I felt really blessed & supported from "Up Above". :)
I did leave the Food Bank totally disappointed & disillusioned though. What if any families, especially with young children, need food more often than once a month ?? It just doesn't make sense to me.
Here comes the "tears of joy" story. After the Food Bank I went to meet Chris at the TUCSON APPLIANCE CO. My friends & people I know have told me during the last few days about what a nice man he is & how kind he is & they all were right. :) When we met we hugged right away & I felt like I had known Chris for a long time already. In a way I had, since Chris acts in his own commercials on TV. He seems to have a lot of fun doing it. :) Chris led me over to a refrigerator/freezer to find out if it would be big enough & by then I was crying happy & very emotional tears. And I don't cry easily, but Chris touched me so deeply with his generosity & kindness, that I couldn't hold the tears back. He also wanted to know if I had someone to pick it up for me & he then just decided to have it delivered to my home tomorrow. More tears of joy !! What can I say. :)
And more hugs of Gratitude !! :)
Chris told the salesman, John Byrd, who wrote everything up for the delivery tomorrow, that I feed the Homeless & that the fridge was a donation. So John reached into his pocket & gave me $10.00 for food & he encouraged a co-worker to chip in too, who then gave me $4.00. John said that he will continue to support me with "Feeding the Homeless". :) He feels that it is better to give to where all the money will be used for the actual cause & not part of it for administration costs.
Thank you soooo much Chris, John & your anonymous Co-worker !! :) I will encourage everyone I know to support your business & pray that all your Kindness will return to you in many, many ways !! :) You so touched me today with your Caring !! :)
It all began with my trip to the Food Bank this afternoon in hopes of picking up a bunch of fresh vegetables for this weekends cold Gazpacho Soup for the Homeless. What a disappointment that was !! :( I was told that I need a Non-Profit License in order to get food for feeding any Homeless, or to bring each one in. I was able to get a food box for myself though, which I will pass on to the people in the Parks this weekend. This I can get only once per month I was informed & that at this point the Food Bank didn't have any fresh vegetables, only bread & frozen sausage patties. As I got ready to leave a man came with a number of boxes filled with tomatoes & I received one of the boxes. :) It is the main ingredient in the Gazpacho Soup, so I felt really blessed & supported from "Up Above". :)
I did leave the Food Bank totally disappointed & disillusioned though. What if any families, especially with young children, need food more often than once a month ?? It just doesn't make sense to me.
Here comes the "tears of joy" story. After the Food Bank I went to meet Chris at the TUCSON APPLIANCE CO. My friends & people I know have told me during the last few days about what a nice man he is & how kind he is & they all were right. :) When we met we hugged right away & I felt like I had known Chris for a long time already. In a way I had, since Chris acts in his own commercials on TV. He seems to have a lot of fun doing it. :) Chris led me over to a refrigerator/freezer to find out if it would be big enough & by then I was crying happy & very emotional tears. And I don't cry easily, but Chris touched me so deeply with his generosity & kindness, that I couldn't hold the tears back. He also wanted to know if I had someone to pick it up for me & he then just decided to have it delivered to my home tomorrow. More tears of joy !! What can I say. :)
And more hugs of Gratitude !! :)
Chris told the salesman, John Byrd, who wrote everything up for the delivery tomorrow, that I feed the Homeless & that the fridge was a donation. So John reached into his pocket & gave me $10.00 for food & he encouraged a co-worker to chip in too, who then gave me $4.00. John said that he will continue to support me with "Feeding the Homeless". :) He feels that it is better to give to where all the money will be used for the actual cause & not part of it for administration costs.
Thank you soooo much Chris, John & your anonymous Co-worker !! :) I will encourage everyone I know to support your business & pray that all your Kindness will return to you in many, many ways !! :) You so touched me today with your Caring !! :)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Thank You !!
Thank you Rachel & Mike for helping out with your check for the June meals !! :) I soooo appreciate you & Love You lots !! Enjoy your vacation & your family !! :)
Tuna & Pasta Salad
Thank you Lizzy for your kind donation to help with the food once more. :) You continually amaze me with your on-going support of my Feeding the Homeless & all the miscellaneous items you bring over to help with it all. :) Also, thank you for stirring & mixing up all that Pasta Tuna Salad today, my wrists are very grateful to you too. ;) Many Blessings to you & your Lil' Naomi always !!
Many of the churches around town had free food for everyone today on Memorial Day, so I only fed 25 people in the different Parks. I am glad that they all got fed somehow, somewhere & are happy. There were concerts at some places around town, along with the free food, so many got entertained too. :) One church opened their doors for four hours to the Homeless this afternoon to watch old war movies & to let the people cool off in an airconditioned room. :) What a great idea !! :)
The temperature today was 98 degrees & it is getting only hotter in Tucson from here on in. I wish I could provide ice cold drinks to the people in the Parks, but at this point that is not in the budget. I truly feel lucky when I get enough money together to buy, cook & take the food to the Homeless. Thank God there are some shade trees in the Parks, but it still is hot outside, even in the shade. I don't know how they will survive the heat of the summer here. Please hold these people in your prayers. Thank You !!
Many of the churches around town had free food for everyone today on Memorial Day, so I only fed 25 people in the different Parks. I am glad that they all got fed somehow, somewhere & are happy. There were concerts at some places around town, along with the free food, so many got entertained too. :) One church opened their doors for four hours to the Homeless this afternoon to watch old war movies & to let the people cool off in an airconditioned room. :) What a great idea !! :)
The temperature today was 98 degrees & it is getting only hotter in Tucson from here on in. I wish I could provide ice cold drinks to the people in the Parks, but at this point that is not in the budget. I truly feel lucky when I get enough money together to buy, cook & take the food to the Homeless. Thank God there are some shade trees in the Parks, but it still is hot outside, even in the shade. I don't know how they will survive the heat of the summer here. Please hold these people in your prayers. Thank You !!
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