Saturday, October 26, 2013

Chili, Tossed Salad, and Brownies

After three huge pots of Chili had simmered all afternoon & filling a very large bin with tossed salad we headed out to the parks to feed the people without homes there.  We fed 55 people tonight, but again it felt like we fed many more than that.  Somehow I overcooked today, ending up with the three pots instead of the two that were planned, but that was actually a Blessing.  :)  I came home with very little left over.  The more people we feed the happier I am & today's meal was definitely comfort food.   :)   We had lots of crackers to add to the Chili & I had baked two batches of Brownies last night for the dessert today.  :)

Faith, my Chopping Angel, thank you for all your help this afternoon !!  :)  There was a lot to chop today.  

My Heart Daughter Cristina came to help dish out the food at Santa Rita Park & she brought along her daughter Kiersten, who just turned 7 years young.   :)  Cristina also brought along her best friend Mandy & her lil' son Garrett, who is 5.  :)  It was precious to have the little ones take turns handing out the water & to every chance they got run around in the park.   :)  Oh, to be a child again !!  :)   Thank you, my Cristina, Mandy, Kiersten & Garrett for helping out !!  :)   I hope you come back soon again.  :)

Marilyn helped with the photos again & you can see them below this entry.  :)  You can also see the lil' Munchkins in the pictures being all intense about giving out the water to everyone.  

Thank you Marilyn for helping serve at the parks & for helping unload, and clean up all the pots & spoons afterwards !!  I treasure you & J.J., I treasure you also for your loving dedication to this & for always being there for me at the parks !!  :)

Dave & Linda my gratitude for you both is big, as always !!   :)   Without your caring help I wouldn't be able to pull off these meals !!  :)  

Alvin, thank you for donating some of the crackers for this dinner !!  :)  That helped out a lot. 

And a big thank you goes to Eleanor B. for your generous donation for the Homeless Christmas !!  :)  Marilyn scouted out a great bargain at "Factory To You" for colored T-shirts, to add to the gift bags & we are now with your help able to buy all 65 needed.   :)  

Good Night everyone, time to put up my tired legs.  :)  Sleep with the Angels everyone !!  :)

A Couple of Videos from the 10-26-13 Feeding



Feeding the Homeless on 10-26-13

 

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Sunday, October 20, 2013

Making Thanksgiving & Christmas for the Homeless

Calling on all my Angel Helpers,  :)

Thanksgiving & Christmas are approaching quickly & it is time once more to reach out to you & ask for your help to make the holidays special for the Homeless in Tucson's City Parks again.  I can't believe it has been a year already, time so is flying by these days.  :)

I have a Wish List for both holidays & I am humbly asking for donations to pull this off once more.  :)  The Wish List is on my computer & since I don't know how to attach it to this blog, please email me at  LKarinElliott@aol.com  & I will forward a copy to you if you like.  :)

My dream is to get enough money & items together so I can make 65 grocery paperbag gift bags again this year.  The people so enjoyed them last year.  :)

For Thanksgiving I will need 5 volunteers to roast & carve a turkey each on Saturday, November 23rd, which is the Saturday before Thanksgiving, & then to bring them over to my home in the early afternoon.  Hilde (89 years young now), Faith, & I will then cook the rest needed for the great big special meal.   :)

On Christmas Eve, if I get enough funds together, I would like to go to both parks with a whole bunch of pizzas again.  Last year I had 17 altogether to share & they were gone very quickly.  :)

Christmas dinner will be cooked & served on Saturday, December 28th, which is one of our regular Saturdays.  I haven't decided on the meal yet, but I'm hoping that Hilde will make her famous meat loaf & gravy again.   :)  It will be another huge meal.  :)

All you wonderful bakers out there, for Christmas it would be awesome to have lots of home baked cookies to add to the gift bags again.  :)  There are never too many.  ;)  The cookies I will need by Sunday, December 22nd, so I have enough time to sort them all into 65 baggies & then into the big bags.  We also need cookies for the Thanksgiving meal & of course always throughout the year.  :)

It also would be nice to have hand made Christmas cards by children of all ages to put into the gift bags this year again.  This could be a project for schools to teach the kids to share & about all the Homeless we have here in our city.  Teachers & parents with children, would you please help out with this.  :)

On December 28th I will need two volunteers with pick-up trucks to transport the 65 gift bags to both parks & to help hand them out there.  This will be from 4:30 PM until about 7:30 PM or so.  :)

Please email me for the Wish List.  :)  Together we are able to make a difference in these peoples lives, to let them know that they are not forgotten & that they are cared for by many.  :)

Thank you all my Angel Helpers for your Loving Kindness & Support this year again !!  :)

Karin

L. Karin Elliott
3364 E. Popinac Loop
Tucson, AZ 85716
520-326-2236
LKarinElliott@aol.com



Saturday, October 12, 2013

Tortilla Soup with Corn Chips, French Bread & Brownies

Today's meal was prepared & served to honor the memory of Shani Friedman.  Her husband Jon donated in her name to the homeless food fund & I in turn wanted to do this for her.  Shani crossed over into the Spirit World about eight months ago very unexpectedly.  I've known Shani & Jon for many, many years, we used to be store neighbors on Grant Road when I had Rainbow Moods, and Jon & Shani had the The Wild Bird Store www.WildBirdsOnline.com at that location.  The store now is at the corner of Fort Lowell & Country Club.  Shani & Jon always were very kind & caring & wonderful neighbors.  Please support their business & their dream.   :)

We fed 52 people today, but again it felt like lots more.  Most of the homeless came back for seconds, so we served close to 90 bowls.   :)   Faith & I chopped up 20 pounds of zucchini, shredded four big fat roasted chicken & added lots of cilantro into two huge pots of soup, which was more like a stoup (a cross between a soup & a stew).  We also had six pounds of corn chips, which were almost all gone & there was very little soup left at the end.  :)  

Heily made a batch of her yummy brownies once more & J.J., Marilyn & I got to sample a few also.  :)   It's always a little treat for us helpers too.  :)

Thank you Dave & Linda for donating some of the food for this meal again, you are ever so & always appreciated !!    :)   I feel very blessed to be part of your family & you are the brother I never had !!   :) 

J.J., Marilyn & Faith, thank you for always showing up & for being such a caring support to me & this project of feeding the people out there !!   :) 

I feel that even though the people in the parks don't have a home, they still deserve the very best food we can provide !!  To me it is unimaginable to not have a roof over my head & the thought of them having to sleep on the hard & dry Arizona ground makes me cry.  So the least I can do is provide a nourishing meal & hopefully make them feel loved a little bit from the inside out & not forgotten or ignored as they often are. 

Sure, it is a lot of work, but it also is very rewarding & the loving gratitude we receive while serving the food makes it all worth while.  So far we have served almost 11,000 meals & that doesn't count the second plates or bowl fulls.  It was quite an adventure to learn to cook such huge quantities & now after having done this for three years, I find it hard to cook very small amounts anymore just for myself.  Thank God for hungry friends & neighbors.   :)  

Good night now everyone & sleep with the Angels !!   :)

Homeless Feeding on 10-12-13

 

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