Pasta with Ham, Broccoli, Sundried Tomatoes, Multi-Colored Peppers & Parmesan Cheese, again :)

What a colorful dinner we served today.  :)  It looked like Christmas with some fall colors mixed in, red & green & orange & yellow.  And then there was the tossed salad also full of colors.  We all eat with our eyes too & today the eyes had some feasts along with all the bellies.   :)

We had ham again since Albertson's had a great deal on them a little while ago & I stocked up a lot.  It will be ham for a little while longer, there are three more frozen.  I asked the Homeless if they are tired of ham & they said no, not at all.  Chicken is another story though.  :)   Apparently they get chicken fed quite often. 

We fed 45 people today altogether & were able to hand out a few granola bars, etc.  I don't take them very often, as there isn't always room in my SUV for more to carry along.  I wish my car was bigger sometimes, so I could take more things to the parks, but it is all good !!  :)

Thank you Faith & Ted for all your loving cooking help & it was really awesome to meet you today, Ted !!  :)   I loved how you kept looking for ways to help & to just be there for Faith & I with whatever needed to be done !!   :)   You fit right in !!    Please come back soon !!   :)

Heily dear, thank you for baking all those yummy brownies for the homeless (and for us too   ;) !!  Ted can have some next time & so can you !!  We deserve treats too, since we work hard to get the meals cooked.  :)  Those brownies were just too good for words !!  :)   Please make more soon.  :)

Dave & Linda here is another shout-out of Gratitude for your continued & ever so loving help !!  :)
You are the best neighbors one could have & I so appreciate you both !!  :)

J.J. & Marilyn thank you for being there for me by helping serve & to crack jokes at times.  :)   I appreciate both of your help always, even though sometimes I forget to tell you so. 

Marilyn my thankfulness to you for cleaning up all the salad & pasta bins tonight & for letting me sit down for a little bit to rest my feet.  I am going to be 70 at the end of next month & sometimes I feel it, although I try to not give it too much power.  :)  

I am very, very tired tonight, it was quite hot out there at the parks.  So I will keep this short & say good night to everyone now.  Sleep with the Angels & please pray for all the Homeless out there in this heat & humidity right now. 

Pork Tacos (Carnitas), Pinto Beans & Cilantro Rice

Another successful meal completed.   :)   We fed 46 homeless people today & everyone just loved the food & all were ever so grateful.  We never heard so many "thank yous" before & many of the fed came over to say it once more extra specially before leaving with a full belly.  :)  
We had a lot of food today, with many different parts to it, which included lettuce, tomatoes, shredded Mexican cheese, salsa, limes, jalapenos, cookies & bottled water. 

Faith, thank you for cooking with me again today !!  All that extra work was well worth it & I wish you could have been there to receive all the gratitude too !!  :)   Hopefully I am able to reflect it back to you through this writing !!   :)   Your cilantro rice is awesome.   :) 

Heily, thank you for helping to shred the pork & for chopping lots of tomatoes, even though you don't like tomatoes.   :)   It was nice to have you around today with your Mom & I !!   :)  And thank you for baking all those wonderful sugar cookies for the homeless !!  :)  You are so sweet Girl !!  :)

Marilyn, thank you for taking those wonderful pictures which are posted below !!  :)  It is always nice to be able to post photos of the people we feed.  You are our official photographer.  ;)   Thank you also for helping with the serving & for your kind help in helping me clean up all the pots & pans at my house afterwards !!  :)   I so appreciate it all !!  :)

Mark B., you surprised us at the park with helping to serve, which is always wonderful !!  :)  J.J. & I always like it when you are there with us.  You always add your Love & lots of laughter to everything & the homeless really like you too.  Thank you & also for helping out with the food fund too !!  :)  Your timing is always impeccable !!   :)

J.J., my gratitude to you is ever so much !!  :)   When you are there to help, you do such a great job setting up & taking things down. !!  :)  It always gives me one less thing to be concerned about !!  I so appreciate that, especially after the long hours of cooking & having a tired brain.  ;)

Today we had a brand-new helper by the name of Jim D., who is a friend of Faith's.  Jim, thank you for jumping in to help when I needed another person to serve the food !!  You fit right in.  And it was fun to have your Santa Claus energy at the parks with us.  Next time we expect you in your Santa hat.  ;)   Who is Santa without his hat ??!!   :)  

Dave & Linda, thank you as always with my whole Heart for your help with some of the groceries & Dave for always being there for me to load up the car before heading to the parks.  :)   Even when I forget to remind you !!   ;)  Those pots filled with food would be really heavy for me to lift.  Your help is always so needed & appreciated !!  :)  

Randy S., I don't know how to thank you enough for your awesome & thoughtful check for more food & meals !!  :)   You really made me cry with Gratitude !!   :)

All of you & the homeless too are always in my Heart & my Prayers & that is a done deal & I wish I could do more than that for each & everyone of you wonderful people !!  :)

Sleep with the Angels all you Dears !!   :)

Photos of Feeding the Homeless on July 27th, 2013 at Estevan Park

Left-Overs Today

Went back to Santa Rita Park today loaded up with a bunch of left-overs from last Saturdays Sloppy Joe's, rice & beans, plus the Boston Market chicken, mashed potatoes, mac 'n cheese, veggies & corn bread that the nice black man donated on Saturday.  So we had two complete meals to offer & the homeless had their choice of which one they preferred this time.   :)  Between the two left-overs we had enough food to feed everyone nicely.   :)

Lee came with me to help & together we fed 30 people.  It felt like a lot more, but that must have been because of all the choices we had to offer.   :)

We fed about 15 people at Santa Rita Park & since we had still food left we went over to Estevan Park, but didn't find one soul there.  So we stopped at "Stone Park" aka De Anza Park & fed about 15 more there.  I don't feel very safe at that park & we were in a hurry to get done & out of there.  Sure enough one of the homeless punch out another one & split his lip open.  Sadly the man couldn't eat after that.  :(   It's just not a good park, but we didn't want to waste any food either. 

Thank you my buddy Lee for helping me today !!  You are awesome !!  :)  I couldn't have done all that by myself.  You are one of my Angels & I'm very grateful to you !!  :)

Sloppy Joe's, Rice & Beans

Wow, 55 people fed today.  :)  

We had a lot of people at Santa Rita Park today, it was about 45 or so just there.  At Estevan Park it was about 10, all the regular core group. 

Faith & I made Sloppy Joe's, authentic Spanish Rice (her Grandma's recipe), and Cowboy Beans.  We also had water & cookies, as usual.   :)   Today I learned how to make real Spanish Rice from Faith & it was the best ever !!  :)   I will keep her Grandma's secret ingredient a secret.  ;)

In the middle of our serving the food at Santa Rita Park this wonderful man drove up & gave us a huge box full of different food from Boston Market.  :)  He said it was left over from a reception they had today.  Since we had a lot of our own food & served already, I am saving it, along with the leftovers from our cooking today & I will take it all to the park either tomorrow or on Monday for dinner.  This way the homeless will get an extra meal & it all will be heated again then. 
What a wonderful gesture form that man & so thoughtful !!   :)

A very kind "Water Angel" donated $40.00 & I was able to get sixteen 24-packs thanks to one of my favorite grocery store having the best sale ever.  :)   The employees there know me & what I do & always let me go through twice or more when there are limits on items like that.  :)   Every little bit helps & every penny saved buys more food or water.  :)   Thank you, you guys !!  :)  
Thank you also to our anonymous Water Angel & J.J. for being the Bringer of Good News !!  :)

Thank you Faith for being a great Sous Chef   :).  J.J. & Marilyn for helping dish out all that food at the parks & Marilyn for helping to clean up the pots at my house afterwards !!  You all are really awesome & I soooo appreciate you always !!  :) 

Thank you Dave & Linda for helping with the groceries again & Dave for loading my car up with the heavy pots & stuff !!  You fill my heart with your on-going Kindness !!  :) 

Below are some photos from today that Marilyn took of the Homeless, J.J. & I.  

Good Night now & everyone Sleep with the Angels !!  :)

Photos of Feeding the Homeless today on 7-13-13

More Pizza & lots of Water

Today I was invited to a Birth-day party for a precious little 4 year old boy.  :)  

His parents, Mandie & John, had three big boxes of pizza left over & gave them to me, along with a 36 pack of bottled water, so I could take it all to Santa Rita Park to feed the homeless.  :)    I was able to feed 12 people & all were quite happy to get the pizza & especially lots of water.  :)  

Thank you so much Mandie & John for your thoughtful Kindness & for making a difference today in 12 people lives !!   :)   You are really awesome & I pray that the Blessings will come back to you many-fold in ways that you need !!  :)  

Sending Love & Hugs to you & the cutest lil' boy in the whole world !!   :)

Pizza & Cookies

Since this month has five Saturdays I took pizzas to the parks today for the homeless.  :)   It's a bonus meal for everyone.   :)

Armed with 13 boxes filled with Little Caesar's Deep Dish Pepperoni Pizzas I fed 52 people today.  Each person got 2 big fat slices & I had just enough for everyone.  :)    I was amazed how good these pizzas were & how filling.  All the homeless oohed & awed & I did too actually.  The closer it gets to the end of the month the more people I always end up feeding.  

It was incredibly hot here today, supposedly 113 degrees,& the cold water was just as much appreciated as the pizza.  :)   I wished I had lots more water for 'em all, they were really asking for more !!  There are only so many funds available for it all.   I'm praying for a "Water Angel" now.

Lee made a bunch of peanut butter & chocolate chip cookies for me to take today.  They were a big success too, Lee !!   :)   Thank you from all the guys they said !!   :)  

Mother Nature was very kind to us even with all this heat !!  :)   It was quite overcast for most of the day & that made it a little more bearable for everyone.  :)

Please hold these people in your prayers throughout these super hot days here in Tucson !!  And many Blessings to each & everyone !!

Video of Pigeons & Flying Pasta on June 22, 2013 :)

Please see my blog entry from June 22nd, which shares the pigeons with the flying penne pasta story.  :)

Pasta with Broccoli, Ham, fresh Red Peppers, Sun Dried Tomatoes & Parmesan

It was 104 degrees again in Tucson today & it was quite hot !!  We cooked another semi-cold pasta salad to keep the homeless somewhat cooled off, especially since serving the food outside.  We also made a great big bucket of fresh tossed salad with lots of cucumbers, tomatoes & fresh cilantro. 

We used 7 bottles of "Kraft - Italian Roasted Pepper" dressing in the pasta salad, along with a lot of  sun dried tomatoes & it turned out really yummy.  A large amount of added Parmesan cheese made it all quite tasty & refreshing.  Again we used 10 lbs. of ham, 8 lbs. of pasta, 6 lbs. of broccoli, 8 red peppers & 32 oz. of grated Parmesan.   :)   I will make this again pretty soon during the summer months, it was fairly easy & quicker than any of the other meals we have made so far. 

Since we only fed 44 people, many of the homeless got seconds, which of course is always great when we can do that.  :)   The left-overs will be donated to the people at the Yaqui Indian Sweat Lodge again & the children that show up hungry there.  Since school is out now, there are more children that show up, so more mouths to feed.  :)  

Thank you Faith for helping me chop & stir, you are the best !!   :)   I am very grateful for your loving help always !!  Thank you also for baking all those wonderful cookies.   :)  Marilyn, J.J. & I liked them too !!  ;)   I have some left over, so I can take them next Saturday to go with the pizzas.  :)

J.J. & Marilyn, thank you once more for your help serving the food !!  :)   What would I do without you ??!!   :)

Dave & Linda, thank you once more for your kind help with some of the groceries for the meal !!  I'm sending a big hug to both of you !!  :)  

Lee, thank you for helping me out with loading up the car with the food & water !!   :)   

We had some really good giggles today at Santa Rita Park.  One of the homeless dropped his plate of food accidentally & a slew of pigeons came to have a feast off the pavement in front of our serving table.  They especially liked those long Penne noodles & kept picking them up with their beaks.  The noodles wouldn't fall apart so they were shaking their little heads back & forth, and back & forth, trying to break them up so they could swallow them.  :)  Noodles were flying in the air everywhere & this show went on for quite some time.  We laughed so hard that we even threw some more noodles on the ground for them so we could keep giggling while watching their antics.  So we fed the pigeons too today & got quite a show in return.  :)   Who would have thought that pigeons could be so entertaining ??!!   :)  

Time to put up my legs & chill for the rest of the evening.   :)   It has been another successful meal & our hearts are happy, knowing that some of the homeless have full bellies tonight !!   :) 

Pasta with Ham, Zucchini & Tomatoes in a Cheese Sauce

Today's meal was 10 pounds of pasta with 10 pounds of ham, 8 pounds of zucchini, fresh parsley & 5 pounds of tomatoes in a semi-cool Parmesan cheese sauce.  Yesterday I made cucumber salad with a sweet & sour creamy sauce & used 18 English cucumbers for it.  :) 

The temperature today was around 104 degrees & I wanted to have food as cold as possible for the guys in the parks.  Everyone was excited about the cucumber salad & I must say it was pretty refreshing.  :)   We fed 44 people & were told that there was something fun going on down town & a bunch of the homeless were there for that occasion.  The second park, Estevan, is pretty close to down town & we only fed a few people there.  Most of the ones fed were at Santa Rita Park. 

Thank you Lee for baking a whole bunch of sugar cookies yesterday, we handed those out along with cold water for everyone today.  That was really "sweet" of you.  ;) 

I wish that I could give everyone two bottles of water, but that is not in the budget these days, so one bottle will have to do.  I am really concerned about the homeless not getting enough fluids during these very hot days here.  It is supposed to stay this hot for a while now. 

Faith helped me cook once more & I am very grateful, also for your help with dishing out the food again this time.  :)

Marilyn & J.J., thank you for coming out in this heat to help with the serving of the meals, and J.J. an extra shout-out for always setting things up & taking it all down again so quickly & efficiently.  :) 

It was so nice to see you, Kenny & Neena, again at the park after all this time.  It has been more than 1  1/2 years since I last saw you.  Glad you are not homeless anymore & that you are doing well !!  :)   Makes me happy for you both !!  :) 

Diane & Don, thank you for coming to the parks again & Don, it was nice to meet you finally.  Diane spoke so highly of you.  :)  Please keep feeding the homeless you two, all that bureaucracy will fall into place one way of another, or maybe not.  :)  What does it matter, as long as you are making a difference in people's lives !!  :)   I feel you two & me too are doing God's work & the ignorant & greedy people are just creating a lot of Karma for themselves. 

It's time to get some rest now & to spend some time with my wonderful pillow.  :)  It was a great day & it all will be repeated again soon !!  :)  

Good Night everyone & sleep with the Angels !!   :)

My Story on Faith

For last weekends meal of feeding the homeless I needed a cooking helper, since Hilde is in Germany on vacation.  I thought I had a young man, Brent, lined up who has been wanting to help cook for a while now, but at the end he couldn't get off work that day.  So I had just a few days to find someone else, especially since there was lots to chop & dice. 

So the search began with my immediate friends & they had other plans made already since it was kind of last minute & Memorial Day weekend.  Everyone kept asking me "what are you going to do??"  And I kept saying over & over that I have faith, it all will work out !!  :)  I must have affirmed that at least six different times, if not more.  :)

Now lets back up a little bit.  ;)   About 30 years ago when my two children, Scott & Steph, were in high school all the kids used to hang out at my house.  :)   I was always the cool Mom & I liked knowing where my kids were at.  :)  One of those friends was Faith Cardenas, who lived right around the corner from us.  I always liked Faith, but we lost touch when we moved away & for all those years I wondered about where she could be & about how her life is.  :)

Recently I saw her name on another friends Facebook & I was really excited to contact her.  After all there are not very many Faith Cardenas', it had to be her !!  :)  Sure enough & we wrote back & forth a couple of times.  Then Faith wanted to get together to visit last Friday or Saturday & I told her that I couldn't because I was cooking for & feeding the homeless, since I didn't have a helper for Saturday it would take both days.  She got really excited & said that she wanted to help & that she really loves to cook.  She also had fed homeless people before on her own.  :)  Faith was had such a fun time & wants to continue to help & bring her young daughter too at times.  :)

So while I was affirming my faith all this time, my friend Faith came back into my life to help.  :) 

I just had to share this sweet story with you all & hopefully it will be an inspiration to you.  :) 

Tuna Pasta Salad with Corn & Tomato Salad

It has become quite hot in Tucson, so I am beginning to cook as much cold food as possible for the homeless being outside in the heat.  A nice cool dinner & salad will still nurture everyone & will keep their body temperature down some.   :)

Faith & I cooked & chopped all afternoon, making Tuna Pasta Salad with lots of diced eggs, pickles & a big amount of tuna.  We also made a cold Corn & diced Tomato Salad that was quite refreshing with lemon juice, oil, garlic, onion powder & lots of fresh parsley.  We also had bread, jalapenos, a few left-over sodas & Gatorade, cold water & cookies.  :)

We fed 56 people tonight & there were many very grateful faces amongst all.   :)   And we all had a great time too seeing old friends & making new ones too.  :)

Faith, thank you for helping me cook today & for also coming to both parks to help serve the food !!  :)  It is wonderful to have you around again !!   :)   Faith grew up with my two children about 30 years ago & was my daughters best friend through most of high school.  She was always at my house, which was the place where all the kids liked to come & hang-out at.  :)  We just recently reconnected again after a very long time of having lost contact.   :)   Facebook is wonderful for finding old friends !!  :)

J.J., thank you so much for coming to help serve & for your dear contribution !!  :)  Your Kindness made me cry today (happy tears) & it so will help with getting more food & supplies.  :)  I also wanted to mention how dear it was for you to so lovingly clean out that bowl today.  It didn't get lost in the shuffle & I just wanted to say an extra thank you for that !!  :) 

Dear Lee, thank you for helping serve & for taking Faith & J.J. home after we fed everyone !!  :)   That was truly an Act of Kindness since you weren't feeling well to start with.  I appreciate all your loving help & caring !!  :)   I am proud to call you my Friend !!  :)

Diane & I ended up at LaBotana & we had two margaritas each.  :o   We had so much fun trying to figure out which homeless we both knew & shared stories of some of our experiences.  Diane knew Darryl Chee, who was the reason why I started feeding the homeless three years ago.  Diane started feeding the homeless breakfast recently at another park & many who we fed tonight knew her from that & her previous job.  :)  She is a very kind & caring woman & I'm happy we connected.  :) 

Dave & Linda , as usual a great big thank you shout-out to you for all your loving support of this endeavor !!  :)  I soooo love you both !!   :)  

Nan, a special thank you goes to you for all the odds & ends of food, etc., you brought to my home for the homeless !!  :)  It was so sweet of you to have it all sorted out & grouped together.  Lots of it I was able to use for the homeless & the rest I gave to the people on the Yaqui Reservation, who were ever so appreciative.  :)  Lee & I took it all down there & we had fun doing that.  :) 

Marilyn, I missed your cute & happy face today !!  :)  It just wasn't the same without you there !!  I hope you had a great time though !!  :)   See you next time.  :)

Time now to put a couple of very tired legs up.  :)  

Everyone, sleep with the Angels & have a joy filled day tomorrow & a safe Memorial Day !!  :)

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Mushrooms, Cauliflower & Broccoli

Another meal served & 34 hungry people fed today.  :)  The homeless always love spaghetti when we make it & the meal is always, more than usual, so much appreciated.  :)  We heard many, many thank yous, which makes us feel good too.  :)

My wonderful neighbors Sue & Lee came over this afternoon & together we cooked three big pots of Spaghetti & meat sauce with fresh mushrooms, broccoli & cauliflower mixed right into it.  We used 8 pounds of pasta, 12 pounds of ground beef, 6 huge cans of spaghetti sauce, 3 lbs. of mushrooms, 3 lbs. of broccoli & 2 great big heads of cauliflower.  Then we also made a huge container filled with tossed salad, which included cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados & 2 big bundles of cilantro.  The cilantro gives it such a wonderful taste & is a quite unexpected surprise.  We also had cookies, water, Gatorade & sodas. 

Since there weren't very many people today at the parks, most of the homeless got seconds & thirds & I still have a bunch of food left over.  I am thinking of donating it to a friend who feeds many hungry people every Wednesday on the Yaqui Reservation on the south side of Tucson.  :)  

Thank you Sue & Lee for being there for me with the cooking & the big amount of chopping you both did for this meal !!  :)  I always love the quality time in the kitchen when we chop & stir, the best conversations come out of that.  :)  And it is such a great way to get to know each other better.  :) 

Lee, thank you for donating all those sodas once again & the Gatorade, along with some candy to take to the parks.  You are a very kind soul !!  :)  

And so are Dave & Linda for always helping out with donating some of the food to cook.   :)   I am so blessed with my wonderful neighbors who have huge caring & loving hearts !!  :)  

Marilyn & J.J., thank you both for serving the food with me once more & Marilyn for helping clean up the kitchen afterwards.  :)   And thank you for being such a loyal friend !!   :)

J.J., you are so great in just taking over & doing whatever has to be done to get the job done at the parks !!  :)   I am very grateful to you & very glad that you are back again !!  :)   It's also great to have some male muscles & male energy with us too !!  :)
Once you start this, it's hard to stay away.  :)  I know, I went through it too.  I just started missing some of the people in the parks & the friends we made over time & had to go back again.  :) 

All our Hearts are full & we extend this to all of you who donated money to help out, so we can continue to do this for a long time to go !!   :)  I believe in Karma & all this good Karma is for sure coming back to you in many different ways, but that is not why we do it !!   :)   It is my wish for you all though !!  :)

Good Night now, time to put up my legs & get some rest.   :)

Happy Mother's Day tomorrow to all the Moms & consider yourself hugged tightly.  :)

Yarn Donations needed for Scarves for the Homeless

My dear friend K.C. asked me if I could use knitted or crochet scarves for the Homeless for this coming Christmas.  :)  She is part of the "Crafts 'n Chat Meetup" & some of the members have volunteered already to start knitting & crocheting these awesome warm scarves.  :)   What a wonderful idea K.C.!!   :) 

Does anyone have any yarn laying around that you won't need that we can donate to the people making these scarves ??   :)   It would help out so much, especially since we need about 60 to 75 scarves again this year, maybe even more by Christmas time.  I will know more as it gets closer. 

The Homeless like to wear dark colors, so they can blend in & I always have many more men than women.  So darker colors would be best, like dark blue, black or dark gray.   :)

You can email me at   LKarinElliott@aol.com   if you can help in any way.   :)

Thank You Ever So Much !!   :)