Thursday at SHARE was so busy! Last week we were supposed to get our food delivery from the food bank in Victoria but they somehow neglected to put our order on the truck. Anyway, it arrived Thursday and while I was packing all the bread into the chest freezer we started getting food clients. I was like 4 orders behind before I even started refilling the baskets and it just kept going. We had something like 19 clients and most were big families. I guess stopping the enhanced unemployment early in our state (just one of the many mean spirited things our governor does) has had an effect on people's ability to buy food.
First thing Thursday morning I got a text from the metal fabricating guy that yes, he had a drop off, the pieces were cut, he filed the edges to get rid of burs and they were ready to pick up. So I stopped by and got them on my way home from SHARE. Took them over to the shop after lunch, put the glass on for a quick peek, and I'm very happy with the look. Then I cleaned up the second trumpet flower mold and got my volume measure and put it aside until I get these two drowned feather pieces mounted and photographed and sent off to the gallery. After that I cleaned up the mold making table. And then I laid down for a half hour or so until time to leave for yoga class. A full busy day.
Friday Pam and I went to an estate sale 70% of which was holiday oriented. These people loved to decorate for holidays, and bake cakes for same. There were indoor and outdoor decorations for Christmas and Halloween, of course (these two had the lion's share of decor), but also Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, Valentines day (it just occurred to me I didn't see anything specifically for Easter). And wreaths, lots of big gauzy wreaths and a few other oddball items.
Then I worked on the aluminum squares sanding the outer perimeters about 2” all the way around to give them an even finely textured look.
And then since it was my turn to cook dinner (I'm taking over two nights a week) that's what I did. I had half a link of already cooked venison and pork sausage from the night before so I sliced that up, peeled and boiled about a pound of potatoes and par boiled them long enough to cube them up, chopped an onion and garlic cloves, and sliced up half a head of cabbage. Sautéed the onions and garlic in olive oil and butter, added the potatoes and continued to cook them until done and browned, added the sausage to warm it up, and then 2 T water and the cabbage and stir and cover, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is cooked to taste. Doesn't take long.
Today head to Lowe's and/or Home Depot to get a small piece of 1/4” plywood, peruse the adhesives and pick one, and get a strip of french cleat/z-bar to finish mounting the two feather pieces for the show for hanging.
I wonder if some other factors might be increasing the number of people needing food assistance: inflation, for example, and supply chain issues. I was at HEB a day or two ago, and I was astonished by the number of empty shelves. There's no hurricane on our horizon; my only guess is that they're just not getting what they need. For two months, I was unable to purchase varnish, because of shipping issues that were keeping it from reaching the U.S. I had stocked up sufficiently that it didn't bother me, but now that it's available again, I had to pay $40/quart rather than $28.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't noticed any shortages in the HEB here but it's a small one with less choice that the big ones. food has gone up but not dramatically, not like the price of varnish!
DeleteThat was a busy day, yes. Are you shipping the works as they're done rather than in a batch? So nosy here!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes on the food needs. So mean spirited to lean on the people least able to get by. Thank you for being part of the solution.
I'm only sending two pieces, the drowned feather that I've been working on and another already completed only it features a dead fern frond instead of a feather so, yes, I'm sending them together. the other pieces in the works like the trumpet flowers and the luna mother will go at a later date.
DeleteI think I heard that federal SNAP allowances are going up so that's good. But not enough.
ReplyDeleteYou are one busy woman! And getting stuff done.
Your sausage and cabbage and potato supper looked great.
Can you imagine having that many decorations and/or cake pans? No thank you.
to tell you the truth, it's wearing on me. I'll be glad when I get these two pieces mounted and boxed and sent. I'll still continue to work on the art but quite not so pedal to the metal.
Deleteand yeah the dinner was really good.
WOW...not a dull or uncreative moment in your day.
ReplyDeletenot on Thursdays anyway.
DeleteThat was some strange kind of hoarder. Too many cake pans.
ReplyDeleteI make that same sausage/potato/cabbage dish but use a smoked beef link. Great meal!! I can't imagine having that many cake pans! Notwithstanding they're probably Wilton and those are pricey, like $10+ each.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like those mermaid lamps! I might have bought 'em, depending on the price. Glad the aluminum worked out for the glass pieces.
ReplyDeleteThose people sure seem to have enjoyed life. My favorite photo is of the bird musicians. In fact, I would have bought it, although I have no idea what holiday it represents.
ReplyDeleteI liked the bird musicians too - but probably not enough to buy them. Your dinner sounded really good until you got to the cabbage (but Mike would have loved the cabbage too).
ReplyDeleteFood is so horribly expensive. I am lucky to get out of the store under $200. I do not buy expensive stuff! Your projects do keep you busy, but also happy it seems, and that dinner looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteHow many bake tins does one need?
ReplyDelete