Do One Thing, and Do It Well

This is my I.D. badge chain for the hospital where I work, made with recycled paper beads rolled by HIV+ women from Uganda, who are affiliated with the not-for-profit bead for Life. The badge chain was made by Holly Dodson, one of the pharmacists at the hospital who is also an avid crafter. (Holly paints and makes beautiful jewelry in her spare time; check her out at www.lefthandedlibra.com ) Holly has made several dozen of these badge chains at this point, all of them out of Bead for Life beads, and all of them for hospital employees and their friends and family members. She just got the idea one day, looking at the packets of loose beads that Bead for Life sells, that she could use the beads to create I.D. badge chains, and before you knew it, everyone wanted one of her necklaces to clip their I.D. badges on to. Not only are they beautiful and useful, but they remind everyone wearing them that they've contributed directly to helping poor women in Uganda have a better life...

This is really just a small thing, but then again, there are no small things in this life when it comes to helping others. Holly chose and focused on one way to help these women, and she has been able to contribute hundreds of dollars to Bead for Life, through buying the beads and then selling the badge chains  to her fellow employees. When I wear my I.D. badge chain, I'm reminded that I don't have to do a bazillion things to make a difference. It's OK to do just one thing, and to do it well.

A Special Visit from "Cati" Williams

We were very fortunate to have Catherine "Cati" Williams visit us this past weekend as one of our special vendors for the Fair Trade Holiday Crafts Sale. Cati is the American member of the Kullakas cooperative, and she brought with her a large variety of knit and woven goods that the Aymara women of the Bolivian altiplano make. Many of the women knit and weave out of their homes, in addition to growing food, working in the market, and a whole variety of other "income generating" enterprises, as is often the situation in the third world, where millions of people do not hold conventional jobs per se, but make a living in whatever piecemeal manner they can. 

We also spent time at a local yarn store looking at patterns for future products, and brainstormed about new products and colors. One of the items Kullakas is experimenting with are these beautiful double knit gloves that you see above. They are 100% alpaca wool, and although they feel quite cozy, and are much heavier than regular gloves, they are not in the least bit itchy. Of course, Florida is not a good "test market" for them, so I'll be sending this pair up to my sister-in-law in Newfoundland, so she can tell me what she thinks of them...

Cati sold nearly $600 worth of knit and woven goods this past weekend, and also received special orders. Cati is absolutely devoted to her "kullakas"/"sisters" in Bolivia and works tirelessly on their behalf. She can be reached at catiwilliams@gmail.com .

"Spending Less, Giving More"

"Spending Less, Giving More": this was the little slogan we placed on all our advertisements for last Sunday's fair trade holiday craft sale. This is a tough year economically for a lot of people, so while many of us will be "spending less", it was our hope that people would consider "giving more" by making some if not all of this year's holiday purchases fair trade crafts items. We featured food products from the Women's Bean Project, woven and beaded goods from the Guatemalan women affiliated with Maya Works, jewelry made by HIV+ Ugandan women through Bead for Life, hand knit goods from the Bolivian women of Kullakas, soaps and lotions from the Enterprising Kitchen--just to name a few of the not-for-profits we highlighted. All in all, we must have had over 200 people come through the door, and we raised close to $3,000, most of it for poor and struggling women. 

A team of us affiliated with the Franciscan Retreat Center in Tampa got together to hold the craft sale, which didn't take as much work as you would have thought, since many other people came out to volunteer to set up the booths, sell the items and even clean up afterwards. It really wound up being a lot of fun, and got everyone involved in the holiday spirit. Of course, the delicious, warm-out-of-the-oven cookies Roxanne made, and the festive music, added to the whole ambiance, as did the already peaceful environment of the Franciscan Center itself. We were pleased that all our vendors did very well, and all our customers left happy! 

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and I know this sounds hokey, but really, so many of us have so much to be thankful for, despite the tough times many of us are facing. When I get together and do something like this fair trade crafts sale with other like-minded women, I just feel good for days! And it reminds me of all the little things I have to be grateful for: a roof over my head, enough money for food, friends and associates whom I care for, meaningful work. Many, many women the world over--some of them right down the street from us-- do not have even these basic necessities, or are struggling mightily to provide them for their loved ones. In the spirit of the season, I invite each and everyone of my readers to remember this holiday season--a time of year that is all about hope, charity and gratitude-- to try and do even one small thing for someone in need. You don't need to go out and throw a holiday fair trade craft sale--although it was a blast and we'll be doing it bigger and better next year! A holiday sing-along at a hospital or nursing home, donating fruit to a food pantry, or giving a blanket to a homeless shelter, may well be the best holiday gift you wind up  giving...to yourself!

"Kullakas" Comes to Visit...

OK, actually, Kullakas isn't coming to visit per se, but Cati Williams, the American member of Kullakas who is also a Maryknoll lay missioner and currently on leave in Washington, D.C. , is flying down for a visit this weekend. 

Cati will be bringing some of Kullakas' beautiful handmade alpaca products to sell at our Fair Trade Crafts Sale at the Franciscan Center in Tampa Sunday (3010 N. Perry Avenue, from 2-5 pm for those of you in the immediate area). But the purpose of the trip is also simply to visit, getting to know one another better as well as brainstorming how to continue helping these indigenous Aymara women from El Alto, La Paz, Bolivia produce and market their woven and knit goods. 

The weather has turned mighty cold down here (maybe a good thing for selling alpaca wool items!) so I'm not sure what Cati's going to think of Florida (although it is supposed to warm up a bit this weekend). Regardless, we'll also try and stick in some "sightseeing" for her. More to report next week...and remember, keep fair trade products in mind for your holiday buying...

Out Picking Oranges

Today we went over to Carol Mitchell's and helped ourselves to four bags of her lovely oranges. So it's more marmalade--and fresh squeezed orange juice--on the way. Whatever we can't use we'll be donating to a local food pantry. Thank you so much, Carol, for generously sharing your bounty with us. 

It's nice to know that, living in Florida, I'll still be able to satisfy my hunger for "food foraging" and time spent in nature, gathering things to eat. It's even nicer to know that I have friends that care enough to share what they've got--be it knowledge about a u-pick farm or produce from their backyard fruit trees. 

Giving Up "Stuff" Translates into Gifts for Others

Maureen Connors told me about a friend of hers, Barbara Rhode, who was holding a "holiday stuff swap" today at the local  YWCA, so I wandered over, with some stuff to swap.  Billed as an event that was "like shopping in your best friend's closet" and a way to "go green" by trading with other women, the swap featured snacks and cold drinks (it was 85 degrees here today!), comraderie amongst women (which Barbara explained to us is actually neurologically beneficial to us a women!) as well as a room full of shoes, purses, clothing, jewelry, books and assorted odds and end.  I learned that Barbara is semi-famous locally; the St. Petersburg Times did on article on her personal pledge to go from January through the end of December 2008, without buying herself anything new, and learning to live with the "stuff" she already had. Participants of the "holiday stuff swap" were encouraged to consider buying something not for themselves but for someone who really could use a  little something this holiday season: the women inmates of Goodwill Suncoast's Correctional Facility. Most of these women were asking for modest enough Christmas gifts, like a pair of gold loop earrings or a bottle of cologne. CD players and Bible concordances were popular requests.  I wound up leaving the swap with a brand new shirt for work and the name of another woman in need of a Christmas gift, for whom it will be a pleasure to make this coming holiday season a little bit happier...

Pickles and Marmalade...

If you're going to live a happy and productive life of activism and service for others, you need to be well fed! Here's some healthy recipes that are quick and easy--leaving you plenty of time to craft a better world!

Quick Refrigerator Pickled Okra

Wash fresh okra and trim off most of the stem. Stuff the okra vertically, stem up, into a glass jar with a secure lid. Figure out how much vinegar you're going to need to cover the okra to the brim of the jar, and put that much vinegar plus a bit more on to boil. To every pint of vinegar you use, you'll need: 3 Tbsp. sea salt, 4 gloves of garlic, 2-3 spicy peppers and a small hand full of pickling spices (optional). The pepper part you'll just have to play with in terms of which variety and how much you'll like personally. I throw in 1 jalapeno and a couple of small, sweet red peppers. Boil the vinegar and other ingredients for five minutes, then pour into your jars over the okra. Screw on the lid when cool; marinate 1 week. Be warned: You have only one more week, after the first week of marinating the okra, to consume your pickles before they start to "go off ", but don't worry--you'll have them all eaten by then! Delicious! 

Quick Refrigerator Marmalade

We use this quick and easy refrigerator marmalade recipe from the web site Recipezaar. It makes up a delicious marmalade in 20 minutes, and my husband, an Irishman who knows his orange  marmalade, swears by it and won't take store bought marmalade anymore (so be warned!) The only variation we do to this recipe is that we like more peel in our marmalade, so we dice a small hand full of peel into tiny pieces about 1/4" by 1/4" and add them to the mixture to cook for 15 minutes.

http://recipezaar.com/Easy-Orange-Marmalade-78925

Enjoy!

A Morning on the Farm...

Good okra, small and tender...

Bad okra, long and tough...

I had the day off, so I indulged myself and headed for the u-pick farm down in Bradenton my friend Holly had told me about to get okra to make up some spicy okra pickles. I had been meaning to make okra pickles for awhile, and somehow the season almost got by me. Not that I expected to find a place to go picking okra for 79 cents a pound; I figured I'd just buy a bunch at the farmer's market. By the time I got myself out to the farm early this morning--a cool, partially overcast morning so rare in Florida--most of the okra left on the plant was way too long. I did however manage to pick a couple pounds worth of tender little okra--much to the farmer's surprise--but it took me nearly an hour to find that much.

Actually, it was an absolute pleasure. The farm was out in the middle of nowhere and there were no other customers there yet. A Vietnamese couple with Ontario license plates pulled up to my row just as I was leaving--hope they weren't looking for okra! So there I was, for one hour, moving up and down the rows of vegetables, snipping okra off the plants, with only the sound of the birds, my snipping scissors, the breeze and my breathing, to break the silence. It was absolutely wonderful--so restful and restorative! I can't even remember the last time I was out of doors and it was that quiet!--not a single car to be heard, nor the buzz and whirl of air conditioners--as commonplace in Florida as oranges and snow birds! 

Of course, I got thinking about our artisans. Just before I got to the farm I took a wrong turn, and wound up on another farm--this one teeming with migrant workers. I got to practice my Spanish out on a shy but accommodating fellow who wasn't that good at Spanish himself, as many of the Mexican migrant workers are indigenous Indians for whom Spanish is also their second language. One of the reason we're helping the Vida Nueva rug weaving cooperative is because the women's village--and all the little pueblos surrounding their village, such as Benito Juarez, where we sent our dolls--are largely devoid of men. Many of them are in the United States working, and while many faithfully send funds back home to Mexico, many do not. The day to day struggle to make ends meet economically becomes "women's work" as it is in so much of the world... 

Today it was a pleasure to have the time to pick my own food. Most days, however, someone else--most likely someone poor, most likely someone far from their native country--is picking my food for me, and that's something I think we must never forget here in this country, where so many of us are removed from food production and harvest. It did not detract from the good of the day, nor the rest and inner peace I found being out in nature. Still, it's sobering to remember...

Of Oranges and Art

Here's why we have women's crafts circles! Not only has our little crafts group at the hospital been a wonderful way to become proficient in a variety of crafts for charity  (we've "scrapbooked", beaded, made dolls and crocheted together) but it assures us that, at least once a month, we'll reconnect with and support one another. With everyone's lives as busy as they are, the promise of several hours of self care, relaxation and meeting with friends monthly is something to cherish.

Remember how sorry I was feeling for myself last week, missing my food gleaming and foraging days up north? These wonderful women have come to my assistance. Holly Dodson has found a lovely u-pick farm down in Bradenton that she's given me directions to, where this past weekend she picked two grocery bags full of fresh produce for twenty dollars. (I'll be heading to the farm in Bradenton, as well as posting pictures and directions how to get there, shortly!) And Carol Mitchell gave me the fresh oranges you see above, which came off her orange tree, so I can make home made marmalade for my Irish husband, who simply couldn't get through the day without his toast and marmalade each morning. 

Carol also graciously invited us over to pick oranges and grapefruit off her trees, which are producing far more than she and her family can consume. You can bet we'll be there.  I'm still working on some ways we can get our hands on so many of those oranges and grapefruit that go uneaten from people's front lawn fruit trees down here; I'll keep you posted. But in the interim,  see how good "charity crafting" can be for the heart? I know my heart--and spirit--are better with the help and friendship of  wonderful women like these...

You Can't Save the World Every Day...

Most religions and cultures set aside one day a week to rest, recreate and contemplate how very good it can be to be alive. Sunday is our day. So today, my husband, Stephen, and I went out for a walk at the nature center near our home. Here's some of what we saw...

An anhinga sunning himself....

A soft shell turtle, coming up for air...

Another anhinga, drying its wings after a swim...

A baby alligator... they're only so cute for so long...

A little blue heron stalking lunch...

A tri-colored heron on the run...

A little green heron, looking for nibbles...

A limpkin on the look out for apple snails

These photo are compliments of Stephen, who I like to tease is the man behind the woman behind this blog. 

Carol Mitchell: A Heart for Crafts, Women and the Poor

This smiling woman surrounded by happy children is my friend, Carol Mitchell, on a recent trip to  South Africa. She and her husband gave a workshop for South African journalists in Cape Town this past September, which allowed Carol to make a quick visit to our friends from the not-for-profit ArtAidsArt and deliver over eighty handmade dolls made by "dollie mamas" affiliated with Dollies without Borders. 

Carol Mitchell is all about crafts. Whether its teaching knitting and crochet skills to elderly women looking to use their retirement years to help others, or assisting economically disadvantaged women in Florida to start a crafts cooperative for friendship and supplemental income, Carol is tireless when it comes to teaching others the joys and benefits of crafting. Co-director of programming at the Franciscan Retreat center in Tampa, with a doctorate in psychology and years of experience as a retreat leader and spiritual director, Carol embraces crafts and crafting as a way to engage and empower women spiritually as well as economically.

Together with Maureen Connors, Carol co-founded the Midtown Circle of Hands, a women's craft cooperative on St. Petersburg's south side. The women, who are of various ethnicities and and ages, have built a supportive weekly community together, and sell their handiwork in local crafts fairs.

Carol is also instrumental in teaching crocheting and knitting to the seniors at Bon Secours Place, an assisted living center where many of the women are eagerly seeking ways to use their artistic skills to help others. Carol co-facilitated our Doll Making Marathon Retreat this past August, lending her spiritual expertise to the weekend's proceedings. She also volunteered to teach our crafts group at St. Anthony's Hospital how to crochet blankets for charity--a daunting task given the crocheting skill level (none!) of our group members. Carol is also in the process of trying to initiate a prayer shawl ministry for local hospital employees, so knitters and "crochet-ers" can make comforting shawls and wraps for the sick.

Carol incorporates crafting into respite retreat days she facilitates for caregivers, believing that crafting can be a way of praying as well as a manner in which to beat stress and relax. Caregivers respond enthusiastically to her patience, warmth and wisdom.

Carol has instigated what we hope will be an annual holiday fair trade crafts sale at the Franciscan Center of Tampa on Sunday, November 23rd. We will be featuring crafts and fair trade items from ArtAidsArt, MayaWorks, Heart Beats and Bead for Life, among others. We are also hosting Cati Williams, our American liaison and partner with Kullakas, the Bolivian women's knitting cooperative we support, and will be selling Juan Ana fair trade coffee from the mission at San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala. It promises to be hard work, but also a lot of fun. I'm grateful to have a friend like Carol Mitchell--a crafty women with a big heart for others!

Creative Ways to Feed the Hungry...and the Heart

I received an email from Rose Berry of Tomah, Wisconsin the other day after sending out a query to some of the women who have been featured in the quarterly newsletter Global Women's Artisan Alliance, asking them for an end of the year "report" on what they're up to. (If you're like me, and you like to sit down and read "hard copies" of stuff over a cup of coffee, email me at karen_rushen@yahoo.com and I'll put you on my mailing list for the newsletter.) Rose is really a remarkable woman who, I regret, lives nowhere near me! She had just gotten finish baking 400 bagels and buns for two fundraising suppers; one to raise money for a church, and the other for a mission in Haiti! Rose says both these suppers usually feed 100 people and make about $500 each!

Now as if that weren't enough, Rose and a friend spent the last two days out at an orchard, where the owner told them to pick all the apples they wanted for a local food pantry. So Rose and her friend got eight children together--including a two year old!--and picked over a thousand pounds of apples for economically disadvantaged individuals and families! Luckily the weather in her part of Wisconsin was up in the high 60s--a lovely Indian summer spell! Everyone enjoyed cinnamon roll snacks with juice and coffee while picking apples. The adults got some exercise and the kids learned about helping others while having a blast!

Now I have to admit, when I read this, I got feeling a bit envious. First of all, I miss the days when I lived up north, and spent summers picking wild raspberries and strawberries, and foraging for black walnuts in the fall. I can remember going out picking blueberries with one of my girlfriends, or getting Michigan peaches off of trees in friends' yards and making the best jam with them! Here is Florida, this time of year, I'm often able to get a stray grapefruit that's fallen off of someone's tree and rolled into "public property", and every now and then I'll find an acquaintance who will let me pick leftovers off of their lemon or orange trees, but somehow it's not the same. There is something about gathering your own food from the wild that I find tremendously satisfying--not to mention that it usually tastes so much better. I miss being out in the bush and bramble in the summer, and I miss the crisp air and beautiful foliage you get up north this time of year. And I especially miss not having a friend down here with whom to go "picking stuff". Still, this morning I sat bare foot with my cup of coffee besides the lake outside our front door, and watched the heron and egrets hunting up their own breakfast from the shore. Florida too has its distinct advantages...

It's wonderful to have our little crafts group here in St. Petersburg, and to have a group of women with whom to make stuff. But Rose has inspired me to think of ways that maybe I could do something around food "gleaming"--taking the leftovers--for our own local poor and hungry. Now I just have to go dig up some "allies" among my crafty women friends. This is a tough year, and we're getting a record number of requests at the hospital for holiday assistance from folks that are just making it from day to day. Getting outside and gathering food for others would be a wonderful way to feed their tummies--and my heart and spirit. Thanks, Rose, for inspiring me to think a bit outside the box--I'll keep you all posted if I go anywhere with this idea.

Saturday Afternoon Sandwiches and Support for Women Victims of War

Cathy Naghitorabi and her family here in St. Petersburg opened their home this past Saturday to friends and guests for a sandwich buffet, followed by a presentation of a documentary about Women for Women International. 

Women for Women International is a fantastic not-for-profit started by Iraqi-American Zainab Salbi, assisting  women victims of war in healing from trauma, recovering their self-esteem and beginning new lives with the help of literacy training, business skills courses, micro loans--whatever it is the women need to begin new lives filled with hope and promise. 

It was a really nice afternoon of getting to know Cathy, her family and her guests, as well as a nice opportunity to learn more about a worthy cause and perhaps make a donation, which I don't think anyone left without doing since we found out our donations would be matched dollar for dollar through mid-November. Women for Women International offers those of us whose lives have not been touched directly by war the unique opportunity to reach out to victimized women in various countries through our caring and our contributions. 

Thank you, Cathy, for welcoming us into your home and giving us the chance to help other women make better lives for themselves. Since this was a buffet, we were invited to contribute sandwich spreads and condiments, so I brought along a bowl of my Amish curried egg salad. In the spirit of women sharing our resources with one another, here's the recipe for you to enjoy.

Amish Curried Egg Salad

6 hard boiled eggs, peeled

1 Tbsp. spicy mustard

1 tsp. beau monde or celery salt

curry powder to taste

mayonnaise 

 2 Tbsp. chopped pickles

1 Tbsp. chopped green onions

1 rib of celery, diced

Mash up the eggs and mix in the mustard, beau monde or celery salt, and enough mayonnaise to get a nice, creamy consistency. Sprinkle in and mix curry powder to taste. (We like it spicy, so I add about 1 Tbsp.) Mix in chopped pickles, green onions and celery. Makes enough egg salad for 3-4 hearty sandwiches.

 

Check out Women for Women International at www.womenforwomen.org .