A Weekend of Food and Fun

November always fills up faster than I expect, and it seems like the weeks between now and Christmas are a toboggan run of activities. Our church held its annual Ten Thousand Villages gift sale this past weekend. I did three shifts in the kitchen in addition to helping prepare food ahead of time by chopping onions and carrots and making applesauce. That may sound like a lot of work, but there were other people who put in a lot more time than I did and I know they’re exhausted. (Margaret, we missed you in the kitchen; I learned how to make the chai tea but I think yours is probably better.) I did more than my share of socializing and I need some quiet time by myself this week to recharge.

This is the 20th year that our church has hosted this sale. This year, with the help of a young woman in our church who has a background in graphic design, we made a big push on social media. (She has also taken over maintaining the church website, for which I am very thankful.) That focus on newer ways of reaching people seems to have worked, as we saw many new faces and especially young families.

In addition to shopping, people can eat at the Village Cafe, where we serve three different kinds of soups, homemade rolls, homemade applesauce, and homemade pies and cookies. People will come just for the food. This year, we served African Groundnut Stew, Indian Dhall, and chicken noodle soup. It was a toss-up between the Groundnut Stew (it has peanut butter in it) and the dhall. They were both very popular, as were the pies:

Our church is in an odd position. We have transitioned from a church that was started and grew because of a few large farming families into a church where most of us are not “ethnic Mennonites” but people who have come from other faith traditions. And farming is no longer the primary means by which people make a living here. I would call our church fairly progressive. Women are a key part of leadership and have been for a long time. (I’ve been both an elder and chairman of the church council.) Service is a huge part of what we do. We think that the way we practice Christianity would be attractive to those who are turned off by more fundamental approaches, but “Mennonite” still carries a traditional meaning to most people. (Some are very surprised to find out we have electricity and cars.) Also, our church is outside of town and people have to make an effort to get to us. Still, I am hopeful that we’ll be able to continue as a congregation for a good long while yet.

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I always think it’s fascinating how the universe drops little breadcrumbs in front of me here and there. I didn’t get much sewing done this weekend, obviously, but I was able to listen to several podcasts and I picked up some useful pieces of information. Friday’s episode of The Sewing Out Loud podcast was about the creative process. I love to hear how other people approach design. I especially love to hear that there is no one right way to approach design. Everyone’s brain is wired differently. It’s taken me a long time to gain confidence in my designing skills, but every time I see something designed by a person lacking a basic understanding of layout and (especially) text leading, I am reminded that I do know a thing or two.

I was happy that we could have an “old people night” last night, which is what I have started calling the evenings where we sit in our respective recliners and watch TV. We like the Essential Craftsman YouTube channel, and I found out last night that they have also started a podcast. I thought their rationale for adding a podcast was very solid. YouTube has to be heavy on content because most people have the attention span of a gnat. The Essential Craftsman and his son are currently in the midst of framing a spec house, and most of the videos focus on that process. The podcast allows them to dig deeper into some of the behind-the-scenes issues and talk about design and construction choices. The husband did framing for many years before he switched to concrete, so he knows that process inside and out. I ask a lot of questions.

I plan on doing a lot of sewing this week. There is a difference between design and construction that I feel keenly when I am sewing items from other people’s designs. I do not want “just” to sew, as enjoyable as that is. I want to design, too, but I have to remind myself that even when I am making something from someone else’s pattern, I am making design choices in terms of fabric, pattern hacks, and other details. I’m not a factory.