Power in Numbers

Live the way you want to be remembered. (quote attributed to several different people)

Maine Needs posted this morning that they had 367 requests this month that included towels....so I was even more excited to take in my stack today.

It was fun to do a shift with Anne. We tackled a huge request from a caseworker that included clothes and personal things for nine different people.  It would have been difficult to handle this long list on our own....there's power in numbers!

Thank you again to those of you who helped me purchase this big bag of towels. 

After our shift Anne treated me to lunch....and I was able to hand off this blue and white joy journal. It was fun to get to do that in person! 

I took the rest of the day off today from the studio for other puttering. I look forward to getting back to the other journals tomorrow. 

I'm still finding purpose hidden in my joy! 

Joy in Giving

It may be a cliche....but there is an abundance of Joy in Giving! 

As I have gotten older I am reminded over and over how blessed I am....and I've never been so eager and happy about giving my time...my talents....and my stuff! 

I volunteered at Maine Needs yesterday afternoon....and the place was just humming with activity. The first list I picked up was long...but I grabbed a cart and started shopping. I didn't realize until I got going that it was actually for three different families.

Believe it or not I had all of this....including the cleaning supplies you see on the floor... all balanced on the cart or hanging on my arms as I headed to the bagging station. The colorful bag at the top is a "Minute for Mom Kit"...filled with personal and comforting items for a deserving mom. These kits aren't often asked for but we are encouraged to give them freely. Sometimes they are packaged in purses...like the blue one on the floor...sometimes in reusable colorful bags.

It took as much time to tally....sort and bag it all as it did to shop for it...and my heart was full of joy the whole time. Then.....

I breathed in the reality of an unhoused man, who was the next client I shoped for,

and I breathed out that I was able to find everything on his list....including a new pair of LL Bean boots. 

Good and joyful work is being done at Maine Needs. There was a group of four women who were shopping together...laughing and having a good time. I told them how delightful it was to hear their laughter...and to keep it out. Turns out...I had a connection with two of them...and we swapped stories and marveled at how small of a world it is.  If you see joy....say something.

When Paul and I did a shift together back in November we noticed the bins for gloves and mittens were nearly empty.....so we donated money to help stock the bins. I wanted to do the shopping....but they have wholesale resources to get more bang for the buck. I ran into Heather yesterday who did the purchasing and she shared these photos of some of the haul....several hundreds pairs of gloves and mittens.

I am filled with joy in giving.

Remembering Margie

Today marks the one year anniversary of Margie's death....we miss her dearly. 

For those of you new to the blog...Margie was my mother-in-law who moved to Maine from Colorado back in 2018 so Paul and I could look after her during her end of life years. It was a privilege to have her in our lives on almost a daily basis for all those years.

I want to start by saying thank you again for all the cards and words of encouragement that were sent during that difficult last month of her life. My blog family really came through on my call for community...and that continues to bring me great joy.

Margie's favorite meal was breakfast. For years she enjoyed going out...but in her final years her preference was to have waffles at the condo with as many family members who could gather. 

Today...Paul and I went out for breakfast and talked about the joy that she brought into our lives. She would have been pleased.

Margie was an active volunteer and advocate for peace and justice. She supported and looked out for those who were struggling...always offering a helping hand or a generous donation.

In honor of her service, Paul and I put in a shift together at Maine Needs this afternoon. She would have smiled at the thought of Paul shopping for onesies.

I used cards that were sent to her for my Words of Encouragement fundraising project. I was able to purchase over 500 pairs of underwear for Maine Needs....so it was extra special to be there today.

Margie loved to color...so in memory of her, here are a few of the montages I put together over the years that featured one of  her coloring pages paired and the beauty that was around me at the time. It's been a really good day....remembering Margie.

Good Cause

Sam, Kelly, and some of Kelly's family including young Eli joined Paul and me this morning for a Community Walk around Back Cove to benefit Maine Needs.

There is something about people pulling together for a good cause that just feels good. 500+ people registered for the walk.

It was foggy and a bit drizzly for 3 1/2 miles around cove...but we all did fine.

There hazy views of the city and a few cranes along the way made it a delight.

There is a small stretch on the city side of the cove where are you walk along the highway.....but as the path curved it was nice to see the long line of people ahead. 

There is power...and energy in numbers! 

Eli did a great job...and only took a short piggyback ride from Aunt Kelly for the last little stretch.

It was a good day....doing a good thing...with good people...for a good cause!

Shopping Day

"You really don't need that many pairs of scissors," said 6 year old Eli as she checked out my studio yesterday.  I think someday she might understand why us art types might need that many! But her observation made me smile and I'm going to love getting to know her better. She IS one of us art types...as is her Aunt Kelly.

Spring is struggling a bit...but I'm happy to see patches of green popping up in the still very brown landscape. 

The day lillies at our condo entrance are coming along nicely. I just adore all the lime spring greens!

This morning I shopped with another $90 from donations from tags and some Joyful Puttering. (Thank you Becky and Amanda!) Paul actually found $20 on the street during the Hands Off protest and he added it to my fund.

I wanted to buy dishes and household things...all on the current requests list.  I started at the Goodwill store thinking I could get sets of plates at a good price. Indeed I could....and I also got a very nice set of nearly new pots and pans. I stopped briefly at Marden's, but they didn't have what I was looking for....but I got some good deals at Home Goods and spent about $100.

This is the first day the new facility was taking donations...so I finally took in the two Marden's bags and my new purchases from today: plates and bowls, glasses, pots and pans, towels, a set of sheets, and a shower curtain liner. 

I also did my first volunteer shift this afternoon and it was a pleasure shopping in the new space. 

My first order was for a family of four who lost much of what they had to a mold infestation. The bottom of the large bin is all clothes. It breaks my heart reading the stories...but it also makes me more determined than ever to turn anything extra that I have into an opportunity to help. 

I'm smiling as I say this...but I actually might need most of these pairs of scissors (maybe)....they all have a different purpose. But there are many more things I have that I don't need. Anne came today and shopped for fabric from my stash and I loved that she knew she could....and I love that I had what she needed. Take whatever you want I said! 

I'm going to keep looking for ways to get art supplies into the hands of people who can use them. And if I can get some donations along the way....I will turn them into underwear.

I shopped for a couple of children today....and the sizes I was looking for were pretty depleted.  And...there was NO underwear left.....so I will continue to donate underwear whenever I can. 

Bright and Beautiful

This made me laugh out loud!  

If I'm going to over think something...it might as well be joy.

Paul and I don't go out at night much...but last evening we attended a delightful concert at his church in Scarborough featuring a local folk/bluegrass band called Darlin' Corey. 

And we were early enough to take in the sunset at Pine Point Beach before the concert.

Sometimes joy looks like the bright and beautiful colors of a seaside sunset.

And today joy looked like the bright and beautiful new space for Maine Needs. It's huge....and it's impressive. 

This whole middle section is for clothes and all of the shelving and racks were donated from L.L. Bean from their recent remodel. 

And there's another section for homegoods.

And even more spaces and places for so many other things. 

I worked alongside Amanda...and our first task was to finish unpacking children's books.

This is one of the first things people will see when they come in to pick up their bags. They will be encouraged to shop for books for kids they know who might enjoy them.

The Amanda and I unpacked and organized children's coats.  

Then moved onto pajamas and other kids clothes. 

The space is bright and beautiful...and going to be so much more user friendly place to volunteer. Today the space was buzzing with excitement and anticipation of things to come.

Joyful Thing!

I volunteered at Maine Needs this afternoon.....and every single order had a request for winter coats. And from 2T....to XL mens....they had what I was looking for. 

I mostly shopped for men....and it felt so good to find exactly what someone has requested. I was thrilled when I found this brand new XL Columbia vest! It was a joyful thing.

The last few times I've gone there were very few men's sweatshirts. 

But a huge supply of mens hoodies and zip-ups were donated....so it was almost like shopping in a store. It was a joyful thing.

Maine Needs is moving to a much needed larger location in March....and not a moment too soon.  

This is just the corner of filled requests for those with last names from A-C. The whole room is overflowing with bags for the rest of the alphabet....ready to go out into the community.

It's a joyful thing!