weekend events

On Saturday, Jeremy and I went to the Outreach Christmas Party at the Shelter. (Outreach is a program of La Puente that helps people with their utilities, rent/mortgage, and medical bills.) I had no idea the way the party works, except there was a meal, Santa was there, and we give gifts to everyone. When Jeremy and I arrived, there was a really long line of people outside the shelter waiting to go in - some were waiting in T-shirts, some in shorts, some with coats, some with no hats, many with little on to save them from the 7F temperatures we had at noon. You can see Lance (La Puente's executive director) trying to get people to "sing Santa to the shelter." We waited for at least an hour to get in because they would take a small group at time to get in line to talk to Santa - everyone who talked to Santa received a gift. In front of Jeremy and me, there was a young woman who was expecting a baby girl in 3 months and her 4 (?) year old son. The woman had no coat on - sweat pants and a t-shirt only - and the little boy's teeth were chattering uncontrollably. He had on a coat, shirt, and athletic pants. I gave him my little stretchy gloves, while I held a cup of hot chocolate to stay warm. When I asked where her coat was, she simply said she didn't have one. I went into the shelter where I knew there should be a small donations of coats we had received the other day along with hand knitted hats someon had donated. I brought out a coat (which was too small to zip around her pregnant belly) for her and a knitted hat for the little boy. That helped some, but it was just so bitterly cold! Once inside, we had a great meal of ham, potatoes, broccoli, and homemade pies. Also, there was brief entertainment as Lynnea's (office accountant) daughter did the snow queen dance from Nutcracker. It was fun to sit and eat. We met Larry who had recently moved to Almosa area after buying some land and a trailer. He said it was very cold, and he would probably be going back to Florida soon. I never found out what brought him here in the first place.

On Sunday, the unit house had our Christmas Dinner. We invited Alice, Andy, Isabel, and her husband (I don't really know how to spell his name; I'll have to ask) over to eat with us. Each house member made something to contribute to the meal - Emmy, mock tirimisu dessert; David, spinach/artichocke dip with chips; Jeff, mashed potatoes; Claire, a fancy salad; Jeremy, honey glazed ham; and me, zwieback (rolls). Jeremy worked very hard on his ham, and I was very impressed. He studded the ham with whole cloves and basted it with the honey glaze every 20 minutes while it was in the oven. It was a big hit, as were all the dishes. The meal and the company were fantastic. I am full and hope to recover before feasting again when we get home.