Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Christmas Ornaments

Hand Embroidered Ornaments
I decided to make as many gifts as I could this year. My husband calls our house "Santa's workshop." Here are a couple of the ornaments that will go to preschool teachers tomorrow. The other side of the ornament is adorable Christmas fabric, of course. I wish that I was keeping these for my tree. Oh, well. Do you have any wonderful handmade ornaments to share?

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Mary DeLazzer, Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread


Today I am featuring an article from The Bradenton Herald. It is about Mary DeLazzer, the woman behind Our Daily Bread.



I served on the board of Our Daily Bread for 3 years. I knew Mary personally. She worked, for very little pay, to feed the hungry at the soup kitchen, Our Daily Bread. I admire her for her selflessly giving of herself. She did not want accolades. She did not want attention. She just wanted to feed the hungry, to do God's work. She stretched every dollar and donation to feed as many people as she could. She was a force to be reckoned with. Everyone knew her mission.



I am sorry that she was taken from all of us. I am sorry for all the people that she served and for our community. Her life was taken by a young illegal alien drunk driver. How incredibly tragic. I will never understand how God can let this happen except that God needs Mary in heaven. It is nice to think that all the people that Mary will meet in heaven that will thank her for her good work on earth.



Here is the article:



Angel’ departs Bradenton’s soup kitchen
“She is my angel.”


Dr. Sunita Sharan was talking about Mary DeLazzer.
It was last Sunday morning at Our Daily Bread.

Mary DeLazzer, director of Our Daily Bread, feeds those in need of a meal. DeLazzer, 77, was killed in a car crash Friday. Both women were standing in DeLazzer’s kitchen, her home away from home, surrounded by boiling pots and sparkling utensils.
Sharan in her flowing traditional dress.
DeLazzer in her apron.
A lasting image.
Early the morning after Thanksgiving, the angel of the Bradenton soup kitchen on 14th Street West was gone.
DeLazzer, 77, was killed by an allegedly drunk driver on State Road 70 and 30th Street East.
How tragic.
How senseless.
How unspeakably sad.
Word of her death hit like a sudden thunderclap.
Please, God. Not Mary DeLazzer.
Why her?
If there was one person who symbolized our community’s encompassing spirit of caring and sharing, it was this woman.
Not just at Thanksgiving and the Christmas season.
Every day.
There is a devoted network of churches and devoted volunteers who support Our Daily Bread and its mission.
Yet DeLazzer was its heart and soul.
Somehow she always managed to make do, feeding an increasing number of needy despite dwindling donations and food supplies caused by the struggling economy.
As one mourner put it, what DeLazzer accomplished was like a modern version of the miracle of Christ and the loaves and fishes.
An angel, indeed.
Ask the downtrodden for whom Our Daily Bread was a safe haven.
They got tough love from DeLazzer along with their hot meals, but they knew her heart was filled with tender love for them, too.
The homeless may be faceless to the rest of us, but not to the beloved kitchen director and her dedicated staff.
Why else would this woman rise early every day for the last 19 years to feed them.
To do God’s work.
Dr. Sharan saw that.
A giving woman in her own right, the physician and the Florida Association of Physicians of Indian Origin wanted to sponsor a Thanksgiving meal at Our Daily Bread.
They had never done it in Bradenton before.
It was DeLazzer who pulled it together, arranging for 275 to partake of FAPI’s generosity.
And she was the one who prepared the feast.
What a picture they were that Sunday morning in DeLazzer’s kitchen.
“She is my angel,” the doctor said.
The angel is gone.
Bradenton’s poor are poorer for it.
So are we all.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Tilly


Creating with Candy

Buckeyes
Chocolate Dipped Pretzels
I have been cooking like crazy. No, really, I have. If you know me, then you know that I work like mad in streaks then move on to the next project. Since I know this about myself, I have learned to get what I need to get accomplished all at once when I am in the mood. If I don't, it fizzles and the project ends up incomplete.
This week, I made chocolate delights to give as gifts. I made the following: chocolate truffles ( the girls helped me roll the truffles in chocolate sprinkles or cocoa powder), buckeyes, coconut bon-bons and chocolate dipped pretzels. Sounds delicious and it is! I will post pictures after I wrap the candies in their packages for the special deliveries.
If you would like any of the recipes, you will have to leave me a comment. (haha- making you work!)

Pillowcase for Ashley

We have a wonderful girl across the street- Ashley. It is Ashley's birthday this weekend. Since she is turning into a big girl- and getting a big girl room (she is turning 10) I made her a big girl pillowcase. It matches the bedding that I have been hiding at our house for her mother. She is going to be so surprised. She helps me by playing with the girls. They adore her.



Sewing for Babies

Here are some burp clothes and onesies that I made for some wonderful girls that are having babies. I thought that they turned out really nice!