A tisket - a tasket: the story of the BTW Baske

Recall Between the Women:  A year long process of creating and discovering. We use our large and small groups to re- energize, gain personal insight and allow our creative self to be recharged. We use our hands, heads and hearts to illuminate the path we are on in this season of our life.

When we gather to talk, crea8, actu8 or genr8  we are making time to energize  our souls.

“To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it”-- Mother Teresa.

BTW is a place and space for us to remember to actually put the oil in. You know, like the mask on the airplane, and the toilet paper on the roll.  You actually have to do this for yourself.   How often is this scenario a part of your day?  (note:the word ‘oil’ can be changed to any concern of the moment)

Well.....I remembered to buy the ‘oil’ but then I ran out of time and did not put the oil  in the lamp....it is in here somewhere...it is just so dark I can’t see  the bottle to fill the lamp back up....

Unfortunately, we all know this scenario well.  We also know what a joyous feeling it is to get the oil into the lamp. We actually will do the ‘happy dance’ when we are filled. It is such a relief when this occurs more than once in a while.

In BTW, we noticed getting together intentionally to  discover, to connect and  to celebrate created an energy we wanted to be able to share. But what, and how with our time and talents already maxed out?

Enter the basket. It is a our vessel  to fill.
 Members of BTW fill it up with what ever they like.
Sometimes it soup, sometimes it is pretty paper napkins, or stationary & a few stamps, lotion, a scarf, a hand made gift ...something simple. One basket, once a month. And, when all our efforts are put together  it creates an amazing energy.

We do not really know how it effects the recipient as we are doing this in an anonymous way.  We have been know to ring the door bell and run. We know how good it feels to be recharged...and so we simply cannot resist the desire to share this with others.  We also notice that the basket is overflowing, never lacking, as we all work on contributing to filling it up. A very concrete reminder for all of us to continue  to use our hands, heads and hearts to illuminate the path we are on in this season of our life.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way. . .

Has it really been more than a month since our last post?! YIKES! EEK! And c'est la vie!

A funny thing happened on the way to our next gathering. . .

Actually, lots of things happened, and the actu8 that Angie and I scheduled for March 10 isn't actu8ing after all. Instead, I'd like to take a few minutes to catch up with each of you via our BTW blog. Feel free to respond on the blog, on the BTW Facebook page, or by email - or phone, letter, surprise visit, etc.

As most of you know, Angie - after telling us at the last BTW evening about her anxiety over dental visits - had a dental visit followed by a severe physical reaction. So severe that she went to the ER, was administered heavy-duty pain meds, and has been taking follow-up physical therapy. Angie, we love you and are holding you up in prayer and warm thoughts! Meanwhile, she and I have continued to communicate about what BTW is shaping up to be, how excited we are, and how the road ahead looks to be filled with opportunities for friendship, growth and service.

Also in the meantime, I went to LA for a few days to babysit our youngest grandchild and brought him home for almost a week, followed by a sinus infection (for me) that may have come about through exhaustion and a flagging immune system. What we do to ourselves, right?

ALSO in the meantime, I've met an amazing, giving lady in Yuba City who funnels food to people in need (she goes around and collects it from local grocery stores, etc., sending very outdated food to folks with farm animals), takes in pets slated for destruction at a local shelter and finds new homes for them, and does other generous stuff. She is now sending food my way and telling me to do whatever I think is a good idea with it.

I have an idea. . .

Much of the produce and bread need to go straight into the freezer unless they're going to be eaten immediately. I'm cooking a big pot of veggie broth tonight to reduce and freeze. I got to thinking. . .

Would any of you be willing to come pick up this food occasionally, take it home and get it into the freezer in one form or another to be used later to supplement our Magic Baskets? If we included jars of homemade soup or casseroles sometimes, they could be a welcome addition to our baskets of love. Right now my freezer is stuffed with sourdough bread and other goodies that this kindly lady sent home with me. Note: She specified that I should use whatever I want to for our family. This would also go for any of you who wanted to help prepare and store this food.

I can continue picking up the boxes of food with our pickup. When necessary, I would put out a call for someone to take a turn picking up the food from here and deciding what to do with it. I'd sort through it first and toss really old/messy items to our chickens, etc.

Eivor Pfannkuch and Kathy Childers have sent home lovely bags of goodies for our next basket. Let's set a date of April 1st to have the next basket/baskets stocked and ready to be delivered. Do we have a nomination for someone in need of a Magic Basket?

Even though our momentum slowed due to other commitments, we are excited to keep moving forward with BTW. Please stay tuned for an imminent communication with dates for our next BTW meeting and "8" opportunities!

And, because our last round robin of email updates about what each of us has been doing since our last meeting was such a treat to read, I will start a new round robin tonight!

Warm hug to each of you. I miss you!
Erica