Bedlam Farm Blog Journal by Jon Katz

The Cambridge Food Pantry
11 November

Side Dishes Day At The Cambridge Pantry: Velveeta Shells & Cheese ($7.47) And Ben’s Rice, ($9.98). Preparing For Winter

by Jon Katz

We’ve noticed a consistent demand for Velveeta Shells, Cheese, and Ramen Noodles at the Cambridge Pantry. These warm, often nutritious meals are easy to cook and eat and accommodate harried work schedules and a continuous shortage of money.

Thank you for your continued support in providing these popular items. Your contributions are invaluable, bringing joy and comfort to the pantry members. At the Pantry, they care. So do the people in the Army Of Good. It’s a beautiful match.

 

(Thanks to you above. A memorable Thanksgiving dinner takeaway is complete and on the shelves.)

Getting the foods you love and have always eaten is a significant moral boost and often of great meaning to the pantry children and their parents.

Here are Sarah’s choices for food that the pantry urgently needs and can’t afford due to budget cuts. Please help if you can.

Ben’s Original Ready Rice Jasmine Rice, Easy Dinner Side, 8.5 Oz Pouch (Pack of 6), $9.98.

Velveeta Shells & Cheese Sauce, three ct Pack, 12 oz Boxes, $7.47.

____________

P.S.  Special Bargain From Amazon:

Happy Belly Ranch Dressing, 16 fl oz, Pack of one, $1.99. (We could use some, as usual)

__________

Reminder: The Cambridge Pantry Amazon Food Wish List is available day and night, seven days a week. You can also access the food pantry by clicking on the green Cambridge food pantry button at the button of every blog post.

You can browse the wish list, as many of you do. Everything on the list is very much wanted and hard to keep or find. Whatever you buy takes some of the heat off of Sarah and her very devoted staff.

 

It’s almost impossible to keep coffee and tea on the shelves.

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Maria's Monday Morning Video
11 November

Maria’s Good Morning Monday Video. Welcome To A New Week

by Jon Katz

Maria’s Good Morning Monday Videos have become a thing, a ritual, a peaceful and calming meditation. They now have a large and loyal following. It’s a great way to start the week. I’m very lucky and happy to post them here on Bedlam Farm. You can also see them on her blog at fullmoonfiberart.com.

 

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Flower Art
10 November

Flower Art. Deep Into The Flowers, I Felt A Peace And Calm I Have Rarely Felt. A Healing Wonder

by Jon Katz

In her art, Georgia O’Keeffe liked the idea of expressing herself harmoniously through line, color, and shading. She believed that “colors and shapes make a more definite statement than words ” and, therefore, created mostly modern abstract paintings.  “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life, and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.”   — Georgia O’Keeffe.

 

This may make me a creator of modern abstract flower photos. It is exciting to put a name on it. I admit I was frightened when I dared to take these photos; the correct spellers were swarming like hornets, and I was struggling to get close, as I wanted to do. It took me a couple of hours to do it, and I am far from done yet.

There are organized squads on social media that live to deter creative people from creating things in the open unless they can win spelling bees and be brilliant instantly. I am proud to mind my own damned business; it is a dying trait—sorry Grandma.

I mean it when I tell you I am grateful for your kind comments. They kept me going until I felt good about them.

In addition to creativity, O’Keefee, by example, taught me not to listen to the many people eager to find fault in others, usually strangers they don’t know. I’ve become a deletion specialist.

Tomorrow is a holiday, and I’ll be home, continuing my determination to understand and find a solid place to stand. So far, I’ve rejected fear, hatred, and anger, two useless and pointless emotions. Once again, thanks for your kind words. I have family, after all.

This is one of the reasons I like growing old and never complain about it. I might be learning something.

 

 

So far, my new inexpensive lens can do no wrong.

 

 

 

 

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10 November

Still Life From A Quiet Day Of Nothing….I Did Buy Maria Some Sox. Hers Were 11 Years Old

by Jon Katz

I took three still-life photographs today.

I love still-life photographs and don’t do enough of them. This was a quiet day, full of quiet and thinking. I went to the farmer’s market to buy two wool socks to replace the ones I bought Maria a decade ago, which had holes in the bottoms.

Maria rarely, if ever, buys herself any kind of clothing; she repairs them until they are not recognizable and her feet are beginning to freeze in the cold. She sometimes buys $5 or $6 shirts or dresses. I buy her shoes, I don’t ask her about them. She bought some new sneakers the other day, but one foot was hurting and isn’t now. I was amazed.

I may not see that again in my lifetime. Her Blogging is always evocative to me; she is devoted to it and carefully thinks about her writing. Her blog is quite wonderful: fullmoonfiberart.com. So are her photos, essays, writing about her art, and videos.

I like these three photos.  They capture the feeling of the day. I’m thinking a lot about how I want to feel and need to feel and how some good can come out of either. I’m getting there.

 

Bud is a Sun Child, always where the sun shines in. He knows what it is like to be cold.

The morning sun dances all over the wooden walls of our farmhouse, catching one of Maria’s hats, scarves, and even one of her feathers.

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The Cambridge Food Pantry
10 November

The Cambridge Pasta Day Today, Bargain Pricing, Two Under $5, Velveeta Shells And Cheese ($7.47), Ravioli, Spaghetti And Meatballs. Get Warm, Eat Up

by Jon Katz

Today, we’re celebrating Pasta Day with a heart full of gratitude!

We want to thank you for your recent contributions to the Cambridge Pantry.

Your quick and generous donations of Clam Chowder and Refried Beans allowed us to stock these items for the first time in the pantry’s history.

This has not only enabled us to plan ahead for a few weeks, a previously impossible task, but it has also significantly improved our ability to serve the struggling food-challenged people in this community.

The Pantry families and children will have warm and nutritious dinners this week as a cold front arrives.

Your support has made an enormous difference, and we are truly grateful. Your generosity allows us to make a big impact in our community. Thank you.

We have exciting news to share!

The pantry has received a grant to build a new storage room. This will enable us to stock the food people want and prevent running out once or twice a week.

Your contributions have made this progress possible, and we are delighted to share this news with you. Doing good feels good, and we all need that.

Today, Sarah is asking for three different kinds of pasta—Velveeta Shels, Ravioli, spaghetti, and Meatballs—and has found great prices: two under $5 and one $7.47. These are three warm and filling winter dinners.

Always putting herself in the shoes of the challenged, she is thinking ahead to cold and snowy weather where warm meals matter:

Here is the pasta she is seeking. Thanks. We are on a good and beautiful roll:

Chef Boyardee Spaghetti and Meatballs, 14.5 Oz Cans, Pack of 4, $4.48.

Velveeta Shells & Cheese, Original Shell Pasta & Cheese Sauce, three-ct Pack, 12-Oz Boxes, $7.47.

Beef Ravioli, 15 Oz, Pack of 4, $4.48.

 

(Some of the many remarkable pantry volunteers.

This is a reminder that you can access the Cambridge Pantry Amazon Food Wish List by clicking on any link above the Cambridge Food Pantry green button at the bottom of every blog post.

Everything on the list is urgently needed and is updated frequently. We are delighted that many people browse the list and make their own choices.

Sarah’s choices usually mean the pantry is out of items and unable to replenish them. She is crafting a whole new food pantry, and we fully support it.

 

(Sue is unloading Army of Good donations.)

Today is Pasta Day; Tomorrow is Rice Day

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