November

 

Heavens.  The Back Porch:  0 for November 2012.  I guess that says something about how November consumes us here at our house.  Here’s why:  

Waffle Shop

First off, thank you to so many Dayton friends who made it down to Waffle Shop the week before Thanksgiving.  When all the dust settled at Christ Episcopal Church, we had almost 1700 folks in the front door yet served almost 1800 lunches.  This time around carry-out worked over time by serving close to 500 lunches all by themselves.

Waffle Shop, for the uninitiated, is a long-standing Christmas downtown holiday tradition, held this year for the 83rd time.  Indeed, the first event was held in 1929, just a month or so after the stock market went bust.  

Since then the event has grown to include a bazaar of seasonal crafts and gifts, a ‘white elephant’ sale (used stuff with plenty of use left), a raffle (this year for a Kindle HD and a gift card for the Pine Club), a bake sale, and a liberal sprinkling of live holiday music.  

This year’s Celebrity Bakers were Christine & Ralph Dull (co-founders of the Dayton International Peace Museum), Jane Black (Associate Director of the Dayton Art Institute), and Judy Dodge (newly re-elected Montgomery County commissioner).  The CBs get to sit at waffle iron #1 (next to the lovely Cindy Lou at iron #2) and, while baking, chat with the lunch bunch queuing up with their trays. 

This year we also invited some folks who received Waffle Shop Outreach Grants to stop by to set-up a display and meet with our guests and tell them about the good work they do in Dayton.  Outreach Table guests this year were Daybreak (passing out pet treats baked at Lindy’s, Daybreak’s new business venture for their kids over at their old site on Wayne Avenue), FISH Fairborn, Family Services, and Homefull (formerly The Other Place).  By the way, Christ Church is proud to note that Homefull grew out of a community meeting held at our church twenty-five years ago.

It looks like we grossed over $18k this time around at Waffle Shop, most of which will be awarded as Outreach Grants following a round of applications and committee discussion early next year. 

This Waffle Shop marks eleven years that I have been involved in organizing it, and I must say, doing so has been a real joy in my life.  Lots of work, yes, but amazing perks -- like so many downtown neighbors stopping in -- based on Christian hospitality.  I am honored to be a part of it. 

One more Waffle Shop story:  Thursday turned out to be our busiest day, following a morning picture with caption in the Dayton Daily News and a blurb on local television the day prior.  It also marked the day our fabulous Hobart refrigerator decided life was over.  By the end of the day we discovered the necessary repair would cost nearly $1500.  Ouch.  Such cost puts a real crimp in the grant giving, you know?   

Then on Friday morning, the niece of long-time waffle baker Olga Veselenak, a nonagenarian who died not long ago, stopped by with a financial gift from Olga’s estate to celebrate Waffle Shop, the Christmas event she loved so much.  Amount of the gift?  $3000.  More than enough to replace our very necessary commercial refrigerator.  When we told Olga’ niece about our need, she wept when told it is our intent to put a memorial plaque on the new fridge honoring Olga’s memory.  As I said repeatedly the rest of the day, stick around long enough and a miracle will happen.  

So it was at Waffle Shop 2012. 

***

Thanksgiving at our place was lovely.  My mother joined us, as did most of the Issa family.  The free range bird from Bowman Landes Farm was/is delicious.  Yes, there is still a little left, though a whole load of leftovers went home with guests that day.  

I had a little computer trouble, too, that set The Back Porch off a bit.  As you might know, I replaced my iMac with a new MacBook Pro back in September.  Believe it or not, the hard drive on this brand new machine went south Thanksgiving week.  Thank goodness for Apple’s Time Machine back-up software.  After a quick replacement at the Apple Store, all has been reloaded and things appear to be in good shape.  Still, losing a hard drive scares the heck out of me.  Not too bad this time, though.

***

Remember JB, the cat?  She’s doing great, though under another alias these days.  Cindy always wants to call her Sweetie, but she does that for all cute little people, including the kids she babysits.  

We decided a better name for the kitty was Gracie.  So now most often she gets called Miss Gracie Kitty, or Sweetie, depending on the mood.  

Still cute, eh?  ;-)

***

I’ll try to be more regular with entries from here on.  In the meantime, you have a happy holiday season.  And thanks for reading.  

Today’s elder idea:  ‘We’re gonna’ to make waffles!’

Donkey (from Shrek)

image:  Noah’s mommy broke him out of school on Friday for a Waffle Shop lunch!