Our first meeting!

Hi Friends,

We (many friends) are starting a meeting on Tuesday afternoons from 2 to probably 4 or 4:30, and we would love for you to join us. Some of you have already come, some have heard or been invited and some of you don't even know about it yet. Well, this is the first email. It will explain what it's all about. Hope you can make it.

I wanted to re-cap on today's meeting. Thank you to those of you who were able to come. I had a great time, one thing I did realize is that if we are going to get anything accomplished we are probably going to need more time. What girls can honestly get anything done and catch up in an hour and a half? Let alone a group of us! That being said, lets think of our schedules and what time we can really work with. I was concerned with everyone getting home to make dinner on time, but maybe Tuesdays will have to be crock pot dinner day so that we can all stay a little longer. Our time together really is so sweet and rare, I think it is worth setting aside a little more to make it happen. So, next week let me know if you can stretch it from 2 to 4 or 4:30 even.

Okay, so to re-cap, we discussed a lot of ideas of what we would like to work on getting more familiar with. For those of you who were not there today, we really want all of your input. We talked about learning bread making and even making our own sour dough starter, knitting, sewing, basket weaving, baking, cake making, cooking, everyone bringing their fav. crock pot meal recipes, how many things can you make with beans, what are your top three dinner recipes (so we all get some new and fresh ideas), cookie exchange at Christmas or Thanksgiving, gardening, what are time savers, and money savers. The list goes on, but these are some that I can remember. Oh, and after you all left I thought how fun it would be to have a big Christmas party with our husbands. We could bring some of the dishes and breads and cookies we've made.

We also talked about the focus of this group being a place to learn some of the older trades that our parents were taught and were so familiar to them but that never were passed down to us. Many of which I just mentioned above. Lastly that we as women are so hungry for community and especially community among women. It is easy to get stuck in our homes, which is fine and if you ask me I absolutely love being in my home, but one big thing we have lost in this society and generation is community. I hope that we can build community around this group of women. A very safe and fun place where we can open up, have a shoulder to cry on or someone to laugh with and learn from. So, if you are interested or know of anyone who is please come, bring a friend.

Next Tuesday we will meet again at 2. I am fine going until 4 or 4:30 if you can. We are going to discuss money saving tips and time saving tips around the house. I think that this will open up to a lot of discussions. So please come with your ideas and tips written down and maybe something to record what you have heard. You may not think that you have anything to offer, but if you just look at your daily routine this week I bet you will find something that you have learned that saves you time or even a trick that makes life easier or happier. Here are two examples one from our meeting today: Michelle shared how you can put lavender in a nylon sock and stick it in the dryer with your laundry to make it smell better. And, I didn't share this today but one trick that I have learned to do with the kids socks that loose their partner is to use them as a sleeve on their sippy cups. It works really well on the stainless steal cups. It protects them from denting, chipping and it keeps their fingers warmer when cold drinks are in them. So, think of those cleaver ideas you have, write them down to share and be ready to take notes and laugh with some great women. I look forward to sharing Tuesday afternoons with you. Blessings, Kimberly