CONTENTS 1/13/2021
Crossroads Of Kindness
Monday’s Meeting
Who Deserves To Be Homeless?
Crisis Line 800.584.3578
Soup Brigade
Apples, Soup Packing Tips
Insurrection Response
Vaccinations
Games For Parents That Are Too Tired To Play
Windy Weather Recycling Tips
Washing Recyclables
In Search Of Sourdough Starter
Grocery Run?
Radio Free Fl!p: Here Is The Chorus
CROSSROADS OF KINDNESS
Because of you and others like you, I’ve been standing at the Crossroads of Kindness and food and supplies for neighbors who have lost their homes flow in and out of our front entry. It’s a lovely if sometimes heartbreaking view. Thank you.
MONDAY’S MEETING
I have decided to wait to report on it, till we see how this week unfolds. It looked to me like officials were hoping BaseCamp could accomplish things it hasn’t shown signs of being able to do. Fingers crossed!
WHO DESERVES TO BE HOMELESS?
Because of all the work our neighborhood and community are doing for Camp 210 at City Hall, and those experiencing homelessness in Whatcom, I want to share with you the latest blog post from Interfaith Coalition (full disclosure: I am the Volunteer and Communications Manager for the nonprofit). With such a spotlight being shone on homelessness in our community, it’s a good time for each of us to pause and reflect on how we view homelessness and those who experience it. If there is one takeaway from this post, let it be this: “’The most uninteresting thing about the people we work with is that they are homeless.’ We’re all more than face value. We are our life experiences. And we all have value.” ~ Lindsey McGuirk, Elizabeth Street
https://www.interfaith-coalition.org/blog/who-deserves-to-be-homeless
CRISIS LINE 800.584.3578
I work at Whatcom Crisis Triage Center, the mental health side of the new facility. We’re not open quite yet, but we’re expecting to open any moment. The Social Detox beds are already open.
Even still, you mentioned trying to avoid calling police for a mental health or SUD crisis. The number for the Volunteers of America Crisis Line is: 800.584.3578. Anyone can call, whether they are in crisis, concerned about someone’s safety, or with someone in crisis. VOA staffs their phones with Master-level clinicians trained to respond to crisis. They can talk and safety plan; if warranted, they’ll send the appropriate responders: an ambulance, a member of the Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) that includes Peer Counselors and Clinicians, or a Designated Crisis Responder (DCR–mental health practitioners trained to determine whether someone needs to be involuntarily detained because they are gravely disabled or an imminent threat to themselves or others). ~ Lauren Kenny
SOUP BRIGADE
Today’s Ingredients: At this point we have 10# of red potatoes & another probably 5# of bakers (Scalloped potatoes? Twice baked?). 8# carrots, (carrot muffins anyone?) 20# rice, 10# lentils, three 4# bags of pasta (Ziti, penne), three 5# sacks and three 2# sacks of shredded cheddar. There’s a big tub of curry paste (wouldn’t that be great with lentils & onions?). About 15# of onions. Six dozen eggs. Three jars of chicken soup base. Seven huge cans of Chili, and cheese & onions to go with them.
Sign up here to keep a steady flow of meals, and then come pick up soup pots, ingredients & individual containers from me. I’ll be glad to talk you through it.
https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/nnmwke
APPLES, SOUP PACKING TIPS
Thanks and a little easy tip for soup brigade volunteers, and to my dear friends, neighbors and applesauce friends :
First: YAY! 2+ more batches of super nice apples for sauce has been secured through your warmhearted donations!!! I’d say: PLEASE, KEEP IT UP and I myself will keep it up, so that we all are keeping it up and a pulse pulsing through our hearts where we can feel that pulse at it’s purest. So, that’s my humble, jumble praying cheer.
Here is my soup train insider tip:
Before ladling your hot content into the foldable kind of paper containers, it’s advisable to un-stiffen the flaps by pre-folding them a few times back and forth, as well as to nudge open the pre-stamped slot so that the tab and all is going in nice and easy at the moment of loading instead of the hot content burning your flesh while you ponder if you should drop the whole mess on the floor and scream (or mutter) profane thoughts.
And, oh, while you work the flaps loose, write the date on it and then eyeball/pre-fit of how many of the containers will fit into your box. Smooth packing makes for a faster, hotter dash out the door!!
Stay healthy, stay wise (to all that you hear…) ~Max Eberhard, Apple donations, pappenspiel@gmail.com
INSURRECTION RESPONSE
A concerned neighbor wrote to me, and here is part of my response: I think the odds are that we will be OK. And if we aren’t, that neighbors will aid each other in every way we can. Of that I am confident! This is a good time to reach out to one another.
VACCINATIONS
From one of the two blogs I read every single day. Betsy is a doc in Seattle and I find her both informative and reassuring.
… this MMWR report from the CDC explaining the numbers of reactions in the first 10 days of vaccinations with the PfizerBioNtech from Dec. 14-23. Anaphylaxis, the dangerous allergic reaction that can be life threatening, was rare, only 21 cases out of 1.89 million doses. These are the early data in the process, so more reactions will be documented moving forward. But so far so good. The information is helpful in planning for the vaccinations so providers and staff can be prepared with rescue medications, as well as having protocols in place for people to wait at least 15 minutes after their vaccine, before leaving, so treatment can be started if they have symptoms.
So far I like the odds. My risk of dying from COVID is much higher than a theoretical risk from a vaccine. You can check at your risk at this link to a risk calculator that Johns Hopkins University designed.
BetsyBrownMD/Substack.com
And a local doctor chimes in:
While anaphylaxis can be dangerous, it is an immediate reaction. All people getting the vaccine MUST stick around for 15 minutes afterwards at the vaccine center, where anaphylaxis can be quickly and easily treated. NO ONE HAS DIED FROM ANAPHYLAXIS from the Covid vaccine, and no one has had to be hospitalized. However, the waiting and observation period is one reason that the rollout of the vaccine has been slow…it takes a lot more time, and equipment and personnel at the ready than say, a tetanus shot. ~Anonymous Local Doctor
GAMES FOR PARENTS THAT ARE TOO TIRED TO PLAY
In order to access this article, you will need to sign in to the Hand In Hand Parenting website. I completely trust this organization and the people in it. And their work is brilliant!
Games For Parents That Are Too Tired to Play
WINDY WEATHER RECYCLING TIPS
It sure has been windy! I getting advice from all sorts of experts – not only medical, and counseling (and musical) but recycling! Thanks Rod…
http://www.ssc-inc.com/weather_delays.php#tips
Scroll down for Windy Weather Tips on all our collection types. ~ Rod Pemble, Recycling/Safety Manager, SSC
WASHING RECYCLABLES
Piggybacking on the comment about windblown trash–there is another reason that trash/recyclables end up on our neighborhood streets. When recycling isn’t properly washed out before being placed in the bin, it attracts animals that pull the items out. I pick up litter when walking in our neighborhood and have seen clear evidence of this. Cleaning your recyclables will help prevent this (and also make it more likely that your items are actually recycled, and don’t contaminate the recycling process with food). Thanks for your help in keeping trash out of our environment. ~ Darrah Blanton, Williams St.
IN SEARCH OF SOURDOUGH STARTER
I’m working through an elimination diet, and now in the process of reintroducing certain foods. I would love to make some homemade sourdough bread for this process…does anyone have a healthy and happy starter they’d be willing to share? Can pickup! Please text 970.488.9195 –Anya Gedrath
GROCERY RUN?
I had an offer of a SmartFood run today, and today got away from me. I would love to find someone going there tomorrow, and with luck, someone (else?) going to Haggens or Winco. Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511
RADIO FREE FL!P: HERE IS THE CHORUS
Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer perform a song by Australian singer-songwriter Bernard Carney. Now, this is ridiculous! And brilliant. I’ve been teaching music lessons over Zoom to my 12-year-old Grand-Twins, and my granddaughter has begun writing songs in earnest. She had some questions about song construction, so I found this for her. I realized Cathy & Marcy had answered every question at Guitar Camp some years back. All the secrets revealed! You’ll never listen to a popular song quite the same way again…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NBkTle3rzI
Love/Fl!p 360-671-4511 2518 Cherry Street flip@columbianeighborhood.org
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