"No friends or family members were harmed during this episode of EXTREME volunteerism."

This week I rather impulsively entered into what could be seen as some extreme volunteering.  It made for quite a challenging week demanding high energy, uber-organizational hutzpah, good friends coming to the rescue and more.  

Our little jewel of an elementary school - Pittsfield Elementary - took on the daunting task of sorting a mountain of items donated to the A2 PTO Thrift Shop over the waning months of 2009.  And all because I decided that we could, should, would take on the challenge.  An event like this had not been done before but I figured, how hard can it be? Impulsive or not, I signed us up officially at their board meeting last Thursday night to do a major pilot event - a multi-donation drive "sort" - of somewhere between 500 and 700 bags and boxes full of donated, gently-used "stuff".

Well, what's done is done. And there was nothing left to do but get it done. I already had a sense of who was available to help with this thanks to an earlier feeler on what day of the week works best so I sent out another call to the my Pittsfield "peeps", as my teenager is a fond of calling them. My husband's term for us is the "PTO Mafia". It's a term of great respect and betrays, perhaps, just a slight trace of fear. He claims that the term fits us well: we gather over food, wine, and together we plan things... loudly. Then, we execute our plans - with precision, gusto and flair. Yes, I'd say there's a little fear there.

The gang, as always, came through - and how! I had a crew of 12 volunteers lined up for a variety of shifts to help throughout the school day. Mums and dads volunteered on their one day off, before their job started, after their job ended, or on their noon-hours. And all of us, our first jobs being parents, volunteered while our kids were in school for the day. It was a 9-to-3:30 day for us and we got as many hours out of it as we could.  


Unfortunately, one day was NOT enough to dig ourselves out from under all that stuff. It was a veritable mountain, overwhelming us when we first arrived. The room was full of piles upon piles of bags and boxes. A warehouse of chaos. Where to start was the question looming front and center. Whether we'd finish was the one lingering in the back of all of our minds. But with another full day with a handful of die-hards (you know who you are) and couple of drop-ins from other schools, our trusty band of rag-tag volunteers got the job under control. This morning, four of us arrived for a quick sprint to the finish and, in no time, the job was done. Mission accomplished. Order established. We did it.

It was all "sorted" by good friends, good neighbors - great community. Well done all!

My hope now is that we did as right by the Thrift with this "sort" as they have done by us over the late fall and winter with the fundraising opportunities for our PTO. We shall see what they think of our work.

In the meantime, we all survived. Me, my friends and fellow volunteers, even my family. Check out my post-sort, last-minute meals on annarbor.com to find out just how well they survived my extreme volunteer commitments this week... They were far from suffering.

New post on annarbor.com, more A2 PTO Thrift Shop quests

Here is my annarbor.com blog on the budget-stretching I attempted yesterday chez le Thrift...  I am still on the hunt for the French casserole there.  Anybody who would pay full price for a new one of these is truly just ill.  Sorry, but they are.  These pots are gorgeous but get serious.   I can only cook with the pot.  I can't eat it or live in it.  So, somebody's hand-me-down Le Creuset will suit me very nicely.  And if I saw an authentic copper cataplana there too, I would probably snap it up in a heartbeat and hang it on the kitchen wall.  No storage space?  Stick a hook in the wall and hang it up.

I'm starting to think that this may just turn into the continuing adventures of Ann at the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop.  It really is a near-perfect environment.   Community based, helping the schools, great people.  Constantly changing inventory, low prices, clean and upbeat atmosphere.

When I was in yesterday and shopped after volunteering, I was enjoying the music they were playing to such an extent, I was often singing (quietly) aloud as I browsed.  It was not something I own or would buy but it was Elvis.  How could I not be singing along.  They could stream their musical selections and it would make great AOR on-line.  Lots of classics appealing to those of a similar vintage to mine.  There is always something good on the stereo to keep me humming.  Next time you are into the shop, listen while you look.  I wonder if they have the playlist on the Facebook group page?  Hmmm...

Tonight, I stretch that January paycheque (which is actually from December 23rd) even further.  We will have 15-bean and vegetable soup for dinner.  It's not my usual vegetarian variety - I made chicken stock on Monday night to use in another soup.  I originally wanted to make an Italian egg-drop soup with it.  Stracciatella - so simple, so good.  Never got around to that though so I had to use it up here.

I soaked 2 cups of 15-bean variety in cold water overnight in my slow cooker on Monday.  Then drained and cooked them in fresh water in the slow cooker while out on Tuesday.  I cooked up the soup on Tuesday night on the stove top while my lasagne was baking in the oven.   I made a quickie version of the classic Italian comfort food post-swim lessons with my Barilla no-boil noodles, ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses with eggs and leftover Italian meat sauce from the weekend.

I like almost everything better if it has sat overnight in the fridge - it all just tastes more complete.  Today, the soup is ready to go because it was made ahead - also good for a busy activities night when one of them came home early, claiming a sick stomach.  Yes, my life is glamorous.

Thankfully, I am just heating up this dinner to serve with salad and some bread.  The soup itself, aside from the soaked, cooked 15-bean mix, consists of my homemade stock (made with the bones and unused meat from a roast chicken, 1 T of salt, 1 tsp whole peppercorns and covered in cold water to cook overnight in the slow cooker/crock pot), chopped potato, some long-in-the-tooth grape tomatoes, frozen chopped spinach along with the basic onion and celery starter.

I threw in the last of our chicken gravy from our Sunday dinner too.  It makes of a tasty addition but, alas, it's a meaty addition since it is the giblet and wine gravy that my kids love.   I will likely throw in some green beans just before serving but I'm not sure the soup needs it.  Green beans are my teenager's favorite vegetable so it would be to make her happier coming in the door after along day.  But it looks - and tastes - just right as it is.

Hope you enjoy your dinner too!  Tomorrow, the left-over lasagne with left-over soup as a starter.  Another non-cooking day to look forward to.