May Activity Re-cap and June Quarterly

I just wanted to thank everyone who came to my class on baking with natural yeast/sourdough. It was a lot of fun for me to teach and I loved hearing all of your questions and discussing it with you. This is something I love to talk about and hearing how you are all actually baking with your yeast thrills me.

If you weren't able to make it and wanted to, I have a handout that I created for the fair. There are lots, so just let me know if you want one.

The preparedness fair was a success. Shannon and I had our little booth and got to talk to some really great people and help them learn about baking with natural yeast as well.

We will be having a quarterly activity on June 18 at 7 p.m. at the church.  Shannon will be teaching us basic quilting and we will put together a quilt that night. More details to come. Mark your calenders!

May Activity: Baking with Natural Yeast

This month I am going to teach a class on natural yeast (or sourdough starter). We will go over what it is, why it's beneficial, and how to take care of it. If this is something that interests you, or you just want to come and visit - please do! It will be pretty basic, just to see if it's something you wish to learn more about.

We will meet in the back of the chapel at 7 p.m. this Thursday, May 21.

***If you think you might want to take some starter home with you, please bring a quart mason jar or similar glass or ceramic container. 

On a related note: on May 30th the stake is hosting the Emergency Preparedness Fair in Malad. Each ward is in charge of a booth and I have been asked to be in charge of our ward's booth. They asked me to make the subject Natural Yeast and how it's good for emergency preparedness. This means that I need everyone to come to the class on Thursday to learn so that you can help me at the fair!

April Activity: Gardening 101

We have a lot of great gardeners in our community. Now is the time to come out of hiding and help those of us who want to learn more! For this activity we will have an informal discussion about gardening - what to do, when to do it, what varieties to plant, etc. Please come and bring your friends. There will be refreshments served and lots of great information shared. We need everyone's support - those who know what they are doing, and those who have questions for the experts among us!

April Newsletter - Spiritual Preparedness

Dear Sisters,

I have struggled with knowing how best to format the monthly "Provident Living" newsletter. The reason being is that provident living encompasses so many topics; I didn't want to miss out on them by only touching on emergency preparedness and food storage. All aspects of provident living are important, and will help us draw closer to our Father in Heaven. After much debate and prayer, I have chosen to write a newsletter each month on a specific topic under provident living. The letters will be short and simple, but hopefully will give us all some encouragement. Let's all learn and grow together.

Kelsey

(click on the image to make it larger)

General Women's Meeting

Just a quick reminder that the General Women's Meeting 
is tonight, March 28, at 6 p.m. 

Ways to watch:

1.  At the Stake Center in Malad
2. On your cable/satellite television
3. Live streaming via the internet at lds.org

All young women age 8 and older are invited to attend!

Relief Society Birthday Party

I wanted to take a quick minute to thank everyone who came to our activity last Thursday. I am so grateful for your participation, help with the food, and all of the wonderful things we learned about each other! It was a fun night with great food and even better company. I didn't even think to take pictures during the activity - I only got some before and a quick one of the table full of everyone's favorite things.

We ate baked potatoes with baked beans and all the toppings. While we ate, we discussed a few questions about the Relief Society. After realizing that we don't know as much as we thought . . . we moved on to dessert - an ice cream sundae bar. Shannon made homemade caramel sauce and it was the favorite topping. While we ate our ice cream we started in on our Favorite Things. Everyone had previously filled out surveys (anonymously) about their favorite things. I read the first survey, then everyone had to guess who it belonged to. That person then got up to introduce their favorite thing and then proceeded to read the next survey. It was so fun to hear about each sister and then see what they love and why. We ended the night with a gift for each sister - the following quote:

I love that quote and have made it one of my goals this year to simplify and be CONTENT. Many sisters took gifts for their visiting teaching sisters who weren't able to attend, so if you didn't receive one, please let the Relief Society presidency know so that we can get one to everyone.

The evening was a lot of fun for me. I was nervous that no one would come, but was overwhelmed  by your support and words of encouragement.

Thanks again,
Kelsey

I had a couple of requests for  the baked beans recipe, so I have included it with this post.

Kelsey's Baked Beans

8 cans of Bush's original ham and beans (or 4 cans of the larger size)
1 c brown sugar (I actually use coconut sugar, but realize most people don't have that on hand - it's what I used on Thursday for the beans)
1/4 c molasses
onion flakes - large handful
1 tsp tabasco sauce
2 T finely chopped green pepper
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 T mustard
1 lb chopped, cooked bacon

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and bake in the oven, covered, for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Or combine in the crockpot on low for 3-4 hours.

Activity Reminder

Just a quick reminder that our activity this month will be held tomorrow at the church.

March 12, 2015 at 6:00 p.m.

We are celebrating the Relief Society's Birthday. Please bring one of your favorite things to share with us. Remember, this can be anything: food items, personal care items, cleaning tools, kitchen gadgets, articles of clothing, games, etc. - let's get creative and learn a little about each other!

We will have dinner (and dessert, of course) and nursery will be provided.

See you there!

Welcome!

Dear Sisters of Holbrook,

I have decided to create this blog in hopes that it will be a place where you can know what's happening in the Holbrook Relief Society.

Here is what you will find in the future on this blog:

• Upcoming Activities. We will have a monthly activity and smaller special interest classes as we feel necessary. I will post them here and on the church bulletin boards.
• Re-cap of Activities. I will make a real effort to blog about activities that have happened, as well as post pictures for those who weren't able to attend. This way, all of us can be kept informed of the goings-on. And it might get more of you to participate if you see how much fun we're having, right?
• Provident Living Newsletter. Each month, I will put together a simple newsletter to fulfill my responsibilities as the Relief Society Emergency Preparedness Coordinator. It will cover a variety of subjects. That newsletter will be posted on this blog, but hard copies will be provided for those who want them.
• Birthdays, news, community events, etc.

All of this is a lot to promise, but I will do my best! I am very excited about this, and about the changes we are making in the Relief Society to bring us closer together.

Our first activity will be March 12 at 6:00 p.m. at the church. Below is the invitation (I have hard copies to hand out on Sunday):

It will be a Favorite Things Birthday Party. This means each of you are to bring an item that is one of your "Favorite Things." It can be anything---a book, movie, kitchen gadget, personal care item, article of clothing, food, etc. Get creative and come prepared to tell us why you love this item. It'll be a fun night with good food, lots of laughter, and a time to be together as sisters.

Thank you in advance for your support---we need it!