It started with one of my daughters baking brownies to share with a neighbor who spent a small fortune on fireworks for the 4th off July that they set off in the front of their house so everyone could watch. Next another neighbor gave a bunch of neighbors some fresh melons. This was followed by yet another neighbor with plum and fig trees that produced abundantly. She shared her bounty with several of the neighbors. Then my other daughter baked some blackberry pies and delivered slices of pie to several neighbors, including the melon neighbors and plum/fig neighbor.
The plum and fig neighbor shared even more plums and figs. I baked a large batch of mini pumpkin loaves and paired it with some nice tea for neighbors. Then this afternoon, someone left a box of fresh apples on our doorstep with a note that simply said "went apple picking, some to share" signed by her first name. We're racking our brains trying to figure out which neighbor this is. I think I'll be doing more baking this week to deliver to our neighbors.
Anyway, this has been a fun and spirited season in this neighborhood, which is saying a lot. We're not known for the "Seattle chill" for no reason. People generally keep to their own friend group in my area. But this has been fun. Maybe our neighborhood is turning over a new leaf.
That does sound like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteIt's been fun getting to know our neighbors. We have several widows and widowers in our neighborhood. Showing love through food has blessed us as well as them.
A great way to serve one another.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy,
DeleteI agree wholeheartedly!
I did that a lot when I was young. Then we didn't have that sort of neighbors. Then we did, again. I miss it, now, since the people we enjoyed it with here are gone. I do notice, though, that it's a little harder to bring something that will be appreciated than it used to be. It seems like many people have either dietary restrictions or strong preferences. Used to be a loaf of bread was a good gift for anyone, but not as much, now. We bring treats to a weekly ladies' gathering I attend, sometimes (various people, spontaneously); and although everyone appreciates the generosity, I notice that the "uptake" is a little spottier than I would have expected to see, say, in the 90s. I loved your story!!!! Sara
ReplyDeleteHi Sara,
DeleteI think you're right on that. Even myself, I often won't eat goodies at gatherings unless I know for certain that none of my food triggers are in them. But I do appreciate that someone went to the trouble to make something for our gatherings. I think the fresh fruit this summer was well-received by most neighbors. Our family has certainly benefitted by all of these gifts.
Our last neighborhood was really good about sharing extra fruit. I'm not sure why this (rural like the last one) isn't. Last place, we helped elderly folks pick their apples when they couldn't, or other neighbors who were out of town when the bears started foraging, etc. And lots of times, I got calls from neighbors who couldn't process all of the fruit they harvested. Whatever we canned/dried, we offered a portion back to them, and it was really a great dynamic. We did the same here, when we first got here. We even got enough starts to plant a huge raspberry bramble, when we offered to help elderly neighbors clear theirs out. But now, there are several trees FULL of apples in our current neighborhood, but those neighbors don't communicate with anyone. One house is for sale, and I wonder how long it'll be before some stranger steals them. Hopefully, the people who own the house don't care. (We had fruit stolen off our trees once when we lived in the 'burbs, and we were furious, because we would have used every single one of them.) In any case, I think you're right. Fresh fruit/veg are a great thing to share. (I just remembered, we got a nice cantaloupe from the antique dealer's wife a week ago.) BTW, I attended that ladies' social again last night, and someone brought home-canned goodies I really wanted to try out, but didn't feel like I could risk with my sensitivities. Too many ingredients, but it did look great! :) Sara
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