411 Challenge

I've had a busy week so far.  Monday, I played bridge.  Yesterday I worked the Soup Kitchen in the morning, making my Chicken Spaghetti Casserole.  It was a big hit!!  But, we made way too much.  The day before they had served 148 people and I bet we hardly had 100.  We made 6 large pans of the casserole and had 2 1/2 pans left over!!  Several people came back for seconds and a few had us give them tinfoil so they could take it home and have it for dinner.  We have decided that that casserole will be the Newcomer's signature dish!  One of the gals I was working with is a big volunteer with the Red Cross and she got a call about a big apartment fire in Charlotte that had displaced about 165 people.  Sonny & I were asked to help with a shelter that they were setting up at an elementary school in Charlotte the next day ... or so I thought.  They said they needed us from 10:30 to 7 and I assumed they mean 10:30 AM to 7 PM on Wednesday.  When I got home that afternoon, Sonny had already talked with the Red Cross and was prepared to go help at the shelter at 10:30 that night!  I wasn't going to go because Linda needed me to help her the next day entering the clients in the computer.  Sonny ended up going to Charlotte and returned home at 4 AM.  He was not a happy camper!  They ended up having only ONE person in the shelter!!  I think earlier there had been 4 people but 3 of them left and didn't come back!  I talked to Linda today and asked her why keep the shelter open for one.  Why not just put him up in a hotel?  A lot of it has to do with $$ - the Red Cross is strapped for funds just like everyone else in this economy.  And of course, at the time, they thought more people would be coming but they evidently found family and friends to put them up for the night.  Of course, today, they are back and needing places to stay - probably only about 15 families and they are putting them up in hotels now.  It just doesn't make sense to me.  I'd tell those people if you don't come to the shelter, forget about a hotel!  Linda did tell me that the local hotels were calling with some great offers.  They were able to get rooms at Howard Johnson for $140 for 7 days!

Here's my recipe for the Chicken Spaghetti if you are interested:

1 large chicken

1 8 oz pkg spaghetti

2 10 oz cans cream of mushroom soup

1 med. onion, chopped

1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup olives

salt, pepper

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Cook chicken until tender.  Remove, reserving broth.  Cook spaghetti al dente in reserved chicken broth; drain; reserving broth.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Combine all except cheese in large bowl.  Add small amount of broth.  Pour into lightly greased 10 x 13" pan. Top with cheese.  Bake 350 45 minutes.  

Saturday and Sunday I did a little stamping.  I decided to do a challenge from Stamping 411.  You can follow their link on the left side of my blog.  They post a sketch every Saturday and I haven't done one in a while. Here is the sketch: 

Here is the first card I did.  I used a retired SU stamp set, Summer by the Seam my oval Nesties and a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Then I decided that I didn't really follow the sketch to the "T" so I did another one that was a rectangle instead of an oval.  This card I used Crazy for cupcakes, a felt flower and the background is from a wonderful two step stamping set, Greenhouse Garden.