Mending Club Emerges from the Pandemic Shut-Down

In early August, I was reminded by friend Julia that I had signed up to host the August meeting of our Mending Club. For those new to this blog, The Mending Club is a group of 10-12 women, most of whom met when we were vendors at The Pink Cupboard, an antique and decor shop which was located in what is now The Prairie Street Brewery in Rockford. The Mending Club was started by Sandy Brewer co-owner of The Pink Cupboard. When it closed in 2005, (Yikes!! that’s 15 years ago.) Sandy thought The Mending Club would be a great way of keeping all of us together. We don’t mend in the traditional sense. We mend hearts and lives and friendships while socializing at each others’ homes for dinner and sometimes crafts. We also get together for outings and activities including a once-a-year overnight weekend in the Fall, usually somewhere one or two of us have visited or heard about, somewhere that specializes in antique shops and cute restaurants, and maybe a theater.

For the last couple of years, we’ve replaced our $1.00 holiday gift exchange (you read that right. We bought or made a $1.00 gift for every member.) with an outreach to the community. One holiday season, we went on a local shopping outing and put together outfits for specific children who, we were told, needed “a little Christmas”. Last year we bought, prepared, and served a meal at Carpenter’s Place.

The invite done at home on our computer and printer was sized to fit a #10 envelope (business size), because those are the envelopes we had on hand. (I cropped the address, regrets, etc. portion off the photo.) The Rae Dunn plates and napkins were purchased to use for Thanksgiving to placate all the kids who wanted nothing to do with washing dishes when they were home for such a short time. This year they will not be here at all because of Covid 19. So sad.

I really didn’t think the August date would work, because to this point, we were saying that it was just too soon to gather. Our last gathering had been in March, just as the pandemic was making itself felt in our area. However, I texted everyone, and was pleasantly surprised to find that most were onboard and excited to get together, outside, social distancing (for the most part), and masking, if more comfortable doing that. A few of the members declined because they had been traveling or entertaining family and didn’t want to take the chance of spreading something they didn’t know they had. So, the invitations were mailed, the yard was spruced up, and John sped up his porch repair project, making the deteriorating back stoop sturdy and safe enough for our guests. This was all decided on a Tuesday, and the gathering was to take place the following Monday, August 10.

Steps with reinforced stringers (just added that word to my vocabulary), new post and railing. I still have to paint the porch itself and all the trim, but am patiently waiting for John to resume the project.

Fast forward to Monday, and a straight-line storm/tornadoes struck but, with early enough warnings, that we decided to postpone the event to Tuesday. Fortunately, most who had planned to come were able to make it the next night.

The Setting

Above is a photo sent to me by my sister whose neighborhood was close to the center of a tornado touching down. The tree was uprooted taking the lawn with it. The winds were so strong, she was watching shingles blow off her roof. Our yard, including the newly planted Peter Cottontail, was untouched except for one pot which blew over, a planted old enamel pot, dumping its contents, but easily recovered

The Menu

(1)The round mesh patio table was dressed in white for the occasion holding a stainless platter with cheese/vegetable skewers poked into broccoli trees. Thanks, Theresa for taking the photos and for coming a bit early and putting that appetizer together. (2)Metal racks held the separated place settings and name tag clips holding a cellophane bag containing bright yellow sunglasses, a Dollar General fundraiser for Literacy, an appropriate favor coming from the home of a reading/literacy advocate) . Then there was “Dolly”, the dress form, decked out in straw hat and serving tray, offering appetizers to precede the main course,
The Cajun Shrimp Boil.

The Cajun Shrimp Boil was cooked in foil packets out on the grill, and they were perfect for individual servings. The packets were assembled by our neighbor Sheila, whom I invited to join us that evening, knowing this southern gal would fit right in. She volunteered to help in the kitchen and she did a perfect job. The shrimp boil packets were tasty and filling, and they kept us from serving everyone from the same platter. Breadboards at each table had sliced crusty baguettes heated on the little top rack of the grill.

The Decor

We caught up with each others’ lives, talked, laughed, ate, and drank as the temperature cooled a bit and the skies darkened. The lights, candles, and lanterns provided a soft light as we said our good-byes, eagerly anticipating our next gathering, when hopefully the whole group of us will have no qualms about meeting. It won’t be our annual Fall overnight due to the restrictions forced on us by the pandemic, but pandemic or not, any way we can get together is always a blessing.