I ought to be at Winnipeg Culture Days right now, in Old Market Square, selling bags. But it's raining cats and dogs and kitties and pups here in Manitoba so I'm home in my cozy little castle, doing a little paperwork for bags4darfur. It's been on my "to do" list- to do the final tally on what money got raised at Harvest Moon Festival a couple of weeks ago.

I'm happy to announce that I've just donated $800.00 to this awesome project through MCC. Pretty groovey to think of a sewing machine generating income for another sewing machine.

Giving Projects

MCC_LivelihoodSudan.pdf

Sudan - Sewing classes

Florence Ayikoru D’ekili (left) spent most of her life as a refugee in Uganda because of Sudan’s civil war. While living in one of the major Ugandan camps for Sudanese refugees, she became involved in tailoring and income generation classes offered by Jesuit Refugee Service. After returning to southern Sudan in 2008, she approached MCC with her vision for reaching out to women in the city of Juba. Today, with MCC’s support, she is the administrator of an organization called Mother’s Union that provides sewing and tailoring courses along with information on marketing, business concepts and self-care. Some participants have started their own sewing businesses and are earning enough to build homes, pay school fees and better their families’ lives. Join in supporting efforts that offer women such as Ayikora D’ekili an active part in the recovery and rebuilding of southern Sudan.

$10 tailoring teacher - Support a tailoring instructor for one day.

$75 sewing machine - Provide a graduate with half the cost of a sewing machine.

Harvest Moon Festival was nothing shy of practically perfect in every way. Once again.

Tradition insists that we drive out in this Southwind- roughly the size of a double wide trailer on protein shakes. Sometimes the front end gets through an intersection on green while the back bedroom squeaks through on a brilliant red. We just recline in the front bedroom under those conditions. Hard to ticket someone who isn't even there.

We go with our most environmentally aware friends, just because its good to indulge in irony, at least once a year. Driving the beast costs us the same amount of money that a sweet hotel would cost for one night, but let's be sensible- Clearwater has no hotels, and we were staying for two sleeps. So, talk about being an excellent financial steward.

I'm entirely happy in Clearwater.

The bathroom stairs charm me.

The randomly placed giant bins full of firewood. No charge.

Of course, it might be partially due to the fact that some farm dude donated a shed, or something.

Maybe its partly because I grew up in the country, but this festival always restores my faith in good old prairie life.

(although I blissfully leave the "tent village" to the under forties in the crowd)

Cuz I got me a fancy room to call my own.....

And there's no beating those mirrors on our ceiling.

But I was here about bags, right?

And these fabulous fingerless mitts that my friend Lory makes out of thrifted wool sweaters.

It was such joy to sell Lory's mitts, and some bags4 in Clearwater. The weather was pretty splendid as well. September in Manitoba can be pretty darned terrific.

And that's just how it's been around here lately.

I'm gonna go edit my sidebar now, its not quite right.

It ought to read: "Total donated: $32,918.00"!

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