Auburn Festival of Lights Parade

Last weekend was the Auburn's annual holiday parade, the Festival of Lights. Often called the Electric Light Parade of Auburn, this is a well-attended event every year, often drawing visitors from far away locations. People pack the streets to watch the over 100 float entries in the parade.

Auburn Knit Night and Courthouse Coffee joined forces to be in the parade for the first time this year. The knitters used glow sticks to knit in the back of Courthouse Coffee's '69 Ford pick-up. People cheered our glow sticks, the knitting, and the owner of the coffee shop. We cheereed and waved back, feeling on par with our favorite knitting celebrities Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka The Yarn Harlot and the authors Kay and Ann from Mason-Dixon Knitting. (Psst, Santa: I still really want the new Mason-Dixon Kntting book.)

The group able to be in the parade left to right is Debbie, Gail, Earin, Luci and Sharon.
For more parade pics, check out this link.

Auburn Knit Night is open to knitters, crocheters, and other hand crafts. We meet Tuesday evenings at Courthouse Coffee in Auburn from 6-9pm.

And to plug Courthouse Coffee, let me just say that it offers so much more than coffee. There's an exciting variety of Fair Trade drinks and high quality salads, soups, sandwiches, pie and other goodies. Also, wi-fi internet access, space for local groups to gather, and is convieniently located adjacent to the year-round, Saturday morning farmers' market. And did I mention the wine and beer?

Nevada County Cookie Exchange

Here's a yummie local event to tempt you out on Sunday.

The new local Slow Food Chapter of Nevada County is presenting a Holiday Cookie and Recipe Exchange Sunday December 14 from 1:00-4:00pm at Linden Lea Ranch.

Bring your family and friends and 3 dozen of your favorite homemade cookes and copies of the recipe to share. $5/person or $10/family. Come enjoy cookie decorating, Polar Express story-telling, decadent hot chocolate, apple cider, and holiday music.

Directions:
From Grass Valley: Take Main Strees west for 7 miles (it becomes Rough & Ready Hwy). Turn right on Bitney Springs Rd and follow for 5 miles. Turn right at the Linden Lea Ranch.

RSVP or questions 478-1541 or thewellspring@sbcglobal.net

Gifts that keep on giving

This was printed in the Grass Valley Union Friday, November 25, 2005, and I wanted to share this great idea with everyone. Many people I know are cutting back on frivolous gifts and donations this year, but here is a gift idea that keeps on giving, long after the holidays are over. Of course, considering the joy my own flock has brought me, I may be slightly biased about wanting more people to experience chickens...

A Gift That Nourishes
A few years ago I received one of the best Christmas gifts of my life. My mother had bought in my name, from Heifer International, a flock of chickens for a family from a third world country. 20.00 had helped an entire impoverished family become more self-reliant by providing income-producing chickens along with a training program.

My own chickens do so much for my family. They lay eggs, fertilize, eat the bugs--including earwigs, scare the rattlesnakes away, go to bed by themselves and wake us up.
So this year, I gave 200.00 to Heifer International which purchased ten flocks of chickens for ten families somewhere in the world and I gave a flock, on paper, to each of my close friends and family members.

Heifer International is a nonprofit organization that works to end hunger and poverty by enabling people to start their own businesses. You have the choice of goats, llamas, pigs, water buffalo, cows, beehives, sheep, camels, chickens and more. Not only do these gifts provide better nutrition for children around the world, but then the families "pass on the gift" by giving one or more of their animal's offspring to another family in need.

"Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a life time." You too can give the gift that keeps on giving. Call Heifer International at (800) 422-0755 or go to www.heifer.org