Potluck at Tom and Florianne's

Tom and Florianne had a Christmas potluck dinner at their place on Saturday. I think the last time I was at their place was for another holiday potluck dinner three years ago.

That was probably the last time I saw some of their other invited guests. Other than cursory contact through Facebook, I hadn't met up with many of them in person in quite awhile.

Of course there were new people too. Tom invited some of his other hockey friends over from a mixed league that plays on Saturday night. They were the second wave of people who showed up... after their game of course (since it was Saturday).

I know Tom from hockey on Fridays. We've played with the same group of friends for many years. I met Florianne dragon boating in the summer a few years back. It's nice that they've opened up their home to different gatherings over the years. Tom's a great cook. There's always a lot of wonderful food. And it's great to catch up with people after such a long time apart.

Potluck at Mike and Carol's

My friends, Mike and Carol, invited me over to their house for Christmas potluck dinner on Saturday. I used to work with them at Trader for many years (many years ago). I last saw them two or three years ago when they last had another get-together.

After I went to the dentist I bought a pie and a dozen croissants from the Superstore at Don Mills and Eglinton. I have to buy food for potluck dinners since I can't cook. Don't want to inadvertently poison anyone trying, you know.

There was a lot of food at the party. A lot. My croissants were put on a side table and sat there lonely and ignored for most of the night. After eating some other things I thought I'd start on them to get the ball rolling. I ate one first, then a second when I dropped it on the floor while moving the box trying to fit more food on the table.

My pie sat untouched amongst a sea of other delicious desserts too. By the time people were digging into them I was pretty full and needed a break. I had to leave a bit early to meet up with Gabe and Justin to watch UFC 194 Aldo vs. McGregor. So I don't actually know if anyone had any of the pie either. I sure hope they did.

It was great seeing a few old faces again. Besides Mike and the Taylor clan (mom, dad and the sisters), I saw Iuliana and Alex and their kids and Sue and Robin and their son, Christian, too. So that was really good.

Smurfs Potluck Dinner

We had our Cornerstone Sports Night team dinner over the weekend. Ellen and Chung-Yen graciously opened their home up to us.

I suggested having potluck which everyone seemed to think was fine. Though the only people who actually cooked anything were Ellen and Chung-Yen and Curran and his wife, Jessica (purple team). The rest of us bought things (mostly desserts).

Ellen and Chung-Yen made pork brisket for pulled pork sandwiches and also they had a cucumber frittata (egg-based dish); Chuan bought some Samosas. For dessert Curran and Jessica baked an apple crisp, I bought an apple pie and Derek bought banana bread. Lemei and Lily bought some fresh cut fruit.

Annie and Dan couldn’t make it because their newborn baby was sick. Mike was unable to make it because of family commitments.

Dinner was good. Ellen and Chung-Yen set up some tables in their dining room so we were all able to eat at one big table. We got to know each other a little better. The only really new team members were Lemei and Lily. The rest have played on various other teams over the years. Lemei and Lily were invited out to Sports Night by their friend Crystal. Actually, they’re somehow related. Maybe Lemei and Lily’s older sister is married to someone that’s related to Crystal.

After dinner we played some games that I borrowed/took from my nephews. A few of them tried Camouflage (one of my favourites). While they were playing I read out questions from the Logo game that my nephews got for Christmas this year. We didn’t actually play with the board and game pieces. We treated it more like trivia with someone reading the questions and the rest of us yelling out the answers.

Our team is doing pretty well at Sports Night. We won volleyball (which was the first sport of three sessions). Now we’re playing floor hockey. After four weeks we’re undefeated. Though a lot of our games have ended in ties.

Go Smurfs!

Academy Awards Viewing Party at Dickie's

Perry and Dickie organized a potluck dinner at Dickie's house on Sunday. We were going to watch the Academy Awards on TV there. Ellen Degeneres was hosting this year. She's really good.

As usual, I said I'd bring dessert. Normally I look for a store bought pie since I can't cook. Before I could go out and get it Perry called me and said, too many people were bringing dessert. He suggested I buy a veggie platter instead.

We had a good turnout - 15 to 20 people. I believe most of them were either from Perry's church or Dickie's church. There was a fair amount of food. I noticed hardly anyone touched my veggie platter (baby carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower with dip). Bad choice, Perry! Nobody likes healthy food (wink, wink).

Perry had his traditional Academy Awards quiz to see who could pick the most category winners. This year he provided a "cheat sheet" with the Las Vegas odds on the favourites for each category. It helped for some of the more obscure choices (like best animated short or best foreign language film).

I hadn't seen most or even any of the movies nominated this year. So I relied heavily on the cheat sheet with a few hunches thrown in. Turns out it was a good way to pick. I ended up tied with Perry for most correct answers. Out of the 24-25 questions we both only got four wrong. It made watching a bit more interesting. We were on edge as each award was given keenly checking our answers.

It was good to meet up with everyone again. I don't see the guys that much. Probably only 2-3 times a year whenever we meet for birthdays or other holidays.

Chicken a la Carte (a short film) and Pastor Fred

Not my image

Near Christmastime I joined my friend Steve at his Barnabas fellowship potluck dinner. It was held at Richmond Hill Christian Community Church on Bayview between 16th and Major Mackenzie. It was nice to see some old friends again and meet some new ones as well.

After we ate Pastor Fred (the fellowship pastor) gave a short talk. He shared one story about this fellow who was quite depressed. This man spoke to his pastor about it. The advice he received was to think of people in the past who made a significant difference in your life and write them letters.

Out of the four letters he wrote, one person, his fourth grade teacher, responded. She was very touched by what he said. Out of the thousands of children that passed through her classroom over the years, she said his was the only letter of thanks she ever received. She was deeply appreciative of it. This pleased the man and he decided to write to other people he knew. Soon he felt much better about his situation in life.

But, this is not my main purpose for writing this blog. It's to pass on this link of a short film from Youtube that pastor Fred shared. It's about overconsumption and waste. Something quite common in western culture, but also something we rarely think about.

It was a powerful film. He was quite brave for showing it. Especially at a Christmastime gathering – a time of general happiness, and right after we ate a big meal. I believe it sent a sobering message to everyone.

Too often, I think, we're holed up in our tiny, sanitized cocoons. We choose to ignore the plight of the downtrodden amongst us so we don't offend our delicate sensitivities. We don't want to be associated with dirty, poor people. Sometimes I believe that how some churches feel. It's almost like a well-to-do person's social club.

We send our members to far off lands to do missionary work. They tell us they want prayer so they can be strong because they're "leaving their comfort zones". Well, my friend, you're going there for two weeks then you get to come back home. Think about the people living there. They don't get to leave to fly home to a four-bedroom home with three big screen TVs and manicured yard. To them, that's reality. That's life. Deal with it.

So, bravo, to pastor Fred. Good for you for showing the film at the risk of offending or upsetting some people.

And to you, my friends, take a few minutes to watch it. It's probably nothing new that you don't already know. But, it's a good reminder for us to waste less and not complain about the troubles we have. You do it and I do it. We all do it. But, really... millions upon millions of people would be happy to trade places with us in a heartbeat.