Gate Roster: Gladys, Bob, Janelle, and Jane
Arrived at Gladys’ around 2 PM Saturday. Went over shopping list, supplies list, and to-do list with Gladys and Bob.
Left Gladys’ at 2:30 to shop. Went to Sam’s, Wal-Mart, and Dollar Store.
Left Bob in charge of chicken baking in the oven and the job of putting together the encouragement note packets which included emailed notes, handwritten notes, an MM-B comb, and a special “Star”.. (Thank you Chris, Florida G.S Troop 681, Linda and Larry, Jan, Maria, Gramma Pam, Marcia, Teresa and Family, Miller Family, Nathan and George the Kitten, Shawn and Family, and someone who didn’t sign their name.)
Arrived back from shopping at 5:00 PM, had dinner, relaxed a little bit, Gladys got busy; Jane and Bob relaxed a little more then joined her; finished up, relaxed some more and at midnight, turned the crockpots on and went to bed. Up at 5 AM, made the sandwiches, packed up. Janelle arrived at 9 AM, out the door at 9:15, arrived at hospital at 10 AM.
Menu:
Kielbasa and Meatballs in tomato sauce with green peppers and onions on hot dog rolls, 2 large crockpots full (none left)
Chicken salad (Thank you, Gladys) on croissants – 24 large croissants cut in half; Chicken salad on the side; Cheese and olive appetizer tray; Medium, jar of pickle spears; 3 sliced tomatoes; Pasta salad (Thank you, Janelle.!); 4 lbs. Potato salad; Garden salad with choice of three dressings; Watermelon, grapes and cantaloupe.
Oh wait… there’s more!
24 Individually bagged asst. chips (Thank you, Amy!) Smoothies – whole milk, frozen strawberries, bananas, yogurt; Assorted cookies; Brownie bites; Pound cake; Candy; Case of coke, diet coke, sprite, asst. fruit juice
Cost: $298.23. Averaged $6.63 per person going by the headcount; fed more than this; cost includes a few gift bag items.
We served patients, families and staff and we were in a lull in between some having moved on and some arriving that evening.
Our escort was GREAT! He made sure to let everyone know we were there, not only on 5 East, but also in ICU and over at Mercy Hall and anywhere else he thought there might be patients and families; even checked in on us a few times to make sure everything was going okay.
All leftovers were wrapped and left in the 5 East pantry, dated and labeled.
Box of assorted pantry items were left in pantry, dated and labeled – three assorted bagged cookies, candy, drink mix, instant coffee, tea bags, sugar packets, nuts, trail mix, microwavable rice. (All donated – thank you, Amy and Jim.)
We met a mom and her wounded son who had been there awhile. Spoke with them and gave them nifty gifties to take with them. Then the girlfriend of a Marine came in to check things out and then brought her Marine back for lunch. They sat in the room and chatted with us while they ate. She’s a Marine too, and ooo boy… they make an awesome couple! Both so full of fire and spirit! There is no doubt that they both have a bright future!
We gave out a “Mom” quilt and two homemade pillow cases (Thank you, Bayside Quilters), one Marine fleece blanket (Thank you, Carol), one travel pillow with a homemade pillowcase (Thank you, Nancy), gift bags that included hand lotion, an MM-B comb, a disposable camera, and a candy bar (Thank you Chris, Elfs, and WA State Operation Thank You.)
A gift bag full of candy with a thank you note we had each written a note in was given to the 5 East Staff as a small token of thanks for what they do for the men and women who serve our country. They are Angels on Earth!
There were some out-patients over at Mercy Hall who weren’t able to make it over to the hospital ward so a Marine and I loaded up two trays of food for them and took it over, also gave them some Stars. We had a special handwritten note for the Sailor who works there at the desk from a Marine Mom who lives in the state he is from. She was so sweet to send him a card and he really liked it. Little touches like that make the day so special…
The Stars given to the guys from Jan were special, too. We had enough with us to give to Liaison staff and some of the doctors and other staff. Next time we’ll take more of them!
Thank you to everyone who made the day so special!
If you would like to help us with our mission please check out our “Baskets of Love” quilt raffle.
Postmark date is July 27th, 2009. The drawing for the quilt will be held August 13th, our next luncheon at Mercy Hall. EVERY penny goes toward the luncheons, gift bags, and pantry items for the wounded/injured combat Veterans and their families on 5 East and Mercy Hall. We are all volunteers. Printing, postage, phone calls, gas money and sometimes food and gift items are out of our pockets.
While you are surfing, please take a minute to check out this awesome Marine. Richard was wounded during his second tour in Iraq and is out of the Corps now, traveling the west coast clear on up into Alaska to bring awareness about PTSD to the public.
The Trigger Journeys (4/2/2021 – link no longer active)
Don’t forget to vote for Gold Star Mom Dee every day while you’re online through August 7th! If she wins, she plans to use the $15,000.00 for postage for her care package project that serves our guys and gals who are deployed. She is the one with the American flag and the USMC flag in the background. You can read her story when you click on her picture at the site. http://www.energizerkeepgoinghalloffame.com/
Until next time, continued prayers for our military and their families…
Love and Hugs,
And then there’s more…
I was recently at Bayside Quilters annual “Sew In” with our “Baskets of Love” quilt. They all came together for the day to finish up their mission projects. It was so nice to have the opportunity to thank the ladies in person for all they do in their support of the troops at Bethesda.
They are a very caring group of women. They do sooooo much for others and have a good time when they get together!