Friendship Feast

Submitted by: Michelle

Going clockwise from me we have:
Laurie, Lisa, Karen, Linda, Maribel, Jodi, Diane, Gloria, Lynn, Stacey and Debbie.

The ladies in this photo are all members of my Claremont Stamp Club. Over the last 2 years we have gone from acquaintances to great friends. I am honored and wowed by the commitment that these ladies make to gather on the 3rd Friday of every month to craft together.

What I find really interesting is that the 12 of us did not all know each other when our club began, in fact, I didn't know any of these ladies (except for Linda.) Linda hosted my first Stampin' Up party and invited Stacey. Stacey instantly became addicted to stamping and recruited a group of her friends to have a club. And, the group of friends that she recruited did not all know each other very well either. I committed to teaching the club, despite it being 2 hours from my house, because it meant I'd get to see Linda on a regular basis. Little did I know that these ladies would all become front row quality friends.

Now, besides our monthly club meetings, Stacey and another club member, Diane, have organized holiday themed parties for our group. Last year was a cookie exchange (which I unfortunately was not able to participate in) and this year we had a Friendship Feast.

The Friendship Feast was this past weekend. We all gathered at Stacey's lovely home in La Verne for a Thanksgiving Potluck Lunch and recipe book making session. Each club member was required to bring part of the meal as well as a copy of the recipe. We ate together and tasted each other's dishes and made this fabulous recipe book to take home.

Diane painted the pumpkins for all of our books!

Linda and I put our music degrees to good use and provided the musical entertainment for the afternoon. It was great fun for us to dust off our flutes and play duets together, just like we did in college.

Everyone contributed to a great afternoon of food, fun and friendship, but a big shout out needs to go to Stacey for organizing the event and opening up her home to us and to Diane for helping Stacey design the recipe books as well as creating a gorgeous center piece for our table. Check it out!

( Diane specifically told me she doesn't like having her picture taken, but I ignored her and posted this anyway.)

Though the food was amazing and I will cherish the recipe book for years to come, I most value the opportunity to spend time with women who are so talented and that I respect so much. In a busy world full distractions and expectations, it is good to know that I have 11 other kindred spirits who enjoy some of the simpler things of life: cooking, crafting and being front row quality friends.