East Lake United Methodist Downstairs Diner

(4 photos)

Located in the East Lake area of Birmingham, Alabama, East Lake United Methodist Church sponsors many programs in addition to regular worship services.

They have a Saturday Farmers Market which also has additional vendors with various wares, handmade, homemade, independent sellers of coffee, sorbets, balms, butters, lotions. I was once a vendor of handmade goods and had a booth there also. It was my first experience as a vendor and it was a good one.

There's always live music during market time from various  musicians. All of this helps create an atmosphere of community. 
Go to their website  or Facebook page to see everything they do.

Since my post is mainly about my first experience at their Downstairs Diner, I'll stick to that.

The menu for the month can be found on their website and as you can see they specialize in home cooking.

 Who can resist a deal like this? As a "mature" person, I'm not ashamed to take advantage of discounts offered, nor am I too prideful to ask if there is a discount for senior citizens when I go places.

I opted not to have bread nor dessert with my meal.

 The food was spectacular with ample portions. So tasty. Seasoned well, fresh, hot and delicious. The answer to when you're tired of eating fast food. As a senior I took advantage of the discount. But, even at regular price it is affordable.  Where can you get a meat, 2 veggies, bread, dessert and beverage for $7.00? And, if you sign up for the seniors program you can get all of that for $4.00 but, only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I'll be going back.

Neighborhood Farmers Markets

I tip my hat to East Lake United Methodist Church. They gave me my first chance at being a vendor for my crafted goods.

But not only that, it has stayed in a changing neighborhood when many others would have sold or abandoned the church. Their motto being, In the Neighborhood for Good.I spoke with one of the members who was wearing a shirt with this very motto on the pocket.

There aren't nearly as many vendors as there once were. Some of that can be attributed to the numerous pop up farmers markets that are in various communities now. At the time I was a vendor there were few fresh vegetable markets in the area  that offered fresh food at reasonable prices.

This is a very large church building with a very small congregation. They also have a 2nd hand store inside and they sell hot lunches everyday. They seem to get a large crowd for the lunches.

The church is beautiful inside and I'm sure it is expensive to maintain such a large structure. But, they've been holding on.

One of the members told me that the bell tower doesn't hold a bell and never did. The bell tower is now a cell tower rented to Verizon. Like he said, "you've got to pay the bills."

P.S. You may have noticed that the text is larger. It seemed to small and not dark enough in my last posts.

THAT'S IT 

"ORGAN-IZING" DIVERSITY

East Lake United Methodist Church gave an organ concert as part of its East Lake in the Afternoon series. From a previous post I wrote about having a vendor's booth for the first time during their East Lake Farmer's Market season as well as being a consumer of their fresh produce. This is a  church that  didn't leave when the community began "to change," or "became more urbanized.." You can read between the lines on what that means. On their church marquee and on tee shirts worn by many of the members is written:

 In the neighborhood for good

I suppose that is why the concert was titled "Organ-izing Diversity".  Below is a copy of the program.

Overlook the written notations in the margin of the program. It was just a note to self .

I'd been told that there wouldn't be the standard long hair classical music but a mixture of it with modern music..  The musician in residence Dr. John Schwandt is an associate professor and Director of the American Organ Institute at the University of Oklahoma School of Music.  I won't go into all of his credentials but they were impressive.  The talent he portrayed on the pipe organ was mesmerizing.

Not only did I want to attend the concert but I reaaaaalllly wanted to see what the inside of the church looked like. It has been there for 125 years. I enjoy viewing architecture and somehow knew it would be beautiful inside. Imagine a medieval castle or english tudor.  It has gothic archways of stone. The sanctuary has exposed beams and very high ceilings. I didn't get to see the entire church but there a lot of nooks and crannies.  I suggested that perhaps they should do a tour as a fund raiser. I most certainly would attend.

I'm still honing my video skills. I listened to this video so many times  while trying to edit it, I had an ear worm.  The song was stuck in my head for 2 days. I still haven't gotten it just right but as far as I'm concerned it's good enough.

You'll hear someone humming at the beginning. It isn't me. It's a lady that sat next to me. I have no idea what she was humming and I don't think she did either.

THAT'S IT***

My First Craft Showing



Unable to have the banner I'd designed in Publisher, printed at an office supply store, I resorted to making this one around 11:00 pm, the night before my display.



I'VE  BEEN FREQUENTING THE  East Lake Farmer's Market (ELFM) at East Lake United Methodist Church. . From a previous post you will know that I subscribed to picking up a half basket of fresh fruits and veggies as well as homemade goodies every other week. This week was different in that I got to display my own craft items. This  is something I've wanted to do for a long time but couldn't get up the nerve. I enjoy being in the company of others who craft. I found it at ELFM. I was not so much interested in making money as I was getting up the gumption to actually get out there and experience the craft vending world.      

            

Most books I borrow from the public library but I was so impressed with, The Handmade Market Place by Kari Chapin that I bought it. It is chock full of worthy information and tips. It seems that every question I had was answered somewhere in her book.

ON WITH THE SHOW



A table showing my wares.



yellow tie dyed tee shirt scarf with matching yellow beads.

Here is one of my 4 cardboard models. As stated I "reuse and redesign  with discards." I found these photos in  a 2nd hand shop. They'd been taken from discarded photo albums. I was looking for vintage photos and found what I wanted. I took the head shots to Staples and had them enlarged. I then asked and was given cardboard boxes from a car parts warehouse (They have the best boxes, Sturdy and clean) and cut out the shapes.   The initial inspiration for the models came from  Bea Graansma and Carolina Gonzalez .

 

All neckwear comes as a duo. A tee shirt scarf with an accompanying  vintage necklace or a tee shirt necklace.
The lighted compacts in the forefront have vintage photos also.



**BTW All of the photos I used are from a secondhand store. I don't know any of these people. 



Neckwear doubled

 

White tee shirt  scarf worn with a decorative pin.

The neckwear can be worn together or separately. Most lengths are in the 30+" range. It can be worn long or short by doubling the necklace and scarf around the neck. Wearing it with a brooch  or pin would be nice also.

I only decorated 4 compacts. To see a close up of the others click the photo of the table above. I sold three of them. Below is a closeup of the first one to sell.




This is the backside of one of the lighted mirror compacts

 


This is the front side of the compact. I used lace, photo and cut outs from thrift outlets. I call this one "Saturday on the Town."



I didn't have a picture of the pink one showing the lighted mirror when slid open so
this is  "On the Beach".   Slide open to use the mirror. Slide the cover farther down to use the mirror lighted.





This is Lois whom I met weeks earlier. She gave me the info on who to call to get the "hook up" to be a vendor. We shared a booth this past Saturday. I was facing north and she was facing south. Look over her shoulder and you'll see my table behind her.



I am proud of myself for finally getting out there and trying it out. I'll be there again next week.

THAT's IT***