Monday, November 10, 2008

Making Pies and Rememberance

On Sunday I volunteered to make pies at St. Luke's Anglican Church for their Lunch Club and Drop-In Centre.

There, I met a young woman whose sweetheart is on a peace-keeping mission in Afghanistan, and it made me think to remember the sacrifice our present soldiers and their loved ones are making in the name of peace.

As I was rolling out pastry tops, I remembered my elderly friend, May, who lived through the bombings in London during WWII. Her father would insist that they make tea, eat biscuits, and sing happy tunes while the bombs fell all around them. "If we die tonight, we will die happy," her father would tell his family. They survived, and May recounted those terrifying times with a tenderness in her heart for her father's brave attempt at keeping them sane.

I was using my maternal great-grandmother's rolling pin to roll out the pastry, which made me remember my grandmother's cousin who survived a grenade blast in World War II. He was saved by his best friend who threw himself on the grenade. My grandmother would get misty eyed whenever she told me this story. I always wondered if she had been sweet on the boy who died so bravely.

We made the pastry,

peeled, cored, and cut up apples,

peeked,

decorated,

laughed,

taught,

guided,

beamed,

filled,

and we produced over one hundred pies!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

over 100? wow!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lot of fun actually. Great pictures too. I pass by St. Luke's sometimes on my way to work, and I notice hungry-looking people waiting for the church to open. It's nice to get a peek inside.

Anonymous said...

Wow, you're a pie machine. My parents and other relatives lived through the war(s) in Germany, so I grew up with a lot of war stories - and not the usual Germany-related war stories.

Woodsy said...

XUP, I will tell you another story May told me sometime - in person...

Zoom, I will gladly let you know about it next year. You pay $15, make all the pies, have fun, connect with wonderful people, pick up baking tips, and then you get to take two pies home!

Nursemyra, do you bake? 'Cause I bet it gets hot in your kitchen!

bigheart said...

The kitchen has always been a warm safe place for people to gather and enjoy each others company.

Woodsy said...

Bigheart, it was a pleasure meeting you yesterday! Congratulations on starting a bog! I am looking forward to reading you.

aandjblog said...

What delicious looking pies!