We’ll be recovering from last week I think!

Thursday night we had Alphington Arts … check out the post below to admire what we produced.

On Friday we worked on the new wicking beds - which will be fabulous. They are now in place and filled up with layers of pond liner, scoria, geotech (a fabric barrier) and vegetable soil mix. And they are level (we hope) - always the hardest part right? Yes. Lots of heavy shovelling to get to this point.

But also … then … we got our annual delivery of fogo compost from Yarra City Council - only 2 cubic meters at this stage (we might get some more in a few weeks) - but similarly requiring quite a lot of shovelling and wheelbarrowing etc.

I know that I slept like a baby after a day of such physical activity - and I suspect there were a few others who did too!

But then … we all bounced straight into our shared National Volunteer Week event on Saturday morning. See the post below for photos and more general thank yous etc.

OKay, enough looking backwards, onto this week … we have:

• Preserves Group - Tuesday 1pm-3pm (free all welcome). Also if you have small jars and/or excess fruit/vegies in your garden PLEASE feel free to donate them - we will lovingly turn them into pickles and jams etc. Or we can even use them for our lunches …

• Overlocker Maintenance - Saturday 10am-12pm. There are definitely still some places available, if you are keen just book in on our website. Booked in already? Don’t forget to bring your machine along on Saturday!

And then … there’s all the usual things, including Garden to Plate on Monday, Crunch on Thursday and Community Lunch on Friday. Book in and come along if you are keen. The more the merrier! Also this week we will have two Masters of Social Work students starting with us - which should be terrific. We’ll be looking forward to getting to know them and start thinking about some meaningful projects they can do whilst they are here. Make sure you introduce yourself if you come across them!

We hope to see you this week.

Cheers Leanne

Speaking of arty things, which we are often doing, the Alphington Open Studios artists are currently hosting a group exhibition at Yarra Sculpture Gallery in Abbotsford. Glimpse offers a brief but compelling insight into the diverse practices and creative processes of this dynamic collective—a preview of the rich and varied work emerging from the Alphington Studios community.

It looks great and you should go! The Sculpture Gallery is just in behind Collingwood Town Hall - so there is both easy parking and great train options to get there.

The exhibition is on for May and runs from Thursday to Sunday from 11am-4pm.

A great activity to do on an autumnal day!

We had a lovely time on Thursday evening here at ACC getting creative with ink, watercolours and tape.

We each produced a little series of art works that matched in style.

If you are interested in art and enjoy a good chat with other arty locals then why not join in Alphington Arts. It runs twice term on a Thursday evening at 7.30pm. Each month is led by someone in the group - exploring either an art form they are experienced in, or one they are keen to try for the first time (like this week). It is very exploratory and relaxing. And lovely

Thanks to all the volunteers at ACC - our committee members, people who run classes - like Shirley and Rosie, people who volunteer to lead book groups, lead arts activities, help in the toy library, cook for our lunches, those that volunteer to teach the beginners uke group, people who cook preserves, those that help out on Fridays … those that help at events … and more!

Neighbourhood houses flourish through community generosity, kindness and goodwill.

It was fabulous to get together on Saturday with the other houses across Yarra to thank a range of our collective volunteers, and share the love with Yarra City Council staff and councillors.

Great to have a super turnout from ACC. Thanks to everyone who came along - and to everyone who volunteers at ACC along the way.

On Saturday we had our first ‘repair’ workshop for the year with Gordon teaching us how to maintain our sewing machines and to troubleshoot the basics. It was great to see so many people walk away with their problems solved after 2.5 hours - a new knowledge about their machines and how they work and how to keep them in tip top shape.

We have another of these workshops coming up in 2 weeks - for anyone with an overlocker this time! And we also have a clothes mending workshop coming up in June that is the final is this series. You can book in on our website - on the enrol page.

This week we’ll be installing new garden beds (see the post below - you’re welcome to come along and learn about setting up a wicking bed yourself) on Friday … and we’ll be cooking lots of food.

This week is Neighbourhood House Week, and so we’d love to see you at our food programs.

We’ll be cooking cauliflower soup and pasta with bacon and brussel sprouts for lunch today in Table to Plate. Looking forward to sharing the cooking with anyone who can make it!

Then on Thursday we have Crunch - two new people joined our group this term - and anyone is welcome. Thursdays at 12.30-2pm for a yummy lunch (we’re having spaghetti bolognese and garlic bread this week) and a creative arts activity led by Lee (we like to keep it a surprise!).

On Thursday evening we have our Supper Club - 7 people joined in last week. If you are interested in enjoying dinner with locals then please come along at 5pm. Just contact our office (phone or email) or book in on our website.

Also, we have playgroup on Wednesday, along with AAA Bowls and Line Dancing and Armchair Theatre. Friday we have AAA Arts and Community Lunch. And our Toy Library is a great resource for families (parents, grandparents etc.) who are keen to try new things - explore puzzles and games, ride-ons and all the toys. Also Rosie is starting up Community Yoga again this week, and Clare is running Art classes … and Keiko is running Sound Healing sessions. Check out all our previous posts to find out how to book in if you are keen! If you have any trouble just drop us an email or give us a call.

Next week is National Volunteer Week, and on the weekend we have an event on at Holden Street neighbourhood house with the other Yarra Houses - to celebrate all our volunteers who help us keep things on track. We couldn’t do all the things we do without all the help that you, the community provide.

We hope to see you at ACC soon. Happy Neighbourhood House Week.

Cheers Leanne