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

On Friday we celebrated Alex’s birthday which was lovely. His aunty Rose brought a cake along and we were all very happy to help him celebrate and we hope he had a super day on Saturday as well (his actual birthday!).

And … also on Friday we had a special delivery of two wicking beds from Nillumbik Nursery … the installation of which will be our project this coming Friday. If you are interested in how to set up a wicking bed at home come along and help out from 10am (we will throw in lunch at 12pm as a bonus) - I know Clare will be very happy to share her knowledge - and of course many hands make light work (especially when shovelling scoria I imagine). These wicking beds will be installed in the bluestone garden beds out on the corner triangle and will enable us to grow more food and herbs etc. We’ll be focusing on useful things that can be used by our community - either at our lunches or our neighbours and local friends.

Once again we’d like to thank the Climate Emergency Team at Yarra Council for funding these beds.

This week we celebrated autumn with a fancy lunch dish featuring fennel and beetroot.

We made a very yummy dish of roasted fennel and whiting, which was topped with a raw beetroot relish. We sprinkled some fennel fronds on top, with a wedge of lemon and some roasted potatoes (with rosemary and smoked paprika) on the side … it was a delicious and nutritious lunch. And simple to make. We had lots of time to chat and hear about what everyone had done in the holidays as we waited for it to cook!

If you’d like to join in our seasonal cooking adventures (and then eat the food that is made) please book in on Mondays for Garden to Plate, running from 11.30am-1pm here the in ACC kitchen.

Lovely to see everyone on Friday!

It was a glorious morning in the garden. We sat outside and enjoyed the autumn sunshine.

Enjoying the sunshine!

Then, we had ‘better than Subway’ (as Sarah said) focaccia for lunch - thinly sliced roast beef and roast capsicum with a yummy horseradish and chive cream cheese, along with swiss cheese and lettuce accompanied by 3 salads. And … for the vegos, a swap out to Yotam Ottolenghi’s portobello ‘steak’ mushrooms (recipe here. Such a winner - I use it all the time).

To top it all off Margaret from the CWA kept us up to speed with the latest cooking controversy (Nagi from Recipe Tin Eats v Brooke from Booki Bakehouse) and ‘their’ caramel slice. Yum! Thanks so much Margaret.

So great to be back with the crew.