bake sale: last post, i promise

so what's so good about a bake sale? well, there's the part where you sit at a friend's dining room table late at night, engaging in the best kind of multitasking. at once, you are drinking a mimosa, chopping shiitakes for an insanely delicious wild mushroom tart, being hand-fed the defective-looking, but perfect-tasting discards from a batch of lime glazed sugar cookies, and coming up with magical 'cures' to be offered the next day by test tubes filled with skittles (you know, 'photogenic for life', 'ability to understand animals', 'better kisser'... all very, very useful).

there's the part where, as you're helping your mom meticulously cut baklava, your dad walks into the kitchen, looks quizzically at a container of tiny brown pellets, hesitantly tries one, then spends the rest of the afternoon swilling cocoa nibs by the handful.

and there's the day itself: accepting piles and piles of homemade sweets (and some savories too!) -- some donations from friends and acquaintances, some from generous local businesses (like that last-minute donation of fudgy bundts from chrysta of kiss my bundt bakery -- bless her heart), and some from unsolicited strangers who heard about the sale and just felt compelled to contribute -- beautiful people, those (thanks carla and daisy!). and of course seeing all these goodies bought and eaten doesn't suck either -- donation jar full, fingers sticky with chocolate, smiles all around.

then, maybe it's that post-bakesale moment at pure luck: utterly spent and loopy from hours in the sun, finally sitting down over a cold beer (people, it's craftsman triple white sage season!) and some curry fries to watch out-of-town friends meet local friends and instantly connect.

counting the money! there's a great rush, even when the money doesn't belong to you, in stacking up bills and checks, counting, then counting again, and, after much effort by many people, seeing that over $2500 will be going towards feeding the kids who need it most through share our strength's programs.

(and it's here that i must mention the staggeringly generous monetary donation that tai kim, the owner of scoops ice cream shop, made to our bake sale. i really was beside myself when i read the check he handed me early saturday morning. you can chalk it up to tax write-offs if you want to be cynical, but why not attribute it to something we've known about for years: tai's unending magnanimity.)

seriously, once again, good vibes, a sense of community in our sprawling city, and all kinds of deliciousness ruled the day. thanks to the many many people who contributed their time and energy to this fun and super worthwhile event!

[thanks to heather taylor, nick confalone, and janet tomiyama for the photos]