It's time for our Skill Share and Repair Cafe!

The Silver Spring Timebank is hosting its 3rd annual Skill Share along with an added Repair Cafe new this year!

Sunday, February 10
2-5pm
Silver Spring Civic Center
One Veterans Plaza, downtown Silver Spring

This event will promote our timebank's talents to the entire community. It is FREE and open to the public.

If you're not sure what a Skill Share or Repair Cafe is, check out the video from our January 2018 Skill Share and our May 2018 Repair Cafe at the Montgomery GreenFest.

We have all NEW speakers and expert table topics for our February 2019 event. See below for the line up* of all including several repair experts. You can pop in for one or two talks and visit a few ask-the-expert/repair tables or stay for the entire event to absorb it all. 

We hope you will be inspired to join the SSTB, but there's no pressure to do so. We just want you to enjoy yourself and learn something new for the New Year! Bring your friends and family and please forward this email to others.

Also new this year: babysitting for up to 12 children. We’ll have childcare provided by Black Tie Babysitting but advanced reservations are required. Click on this link to reserve your spot.

2019 SPEAKER SCHEDULE

2:05 Kathy Jentz – Welcome and Announcements

2:15-2:30pm Tanya DeKona – “Green Living/Money Saving Hacks”

2:35-2:50pm Dale Brown – “Turning Your ‘Trash’ into Someone Else's Treasure”

2:55-3:10pm Lisa Silverman – “ Feeding the Hungry Crowd with Delicious Casseroles”

3:15-3:30pm Adrienne Butler – “Vegetarian Meal Prep Tips “

3:35-3:50pm Edward Constable – “Knife Skills for the Home Cook”

3:55-4:10pm Madeline Caliendo – “Art Journaling for Wellness and Personal Growth”

4:15-4:30pm Elise Stigliano – “The Many Life Benefits of Gardening”

4:35-4:50pm  Pete Tan – “Social Media Marketing for your Side Hustle”

2019 Repair Café & Ask the Expert TABLING ROOM 

Silver Spring Timebank Help Desk ~ Tina Slater and Mary Murphy

Fixing Lamps and Home Repair Project Advice ~ Karl/Mr. Fixit

Furniture Repair ~ Simon Mauck

House Plant Diagnosis and Care ~ Lisa Jacobson

How to Make Sauerkraut ~ Linda Andrews

Bringing Old Computers Back to Life with Linux ~ Phil Shapiro

Navigating the Eldercare System (Ask the Social Worker) ~ Eleni Barber 

How to Repair Broken Pottery ~ Tanya DeKona

Bike Repair ~ Fricka Ling

*As with all live events, final details may change. Check our Facebook page, Twitter page, or event signage for any last-minute adjustments. We will have a childcare room available. Watch for more information about how to reserve a spot for your child on our Facebook page. 

The Silver Spring Civic Building is at the corner of Fenton Street and Ellsworth Drive. It is an eight minute walk north from the Silver Spring Metro Station. Many bus routes can take you to and from the building -- Metrobus F4 and Ride-On #16, #17 and #20 pass by on Fenton St.  Metrobus J4 and Ride-On #15 and #19 stop at the corner of Wayne Ave & Fenton St.  Metrobus Z6 and Z8 and Ride-On #9 and #12 stop nearby along Colesville Rd. The Metrobus Q and Y lines stop on Georgia Ave and Wayne Ave.
 
If coming by car, plentiful evening parking is available at the Town Square Garage just across Ellsworth Drive from the Civic Building. Do NOT park in the Whole Foods parking lot or you risk being towed.

Promo video for Skill Share and Repair Cafe is here!

Here's our promo video which celebrates the Timebank's 2018 SkillShare and our first Repair Cafe at the 2018 Montgomery County GreenFest. Join us for the 3rd Annual SkillShare & Repair Cafe on February 10, 2019.

https://www.facebook.com/SSTimebank/videos/382436242324230/

Celebrating the holidays with timebank members

We had a wonderful turn out for our annual holiday social in December. Many thanks to Not Your Average Joe's in downtown Silver Spring for offering us a great space and some delicious appetizers too. Nearly 30 SSTB members enjoyed connecting with each other and sharing unique white elephant gifts.

Best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year from the Silver Spring Timebank!

Calling for Proposals for our 3rd annual Skill Share PLUS Repair Cafe

We are now calling for proposals for our next Skill Share/Repair Cafe on Sunday, February 10 from 2-5pm at the Silver Spring Civic Building located at One Veterans Plaza in downtown Silver Spring.

The deadline to submit proposals is December 31.

This year, in addition to talks and Q&A tables, we will be hosting a Repair Cafe at our Skill Share. We did our first Repair Cafe at this year's Montgomery County Greenfest: http://www.sstimebank.org/news/2018/6/4/our-first-repair-cafe-is-a-hit?rq=Repair%20Cafe).

At Repair Cafes, volunteer repairers with particular skill sets (this could be you!) will be available to help members of the community fix items that are broken, or help them assess what needs repair, or how to re-purpose if it is beyond repair. Are you a tinkerer or fixer? Could you help hem a pair of paints, or re-glue a wooden box? Can you restring a necklace, or help fix a small appliance? Do you have another skill to share? If so, please let us know! Based upon the skills of our fixers, we will publicize what types of items folks can bring to the Cafe!

Please fill out this form to register your interest in sharing a skill or serving as a repair person at the event. You may submit more than one idea, but please only submit one at a time. After submitting this form, click on "Submit another" to begin your second submission.

Check out our photos and comments from last year’s Skill Share!

Toys/Games/Puzzles, Sporting Equipment and Musical Instruments SWAP!

I took some toys, small cars, puzzles, and other things. I'm sending them to the Jose Castro Lopez School in Cortes, Honduras. For the children in Honduras, they're easy to play with and help them learn, especially the puzzles. Thank you!  -Edilson

Here's a game called Arrogance -- a set of cards, so it's portable which is always good. Here, it's got a question on how many countries are in the European Union. I love games that challenge your mind to gather information. It pushes the limits of knowledge, and if you don't know an answer, you're set to go learn it. -Tanya

I found a really nice puzzle for my mom. Her nursing home burned down a couple of weeks ago. They're all staying in a hotel now, so I'm bringing them lots of puzzles to give them something to do. -Alisha

We brought a lot because our kids are older, and it's time to declutter. In fact, my son just went to college, and he finally let us get rid of some of his things from when he was young. -Laurie

I found some things like Jenga for an after-school program. And I also found something for a friend who just had a baby. For Zev, I got some board games and an airplane-making kit.  He found some things I didn't even know he would like, like this vintage Uncle Wiggly game from 1956. I'm excited to play this with him.  -Gargi

I was so happy to get rid of what my kids have outgrown. They have a lot, but they get used to it, and then they're not interested anymore. My daughter was really looking forward to today to find something new. -Olga

I found a recorder here for my daughter who also wants to play the ukulele.  They all play the recorder in music class. I did when I was young, too. -Shannon

I'm taking home less than I brought, so that's good. It's a great way to clean up the toy room. -Cynthia

I have a friend who works at Infants and Toddlers, part of MCPS. They are always looking for puzzles with knobs to help with coordination. And other things for special needs students. I was looking for farm animals, and I found one cow.  -Emily

I got a clarinet and this guitar. I'll bring them on my mission trip to Jamaica.  We'll be doing all kinds of arts at a school in Kingston. I am so excited I found these here. Thank you so much.  -Chevella

Our society can be so striated, but what we've noticed about the timebank swaps is that it attracts and unites people from all around the community in an informal and uplifting way. -Jonathan

Any leftover toys, games and puzzles went to A Wider Circle. Any left over sporting equipment went to Level the Playing Field, and any leftover musical instruments went to the Washington Revels. Many thanks to the Washington Revels for hosting the Silver Spring Timebank’s swap!

Delicious cake recipe from our summer picnic!

One of our members, Katherine Brooks, brought an amazing cake to our summer picnic social. The crowd devoured it and begged for the recipe. We learned it was an old family recipe that couldn't be divulged, but Katherine shared another favorite, listed below.  Many thanks to Katherine who is the Senior Event Manager for Enflotra: Events, Florals and Travel. 

Million Dollar Pound Cake (Just 7 Ingredients!)

Ingredients

• 1 pound butter, softened

• 3 cups sugar

• 6 large eggs

• 4 cups all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup milk

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to Make It

Step 1

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. (The butter will become a lighter yellow color; this is an important step, as the job of the mixer is to incorporate air into the butter so the cake will rise. It will take 1 to 7 minutes, depending on the power of your mixer.) Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. (Again, the times will vary, and butter will turn to a fluffy white.) Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow yolk disappears.

Step 2

Add flour to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. (The batter should be smooth and bits of flour should be well incorporated; to rid batter of lumps, stir gently with a rubber spatula.) Stir in extracts.

Step 3

Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. (Use vegetable shortening or butter to grease the pan, getting every nook and cranny covered. Sprinkle a light coating of flour over the greased surface.)

Step 4

Bake at 300° for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Step 5

Note: For testing purposes only, we used White Lily All-Purpose Flour.

Chef's Notes

For the best results, preheat your oven to 300º before you begin. Also soften butter at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Great crowd at our summer picnic

Over 30 people attended (not all pictured here!) our summer picnic social on June 24. We dodged the rain and enjoyed a lovely evening outside. Everyone brought delicious dishes to share and it was wonderful meeting some old, new and hopefully soon-to be members of the Silver Spring Timebank!