Local Valentine's Contest in The Concordian Newspaper. Win $100.00 Toscana Ristorante Gift Certificate...

Pick up the January 2010 issue of The Concordian newspaper. The Lemon Lady receives Jefferson Award story appears on page 24, back cover.

Also in the Concordian, another fun, easy contest for Sweethearts to win a $100.00 dining certificate at Toscana Ristorante. Must enter by January 15, 2010. Find your sweetheart, find a neighbor's fruit tree. Write a story and fall in love under a partridge in a pear tree. :)

To enter the The Concordian Romantic Story Contest, CLICK HERE.

The Concordian is available FREE at over 280 locations throughout Concord by the 1st of each month, and avaialable at EVERY 7-11 store, Blockbuster Video and K-mart. To find the location nearest you CLICK HERE.

For further info: http://myconcordian.com

Somebody mentioned chocolate and $10,000?...

Woohoo! Now this is a fun idea. Enter the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure Contest to win $10,000. Back in my gourmet cooking days, I remember when this little chocolate company came to town, an old brick building in Berkeley, California. Once upon a time, I even stopped in for the factory tour. I was the kid in a candy store! Ahh, the memories. Now, the only adventurous dessert I can whip up is hot cocoa and and a big mess, compliments of my sweet Angel Ava, the baker!

Enter for me. Have fun. Do good and be inspired. Hurry! Contest entries must be submitted by January 3, 2010.

Love, The Lemon Lady

One Person Can Make a Difference - win $1,000

Poster Contest for High School Students

High school students in grades 9 through 12 are invited to enter the Christophers Poster Contest for High School Students by creating a poster interpreting the theme One Person Can Make a Difference.

PRIZES:
First Prize – $1,000
Second Prize – $500
Third Prize – $250

Up to five Honorable Mentions of $100 each

CLICK HERE for an entry form & complete rules

DEADLINE: Posters must be postmarked by January 15, 2010.

WINNERS ANNOUNCED: April 30, 2010

"We can do it by each of us lending a hand."

Photo courtesy: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters, New York Times
This article appears in the New York Times

By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: March 10, 2009

Michelle Obama’s Agenda Includes Healthful Eating

“Collect some fruits and vegetables; bring by some good healthy food,” she said. “We can provide this kind of healthy food for communities across the country, and we can do it by each of us lending a hand.”

CLICK HERE to read entire article.

Volunteers Needed Immediately. Help spread sunshine to others...

Volunteers needed immediately - to order FREE SEED CATALOGS.

Promote Literacy.

Support Education.

Inspire Gardening.

We can really use donated seed catalogs for our community garden projects. If you have any old seed catalogs around the house, please give me a call! Not everyone has access to gardening books and textbooks. Books cost money, you know.

Seed Catalogs are FREE, and they're the next best thing. Not only can a seed catalog inspire love of gardening, it can inspire love of reading. You never know until you open the pages, dream, garden, grow. Seed catalogs are valuable educational tools which I redistribute to children and adults who are just beginning to learn the joys of growing their own food.

It only takes a minute of your time. Afterall, they're free. Please, Click HERE, or call the toll-free numbers listed HERE to order today!

The Lemon Lady thanks you for your help today.

AnnaAndAva@gmail.com

Cell: 510.406.1625

Concord, California - The City that brought you the Concord Christmas Tree - Makes Lemonade out of Lemons...

Virginia Thomas, AVP Branch Manager Sonoma Bank, Concord, CA

The spirit of Christmas is all year long at Todos Santos Plaza in Concord. Sure, we have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, a practical alternative given the economy. We also have a town filled with angels behind the scenes. Concord Farmers' Market is where the Lemon Lady spends half her life - making friends along the way.

Virginia L. Thomas, AVP, Branch Manager at the Sonoma Bank and member of the Todos Santos Business Association has allowed the Lemon Lady to park in the bank parking lot during the hustle and bustle of the farmers' market. For that privilege, I am thankful all year long!

Another really sweet thing, Sonoma Bank hosted the STAND blanket drive - in the spirit of Christmas. I hear over 100 blankets have been collected so far. Way to go Virginia and staff! Linus would be pleased. And, The Lemon Lady is touched by such warm-spirited angels helping others in our own backyard - Concord, more than just lemons and frail Christmas Trees. Happy Harvesting and Happy Holidays.

Interview with The Lemon Lady, Jr.

Read to your children. Teach them to be caring, sweet as meyer lemons! Ava's Mommy reading January 2010 Diablo Magazine.

Mommy: Is that The Lemon Lady on page 15?

Ava: No. That's Mommy!

Mommy: What is Mommy doing?

Ava: Picking Lemons!

Mommy: What is Ava doing on page 16?

Ava: Picking Lemons!

Mommy: Where does Ava take the lemons?

Ava: My friends. *Big smile*

True Story.

Now, let's all go out and save the world today, one little lemon at a time. One person. One Tree. It all begins somewhere. Lead by example. All children need fresh fruit to grow healthy and strong. Share fresh fruit with a food bank or local food pantry today!

Check out the new issue of Diablo Magazine. Another fantastic article spreading hunger awareness, specifically fruit to food banks. "Meet The Lemon Lady", by Peter Crooks, January 2010 Diablo Magazine available at newsstands.

A few Concord Food Pantries listed here: CLICK HERE.

Dear Lauren in New York...

These photos Courtesy of: smokeysmountain.blogspot.com

I wonder what the rest of the country thinks of Concord, California?

Recent national news reports snow in the City of Clayton and Concord's scraggly Christmas Tree. An internet search will yield hundreds of pictures of a cold, dreary winter, dead trees lacking Christmas Cheer.

Well, the Lemon Lady is here to report contradicting evidence! Concord, Clayton, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek and the entire San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area have streets lined with riches...fruit in abundance, literally dropping from trees...an urban Garden of Eden lined with bountiful harvests of oranges, sweet meyer lemons, eureka lemons, clementines, tangerines, grapefruit, persimmons, pomegranates. Sounds beautiful, except that most of it will soon go to waste, rotting on the ground.

This is the real Concord, California. And, these are only front yards. Imagine what colorful fruit peeks above 6 foot tall fences...

CLICK photos to see greater detail in high resolution.

These photos Courtesy of: smokeysmountain.blogspot.com




P.S.
Our Clayton snow was once in 30 years and the city snowmen have long melted away. Business as usual at neighborhood markets selling locally-grown produce. California grown tomatoes are ripe and red - even in December! Concord residents can visit the scraggly Charlie Brown Christmas Tree while shopping the year-round Farmers' Market in the same town square.

The Lemon Lady continues to harvest fresh fruit from local streets named: Orchard, Grove, Chestnut, Walnut, Lemonwood, Orange, Pear, and Citrus Circle. These are the streets that line the neighborhoods of Concord and Clayton, CA - home of the infamous Charlie Brown Tree and home to the Lemon Lady.

PG & E Payment Assistance, The Salvation Army on CBS5 Television...

I first blogged about the PG&E payment assistance administered by The Salvation Army and REACH in November 2009. If you need help paying your PG&E bill CLICK HERE for that story.

CLICK PHOTO BELOW to watch CBS5 newscast:

"Thousands Losing Electricity in the Bay Area."

The Salvation Army
Lauri Vint
Director of Social Services
3950 Clayton Road
Concord, CA 94521

Postcards from Concord, CA - The Lemon Lady Jr. at the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree...

Concord, CA - Christmas Tree 2009

"I will hold Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." ~ Charles Dickens

"There's more, much more, to Christmas
Than candlelight and cheer;
It's the spirit of sweet friendship
That brightens all year.
It's thoughtfulness and kindness,
It's hope reborn again,
For peace, for understanding,
And for goodwill to men!" ~ Author Unknown

Happy Birthday. You're three today. Love, Mommy.

Ava on her 1st birthday



“Most of us can remember a time when a birthday - especially if it was one's own - brightened the world as if a second sun has risen.”

Robert Lynd (Irish Essayist and Journalist, 1879-1949)

Weather Report...

“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire." -Irish Blessing

CBS5 Tonight at 6pm Jefferson Awards - Anna, The Lemon Lady

CBS5 Television:
Wednesday, December 9th at 6pm
Thursday, December 10th at noon
Saturday, December 12th at 7am

Radio: 740 & 106.9 KCBS
Wednesday. December 9th at 6:50pm, 9:40pm, 11:50pm
Sunday, December 13th at 11:50am, 3:50pm

Jefferson Awards For Public Service

The Jefferson Awards are a prestigious national recognition system honoring community and public service in America. The Jefferson Awards are presented on two levels: national and local. They began in 1972 to create a Nobel Prize for public service. Today, their primary purpose is to serve as a "Call to Action for Volunteers" in local communities. - http://jeffersonawards.org/

To view the CBS5 telecast, Anna Chan, The Lemon Lady Jefferson Award:

http://cbs5.com/jeffersonawards/Jefferson.Awards.Chan.2.1360119.html

Snow on the peas, frost on the pumpkins, Lemon Lady Jr.'s first snowman...

Carrot nose, green bean smile, lemon drop dreams.

Welcome to our pumpkin patch, meet our snowman friend.

Lemon Lady Jr., snowman builder.

It snowed this morning in Clayton, California.

You really can change the world if you care enough...

Anna, 1972

“You really can change the world if you care enough.”
-Marian Wright Edelman


“You have made people listen. You have made people care, and you have taught us that whether we are poor or prosperous, we have only one world to share. You have taught young people that they do have the power to change the world.”

-Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat, seventh secretary-general of the United Nations, 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.

Claycord's Lemon Lady wins Jefferson Award...

Hi Soccer Mom and Friends,

Thank you for a year of many kind words. Thoughtful journalists such as yourself have helped further the hunger cause with your honest to goodness excellent community reporting.

Click on over to Soccer Mom at Crazy In Suburbia's blogspot to read about this new milestone in the Lemon Lady Fruit Harvesting Adventures.

I am truly honored to be a recipient of this prestigious award. I humbly continue to serve and thank the Farmers and our Community for your generous support and placing your trust in me. Together, we are making a difference in bringing healthy produce to those who are hungry.

http://crazyinsuburbia.blogspot.com/2009/11/claycords-lemon-lady-wins-jefferson.html

One ordinary person really can change the world...

From time to time, its nice to contemplate what our true focus is in life. (Besides being a full-time Mommy and wife,) mine is to bring fresh fruit to local food pantries. To make "The Lemon Lady" synonymous with the hunger cause.

Today, a friend suggested I think about what really gives me joy and pleasure. So, I did.

It brings me inconceivable joy to see tree-ripened lemons and oranges that would otherwise go to waste, make it to the hands of the hungry. I end my day of reflection, my daughter resting peacefully, my husband tossing wooden blocks and toys back in their place, an hour before slumber to read a book that truly inspires me.

Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.

Tom Brokaw wrote, "Thrilling . . . proof that one ordinary person with the right combination of character and determination, really can change the world."

I'm thankful for the Greg Mortensons of this world. I'm also thankful for those who have written kind words about The Lemon Lady. If it brings one more piece of fresh fruit to a food pantry, then together, we can change the world too! This gives me joy and pleasure.

And, Friend . . . thank you for the inspiration today. Good night for now.

The Lemon Lady Thanks The Family Farmers...

Susan Van Brocklin, The Salvation Army
George Conlow, President, Share Food Pantry
Concord Todos Santos Farmers' Market Tuesday, 8/25/09.

Two familiar Bay Area Farmers' Markets I have come to know are the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association (PCFMA) and Contra Costa Certified Farmers' Market Association (CCCFM). Through the generous support of individual farm owners, The Lemon Lady has been able to bring healthy, nutritious, fresh produce to many area food pantries.

It has taken many months of dedication to earn the trust and respect of family farmers at these markets. Week after week, I look forward to visiting the farmers and extend my sincerest gratitude for the relationships of goodwill being fostered.

Oftentimes, employees Susan Van Brocklin with the Salvation Army and George Conlow, President of Share Food Pantry accompany me to the Markets and transport donations to their food pantries. What I admire most of The Salvation Army and Share Food Pantry is they also share produce and perishables with other nearby food pantries.


F.T. Fresh Produce
PCFMA - Concord Todos Santos
Tuesdays and Thursdays


Vidal Morga and Joseph Bautista
of Eat The Best Bautista Ranch and Kettlekorn
PCFMA - Concord Todos Santos Tuesday
and Clayton Downtown Saturdays


Cipponeri Family Farms
PCFMA - Concord Todos Santos Tuesdays


Alhambra Valley Farms, Darryl and Judy Pereira
PCFMA - Todos Santos Concord Markets
CCCFM - Sundays, downtown Walnut Creek
CCCFM - Sundays, Martinez Main Street

NBC Bay Area News - Lemon Lady story airs Thursday or Friday...

NBC Field Producer, Joe Rosato, Jr.
and Anna Chan, The Lemon Lady


Videographer, Robert Wellington
and Anna Chan, The Lemon Lady






Please watch NBC Bay Area news for an upcoming Lemon Lady story.

CLICK HERE to link to VIDEO of newscast from Thanksgiving Day.

Special thanks to Joe Rosato, Jr. and videographer Robert Wellington for visiting with me today. Very cool guys! I'm sure they'll create a fine story just in time for Thanksgiving.

Happy Harvesting. Happy Thanksgiving.

Our Sweet Friend Katie Grace is sick today. Our hearts are sad...

Our sweet friend, Katie Grace is sick with H1N1 and home recovering. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. This is a very serious illness. Katie Grace is a a very precious girl who already struggles on a daily basis with Pulmonary Hypertension; someday she'll need a heart/lung transplant.

Today is a day for extra prayers.

For links to other related stories about Katie Grace, CLICK HERE.

Warmest Thoughts to Ava's little friend.

AnnaAndAva@gmail.com

510.406.1625

Isn't a Million Dollars for our schools worth 5 minutes of your time?

More than $1 Million in computers, technology and cash will be awarded to schools this year in the Samsung Four Seasons of Hope Education Nationwide Contest.Wouldn't it be nice to see a few Bay Area schools share in the more than $1 million in prizes of Samsung products, Microsoft software, Best Buy Gift Cards, and cash grants from DirecTV?

Mount Diablo Unified School District students and parents - are we up to the task?

To enter, or to learn more about the Samsung Four Seasons of Hope Education Contest, visit: www.fourseasonsofhope.com/education.

Anyone in the community - students (K-12), teachers, parents and local residents - can submit a 100-word essay (in English or Spanish) on how the consumer electronics, computer equipment and software awarded through Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope could benefit their school.

Entry Deadline is December 1, 2009. Do good. Have fun!

Free Movies, Free Popcorn, Help End Hunger...

Two movie tickets, two popcorns for $10.50.
Make it a Tuesday date night.
Bring a few cans of food for the hungry!

Brenden Theatre

1985 Willow Pass Road, Concord, CA

Recording Number: (925) 677-0450

Customer Service Number: (925) 677-0484

Click Here for Showtimes

2 FOR 1 Tuesday (Ends Dec. 31st)
Buy One ticket & get one *free on Tuesdays all day. (* = we ask, but not require, a donation of one can of food per free ticket. All cans to be donated to the Contra Costa Food Bank).

CLICK HERE for Discount Days Concord Brenden Theatres

Also noticed on the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano website

Upcoming Events and Food Drives:

NOW through DECEMBER 24 Bring a can of food to the Brenden Theaters in Concord and Pittsburg and receive a free small popcorn.

Contra Costa warehouse: 4010 Nelson Avenue, Concord, CA 94520 (925) 676-7543
Solano warehouse: 1891 Woolner Suite I, Fairfield, CA 94533 (707) 421-9777

This post has nothing to do with lemons...

Ava, The Lemon Lady Junior, 2 1/2 years old

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” Thich Nhat Hanh - (Vietnamese Monk, Activist and Writer. b.1926)

Ava, only 2 months old

On second thought, lemons bring joy to others. Ava is my inspiration to harvest fruit for donation to the local food pantries. Imagine a world along the streets of Concord, Clayton, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Lafayette, Orinda where lemons, apples and oranges fall to the ground - rotting - while children around us have no fresh fruit at their breakfast table? Hunger is in our very own neighborhood! Please, help the Lemon Lady today. Spread joy, share fruit.

AnnaAndAva@gmail.com

510.406.1625

For ideas how to help alleviate hunger, visit Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano. They have a website, and a blog!

Contra Costa warehouse: 4010 Nelson Avenue, Concord, CA 94520 (925) 676-7543
Solano warehouse: 1891 Woolner Suite I, Fairfield, CA 94533 (707) 421-9777

Thinking of sweet Katie Grace today...

Katie Grace Groebner and Snuggle Bug

November is Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Month. Please learn about this rare disease, and our beautiful, sweet friend, Katie Grace Groebner. Katie Grace will ultimately require a heart and lung transplant.

Katie Grace's Mom has asked friends to participate in a short quiz which will raise $10.00 in support of Pulmonary Hypertension, a very heart-warming, worthy cause. (This costs nothing but a few minutes of your time.)

"In less time than it takes to soft boil an egg, you can be one of 5,000 people who help raise $50,000 for PHA. By taking a brief online quiz at http://www.pahconnect.com you'll test your knowledge about PH and secure a $10 donation to PHA from Gilead.

There are two quizzes: one for patients and their families and one for medical professionals. This is a quiz that the PH community can't fail. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Help PHA meet this Awareness Month Challenge!"

Click HERE to take the PH quiz.

Click HERE to read related articles about Katie Grace Groebner.

Click HERE to read Katie Grace's Caring Bridge Website.

Click HERE to read about Organs R Us.

Click HERE to read about Pulmonary Hypertension.

Click HERE to learn about The Taylor Family Foundation, a wonderful, local non-profit that brings dreams and hope to children with disabilities, Camp Arroyo in Livermore.

Seeking Volunteers. Plant seeds. Open your hearts...

I'm growing seedlings for donation to several community gardens throughout Contra Costa County. Perhaps families that may otherwise never be introduced to gardening can delight in the simple pleasure of growing all year long under the California autumn sun. For those without ground, any vegetable can be grown in the right sized container.

Let us open our hearts. Help Feed The Hungry and Grow a Garden. If a person is interested in volunteering, I can deliver seed growing trays, soil and seeds. I can pick them up when they are ready for transplant. It may take only one hour of your time and a few weeks of watering as a committment. I can truly use the help - I can't do it all alone...forever.

This is a non-profit venture I embarked upon for the joy of helping others, combining my interest in health/nutrition, seed collecting and eating home-grown fruits and vegetables.

Become inspired. Stop by a local garden center. Many places still sell seeds this time of year. Find a few you like and maybe purchase a package just for the fun of growing. Either way, I can share seeds with you too. I'll donate the seed growing containers, and we'll grow a garden!

Contact: AnnaAndAva@gmail.com

Telephone: 510.406.1625

Consider ording FREE Seed Catalogs for further inspiration.

Anyone have 5 minutes and 100 words for our schools? Only 3 weeks remaining for nominations...

More than $1 Million in computers, technology and cash will be awarded to schools this year in the Samsung Four Seasons of Hope Education Nationwide Contest.

Wouldn't it be nice to see a few Bay Area schools share in the more than $1 million in prizes of Samsung products, Microsoft software, Best Buy Gift Cards, and cash grants from DirecTV?

Mount Diablo Unified School District students and parents - are we up to the task?

To enter, or to learn more about the Samsung Four Seasons of Hope Education Contest, visit: www.fourseasonsofhope.com/education.

Anyone in the community - students (K-12), teachers, parents and local residents - can submit a 100-word essay (in English or Spanish) on how the consumer electronics, computer equipment and software awarded through Samsung’s Four Seasons of Hope could benefit their school.

Entry Deadline is December 1, 2009. Do good. Have fun!