Ok guys. You are an honest group.  Right now my condo is too quiet and I am going nuts. So nuts in fact, I went over to two old friends' place last night to try to help them "resurrect" theoretically dead yeast for beer making.  Yep, Skinny used her 20 year old science skills to make beer. Skinny doesnt even really like beer but I just couldnt take it anymore.

So I got this Instant Pot, and people love it (especially new busy moms according one of my gfs who is a new busy mom).  I thought "There have to be people that are really proficient with these things. Maybe we could have a meetup and the skilled could cook something and show the not-so skilled?"

So my questions are:

1) If A STANGER (I.e. someone you dont know) had a meetup in their home for making things with an Instant pot, would you go?

2) Would you volunteer to show off your instant pot skills?

3) Is this idea dumb?

 

My condo is in disarray as I start to pack up STBXH (i.e. soon to be exhusband)'s stuff. But I am starting to think of how I want my life to look in the near future.

Thanks

It sounds like a very unsafe idea.  

Yea... I don't think I would want strangers in my house.  Can you think about any local place that you can "rent a space" to have meeting like that? 

Or meet-up in somewhere and just share recipes- ideas...  Everyone has to bring a recipe to share with each other. 

I've actually seen that on Facebook. A group of women got together at someone's home and brought their instant pots a made a meal. I'm guessing you can find those groups on either Facebook or on Meetup.com

I would not go.It is not a good idea. You have been through a very traumatizing experience. You are vulnerable right now. I am not saying you are not a strong woman. But there are people who prey on people who are going through a tough time in their lives. 

Being lonely can be hard sometimes. Just try to make time for yourself to heal. 

 

 

 

There are a few places near me that do cooking classes... The one I thought of first is held in the community room at the grocery store. Perhaps you could contact someplace like that and see if they would do a class. That way it's more of a public place, they already have a setup for that type of thing, and it might seem more official :)

Meg~

I agree with Megles07.  I would look into a community cooking class, or perhaps into another kind of community education class.  I don't think I would host something like this with strangers. 

Also, even though I am a real cooking person, I'm not sure that I would be interested in an "Instant Pot" party in someone's home.  Partly because even though the pot is "instant," it takes a while in truth.  At a party, people usually want to eat and mingle right away.  I might be interested in a community or store-sponsored class, though.

Not that the Instant Pot isn't a great thing with lots of interest:  I just got an Instant Pot that is waiting for Christmas.  My niece LOVES LOVES LOVES hers--and she is a very busy young mom, with 4 children under age 9--all adopted--the youngest two are like twins within 3 mos of each other, and one of those has special needs.

And, not that a party in your home is a bad idea.

It just seems to me that, like others have said, you are vulnerable.  You are lonely.  You do need to connect with people.  But in a safe place, and possibly--maybe not with food as the focus.

1. I would keep an in-home party to people I know, or who I kind-of know and want to know better.

2. I would seek connections through community options.

a. Have you looked into community education?  I know you do skating, but maybe something different, where you can talk more with others?  Maybe something not connected to food?  Around me, our local universities and community colleges have so many education classes--art, software, writing, gardening, etc.  Also there are classes at local institutions, like museums, etc.  I wonder if something creative--something you did with your hands--could give you a nurturing boost. 

Here are some of the non-cooking classes currently available through community education at my local community college:  Beekeeping (ha!), bicycle maintenance, chess, chicken raising (haha!), soap making, essential oils, writing, meditation, sewing, miniature house making, astronomy, woodcarving, interior design, American Sign Language, floral design, photography, managing life transitions, bagpiping (hahahahahahaha!!!!).  I had fun just writing all those down.

b. Another idea:  What about volunteering somewhere?  The schools always can use volunteers--perhaps you could take a lunch hour one day/week to go read with children.  Libraries.  Museums.  Homeless shelters.  Refugee centers.  Service, plus connections with other people--that is a winning combination.

c. Another idea:  Are you religious, at all?  There are so many churches with so many different focuses.  Even if you don't feel inclined toward a particular religion, but just want to connect with God and other people--there would be a congregation that would work.  Around me, there are several non-denominational churches that are focused on just the idea of connecting with God and other people.  I am a believer (in both religion and science, BTW), and I find that having a congregation I am a part of gives me another family--people who care about me and people I can care about.

Another idea:  This is back to an in-your-home party idea.  You could do a holiday open house for your neighbors.  A kind of hors d'oeuvres pot luck.  This could be a "let's get to know each other" open house--an open house format where you have a 2-hour block where people can come and go--maybe have a service theme, like, everyone brings two cans of food for a local food bank.  People may or may not come.  But this would be a way of connecting more.  Be sure to have a friend or two who stay with you the whole time--so that if you are inviting people you don't know well, you are not vulnerable.  (I honestly do really trust most people, but I still feel like you should have at least another person with you the whole time, for safety, just in case.)

This is a hard time for you.  Keep us informed.

xoxo

"You do need to connect with people.  But in a safe place, and possibly--maybe not with food as the focus."

-Thank you for pointing that out!  I have a food addiction. Damn it, wouldn't ya know, the disordered thinking comes back so stealthy that I did even catch it.  But you are right. IT IS GRIEF and IT IS FOOD and I am putting the two together just like one does at a funeral, but this FUNERAL may take a year to complete and if I am "funeral fooding"

 

That is so insightful!  Thank you for taking the time to write me and point this out.  Thank you.  You helped a LOT. A LOT.

Community colleges have tons of cooking classes that are a lot of fun. 

These are SUPER popular around Austin (not so much insta pot, but cooking Meet ups).

You may want to start going to one that is already established (meetup.com) in your area. If you like it, you can decide to "host" one with peole that you already know.

Yes, there is always a risk of opening your home to strangers. I do not think it is a good idea for a single woman to do so....but if you had a "core group" of peole to do it with, then you would lessen the risks involved.

Scott

PS I'd so be at a Instapot meet up!!! I'm going to use mine tomorrow for the first time to make beef stew