Merry Christmas 2019 at Karen and Becky's house
We certainly were a merry little group, operative word "little," as our numbers were quite reduced, compliments of winter illnesses going around. Hopefully, by now, a few days on, everyone is back on their feet and ready to tackle this holiday season. None-the-less, we had a groaning board of yummy eats, and most of us were groaningly full as we waddle from the table.
Maria brought her much loved and appreciated shrimp mold. Lydia had planned to bring paella but a power outage at her house doused that idea. The chocolate cream cheese squares were a delightful substitute. Elaine's Swedish meatballs were quite fully consumed despite being somewhat overcooked. Improvements have been noted on that recipe card! Becky M. made a to-die-for moist and rich chocolate cake which was well matched with Karen's mulled cider and gingerbread cookies. Corky's jello-pretzel salad, Suzanne's made-fro-scratch Scandanavian Almond Cake, Becky McG's corn pudding, and Susan's whole mini-potato salad rounded out our menu and our bellies!
A new take on the Frosty the Snowman story had us passing our regifts left and right into utter confusion, but the end result was fun and festive. On our way out the door we each grabbed an ornament from the basket and waddled out merry ways out to the cars.
Karen and Becky's house was beautifully decorated with what would appear to be a lovely and lovingly acquired collection of holiday decorations. Though our group size was diminished, this deceptively sized house would have easily accommodated a much bigger group. We greatly appreciate Karen and Becky's hospitality and the generous sharing of this lovely home with us.
Though most of our business this day was fun and fattening, we did discuss a couple items of business. The most important being that the location of our meetings will be changing. It seems that after our last use of the youth room, some items of our housekeeping there were not up to par for the church staff. Corky is working on making arrangements at her church. More info on that to come. In the meantime, for our January 2020 meeting, we'll be up at the new location of Center of the Yarniverse in Ashland, at the Ashland Coffee and Tea building. Plans for a program are still a work in progress. Just come prepared for a lively and enjoyable meeting. For those aware of the parking limitations there, I suggest we do some carpooling. It's not a terribly long walk if we park at the library and dress warmly!
A question came up about dues payment and leadership. Those of us at the party professed satisfaction with the current slate of officers, but if any of those folks are ready to pass the baton to another, please let us know and we can discuss changes at the January meeting. Our dues will remain the same $25 as 2019, payable at the January meeting. Hopefully the membership card issue will be straightened out by then so we can each get our new card.
We also revisited the issue of which charities to support. Becky McG had a very nice "thank you" note from the police chief for the bears. She and Elaine K had delivered 17 to the station, and just in time! They were down to just one bear and the Chief reiterated how important it was to have them to give to kids in traumatic situations, which sadly our First Responders deal with on a daily basis. I know that I plan to renew my 2019 New Year's Resolution to do 1 bear per month for the coming year and I also resolve to do a better job of sticking with it! Susan proposed that our treasury is in a healthy enough condition that should we find a good source, we can buy stuffed animals in bulk to distribute among the our members to make it easier for a resolution like mine to be met.
Becky McG also reiterated the needs for the women's shelter. Apparently there is no one facility that houses desperate women, but the Safe House program puts them up in motels. We did collect some items for personal use but they suggested that the need is a constant situation, so next meeting we'll nail down some dates of when to bring in items, maybe a few times during the year. Since children are also often sheltered with their mothers, handmade hats, scarves, mitten etc. will also be appreciated items.
Corky will continue to collect knitted or crocheted wash cloths and funnel them to the church group that distributes them with bars of soap.
We haven't yet firmed up any plans for programs for 2020. Tentatively June will be our annual picnic. Corky is going to look into the feasibility of using the picnic shelter at Hanover Wayside Park. Please come to the January meeting with ideas for programs or field trips.
and now.....the slideshow.....
We certainly were a merry little group, operative word "little," as our numbers were quite reduced, compliments of winter illnesses going around. Hopefully, by now, a few days on, everyone is back on their feet and ready to tackle this holiday season. None-the-less, we had a groaning board of yummy eats, and most of us were groaningly full as we waddle from the table.
Maria brought her much loved and appreciated shrimp mold. Lydia had planned to bring paella but a power outage at her house doused that idea. The chocolate cream cheese squares were a delightful substitute. Elaine's Swedish meatballs were quite fully consumed despite being somewhat overcooked. Improvements have been noted on that recipe card! Becky M. made a to-die-for moist and rich chocolate cake which was well matched with Karen's mulled cider and gingerbread cookies. Corky's jello-pretzel salad, Suzanne's made-fro-scratch Scandanavian Almond Cake, Becky McG's corn pudding, and Susan's whole mini-potato salad rounded out our menu and our bellies!
A new take on the Frosty the Snowman story had us passing our regifts left and right into utter confusion, but the end result was fun and festive. On our way out the door we each grabbed an ornament from the basket and waddled out merry ways out to the cars.
Karen and Becky's house was beautifully decorated with what would appear to be a lovely and lovingly acquired collection of holiday decorations. Though our group size was diminished, this deceptively sized house would have easily accommodated a much bigger group. We greatly appreciate Karen and Becky's hospitality and the generous sharing of this lovely home with us.
Though most of our business this day was fun and fattening, we did discuss a couple items of business. The most important being that the location of our meetings will be changing. It seems that after our last use of the youth room, some items of our housekeeping there were not up to par for the church staff. Corky is working on making arrangements at her church. More info on that to come. In the meantime, for our January 2020 meeting, we'll be up at the new location of Center of the Yarniverse in Ashland, at the Ashland Coffee and Tea building. Plans for a program are still a work in progress. Just come prepared for a lively and enjoyable meeting. For those aware of the parking limitations there, I suggest we do some carpooling. It's not a terribly long walk if we park at the library and dress warmly!
A question came up about dues payment and leadership. Those of us at the party professed satisfaction with the current slate of officers, but if any of those folks are ready to pass the baton to another, please let us know and we can discuss changes at the January meeting. Our dues will remain the same $25 as 2019, payable at the January meeting. Hopefully the membership card issue will be straightened out by then so we can each get our new card.
We also revisited the issue of which charities to support. Becky McG had a very nice "thank you" note from the police chief for the bears. She and Elaine K had delivered 17 to the station, and just in time! They were down to just one bear and the Chief reiterated how important it was to have them to give to kids in traumatic situations, which sadly our First Responders deal with on a daily basis. I know that I plan to renew my 2019 New Year's Resolution to do 1 bear per month for the coming year and I also resolve to do a better job of sticking with it! Susan proposed that our treasury is in a healthy enough condition that should we find a good source, we can buy stuffed animals in bulk to distribute among the our members to make it easier for a resolution like mine to be met.
Becky McG also reiterated the needs for the women's shelter. Apparently there is no one facility that houses desperate women, but the Safe House program puts them up in motels. We did collect some items for personal use but they suggested that the need is a constant situation, so next meeting we'll nail down some dates of when to bring in items, maybe a few times during the year. Since children are also often sheltered with their mothers, handmade hats, scarves, mitten etc. will also be appreciated items.
Corky will continue to collect knitted or crocheted wash cloths and funnel them to the church group that distributes them with bars of soap.
We haven't yet firmed up any plans for programs for 2020. Tentatively June will be our annual picnic. Corky is going to look into the feasibility of using the picnic shelter at Hanover Wayside Park. Please come to the January meeting with ideas for programs or field trips.
and now.....the slideshow.....