Summer Meeting Info

Hi all,

Here is the latest on the summer meeting to discuss The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair at 6:15 PM on Wednesday, July 20^th at the pool shelter.

 

The meal will be a giant salad bar!  June will shop for the greens since she will be the one receiving RSVPs and totaling the number attending.  Everyone else will bring a couple of items from the list June sends out after first checking with her by phone, text or email to avoid duplication. 

In addition to your own wine glass, please bring your beverage of choice or buddy up with a friend to share a bottle.  By having this be a BYOB, we should be able to focus on getting a large range of food items there so that we can assemble some really awesome individualized salads. 

If sitting on a picnic bench for the evening will be uncomfortable, consider bringing a folding chair as well.

Look for a list of ideas of what to bring coming from June soon.  Don’t forget this is a great meeting to reach out and invite new potential members since the social part of the night is longer.  Also remember to take note of who you felt the murderer was at the 25%, 50%, 75% and right before the end points in the book.

Get reading and give some thought to what food items you are able to bring to the BAR! 

Jan

June 2016

Hi all,

Last week’s meeting at Grace’s to discuss The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry was super duper great!  Grace did a terrific job dreaming up a fun twist on the evening to start things off in an unique way.  Shirley and Jackie were co-conspirators in the plan, and Jackie also came up with a creative take home “message”.  Jill did a fantastic job facilitating the discussion and also jumped started our brains by sending out some topics to contemplate before the meeting.  Of course the snacks were delightful as always.  Thanks to all who did or brought something and to everyone who made it there to share in the wonderful evening.  The overall rating was 3.7.  It seemed like most people really enjoyed the book.

Next up is our big food summer picnic meeting.  The date is set for Wednesday, July 20th at the pool shelter.  We will begin at 6:15 PM.  June Marie is leading the charge on this event.  She will be reaching out to us soon with a sign up sheet for food and beverages.  You may remember that the last couple of meetings we have had up there we have had people bring their own plastic wine glass.  I think that would be a good idea again.  Also keep in mind that, while new members are welcome any time, this is a particularly good meeting to invite them since the social part of the night is longer.  

The book for that night is The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Decker.  One of my sisters passed on that when her book club read this selection, they each wrote down who they thought “dunnit” at the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and right before the end points.  It sounds like one’s suspicions shift a lot in this book, so please jot your thoughts on the culprit down as you progress.  

June (and Diane) also reminded us of several items related to the Bread of Life Outreach (BOLO):

Health fair/Blood drive taking place on Saturday, July 9th from 10-2 PM in conjunction with the normal farmers’ market.  Time slots for the blood drive are still available.  There should be a lot of great wellness info available at this event.

A truck will be distributing fresh produce and other food stuffs at BOLO one Thursday a month starting in July.  This is not a need based program, but is open to all.  Volunteers are needed to assist with unloading and other jobs that are less strenuous.  

Bread of Life is now on the official donation list at The Can Man in Springville.  Please consider earmarking your returnable refund to BOLO.  Donations of clothing and other items are always welcome.  See the Bread of Life website for donation details and hours or consider a drop off to June if the hours are inconvenient.  

Grace also mentioned that Polly Ehmke so wishes she was able to join us.  She loves receiving emails and notes, so drop her a line if you have a chance.

I am sure there was a lot more news.  If i missed important stuff, please feel free to do a direct email to the group yourself.

That’s it for now.

Jan

Oliver Sacks... Filter Fish

Published after his death in August, 2015, the amusing article below recounts Sacks' reminiscence about "filter fish".  Enjoy!

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/14/filter-fish

Thanks, Barb, for passing this along.

May Newsletter

Hi All,

Despite the difficulty of the subject matter and the technical nature of the writing, Awakenings turned out to stimulate a great discussion.  The overall rating was a 2.8.  We could all easily recognize the significance of this book as it relates to Oliver Sacks ground breaking insight into the importance of treating individuals as such instead of just treating a “dis-ease” in medicine.  It is truly a “classic” in its genre.  Thanks to Beth for asking some key questions and for Sue K. for hosting our gang.  As always, hats off to the snack (and wine) volunteers.

The next meeting is at 7 PM on Wednesday, June 15th to discuss The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.  We will meet at Grace’s.  Let her know if you are coming.  Jill G is leading the discussion.  Please bring an extra layer in case we can be outside for a lovely June evening.  We could probably use another appetizer and some more wine.  So far snack volunteers are:

Appetizers:  Diane and Sue K

Desserts:  Jill B and Beth

Wine:  Barb, Jen, Marilyn

We have set a tentative date of Wednesday, July 20th for our summer big food meeting to discuss The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Decker.  June, Grace and Diane will head up the organizing crew.  Details will follow, but we are currently looking for a volunteer to lead the discussion.  

There is sad news about neighbor, Doug Okulewisc.  Many of us knew Doug as the man who walked extensively in the park and always had his camera at the ready.  Doug was a loner and unfortunately passed away in his home recently.  Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.  

Looking forward, I would like you to start thinking of a few things in the coming months.  Once our awesome WNY summer weather hits, the fall planning meeting will be on us before we know it.  The last few years we have not been able to agree upon a true classic for our “long classic” read.  Several people have mentioned that they would like to see us tackle a “classic” regardless of length.  Grace suggested Vanity Fair, but we can sure consider others.  Since our new rating system takes into consideration the likelihood that a book can stand the test of time and become a classic, surely there are some books written in the last several hundred years that are worth our attention!  Also, please think about whether the co-ed meeting should be kept in its pre-holiday time slot or moved to mid winter when there is less going on.

I think that is all for now.  

Jan