Las Madres '80 East
  NOVEMBER 2015 NEWSLETTER


 
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
4th     Wanda Tsafos
15th   Sara Hennig Murphy
16th   Jeff Hennig
           Phillip Martinez
24th   Jim Brooks-Schulke
           Bill Rasmussen
27th   Sue Butler





COMING EVENTS
Month of November
Saturday Coffee

9 am
LeBou at San Felipe/Yerba Buena
Contact: Vicki
November 5
Happy Hour
4-7 pm
The Grill on the Alley
RSVP: Vicki
No November Lunch Bunch
November 19
Meeting

Flower Arranging with Vicki
6:30 pm
RSVP: Vicki
November 28
Coffee Field Trip

CANCELLED
Contact: Vicki
December 3
Happy Hour
4-7 pm
Butter Paddle
Contact: Randi
RSVP: Vicki
December 17
Annual Christmas Party
6:30 pm
Merrilee's Home
RSVP: Merrilee


November Meeting
When: November 19, 6:30 pm

Where: Vicki's Garage
What: Flower Arranging with Vicki



This coming Thursday is our annual floral arrangement class. Please come to Vicki's house around 6:30 pm. Dress warm since we will be in the garage as usual.

As usual Vicki will provide the container, flowers, etc.  She hasn't seen the pricing for holiday greens, and due to the drought etc, costs have been rising. Vicki will be as frugal as she can and will try to stay around our usual $25, but will not know actual cost until she makes her purchases that day.

If you have clippers, please bring them since Vicki's stash has diminished.  Vicki will have knives on hand too, but she knows most of you would rather clip than cut.  :) 

Something similar to this is good.


Vicki has heard from Janis, Betty, Ginny and Sue Ballard.  If you want to attend please let
Vicki know as soon as you can, but at the very latest by Wednesday morning.



Happy Hour.....Vicki

November Happy Hour

November's Happy Hour on the 5th will be to The Grill on the Alley in the Fairmont. (172 S Market)  RSVP to Vicki if you can join the fun!

http://www.thegrill.com/locations/the-grill-san-jose-california
  (Once on the website, click on Happy Hour to see the current menu.)


We meet every Saturday morning at 9 am at Le Boulanger at San Felipe and Yerba Buena.  There is a Starbucks across from it if you need something "special" to go with your bagel or pastry. 

Away coffees for November and December are cancelled.  We'll resume away coffee in January.

e-Mail Tidbit

Thanksgiving Dinner Information

Dear Friend,

I know that you were eager to accept our family's invitation to Thanksgiving dinner when you found out that the famous Martha Stewart would be joining us. However, due to scheduling conflicts beyond her control, Ms. Stewart finds that she is unable to grace our table this year. With that in mind, there will be a few minor changes regarding the meal and decor, as outlined below. Please be aware of them, and adjust your appetite and dress appropriately. Thank you.

1) Our driveway will not be lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries. After several trial runs and two visits from the fire department, it was decided that, no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect.

2) The entry space will not be decorated with swags of Indian corn and fall foliage. Instead, I've gotten our daughter involved in decorating by having her track in colorful autumn leaves from the front yard. The mud was her idea.

3) The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy china, or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this is Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the paper Cinderella dinner plates, the leftover Halloween napkins, and the Batman, Shrek, and Garfield cups.

4) Our centerpiece will not be a tower of fresh fruit and flowers. Instead we will be proudly displaying a hedgehog-like decoration hand-crafted from the finest construction paper and macaroni. The artist assures me it is a turkey, albeit one without wings, legs, or a beak.

5) We will be dining somewhat later than planned. However, our daughter will entertain you while you wait. I'm sure she will be happy to share every choice comment her mother made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims, stuffing choices, the turkey hotline, and, especially, her husband. Please remember that most of these comments were made at 6:30AM upon discovering that said husband had only remembered to pull the turkey from the freezer at 6:00AM, and that the thing was still hard enough to cut diamonds.

6) As an accompaniment to our daughter's recital of these events, I will play a recording of Native American tribal drumming. Curiously, the tribal drumming sounds a great deal like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, but that only enhances the holiday appropriateness. If our daughter should mention that we don't own a recording of Native American tribal drumming, ignore her. She's only eleven; what does she know?

7) A dainty silver bell will not be rung to announce the start of our feast. We have chosen to keep our traditional method of assembling when the smoke alarm goes off.

8) There will be no formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like. In the spirit of harmony, we will ask all the children to sit at a separate table. In a separate room. Next door. And I would like to take this opportunity to remind our younger diners that passing the rolls is neither a football play nor an excuse to bean your cousin in the head with bread.

9) The turkey will not be carved at the table. I know you have seen the Norman Rockwell image of one person carving a turkey in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. Such a scene may occur somewhere in America, but it won't be happening at our dinner table. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in the kitchen at a private ceremony. I stress "private", meaning:  Do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children, or older, helpful grandparents into the kitchen to check on my progress. I have a very large, very sharp knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win the battle. When I do, we will eat.

10) For the duration of the meal, we will refer to the giblet gravy by its lesser-known name: Kraft Cheese Sauce. If a young diner questions you regarding the origins or makeup of the Kraft Cheese Sauce, smile kindly and say that you know the answer, but it's a secret that can't be revealed to them until they are 18.

11) Instead of offering a choice among 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small fingerprints. You still have a choice: take it or leave it.

That concludes our list of alterations. Again, I apologize that Martha will not be joining us this year. Come to think of it, she probably won't come next year, either. And for that, I am indeed thankful.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!




NOVEMBER WEBSITE
The History Behind
5 Thanksgiving Traditions
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/11/28/5-thanksgiving-traditions-americans-love-a-brief-history-of-turkey-wishbones-football-and-more/




CLUB OFFICERS
President -
Sue Butler

Treasurer - Sue Ballard
Newsletter & Webmaster - Ginny Gomez
Coffee & Happy Hour Coordinator - Vicki Rasmussen
Executive Committee - Randi Heinrichsen,
Merrilee Claverie, and Tina Cuneo