That Smells And Tastes Good

Essential oils were the subject of the April program.  Michelle Bekala was our guest speaker, and attendees were able to smell and sample a variety of essential oils, as well as learn about their unique origins and uses.
We also celebrated the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the Metro West Branch. Charter members Marty Elstrom, Irene Helland, and Betty Owen did the honors of cutting and serving the cake.

Did the Chinese Discover America?

The February luncheon meeting at Parkshore Place provided a delightful surprise with Marguerite Ragnow, a Ph.D. history professor and curator of the James Ford Bell Library at the University of Minnesota, which includes maps and related historical materials related to exploration.  Speaking without a microphone, she discussed the controversy over Gavin Menzies book 1421: The Year China Discovered America.  Using slides of maps from the library collections, she gave us an illustrated history lesson about lots of explorers who “discovered” America before Columbus.  We learned a lot about seamanship and ocean currents assisting early  navigators. And the lunch was delicious too. 😋

Little Free Libraries

There are more Little Free Libraries per capita in the Minneapolis St. Paul area than anywhere else.  That was one tidbit attendees learned from Margaret Aldrich at the January 21st luncheon at Parkshore Senior Community.

In fact, there are 50,000 Little Free Libraries around the world, and they are found in all fifty states and seventy other countries.  It is estimated that sixteen million books are shared each year.

Future projects coming from the Little Free Libraries organization include: 1) action book clubs, where current book clubs add a ‘positive action’ aspect to their program, 2) an impact fund to set up four Little Free Libraries each month at no charge to the host, and 3) a program where police use Little Free Libraries to connect with their communities, and especially with children and youth to build literacy.

Pictures from the Holiday Party

On December 3, we gathered at Summit Place for our Holiday Party. As is our tradition, the event included good food, good conversation, some challenging games, and a $1 gift exchange. Thanks to Marty, Alta, Barb, and all the planning committee for a fun evening.

Learning to fix things

At our November meeting, we learned about the Hennepin County Fix It Clinics. Director of the program, Nancy Lo, was our speaker and she described how the program works, and it's role in the County's efforts to reduce the quantity of materials being sent to landfills. The next scheduled clinic  is on January 14 at Ridgedale Library from noon-4:00 p.m. Other future dates are at the following website: http://www.hennepin.us/residents/recycling-hazardous-waste/fix-it-clinics#.

How to Guard Against Scams and Identity Theft

The Minnesota Better Business Bureau, an institute for marketplace ethics, presented self-defense tips and resources for reporting offenses at the October meeting.  Deanna and Beth, volunteers from Allianz showed slides and a short film, and led a discussion suggesting ways to avoid scammers, ID thieves and swindlers who operate via telephone, mail, internet, and other deceptions. 

I'm New at Being Old

Metro West met for their kickoff luncheon on September 17. Lucy Rose Fischer was the speaker.  While she has a PhD in sociology and specialized in aging, she spoke about her second career as an artist.

She said she doesn't really stand on her head to create her glass art, but she does paint figures with their heads down and their feet up.  With reverse painting, the colors and designs that are in front are painted first, and the background comes last.  She also sold and autographed copies of her book I'm New at Being Old.

Visit to Museum of Russian Art

   

On August 3, 2016 a group of Metro West members visited the Museum of Russian Art in  south Minneapolis.  "Masterpieces of the 20th Century" and "Russian Realist Tradition" were the featured exhibits. Afterwards they enjoyed lunch at Primas Restaurant.  Here are a few pictures from the event.

Salad super finishes the year

A good group gathered at Ardelle Torkelsons' for our annual salad supper.  It was a beautiful evening, and quite a few choose to eat outside. 
Diana Pecoraro, community poet for St. Louis Park was the speaker for the program.  Although I couldn't stay, I heard she was going to encourage attendees to play with writing a verse or two.  If any members are brave enough, please reply and share a poem.

Our Named Honoree

One last State Convention photo, here is Jane Ostergaard with her Named Honoree Award. Congratulations, Jane.

Pics from State Convention in Duluth

From business meetings, to social times for meeting friends, to awards, to the LAF silent auction, to blowing bubbles (?), there was a lot of activity at the State Convention April 29-30.  Here are a few pictures from the event.

Music therapy is April topic

About 25 members gathered on April 21 to hear Hilary Fredenburg discuss the value of music therapy in treating a number of emotional, social, and physical conditions that people experience in their lives. Hilary is a board-certified music therapist at McPhail School of Music. She covered a lot of ground in a short time, but everyone felt they learned something new.

Time to Catch up

Apologies for not writing for a few months.  Here are a few pictures to catch our readers up.

In January, we met for a luncheon at the Parkshore Senior Campus.  Our speaker was Nkiruka Okafor, a AAUW International Fellow currently studying at Luther Seminary.  She spoke about her research related to transforming the voice of women sex workers in Africa.

In February, we met at Ridgepointe for lunch.  Our speaker was Dr. Ellen Kennedy, Executive Director of World Without Genocide.  She gave us a thorough overview of how food shortages lead to violence in countries, and that can lead to genocide and other major social problems.

In March, we returned to our evening meeting schedule and reconvened at the Minnetonka Community Center. Vickie Nordquist presented the program about the concepts behind Advanced Higher Brain Living.  This program helps people increase oxygen to the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which helps them to think more calmly and clearly, and eventually focus on and resolve various problems and issues in their lives.

Good Food, Good Conversation, and The Wedding Singer

The table was loaded with delicious treats for the Metro West holiday gathering. Betty Owen hosted a pre-theatre social hour at her home, then we attended a dynamic production of The Wedding Singer at The Old Log Theatre.

Happy Holidays to everyone!

Title IX Featured in November

Jill Gaulding, legal director of Gender Justice, was the featured speaker at the November branch meeting. She discussed a number of issues related to Title IX, and also a bit about what cognitive science research tells us about how our brains develop bias.

It's All About Balance

The theme was balance as Metro West met on October 15 at the Minnetonka Community Center. Siobhan McMahon led us in a number of exercises to help us maintain good posture, good balance, and avoid falls. There are a number of exercise classes available in the area for anyone interested in learning more.  The Marsh and YMCA were two places mentioned that offer classes.