Hey everyone,
First and most important (at least to ME): The July meeting will be on Wednesday the 20th, at 7:00 p.m. It is still at the Veteran’s Memorial Building here in Santa Rosa, across from the Main Pavilion of the Sonoma County Fair Grounds. James and Traci will be selling a variety of Hot Dogs in the parking lot before the meeting, so have dinner with us and help finance club activities too.
Secondly, our annual picnic will be the weekend after the meeting: July 24th, at the Pennegrove Park. This is a Sunday. I realize some members go to church so maybe you can have your “picnic clothes” in the car; make a quick-change and head to the park. We have the park from 9:00 a.m. until the evening, so please bring your game equipment, metal detectors, and food. The club supplies the main fare, but we ask you to bring a side dish to share. We will have the annual cook-off with three categories again this year. Last year the whole cook-off competition was a lot of fun, and there was much good natured bantering and jesting. Let’s make it even more fun this year. I want to add that last year Rose Fisher provided many wonderful prizes for us, and again we thank you Rose. This is a family and friends picnic; even if you are not yet a member, please join us.
I am going to skim over the June meeting because I have information about the picnic that I want to provide. If you have questions, see me at the meeting or picnic. James welcomed the new people. The subject of the SB670 came up again, which brought up the use of gravity dredging. Members were interested in what gravity dredging is, and Overton Greene explained it and made excellent suggestions on its use. Many members added “stuff” and it was a good information bearing discussion. We announced the Picnic, and again thanked everyone for participating last year. Renting the Sebastopol Grange Building was again brought up. We will be checking into this facility and give the club a chance to decide on moving at a future date. We have to give SoCo at LEAST 3 months notice before cancelling our lease with them, and I want to have all the important information to present to the club members before even asking for a re-vote. As it stands, we voted to stay and we raised the dues $10 to enable us to stay where we are; I want to be able to present all facts before it’s brought up again. Sincere thanks to the members whom have spent their time and energy looking for a suitable place for our meetings. Your dedication is very much appreciated by all, even if we don’t always show it. :):);) =) =) James asked for “gold stories”. Bill Lieberman spoke about some of the outings he’s taken with the East Bay club. James and Frank went to Shirttail. Suggestions for metal detector outing were made, and an outing was arranged. Roger discussed the Raffle and using old silver coins as prizes. He also discussed the special auction for a 54 grain nugget to be raffled in August. We discussed the need for fund-raisers and getting the existence of our club out there to more people. Traci showed a banner she got off the internet for the cost of shipping; members want more of these banners. Traci was asked to research this further. James called for the break, and when we came back, Rose told one of her funny jokes. James showed his “invention” for ‘catching’ gold. We had the raffle and the meeting was adjourned.
About the picnic: The date is Sunday July 24th, 2011 at the Pennegrove Park. There is a huge area for games, and a huge ‘eating’ area complete with tables and BBQ pits, a kids play area, bathrooms, and 110-V hook-up. The club supplies the charcoal, meat, eating utensils, napkins, etc; we supply drinks and some rolls, along with condiments. We ask you to bring ANY side dish, or drinks, or dessert that you can share with a family gathering. Watermelons would be great. There will be a three-category food contest. The categories are desserts, side dishes, and all around favorite. There will be the annual metal detector contest. You need to see Roger to get the rules and any other info about the detecting contest, including the sign-up fees. I am coordinating most of the picnic so any volunteers will be MOST APPRECIATED! Last year, even with the mix-ups (MAJOR) everyone pitched in and we had a really good time. This picnic is open to friends and family; please join us. The only ‘entrance fee’ is a food or drink to share. It does not have to be enough to feed 50 people; just bring something to share. It’s a little like the “Stone Soup” fable: a little sharing makes a large amount of food and a good community feeling. Directions: (Okay, maybe I am not the best person to give directions, as Frank Madsen can attest! but I’ll try) Coming NORTH on HWY 101 take the Old Redwood Hwy exit. It’s across from the Cattleman’s Restaurant. Stay right, going east (north-east?) DO NOT go up and over the hwy. It is 1.7 miles to the stop light. You turn right at the light onto Main Street. You should see the Fire Station on the right after you turn. Just beyond the Fire Station is a road to the right that leads into the Park. ( OKAY, I am trying to read the map someone drew for me, and I am more confused than usual!) According to the map, if you are coming from the Santa Rosa area, or North of Pennegrove, you take Hwy 101 south, exit at Old Redwood hwy, and go up and over the freeway (east). Follow Old Redwood to the light; turn right onto Main, and just passed the Fire Station you will see a road to the right leading to the Park. I will put out markers to help direct you to the Park. I will also provide the map at the meeting. I would go down Petaluma Hill Road, passed the Sonoma State Campus, thru Pennegrove, and turn left on the road leading to the Park, but since I have lived here since the dinosaurs I know where to go but not the names of the streets. ANYWAY, enuff about that. We will be covering this and more at the Wednesday meeting; if you can’t attend the meeting but want to come to the picnic, call someone from the club and we’ll get the info you need.
The jokes were sent by Dick Sibbet and Jolene Dusseau; I hope you enjoy them as I did. Thanks to both of you.
Two horses were walking back to the paddock after a day of training. One horse said to the other, “I can’t understand why we’re so slow. We come from good stock, we have the best food and great trainers, yet we come in dead last in every single race.” A dog running alongside the horses overheard and said, “I know what your problem is. I’ve seen you two race, and it looks to me as if you take off at the start really fast. You use up all your energy at the beginning and have nothing left. What you should do is pace yourselves, and when the other horses have tired themselves out, put in a spurt of energy. You’re sure to win. What do you think about that?” The two horses looked at each other and exclaimed, “WOW! A talking dog!”
A man asked an old rich man how he made his fortune. The guy fingered his vest and said, ” Well, son, it was 1932 in the depths of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the day polishing the apple, and at the end of the day I sold the apple for ten cents. The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the day polishing those two apples and sold them at the end of the day for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I had accumulated a fortune of a little over $3.00. Then my wife’s father died and left us two million dollars.”
A man asked a trainer in the gym: “I want to impress that beautiful woman; which machine should I use?” The trainer replied, “Use the ATM outside the gym!!!”
Speaking of exercise, here’s an exercise for people over fifty:
Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 5-lb potato bag in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sid4es and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax. Each day you’ll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags. Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I’M AT THIS LEVEL) After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag.
See you at the meeting on Wednesday.
Take care,
Kathe