It's Almost Turkey Time!

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. I guess time flies when you are having such fun. Retirement = fun and relaxation. Our meeting on Tuesday was attended well with 30 members present. I think we can do better. We had some new members and guests and we hope they will return in January which is a very important month as it is my birthday. I found a place to go for my birthday in Asheville called the French  Broad Chocolate Lounge. They have liquid truffles. There goes my diet for January. So y'all come in January for fellowship, food, and a brief talk on Respite Care.
Mary Thrift opened our meeting at 11:00 and read us an article from the Costco magazine. Interesting. Joan read the minutes from our September meeting and the group approved them. Judy Jordan gave the treasurer's report. I hope we improve financially. Judy Epps passed around the basket to collect donations for our scholarship fund. Mary thanked Mary Sue Graham getting out the flyers announcing this meeting. Ginny Hallman was thanked for all the beautiful table decorations.
Our guest speaker was Juliana Harris, communications director for the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. She spoke about the different kinds of scams and fraud we may encounter in this digital age. It is kind of scary but I think if you keep your wits about you things should be okay. It is amazing how many people are doing these awful things to people especially us older citizens. Since the meeting we got the IRS scam call. Will it ever end???
Juliana did give some wonderful hints to be safe:
1. Check gas pumps and ATM machines for skimmers. She suggested to use the pumps and ATM's closest to the business/storefront.
2. Cash is a better option when paying for items.
3. Use your credit card if you can handle it. You have much more protections with a credit card and a longer dispute time for a purchase you did not make.
4. Debit cards are tied directly to your money. You should not use them as there is a lot less protection and could cause many more problems.
There booklet she handed out gives lots more information and web addresses for you to
use when needed.
Hope your Thanksgiving is wonderful.   Here is a brief prayer I thought was good to say on Thanksgiving:
Bless the food before us,
The family beside us,
And the love between us.
Amen

The Wind...She's ablowin'

I hope this post finds you all safe and dry. I am sitting here watching the winds come and go. It has been only in the past 30 minutes or so that these winds have become strong. We still have power and cable so far. I guess all the tree cutting in our neighborhood may have helped even though the trees look awful. I assume that is the price we all pay for living in this modern world.
Our meeting has been postponed until September 20 at the same church on Montague. I hope you all will attend. Unfortunately I will be in Salt Lake City that whole week on an Ancestry Seekers Workshop. 

To Stay or to Leave...That is the Scary Question

This is the latest forecast track for Hurricane Irma. It is not looking great for the U.S. Let's hope it veers away for any landfall. It is very scary. We stayed for Hugo and swore we would not do that again. So stay safe and if you have friends/family away from our coast go for a visit as soon as you can. I have made up a list of things my husband and I are planning on doing before escaping the storm You can take them for what they are worth and I pray that we do not have to do them.
1. Make sure you have a full tank of gasoline...remember Floyd.
2. Get some cash from your bank. The electricity will be out for a while.
3. Take pictures of all of your possessions. This is for insurance purposes. Also take a picture if you can of the front page of today's newspaper so you have a verification of the date you took them.
4. Charge your phones.
5. Back up your computers.
6. Unplug all unnecessary electrics.
7. Pack enough clothes (at least a week's worth).
8. Fill your tub with water so you can flush your commode when you get back.
9. Make sure you have enough of your medicines.
10. And pick up stuff out of your yards. You do not want them turning into missile.

In other business: I did not see that our meeting time had been included on the flyer. My apologies to the "committee." I hope we do not have to deal with this storm but if she comes our way please stay safe.

A New Year, Another beginning

It is hard to believe that another year is starting for our CCREA. It is almost September and our first meeting is on the horizon! Our first meeting is Wednesday, September 13. Here is a copy of our flyer:

I hope you all got yours by now.
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The dates are all posted there. we are meeting at the Methodist Church near Park Circle as we did last year.

The bottom part of this is what you need to cut off and return to Judy along with your check. Although bringing it to the first meeting will probably be okay. Try bringing a friend with you. I assume that our meetings will begin at 11:00 to take care of organizational business and our speaker will be presented to us at 11:30???
(Sorry this is so light but this is the darkest I could get it.)




This part needs to be returned.
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😀Hope to see you there!

A Delightful Meeting

Wow! Is the rain coming down or what! Hope you all are high and dry. It was good to see lots of our members present for this meeting. Yes, parking was a challenge due to the movie people. I was told that this was a Stephen King movie and the next day there was going to be a scene with an explosion. I don't know about you all but I am glad that our meeting was not taking place during this "explosion." The tables were beautifully decorated with flower arrangement. And I won one of them and it is on my table and still looks great after a week! Thanks, Maleeta. At the end of our meeting our elected officers gave their reports. Scholarship decisions are coming up at the beginning of May. We have money in the treasury and members attending. What more could you ask for?

Our beautiful flowers.

The Honorable John Tecklenburg, mayor of the city of Charleston,  was our guest speaker. He started and ended the meeting by playing the piano. That was a great beginning and ending.

Our Mayor tickling the ivories

What a great photo op! We really enjoyed "On the Sunny Side of the Street." He changed the saying that we should leave a better world for our children to we should leave better children for our world. That does give one pause. He is probably right on the money with that expression. He thanked us for our service. He also said that he meets regularly with our superintendent, Dr. Postelwaite. That's a good thing.
He recommended that as seniors we look into the senior center on James Island. He also is excited abut the senior center being built in West Ashley. And speaking of West Ashley: He stated that this area will be the focus of his administration. The farmers' market is opening. Mayor Tecklenburg spoke of the revitalization of downtown.  He also is advocating for the completion of I-526 which should have been done 20 years ago. Several members asked questions with the main concern being the traffic situation all over but especially in West Ashley. Seems like we had a great attendance from West Ashley. After fielding these inquiries the mayor closed his presentation with another piano piece, "The Maple Leaf Rag."
If you want more information about our fair city, here is the URL:
The Holy City

Another Passing

It is with a heavy heart that I read of the passing of one of our members and a friend of mine, Peggy Bozard. Peggy and I went to then Winthrop College. She was a business instructor at Stall High. She will be missed. Here is the link to her obituary.
Peggy Bozard

Valentine's Day Gathering

Yummy strawberry dessert!

Mary Thrift  began our meeting with CCREA business:
Reminders:
Tuesday, April 18, Mayor Tecklenberg will be our speaker
Tuesday, May 16, Scholarship Luncheon (everybody is bringing salads!)

Member Information:
Theresa Johnson's daughter is here now instead of Atlanta and she is in remission. Her husband is having surgery.

Joan Gaetke read the minutes from our January meeting.  Maleeta Ennis told us that we had 38 present including 5 visitors. Judy Jordan gave the treasurer's report.

Mary thanked the West Ashley Culinary Arts Class for preparing our wonderful lunch.  Then, Dustin Chavis entertained us with three songs: "Some Enchanted Evening,"
 " Bali Hai,"  and "What I Did For Love." It was wonderful. I remember that when in high school (yes, we had an actual high school!) our chorus group sang "Some Enchanted Evening" for the Miss Bishop England Pageant. Boy, was I nervous!!
After our wonderful music the members were asked to compose a poem for Valentine's Day. The winner was Mary Ferguson. Her poem was quite interesting.
Look forward to seeing you all in April!
P.S. Are we meeting permanently at this site??

All the Rage

Our meeting was a great one. Mary opened the meeting and proceeded to conduct the business portion. A reminders about our next meeting was given: our next meeting has been moved to February 14, St. Valentine's Day. This will be our "Red, White and Blue Luncheon. The cost will remain the same, $8.50 and will be catered by West Ashley High School's culinary class. The members present were asked to remember Shirley B. as she recovers from surgery, Theresa J.'s daughter as she is now in remission and keep Madeline V. in our prayers as she mourns the loss of her mother.
Joan Read the minutes from our November meeting and they were approved. Mary gave the treasurer's report for Judy. Maleeta told us that we now have 62 members with 28 present today. (Maybe the change of meeting place kept some people from attending.) Judy reminded us of our scholarship fund.Then Maleeta drew names for the door prizes and I did not win one this time, drat! Maybe next time?

 Our fashion show was next. I have included some pictures for you to enjoy. All the clothes were provided by Joan's daughter who is the owner of "Ellington" at 24 State Street.