We are fast approaching the holiday season – Thanksgiving is around the corner while Christmas is just over the hill and through the woods. Most of us will share the holidays with friends and family, but not everyone is so fortunate. Many live by themselves, socially isolated with few personal connections of any significance – making the holidays an acutely lonesome time.
But that’s not the way it has to be. Marilyn Buchannan, the volunteer coordinator for the Friendly Visitor program at the Area Agency on Aging, knows several seniors who would like someone to visit them. And it is her Christmas wish that they can all be connected with someone during this holiday season. Give her a call at 541-298-4101 to learn how you can be that friend.
You will have to wait until December, but Mark and Tracy Linebarger are celebrating twenty years since the reopening of the Baldwin Saloon by jumping head first into the holiday spirit and helping our local non-profits. During the entire month of December, when you dine at the Baldwin Saloon and use a coupon printed from their website (you can use as many coupons as you would like), 5% of your total bill will be donated to the non-profit you choose from the fifty non-profits listed on their website (For those who do not have access to the Internet, there will be coupons at the Center you can use to support the Senior Center, Meals-on-Wheels or any of the other important non-profits in The Dalles.) And that’s not all! The non-profit with the most dollars donated by the end of December will have that amount matched by the Baldwin Saloon. For more details and information, you can check their website at http://baldwinsaloon.com/.
The Dalles Meals on Wheels will have their annual Fall Bake Sale at the Center on November 17th before and after lunch. Come by and pick up a delicious dessert – or your main course depending on your eating habits – in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Why bake when you can buy!
It is once again Breakfast at the Center this coming Saturday from 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM. The menu will be a surprise but for most folks the breakfast is just an excuse to visit with friends anyway. The cost is only $5.00, $4.00 for Center members and $3.00 for children 12 and under. And as Jack always said, “Breakfast tastes better when someone else cooks it.”
We are going to “shake, rattle and roll” the regular monthly music line up for November and December, since the Jazz Generations are taking a holiday break. Tonight Truman will be playing his usual third Tuesday but next week the popular Strawberry Mountain Band will return for your listening and dancing enjoyment. Doors open at 6:00, music starts at 7:00 and you can go home by 9:00. All are welcome and donations are always appreciated.
Not many folks knew Texaco was the sponsor for the NBC radio broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera, but Sandy Goforth did – which means she wins five quilt raffle tickets. And Sandy is also the source of this week’s “Remember When” question. In 1937 these two Swiss ice skaters joined the original Ice Follies as comic ice skaters and even appeared in movies including “Lady, Let’s Dance” in 1944. What was the name of this famous pair of skaters whose names became household words? Email your answer to the mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788 or drop your answer off while wearing a pair of Alpine Lederhosen.
It looks like I am running out of space and time. So here are the answers to just the first twelve “Quantagories” from last week – you have one more week to figure out the rest. 1.) 26 = Letters of the Alphabet; 2.) 1001 = Arabian Nights; 3.) 7 = Wonders of the World; 4.) 12 = Signs of the Zodiac; 5.) 54 = Cards in a Deck (with the Joker); 6.) 9 = Planets in the Solar System. 7.) 88 = Piano Keys; 8.) 13 = Stripes on the American Flag; 9.) 32 = Degrees Fahrenheit at which Water Freezes; 10.) 18 = Holes in a Golf Course; 11.) 90 = Degrees in a Right Angle; 12.) 200 = Dollars for Passing Go in Monopoly;
Well it’s been another week looking to see what will blow across my path. Until we meet again, as my wife affectionately reminded me, “Don’t try to be humble. You aren’t that good.”
“The first rule of holes: When you’re in one, stop digging.” Molly Ivins
Wednesday (16) Whitefish with dill sauce
Thursday (17) Powerful Pork Chops
Friday (18) Swiss Burger w/sautéed Mushrooms and Onions
Monday (21) Swedish Meatballs over Noodly Noodles
Tuesday (22) Glazed Ham or Turkey with Stuffing and Gravy
