Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Holiday Party

According to the 20 members who attended, our Holiday Party on Sunday, December 13 was a great success.  After everyone had arrived, we sat down to eat.  After that, to continue the party we played a couple games.  For the games we separated into smaller groups, and the group that came up with the right answers won several prizes.

Like last year everyone brought a dish of some kind, and the food was just wonderful.  It did not take long for it to disappear.  We had a bar set up in the kitchen with wines, eggnog, sodas, iced tea, water, and non-alcoholic sparkling wines.  The hors d'oeuvres were set up in the family room, and the main courses were in the dining room.  With the addition of two dessert tables, it did not take long for everyone to have their fill of all this great food.





Elaine Weber was kind enough to put together the games that we played.  Elaine also supplied the prizes for the winners of the games.  We thank her for that and for helping to put the party together.






Our gift exhchange game was so much fun and created loads of laughter.  Just when one thought they had selected a nice gift, someone else in the group stole it from them.  Usually it is one gift that is very popular, but this time there were several that kept going back and forth.



At various times during the evening we selected names from a bag and gave out about 18 door prizes.  They varied from wreaths, diffusers, to candy and other small gifts. 


At the end of the evening as people were leaving they said this was probably the best holiday party that we have had so far.  We want to thank our hostess, Carol Swain, for having the party at her home, and for helping to put it together. Thanks to all of you for coming and we look forward to next year's party being just as great.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Calendar of Events!!!!

When was the last time you put something on our calendar? Jean has been asking you for more events, but as you all can see, she has received very few.

There should be something, holiday events, plays, movies, shows, musicals, local events, an exhibit, cards, game night, pot-lucks, happy hour, craft shows, that you would be interested in.  Be the sponsor in November or December.  All you have to do is email your event to Jean at jeanne170@verizon.net with a good description, date, price, time, be the RSVP person, and meet the members at the event.

If you are unsure of sponsoring something by yourself, why not ask someone else you have met in the group to co-sponsor it with you.

Dinner at Real Seafood Restaurant


On Thursday, October 22, twelve members of our Second Chancers group met at the Real Seafood Restaurant in the Annapolis Town Centre.
While waiting for everyone to arrive, we met in the restaurant's bar area. The restaurant's interior design was beautiful and very unusual as you can see in some of the pictures. The bar ended in a window of rain that got everyone's attention. We sat around the high bar tables which made for easy conversation until everyone arrived.
Of interest to some was the Restaurant's unusual sample wine station. Not only could you order your wine of choice by the glass or bottle at the bar, but you could purchase a $10 card that could be inserted in their sample wine station for any number of samples (until you use up the value of your card of course). For the most part you could get a couple ounces of several wines for about $2.00 each. I don't think anyone in our group tried it this time, but there were comments that the next time they came they might like to do that.
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Food could be ordered in the bar area, but as usual we moved to the restaurant dining room for dinner. Most of our group ordered from the Restaurant's Grand Opening FreshFest Specials. For $19.95 we were served several courses, beginning with a Bleu Cheese Coleslaw Vinaigrette, very warm and wonderful fresh baked bread, Crab Bisque and then our main entree. These ranged from whole Maine Lobster, or two very large crab cakes, or their grand combo of a 4 oz Tenderloin, 4 oz. Crab Cake and two Jumbo Shrimp or the Chef's Sensational Sushi which was only $15.95. Included with the entree were delicious red skinned mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. There was so much food that most of us took half of our dinner home. So for $19.95 some of us had two meals for the price of one.
Their menu also included lower and higher priced items, from appetizers, salads, hamburgers, soups, to other main courses that were not included in their special, and of course yummy desserts. However, everyone was too full to eat anything else after their meal. So whether you wanted to spend a lot or a little, it could be done at Real Seafood.

The members also liked the parking situation. The parking lot was right next to the restaurant, so all the members had to do was walk around the corner.

Some went shopping after dinner as the stores in the Towne Centre were still open.. Actually we all needed a walk.

We took a poll of those who attended this dinner for where they wanted to go to next. Check our calendar for the next Regular Membership Dinner to see what they came up with.  Sometimes we hear members say that our restaurant choices are too expensive.  We try to go to places that we would not go to alone, and we are always trying out the new restaurants. Those who attend our dinners choose our subsequent restaurants.

We also asked this group about their opinion on prices.  The concensus was that one can always order a salad, or appetizer, or a bowl of soup.  On this restaurant's menu a lot of these items were around $5.00.  If your purpose is to get out with others, get to restaurants you would not normally go to alone, here is the opportunity. That is the premise behind our dining out.  So come and enjoy!

We always have our membership dinners on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month.  If you are unhappy with the restaurants that those who attend pick, you can always put on the calendar a restaurant that "YOU" want to go to and sponsor it at any time.  We are not limited to dining out only twice a month.