January 2012 meeting

Hey ladies! We had a great time discussing Richard Louv's book in January. We missed those of you who weren't able to come. And we welcomed Karla (a friend of Elizabeth's) to the group. I think we all agreed that Louv had some great things to say, and was kinda "preaching to the choir" as we all think that nature is pretty important. Cass talked to us a bit about how she speed-reads; she using a process called "chunking." We all were interested in learning how to do that!

We didn't get through as much wine this time around as two of us six at the meeting are pregnant! But Elizabeth and I have decided that the Fre non-alcoholic wine is a pretty great option for us; not too sweet and still tastes like wine. The Chianti was a big hit as the bottle emptied, and those who tasted the Blackstone Red Blend loved the berry flavors!

A few people asked for my minestrone recipe, so I posted it here.

Remember: Our February meeting will be Feb. 15 from 5-8 p.m. We'll have a special guest, the author of Javascotia, our book pick that month. He's a friend of Janis's. We talked a bit about how we'll handle an author at our meeting. It's not our place to be his critique group, but instead to learn as much as we can from a published author about his process of creation, ideas on writing, and thoughts about publishing. I don't know about you, but I can't wait!

Here's Obler's web site if you want to learn more about him before our meeting: http://www.benobler.com/. Or check out these blog posts: http://booksandwineat31st.blogspot.com/search/label/Benjamin%20Obler

We'll restart our rotation in March, so I'll pick the book. The rotation list is included on the right side of the navigation bar in reverse order.