Captain’s Log – February 2018

Greetings, Crew!

Welcome to February! I won't be seeing you this month at the meeting, so I hope it's a great month for you. I hope you can come to the upcoming events this winter and spring, as they will be fun. See the items in this newsletter.

Now let's talk about the Denebian In The Room. Yes, the Vikings lost. Yes, we are heartbroken over here. It would have been glorious! However, we have been enjoying all of the fun Super Bowl festivities despite the terrible disappointment. We didn't get tickets for the zipline, though. Did you?

See you around the galaxy!

Mary

 

Feed My Starving Children Wrap-up

Thanks to the 15 folks who came to the packing event on January 23rd. We had fun, as always, and did a lot of good. We packed 199 boxes, which equals 42,984 meals. We fed 117 kids for a year!! That's good work, people! Afterwards, we had to go out and eat, you know. See you next time in July.

Mary

St Patrick’s Beer Tasting Party

Hey! Did you know that this year is our 15th beer tasting competition? It's true, and it takes place on March 10th. From home to barn to hotel to other hotel, the event has traveled around over the years. This time it will be at the party room at Emma and Joey's apartment complex (at the same place we had the holiday party) . This room was so party-perfect that we decided to return. It's located at 2551 38th Avenue NE, St Anthony, Minnesota (there are two party rooms – this one is on the northwest corner of The Landings under the big fancy arch entry).

You do not have to compete in the tasting to attend. If you wish to enter the tasting, you should bring 4-6 bottles of your entry. All types of beer, hard cider, malt beverage, near beer, maltini, non-alcoholic beer or malternative are welcome. You can even enter a soda if you'd like to, as you never know what will win. In fact, last year's winner was a non-alcoholic option! We are competing in a blind taste test for fabulous prizes, and sometimes the cheapest, most unlikely beer has won. There is also the USS Nokomis Bad Beer Board, which has sometimes gone to the most well-known and expensive beer. You never know!

Bring food to share with the group, from a main dish to side dish to dessert. Bring your own beverage, too, besides any entry you bring for the tasting. Some games and good conversation will round out the evening.

Please join us for the fun. If you're planning to come, drop a note to me by email. It helps for planning. We hope you can all make it.

Mary

MarsCon and MarsCon Blood Drive 2018

The MarsCon committee needs some helpers. Please sign up at the meeting or let me know if you can help set up and tear down the room on the afternoon of March 2nd and the morning of March 4th. It will be a simple room this year - a Horta Cave - and so should be quick and easy. However, that assumes that we have help, so please come!

We also need room workers (it's not really work) on the evenings of the 2nd and the 3rd. The duties include being nice to people, relaxing and visiting, and most of all being welcoming to our guests. Do you see the theme there? Please sign up to help.

For the 13th year, the USS Nokomis is hosting an American Red Cross blood drive on Saturday the 3rd from 10am to 4pm. Over the years the MarsCon family has touched hundreds of lives with generous blood donations, and we can keep the dream alive this year. Sign up to claim your appointment time at www.redcrossblood.org, sponsor code MarsCon, or call Jane at 651-283-6736 and she'll set you up. Our drive comes at an important time, as winter storms have caused the cancellation of many blood drives this year. Bring your friends and family, too!

Check back on the website for other information about MarsCon events. There is news pending that will interest you.

Mary

NLC Gala – Save The Date!

Once again the National Lutheran Choir has asked for volunteers to help at their 2018 Gala on Sunday, April 15, 2018 from 4 to 8pm.

Volunteers need to arrive at the Hilton DoubleTree in Bloomington by 2:30 pm dressed in semi-formal attire. Unfortunately there aren’t any jobs where you sit for the evening so you will need to be able to stand most of the evening. Please wear sensible shoes.

This is a delightful event so please consider volunteering if you are able. There are all kinds of jobs from checking people in, helping with the auction, etc. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Pam Kline.

The 2018 USS Nokomis Calendar is Ready to Order!

It's Here!

Order your 2018 USS Nokomis Calendar from Walmart  though Jane using the signup sheet here. You can have it delivered to your home or to your local WalMart.  Note: The link you saw earlier will only work if you're Jane.

Cost is $10.00. Your (est.) tax will be about 75-99 cents, and shipping (est.) is 2.75 for home delivery...both will depend on your zip code. You can alos select pick-up from your local Wal-mart, if you prefer.

The price is the annual sale price, so order soon!

Happy New Year!

Captain’s Log – January 2018

Greetings,

It's so odd to be typing 2018 all of a sudden! I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve weekend and holiday time. Hopefully, you got to do something that made you smile, whether it was with family or friends or getting away by yourself. We got to go up to Ely for our annual ravioli making extravaganza. Up one day and back the next makes for lots of driving, but is well worth it. We also got to see lots of friends that visited the area for the holidays - a great way to try new places to eat!

Now we get to move on to the New Year. In January we have several events that always tend to get away from us. If you haven't signed up for the January Dance, you have days to do it! Please let me or Pam know that you are coming and we'll get you signed up. The cost is still only $35 for the whole evening of dinner and dancing. The other January event is Feed My Starving Children on the 23rd. See the note in this newsletter and sign up soon!

After January, we move quickly to the rest of the year. The next big project is MarsCon. If you can help, make sure you sign up and get involved. We are recreating the Horta Cave and it should be fun, plus you can stop in even if you are not registered with the convention.

That's it for now. Happy New Year and see you around the galaxy!!

Mary

JANUARY IS SO CONFUSING!!!!

Not really - I was just trying to get your attention. Our meeting is on the 6th, which is not usual, so please take note. After that, the Dance is on the 13th, when the meeting would usually be. Take note and sign up NOW! After that, it's all pretty straightforward. Got it? Great, see you there!

January is Here – Sign Up Now to Help Feed Starving Children!

We will be packing food for those in need on January 23rd from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. The location is the Coon Rapids facility at 401 93rd Ave NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55433. We currently have 9 open spots in our reservation. Please go to www.fmsc.org to join our USS Nokomis group. After we do good for others, we'll do good for us by going to dinner at a nearby restaurant.

If you haven't done this before, it's worth a try. It's fun and worthwhile and very easy. Come along with us!

Mary