Thanks to everyone for helping make blankets and additional soup mix kits last month at the Ridge Room. Special thanks to Phyllis and Erma for hosting the event. The mostacolli (from Backstreet on Plato in St. Paul) was delicious! We made four blankets and twenty soup jars which will go to MVNA Club 100.

We made Holiday bags Thursday, December 3rd and delivered them, along with the blankets, that day also. The bags are provided to MVNA Club 100 for clients who may have recently become enrolled in the Club 100 program too late for the adopt a family or other holiday gift programs. The bags include items such as puzzles, toiletry items, games, etc. Shirley donated three cases of shaving cream along with several bags of candy, and we also had leftover candy from our Halloween bag project. These will be supplemented with purchased items. The soup mix jars that we made were included in each holiday bag. If you wish to donate money towards the project, you can do so at the December meeting.

We reminisced about Helen Acker’s famous Baked Pork Chops and Phyllis was thoughtful to send me a copy to put in the newsletter – It was scrumptious!

Baked Pork Chops by Helen Acker

• 4 lean pork chops 1 inch thick or more
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup catsup
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 1 sliced lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven covered for 1 hour and then uncovered for additional ½ hour.

Serve with potatoes or rice and sides of choice.

We received many thank you notes from the Jeremiah Program residents – here is a sample of them:

• “Thank you so much for the jar of country sop – I am excited to try it!”
• “Thank you so much for the soup mix – It will be very convenient for a mom-on-the-go!”
• “Thank you all so very much for the soup - I have been wanting something like this for awhile. God bless!”
• “Thank you so much for these sweet jars of soup mix! They are so cute and I almost don't want to use them but I will!”
• “I had no idea what I was going to make for dinner for my son and I tonight. I'm so tired after a long day of school! So, the soup is perfect for tonight!”
• “Thank you so much for the beautiful soup mix. I'm going home now to make it. I'll think I'm a Food Network chef!. God bless.”
• “Thank you so much for preparing this quick and nutritious soup for us. I love eating healthy. However, with my schedule, it seems impossible. So, thank you again!”

Members are to call Dorothy if they are unable to attend no later than the Friday before the monthly meeting date. If you do not call, it will be assumed that you are attending and you will be billed for those meetings in which the standard meal fee is charged. The meetings have a meal charge, which is meant to cover the cost of the host's chosen menu and beverages. We hope that, in some cases, there will be extra money leftover for our service projects.

If you are register for a meeting, and are unable to attend due to last minute circumstances, you will be billed for that meeting.

• Mid-November — Mid-December - Annual Poinsettia Sales Fund Raising Event
• November 17, 2009 - Blanket making service project; Cost will be $20.00; Phyllis has graciously offered to host this event at her party room.
• Late November-Early December - Holiday Bags Service Project Details will be provided later.
• December 15, 2009 - Holiday get-together — Becketwood; We can meet in the lobby around 5:30 or so.. Our dinner reservations are promptly at 6:15 p.m. and we all need to be seated by that time.
• January 26, 2010 - A service project to be determined at Janet’s Details will be provided later.
• February 2010 - Joint meeting with Minneapolis; Details will be provided later.
• March 23, 2010 - Program and meeting location tentatively set for the Landmark Center; speaker on preservation of Minnesota historic sites
• April 27, 2010 - Making jewelry for mother’s day bags (for a service organization) at Romelle’s. Details will be provided later.
• May 26, 2009 - Year in Review; Cost will be $20.00; tentative scheduled for Shirley’s; Details will be provided later.

And, speaking of our December meeting, it will be Tuesday, December 15th at Dorothy’s home at Becketwood. Dorothy will need to know if you are planning on attending or bringing a guest by December 11th. 612-724-3799. Becketwood will be preparing our dinner which I am sure will be wonderful!

I have it from a reliable source that it will be Chicken Supreme (with a delicious mushroom sauce), baked potatoes, champagne cake and choice of one of their delicious soups or salad. If you are unable to attend after making your reservation, you will be billed for the dinner since Dorothy is obligated for the number of reservations made. Becketwood provides dinners for residents and their guests so there may be other events happening on December 15th.

Our dinner reservations are promptly at 6:15 p.m. and we all need to be seated by that time. The cost will again be $20 per person. We can meet in the lobby around 5:30 or so. After dinner, we have been invited back to Dorothy's for a little social time.

As a reminder, the complex has a driveway that goes around the entry area of the building. This is an excellent spot to drop off passengers, since the parking area is about a block in distance from the entryway. Everyone will need to sign in before entry into the building. The staff at Becketwood has been put on the alert for those Zonta St. Paul celebrants and will be on the lookout for a wild group of frolicking females from the other side of the river!

This is a fun event, so please consider inviting prospective members and friends.

Since we did not get all the blankets made at the November meeting we can finish them at our January meeting. The January meeting will be at Janet’s in Bloomington. We can coordinate transportation closer to the meeting date to be determined.

Our February meeting will be hosted by Minneapolis Zonta and will be at Aaegesen Clinic on February 25th. They are planning on showing the film Amelia as part of the Amelia Earhart program. More info to come.

The family holiday show features “The Adventures of Stuart Little” and runs from December 11th to the 20th. Ticket prices are $12 for adults, with $10 for seniors and students. The weekday matinee ticket price is $5.00. The theater is located in an historic renovated church located at 4820 Stewart Avenue in White Bear Lake.

This endearing classic “tail” by E.B. White celebrates a mouse named Stuart, the second son in an otherwise ordinary human family. Adapted by Joseph Robinette with all the charm, wisdom and joy of White’s story, the play follows mild-mannered Stuart’s many adventures as he tries to survive in a “real people’s world.” (Family Friendly)

Ticket prices range from $18 to $25 depending on time and date. Call 651.647.4315 for tickets.

Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins December 5th to the 22nd

Hershel of Ostropol has been walking long and hard with growing anticipation for the Hanukkah holiday. Tired and hungry, he imagines the smell of latkes and the bright lights of the menorah. But when Hershel arrives in Helmsbergville, the village is silent. Goblins have been preventing Hanukkah in Helmsbergville for years. Can this visitor help bring Hanukkah back? Enlisted by the townspeople, Hershel agrees to spend eight nights in the old synagogue to try to defeat the goblins. This delightful, interactive play with puppetry brings to life the enchanting storybook Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins!

The Landmark Center offers free public tours on Thursdays at 11 a.m. and Sundays at 12 p.m. The tours focus on the building’s history, architecture, restoration, preservation and famous and infamous personages. It is located at 75 West 5th Street in downtown St. Paul.

December 3rd, 10th and 17th – The Schubert

Club Courtroom Concert – Seasonal Sounds at 12 p.m. FREE

24th Season – dates are February 1, 2010, May 3, 2010 and May 10, 2010.

The Hill House Chamber Players begin their 24th season with concerts performed in the restored art gallery of the James J. Hill House. Complimentary refreshments are served during intermission and admission includes a tour of the Hill House following the performance.
The November concerts will include Georg Phillipp Telemann, Don Quixote Suite, Overture No. 10 in G "Burlesque de Quixote"; Antonin Dvorak, Terzetto, in C major Opus 74, for two violins and viola; Michael Dougherty, Viola Zombie; and Brahms, Viola Quintet No. 2, Opus 111, in G major. Guest artists include Catherine Schubilske on violin, Nathalie Cruden on viola and Craig Johnson, narrator.

December 3rd and 4th 7 p.m. A little Steinway Music

Tickets are $17. Call 651.296.8760 for tickets. Enjoy a musical comedy performed in the Ramseys' elegant parlor decorated for the holidays. The play is an original short story produced by Walking Boxes theatre group and inspired by Victorian life, with dramatic readings and music played on the 1872 Steinway piano. A first floor tour of the house is included. Not recommended for children under 6.

A Christmas Carol (1938) The first American film version and the critics say the most memorable. Showings – Saturday Dec. 12th at 11 p.m. and Friday December 25th at 8 a.m.

Christmas in Connecticut (1945) – Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan in a romantic comedy set in the holidays at wartime. Showings – Thursday, December 17th at 7 p.m. and Friday December 25th at 11:15 a.m.

Holiday Affair (1946) starring Robert Mitchum and Janet Leigh in a tale about a war widow torn between her straight laced fiancé and a free spirit. Showings – Thursday, December 17 at 9 p.m. and Friday December 25th at 3:30 p.m.

The Shop Around the Corner (1940) starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan as combative co-workers in a Budapest leather goods store. Showings Thursday, December 24 at 4 a.m. and Thursday January 28th at 3 p.m.

Burt Wolf: Travels and Traditions – Getting ready for Christmas at Biltmore Estates December 12th at 10 or 10:30 a.m.

Lark Rise to Candleford – Christmas 2008 on Sunday, December 13th at 8 p.m..

For Agatha Christie Poirot fans, Peril at End House is on Channel 2 from 5 to 7 p.m.

Christmas in Yellowstone is on December 13th at 7 p.m.

On December 24th, the Christmas programs start at 8 p.m. through midnight mass.