Sharing Reports - November, 2008

The past couple months have been one for change. Changing of the season from Summer to Fall, changing of the trees where Mother Nature whipped out her paint brush and colored all the leaves on the trees, changing from daylight saving time in some areas back to standard time and huge changes in OLB. We voted to change our sorority year in OLB to coincide with that of International. We voted to change our year from January - December to May - April. We did a comprehensive review of our By Laws and Standing Rules and are in the process of making the needed changes to reflect the change in our sorority year.

We added three new members to OLB this past month and held the Welcome Ritual for Cynthia, Marjory, and Robin. We now have 75 members and have reached our membership cap again.

We continue to have interesting programs. In September, the Program Committee shared all sorts of information about the Olympics ... from ancient times to the present. Members who had attended the Olympics in the past or had a story about the Olympics shared them with us. At the end we all took a Quiz on Olympic Trivia.

Program theme for October was HALLOWEEN FUN. We found adults can have just as much fun as the kids do... some adults just have their fun making things as fun as they can for the kids. The Program Committee sent out all sorts of information of things to do for Halloween.from decorating, to costumes, to recipes and even a visit to a haunted house. Members were asked to share Halloween decorations and stories of their best costume and to answer the question.If you could dress as anything possible what would it be? Members also shared their favorite Halloween recipes.

Our Recipe/Craft Committee have gotten us off to a great start for fall this year. They have shared some delicious recipes and wonderful crafts, I can't wait to make those pumpkin muffins and the pumpkin dip!

Our September Social was an evening in Buenos Aires, Argentina. We had great food, visited the city and danced the tango. We traveled to Munich, Germany in October and enjoyed a Bavarian Oktoberfest at the Haufbrauhaus.

Dianne
OLB Rep

The past couple of months have been quite busy for the Sisters of Online Kappa! We have had four guests, resulting in three new members and are thrilled to have Linda, Sandra, and Carrie Lynn join us! One of our sisters, Marilyn, recently passed her pledge test, so will be receiving her Ritual of Jewels ritual in the very near future! We are thrilled and proud of her great accomplishment!

Order of the Rose

September brought a very special honor to two of our sisters! Nancy and Dean Ann were honored with the Order of the Rose of Beta Sigma Phi ceremony, which was very eloquently presented and was presided by our OLK President Carrie. This honor is presented to those Sisters who have given fifteen years of service to Beta Sigma Phi. This service is cumulative (i.e. from one chapter to another) and part of Nancy's and Dean Ann's service is that which they have given to our On Line Chapter. What a wonderful ceremony and all our Sisters thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to witness this great event!

September Service Report

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September Social - Switzerland

Let's climb on the plane and fly to Zurich, Switzerland. Since we all are arriving early in the morning (there is no jet lag on a virtual trip) we will proceed to the train station. All trains leaving for other areas in Switzerland leave fromthe top floor of this very large building. Commuter trains leave from the main floor.

Here we are at our train. We are in the 1st Class car and the whole car has been reserved for us. I have ordered a typical Swiss breakfast. We are having coffee or tea, several different kinds of bread (the breads are to die for over here) to eat with several different kinds of Swiss style cheeses, including goat cheese, for you to sample. I also have several different varieties of meat including one that is very popular over here. It is very much like our chipped beef that you buy in a jar in the States. So grab something to munch on while we proceed on our trip. I just can't get enough of this bread! If I don't watch out, I will leave this train 10 lbs. heavier than when I got on! We are also having some fruit yogurt.

On this train we are traveling to the town of Chur which is to the south. Ah we are here, now we change trains, again taking this 1st class car reserved for us. See what a pretty red train! And aren't the windows large! All the better for taking photos out the window. Ah, we are just in time, the train is leaving. Now we are proceeding into the mountains. As we travel into the valley, the mist is rising from the valley floor and slowly advancing up to the top of the mountains, exposing the beautiful snowy caps right before our eyes. It is good that we ate already as it is hard to tear our eyes away from the scenery. We are running from one side of the train to the other so as to take it all in. But don't worry, we will return this way so if you missed something, you can see it on the way back. Early in our trip we arrive at Reichenau where we can see the Upper and the Lower Rhine tributaires converging. As we proceed, there are little villages along the way and castles nestled in the hillsides. We are climbing and climbing. Sometimes we are going over Roman arched bridges. One is 89 meters high; another 65 meters high and 130 meters long. As we climb we are also going in and out of tunnels. Each time we emerge, we find another spectacular view! Now we are passing through the town of St. Moritz, I wish we could stop and see the sights but we have a long way to go. We are continually climbing. Now we are beginning to see glaciers, look!

Ah, we are passing by the Bernina peak which is 4048 meters high and crossing the Bernina Pass. Here we see the highest train station on this trip which is 2253 meters above sea level. People leave the train here to proceed to the ski areas which we can see in the mountains around us now. (You will see the ice on the water in one of my pictures taken at this pass.) From this pass the rivers we have just passed flow to the Rhine and then out to Amsterdam, Netherlands. The rivers we come to from here on will flow out to the south and west. This is also a language border. In all the towns we pass by from now on, although still in Switzerland, the people will be speaking Italian. The area we just left the people speak Swiss German. Oh look, there are more glaciers!

Now we are arriving in Poschiavo, a quaint little town. Picture #4 & #10 are of this town. Lets walk around and look at the town a bit. There is a stream passing right through town. We cross the bridge over it and head for a little square by a church where we sit and view the mountains around us and have some wine or whatever refreshment you might like. The weather up here is delightfully sunny. I could just sit here for an hour and soak it all in but I want to poke around this little town a bit. There are some attractive stores selling art work in stone as well as oil and watercolor, others selling souveniors and I am buying some post cards. Well, it is now time to head back to the train station for our trip back to Zurich. I hope you have enjoyed our trip.

September Program

ABC's of Scrappin'

Scrapbooking has been a passion of mine for over 10 years. I started out in rubber stamping, made Christmas cards, notecards, thank you cards, etc. Then was introduced to scrappin'. It quickly became one of my obsessions, because I could get immediate results (completion of a page) and at the same time work on a long-term hobby (doing entire albums).

If you have never thought about placing your photos into scrapbooks or albums, I would encourage you to seriously consider doing so. How? Isn't it complicated??

Scrapbooking can be as elaborate or as simple as you wish. Below I will address my ABC's of Scrappin' as one idea of how this art can be approached.

Supplies needed---1) A blank scrapbook page. (My favorite is a 12X12 that fits in a Creative Memories Album), 2) Colored paper that is acid free (no construction paper, ladies!) 3) Scissors or a straight edge cutter, 4) An adhesive for scrapbooking (no elmer's glue) and 5) An pen with acid-free ink. (No ballpoints…they bleed through paper and photos)

A—Allot
Allot 4-5 pictures, preferably of a common theme.

B—Beautify

Use colored paper to cut 2 corners. Use decorative scissors, a straight edge cutter, or tear the paper. Save remainder of paper for use in step "C". Stick these corners down on opposite sides of the page.

C—Crop
Do not be afraid of your pictures. Look closely at them.

If you crop out the dirty dishes behind and beside Grandma, more focus will be on the photo of her. If you crop out the unmade bed, more focus will be on the adorable imp you photographed. Mat your photos by sticking them to your left-over paper from step B. Just eyeball about a ¼ inch around the perimeter of the photo. Cut around the mat. Stick photos onto scrapbook page in an arrangement pleasing to your eye.

And a J!!—Journal Journal Journal
Do not be afraid of your writing…it is a great treasure for those who will follow you.

Get a pen with acid-free ink, and write on the page the story of the pictures. It can be as simple as bullet points (i.e. Christmas, 2007, At Grandma's, Ottawa, KS) Or journaling can be an elaborate narrative like… "Christmas this year at Grandma's was fun as always. All the aunts and uncles were there. Uncle Bob and Uncle Dale had an eggnog fight, and Grandma dropped the turkey on the floor! The best present was the toy truck Grandpa got from all his kids!"

Or journaling can be under each picture telling who they are. "Grandma Grace" or "Julie, 17 holding Harmony, 5".

Mum Fest .08 – October Social

The event is in its 28th year and draws around 80,000 visitors to the historic downtown area. The festival is considered one of the best family outings in the state and has been named a Top 20 event by the Southeast Tourism Society. I hope you enjoy exploring the sites and sounds with me.

As we walk towards the main event, we take the time to window shop at the numerous specialty shops and restaurants. We pass many of the 150 historic landmarks that date back to the 18th Century. The weather is absolutely perfect. It what the locals call a Coastal Fall Day. The sun is shining brightly, and there is a cool breeze coming off the water. Christ Episcopal Church has a Pumpkin Patch on its lawn. Dozens of children are running around choosing the .best. one. We sneak into the Birthplace of Pepsi for a quick drink. How could we resist? The Firemen's Museum boasts an 1800s horse drawn steam engine, but we don.t have time for that today. The crowd is starting to thicken up! The Aerobatic Air Show is new to Mum Fest this year, so we better hurry up to get a good viewing spot! The aerobatic flight demonstration will be over the Neuse River by stunt pilot Hubie Tolson. Hubie is a well known local pilot who is a consistent top placer in the US National Aerobatics Championships. He is also known for his charitable work with Veterans Airlift Command, an organization that provides free air transportation to wounded soldiers and their families through a network of volunteer aircraft owners and pilots. The place where the Trent River and the Neuse River meet is called Union Point. The 7th Annual Boat Show is located at the waterfront park. There are boats of all sizes featured as well as maritime and marine exhibits. Some of us are even tempted to try parasailing! We grab some iced tea and watch the flotilla which is comprised of entries from the 5th Annual Hatteras Yachts Family Boat Building Event were teams construct 8-foot wooden dinghies.

Our next stop is King.s BMX Stunt Show, one of the top stunt shows in the nation featuring riders in their 20s and 30s riding 20 inch bikes! Several of the riders have competed at the ESPN X Games. Has anyone ever seen them perform at NASCAR or seen their BC Powder commercial? These athletes perform high energy stunts that will amaze and entertain. The Farmer.s Market is in full force during Mum Fest, so we decide to see what goodies are being offered. There are over 50 vendors offering a little bit of everything. We can hear the blue-grass band performing in the distance. Several of the merchants have fruit and vegetable stalls, but that's not where we are headed first. We march right up to one of my favorite ladies who makes her own hot pepper jelly for a taste. Then we wander around eyeing the cookies, cakes, and fudge. Deciding not to risk our waistlines anymore, we browse through the various craft stalls. There are plenty of handmade jewelry pieces that would make great holiday gifts. We make sure to take a close look at all the fine quality handmade crafts in order to get inspired for our own creations. We will end our day with a leisurely stroll around Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Gardens to take pleasure in the view of thousands of chrysanthemums as we hear the Fife and Drum Corps in the background. The Georgian style Tryon Palace was the first permanent capitol of the Colony of North Carolina and dates to the mid-1700s. One of the gardens reflects the Colonial era in arrangement and plant selection. Oh, look! There is a Heritage Plant Sale going on! All plants are grown on site, and there are plenty of gardeners to answer our questions. Be sure to pick up some bulbs to take back home as a souvenir! I buy us a box of Tryon Palace Peanut Brittle to share on our ride home.

OLK Book Club

We in OLK are starting a book club for those of us interested in reading and sharing throughout the year! Our sister Karen put together the below most interesting listing of "STARTING A BOOK CLUB"!

She has completed a lot of research into starting a book club and it's been a very interesting project. Book clubs are formed for a variety of reasons by a variety of people. For those of us who love to read, a book club can be the perfect place to discuss your favorite books or to learn about new types of books or new authors. It's a great way to discover authors or genres that we might not otherwise choose for ourselves. It's also a wonderful way to get to know your fellow members, through their book choices. I find you can learn a lot about a person by the books that they read.

Some of the most common things that apply to any book club though seem to be the following:

Questions To Ask Before Starting your Own Book Discussion Group - or joining an existing Book Club!

There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. At the end of the day, all it takes to start a book group is to get two or more people together and start talking about a book. However, thinking through these questions will give you the best chance of creating a happy and cohesive book club that enjoys meeting to discuss, and disagree about, books - an environment where new friendships can be made and existing ones can be strengthened.

• How many people?

A very small group is cozy but could fall apart if a couple of members drop out or can't make a meeting. A very large group can work but needs to be run on a more 'formal' basis in order to be sure that the conversation stays on track and everybody gets a chance to contribute.

Suggestion: Six to eight people is a good size to start with. It's a small enough number to fit inside somebody's home or around a table in a cafe, gives everybody a chance to voice their opinions, and if one or two members can't make it to a meeting, or drop out altogether, there are still enough people left to form a good discussion.

• What type of people?

Do you envisage your reading group/book club being all women, all men, or mixed? How about 3-4 couples getting together, or mothers with children (with one of you taking it in turns to babysit)? Do you want people to be about the same age - or how about mixing different generations (such as a mothers and daughters book club)?

Suggestion: Look for people with some common ground (e.g. all women, all couples, all 30 somethings) or make a point of mixing things up so that there isn't one individual who stands out. For example, one man in a group of women may find himself defending the 'man's point of view' rather than discussing his own viewpoints - not necessary a bad thing, just something to take into account.

• What is the purpose of the group?

Are you looking for serious conversation focused totally on the book, or are you happy with some off topic conversation triggered by something that the group has read?

Suggestion: Differing expectations is probably the leading cause of book club strife. If one person is expecting to spend the entire time in deep discussion while another signed up thinking there would be a token book discussion plus lots of chat somebody's going to be disappointed! Agree how your group will run at your first meeting and then try to stick to this formula, unless you agree as a group to change it.

• How many books do you want to read and how often do you want to meet?

Do you want to meet every week, once a month, every quarter - it's up to you? Do you want to discuss more than one book at a meeting (not recommended unless they are linked by a theme which is the focus of your conversation - e.g. 2 books by the same author, 2 travel guides for the same place etc).

Suggestion: Start out by meeting once a month at the most, and discuss one book only with about 300 pages or less.

• Where will you meet?

Do you want to always meet in the same place, either somebody's home or a public space such as a room at the library or a coffee bar? Or do you want to rotate around each other's homes?

Suggestion: If the people in your potential group are already known to each other, then meeting in someone's home is probably the easiest option, but keep in mind that some people may not want, or be able, to host a meeting at their own home, whereas for other members - e.g. those with small children and no babysitter - it might be the only way they can attend. Therefore, be sensitive and flexible to each other's needs. If you meet at a different house each time, make sure that the host for that evening provides driving directions in good time before the meeting, and consider having someone else bring the snacks (that is if your group has snacks, and most seem to!) to take some of the load off the host.

However, if the members of your potential group are not known to you (e.g. you've advertised for members) then we strongly recommend that you meet in a neutral place such as a coffee bar until the group is well established and you are all comfortable with each other.

There are two key reasons for this. The first is that meeting in a neutral location will allow your group to get to know each other as individuals without being weighed down by the preconceptions that come from visiting a person's home before you know that person. The other reason is simply a matter of basic safety - you wouldn't invite a blind-date to pick you up from your house, so don't invite a group of strangers into your house until you know them well enough to be sure you want to continue to meet with them.

• When will you meet and for how long?

Most groups meet in the evening, but others meet during the day, over the weekend, or even for breakfast! For example some people form clubs at their workplace, in which case it maybe easier to coordinate everyone's schedules for an early morning meeting, or during lunch, rather than after work.

Suggestion: Select the time of day/evening that will best fit the profile of your group - and try to stick with the same time and day of week once chosen. For example, 1st Tuesday of each month, 7pm.

For a relatively relaxed meeting schedule aim for about 2 hours. For example: Arrive at 7pm (meet, chat, snack - if food on offer, and discuss any book club issues such as what to read next). 7.30pm start talking about the book. 8.30pm close 'formal' discussion allowing for plenty of time for discussion/chat outside of the group before the meeting ends at 9pm. If you only have an hour to spare, consider setting up an email list to discuss things like choosing the next book outside of your meeting, or spend one meeting every 6 months agreeing your selections for the next six months and discussing any other issues that might have arisen.

Although some of the questions above may not apply to a book club that we may want to start (like where to meet, food, a specific time or day of the week), overall, these are a very good place to start. I also think that to form a group it needs to be decided what types of books do the members want to read (romance, history, autobiography, thriller, detective, etc) or would a variety work. There is much more involved in a book club then just getting together and discussing books but it doesn't have to be a chore or cause drama for people. I think creating a survey of potential members interests would be first on the list of things to do. If anyone is interested in starting a book club for our chapter, I would be willing to organize it and get things going. Just let me know and I'll arrange it, through Carrie, with her blessing. For now, happy reading to all.

OLK Sharing Conclusion

As you can see, the Sisters of OLK have been quite busy throughout the last couple of months! There are many more activities and the endless chatting that happens each and every month, although would be much too long of a sharing report! Ha! We look forward to the upcoming holidays and wish to you all a most thankful Thanksgiving and joyous Christmas holidays to all!

Respectively Submitted,

Shelley
OLK Rep

We have been busy the last two months. We had Beginning Day aboard the Queen Mary, she is docked in Long Beach, CA. We did virtual tours aboard her and visited the Russian Submarine and London Towne shps. Then we hit the Los angeles Garmet District, Getty Museum, Grauman's Chinese Theater and with our vitural credit Cards hit Rodeo Dt.

And we sure did some damage there. 'Since Hurrican Gustav hit South Louisiana area we have had alot of discussions on hurricanes. Arlene contacted Karen and suggested that a sheltring sister be set up. It is awesome site, please check it out at Sheltering Sisters When hurricane Ike hit Texas, two of our sisters where affected. We also made a donation to the Houston Food Bank.

We have three new members to our chapter and one who is checking us out now. We also have had numerous sisters attended our meetings to make up an absence with their local chapter. OLT's prayer list and "bubble" list is sentevery Wednesday. In addition to addthem to our prayers, we blow bubbles to symbolize the prayer.

We played our bingo games in Sept and Oct. The subjects were Sept (hurricane and disaster preparedness), and Oct (Apples). Did you know that there are over 600 variesties of apples.

Our sister, Marti, is being recognized in the Torch. She is one of our founding members. Then we decided to have some articles on the shelf on our members.

Carolyn
OLT Rep

OLE sisters in the US and Canada celebrated a virtual combined holiday of Canada Day and July 4th in Niagara Falls. We enjoyed a variety of food and gained some new recipes. The fireworks displays were awesome.

OLE's 10th anniversary on August 10, was met with a celebration as members went on a virtual cruise around the world! We departed from Los Angeles and visited the countries of Tahiti and the islands of the South Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Bali, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Singapore, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Italy, France, and Spain, arriving back to the US in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. At each port, we enjoyed excursions. Some of those excursions included a glass bottom boat adventure, a colony and farm visit, an ancient cooking school, beach party, tour of ancient Petra, visiting the pyramids, enjoying a Turkish bath, cheese tasting, and a gothic cathedral. We enjoyed a couple of dinners on board with the captain, while we rubbed elbows with the rich and famous and meeting our favorite stars. On board we also enjoyed Disco Night, a day at the spa, and a masquerade ball.

During the cruise, one of our sisters had to leave us to attend her surgery. We saw her off with lots of well wishes. We were with her in our thoughts and prayers while she was in surgery and recuperating. She is doing fine.

After we docked in Fort Lauderdale, we stopped in Orlando at Disney World. Disney World hosted a surprise wedding shower for Annamarie in Cinderella's castle, where she was showered with lingerie! We gave her a virtual bachelorette party the night before her wedding. We enjoyed seeing those gorgeous Chippendales! Her wedding was on August 31. We were with her in our thoughts for her wedding and reception.

We celebrated with one of our members when she got a new job and a new car. She loves both!

Our Labor Day party was held at Veteran's Memorial Park in Sierra Vista, AZ. We celebrated with a big bar-be-que and our Canadian sisters drove down and celebrated with us.

We welcomed a new member, Eyline, in September. She's a delightful addition to our wonderful chapter.

We celebrated Columbus Day in conjunction with Canadian Thanksgiving in October. We celebrated in Tombstone, AZ; we really love the warm country. We had another bar-be-que along with all the traditional foods for Canadian Thanksgiving.

Towards the middle of October, we began planning a walk to Bethlehem to arrive there on Christmas Eve. Off to another adventure!

OLE celebrated Halloween in a huge spooky old mansion for three days straight. We had all sorts of yummy things to eat, including chocolate covered bugs. We had several ghosts join us in our games and danced the night away with us.

Susan
OLE Rep

The past few months have been busy for us in OLP, as we've been actively increasing our membership. We held our first Pledge Ritual on October 17th for Laurie, a new member of Beta Sigma Phi. Two sisters from OLB, Dianne and Lisa, graciously assisted us with the ritual. Dianne put together a lovely email version of the Pledge Ritual, including graphics and photos. Lisa assisted her sister Laurie during the ritual and presented her with a yellow rose. Everyone in our chapter enjoyed the beautiful ceremony.

Presently we have two visitors to our chapter, Cindy and Kimberly. Kimberly has already decided to join OLP, and we are waiting to hear Cindy's decision. As always, we are happy to welcome new members to our group.

Following are some of our recent happenings in OLP:

SOCIAL: On July 12, 2008, we celebrated our 8th anniversary...OLP was friendly ventured by OLB in 2000. Marcia did a great job with our first virtual social. We all went out for a game of miniature golf and later reminisced about our favorite birthdays.

SERVICE: OLP continues to support the Breast Cancer Site by clicking daily. In addition, we collect labels for schools and donate to the Wounded Warriers at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

CULTERAL: Each month a sister presents a program based on a subject of her choice. Being that our programs are based entirely on individual interests, they are always different and are usually very interesting:

-September: Dee presented a program on Dr. Max Luscher's 'Color Test' and posted the following website where we could take the test: http://www.colorquiz.com/

-October: Vicki presented a very informative program on bone health.

-November: This month Cheryl will present the program.

Also, our sisters make book recommendations during chapter chatter. This is fun and gives us some good tips on which books to read. In addition, we have a new craft/recipe committee this year. In September Vicki shared her favorite apple recipes in time for the apple harvest. Previously, Janice shared a very creative idea about ziplock omelets that I copied/pasted to share with all of you:

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This works great!! Good when you're alone or when all your family is together. Great for the little ones who like to help and can be made the night before if you want. Guests can write their name on the quart size Ziploc freezer bag.

-crack 2 eggs into the quart size Ziploc bag(not more than 2)shake and squeeze to combine.

-Put out a variety of ingredients such as: cheeses, ham, onion, green pepper, tomatoes, hash browns, salsa, ect...

-Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake.

-Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up.

-Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. you can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. For more make another pot of boiling water.

-Cut the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.

-Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake:everyone gets involved in the process and a great conversation piece.Great if you are by your self. One could cut up all the goodies one day and have enough for a couple of morning omelets.

Rose
OLP Rep