Great Hike in new area of Shell Ridge. 5.6 mile and three major ups and downs ranging from 250 ft to 720 ft elevation. Loved seeing the two coyotes and the green grass trying to peak though. The hike lasted 2 hr. 44 minutes and we averaged 2 miles per hour.

Thanks for the good workout Fran!  -  Sharon

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Pat, Jeanne, Aleta and Sharon did the 5 mile hike in 2 hours ( a couple of tenths weren’t recorded.) The second half was a little wet but that just hurried us along a bit! Afterwards we had lunch at Lucca’s, a good Italian deli in Castro Valley that Jeanne recommended.

Pat, Aleta, and Jeanne take a break from the rain to have their photo taken by Sharon on there hike along Lake Chabot.

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What a perfect way to start off the new year by getting motivated by our speaker Gerri Levitas.  Gerri is a certified Hypnotherapist and a Transformational Weight Loss Coach.

She is dedicated to helping women with their personal journey towards better health and well being.

Geri has worked with hundreds of women in the area of weight management, self esteem and personal growth.

Contact Gerri at 925-935-2502 or gerri {at} bayhealing(.)com

Her website is Bay Healing.

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When: Feb. 28- Tuesday

Time: 1:00- 3:00

Where: Donna C.

RSVP:  donnaclarke109 {at} hotmail(.)com by Monday, Feb. 27

Our book will be Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay.  This is a haunting World War II story that was made into a movie.

We welcome new members so think about attending one of our meetings.  If you have any questions (except to RSVP), please call the Chairperson, Suzanne Z.

Mar. – The Tigers’s Wife by Tea Obreht

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On December 30th Pat, Rose, Bobbi, Shirley, Muff, Jeanne and Sharon hiked two laps around the Lafayette reservoir. There were a lot of people out walking with babies and dogs.

We saw white pelicans, egrets, and Jeanne and Muff spotted a river otter. We enjoyed looking at the holiday tree decorated with ornaments placed on it by people passing by.

The day was dry with a light drizzle early on that made the paved trail a little slippery. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch at Bagel Street Cafe.

It was a nice ending to 2011.

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Cindy Inloes made the “reindeer noses” with various flavors of hershey kisses placed on top of pretzel rounds, slightly melted in a microwave oven and then pressed down with a colorful m&m for the nose.

We enjoyed the variety with coffee or tea and conversation.   Later, we all left on sugar highs, wishing all a wonderful holiday season.

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The wine appreciation group celebrated the season in the Livermore Valley Wine Country by visiting four wineries that included Tamas Estates, Wente Vineyards, Rios-Lovell Winery and McGrail Vineyards & Winery.  We met at the Alcosta Park & Ride and car-pooled together so we could have a limited number of designated drivers…if you know what I mean.

Most every location was packed as this was the weekend for the annual “Holidays in the Vineyards” celebration in Livermore.  On our way to the first Winery we passed by the downtown park where a large number of people had gathered and they were having all kinds of fun events, even man-made snow for the kids to play on.  We finished the tour at McGrail Winery where a band was playing and they had lots of vendors selling Christmas & other merchandise.

“And you could hear us proclaim as we flew out of sight, a fun time was had by all and to all a good night!”

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4 lbs yams

1 ¼ cups sugar

2 tlbs cornstarch

1 tsp salt

2 cups orange juice

4 tlbs butter or margarine

1 ½ tsp grated orange peel

1 orange, thinly sliced

Peeled yams cut into ½ in thick slices, discarding thin ends.  Overlapping slices, arrange in rows in a shallow 3 quart casserole or baking dish; Set aside.

In a small pan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt; stir in orange juice until well blended. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens and becomes clear (about 1 minute).

Remove from heat, add butter and orange peel, and stir until butter is melted. Pour over yams. Bake, uncovered, in a 400 oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and baste tops of yams thoroughly with sauce.

Continue baking, uncovered, basting with sauce several more times, for 15 minutes or until yams are tender when pierced and tops are well glazed. Garnish with orange slices.

Makes 12 to 14 servings.

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