2020_July issue_Villager newspaper | Page 8

8 THE CHARBONNEAU VILLAGER July 2020 Solo Sisters � From Page 8 write to me and tell me what they have been up to during this forced time apart. Boy did I ever get some great feedback from a lot of wonderful women, and doesn’t that speak volumes about our membership! “We are a group of extremely accessible women. Each of us brings special resources to the group. We all let our hair down and even share our warts and wigs! My gardens are weeded, my bushes hilariously pruned, my hair even more hilariously pruned, and no animals have been harmed in the process. Walking through our beautiful community is a joy, and I see other sisters logging the miles. We are undaunted.” This was submitted by Carol Gambino, who has been a member of our group for over a year. She is very faithful to attending Solo Sisters Safari Lunches in Portland, led by Lissa Willis. Many of our members are avid gardeners and have taken full advantage of all the sunshine we have enjoyed lately. Jane Alwen has found her favorite new nursery in Aurora and it is called Hydrangeaplus. I am not a gardener, as my friends will quickly tell you, but I do love hydrangeas and may well have to go looking for this nursery. Plus, I love driving the country roads around Charbonneau. Addriene Hafner decided to have her entire front yard re-landscaped and Gerri Gorney has worked with her neighbors to build a co-op vegetable garden in the Farmer’s Field behind her house, with permission of course! When not organizing many years worth of photos in to albums or making WhatsApp calls to friends and family in Africa and Australia, Lesley Durham has been busy overseeing a remodel of her entire house. The bathrooms are done and the kitchen is a shell of its former self. Meanwhile, Victoria K. found a completely remodeled condo and bought it and is currently reclining on a lounge chair watching the boats go by from her riverfront patio. Zoom has become a huge part of our lives. Not being able to travel in May, Suzanne R. watched her son get married in Illinois, while Gerri G. attended her granddaughter’s college graduation on Zoom. Many of us have grown spiritually thanks to Zoom church services, and after dying of COVID-19 in her Connecticut nursing home, I attended my older sister’s memorial service last month using Zoom. Cherryl C. spent five weeks in Bend before her kids let her travel home. And when Karen G. left Charbonneau March 1 to babysit her grandkids in Nevada for two weeks, little did she know that it would be 10 weeks before she was back home again. And she had a blast! Other Solo Sisters have made mountains of masks, sewn quilts, written wills, learned French (at least two of you) and worked on what one member described as “the jigsaw puzzle from Hell!” One of the most interesting emails I received came from a member whose daughter had given her a membership to 23 and Me, a company that does genetic testing and analysis. During home confinement she found her father (now deceased), a half -brother and “dozens of cousins” and has begun to make plans to meet some of them once we can be socially active again. I hope you enjoyed reading about these amazing women as much as I did. I think the words of Lesley Durham best sum up how many of us feel right now. “A part of me wants to hold on to being alone a little longer. Then I realize in a funny way I have really enjoyed my vacation from the world. And I smile.” If you are a single woman living in Charbonneau and would like to know more about Solo Sister membership, please contact Deanna Morgan at [email protected]. We would love to have you come and join the fun! Charbonneau Tennis Club By STEVE HALL Pickleball now open, outdoor memberships available This year the coming of Independence Day has a completely different feel for the tennis community because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Normally, this is the time of year when tennis players get inspired by watch- HALL ing the likes of tennis greats Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic showing off their skills during the twoweek-long Wimbledon tennis tournament. Locally, competitive players are transitioning from USTA team play to tournament play. This year it is all different as most of the tournaments and USTA team play have been either canceled or rescheduled and clubs are starting to open after being closed for several months. At Charbonneau, the tennis club opened for outdoor play for tennis and pickleball May 18 and indoor limited play June 6. The lesson program started June 13. Signups for lessons can be made using Tennis Bookings. Pickleball is now open and outdoor memberships, which include pickleball, are available to Charbonneau residents for the following fee: � $100 initiation fee which is a onetime charge, plus $80 per year for a singles membership or $120 per year for a family membership. 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