Where has all the time gone?  I apologize for not keeping up with the QMB2, but I'll try to quickly update my blog.

December 20th - what a wonderful party we had! Great food, fellowship, and gifts marked the celebration of this Christmas holiday and the 1st Anniversary of The Intrepid Red Hatters! What a fantastic time we have had! It's hard to believe a whole year has gone by since we started. We have grown from four to thirteen; taken trips to Sutter Creek, San Francisco, Grass Valley, Sonoma/Napa Counties; visited flower shows, State Parks, haunted hotels, gift shops, and every other kind of shop; ridden on BART; solved a murder mystery aboard a paddle wheel boat; enjoyed potlucks and tea parties; saw HATS!; and celebrated the 10th birthday of the Red Hat Society along with 240 other Red Hatters! What a year this has been! Here's to 2009; may it be as great an adventure as the first one!

It seems like we had been waiting for this day for quite a while, anticipating April 25 and the festivities with our local sister chapter, the Red Hat Hooters!

The party started in the parking lot of the Fair Oaks VFW hall as over 30 different RHS chapters, 225 women, paraded their red and purple finery while waiting in line for the Spring Fling Red Hat Day event. If you can, imagine over 200 unique red and purple hats...each with its own character (the hat and the owner)! What a sight!?

Seven of our chapter members (Queen SusieQ, Countess Clucky, Duchess Tushy, Duchess of Dorchester, Countess of Canine, Countess Nigiri, and Princess Propitious) were guests at the birthday tea that included a culinary spread of tea sandwiches, cookies, scones, salads, fresh fruit, and deviled eggs...all homemade.

We were entertained by The Hot Flash Tap Group and the raffling of many, many wonderful prizes. Incidentally, the Intrepid Red Hatters garnished a prize for every attending member...everything from an ice bucket with sparkling wine and glasses to a RHS carpeted bath set. Not bad odds! Our very own Countess Nigiri, by audience applause and appreciation, placed about third in the "Best Dressed Red Hatter" competition. AND...Countess Clucky unanimously took first place for the "Best Hat!" We put forth a very good showing!

The Red Hat Hooters did a great job planning and executing such a large and elaborate event! Being a new Red Hat chapter, we are most grateful for the invitation and the opportunity to commune with our fellow sisters!

On Saturday, April 12, Countess of Canine, Countess Clucky, Queen SusieQ, Duchess Tooshy, Duchess of Dorchester, and Contessa Nigiri attended the Western United States production of HATS! in Roseville, California. In true Red Hat-style, the evening commenced with a shopping excursion in the old town district of Roseville. We found the most quaint consignment shop with various Red Hat apparel and trinkets. At 5:45PM, dinner was served in the lobby of the Roseville Theatre, and we were treated to a Red Hat-themed menu. Dinner was delicious! In the dining room, at the far-end of the table, was a flat-screen t.v. premiering a slideshow of local Red Hat chapters.

Once we shared an assortment of tasty desserts, we were ready for the musical. The performance reminded us all why we became Red Hats. The musical touched on such familiar and heart-felt topics as the loss of a significant other, the return to an "empty nest", and all the other reasons we seek communion with our fellow hatters. Many of us were moved to tears as the songs, dance, and emotions on stage touched our heart strings and resonated with themes in our own lives. We all truly enjoyed the production!

Prior to the start of the musical, we all removed our voluptuous hats as to not impede others' view of the play. Then, with the closing song "Put Your Red Hat On," the characters danced from the stage down into the audience below, encouraging all of us to put our red hats BACK on and to embrace those things it symbolizes...

We had a wonderful evening and encourage everyone who can to see HATS!

March 29, 2008...what a full day! Eight of us donned our red & purple, pink & lavender, and headed for the historical gold rush area of Sutter Creek, Daffodill Hill, & Volcano, CA. All this area played a very important role in the Gold Rush of CA in the 1800's and the towns have done their best to remain "old." In good weather it's a great spot for tourists, but on a rainy day like yesterday only the brave or crazy come out!! Never let it be said that a little rain could ever stop The Intrepid Red Hatters!! Besides, it gives us a chance to use our purple/red parasols! Our first stop was Sutter Creek-filled with quaint shops all waiting for us! Can you ever shop too much??? We found we had to cut our shopping time short (but we plan to return in May). Then we were off to Daffodill Hill. This is a private farm owned for the last 121 years by the same family. They have acres and acres and acres of daffodills-as far as you can see! It really is quite a sight. And to see this wonder, they charge nothing! This is only the third weekend they have been open, so they have at least twice the daffodills yet to open! I must say that the purple and red go beautifully with the amazing sea of yellows, oranges, whites, and green. To end our day we had reserved a lucheon at the St. Geopge Hotel in Volcano. This was to celebrate the birthday of Princess Propitious, and what a celebration it was! The hotel makes great food, great personal service, and while we were there they were having a conference called Ghost Rush 2008 (a gathering of American Paranormal Investigators)! Two of the main guys from TV's Ghost Hunters were there. We heard all kinds of talk about the hotel being haunted!! Of course this just thrilled us and there's a possible sleepover in the works for The Intrepid Red Hatters in the future! We had a marvelous time and I hope I did this slideshow thing correctly so that you can see some photos and share in our fun!

qmb2.com/theintrepidredhatters.blogspot.com

March 26, 2008 was my 40th  wedding anniversary!  Quite an accomplishment in this day and age.  When we got married we were 19 & 20 y/o and all our friends thought it wouldn't last.  Guess we proved them wrong!  I think one of our secrets is that we married our best friends and another was we waited 10 yrs. to have children. We had a lot of fun in those 10 yrs. and did a lot of growing up together. Funny how life goes...we're retired now and the kids are grown and we're back to the two of us having a lot of fun! Hope we're both around to celebrate the next 40 yrs. together. 

Early Saturday morn, Countess Clucky, Duchess Tooshy, Contessa Nigera, and I got together and headed for San Francisco for the annual Flower & Garden Show.  Countess Clucky, having been to this event several times in years past, thought we would all enjoy it and have a wonderful day.  She was right!  There was everything from patio gardens to landscapes with water features, rockery and artwork.  Between the sights and smells of the gardens, the laughter and fun of friendship, and the notoriety/popularity of being a group of Red Hatters, our day was full.  It's incredible how the public treats you when you have that Red Hat on!!  It's almost like being a celebrity!  So many people came up and talked with us.  Many wanted to know about joining.  One young man even took our picture to share with his mom -he thought this was the perfect organization for her!  It was a great day! 

Yesterday on our local PBS tv station they ran the documentary on the RHS. Actually my husband saw it on the tv menu and alerted me. So I called all my Intrepid RH sisters to let them know of its showing. I thoroughly enjoyed it (wished I had taped it - fortunately one of our members did) and think everyone should see it. For those who have either been in the RHS for a while or have been following it for some time, the information was not new. However, for the general public it gave them a really good idea of what the RHS is, what we all do in it, and most of all what it means to each of us. I also never get tired looking at all us ladies in our finery! Made me proud to be a member of such an organization.

I am really new at this computer stuff, but I figure what a fun way to learn!  Eventually I hope to be able to keep up with the rest of you!  I'm also new as Queen.  Our group has only been disorganized since Dec. 07, but we're having a ball.  Any suggestions or ideas to help us continue on this adventure please let me know.

intrepid (adjective) - fearless, bold, brave, unafraid, acourageous

That pretty much sums us up!

We were officially chartered December 1, 2007. We are a group of old friends, bound by professions in the medical field. The founders decided on twenty members as our chapter's maximum size. The membership is primarily made of fearless women over fifty, but we have decided to accept those younger (pink hats) to insure their proper education in the art of aging! We have proclaimed our need for communion to be at least once per month to enjoy laughter, conversation, frivolity, silliness, raucousness, and comradery. We will proudly display our red and purple, our pink and lavender, at our gatherings. We wish to maintain a nurturing and caring network of friendship and support and will always be sure to give ourselves permission to let go and have fun!