Happy Vernal Equinox

I trust this finds you happy and enjoying life as it comes your way. We just past the “Snow Moon” and will soon observe the spring equinox. What does that all mean? Winter is over and warmer weather is on the way. And this year, it also means the pandemic is closer to being over.
With the lockdown our calendar is clear, and very little is happening. Yet, we are carving every Tuesday from 9am to 6pm at the Carmel Presbyterian Church Cathcart Center. We usually have six (6) carvers in the morning, then we might take a lunch break and come back to the afternoon crowd of about a dozen (12). The governor has increased the size of indoor gatherings to twenty-five (25), so we have room to grow and remain within the safety guidelines. So how about rejoining us next Tuesday and help grow the crowd to that new limit?
Ron Dowdy and Bill Johnson joined for us a day in February. It was a great opportunity to get to know them better, and the opportunity to learn from the best. One of our new members got personal attention from Ron on how to make a face. Great time for all.
I follow a carver on InstaGram who is very good and very creative. However, the pandemic has had a very negative effect on him. His last post was; “Just a post to say all gumption to create anything has gone at the moment. I just cant be bothered. Struggling with this lockdown thing. Struggling with inspiration. Struggling with social media. Struggling with me! Just dreaming of the day we can return to my favourite happy place. …” I don’t have a personal relationship with this person, but I wish him the best in this depressing time. I include this because there are probably some club members that are struggling like this carver. If you are struggling, please get some help. I am sure that carving in a group is therapy for each of us, it is for me. So again, I urge you, if you are able, come back to carving on Tuesdays. We have a great time together.
Just to keep you up to date, the Showcase Committee will be meeting on March 16th to make a decision on the fate of the 2021 Showcase. If you have information that you would like to share with the committee, please do so. You can email me at webmaster@charlottewoodcarvers.com or Lisa Murphy-Stafford at LISAMCharlotte@aol.com and let us know your thoughts.
We had our second club meeting on Zoom on the 23rd, and it was another success. It is good to see the others, and what they are carving. We will have another meeting on the 23rd of March, so mark your calendars and look for an email for login instructions.
The club budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year is attached. It is essentially a copy of the previous year.

No matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
Maya Angelou

Adventurous Carving
Neil McGuire
Charlotte Woodcarvers Club President