Monday, February 6 • 6:30 PM
Lutheran Home

TETNA meetings are open to everyone in the Tosa East Towne neighborhood. Please feel free to attend. We gather at 6:30 p.m. at the Lutheran Home, 7500 W. North Ave. If you have a topic or issue you would like to discuss, contact Sarah Hunt-Frank to be included on the agenda.

Click here to read the January association meeting minutes.

Hello, Tosa East Towners!

It is so good to be back in the swing of the school year! As a theater professional, my season runs with the school year, so it is all starting up at the same time! Exciting stuff!
In the May newsletter, I challenged you to try something new. I would love to hear what kinds of things you came up with. What did you try this summer that was new? Let me know on the facebook page!

As I told you back in May, I was going to try some new things, too.   I tried my hand at a Victory Garden using the Square-Foot Gardening system.  I learned a lot. I made notes for adjustments for next year. But I got a lot of zucchinis, kohlrabi, radishes and other delicious veggies out of it. I even made a pico de gallo — made completely of items from my garden: tomato, onion, cucumber, cilantro, peppers and jalapeno! That made my husband happy!

I also tried a kayak for the first time in my life. — I think I have found my new calling! — In the kayak, I sat in the water like a duck. The paddling was easy and I sped across the lake like I was meant to do such a thing all of my life. If I could get paid for kayaking, I would quit my job and do it all the time… Of course now I have to convince my husband that I can’t live without one and need one of my own…

I also tried a “peel cherry” this summer. It is a small fruit that comes from Columbia.  I had challenged the kids at Vacation Bible School to try some new foods (because I was tired of hearing, “I don’t like that” when they had never even tasted it.) If they tasted it —even if they didn’t like it— I would give them a knuckle bump. I had to go around the room bumping my knuckles to theirs. Then, when the peel cherry came out, they all intently watched me eat it and then gave ME a knuckle bump!

Whatever your summer was like, I hope it was enjoyable, pleasant, adventurous and fun! Looking forward to shoveling snow with you soon! Not!

Sarah Hunt-Frank, TETNA President

Now I can say I have tried my hand at being an Area Rep AND a newsletter distributor! Some of you may know that our Area 6 Rep has moved out of the neighborhood, and until we find a replacement for her, I am covering her area. We also have a vacant distributor spot on the 2600 block of North 63rd, and I did that too.

So I got to play “Sally Sorter”, and contact my distributors, grab a box of newsletters from the Newsletter Chair, count them out into bags and leave them on my front porch in a Rubbermaid tub. Then I sent an email. (Easy peasy!) I also got to play “Tina Tosa” and drop the newsletters in people’s doors on one of our blocks. (Piece a cake!)

If you are okay picking up a box to take home, counting out some flyers and sending out an email, you may be a great candidate for the new Area Rep—or if you are interested in having a walk around a block four times a year—for that distributor for the 2600 block of 63rd St.

Around here, we like to share the jobs, spread the duties around, and give lots of opportunity, so everyone who wants to gets a chance to be involved.

So, let me know. Send me an email. Drop me a line. Give me a call. I promise you will be able to hear the smile!

“One person volunteering is good. But a bunch of people volunteering—is a force to be reckoned with!”

Sarah Hunt-Frank, TETNA President

Ah, Spring! That wonderful time of year when the plants awaken, the birds return and the people crawl out of the winter-cramped indoors! Yawn. Stretch. Shake off the winter.

Try something new. I am going to try my hand at square-foot gardening, a space-saving gardening technique that could work wonders in our tiny East Tosa yards.

I have some new tips for your summer fun. Among them that Hoyt Pool is opening this Memorial weekend! Family Passes can be purchased by googling Friends Of Hoyt Pool. I’ve got mine! Now I just need a swimsuit that makes me look like Angelina Jolie…

Here’s a new idea I saw last summer in Michigan. Clear bags of water hung to keep bees and flies away from your picnic area. I guess the light-bending effect of the bulging plastic confuses their compound eyes. I don’t know. Try it and let me know how it works for you!

Summer time reminds me of my Grandma who used to walk around the yard in the early morning looking at the posies, admiring the growth, looking for which one would bloom next. She would say she had been out “surveying the estate.” (She also called having lemonade on the patio “refreshments on the veranda”!) I am SO looking forward to my garden and my flowers this year.

You may see me wandering around my house and wonder “what is that crazy lady doing?” Now you know, (Ahem) I am surveying the estate!

See you in my front yard, and feel free to join me—surveying the estate!

Sarah Hunt-Frank, TETNA President