Scrapbooking

Come join and casually draft a vintage cube that is open to everyone. No cost to enter! The store provides promo booster packs and I usually throw in a pack of the most recent standard set to award to the people with the best records at the end of the night. [What is Cube?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNDBTRG6keM) What: Vintage Cube Draft When: 6:00pm Where: Your Hobby Place in Old Town Alexandria (Your Hobby Place, 700 N Washington St, Alexandria, VA 22314) We aim to start drafting shortly after 6:00pm as the store's register closes at 9:00pm. The store owner is kind enough to keep the space open for us to finish rounds. In previous events we've usually wrapped up around 9:45. All skill levels are welcome and all cards, lands, tokens needed are provided so you only need to bring yourself and potentially some dice and playmat if you prefer. The list can be seen here: [https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/proxybacon](https://cubecobra.com/cube/list/proxybacon) Join Your Hobby Place's Discord and grab the Cube Role in the mtg-chat channel for the most up to date information on cube at their location: [https://discord.gg/9je3G8vzXh](https://discord.gg/9je3G8vzXh) **Important Notice:** I have seen an increased number of signups and no shows amongst brand new accounts. In an effort to make sure we have room for everyone if this is your first time joining and you have just created a meetup account please reach out to me via Meetup or discord. **Late Policy:** RSVPing will hold your spot for up to 10 minutes after 6. If you expect you may be running late please reach out to me via the store's discord. My username is iluvbacon610.

This class is designed to target those places in the body that might need a little extra space breathed into them after a night's sleep. This morning, get your blood pumping and work out all the stiffness, cramping, and tightness that are often left in the body after hours of laying still. Now seize the day! **Please reserve your spot at www.piesfitnessyoga.com**. The session is offered both InStudio and OnLine. The Zoom link for the OnLine session will be emailed 15 minutes before class starts to those who are registered at www.piesfitnessyoga.com. **Sign up for sessions must be made at least 2 hours prior to class.** The address is 1322 Prince St Alexandria, VA 22314. Our entrance is located on the side of the building, parallel to West St. **Street parking is available and additional parking is located at Shiloh Baptist church, spaces 3,5,7,9.** The church is located across the street from the studio, on the corner of Duke St. and West St.

📚 Do you love reading, but wish you had a structure and a community to share your insights with? Join our small circle of curious minds (just 4 members per gathering) as we come together for an hour of focused reading—in the calm setting of a library or the cozy atmosphere of a café. Here’s how it works: First part: Quiet reading on your own—bring a book you’re exploring, whether it’s philosophy, history, psychology, literature, or anything meaningful to you. Second part: We regroup and each person shares key takeaways, insights, or questions sparked by their reading. This sparks a structured yet free-flowing conversation around ideas, perspectives, and personal reflections. Why join? Add structure to your reading habit. Discover new books, authors, and ideas through others’ choices. Build real connections by sharing and listening deeply. Socialize around something meaningful instead of small talk.

Hit the pause button for an hour and reduce your stress. You will be compassionately guided through an exploration of intentionally linking your breath with the movement of both dynamic and static stretching and its impact on your (P)hysical, (I)ntellectual, (E)motional, and (S)piritual layers. Then experience the calming practice of restorative yoga which was designed specifically to move you from the fight, flight, or freeze state of the nervous system into the rest and digest state. Leave this all levels, accessible class feeling restored, renewed, and ready for what life has in store for you next. **Please reserve your spot at www.piesfitnessyoga.com.** The session is offered InStudio only. **Sign up for sessions must be made at least 2 hours prior to class.** The address is 1322 Prince St Alexandria, VA 22314. Our entrance is located on the side of the building, parallel to West St. **Street parking is available and additional parking is located at Shiloh Baptist church, spaces 3,5,7,9.** The church is located across the street from the studio, on the corner of Duke St. and West St.

Easy hike through woods, neighborhood streets and alleyways Meet at Alcova Heights Park bathrooms building and take a loop through neighborhood with stairs, woods, alleyways and sidewalks. Walking at medium to slow pace to look for birds and nature but a good walk!

Join us for **[Judy’s Altered Minds](https://artisticartifacts.com/pages/judy-s-altered-minds)**! For the February meeting, we are asking members to bring and recommend favorite books covering fiber and mixed media arts — submit yours here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0eqHbKKpbPWcOuMmRs5E7a7f1us7IAKgf8Oewkhy4tOeQ2Q/viewform Bring your fiber & mixed media show & tell; many members also enjoy making ATCs (**[artist trading cards](https://artisticartifacts.com/pages/judy-s-altered-minds)**) for exchange each month. **Come early to shop** (JAMs attendees receive a 10% discount on their purchases) — Artistic Artifacts is open Sundays 11:00 am - 4:00 pm. The JAMs meeting starts at 1:30 pm. New members are always welcome! A $3.00 contribution is requested at each meeting. JAMs members are art quilters, collage artists, art journal keepers, surface design enthusiasts, paper crafters, art doll/assemblage artists and more! All levels of expertise are represented, and all are welcome. During JAMs meetings, attendees gather support and encouragement for their art through show & tell and enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded friends.

Love audiobooks and nature? Looking to connect with fellow book lovers? Come **Book It Around** with us! Monthly audiobook walks are FREE and held in accessible public spaces around the D.C. Metro area. These \~ 90 minute walks are often followed by a social gathering -- book swap, picnic, indie bookstore private shopping, etc. Get a little dose of nature, read a few chapters, and make a bookish new friend! All ages, fitness levels, and identities welcome. If the event listing says "full," ignore that, come anyway, and bring a friend -- the more the merrier! Questions? Email bookitaround AT gmail DOT com

This month's selection is "Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy," by James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams! Real life "Succession" drama!! If you're new, welcome! Don't worry if you can't finish or don't like the book, we're here for good casual conversation...

Let's Crop!

**Our February novel is: Julia by Sandra Newman** **This month is a classic, dystopian, fiction, literary fiction, women’s fiction, and science fiction novel. The book is 394 pages in print and 14 hours and 20 minutes on audiobook.** **An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell’s 1984, from the point of view of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman.** Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984. All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen: cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia. Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. Julia takes us on a surprising journey through Orwell’s now-iconic dystopia, with twists that reveal unexpected sides not only to Julia, but to other familiar figures in the 1984 universe. This unique perspective lays bare our own world in haunting and provocative ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago.

**I’m planning future book club meetups and would love your input. Please choose your top three from the list below—your picks will help decide what we read next!** **Book Options** *The Hong Kong Widow* – Kristen Loesch *American Spy* – Lauren Wilkinson *God of the Woods* – Liz Moore *Listen for the Lie* – Amy Tintera *The Swallows* – Lisa Lutz *The Drowning Kind* – Jennifer McMahon *The Eights* – Joanna Miller *The Quiet Librarian* – Allen Eskens Thanks so much for sharing your pick! Please **reply in the comments** with your top three. I can’t wait to see which books rise to the top and to discuss them together at our next meetups.

Join us for our February Book Club gathering where we will come together to discuss *A Master of Djinn* by P. Djèlí Clark in a safe and welcoming environment. Make new friends who share your passion for books and connect with fellow LGBTQ book enthusiasts.