Widows and Widowers

Come enjoy breakfast and conversation with us at The Kosher Pastry Oven in Silver Spring. This is a great away to break with your old routine and make new friends. Questions? Click on my picture below to contact me. Hope to see you there! Ross A.

*Dolmenwood,* is a table top RPG game about a classical fairy forest and the people that live there and is inspired by ancient British folklore. It is a land of magic, fairies, witches, and monsters! The system is based around the Old School Essentials ruleset, which itself is based on Advanced D&D, it is rules light, very straight forward, and easy to pick up. I will be providing some pre-gen characters for people that want to get right into the action or people can generate characters when they arrive and join the action that way. This is an open table / west marches style of game. Meaning that players can come and go as needed. **I will make every effort to schedule a game every week, and we will discuss the time of the next game as we wrap up each week.** Some useful links: * The rules for *Dolmenwood* can be found here: [https://www.dolmenwood.necroticgnome.com/rules/doku.php?id=start ](https://www.dolmenwood.necroticgnome.com/rules/doku.php?id=start) * A character generator can be found here: [https://www.dolmenwood.necroticgnome.com/characters/](https://www.dolmenwood.necroticgnome.com/characters/) If you have any questions please reach out to me and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

**Come out and WANCE with me!!** No, that’s not a typo, it just means "dancing while walking" in whatever way we want -- and just walking along is totally fine! Basically we just move in any way we want together, with a portable speaker and a shared playlist of great songs. Feb. 4 is my 65th birthday, and there's nothing I'd rather do than WANCE with great FFF>50 women! Because of the ice, let's pivot to inside Union Station! Details: * We’ll meet at **10:30 am on Wed. Feb. 4 at Blue Bottle Coffee in the atrium of Union Station .** * **Please include your cell number** in your RSVP so we can be sure to find each other. * We’ll carry a Bluetooth speaker to play music that gets us moving. * **Requests for the playlist VERY welcome,** send song ideas to patricia@fierceafter45.com or post them below, thank you! * **No dance experience required, no choreographed steps**, just move and express yourself with movement to music. No worries if you have mobility challenges, we will adjust to everyone's speed as needed! * **Creative clothing, funny hats, protest clothing, etc. are very welcome.** * No birthday gifts; your presence is the best present! * Ask any questions below -- I hope you'll join me! More about WANCE: It began in the Midwest during the pandemic; [here’s the original WANCE website](https://www.wancerevolution.com/) by Gabrielle Lulloff. **WHAT IS WANCING?** **\- Dancing as you walk** **\- The art of letting loose** **\- Spreading good vibrations & joy** **\- Putting that pep in your step** **\- Exercising your mind\, body and spirit** **\- Taking care of yourself** **\- A different way of meditating** **\- Not caring what other people think** **\- Creating an expression of movement** **\- A way of meeting other advocates of fun** [Here’s an article about it](https://www.startribune.com/can-you-wance-dancing-while-walking-has-become-a-regular-sight-in-st-paul/600303897/) to learn even more! Note: This and other FFF>50 events will be permanently shifting to our walled-garden playground on the Mighty Networks platform, please sign up [here!](https://community.fff50.org/share/dbWb9iJu5XwSN2TR?utm_source=manual) If it's full with a waitlist here you can get a spot on Mighty!

[Profs and Pints DC](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Love Lecture,”** a contemplation of matters of the heart, with Laura Papish, associate professor of philosophy at George Washington University and teacher of a seminar on the philosophy of love, sex, and friendship. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/hill-center-love-lecture](https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/hill-center-love-lecture) .] Who wrote the book of love? Why does love have to be so sad? Is it a thin line between love and hate? On a more serious note, how does our society's understanding of love and romantic love shape our experience of it? Why do we think of love as mysterious and irrational? Do those we love need to be lovable? Is love necessarily a morally good thing, or can it actually make it harder for us to be good? Show your love for learning by hearing such questions tackled by Laura Papish, who has built a considerable following among Washington D.C. fans of Profs and Pints with her annual talks exploring the intersection of the brain, the soul, and the heart. Hilariously accompanied by her husband, Chris (on guitar), she’ll offer up a delicious assortment of thoughts about the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday—some dark, some sweet, and some giving you plenty to chew on. Dr. Papish will start by examining how ancient Greeks thought about erotic love and move on from there, looking at how love is envisioned in modern thinkers, classic novels, recent films, and pop culture. She’ll also discuss the origins of the idea that people have a “soul mate” and how some thinkers have tried to criticize or transform the very concept of love. Together, we'll explore different possibilities for love and those mysteries about it that have left more than a few of us feeling befuddled. Feel free to show up if you are lovelorn, love-stricken, or just love to hear a fascinating discussion. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Cupid as rendered in a 1510 painting by Giovanni Antonio Bazzi.

Join us for the **first Wednesday every month**! This group is a place where older LGBTQ+ women can meet and socialize with one another. We will have discussion, activities, and a chance for you to share what you want future events to include! Invite a friend, and join us as we promote community and friendship among our community of local LGBTQ+ women. Please feel free to reach out with questions to Adam (adamheller@thedccenter.org). We hope to see you there! This event is brought to you in partnership with the DACL: Department of Aging and Community Living

**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.