Netsel Marina Holiday Potluck Dinner and Gift “Swap!”

About 25 folks took part in the Netsel Marina Potluck and Gift Swap. Randal not only made a huge pot of slow cooked beef stew; but he also made a pecan pie. A good bit of the stew was eaten and there were only crumbs left of the pecan pie! Randal did good! As for me, thanks to years of leading, with my Reference cohort Joesephine (from Maine) the Roanoke County Public Library Holiday Party Yankee Swap-Gift Exchanges, I somehow was put in charge of the Netsel Marina Gift Swap. It was a fun evening with lots of good food and lots of laughing. And FYI, I still have the fruitcake I won at my final Library Holiday Party. I had planned to drop it in the South China Sea, but decided to take it around the world with us and then return it to a future library gift exchange. Beware!

Bringing in the food…Victoria and her husband Nege (sp)

And more food… Randal’s stew is in the huge white slow cooker.

And even more food…..!

Some of the desserts: Randal’s pecan pie: this photo is the last I saw of it.

Irina getting into the spirit and Gwen and Rick concocting and testing the spirits

Jane with son Thomas

Tom has the dog Buttons that I take out for walks around town.

Joanne, Jane and Mai

Mahan’s and Davey. I’ve spelt Mahan’s’ name as it sounds, but not how it’s actually spelled which I don’t know.

Dale having a quiet moment…there weren’t many!

Collin and Irina

Zehra and Lee and Sue and Kevin

Mans and Mary leading the carol singing.

With his white beard and jolly smile, Mans could also have stood in as St. Nick who was born and died in Turkey

The gift swap in progress..Collin opening his gift..a chandlery gift card which he was forced to swap during the exchanges.

Joanne had this bottle for about a second; the bottles of booze got swapped around many times.

My favorite was the stuffed lamb picked by New Zealand born Diana. We brought it and I loved it so I couldn’t force the swap.

Mai started with this coffee mug set

Not what she had hoped for so…that story continues…

Kevin picked this jar of fancy marmalade but didn’t go home with it either.

Jane pondering her choice

A bath scrub and towel..she didn’t take home either

Mary and Nage (more misspelling) watch Mahan’s unwrap his bottle…

The bottles of spirits made the rounds: Thomas, Sandy and Collin. I have no idea who finally kept them

My favorite swap of the evening was when Nage picked these socks and then finally understood that he could swap them: he swapped for one of the bottle of booze but alas didn’t go home with it. Should have kept the socks!

Mai swaps her coffee set with Sue for her Christmas mug.

I called the numbers but ended up with the evening’s “gag gift.” I “forced swapped” it for Sue’s mug but later swapped back…we can use those brushes……

Scrub brush bouquet: Mai brought it and I finally got it. Ed managed to take home a bottle of booze!