Interest Groups
We offer a variety of monthly activities for our members. The groups listed below are constantly updated in our monthly newsletter, The Triad. Members can contact coordinators by emailing them (see below) or consulting their Directory or The Triad.
Anyone Who Has Read the Book 2013-2011
Email the coordinators for more information. The summer meetings will take place at 10:30 a.m. in a member's home. For the summer meetings, please RSVP and bring a sandwich. For the remainder of the meetings, occurs on the 3rd Friday of the month at 10 a.m. at Orinda Books, unless otherwise noted.
Please mark your calendar, and meet some very nice people who all have interesting viewpoints to share about these books!
| June 21 - 10:30 a.m. | A Hologram for the King | by Dave Eggers |
| July 19 - 10:30 a.m. | God's Hotel | by Victoria Sweet |
| August 16 - 10:30 a.m. | Four Spirits | by Sena Jeter Naslund | September 20 | The Language of Flowers | by Vanessa Diffenbaugh | October 18 | Cleopatra | by Stacy Schiff | November 15 | The Defining Moment | by Jonathan Alter | December 20 | The Light Between Oceans | by M. L. Stedman |
| January 17 | The 19th Wife: A Novel | by David Eberschoff |
| February 21 | Flight Behavior | by Barbara Kingsolver |
| March 21 | My Beloved World | by Sonia Sotomayor |
| April 18 | The Distant Land of My Father | by Bo Caldwell |
| May 16 - 10:30 a.m. | Luncheon and Book Selection | |
Best Sellers/Critics' Choice Book Group
Email the coordinator for more information.
Are you interested is reading ten or eleven best selling books during the coming year for a total cost of $20? In the Best Sellers/Critics' Choice Book Group, we buy several copies of recent fiction and non-fiction books in September and circulate them through a neighborhood reading group of ten or eleven members. You read one book each month from October through July or August, then pass it on at the beginning of the next month. Your last selection of the year is yours to keep. We meet once during August to discuss the past year's selections and to choose books for the next year.
Biking
Email the coordinator for more information.
Come ride the bike trails of our county! We meet on the last Monday morning of each month from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. This time frame includes the driving time to different trail heads. Trails will be mostly level. Dust off your bike, get outdoors, ride with us, and invigorate your body.
Bridge
Times and coordinators:
1. 1st Tuesday - 12 noon. Email the coordinator for more information.
2. 1st Thursday - 12 noon. Email the coordinator for more information.
3. 2nd Tuesday - 12 noon. Email the coordinator for more information.
4. 3rd Thursday - 12 noon. Phone the coordinator for more information.
5. 4th Tuesday - 12 noon. Email the coordinator for more information.
The bridge groups always rely on an up-to-date substitute list. If you are interested in becoming a sub or would like to start a new group, please contact a coordinator listed above.
Daytime Movie Group
To receive notice of the meeting, movie, time, and location, email the coordinator.
4th Thursday of the month, afternoons
We meet at local theaters and share our ideas and impressions following the show at a nearby cafe. Members take turns organizing the day's outing.
Golf
Email the coordinator for more information.
Interested members get together for occasional play at local public courses. All handicap levels invited for fun, exercise, and good friendship.
Great Decisions
Email the coordinator for more information, but membership in this group is closed for this year.
We will meet nine consecutive mornings in February and March. Each discussion stands alone, so it is not necessary to attend all nine meetings. We meet from 9:30 to 11 a.m. We will be meeting at various locations, so contact the coordinator for locations.
Developed by the Foreign Policy Association--an independent, non-governmental organization--this educational program brings people together to discover, discuss, and decide their opinions on foreign policy issues and is designed to encourage debate and discussion of important global issues of our time. Topics for 2013 are:
- Imperfect Union: the Eurozone in Crisis
- Power to the People: the New Egypt
- Joint Strike: NATO and the U.S. in the 21st Century
- The Generals and the Democrat: Myanmar in Transition
- The Intervention Calculation (Why? When? When not to?)
- Line in the Sand: Iran, Israel, and the Bomb
- Feeding the Dragon: China in Africa
- The Sacred Cow: Defense in the Age of Economic Restraint.
Briefing books that contain the articles for discussion are needed by participants. They cost $20. Books had to have been ordered and paid for by the deadline of October 8, 2012.
Green Thumb Ladies
Email the coordinators for more information.
Usually 2nd Mondayday of the month
Green Thumb Ladies visit public and private gardens and nurseries, hear lectures, see demonstrations, and frequently enjoy lunch. This organized but fun-loving group is non-competitive and open to all. Each month has a different organizer and hence there are various meeting times and days.
- Monday, November 12: Decorate napkins and table runners. an interesting craft project that uses leaves from our gardens.
- Monday, February 11: Visit Mrs. Dalloway's Garden Book Store, with lunch to follow at a local restaurant.
- Monday, April 8: Tour of Glorietta Blvd. Garden, a weed patch transformed to a beautiful succulent garden, and/or visit the Master Gardeners facility in Pleasant Hill.
- Monday, May 13: Visit UC Botanical Garden
- Monday, June 10: Visit to community gardens in the Lamorinda area: Moraga, Saint Mary's College, and Lafayette. Lunch to follow
International Travel
Email the coordinator for more information.
1st Saturday of the month, 6:30-10:00 p.m., at members' homes
Members, spouses, and friends meet at members' homes for an international travel talk from a chosen trip or destination. The attendees contribute appropriate appetizers and/or wine.
Let's Go to the Movies
Email the coordinators for more information.
3rd Friday of the month, 6:30 p.m., at members' homes
Members and their spouses or friends see the movie for the month at their convenience and then meet in members' homes for a potluck dinner and discussion of the film. Those attending will choose the next month's movie. There are currently three groups.
Memoirs and Musings
Email the coordinator for more information.
3rd Wednesday of the month, 1 - 3 p.m.
The meeting site will be in the newsletter, the Triad. Please RSVP
Everyone has a story! Whether you have already begun your memoirs or are just thinking about doing it someday, this might be the opportunity for you. Whether you are a novice or an experienced writer, all levels of ability are welcome. This is a class with no teacher; we are all students, and we will learn from sharing and discussing our memoirs and musings in a supportive, friendly group.
Museum Mavens
Email the coordinator for more information.
If you enjoy visiting museums ad would like to share the experience with other OML members, we've got the group for you! Members will take turns organizing each monthly trip with lunch afterwards. Time and place to be announced.
Tennis
Email the coordinator for more information.
Monday and Thursday mornings, 8:15 - 10:00 a.m.
At Saint Mary's College, courts #10-12
Drop-in tennis for intermediate players (3.0 rating or higher).
Wise Women
Email the coordinator for more information.
4th Wednesday of the month, 1 p.m.
Life is a journey without a map. In Wise Women we come together to share the questions of life, share our joys, and find better understanding of ourselves and each other.