Getting Ready for Halloween

After decorating for Halloween, what's the next most important thing?
Candy, of course!  We took a trip to Smith's Candies in Myerstown to
stock up on plenty of candy for the kids coming to the party.  I think
some of us bought candy just for ourselves too!

Butterfly Garden

We took a trip to the butterfly garden at Dreamscapes in Lebanon. What a beautiful garden center, full of whimsical and imaginative water features.  In the Butterfly House we learned all about the life cycle of the butterfly. We saw their various chrysali and caterpillar stages.  In the garden we spoke to the designer and she told us about the local varieties of butterflies and the plants that they need to thrive. There was so much to see and do.  We finished off the day with a trip to the gift shop and a promise to come again sometime.

Cherish the Journey and Keep the Spirit of Family: November Events

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and, it is indeed a perfect time to celebrate with loved ones; so it is not surprising that our Alive in All Seasons focus for the month of November is families: Cherish the Journey! Matsuo Basho wrote “every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home”. These beautiful words remind us of the importance of cherishing this journey of life through celebrations that bind us together; family and friends, nurturing our spirits and fulfilling us in deep and meaningful ways.

 

This month as we celebrate our Alive in All Seasons theme of family: “Cherish the Journey”, we will be hosting many wonderful activities and events with our focus on family! We will be working with residents, families, associates and friends to create family trees and start autobiographical journals. We will enjoy rich and meaningful activities utilizing the traditions, customs and skills of many of our family members, friends and all the significant people that have impacted our lives. We will reminisce about favorite family recipes, learn about families in different cultures, and join together in giving thanks. These activities will foster the development of deep connections with one another, thus, allowing us to cherish and celebrate each others’ lives. We will enjoy the opportunity to create and relish more memories of delightful moments along this beautiful journey of life together!

 

We invite you to join us as we celebrate the beautiful gift of family, sharing some of your time treasured stories, traditions, customs and wisdom gathered with your loved ones on your journey together! We are filled with gratitude as we give thanks for yet another year bringing joy to the lives of all those on our path! We wish all of our families and friends a beautiful Thanksgiving holiday overflowing with rich abundance! All this month we will also be hosting several highlighted family and community events that include: our Fall Food Drive benefiting those less fortunate through Lebanon County Christian Ministries all month, our Happy Hour Trivia featuring challenging questions and pub style refreshments on November 8 at 6 pm, our Honor Our Veterans multi-media presentation on November 11 at 6 pm, and our How to Prevent Falls educational workshop on November 21 at 1:30 pm. We encourage you to review our calendar and join us for any or all of our events as we celebrate families and Cherish the Journey!

Juniper Village Triathlon

We had a morning of excitement and competition.  After being split up into four teams, residents participated in three events: bocce ball, putting, and bean bag toss.  Bocce is a weekly favorite here in Lebanon and today was no different.   There was a lot of good-natured ribbing going on as residents tried to get their ball closest to the white "jack" without touching it.

 

 

 

Then we moved on to the individual events, with each resident doing his or her best to earn points for their team.

In the end it was the red team who came out on top, but we all had fun and felt like winners that day.

 

 

 

Art inspired by Kandisnky's "Circles"

The residents studied Kandinsky's work and use of color and then were set loose to create their own masterpieces.  Some stayed very close to the inspiration of the original, while others expressed their own unique point of view.  Together we created a wonderful peice of collaborative art that brightens up the wall in the Garden Room.

 

 

 

Making Pesto

We picked the basil from our herb garden.  After washing them,  we separated the leaves from the stems.   We peeled and chopped garlic and blended it all together with olive oil, salt and parmesan cheese. We dressed some bowtie pasta with our pesto sauce and were left with an empty bowl. Our Italian residents were very familiar with this preparation, but many residents had never eaten basil pesto before.  One resident comented that it was very "green," but delicious!

We love our culinary adventures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planting daffodils

The garden club got together on a breezy Sunday afternoon to plant Tulips and Daffodils.  Together, they planted almost a hundred bulbs!  We can't wait until spring!  They also took the opportunity to harvest some ripe peppers and tomatoes.  You can see Peg Kreiser enjoying the fruit of her labor.