Jewelry Making and Super Bowl Partying

Art is the theme for the month of February, and the first Saturday of the month we were designing jewelry. The activity table was awash with beads and baubles as the ladies strung necklaces or bracelets. There was a charming necklace with little red hearts, and another lady strung a lovely bracelet of purple beads for her grand-niece's birthday.

The groundhog saw his shadow on Super Bowl Sunday! After lunch we had some fun groundhog trivia, then at 3:30, the Pre-Game Party kicked off with snacks and games in the Brookside Lounge. We at Mount Joy wish we could repeat this day again!

Winter Wonderland Play

While Mount Joy has become a picturesque Winter Wonderland with at least half a foot of snow on the ground, our residents had some fun after breakfast making S’more Snowmen. The poor little fellows just could not stand up to our cozy warmth, though.

A highlight of many of the residents’ day came with the playing of Deal & Steal, which is a straightforward card game that anyone can enjoy as they try to win a prize-- or steal one from someone else! A little competitive game between friends never fails to draw a crowd, and the activity room was bustling with conversation and good fun right up until supper time.

Awaken Your Passion: February Events

This February our Alive in All Seasons’ theme is Art: “Awaken Your Passion”. In a moving quote from Honoré de Balzac we are reminded that art and passion are inextricably linked; he states, “passion is universal humanity; without it, religion, history, romance and art would be useless.” Art is truly a conduit that allows us to experience the richness and brilliance of all that life has to offer. Art can have a profound effect upon us by providing nourishment to our spirit and soul.

As you know there is always something special going on here at Juniper Village at Mount Joy and this February we will celebrate another wonderful month filled with memories, laughter and the opportunity to create! This month we will open ourselves to various forms of art. We will be taking field trips to local museums, learning about the Great Masters, and creating masterpieces of our own using various mediums.

Please join us for our Dementia Care in Action Workshop with dinner at 6:00 pm on February 5^th, our Juniper Village Candy Gram Service providing chocolates and personalized messages for residents on February 12^th, and our Amedysis Heart Health presentation at 3:30 pm on February 27^th. We encourage you to review our newsletter calendar for other offerings and attend any or all of the activities that are of interest to you.

Come get together with us for our Alive in All Seasons programs this February and Awaken Your Passion!

A Weekend View of Juniper Villiage at Mount Joy

Saturday, January 4^th
For our residents, there is almost no better way to ring in the New Year than with a game of Bingo. A much acclaimed favorite, residents were excited and ready to play a morning session of Musical Bingo called by Connections team member, Jim Leddy.

Sunday, January 5^th
Every Sunday begins with Catholic Communion and a non-denominational Worship Service in our chapel for our residents looking to celebrate and practice their religious beliefs.
Later in the afternoon, there was a rousing game of Target Toss-er-cise in our Garden Spot Lounge. One of our married couples made a competition of it, and while it looked like the husband would walk away with the win, it was the Missus who hit the center target.

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Our residents went on a musical journey by painting to the tune of Vivaldi’s "Winter." The lively piece inspired paintings with numerous short strokes in various patterns, arching and dancing across the paper, mimicking the staccato quick-paced notes of the music. It was interesting to see how accurately a former music teacher recreated the popular piece in a visual medium.

Welcome New Beginnings: January Events

It is hard to believe how time has flown and we now, once again, welcome in a new year—2014! This January, as part of our Alive in All Seasons program we will be celebrating the magic of music. Music has long been recognized as a healing tool in the writings of Pythagoras, Aristotle and Plato. A quote by Plato helps us understand the enormity and power of music; “music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything”.

Music is indeed part of our souls, our imaginations, our lives. It is no wonder that people love music; it inspires us, sparks our minds, taps into our creativity, heals our souls, motivates us to dance, to laugh, to cry. This January we will celebrate music in all its glory!

We will be hosting several open events at our community this month. Please join us for our Lancaster County Lucky New Year's Meal at 11:30 am on January 1^st, our Happy New Year Open House at 1:00 pm on January 12^th, our Amedysis Learning Series on Diabetes Management at 3:30 pm on January 23^rd, and our Red Hat Luncheon at noon on January 27^th. We encourage you to review our calendar for other offerings and attend any or all of the activities that are of interest to you.

It’s going to be another great month here at Juniper Village at Mount Joy. Let us join together in music and “Welcome New Beginnings”. 

Celebrate Little Things: December Events

 

 

“The more you praise and celebrate your life,

the more there is in life to celebrate” ~Oprah Winfrey

 

This December, as part of our Alive In All Seasons program

we will be focusing on traditions. Traditions play such an

important role within our lives by providing a shared identity

and sense of belonging, comfort and joy. Traditions allow us

to tap into our deep and rich cultural, family and religious

heritage. Our Alive In All Seasons tagline this month of

“Celebrate Little Things” reminds us that these traditions,

many of which are small, little things, can serve as the glue

that binds us together and makes our lives great.

 

Celebrations will be abundant this holiday season here at

Juniper Village as we share memories from our residents,

families and our associates about traditions, beliefs and

customs that have shaped our lives. We will learn about how

other cultures celebrate winter holidays, complete with the

singing of carols and the sampling of some delicious ethnic

treats. We will gain respect and insight into each other as

we reflect upon our unique and cherished traditions, and;

maybe create some new ones along the way!

 

You are cordially invited to join us in celebration for our

Resident and Family Christmas Party on December 8th as

well as, an afternoon of cookies and photos with Santa on

December 14th!

 

So, this holiday season please stop by and celebrate

with us as we “Celebrate Little Things”

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 Veteran’s Appreciation Breakfast featuring a delicious pancake feast to thank Veterans for their service on November 8 at 8 am, our Caring for the Caregiver educational workshop with light refreshments where we discuss the physical as well as emotional needs of not only those diagnosed with dementia but also their caregivers on November 14 at 6 pm, and our Amedysis Learning Series: Coping with Holiday Depression and Stress where we will present coping strategies to help you find peace and joy on November 21 at 3:30 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!